Eli's Birth Story

This is Eli's birth story. I wrote it a few days after he was born. What better place to start then to tell about our son's arrival into this world!

Eli Grey White
8 lbs 21 in
September 15th 2010

I was scheduled for an induction at 39 weeks due to PIH.

On Tuesday night, September 14th, I went in for a regular OB appointment and then straight to Labor and Delivery after my appointment as planned. Daniel was with me the whole time.

At my appointment, I was told that I was still only a fingertip dilated. My OB just smiled at me and said "We have ways around that!". I felt confident that this induction was going to be a smooth ride.
When I got to Labor and Delivery I waited for my OB. She came in at around 6:30 pm and inserted a Cook Catheter into my cervix. This catheter was supposed to rest on my cervix, acting like the baby's head, causing my cervix to dilate. She told me that either the balloon of the catheter would fall out on its own or she would have to remove it in the morning. If it fell out on its own that meant it worked and my cervix was probably at either 3 or 4 centimeters. If it didn't fall out on its own that meant I wasn't responding. At around midnight I got up to use the bathroom and the bulb fell out!!!!! I was so excited and became even more confident that my body was going to respond well to the induction.

At around 3:30 in the morning I woke up to use the restroom and noticed that some fluid was leaking out. It was pinkish-red, so I thought it was just discharge or blood from the catheter placement. I didn't think twice about it. When my nurse came in at 5:30 in the morning I told her about the leaking. She decided to check me to see if it was my water -- it was!

My doctor showed up at 7:30 to break my water. When I told her it broke on its own she was very pleased, but she said since it was a small leak she would help it along. She broke my water even more and then I was started on pitocin.

The contractions started out pretty light and I think I was distracted by my excitement. I progressed pretty quickly from 3cm to about 5 cm. At 5 cm, my contractions were getting really painful. I finally asked my nurse for an Epidural because they were so painful and it was affecting my blood pressure. I felt almost ashamed for asking for one, like I should have been stronger. I told my nurse that I had a low pain tolerance and that I knew I would end up with an Epi. My nurse laughed at me for saying that I had a low pain tolerance and she told me that my contractions were off the charts! That made me feel somewhat better.

I got my Epi a while later. It took two sticks to get it right. I was really anxious about the placement so I jumped a lot during the first attempt. I had to calm myself down and will myself not to move the second time. It definitely paid off! After the Epi went in I felt NOTHING. It kicked in about ten minutes later and it was wonderful!! I couldn't feel pain or pressure. It really helped me to relax. I was even laughing and talking like normal with Daniel and my family. The nurse was especially amazed that I couldn't feel anything during my most intense contractions. I just smiled!

After the Epi went in I progressed to 6 cm and my cervix was 100% (very thin and ready for the baby). The baby was at 0 station and was ready to come as well. All that was left was 4 more cm. I thought it was going to fly by....
Unfortunately I stopped progressing. I remained at 6 cm for about four hours. My OB informed me that they like to see about .5-1cm dilation/hour.

At this point my OB told me that a c-section was probably inevitable. She told me that she didn't think I would progress any further and that I was stalled at 6. She told me that I needed to make a decision. I could wait longer to see what my body did or I could go back for the surgery. When she left I cried to Daniel. I was terrified of having a c-section. I was terrified of surgery, terrified of complications, terrified that something would go wrong. I honestly didn't know what to do.
I called my parents back into the room and told them about the decision that I needed to make and I cried some more. They tried their best to reassure me, but unfortunately I was so inside of my own head. I couldn't be reassured. We prayed about the decision and about what was going to happen. I prayed that I would make the right choice and that everything would turn out okay.

The nurse, who was in the room, came over to talk to me. She asked me about my concerns, then helped me see the reality of the situation. This is exactly what I needed. With the way that my mind works, I need to know the facts. I need to know EVERYTHING. Being told "You'll be fine." was not going to do it.

I made the decision to have the c-section for one reason. Eli. I didn't want my fear to cause HIM any harm. The OB told me that since my cervix was 100% effaced and the baby was so low, he was starting to come down the birth canal but wasn't fitting. The skin around his head was coming through, but since I wasn't dilating the bones of his skull would not fit. This caused "molding" (the reason he had a conehead when he was born). If this continued for long enough he could have ended up with fluid around his brain.

It had only been about 30 minutes from the time I made my decision to the time that I was wheeled into the OR. When we got to the OR, I started to panic. I couldn't believe that I was actually going to be cut into. Then Daniel came in. He took my hand and talked to me the whole time. I tried not to pay any attention to what was going on (but that was kind of impossible). The anesthesiologist laughed at me because I kept checking my blood pressure, oxygen levels, and heart rate on the monitor. He told me that I wasn't allowed to look anymore and told me that they were almost done.

Finally, I felt some intense pressure on my chest. They were pulling him out. I was watching Daniel the whole time. I told him to tell me EVERYTHING when he came out -- his hair color, his eye color, how big he was, if he was STILL a boy!

They pulled him out and I didn't hear anything. I started to get anxious. I kept asking, "Why isn't he crying!??! Isn't that bad?" It turns out that he was soaking everything in. As soon as he was born he opened his eyes and was just looking around. He finally made some noise after what seemed like forever. I started to cry right then and there. Daniel kissed me and said, "We have a baby!" I was so happy.
After Eli came out, I became very lightheaded and woozy. I had to keep my eyes closed because I didn't want to pass out and miss anything. I had the nurse tell me everything that was going on.

They finally brought him over to me and I got to kiss my precious boy! He was the most perfect and beautiful thing that I had ever seen. I couldn't stop crying OR smiling. I experienced the BEST feeling in the world -- becoming a mommy. Daniel asked me, "So... is this Eli?!" I looked at my son one more time and it was for sure, this was Eli. This is who we had been waiting for and who we had so much love for already.

Eli is the perfect baby! Besides for his good looks (which he obviously inherited from me, haha), his temperament and his personality are so sweet. He has such a gentle spirit. He takes in everything around him. He is constantly looking around and contemplating the world (at least I think so). When he is awake he is either snuggling, eating, or looking around. So far he has only cried when he was cold in the hospital and when he is hungry. When he cries he doesn't even scream or demand attention, he simply cries out to us and then stops when we fulfill his needs.

I am completely and utterly in love. My heart could not be more full. God had blessed us.

I still can NOT believe Eli is already 6 weeks TODAY!