Porter's Birth Story

Alright.  Six weeks after the fact, I'm finally ready to hit "publish"!  It's LONG and maybe no one cares, but I want it documented.  If you don't want to read it, there is a link to a slideshow at the bottom...

On Wednesday, January 22nd, I was 41 weeks pregnant, so I had to have an ultrasound to make sure Baby was still doing well.  I had a very young ultrasound tech and was quite worried that we were going to accidentally find out the gender.  Thankfully, we didn't.  After that was done, Nate took the kids home for naps, and I went to the midwives' office for a non-stress test.  That was wonderfully relaxing.  Nancy, the midwife who delivered Judson, checked me and I was 4 cm dilated.  She also stripped my membranes, which can sometimes start labor.

I came home and had a nap.  I was sad when I woke up and wasn't in labor.  :)  Nate made breakfast for dinner.

Later, while I was doing my Bible study while waiting for Judson to finish Awana, Nate called and said that Nancy had just called him.  The radiologist had looked at my ultrasound again and said the fluid looked cloudy.  Neither he nor Nancy knew what that meant, so she wanted me to go to the birth center (at Silverton Hospital) in the morning to have my water broken.  Obviously our baby's health was most important and I was a little unsettled about the radiologist never having seen cloudy fluid before.  However, as ready as I was to have our baby, I did NOT want to have my water broken.  It had broken when I was four centimeters dilated with Judson and those contractions were SO INTENSE.  With Cooper, it didn't break until it was time to push and the contractions were much more manageable.  Still quite painful, but not in an out-of-control sort of way.

It was determined that we would check in to the birth center at 7 am on January 23rd.  I will admit, I cried.  The end of the pregnancy was not going anything like I'd hoped.  I got myself together pretty quickly and started sending texts asking people to pray for us.  But first I called Nate back and asked him to call my parents and ask them to come down.  They came around 11:30, I think.  I was still up...didn't go to bed until around midnight.

At two-something I woke up to what I thought was cramps from the membrane-stripping (I'd read that could happen).  I wasn't fully awake, though, so didn't consider the alternative (real contractions).  I dozed for a couple of hours.  Didn't really sleep, but wasn't really awake either.  Finally, around 4 am, I realized that they were real contractions.  I debated whether or not I should wake Nate up, since we had to be there at seven anyway.  I decided to tell him at 4:15.  Mr. Official was instantly awake and locating his phone to use his previously-downloaded contraction timer app.  (So handy!!)  He asked how close the contractions were, and I said, "Oh, not very."  Then he proceeded to time them and realize they were about three minutes apart.  :)  He attempted to rush me out the door, but I wanted to take a quick shower and put on make-up.  (Not just because I was having a photographer.  I've always gotten ready before heading to the hospital.)  While I showered, he woke my mom up.

Though I had had a mini freak-out about any sort of induction, in that moment I was so thankful that God had used that to get my parents down here in time.  We wouldn't have had time to wait for them because we were on the road by 4:50 and praying my water didn't break in our brand new minivan.  (Yes, I now drive a mini-van.  While there was a time I swore I never would, I absolutely LOVE it, especially the sliding doors that can't whack into anything.)

I thought  5 am was probably a great time to be driving to Silverton, but no.  That is when the migrant workers are heading to work on the farms.  Many don't have licenses and therefore drive VERY slowly.  It was ridiculous!  Nate was doing a lot of accelerating and braking, which was so uncomfortable.  I questioned his driving technique (nicely), but he told me I could be more comfortable once we got to the hospital. :)

We pulled up as our photographer (a friend of mine from church) was walking to the front doors.  I was really glad she could make it!

The ladies at the front desk were surprised to me, since they knew I was coming in later.  I got to skip the triage room, which was nice.  Once I got to my room, the nurse said she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with me.  I told her she didn't need to do anything.  I was already in labor.  (She was confused because she thought I just showed up an hour and a half early.)  Someone checked me...I can't remember who.  Between the shift change and a student nurse and her supervisor, I had SO many people in and out.  I was almost 7 cm.

I got into the tub right after that.  Nancy showed up and lamented with Nate that there wasn't a football game on (they'd watched the OSU/USC game when Judson was born...on mute, in between contractions).  I thought it was pretty neat that she remembered, since patients rotate through all the midwives; I didn't have Nancy exclusively...and that was over four years ago.

Nancy asked if it was okay if a student midwife attended the birth and I was fine with it.  Pretty soon, someone asked if a student nurse from George Fox could also attend and again I said it was fine.  I loved that she was from George Fox.

I was able to handle the contractions really well in the tub.  At some point, someone mentioned the possibility of breaking my water once I got out of the tub so they could see the fluid.  I wasn't too thrilled with that idea because I knew it would make the contractions hurt even more.

Once I started feeling more pressure, I got out of the tub.  (There is to be NO PUSHING while in the tub.  They told me multiple times and I promised them I wouldn't. :)  Once I was 8-9 cm, I let the student midwife break my water (after asking if it would make things go faster, as if it was taking a long time anyway).  She had a very hard time getting it to break.  When all was said and done, the fluid looked perfectly normal.  As soon as it broke, I had a crazy intense contraction and wasn't so happy about my decision to let them do it.

(Note: I originally left this part out of my story when I told it, but Nate asked everyone if they'd heard it, so I took that as permission to tell it. :)  About that time, I head Nate say, "I'm just going to lay down over here."  He had watched her working so hard to break my water and it put him over the edge.  He was totally grey and about to pass out.  Every so often he'd try to get up and someone would tell him to lay back down.  Poor guy.  I told him I was sorry and everyone laughed at me because I was in labor and worrying about him.

My water broke at 7:12 am and I started pushing about twenty minutes later.  Baby's heart rate plummeted with every contraction and things got pretty serious.  I had to wear an oxygen mask...a first for me.  Nancy said I needed to get the baby out NOW.  Easier said than done.  It didn't feel like I was making any progress, but all of a sudden the head was out.  Praise Jesus!

Porter Michael Moody came out, face-up, at 7:52.  As with the other two, all I could do was say, "Thank you, Jesus." over and over again.  What relief!!

After the fact, I was told how much harder it is to push out babies that are face-up.  A lot of first time moms end up with c-sections and moms who've had babies before often have to have forceps or a vacuum used.  Yikes!  I think the reason it went so well for me is that all sorts of people were praying for me right then, as I was supposed to just be getting things started.

All of my births have been such amazing, beautiful, relatively calm experiences.  Things were tense this time, but still calm.  The supervising nurse told the student nurse how glad she was that our birth was the one she got to be a part of.  (The student nurse fanned me while Nate was on the couch.  Part of Nate's problem was that he hadn't eaten anything yet.  He realized he'd seen cookies in the mini-fridge when we first got there and I asked for water.  He ate those and was instantly fine.  That was a matter of minutes before Porter came out.  Another praise.)  As one might imagine, the supervising nurse said there are relatively few in-tact, loving families welcoming babies.  So sad, but definitely a compliment to Nate and me.  Good thing I'm so nice when I'm in labor!  I now have Heather, my photographer, as my witness.  :)

Heather stayed for another hour and took pictures and I'm SO thankful I asked her to come and that it worked out.  (She said if I'd called 15 minutes later, her husband would've already left for the gym and she might not have been able to work out the details in time to make it.  Yet another praise.)

She made me this beautiful slideshow (click here), if you're interested in watching it.  There are no inappropriate pictures.  :)