to be honest, i can't even tell you when i went into labor with henry because it took me a few days to figure out what was actually happening. about a week before he was born, i started to have some stomach pains but this was not unusual for me so i thought nothing of it. throughout my pregnancy, i had always had this irrational fear that i wouldn't know i was in labor and josh would end up delivering our son on the side of the road. everyone told me that when it was happening i would surely know. i tried to believe them, but turns out that i was right... i had absolutely no idea that what i was feeling was actually my body preparing to welcome our little man into this big ol' world of ours.
on tuesday morning, at my 38 week appointment, my doc asked me how things were going. i told him things were great, but that i was anxious to meet my little guy. he asked if i had been having contractions and i said that i wasn't sure. he kind of laughed at me and helped me lay back so that he could begin his exam. while touching my belly, he looked a little bewildered and said "are you not feeling this?" i shrugged and told him that i had weird pains all the time, but that my back had been particularly hurting yesterday. he said that i was having a contraction right that moment! he tried to teach me how to recognize and time them. turns out i was having them pretty regularly. oops. after checking my cervix, he said that i was only dilated 1 cm, but almost completely effaced. he got another doctor to come check me too and they both agreed, henry would be here soon. i was given clear instructions on when to come to the hospital-- if my water broke or thursday morning at 6 AM if it hadn't. he teased me that i may not make it if i based it off of my contractions or pain level. and there i was, again, envisioning my squeamish husband attempting to deliver this baby in less than ideal circumstances because i was the idiot who didn't know that i was in labor until my baby was crowning.
i called josh to tell him the news. henry was coming and sooner rather than later! josh was running errands but quickly met me at home so that we could share the excitement. i called my boss and told him to officially put me on maternity leave. i couldn't believe that this was really happening! i was so excited that i wanted to do everything that i could to speed up the process. every (safe) old wives tale about inducing labor, i tried. i think josh and i walked around our neighborhood twenty times. we ate dinner at a nearby mexican restaurant and i ate a whole bowl of spicy salsa. we got a couples massage and my therapist worked on all of the sensitive pressure points associated with labor. we
in the early hours of thursday morning, i woke up with an extremely sharp pain my lower back. it went from a shooting pain that made my tailbone feel like it was on fire to a constant dull ache. i contemplated waking josh and telling him that we needed to go to the hospital right away, but i decided that i wanted to stay home for a little longer. this was going to be the last time that we were alone in the house. i looked at my husband and felt so lucky to be us. i was so ready to share the love we had with our unborn son.
we arrived to the hospital a little before 6:00 AM. i went to the triage desk at labor & delivery and they checked us in. they hooked me up to the monitors and i was able to see the peaks and falls of my contractions on the screen. shortly after, the NP came in and told me i was dilated to 3 cm and today would be the day that my son would be born. i sent josh to get himself some coffee and i snuck a few bites of a granola bar.
after moving to the delivery room, we met our nurse stephanie. within moments of introducing herself, she cracked a joke at my husband's expense. i knew right away that we would get along perfectly. to me, your labor nurse is the single most important person during your delivery. stephanie definitely ran the show and i was happy to have her with me.
at around 10:30 AM, my doctor came by to check on me. he checked my cervix and i was dilated to a 4, but my waters were still intact. he broke my water and i wasn't prepared for how much liquid there was and how warm it felt. but stephanie quickly helped me clean up and told me that things should start progressing quickly. the doc told us that he would be back at 3:00 and we would have this baby! time to relax.
my contractions were still consistent, but nothing was happening too quickly. josh and i soaked in the moments we had left as a tiny family of two. the tv was on, but i can't even remember what movie was playing. we were too busy talking about how excited we were to meet our little man and how life was changing right before our eyes.
after not much progression- consistent and strong contractions, but only dilated to 5 cm, my doc decided to start the pitocin. and all those contractions i hadn't been feeling? well they started to hurt, and bad. stephanie tracked down the anesthesiologist and started loading me with fluids. i think they hung three bags of saline and it made my arm feel so cold. when they were doing the epidural, everyone had to leave the room because it is a sterile procedure. i was nervous about the needle, but i will tell you it doesn't hurt at all. the strange part about it is that you can feel them poking around to find the right placement before they insert the catheter, but no pain! after that, you are good to go! it takes about 5-10 minutes for the medicine to kick in and then i felt very warm and heavy from the waist down. a few moments later i began to feel extremely light headed and sick. i said "i don't feel so good," and then my hearing and vision started to go. later, josh told me that i turned extremely pale and my blood pressure was around 70/30. the anesthesiologist quickly gave me some medication to raise my blood pressure and i immediately felt better. it happened again a second time, but with a little more medication and some extra fluids, i felt fine. actually better than fine, i felt great and was ready to have this baby!
i sent josh to get some lunch with his family and i tried to nap- knowing i had a lot of work ahead of me. shortly after everyone left the room, stephanie came in and said that hanky was in some distress and his heart rate had dropped. she was very calm and told me that i shouldn't worry. she turned off the pitocin and got me to put on an oxygen mask. i then got on all fours to take pressure off of the baby. i took some deep breaths and tried to remain as calm as possible. i knew that i couldn't get worked up and stephanie explained everything that was going on. the pitocin had me made have 6, very strong, back-to-back ,contractions and hanky had not had enough time to recover. his heart rate had decelerated. she said she didn't like what she was seeing, but promised that she wasn't worried. turns out she was right, and because of the extra fluid, oxygen, and position change, hanky's heart rate stabilized.
i was glad that this happened while i was alone-- i didn't want anyone to worry. also, after that little incident everything started happening very quickly. stephanie checked my cervix and i was 8 cm dilated. a few minutes later, i was at 10 and ready to start pushing.
they positioned the bed and josh came to my side. stephanie texted my doctor and he said he would be there in about 30 minutes. pushing came so naturally. even with my epidural, i was able to feel the build up of each contraction and push at the right time. josh, my mom, and stephanie were all so encouraging. i pushed on and off for about 20 minutes. they told me that they could see his head and that he had a lot of hair! stephanie helped me reach under my leg so that i could touch him. he was almost here!! stephanie told me to stop pushing so that we could wait for the doctor. i told her that i didn't think that was possible; the pressure of his head was so strong, it was too painful not to push.
after what felt like an eternity (but really was about 15 minutes) my doctor arrived! i like him so much and he seemed really excited to be there, which only added to the already positive environment. he told me to give it everything i had. i pushed and pushed and pushed. nothing was happening. he asked me if i wanted an episiotomy. i said "well, i'd prefer not, but i really want to meet my baby." he said that if he did it i could have him in my arms in a few seconds. without hesitation, i gave him the go ahead. with that final push, i felt the most immediate relief. i heard Josh saying how amazing i did and how big he was. henry was immediately placed on my chest and then peed on me. i laughed and was just so incredibly happy. i was surrounded by both of my boys and life couldn't be any sweeter.
looking into henry's eyes, all i could think was: i know you. i know what you feel like on the inside and now i know what you look like on the outside. i know your every move and your very first breath. i know you better than any other person on this earth and you know me from the inside out. your dad and i love you more than we even thought possible.
henry matthew reinitz was born on october 23, 2014 at 3:33 PM. he was 7 lbs and 20.5 inches. he continues to be the love of our lives.
love, sarah
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