Hayes’ Birth Story

I have always enjoyed reading the birth stories that other Mamas share. Each birth is so unique and embodies the strength that women have. Sharing the journey that we go through for our little babes to arrive into this world is a beautiful reminder of what a miracle their new life truly is. 

In the days leading up to baby boy’s arrival, I found myself comparing the final doctor appointments and events to B’s birth as the dates were so close together. I wondered how his birth would compare to hers, given that I had a pretty good labor and delivery experience with B. Just like with B, I decided to get a membrane sweep at my 39 week OB appointment. With her, the membrane sweep worked and my water broke at home about 24 hours later and we headed to the hospital - she was born just at the start of the next day. 

THURSDAY 9/9- My OB performed a membrane sweep confirming that she could feel baby boy’s head and he was positioned very low down. I was 3cm dilated at this point. She suggested to walk a bit that night to see if things would start moving along. 

FRIDAY 9/10- Not feeling anything yet, I went to work (at my full time job as a teacher) and successfully made it through the school day without any signs of labor. By this point with B, I was having back labor at the end of the work day. I figured that the membrane sweep must not have worked and that maybe I’d try again at my 40 week appointment. 

SATURDAY 9/11- I felt a couple of cramps when I woke up in the morning but nothing extreme so we went about our day running some errands to get Starbucks and a stop at Trader Joe’s to meal prep for the week. Later in the morning, I started to feel back labor coming on. I remember this feeling from B, where I didn’t feel the typical pain of contractions in the front but only intense pain in my lower back that would come and go at various intervals. They were getting a bit uncomfortable so I began timing them. As B went down for her nap at noon, Josh headed outside to workout, and Grammy worked on the meal prep. I decided to shower incase labor was near and afterwards found myself on a yoga mat in the bedroom doing some stretches to help with the discomfort when the back labor came on. Soon, I called in Josh to help me with counter pressure during the contractions and make sure the final items were in our hospital bags. 

I was still timing my contractions and waiting for the “5-1-1” rule (5 min apart, 1 min each, for 1 hour) or for my water to break to know when it would be “go time”. At this point, B had woken up from her nap (very early) and came in the bedroom with us. I was beginning to feel more and more pain and like I may need an epidural sooner rather than later. Knowing that we live about 20 minutes from the hospital, I told Josh that I think we needed to head in and hope that they wouldn’t send us home if I wasn’t progressed far enough along. Josh loaded up the car, we said goodbye to B and Grammy, and by 1:45 pm we were on the road to the hospital. 

On the drive to the hospital my contractions were about 7 minutes apart and I remember being in very intense pain and grabbing the handle above the car door as they would come on. During the breaks from contractions, I reminded Josh to take pictures while I delivered and the baby arrived. As we drove, I began to get nervous because I was feeling an urge to push. Each time a contraction came on, I tried to do my best to breath through and hold in any pushing sensation that I had. When we arrived I told Josh that I didn’t think I could walk up to the L&D alone so he left the car in the drop off loop, we got checked in through the front COVID procedures desk, and then he wheeled me up to L&D. Once they brought me to the triage room, he headed back down to go park the car. 

Immediately when the nurse came in I told her I was in a lot of pain and feeling an urge to push. So, before doing anything else she said she would check my cervix. Much to my shock, she explained that I was 10 cm dilated and, even more shocking, she asked if my baby was supposed to be breech. She quickly left the room and then brought a doctor back in with her. They checked baby boy’s position on an ultrasound and sure enough he was breech. Somehow he’d flipped head up within less than 48 hours from my OB appointment on Thursday (my OB later said that was a first for her). Since I was fully dilated, there wasn’t much time to wait. Doctors, nurses, and an anesthesiologist filled the small room, explained I would need to go in for a c-section, and that they were trying to get a hold of my OB (who happened to be on call that weekend). At this point I think I was still in a state of shock. This was definitely not the birth experience that I had anticipated and couldn’t quite process how quickly everything was happening. I remember that between contractions I kept apologizing to the nurses for not coming to the hospital sooner (how could I have known) and asking how this all could have happened. 

When Josh returned from parking the car he was greeted by the somewhat chaotic room full of people, and I remember him asking if all this was normal and would everything be alright. They handed him a set of scrubs and told him to get ready to move to the OR. Still in immense pain, they wheeled me down to the OR as I tried to hold in my urges to push each time a contraction came on. On the ride through the halls, I now finally spotted my OB as she was walking in - I was relieved that she made it just in time! 

While they prepped me in the OR, Josh couldn’t be in the room so he was in a waiting area just outside. As they did the spinal, I hunched over and as I grabbed tightly onto my nurse and OB, I was praying it would work! Luckily it kicked in and I had instant relief of my contraction pain. This also meant that I would get to remain awake during the procedure which I was very happy about. I remember feeling so nervous for the c-section but the doctors and anesthesiologist did such a great job talking me through each step along the way. The anesthesiologist even offered to take photos of the birth for us which was amazing! 

At 2:52 pm, Hayes Cayden made his entrance into the world. He weighed 7lbs, 2 oz and was 21 inches long. Cayden means “fighter” and given everything we went through during our pregnancy (read about my pregnancy journey here), we felt this was the perfect middle name for him. Although his birth story was a much different experience than I could have ever imagined, I was so relieved to hear his little cry and know that he was here and healthy! I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and am sure that was the case guiding his birth as well.

My Pregnancy Journey With Baby #2

Maternity photos by Trisha Rose Photography

PREGNANCY- For some it can be an amazing time filled with excitement, anticipation, and wonder. For others, it may include hesitation and anxiety after months and months of waiting or previous loss. Some Mamas feel their best and are glowing while pregnant, while others may struggle to get through a day while battling nausea, fatigue, and more. There’s a whole  spectrum and each story is so different. 

Although my second pregnancy had a lot of similarities to my first, there were many differences as well. I wanted to document our pregnancy journey with baby #2 for me to look back on and potentially for others to not feel alone if they were going through something similar. 

After months of trying, we made an appointment with the same fertility specialist that helped us become pregnant with B (or first daughter). Much to my surprise, in the days prior to our appointment, we found out we were pregnant with baby #2. I was shocked and in disbelief to see a positive test after so many negative tests that I’d previously thrown in the trash. Further calculations showed that this baby’s due date would be just 2 days before B’s second birthday - what are the odds?

Everything seemed to be going well in the beginning weeks and I had a huge sigh of relief at our first 8 week ultrasound when I could see baby’s heartbeat. Despite extreme morning sickness (that kicked in around week 9 and lasted until about week 20), I was thankful to progress each week with baby continuing to grow. And, thank goodness for a helpful husband who stepped in to make endless mac-n-cheese, bagels with cream cheese, and chase an energetic toddler around while I laid on the couch. 

At 12 weeks, we found out that our baby’s NT (Nuchal Translucency) measurement was just over the threshold. Our ultrasound tech and OB educated us that an enlarged NT at 12 weeks can be a predictor of possible genetic abnormalities or heart defects. Caught off guard, we were advised to see a MFM specialist and elected to get NIPT bloodwork done. The wait for the bloodwork results seemed like the longest two weeks, but when our results came back with low indicators, we thought we were in the clear. At this time, we also found out that we’d be having a baby boy! 

It wasn’t until our MFM appointment that we learned there are actually a variety of other chromosomal abnormalities that the NIPT can’t check for. The NIPT only tests for 4 key chromosome pairs and there are many other possibilities of abnormalities on the other 19 chromosome pairs. Another growth scan showed our baby’s NF (now called a Nuchal Fold at this gestational age) was still over the threshold. After a very emotional conversation with our MFM doctor we were advised to consider an amniocentesis. I thought for sure I would never consider having this procedure done, but after some long hard talks, decided that it would either help bring us closer to necessary resources in preparation of baby’s arrival or help provide peace of mind for the remainder of our pregnancy. The days and weeks leading up to the amnio and results were some of the most emotional and challenging throughout the pregnancy. While I tried to remain positive, there were also endless possibilities of '“what if’s” that filled my brain.

So many prayers were answered when we got our amnio results. There were no indicators of any chromosomal abnormalities and a follow up growth scan indicated that the baby’s Nuchal measurement had decreased and was now within limits. The MFM doctor also felt good enough about what he could see with our baby’s heart that he advised us we no longer needed to get the fetal echocardiogram that we previously scheduled. We were elated and so grateful for all of our family and friends who prayed along side us and supported us during that time. 

Luckily, the remainder of our pregnancy had emotions of excitement and wonder as we anticipated the arrival of our baby boy. By 34 weeks, we learned he had turned head down from a previous breech position and we prepared to meet him. Meanwhile, we did all the nesting activities at home and “Grammy” flew in to be on standby for B when the time came for her baby brother’s arrival. At 39 weeks, I decided to get a membrane sweep at my OB appointment to help induce labor if baby was ready. Stay tuned for my next blog post, where I’ll share baby’s birth story.

A special thanks to Trisha Rose Photography for capturing these maternity photos of me. I’ll cherish them forever!