Maggie’s Story: A Positive Induction For A Miracle Baby

Hi Maggie, tell us your birth story!

In the weeks leading up to giving birth, I started to feel "baby M" less and less. My anxiety began to skyrocket. Each day I would count her kicks and feel for movement. It felt like each week the kicks became less strong and less often. My OBGYN reassured me that she was healthy, however, gave me the option to come in for monitoring of her heart rate (Non-stress test) whenever I felt decreased movement. She also recommended I come in weekly starting at 36 weeks to be monitored.

I'll be honest- I went in multiple times throughout the last 6-8 weeks of pregnancy due to decreased movement. It felt like each week, I felt her less and less and my anxiety increased. However, every time they would hook me up, she would immediately start to move. I felt a little silly going in so much, but it really helped ease my anxiety.

At my last prenatal appointment, my OBGYN and I developed a plan. I would be induced a few days after my due date IF I hadn't gone into labor naturally. My doctor informed me that she wouldn't be on-call for my due date, but she would be working the weekend before and a few days after, which would be the scheduled induction. For some reason, I felt a little uneasy about this plan. I couldn't quite figure out why; something just didn't sit right with me. Regardless, I went about my week and tried to focus on work (which was easy to do, because I was extremely busy!)

A few days later (5 days before my due date), I again, felt less fetal movement. I decided to go in again, but this time, they sent me to the labor and delivery department because it was after clinic hours. When I arrived, I wondered if this would be it: I had been dilated at 4 cm since my last prenatal appointment, and felt as if baby had dropped and was ready to be born. They hooked me up to the non stress test, which essentially is a few monitors that wrap around your belly/above your belly and a clicker for when you feel movement. Of course, as soon as I was hooked up, baby M started to move! However, this time, the nurse told me that I would be a great candidate for an induction- in 2 days! At this point, I was now 5 cm dilated (already half way there) and experiencing contractions that I felt were Braxton Hicks (not real, but prepping your body for labor). I could tell my body was ready and trying to start the process. The nurse told me that an induction would be a breeze for me, since my body was already acting as if it were ready to give birth. She called my doctor to confirm. The best part is, my doctor would be there all weekend, which made me feel insanely comfortable.

Since the original plan was to wait until a few days after my due date, this was a big change to the plan. I called my husband and asked him what he thought. Of course, he was supportive of this plan and also very excited (he was ready to meet her!). Also, the uneasy feeling I had earlier about our original plan suddenly vanished, and all I could feel was excitement (and relief!): I didn't want to worry about baby M anymore. I felt the stress of constantly worrying about less fetal movement wasn't worth it. At this point, it seemed best to go forward with an induction 2 days before my due date to keep everyone happy and healthy.

Two days went by and boom, it was induction day! I couldn't believe it, I was finally going to meet the baby I had dreamed about, my little 1% miracle baby. I was extremely nervous. We had gone to dinner the night before (Friday night) and I kept referring to it as "my last meal." My husband thought that was silly. But I knew once I was in the hospital, I most likely wouldn't be allowed to eat anymore. That Friday night, I couldn't sleep. It felt like Christmas was happening the next day.

7 am Saturday rolled around and I had expected a call for us to go ahead and come in for the induction. Instead, the nurse called to let me know there would be a delay. She mentioned the hospital was pretty busy and they were prioritizing urgent cases. Without hesitation, I let her know I completely understood and to take all the time she needed. My nervousness felt a bit relieved that I would have some more time to relax before going in for the induction. A few hours later, I received another call. The same nurse let me know to hang tight at home, the labor and delivery department was flooded with emergency deliveries and again, they had to prioritize those mommas. "Of course, I said, please take all the time you need." I let them know that I would even be willing to wait until the next day to come in.

I took the extra time as an opportunity to shower, shave, do my hair, my makeup and put on a cute outfit. My husband ordered lunch for us and we decided to hang out at home and see what happened. At this point, we were both a little ansy, mostly from excitement, but also nervous about when they might let us come in. I started to make plans as if we weren't going to come in that day when suddenly, my phone rang.

"You can come in at 3:30pm! We are almost ready for you!" another nurse exclaimed.

This was finally the moment we had been waiting for- time to go meet our baby girl!

Once we arrived to the hospital, we gathered our many things, I took one last bite of food, and we walked in- knowing the next time we walked out- our lives would be changed forever.

We walked through the halls, up the elevator to the 2nd floor marked "labor and delivery." It was a surreal moment, and of course, I had to pee before we were even let in. The doors opened and we were greeted with not one, but several smiles as we walked to our room. Somehow, everyone seemed to know who I was. "Thank you for being so kind and patient today," one nurse said with a warm smile. My husband looked and me, and we both smiled. He wondered how they all knew who I was, and it was due to the kindness I had given them earlier during their crazy day. 

When we walked into the delivery room, we both noticed how spacious it was. I had thought delivery rooms were tiny, but this one was huge. My nurse walked in and introduced herself. The first thing I said was, "How has your day been? I heard you've had a really busy day. How are you doing?" She answered, "Well, my shift actually started 30 mins ago, so I am feeling great!" I felt very relieved that she would be with me for a while, and was not exhausted from the crazy day at the hospital.

At this point, time starts to get a little fuzzy and my memory isn't as good. I know that my doctor came in and said hello, and mentioned that she had given birth in the very room we were in- twice. That confirmed what I had thought, my patience and kindness earlier in the day had granted us the "nice room." (That made me happy.)

I was hooked up to the monitor straight away and was given Pitocin. My nurse let me know that I had already been having consistent contractions based on the monitoring, but I could barely feel them. She said I would eventually have my water broken and I would have the option of an epidural to help ease the pain. I had previously been unsure whether I wanted an epidural or not, however, when push came to shove, I opted for one. I knew if I didn't have one soon-ish, it would likely be too late and I could be stuck in pain with no relief. To be honest, I was scared.

I can't remember which happened first, but I was given the epidural and had my waters broken.

Funny side note about my waters being broken- two men I didn't know walked in the room claiming they would be the ones to break my water. I immidetaily froze and asked my nurse, "why not my female doctor?" I also suddenly had the intense urge to go to the bathroom and asked if they could wait 5 minutes. Within the time of me using the restroom and laying back down, they had vanished. My nurse decided to call my doctor to break my waters, and I believe she did this as a favor for me to feel more comfortable- which I am forever grateful for.

The epidural was extremely quick and "easy." My only job was to stay still. I had asked my nurse to please instruct the anesthesiologist to give me the lowest dose possibly, so we could start slow and increase if needed. I'm not entirely sure that's what he did, but I did have the option to increase the amount every so often (I believe every 15 minutes) which proved useful later on in the delivery process.

At this point, my nurse changed my whole body positioning as I was laying down from side to side using a peanut ball every 30 minutes. The peanut ball helped my legs stay apart while also helping baby M to move further down the birth canal. That peanut ball maneuver worked wonders, because every time she would switch me, I would feel more and more pressure.

The pressure increased more and more, and my nurse let me know that my doctor said I would be most likely pushing in a few more hours. "A few more hours?" I whispered, "I don't think I can wait that long." "Let me check you in an hour and see how you're doing. It's flexib...Actually let me check you in 5 minutes." She had changed her mind once she saw the uncomfortable look on my face. Sure enough, she checked me and I was all the way dilated and ready to start pushing. I was so glad to have a kind and receptive nurse to my personal needs. She had joked that she hoped baby was born before her shift ended at 3am so she could meet her, too. 

A few more nurses and medical staff came into our delivery room and prepped me and the room with what looked like blue paper sheets and lots of metal tools. I was nervous but my body was ready. I was so glad I could feel what my body was telling me, even if the epidural took the painful edge off.

I "practiced" pushing a few times. In reality, they were real pushes that helped get my baby to the position she needed to be in to be delivered. I was ready and so was she. My doctor came in about 15 minutes (I think) and at that point, in my memory it felt like I pushed 2 more times and she was here! All of a sudden time slowed down and in what felt like a frozen moment, I met my daughter for the first time earth-side. She was perfect. She wasn't crying much, though, she had only let out a little fuss. The first thing I said was, "She needs to cry more!" I was already worried about her. Then she let out a big cry and I felt much better.

My husband's first words were, "Hi M! Look at your mommy. You're such a good mom."

The best part is, our baby was born at exactly 2:59 am, one minute before our wonderful nurse's shift was over. It felt meant to be. 

And that is the story of how we met our miracle baby.

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