Henry's Birth Story

Since Henry was overdue, we were scheduled for an induction Monday morning, March 27. (We didn't tell anyone because we didn't want more people to worry more than necessary. We were doing enough worrying!)

We went in at 7 a.m. and they started some drugs. Over Monday and Tuesday they tried Cytotec (two doses), Cervidil, and a low dose of Pitocin. Because of the drugs, I had to have a fetal monitor and an IV. However, none of the drugs worked. I'd have a few hours of contractions from time to time but they did nothing at all. Tuesday night they started upping the Pitocin, but I slept right through it. Through the whole thing Henry's heartbeat was steady as a drum. There was nothing to worry about except that nothing was happening! Luckily, I was able to move around most of the time and eat. (Every time they said that I could eat (clear liquids) Joey ran out and got me miso soup.)

Wednesday morning my water broke as I woke up, about 7:30 a.m. Finally, some labor -- I'd never been so happy to be in pain! The contractions were hard and fast. I was in active labor almost immediately and they moved us to one of the nice labor and delivery rooms (we'd been in a triage room since Monday morning with poor Joey sleeping on a fold-out chair left over from the Inquisition). Joey, Gina (the midwife), and our doula, Bonnie, helped me through each contraction, making sure I drank plenty of juice, wiping my face and neck, and telling me that things were finally happening. It wouldn't be much longer now, they said. (Of course, they didn't know quite how fast things were actually going). Dr. Thorpe, the backup OB/GYN, okayed me getting in the tub for a little while (because I was still getting Pitocin, they needed special permission to let me take the fetal monitor off and get in the bathtub).

Within a few minutes of getting in the bathtub, I had some really convulsive contractions and felt a strong urge to push. It wasn't even 1 p.m., so no one expected I would be pushing so soon. They called for Gina right away, and I got out of the tub. They checked me and I was ready to push! So I pushed. And pushed. And pushed some more. I tried kneeling, using the birth ball, standing, squatting, side-lying. It was very slow going. They could see his head relatively soon, but it just stayed in the same place for hours! Luckily, the fetal monitor showed that the heartbeat was perfect, so we kept pushing! Finally (maybe about 6 p.m.), Bonnie suggested standing up with one foot on the bed. That did it! After that, things went very quickly (relatively). Henry came out at 7:25 p.m.!

We didn't need any drugs other than the Pitocin (although I believe we would still be waiting to meet Henry without it!) and I didn't need any stitches. All we needed was the patience of the midwives, the OB, and the nursing support staff, and they really worked hard to help us achieve a natural birth. Aside from the Pitocin, we had no other medical interventions. I couldn't be happier with how things turned out, given all the possible risks we had worried about because of the induction and the predicted size of the baby. Henry's heartbeat was steady the whole way, so they let me walk around, push, get in the tub, etc. It was wonderful.

So that's how 10-pound Henry arrived. He needed a little oxygen to jump-start his breathing since he'd been pushed for so long, but his Apgars were 8 and 9. I got to hold him right away and then handed him to Joey while they finished taking care of me. Pretty much his first achievement was to poop all over Joey! (This happened before he was weighed so Joey maintains he must have been 10 pounds and a few ounces at birth.) He has all his fingers and toes and I have it on good authority he is perfect in every way.

So, it is possible to have a natural (no pain medications) induced birth, even with a big baby! I feel very proud of how we all worked to bring Henry into the world.