Well of course it would be over a month before anything was updated on the blog, but this time for good reason. I, Bryanna, was busy creating a human the past 9 months and then in the recent month having a child.
Yes, our family grew by one more about a month ago. Marc and I now have 4 children. As time goes on, change unfolds daily in our house. We are more than excited to have our newest addition, but life has been a bit chaotic, especially navigating through COVID-19. I promised many a birth story, and it’s easier for all to just read it in one place then me messaging individuals individually. So if you didn’t care to know how the birth of our child happened, then you can wait for another month before anything new is posted on the blog…..hahahahaha…just kidding. I do hope we do better at providing content our readers can relate to.
For now, our readers can enjoy reading the birth story of baby number four. Here it goes:
It was a Friday morning, and I was 37+ weeks. I woke up and did my typical thing, run. At this point in my pregnancy, running looked and felt awkward and the low back pain with sciatic and pelvic pressure wasn’t pleasant. I did a run/walk and was ready to take the kids to a small waterpark for what I believed to be our last time in a while. I had this feeling baby was going to make his debut through the day and evening, and would be arriving that next day, Saturday. I was right.
Baby had been low for a while, very low. The doctors would always comment on how low he was. At my 37 week appointment, I was only dilated to a 2, but completed thinned out. I had lost my mucus plug after my 36 weeks appointment. My doctor had left on vacation earlier in the week, and I knew baby boy would come while my doctor was gone. And he did.
My mid-morning on Friday, I began having contractions. They were unpleasant, but not anything I couldn’t handle. More annoying than anything. I knew it was starting, because I don’t get braxton-hicks, or never had. We were at the pool for the majority of the afternoon, and then stopped at Trader Joe’s on the way home from the pool. It was close to 4:o0 pm when we arrived home. I was having some good contractions by this point, ones that I had to breathe through. To keep labor going, as I know that I can labor long and not dilate, I took the kids for a 1 mile walk.
We then had dinner and showered the kids, got them ready for bed and I prepared their clothes for the weekend, in anticipation of being gone. I also got my go bag ready. After all kids were in bed, I walked another mile. Contractions were now 5-7 minutes apart and lasting 30s – 1 min. They were strong. Close to 10 pm, I told Marc we should go. Due to COVID they didn’t allow Marc back to the triage room with me. I didn’t know he couldn’t come back and he had my phone and purse. I couldn’t contact him and let him know anything. I was dilated to a 4, but my contractions began to slow. This happens every time I go in. I was surprised to be dilate though, because typically I don’t dilate and need medicine and to be stretched. I asked to use the nurses phone to call my husband, whose phone wasn’t working and it would go straight to voicemail. Finally I got a hold of him. I told him they were most likely going to send me home. He was able to leave his car and come up to the Labor and Delivery area.
Just before midnight we left. The doctor telling me I wasn’t in active labor, but I knew I was. I told them I will be back in a few hours, and I was. After 3 hours being home and trying to rest, I told Marc we need to go back in. I was sitting on the toilet hugging the back of it, the yoga ball, on my knees – trying many positions to relieve the pain from the contractions. They were 7-10 minutes apart, but so intense. We left our place at 3:30 am and were back at the ER at 4 am. I took my phone this time and went up to the triage rooms. The same nurse checked me and I was almost to a 7 (I prayed I would be dilated further). This was surprising. I told her I had my bloody show before leaving my house. They got me ready for my room and I phoned Marc and told him he could come up now. By around 5 am I was in my room. The on call doctor came in and checked me around 6 am, but I was still at a 7. She said she would come back before the shift change and break my water. At 6:45 am she broke my water.
Just after 7 am I called the nurse and said I feel a lot of pressure and I think I am ready to push. She said it probably won’t last and would come check me in about an hour. At 7:45 am I called again and said I still feel a lot of pressure. She replied to me again, I will be in about 30 minutes and I will check you. I wasn’t getting so irritated, because I knew I was ready for this baby. Sure enough she came in at 8:30 am and I was at a 10. The nurse told me she would get everything prepped for delivery. This took her forever. She was struggling to get all the supplies opened and ready. She was calling for assistance. I watched the clock tick on and was thinking “You got to be kidding me, this baby is going to fall out.” The nurse even told me “Your baby is sooo low!!” Finally right be 9 am, she said “lets start pushing.” I warned her that once I start pushing it won’t be long, as it has never taken me long to push. She didn’t seem to believe me and replied “Well the doctor is here and close so we can just start pushing.” I told her “you might want to have the doctor come in first.” Again she didn’t believe me.
I did one push and guess what? She told me to stop. The nurse said “Wait – let me get the doctor, the head is right there.” She called the doctor and she didn’t believe the nurse, I could hear them talking. The doctor came in a few minutes later and after about 10 minutes baby boy was here. We will call him H on here. He was 7 lbs 9 oz and 20.75 inches long. During the pushing I tore in 3 places and lost a lot of blood. The doctor cut my previous tear, because it didn’t heal right and re-stitched me there. Even though I tore in 3 places and was cut again, I was surprisingly not as sore as after baby #3.
My platelet level going into labor was extremely low. I was at 107 at 36 weeks, and 104 at 37 weeks, having regular blood work done by 32 weeks. By the time I was in labor platelets were 102. When I left the hospital they were well below 100. At my 2 week follow up I was told at 6 weeks we will check the levels, and hope for the best, as it may take up to 4 weeks before women restore their levels. I am hoping I don’t have to go for a blood transfusion. Really tired of all the extra appointments, especially since during COVID you can’t bring anyone else. Makes having kids a little difficult.
We are 4 weeks post partum now and finding our routine as a family of 6. Life has been very crazy in the past few weeks, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s been a crazy fun ride! My hormones have been way worse this time around with many swings of ups and downs. I have been dealing with headaches and night sweats. Ready for everything to normalize. Baby boy is great. An easy going little guy who loves to eat and sleep. His bedtime routine is less than ideal, as he has to be rocked for close to an hour every night and has a fussy period. I keep praying he will sleep through the night like my first child. Not quite there yet 😉
One can dream…………
Until next time Be Whole and Be Fit
Thank you for sharing your story. COVID didn’t win! What a beautiful family!