Nixon's Birth Story

Writing this is long overdue. But something I want to write about before Nixon gets bigger and I forget the special little details of his birth. This isn’t something everyone will want to read, but I know it is something I will be happy I wrote down. I even went through Adam’s texts to my best friend to get an exact timeline. Because giving birth was unlike anything I thought.

I will give you a quick background first. I was terrified. Of being pregnant. Because that meant labor and delivery. And that sounded miserable to me. In high school we watched a video of a woman giving birth in psychology and I am pretty sure it destroyed my small desire to have children. I have always known it was my divine calling to be a Mom, but the actual process of becoming a Mom… let’s just say I didn’t think I would be a fan.

I was wrong.

So Nixon’s birth story already starts out a little different than most. Remember how I had gestational diabetes? Well thanks to that I was required to be induced at 39 weeks. That is the plan the doctor puts in place to avoid any complications even when numbers are great, and my resting numbers were a little off. So Nixon’s due date switched from September 4th to August 28th at about 36 weeks. But also at 36 weeks I wasn’t starting to dilate at all so Dr. West told me I might need a foley catheter which is as terrible as it sounds.

So Nixon’s birth story technically starts on August 27th. But I will make the 27th part brief - basically I went in at 8:40am. For my LAST nonstress test… but before that came a quick foley catheter. In case you were wondering… basically they insert a tube, fill it with saline, and it helps your begin to dilate. At around 4cm it should fall out slash pop out pretty easily. But before that happens you have serious cramping and want to die and cry and curl in a ball and cry again. At least that was my experience. Mine never came out. But I will fill you in on that in a minute.

So the next morning we had an appointment to check in at 6am to be induced. Since my induction was due to Gestational Diabetes, it was considered a medical induction and I didn’t have to go on a wait list which was nice. We woke up at about 5:30AM to load up and head to the hospital. And then realized we needed gas in the car so in typical doctors appointment fashion… I was about 15 minutes late.

Around 6:15AM we checked in, they weighed me, and then we waited for the nurse to come take us to my delivery room. We got into the room at about 6:40AM and then I changed into my super trendy hospital robe and snuggled into what would be my bed for the next hours. At 6:55AM the nurse came in to give me my IV. And apparently I have very valvey veins. I don’t know what that means, but if you are a nurse you probably do. But because of that I got pricked three times. The first one was in my forearm and it blew and blood went everywhere and left a pretty hefty bruise for the next couple weeks. The second one went into the top of my hands and she kept going all the way through and left a slight bruise. And then the nurse attempting had to call in the charge nurse and on the final poke my IV was in the side of my forearm.

At 7:00AM my nurse for the day arrived and we were officially on a roll for labor and delivery. She asked what our birth plan was. I said meds and to feel no pain. And she added make sure baby is healthy. I thought that was a give in, but I appreciated it was at the forefront of her mind.

At about 7:15AM Dr. West came in to talk us through the day and to remove my foley - because as I mentioned it didn’t fall out the day prior. He got it out and I was dilated to a 6! Just like that. For the next little bit Adam and I just relaxed and chatted. We ordered some breakfast from downstairs. Dr. West told me to get something good into my stomach just in case it was a long day. I had an omelet and Adam had biscuits and gravy. In case you were wondering.

This is where everything speeds up a bit. At 8:30AM they gave me the pitocin to induce me. At that point I was still around a 6 with most of my cervix still there. My pelvis was also tilted backwards. So Dr. West said after I ate and they broke my water they would have me sit on a yoga ball of sorts to hopefully help tilt my pelvis back. Contractions were starting to come at a more regular pace…

At 9:55AM he came in and broke my water. And then that is when the real contracts started. More frequently. I was trying to be super tough. I have never had a baby (obviously) so I didn’t know what a big contraction was. And so in my head I thought, I will wait until the contractions are completely uncomfortable and then ask for my epidural. That was a stupid idea. Because then I was so uncomfortable sitting on a yoga ball and wanting to curl in a ball - please note there is no crying and dying, the foley pain was way worse than the contractions in my opinion. Then Adam reminded me I didn’t need to be a hero and I should just get the meds. And my best friends advice of get an epidural and nap popped into my head. So I called the nurse.

Unfortunately, there was a line for epidurals by the time I decided to stop acting tough. So I got a medicine at 10:30AM to help with pain which they compare to drinking a few glasses of wine. My best friend also said that this was a great drug so I was really looking forward to it. But apparently I would be a terrible drinker because I threw up within a couple minutes of the wine drug being added to my IV. However, I felt a lot better in regards to contractions. Around 10:45AM they decided to check how I was progressing while we waited for my epidural - I was up to a 7! So progressing speedily and my parents arrived to the hospital just before the epidural.

Over the next 45 minutes while I was waiting for my epidural I got the labor chills. Straight up could not stop shivering and chattering. No one told me about those so that was a someone strange surprise.

At about 11:30AM it was my turn for an epidural. My parents had to leave the room for that part. Adam was the only one allowed in and he was there to hold my hand as they put it in. My nurse used a really good phrase for how I was supposed to sit when I got my epidural, “like a scary Halloween cat”. That is a great description, right? So I got numbed, got my arch on, and got my epidural. And honestly that was the least of all the pain.

My right side took a lot faster than my right so while we were waiting for the left side to take I had to roll up on one side. And they had me push the button for more a few times… and then I was real numb all over. And then it was FINALLY time for a nap!

I laid back, closed my eyes, and then JUST KIDDING. No nap for me. After about 10 minutes of trying to nap I was feeling constant pressure so I buzzed my nurse at about noon. She checked. My cervix was gone. I was fully dilated. And it was time for a BABY! What the heck?

She prepped everything, called Dr. West to let him know and at 12:30PM we started pushing. I worked with our nurse until Baby Nix’s head was showing and then she called Dr. West. He showed up around 1:00PM. He came in and got scrubbed in. And guess who else got scrubbed in? Adam. Adam was able to be a huge part of the delivery - he helped deliver Nixon once his shoulders were out, brought him up for our very first cuddle, and cut the umbilical cord.

At 1:51PM Nixon Adam Miller entered the world weighing 7 lb 3 oz and 19.75”. While Dr. West worked to remove the placenta - which was so gross btw - that was in a few pieces and one part stuck to the uterine wall and stitch me up, I got to hold Nixon on my chest before they cleaned him up, weighed him, tested his blood, and all of the above.

It was the most special moment in the whole world. Never did I ever think I could love something so tiny so quickly in so little time. My eyes welled with tears and I looked over to Adam because we had a son. The veil was thin. Heaven was with us in that little hospital room. The very room where we began our eternal family. I will never forget that moment. And I will always and forever be grateful for Nixon Adam Miller.