Levi and Caleb's Birth Story. Part 2.

    I was not prepared for what would happen once we got to the hospital. We went to admissions, after which a nurse came and took me back to be checked in. I was starting to get scared at this point and struggling to stay at peace. I was not allowed to have my mom or James with me during the check in process, so I was alone with the nurse and started to cry. Contractions were made worse by my fear and I was tensing up with each one. I wish I remembered this nurse’s name so I could thank her for how she helped me. When I started to cry I squeezed my eyes shut during a contraction and she said something that truly helped me through the rest of labor. She told me to open my eyes and focus on looking at something across the room during contractions. Such a simple instruction that helped get me out of my head enough to calm down and remember the things I’d prayed for for labor, one of which, was that I would stay at peace. 

The details are a bit fuzzy in some places, but after getting checked in I was taken to labor and delivery. The Lord answered some prayers of mine for things I didn’t think would be an option due to how high risk I was. Everything I’d read said that I would labor in one room but be taken to the OR once it was time to push in case of an emergency c-section. (This is common with twins). This was not my experience. I stayed in the same L&D room the entire time. I was told that I’d have to have continuous monitoring the entire labor. Anyone who has ever given birth knows how annoying that is. You’re basically confined to the bed because if you move the monitor doesn’t pick up well. When this happens you have nurses in and out of your room constantly readjusting monitors. It makes it hard to relax. My midwife advocated for me and I was able to I was able to move around the room freely. 

Everyone thought I would progress quickly, because of all the preterm labor scares we had. Instead, my labor progressed textbook first labor slow. I labored all night. It was mostly peaceful. My mom and James supported me as I needed. We kept the lights dim and after awhile I put on some worship music and used some essential oils that I found calming. James rested and my mom rubbed my feet. It was a long night with little to no sleep. Around 6am I was finally 8cm. Laboring through the night, while intense, I remember feeling like it wasn’t that bad, so I was concerned I hadn’t made any progress. Hearing I was 8cm was so encouraging. It hadn’t been for nothing. By 11am I was 10cm. Time to start pushing. I remember being surprised I was 10cm. I didn’t feel ready to push. In retrospect, I wonder if I’d waited a little longer if I would have been ready to push, but hindsight is always 20/20 they say and I don’t truly know if that would have made a difference. 

I pushed for a little over an hour, trying various positions. Initially I tried on my side, but that was excruciating. At this point, the pain became pretty intense. I couldn’t get comfortable and I wasn’t pushing effectively. I was losing steam and exhausted from no sleep for days. My midwife brought up the idea of an epidural and I agreed. I am still shocked that I was able to get an epidural at 10cm. Once the epidural was in, I rested for awhile. It was sometime after 3pm when it was finally time to push again. With my permission, my midwife broke my water (for Levi). He was born at 5:02pm, breathing, but very very pale, and 4lb 11oz. He was briefly placed on my belly and then whisked to the other side of the room where 2 nicu teams were waiting for each baby. To say my labor room was crowded is a major understatement. Surprisingly, I didn’t care. I remember hearing Levi cry for the first time and feeling relieved that he was ok. It was strange to feel the relief of knowing I’d birthed Levi, while also knowing I wasn’t done yet.