I was due with little Asher Steven on September 3, Labor Day! Both Jordan and I just knew I would deliver him early though. I was so much bigger this pregnancy and had more complaints compared to my others. I think that was partly due to this pregnancy being in the summer, my age, and the fact that this was my fifth pregnancy - my uterus was just relaxed and letting it all hang out.
Wendy had come to visit from August 20-25. We wanted to her be able to see the baby so badly! She made sure I was walking a lot to help induce labor. I was also eating pineapple and drinking raspberry leaf tea to get things going. I'd been having a lot of nausea for a few days before she left as well. Unfortunately, she left before my labor started. :(
I woke up around 2 AM on Sunday, August 26 with contractions. They seemed to be relatively regular, so I decided to time them. I honestly didn't think I was in labor...because Wendy had just left and my mom wasn't supposed to come out to visit until the 28th! The timing was just off! But my contractions were actually every minute and a half to every three and a half minutes, and lasting 50-60 seconds. And they were becoming painful...so I decided to get the last minute things for our hospital bag! I puttered around the house for a few hours, doing my hair and makeup (at 3 in the morning hahaha), gathering snacks and drinks, and then waking Jordan up. He was so excited! I honestly couldn't believe the timing of this labor. It was so ironic!
My sweet friend and neighbor Dawn came over to watch the boys and we left for Hahnemann University Hospital (where Jordan works) around 4:30 AM. I had been so nervous because the drive is usually an hour, even though it's only 12 miles away from our house. But since it was the middle of the night, the drive was about 20 minutes! Yay! We parked in the parking garage and walked extremely slowly to the ER. We walked in and the security guard pulled up a wheelchair. I said, "Is that for me?" and he said, "It's for you!" Then he wheeled me into the ER saying, "Twins on the way, twins on the way!" Lol. I don't think I was THAT big. They got me checked in as I drank my Gatorade and held onto my barf bag just in case. A tech from the ER wheeled me up to the LD floor and they put me in a triage room.
Our nurse who checked us in did a double take when she saw Jordan! She was so funny. He had been working on the LD floor a lot lately and the nurses all had been checking with him often on how I was doing, so they'd been expecting me. They got me hooked up to the monitor and the OB resident came to check me at 5:45 AM. I was already to 4 cm and 75% effaced! My contractions had slowed at this point to about every 5 minutes, but they were getting more intense. The OB resident came to tell us that we could go home (yeah RIGHT) or continue to labor at the hospital and see if I progress anymore. I couldn't believe she told us that we should go home. I said, "Well, we live an hour away and I usually go from a 7 to a 10 in 20 minutes, so I think we will stay." Haha. She was fine with that, so we sat tight for a little bit while they got us admitted. I had a big contraction and was just in "labor land" while the triage RN came in. She was watching me breathe through it and when I opened my eyes, she said, "Wow! That was a big one...and it's not even done!"
We got to the LDR room just after 6 AM and met the floor nurse. She got my IV started and hooked me up to the monitor. I was lucky to get intermittent monitoring since I didn't want an epidural. Jordan's fellow anesthesia resident came to talk to me and he was really nice. When he asked if I wanted an epidural, both Jordan and I laughed and said no. At 7 AM, the shift changed and we met our day shift nurse. It was Amy, who was our nurse when I delivered Lucas! I don't know if she remembered us, but I remembered her and how kind and good she was. We also met the day shift OB resident, Maureen. She had also been with us when I delivered Lucas! I couldn't believe we had the same team as before. Jordan said that Maureen was one of the best OB residents. Then we met the day shift nurse midwife, who was so sweet and down to earth.
Jordan and I would walk the hallways for 10-15 minutes and then they put me back on the monitor for 20 minutes. I was able to sit on the birthing ball and rock back and forth while being monitored so that was nice. I kept drinking tons of gatorade and water, so I had to pee what felt like every 30 minutes haha. I got a clear liquid breakfast tray at 8:30 AM. It had vegetable broth, tea, 3 containers of juice, and jello. The veggie broth was disgusting! Jordan went and got some breakfast for himself and also snuck me up a greek yogurt. I wolfed it and a nutrigrain bar down so no one would see me eating!
I was feeling pretty anxious at this point, because my labor with Maxwell was just over 6 hours. This labor was starting to be longer, and I had no idea what was going to happen! It was so frustrating, and just a reminder that every labor is different.
At 10 AM, Maureen came to check me again. I was 5-6 cm, 100% effaced! Asher was also a little crooked. She asked if I'd like my water broken and I agreed. She broke my water quickly and there was meconium present. :( Maxwell had meconium in his water too. They said since there was meconium in the fluid, I'd need to be continually monitored. Dang! My heart rate was artificially high at this point. Amy kept asking me if I felt like my heart was racing, and I said no. They got an EKG just to be safe and my actual heart rate was 85, even though the monitor said it was 140. So they gave me a new pulse oximeter. Maureen asked Jordan if he wanted to deliver, and he said, "Well yeah, I assumed I would." Haha! She was so cute, and said, "Oh, this is the best day ever!" Jordan went to change into some scrubs.
I got checked again at 11 AM, and was 6-7 cm. The midwife said that even though I had to be monitored continuously, that didn't mean I had to lay down. She had me get out of bed, stand on a pad (to collect any extra fluid) by the bed and they raised the bed up to chest height. I was able to lay my arms on the bed and sway with my contractions. Swaying was going to help Asher come down straight instead of crooked. My contractions were getting sooo strong at this point, and just like my labor with Jonah, I was feeling them all the way down in my hips! In the past, I've been a little frustrated with Jordan not "helping" me the way I've needed. So I made sure to be very specific about how he could help, like pushing on my hips or rubbing my back.
I started getting really anxious because my contractions were so strong...and in the past, I've progressed from 7-10 cm in 20 minutes. I was coming up on that "time limit" and felt like I could maybe be fully progressed. I asked Maureen to check me again at 11:15. I was only 7 cm, and was so disappointed! Every 15 minutes, I asked her to check me, because I seriously felt like it was time. And every 15 minutes, I would progress a tiny bit more. Everyone decided to just come in the room so they wouldn't be going back and forth. At 11:30, I was 8 cm; at 11:45, I was 9 cm. My body started pushing involuntarily and I was groaning! The whole team was in the room and so sweet and supportive. I'd gasp out to Jordan, "My hips!" or "My back!" and he'd push exactly where I needed. I am SO grateful he was there for me.
I'd been toying around with the idea of delivering Asher in a different position than laying down, but I was so tired and sweaty that I just wanted to get in bed. So right before noon I did just that. I was finally at 10 cm with a lip, but Maureen said she could hold that out of the way. Jordan got his gloves on and the charge nurse came to hold one of my legs while the midwife held my other leg and held my hand. I pushed with my contractions, groaning, and was SO flipping sweaty! I haven't ever had to work this hard haha! The charge nurse got a nice cold washcloth for my neck and my forehead. And ***TMI ALERT!*** but I totally pooped on the delivery table. I was SO embarrassed but they all kept saying I was doing so good and to keep pushing like that, because that's how you know you're using the right muscles. It was still embarrassing and gross!
I was trying to push slowly so that I wouldn't tear. I was able to reach down and feel Asher's head! So cool. The ring of fire this time was INTENSE. So much more painful than with Jonah or Maxwell. I didn't think his head would ever come out! But it finally did and then I pushed his body into Daddy's hands at 12:22 PM! He looked so good even with all the meconium that had been in the fluid. Asher was screaming like little pterodactyl at the top of his lungs! He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces (!!!) and was 21 inches long! For the record, Jonah was 6 pounds 5 ounces, and Maxwell was 6 pounds 6 ounces.
They dried him off while he laid on me. Jordan cut the cord. We all cuddled together - Jordan, Asher, and I. I delivered the placenta and they gave me an IV with Pitocin. I didn't tear! It took Asher a while to latch, but once he did, he was breastfeeding like a champ. We hung out for a while and then Jordan went to get some food. I asked him to get me a hoagie! They transferred us to a private room after a few hours. Jordan went home to get Jonah and Maxwell, and brought them to meet their newest brother. They were adorable with him! After waiting for what seemed like the longest time, we finally had a healthy baby in our family again. This pregnancy was so full of anxiety and fear for me, and I was so happy he was in my arms at last. We'd prayed for this little boy every single day and he was finally here!
