The Kirklands: BIRTH STORY: August Michael Kirkland born September 9, 2017

The past 3 weeks have been a blur! Three kids is kind of crazy! I wrote down Auggie's birth story right after I had him so that I would remember everything.

Here it is:

Friday night September 8, Casey and I went on a date with the Phelps. We had been dying for a night out. I made dinner for a friend who had a surgery so I dropped that off and then picked up our babysitter. I was kind of having contractions at that point but I just thought that was normal since I was kind of stressed having to get everything done before our dinner reservation. We went to this cool restaurant in San Juan with outdoor seating and live music. We had been there before and wanted to go back with friends. During dinner I felt fine but towards the end I was having some contractions. I drank a lot of water at dinner and I tend to get them when my bladder is full. So I went to the bathroom after and they kind of mellowed out. Then we decided to walk around after dinner and just happened to run into my parents who were at a nearby restaurant. At this point I was realizing that my contractions were not stopping. While we were driving home I kind of joked with Casey that I might actually be in labor. Whenever I sit in the car the contractions always hurt more just because I'm in the sitting position. I had a feeling this could be it since my bladder was empty and they were getting painful.

We got home and I stayed in the car to take our babysitter home. Once I got back home I decided that I needed to start timing my contractions with my app. I laid down on my left side and drank some water. They kept coming and but were not getting more painful. They were about 3 minutes apart and 20-30 seconds. I timed them till about 1045pm and then decided I needed to call my doctor. I was kind of in denial because I just didn't want to bug her since it was so late. haha. I got through to her and I'm pretty sure I woke her up. Once I told her they were every 3 minutes for the last 3 hours and getting up to 40 seconds long she told me it was time to head in to the hospital. She also said that was pretty long for contractions which I didn't think anything of.

We had our friend Brian (the ones we went out to dinner with and neighbor) come over and sit until my Dad got there to sleep over. I finished packing my hospital bag and was still in denial that this was actually happening. I kissed the boys before we left (they were asleep in their beds). We probably left around 1130pm. Casey was driving pretty slow so I told him to drive a little faster since contractions are not very comfortable when sitting in the truck. On the way to the hospital we called Casey's mom and my Mom again. When we got to the hospital Casey dropped me off at the ER and he went to park. We checked in and walked up to Labor and Delivery. They knew I was coming because my Dr. called them. I got weighed and shown to a room. Once in the room I changed into a gown and used the bathroom.

They then hooked me up to all the monitors and started watching my contractions. I told the nurse I was Group B Strep Positive so she could start an IV and antibiotics. She didn't seem that rushed. I was kind of confused because with Chase and Jimmy I got to the hospital dilated at an 8 and 7 and these contractions felt the exact same. My mom made it soon after we got to the hospital and she just hung out on the couch. My contractions kept coming so she decided to check me and I was only at 1 cm! I couldn't believe it. Meanwhile she called my doctor and I just laid on my side while they monitored me. The baby's heart rate kept dropping so I had to do a lot of turning. They knew he was sunny side up (head down but facing my front, not back) from my ultrasound on Tuesday. The nurse then came in and told me that because of his position that I might be having a C-Section. I was in complete shock. I NEVER thought I would have a C-section. On Tuesday my doctor said that he would turn and drop once I went into labor. I wish that she would have told me that there was a chance of a C-section because at least I would have been a little prepared. Because I only had vaginal births before I never thought I would need a C-section. I was pretty pissed at that nurse for even saying that.

My doctor came in and it was probably 1 or 2 am at this point. I'm not quite sure. We talked about the C-section and she said that since this was my third baby and because I have never had a c-section that she was going to break my water and see if we could get him to turn. So she broke my water. I didn't not have an epidural at this time. It hurt so bad! Since he hadn't dropped she had to go way up there to actually break it. They literally use a knitting hook to do this. This was for sure the most painful thing I went though. It was so weird once she broke it because its just a warm gush. There was a little blood that came out too and I guess that is a sign of placenta abruption (which I ended up having). I was also 3 cm when she did this so she was happy about that because I was progressing. They then put this peanut shaped yoga ball in between my legs hoping it would help open my hips up and baby would turn. With each contraction more "water" came out. It was so weird! I think another hour or two went by and I kept having regular contractions. I guess my doctor went home.

Around 3 am I got my epidural and it didn't hurt but what hurt was having to sit on the bed indian style and feeling those contractions! Once I had it I was finally able to really relax. I might have fell asleep for al little bit. In the next few hours baby's heart rate kept dropping and then I got this new nurse who I liked a lot more. She was older than the first. She kept coming in and turning me to make sure his heart rate was good. She checked me probably around 4am and I was 6cm! There was one point when a bunch of nurses ran in at once. The heart rate dropped and wasn't coming up so they all had me turn and I put oxygen on. This one Charge Nurse was amazing and really took control of the situation. I was checked again and I was 10cm. They kept saying "She's complete, she's complete!" That charge nurse had me totally on my side and was holding my body pretty much against hers since the baby liked that position and his heart rate was good. They were trying to get a hold of my doctor to come back in and they also called the on-call doctor.

Once my Doctor got there it was time for me to start pushing. I'm not sure what time it was but probably around 530am. As soon as I started to push she could tell that he was still sunny side up :( I pushed for about 30 minutes and I was really trying. Like way more than my other labors. I really didn't want a C-section. Casey said that they were all kind of looking at each other like "this isn't happening". He wasn't coming down because of his position. at 550am my doctor said I had 10 more minutes to try. When she said that I kind of knew it wasn't going to happen. So I tried and he still didn't come down.

A little before 6am they wheeled me into the OR for the C-section. I was crying at this point. Partly due to fear and anger. I was so mad about the c-section and I was a little terrified since I didn't know what to expect. They put a hat thing on me and transferred me to the table where you have your arms lay out to your sides on these boards. You feel really vulnerable and just out there. My anesthesiologist, the same one who gave me the epidural was right there in my face. He told me what was going to happen. He gave me more medicine to make me numb but said that I would be able to feel pressure and movement. It really was the weirdest feeling and not in a good way.

They put up this curtain in front of me so I couldn't see. I could however see a little reflection in the giant light above me. It was the exact spot where they cut me open. I didn't watch though until the end. Casey came in at this point and stood by me and held my hand. The doctors started and it felt so uncomfortable and weird. I asked the anesthesiologist when they were going to pull him out and he said 2-3 more minutes! ahhh I was kinda freaking out and trying not to have anxiety. They finally pulled him out at 6:15am and Casey went over to cut the cord. I heard him cry and it was such a relief! They kept saying how cute he was. I didn't get to see him right away because they had to check him out. Casey took pictures and came over to show me. They finally brought him over to me and laid him on my chest so I could do skin to skin. Meanwhile the doctors started to sew me up.

They took my placenta out and that is when my doctor said something about how my placenta had already started to detach. She said it was like 50% detached. She also said this is why my contractions were so long and why baby's heart rate kept dropping. I looked it up later and found out how dangerous that can be. Like I could have bled out and died or the baby could have been a still born! So scary! So the c-section was totally necessary. This part felt like forever. Them stitching me back up. But there are like 7 layers that they had to go through. I was actually able to breastfeed him while still in the OR which was really cool.

When they finished I was then taken to the PACU where they just monitored me for like an hour. My mom was able to come in and see him. They just kept him on my chest the whole time! It was so nice! It was all worth it in the end! The rest of my hospital stay was pretty uneventful. It was pretty different from my vaginal births. The day he was born I had to stay in bed the whole day with a catheter. Which was kind of nice since. I was so so thirsty right after and they didn't let me have ice or water until the afternoon. They kept asking me about passing gas which I found weird but I guess you have lots of gas in you? I finally got to eat dinner which was nice because I was pretty hungry. The recovery was a lot harder than my other ones. The next day, every time I got out of bed I was in pain. I had to take my pain pills around the clock.

I stayed 3 nights in the hospital which was actually really nice! I could have stayed longer haha. They kept him in my room most of the time and at night I had them take him a few times so I could rest. It was too hard to get out of bed and get him in and out of the bassinet thing. Casey only slept there with me the first night. I thought it would be better if he was home with our boys. I had some friends come visit which was so nice to break up the time!

Now we are home and 3 kids is kind of crazy. Im 10 days out and I'm finally feeling better. Like it doesn't hurt to stand up. I still can't drive or lift more than 10 lbs. I have my 2 week dr appointment in 2 days so we will see what she says. I've been having headaches almost everyday because I'm so tired! But I haven't been on my own with the kids and I'm pretty nervous about that! Hopefully I can recover fast so I can be a Mom again to Chase and Jimmy!