Noah's Birth Story

It doesn't seem that long ago that I typed up Evan's long, dramatic birth story. It was as much about processing as about documenting, and is an account I treasure. So, while Noah's birth was by all accounts relatively uneventful, it's still something I want to preserve. 

This birth story starts closer to when I was 36 weeks pregnant. I was at my physical therapy appointment where I was still in a good amount of pain. It was hard to walk and excruciating to turn from one side to another. While I was laying there, facing away from my PT, I asked the question to which I didn't want the answer. Did she think it was a good idea for me to try for a VBAC. And, she answered exactly how I'd feared - given my inability to walk or move positions, plus the likelihood I'd have a large baby, plus the fact that I wouldn't be able to push my knees very far apart during labor, and she thought the risk of injury for me was too high to risk it. She knew my ultimate goal was to be able to be active again as soon as possible, after almost 5 months of no physical activity, and she said that c-section recovery would be far shorter than recovering from a pelvic injury. With that knowledge, I changed my midwife appointment to an OB/GYN and scheduled our c-section for January 16th (which was later changed to the 18th). 

(looking every inch of 39 weeks)

The few days leading up to our hospital date were busy with checking final things off of our to do list, plus having a handyman finish a last minute bathroom renovation. We soaked in the last days with Evan as our only child, made sure the house was very clean, and tried to get in as many naps as possible. We also welcomed my parents' arrival and had a lovely family meal with them and my sister. I was excitedly nervous going to bed the night before, and we didn't get to sleep until about midnight. 

Since I was cut off from eating at 4am, I woke up a little after 3 and made myself one last filling meal - an egg quesadilla - and then got back to sleep until Evan got us up around 7. We got him ready for school and Ed took him while I called the hospital to find out if we were still on. We were, so it was go time!

We arrived at the hospital at 10, checked in, and got settled in our waiting room. 

It was a little anti-climactic to have so much energy going into this, and then to be sitting and watching tv while we waited. They prepped me with my IV, monitors, etc. and then we waited some more as we got bumped for an emergency c-section. Finally, at 12:45, it was time for us to get on our surgical gear and head to the operating room. 

They had Ed wait in a side room while they got me set up. The hardest part of the surgery was surprisingly putting in the spinal - there were a lot of failed attempts, but finally it was set and then it was go time. The nurses joked that with the heavy rain outside, Noah was the perfect name for this little boy as they finished the prep, put up that blue screen, and brought in Ed. 

And, in less than 10 minutes, this happened.

This was both the best and hardest part of the delivery. I could hear our sweet boy's primal cry, but I couldn't see him. And, since the baby warming area was towards my feet, I had to stay in the dark about our little boy while they checked him out. Thank goodness he kept crying and I could hear his sweet voice. 

Thankfully, Ed got to be there to cut the cord, watch the exam, and bring him to me after an excruciatingly long 10 minutes. 

But then, I got to see our sweet 9lb 9oz boy, all 21 inches of him, and we had the most beautiful skin to skin while they finished the surgery. I even got to nurse him while they were finishing the surgery. It was so surreal to have our new little boy in my arms and enjoy this special family time. 

Once they were done, it was time to head to recovery. I couldn't get over how much better I felt than after Evan's delivery and I was so eager for our recovery room stay to end. 

Thankfully, by 4pm we were settled in our room and ready to begin our life with our new little boy. 

While it wasn't exciting, we definitely preferred this low stress birth. Our boy was all 9s, with scores of 9 and 9 on his Apgar and weighing 9lbs 9oz. Noah and I had zero health issues in the hospital and got to come home almost exactly 48 hours after we arrived. We feel so thankful that this was the birth story we both chose and received - it was definitely the right choice and brought us our sweet Noah.