Pregnancy & birth of Justus

Before I can talk about the birth of Justus I have to first talk about the pregnancy. This pregnancy was completely different from Tricia’s and there was a lot of worry this time.

We were thrilled to find out in May that we were pregnant again and we were hoping for a boy this time. Everything seemed to be going perfect and I was even keeping up with running this pregnancy. At 11 weeks (4^th of July weekend) Chris and I were lying in bed, he was watching tv and I was reading a book. He heard fireworks going off and told me I should look out the window. When I stood up I felt a trickle go down my leg and figured I had a weak bladder so I started to laugh. Chris asked what was funny so I told him that I peed a little and he just rolled his eyes at me. We were watching the fireworks when I felt more trickling and decided I better just go empty my bladder.

On the way to the bathroom it did cross my mind that I could be bleeding, but I shrugged it off thinking I just had a weak bladder from having a baby and now am pregnant again. When I finally got to the bathroom I realized it was not a leaky bladder but I was indeed bleeding, and there was a lot. I called for Chris and he came in, when I told him what was going on he then went and got my phone so I could call the hospital. The nurse sounded so sad and stated that I needed to come into the hospital because she was unsure whether or not I am miscarrying.

While driving to the hospital I tried really hard to not let my mind think about the possibility of losing the baby, but I knew that I needed to be prepared. All the way there I was praying for the baby and praying that we could get in right away and that we would be able to either hear or see our baby all healthy inside. When we got there we went to check in and when the paramedic asked how far along I was I broke down and Chris had to take over answering questions. He then led us back to a room where we waiting until a nurse came in, and it just so happened the nurse was about 7 months pregnant. It was like stabbing me in the heart to have a pregnant nurse check me over, but I realized that since it was late at night she was most likely the only one on duty.

After she was done getting our information she then told us the doctor would be right in and do an ultrasound. The whole “be right in” was a lot longer than I wanted and we ended up waiting 15-20 minutes before the doctor came in. The doctor was nice, but a little too cheery for my current mood and situation. He had wheeled in the ultrasound machine and had difficulties getting it ready and all the cords untangled. When he finally turned it on and put it on my belly we immediately saw the baby and the baby started kicking, punching, and moving all around. It was a huge relief to see the baby was growing and developing (we had an ultrasound at 8 weeks). The doctor was unable to determine why I had bleeding and told me that baby looked great and that I needed to follow up with my doctor.

I went in a couple days later to my midwife and she talked to me about the different things that could be going on. She said I most likely have placenta previa or could have a hemhorrage, but she said most likely it would be placenta previa. In order to determine she said we would need another ultrasound at 14 weeks and until then to lay low and take things easy.

I had an ultrasound at 14 weeks and the technician said the baby looked great and that my placenta was low lying but it was not placenta previa. My midwife said she might refer me to a doctor in Des Moines for a follow up depending on what the radiologist says. A couple days later I receive a call from the clinic saying I need to go to Des Moines for a follow up, but that it was just for my ease of mind. I knew that something could have come up during my ultrasound and they don’t want to tell me over the phone, but was hoping it was just for my peace of mind.

At 16 weeks I had my ultrasound in Des Moines and again it was a great check up and the technician said the baby looked great. We also found out at this ultrasound that baby was a BOY! In fact, the very first image was his boy parts and there was no denying it! The technician looked baby over and then said she was going to get the doctor so he could come talk to me about the hemorrhage. My mom was with me and we both looked at each other like “hemorrhage? What hemorrhage.” The doctor came in and he showed us on the ultrasound the hemorrhage and then went over what I can and can’t do. Basically, he told me no exercise, light walking is permitted, but I need to lay low and take it easy so the hemorrhage can heal. The issues with having a hemorrhage are going into preterm labor and baby will be on the smaller size since the hemorrhage is taking up space. The size of my hemorrhage was “very nicely sized” which meant it was on the medium to larger size.

Throughout the pregnancy I had ultrasounds every month to see how he was growing and to make sure there were no more issues arising. This pregnancy I got the stomach flu 3 times and had a cold 5 times. I also tested positive for Strep B which did not happen during my pregnancy with Tricia. I was upset I tested positive, but in the end it actually turned out to be a benefit. Of course there were days during the pregnancy that were harder on both Chris and I, but we both helped keep each other strong and kept faith that God would answer all our prayers.

The odds of me making it to full term were slim, let alone making it all the way to 40 weeks! The day before my due date I went in for my appointment and when my midwife checked me I was 5-6 cm dilated and 80% effaced. She stripped my membranes the week before so I had her do it again at this appointment. She said technically she has to keep me since I am 5+ cm dilated but she said she can write that I am 4-5cm so I can go home and let labor start on its own. I opted for going home, but she did say that if I want to come in and have my water broken I can go into the hospital at any time since I am 40 weeks. I told her I would talk to Chris and see what he wants to do, or just keep waiting for labor to start. She told me that once I go into labor I need to get to the hospital right away since I am already dilated pretty far.

Chris and I talked and decided that if labor did not start by morning we would go into the hospital in the morning and have my water broken. We went out for dinner that night since we knew a baby was coming soon, and at dinner I started having what I thought was contractions but they never really got strong so I assumed they were Braxton hicks.

That night I did not sleep well since I knew a baby was coming soon and was praying that labor would start. In the morning we got ready and then once my parents showed up to watch Tricia we headed to the hospital. My mom was going to be at the hospital for labor and delivery but we told her to wait at home until we have a better idea what is going on.

On the way to the hospital I started timing my “contractions” (still thinking they were Braxton hicks) and they were 5ish minutes apart, but still could barely feel them. When we got to the hospital and hooked up to the machines the nurse said that I was contracting every 5-6 minutes and that my contractions are very strong. I then asked the nurse “So they are contractions and not Braxton hicks?” She replied that they were contractions. When she checked me she said I was 6 cm dilated, which at my appointment the day before my midwife had said that this nurse would have called me a 5 the day before so I knew I had dilated a little bit more. The nurse then called my midwife who had the day off (oops). My midwife said she would come in and talk to me because she has a personal appointment in Ames that afternoon.

While waiting for my midwife the anesthesia department stopped by to see if I wanted any medication. I had a natural (no medication) delivery with Tricia and wanted to do it again. I of course told them no, especially since I was barely feeling or even noticing my contractions.

My midwife came in a few hours later and checked me and I was at a 7 cm dilated and 90% effaced and baby boy was at a station 0 (baby goes from -5 to +5 station). She told me she could break my water before her appointment, but there was no guarantee she would be around for the delivery. She said we could wait and see how things progress and when she comes back if baby has not been born she could break it then. We decided to wait and let things happen naturally and re-evaluated when she returned (if baby was not born by then).

Since I wanted my midwife to deliver my baby I decided to lay low and not do anything to progress labor until we got the call that she was heading back. Chris, my mom, and I chilled in the room and later on my sister in law showed up.

Because I tested positive for Strep B they started an IV so every 4 hours I could receive medication for it. After my first dose of medication I then went and got in the hot tub so the jets could massage my back and I thought it might help me rest. I was unable to rest much while waiting because of the anticipation of his arrival.

Once we got the call that my midwife was on her way back I decided to walk around the hospital. Chris and I ended up doing 3 laps around the non sick parts and by the time we went back to our room our midwife was there. I sat on the exercise ball to help get things moving and we talked to my midwife some more. We decided to get checked to see how much we had progressed since she left. When she checked me I was 8-9 cm dilated and 100% effaced, but baby was still at a station 0. It was now 5pm and we arrived at the hospital around 10 am. I was still not really feeling the contractions and knew once my water was broken they would get stronger. I decided to have her break my water since I knew I was just going to keep getting tired as the night went on, and thought it might help encourage baby to descend down.

After she broke my water they put me on the monitor for 20 minutes. My contractions were still the same strength when you would look at the sheet, but with each one they were getting stronger. Up until this point I could walk, laugh, and talk through the contractions, but after breaking my water I needed to focus and breathe through them. Once they were done monitoring me I got into the tub since I found that to be the most relaxing. I was in the tub for about 20 minutes when I needed to use the toilet, so Chris helped me out and got me situated. He was staying in the bathroom with me since things were picking up. He told me later that my belly was convulsing up and down during contractions and I assume these strong contractions helped to push baby boy into position.

I got back into the tub and the minute I got in I had an extremely strong contraction and had to push. I knew it hadn’t been very long since my water was broken and felt it was too soon for him to be born (I figured he still had a ways to drop). I looked at Chris and tried to form the words to tell him to get the nurse or midwife but I could not talk. I then looked and saw my midwife standing there and she had changed into her scrubs and she said that it was okay to push, and they were getting things ready in the room. She said I could stay in the tub, but it was too small for me to get comfortable so I decided to get out. At first I could not lift my leg out (baby was crowning) but knew I did not want to deliver in the tub since it could take awhile. I finally got myself out and the nurse and midwife both grabbed towels and patted me for a few seconds then told me to get on the bed, they didn’t even take the time to get me in my gown. Once I laid on the bed they just laid the gown on me and my midwife said to push whenever I need to.

I was still not convinced he was coming out and really did not want to tear. I had read that the longer you push the less likely you tear so I was trying to not push very hard. After about 2 gentlen pushes on the bed I decided that it was time to get the baby out and prayed that I didn’t tear. I gave 2 hard pushes and he came out, but he was turned a little bit so I felt my midwife adjust him and help pull him out. Once he was out my first thought was “I don’t want to know how bad I tore.” He was born at 6:01 pm so just about an hour after my water was broken and only 5 minutes of pushing.

I was surprised to see he had red hair and could not believe how adorable he was.I wanted to wait for the umbilical cord to stop pumping before cutting it, but after 5-10 minutes something was not feeling right and I was ready to get the placenta delivered. My midwife and nurse asked if I wanted to try nursing him, but something didn’t feel right and since I had issues nursing with Tricia I wanted to wait until I felt better.

I was still holding him on my chest when my midwife said that the placenta had not detached and that she was going to have to massage my belly to help it detach. It was extremely painful having her massage my belly so I ended up having them take baby boy off my chest. I am unsure how long she massaged it before she started saying that it needed to come out asap. I remember her saying that I had 10 minutes before she would really have to start being mean to me. I thought this meant she was giving me a 10 minute break, but she really meant the placenta needed to be delivered within the next 10 minutes otherwise other options we need to be used.

 Because of the horrible pain I was in the one nurse went and got some pain medication to help take the edge off. It took forever to get the medication and the nurse seemed in no rush to administer it. I was about ready to hurt someone because of the extreme pain I was in. Since the placenta was still not detaching my midwife was saying that she may have to go in after it and in order to do that they would have to knock me out for 15 minutes. The one nurse was starting to get me hooked up to a heart monitor because if I had to be knocked out, they would need to monitor me during the procedure. Just as the nurse was about to hook me up to the machine my midwife told her to wait. She then told me that she thinks if I give her 2 good pushes we could have it out. I gave her 2 really good pushes and it finally came out. It took 48 minutes to deliver the placenta and apparently it is suppose to be delivered within 30 minutes.

While all this was going on with the placenta, Chris and my sister in law were over with baby boy keeping an eye on him. Fortunately he was healthy after birth so the nurses and midwife could focus their attention on me. My mom was with me for the majority of delivering the placenta. Chris had started out by my side, but later told me it was too hard for him to watch. He also apparently left the room during that time so he could walk around and pray.

I said earlier that it was a blessing I had tested positive for Strep B and the positive was that since I had the IV line started they were able to give me the pain medication right away without having any extra hurdles.

After the placenta was delivered my midwife looked it over and showed us the hemorrhage. It was amazing to see the hemorrhage and I was surprised as to how big it was. During the course of the pregnancy it had gotten smaller so I was surprised how big it was. The hemorrhage was about the size of our fist (female fist that is).

Because of the hemorrhage during the pregnancy and because of the delayed delivery of the placenta I was at an increase risk for hemorrhaging so they gave me a shot of medication to help prevent any further issues.

After things calmed down Chris was holding baby boy and we heard all of baby boys stats (8 lbs 10 oz and 20.5 inches). It is amazing that we made it to 40 weeks and that he was a good sized baby, so much for preterm labor and a small baby! Chris asked if he could share what his name is and I verified that it was our top choice and he said it was so we named him Justus Tim.

With Tricia, she had no interest in nursing , was tongue tied (which we fixed), and she has a high palate. I was nervous to try nursing Justus but my mom said it looked like he wanted to suck and to my surprise the little guy latched right on. We had prayed that he would have a strong latch because I did not want to have to exclusively pump this time, especially with a toddler running around. Not only does Justus have a strong latch but he was tongue tied worse than Tricia and has a high palate, but he still nurses! We had his tongue clipped when he was a week old to help make nursing even better and since then it has just improved.

It is truly amazing to see what the power of prayer can do. We prayed for a healthy, full term, and great nursing baby boy and God answered all those prayers plus things turned out even better. I could not have asked for a better labor and delivery as well. I had this weird fear of tearing (not sure why) and was completely shocked when my midwife said I didn’t. This was another thing I had prayed for, and sure enough all my prayers for this labor and delivery were answered. Of course, next time I know to add the whole praying the placenta detaches to my prayers. It was amazing that I was only in pain during the 5 minutes of pushing and then the 48 minutes of delivering the placenta. While this labor was technically longer than my labor with Tricia, I would still prefer this labor since Tricia was posterior and caused me to have back labor the entire time.

Both Justus and I were released from the hospital from the same day and since then we have both been doing wonderful. He loves to sleep during the day and is up more at night! Tricia adores her little brother and would give him kisses all day if we let her. Chris is thrilled to have a son, and I love how Justus is a mini Chris ( I have yet to determine what he got from me).