Their Birth Stories

Before Alex was born, I had no idea what to expect from labor, delivery and recovery. I felt relatively calm, despite not having taken a birthing class or having a birth plan. I went into it with images of being up and at 'em within days of his being born. What I had envisioned couldn't have been further from what I experienced.

After Alex's birth, I was afraid - make that terrified - of what labor and delivery would be like with Andrew. If experience was any indicator of how things could go, I knew it could be ugly. So for months, I had friends and relatives all over the country praying for his big day - that it would be markedly different from the first time around. And it was.

Here are Alex and Andrew's birth stories - my account of their very different entrances into this world. I will warn you, this post is long. But it's one of those that's more for me, so that I have their stories recorded for my memory as time passes by.

The beginning of labor.
{With Alex}
At the last doctor's appointment before I went into labor, I was 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I had tested negative to the Group B Strep, so I felt fortunate that I did not have that to contend with.

My water broke just before 6 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8, 2009. I was at home, and I had not felt any contractions up to that point. I also didn't begin feeling any contractions in the hours after. I stayed at home until about 10 a.m. to wrap up a few things for work, and then we headed to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast on the way.

Leaving for the hospital to have Alex - 38 weeks and 1 day

{With Andrew}
At the last doctor's appointment before I went into labor, I was 4-5 cm dilated and 50% effaced. I had tested positive to the Group B Strep, and I felt very anxious about making sure that I made it to the hospital in plenty of time to get the penicillin administered at least four hours before Andrew was born.

On June 1, 2011 (the day after the last doctor's appointment), I told Mom I wanted to get out and walk to see if I could get contractions to come consistently. They came all morning long (though not in a consistent pattern) while we were up and moving. That afternoon I decided to call the doctor to see about getting checked. They told me to come in immediately, and after seeing that I was a good 5 cm dilated, the doctor sent me to Lewis-Gale Hospital to get checked in. He, too, wanted to make sure that I could have the penicillin in my body in plenty of time before Andrew was born. I had eaten a salad for lunch, and didn't think to stop to get more food before going to see the doctor because I honestly thought he would be sending me home until the contractions were more regular. Big mistake!

Leaving for the hospital to have Andrew - 38 weeks and 4 days

At the hospital.
{With Alex}
When I checked in with Alex, they immediately started a pitocin drip to get the contractions moving since my water had broken more than four hours before, and I hadn't felt any. My labor progressed steadily, the contractions started to pick up, and when I was 6-7 cm dilated, I got an epidural. The epidural took away ALL pain and I didn't even feel any pressure as the delivery drew closer.

Alex did not handle the labor well - his heart rate dropped from time to time, so I was on oxygen and made to lie on my left side for most of the labor in hopes of keeping his heart rate steady. They also put a scalp monitor on his head to track his activity.

Laboring with Alex

{With Andrew}
When I checked in with Andrew late afternoon on June 1, they started my IV and the penicillin. Once I was hooked up to the monitors, they saw that I had very few contractions - most of them had come when I was up and moving around, but they would subside when I was sitting or lying down. So I spent quite a bit of time walking the halls trying to get the contractions to come more regularly. The doctor waited about three hours or so before coming in to break my water. It didn't take too long before stronger contractions set in. And shortly after that, I got the epidural. The pain subsided, but I could feel the pressure that let me know when I was contracting. The doctor was hopeful that my body would begin making regular contractions without having to administer pitocin, but after about an hour and a half, the pattern still wasn't regular enough. I got enough pitocin for the contractions to pick up and become about 1-2 minutes apart.

Andrew handled the labor beautifully. We never saw any drastic drops in his heart rate, and I was very thankful for that.

Laboring with Andrew

Time to push.
{With Alex}
Alex's heart rate dropped to 70-75 during delivery after the first push, which brought him from -2 station to 0 station. The doctor told me that on the next contraction I was going to push and that I would not stop pushing until he came out. With three failed attempts with a vacuum and finally resorting to forceps, it took less than five minutes to get him out. I had third degree tears.

Once he was out, I only got to hold him for a minute before they took him away to try and get his heart rate regulated. I was not entirely sure what was going on, but no one in the room seemed panicked and that helped me keep my calm.

Alexander Cole - 7/8/09, 7:33 pm

Poor little Alex had a rough entrance into this world

{With Andrew}
Once I was fully dilated and fully effaced, the doctor told me that Andrew was still at -2 station. He told me that Andrew was handling the labor fine and that if I wanted, I could see if laboring a while longer would help Andrew drop further on his own. In about half an hour, he descended to 0 station, and then it was time to push. I won't lie, I was very nervous to begin the delivery process.

At this time, I kept focused on two thoughts to keep me calm: (1) people had been praying very specific prayers for Andrew's labor and delivery for months and were continuing those prayers through the night and (2) Philippians 4:6-7 which I began saying over and over and over and over again to myself while pushing. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

The delivery was amazing. It was calm. It was unassisted (no vacuums or forceps). It only took about 20 minutes of pushing, and Andrew had arrived. The doctor did have to do an episiotomy, but it was minor.

Andrew Ryan - 6/2/2011, 3:53 am

A much more peaceful entry into this world

The recovery.
{With Alex}
In a word, it was awful. Twelve weeks of painful recovery from the tears. I remember seeing women walk into the OB's office or the pediatrician's office with their brand new babies and wonder, "How on earth are they doing this with such ease?" I could barely get out of the bed or in and out of the car for goodness sake. It hurt to sit for weeks.

{With Andrew}
I was up and walking the next day. Without pain. Just like I had not given birth the day before. I felt gleeful. One morning while in the hospital, I was walking the halls, and the nurse said to me, "You're up and going early this morning!" My reply? "Yes, I am the woman who I envied so much after my first birth experience - the one who seemed to be getting around without any effort. And I am grateful for every step that I can take this morning. I feel like a million bucks."

And in the end...
{With Alex and Andrew}
I love these boys in ways I never dreamed possible. With Alex, my eyes were opened to a whole new kind of love - the love that only a parent understands. With Andrew, my eyes were opened to a whole new depth - the amazing way that love multiplies when you have other children. I am so grateful for God's answered prayers and the many, many blessings that have come and that are yet to come in having these boys in our family.

Alexander Cole

Andrew Ryan