Parker’s Birth Story

I always write down my children’s birth stories so I can remember every detail of such a special and monumental day and this time was no different.. I wrote down most of it while sitting in my hospital bed waiting for my sweet P to arrive. So here it goes:

At my 38 week appointment, my doctor did her normal screenings and “checked” me to see if I was dilated/effaced and to my disappointment, Parker was still really high and I was barely progressing. Stubborn guy was cozy up in there. So I asked the question, “How long do you let women go before you induce?” My doctor told me 41 weeks and I about fell off the table. I just couldn’t imagine going past my due date by a week the third time around.. what was all that second and third babies come earlier and quicker talk? She read my reaction and said, “But I’ll induce you whenever you want because this is your third.” I think I heard angels sing. And I actually grabbed her and hugged her.. that doctor/patient relationship went out the window and she was officially my best friend.

My doctor told me the hospital would have space for me that coming Friday, two days away, so to go home and get my things in order and rest. Come Friday, I called the Labor and Delivery unit at 6 am to make sure they would have space for me that day and more disappointing news. They had a surge of women show up overnight and they might be able to squeeze me in later but it wasn’t looking good. So we went about our day like it was any normal day and by 4 pm that afternoon, I quickly came to the conclusion that I wasn’t having a baby on Friday 11/16.

So Saturday came, I called the hospital again and they told me they’d get me in that day but it would be in the afternoon. They also said my doctor wasn’t available to deliver me (she delivered both of my other boys) but at this point, I just needed this baby out, one way or another, and I honestly didn’t care who delivered this baby.

I was so excited and needed to keep busy that morning so I went and got my nails done, got my Starbucks, came home, showered and got ready. I now get it how some women can actually look decent when they deliver.. I literally took my time and did my hair and makeup. I felt a little ridiculous showing up in full GLAM but whatever.. go ahead and judge me 😉

1 pm: We checked into the hospital and they got my IV started. The doctor came in and we made a plan. I was only dilated to 3 cm so he recommended an oral pill called misoprostol to basically induce labor and soften me from the inside out (TMI?).. we wanted to hold off on Pitocin to see if my body would progress on its own.

2:30 pm: I took the miso pill and hung out. We watched Family Feud and college football.. SO boring. I texted with friends, worked on blog posts and ate because I knew it was going to be a long night. The nurse came in and said I could get my epidural at any time because we’d probably start pitocin soon. At this point, my contractions were coming quicker and quicker but they weren’t very painful. Maybe a 5 on a scale of 1-10. I figured I could go a little longer without the epidural because I liked being able to get up and walk around the room and not be stuck in a bed.

5:30 pm: I called it. Epidural time. Contractions were getting uncomfortable and I was ready to rest. I knew my labor would happen quickly and I didn’t want to chance not being able to get the meds and miss my window. The epidural took less than 5 minutes and yeah, it burns going in but within minutes, I was laying down and resting comfortably.

8:30 pm:  Three hours later, I was progressing on my own. I think I was at 5 or 6 cm at this point. The doctor didn’t think I would need to get pitocin to induce labor but he wanted to break my water to really ramp things up. So he broke my water and we waited. Britt and I watched Making a Murderer Season 2 (you know, really light stuff while you’re in labor..) and just chilled.

9:30 pm: OUCH. I can feel contractions on my left side, even with the epidural. I knew something was wrong. Or that I was ready to push because this exact same thing happened with Cammy. The epidural worked on my right side but for some reason, I was able to still move my left leg and could feel everything on that side. It HURT. So much heavy breathing. Soon enough, it got unbearable and I called the nurse in. She said she could either call anesthesia to administer additional medication or she could check me to see if I was ready. Check me, B! Sure enough.. I was fully dilated.

10 pm: Doctor Loudermilk (great name, right?!) came in and did his check and said, “Yep, there’s your baby’s head.” Oh, cool. This one’s gonna come flying out. He asked if I was ready to meet my baby because it was going to take a minute to get him out. So. Ready.

10:07 pm: After one contraction, baby’s head was almost out and the doc asked me if I wanted to touch him. It was a hard NO from me. This was HIS job.. just get him out lol. On the second contraction, I pushed him out and Doctor Loundermilk said, “Reach down and grab him.” I was like, “WHAT?!!?” But I did.. I reached down and literally pulled him onto my stomach and it was the WILDEST experience of my life (minus birthing my other two kids). Parker James was here and he was so freaking cute and little and SWEET. Britt and I just stared at him for over an hour and we thought he was so tiny compared to our other boys. Well apparently NOT because he was 8 lbs 8 oz (Jackson 8 lbs 9 oz and Cammy Monster 8 lbs 3 oz). Introducing our missing link and final puzzle piece to our family:

Parker James – born November 17, 2018 at 10:07 pm weighing 8 lbs 8 oz and 19 inches long of pure MAGIC.

Our first picture together 🙂 Heaven Heaven Heaven.. I will never forget those first moments with him

After the epidural wore off, I needed to get out of bed and move. The best way for your body to heal after birth is to get it moving (very slowly, of course). So we rocked and swayed and shushed and loved on this baby.

My first meal postpartum is ALWAYS sushi and champagne. Britt brought in our favorite rolls and a bottle of Cristal cuz we were CELEBRATING 😉

And now life looks a little bit like this. Soaking up and savoring this sweet boy, his newborn snuggles, the middle of the night feedings and sleepless nights because as I know all too well, it’s going to be over before I know it. Time.. it’s such a dirty little thief.

Thank you for following along my pregnancy journey and now helping me navigate this world as a party of five. It’s chaotic, loud, messy and stressful but oh, so beautiful and sweet. And it’s true, we won’t remember what life was like without our Parker James.

xx, H