I love a birth story and have enjoyed reading them since long before I had babies or birth stories of my own to share. I’m currently sitting in the backyard with my 10 day old newborn plopped on my chest and decided to jot down his birth story while the details were still fresh in my mind.
My pregnancy with Rhodes began completely different than my first, so I was prepared for a vastly different delivery thinking this must be a theme. However that didn’t stop me from hoping I could relive a similar sequence of events from my first delivery, or at least the parts that went smoothly. I went into labor naturally with my first son at 38 weeks, so as week 37 rolled around the second time I was in full labor prep mode. Braxton Hicks contractions were a daily occurrence starting around 20 weeks, but they were becoming more uncomfortable which I (excitedly) took as a sign my body was preparing. Except the next 13 days crawled and I was only getting more and more discouraged. I was exhausted and having a hard time moving around my big belly while chasing a toddler. Plus I was just SO ready to meet this boy.
CONTRACTIONS BEGIN
On Monday March 7th, I was 38 weeks 6 days and thought nothing of the intermittent Braxton Hicks I felt throughout the day. In an attempt to move things along I followed my typical daily routine of going for a long walk, eating a few dates, and drinking a cup of red raspberry leaf tea…to no avail. After getting Leyton to bed for the night Jordan and I were both too tired to cook, so we ordered Mexican takeout and settled in for a late dinner on the couch. I finished most of my veggie burrito (not exactly the “last meal” I would have chosen had I known lol) and bounced on the birthing ball while we watched Yellowstone.
At 10:30pm I had my very first painful contraction. An actual contraction! I went from cautiously optimistic to downright thrilled when they continued to steadily increase. Never have I been more excited to feel pain. We timed them and right off the bat they were 4 minutes apart.
I jumped in the shower to relax and get a little relief thinking this part of labor typically lasts quite a while, but my contractions continued strong and steady. By the time I got out of the shower, put on clothes and started doing my makeup (why I felt the need to apply makeup I have no idea. Trying to distract myself I guess?) I had to stop and breathe through each one.
With my OB’s warnings of how fast second deliveries can go ringing in his ears, Jordan jumped into action. He called his mom to come stay with Leyton, loaded our bags and ran around prepping and texting the rest of our family (calmly, he’ll insist. I’ll call it…purposefully. 🤣)
HEAD TO THE HOSPITAL
By 11:30pm we decided to head to the hospital, which felt a little nuts to me considering contractions only started an hour earlier. Clearly it was the right call though, because once we checked in and were ushered to triage we learned I was already dilated to a 6-7cm. Hooray!
I had planned/hoped to have another unmedicated hospital birth like I did with Leyton, so progression at this stage meant a better likelihood I could go without an epidural. We walked over (I think I walked? It started to get a little hazy at this point) to the labor and delivery room to get settled.
Contractions continued to pick up and as soon as I hopped on the bed I suddenly felt a lot of pressure. I have vague memories of Jordan alternating between encouraging me, offering counter pressure in my hips (the “hip squeeze” maneuver saved me during my first delivery!) and putting a cold compress on my head. I wanted to thank him but not sure I got the words out properly. He managed to anticipate my needs without me having to communicate much. Pretty sure it was just grunts and moans at this point anyway.
TRANSITION
The midwife came back to check me and I was at an 8-9. But then things moved even more quickly as soon as my water broke and I became fully dilated only minutes later. I pretty much immediately felt the need to push.
My OB wasn’t there yet and I could feel everyone scrambling a bit, calling and texting my doctor. As much as I tried to hold off my body was bearing down and starting to push him out. It’s the strangest, most incredible feeling to have your body completely take over like that. I started to panic a bit though because I had little direction and wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be pushing, involuntarily or not!
Jordan stepped in and kept me calm until I felt the baby crowning. The midwife got in position to “catch” him in the same moment my OB walked in and took over. 3 pushes later at 1:39am Rhodes Arthur Weiss was born! Three hours almost exactly from when labor began. Phew!
GOLDEN HOUR
There is nothing like laying eyes on your baby for the first time. He took a beat before letting out a cry. It was probably only 30 seconds or so, but relief and euphoria washed over me as soon as I finally heard that sweet sound. They placed him directly on my chest where he laid for the next few hours straight, apart from a short break to weigh and measure him. It was the most heavenly, surreal feeling. It’s no wonder they call it the “golden hour”. Jordan and I took in all 7lbs 4oz and 20.5” of him (same exact stats as his big bro!) and counted fingers, toes…and dimples. He was perfection. He started rooting and latched right away.
BREIF HEART SCARE
Eventually our care team came to transfer us over to the recovery room. Once we arrived they checked both our vitals and got us situated. If you’re familiar with our history, then it’s no surprise the mere sight of a tiny blood pressure cuff on my newborn made my stomach turn. To my horror, I noticed the nurse carefully watching the numbers on her side of the screen and registered apprehension in her eyes. She ran it again. And again. His numbers were too low. Finally she consulted with the other nurse and let us know they were taking him to the nursery to be checked out by the pediatrician.
My heart sank and my eyes instantly filled tears that spilled over my mask. The nurse was confused at first and put a reassuring hand on my leg to tell me not to worry. I explained what we went through with my first son and she said they’d bring him back as soon as they could.
When they did she let us know that his blood pressures were better but that they heard a heart murmur.
This cannot be happening, I thought. My mind was swirling and went straight to the worst case scenarios. There was nothing left to do but order an echocardiogram and continue to monitor him. He stayed in the room with us which made me feel better, but even though it was after 3am by then, I didn’t sleep a wink. I stared at him and checked for all the signs of cardiac distress I know all too well. I emailed our cardiologist who luckily works at the hospital where I delivered and he said he’d come see us in the morning.
The next morning everyone who listened to him said the murmur sounded more subdued. Then his echo came back clear and we all breathed a huge sigh of relief. In the end I’m glad we took those extra precautions to completely cleared any worries that could have crept up had we not had an echo after birth.
LIFE AS A FAMILY OF 4
My mom arrived Tuesday morning and I spent the day recovering and texting and FaceTiming loved ones. Other than some pretty intense after birth pains when he nursed, my recovery this time has been really smooth. I attribute that mostly to not needing any stitches (I only had 1-2 with Leyton but wow does it make a difference!) and overall lower stress levels. Every few hours I glanced at the clock and thought about what we were doing with Leyton at that age. The two experiences couldn’t be more different. Both were worth it in spades to have these beautiful babies, but I’d be lying if I couldn’t admit the disparity made me a little sad to think about at times.
We didn’t get to say a proper goodbye to Leyton or even warn him that we wouldn’t be there when he woke up. He is incredibly close with his grandma so I knew he’d be excited to see her in the morning, if not slightly confused at first. He did great and had a blast with Jordan’s parents, but I was eager to get home to him! We chose not to FaceTime him from the hospital and instead Grandma and Gand Dude reassured him we’d be home soon and couldn’t wait to see him.
We captured his first moments meeting his baby brother on camera and I will cherish that memory forever and ever. He’s been so loving towards “DeDe” aka “baby” and we’ve loved soaking up our first days as a family of four. 🤍
