Birth Story: Jaxson Scott

Pre-labor 

It was a beautiful fall day and I was 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I woke up and went on my morning walk. I had quite a few strong Braxton hicks contractions and had to stop frequently due to their intensity. I was hoping they would regulate and transition into labor, but once I was home they went away.

My brother was visiting from out of town and wanted to go see my sister, who recently had a baby. My husband and I decided to tag along, so my brother picked us up on the way.

It was about 45 minutes away and I was so close to my due date, so I made sure to pack my hospital bag. I told my husband to grab his as well, but he decided to leave it at home (why I don’t know..stubborn much?). Let’s just say, he regretted it later. 

We went out to eat that evening and I felt a little off and didn’t really have an appetite. After dinner we went back to her house to hang out for a little bit. We were getting ready to leave so I decided to use the restroom. 

And that’s when it happened… 

Labor of Love

7:30PM my WATER BROKE! Luckily, I was actually sitting on the toilet, because it was in full effect. It literally felt like a giant balloon had popped in my belly, and out came gushing water. I yelled to my husband that my water broke and they all started cheering. 

I felt a rush of fear and excitement. It was time and there was no turning back.

Luckily, my sister (who had a baby 6 weeks prior) had a few extra postpartum diapers that she gave me to put on for the ride to the hospital…and wow am I glad I had them! She also lent me some sweat pants and towels for the car ride, which were much needed.

My contractions started almost immediately. We started timing them and they were only 2 minutes apart. During each contraction I felt a surge of water push out.

My brother (who had a rental car) was on a mission to get us to the hospital of our choice. And he did. 

We were so thankful he was able to drive us. This allowed my husband and I to sit in the back seat together, focus on my contractions, and just take in the last time it’ll just be us two.

We made it to the hospital in great time, thanks to my brother. At this point, my contractions were consistent and strong enough that I couldn’t walk and needed a wheel chair. I had lost a good amount of my water, which made labor more painful. Because we had called on the way and they saw how active my labor was, we were admitted immediately. 

After getting set up in the room I could focus back on my contractions. There’s just nothing that can quite compare to this type of pain. 

I wanted to labor as long as I could without any drugs or epidural because I was afraid it would slow the process down. 

I was only 3 centimeters dilated when we were admitted and I was already struggling. I had labored for 3 hours without any medication and was already shaking. The contractions were so strong due to a lack of water so I finally gave in for the epidural. 

And boy, was the relief amazing. Although my right side could still feel a good amount of pain, it made it all more bearable. 

Little Scares

Things were going well, until those regular heart beats began to change. During each contraction, his heart beat dropped rapidly. As we sat their listening to the dips, it caused a great deal of fear and anxiety. Doctors came in quickly and discussed a possible emergency c-section. Although this was not what we wanted, we signed the papers and prayed for a healthy baby no matter what. 

The nurse said, because I had lost so much fluid it could be that the umbilical chord is being pinched and causing a lack of blood flow to the baby during each contraction. They tried adjusting how I laid in hopes to shift where the umbilical chord was  inside the womb. It seemed to help a little bit and monitored it all very closely.

Luckily, I was still progressing in my dilations and they wanted to try putting water back in me first to give him and the umbilical chord some cushion. As they were prepping for that process, I had told my husband and mom that I was feeling quite a bit more pressure “down there.” 

I felt the urge to push.  

It’s Baby Time! 

The nurses came back in to prep me and I asked if she could check my dilation first because I was getting the sensation to push. She checked and, with a surprised expression, said, “oh wow, you’re ready! 10 centimeters and he’s coming!” 

She called for the doctor and the rest of the team. When my water broke, we were able to see meconium (the baby’s first poop), so the respiratory team came in as a precaution. The nurse had me start pushing. As he was coming down, she told us she could see the top of his head and that he had blonde hair! 

We were so close to meeting him. 

The midwife finally arrived and we were ready for the finale! She got her gloves on and walked me through it. I had my husband on my left and mom on my right giving me the support I needed to finish strong. I pushed 3-6 times and there he was! 

November 29th, 2016 at 12:52AM, Jaxson Scott Siemens was born.

As soon as I heard his cry and laid eyes on him my heart burst wide open. I started sobbing saying “my baby! my baby!”

I watched as my husband cut the umbilical cord for the first time, which is also so surreal.

I finished delivering the placenta and was told I wouldn’t need any stitches. Yay!  

The doctor brought Jaxson over to the respiratory station first to quickly check him out. Then the moment I’ve been waiting for happened…

They laid him on my chest.