He's Here!! Our Birth Story

I woke up the morning of my due date feeling hopeful, but not much else. I'd been having some contractions off and on for a few weeks, and I wasn't even feeling those!

I had my weekly OB appointment that morning, and I also had an ultrasound to check on Jackson. Everything looked good on the ultrasound, except that I had a high level of amniotic fluid. Baby was estimated to be 7lbs, 7oz. Oh boy!!

Dr. checked me and I hadn't made much progress - 2cm dilated, 100% effaced. She said it could happen anytime, but wanted to set up an induction date in case it didn't. I left the appointment a bit disappointed, but knew that he would be here soon, one way or another.

I headed to lunch with a friend around noon. We finished up at 2pm, and I started noticing some tightening in my belly that was more than uncomfortable. I chalked it up to more Braxton Hicks contractions and headed over to the supermarket to go shopping. In the store I became more uncomfortable, and noticed that the contractions kept coming. So I did what any normal person would - I kept shopping. I hurried through it, but even added things I wasn't planning on - I started thinking that I wasn't sure when I would make it back to the store!

I got home about 3pm and unloaded the groceries. I was still not feeling great, so I decided to lay down for a nap. That usually made the contractions subside. I never got to fall asleep because once I got in bed the pain got worse. I started timing the contractions and they were coming anywhere from 4 to 12 minutes apart. By 4pm they were consistently 5-7 mins apart, so I called Trevor to tell him to get home. He didn't answer!! I reached him by 4:30 and he got home a bit after 5. By this point I was in a fair amount of pain during each contraction, so I called my OB and they told me to come to the hospital. I had planned on laboring at home for awhile, but I was ready to go at this point. Trevor got the car loaded, and we were on our way. Side note: contractions in the car SUCK!!

We arrived at the hospital at 6pm, and I was given an initial check - NO progression since my appointment that morning!! I was devastated when the nurse said they may be sending us home. I was placed on some monitors and left for a bit. At about 7:30 my OB came in to check up on me. Luckily, I had progressed from 2-4cm and was officially admitted!

I got off the monitors and got into the tub to lessen the pain. It worked pretty well! I labored in the tub until 9pm, when I was checked again by my OB - 5cm. She suggested that we should break my water because of the extra fluid. I was hesitant because I knew it could make my labor more intense, but I also wanted to get the show on the road! I trusted her decision, so I said yes.

Immediately after she broke my water, the pain got crazy! I wasn't able to focus on my breathing as much, and the contractions were coming so close. I lasted for about 20 minutes before I looked at Trevor and said, "epidural. please. now." The one thing I was sure I didn't want became the only thing I could think of!!

The nurse came in to prep me for the epidural at 9:30, and they started to administer it at 10pm. It took about 30 minutes for them to go through the test doses and it finally kicked in at 10:45. I thought I would be in total relief, but I felt this crazy pressure and was sure it wasn't working! I told the nurse and she said, "don't push!!". She checked me and I was a bit over 7cm and at a +1 station. She immediately called my OB to let her know things were speeding up! Between 10:45 and 11:15 I was fully dilated and ready to go! The nurses and my OB were pretty shocked at how quickly this happened. All I could think about was needing to push. It was so intense!

I started pushing and everything is a bit blurry because I was so concentrated on getting the little guy out. Trevor was incredibly great at helping to count and keeping me going. I pushed for about 25 minutes - and that was that! Jackson Benjamin Bartel entered the world at 11:41pm, weighing in at 6lbs, 14oz and 19.75 inches long. He cried immediately and I got to hold him. I fell in love instantly!!

They got the both of us cleaned up, and Trevor got to hold Jack. I wanted to cry when I saw that; they are the two most important people in my life and it was awesome to see Trevor become a dad.

Labor was so quick for me - 9 hours from the time the real labor contractions kicked in to me holding my baby boy!! He was just so ready to join us, and like his mom, he doesn't like to be late! I can hardly believe he arrived on his due date.

He is absolutely perfect!!