The Payne Family: Lawson's Birth Story (with LOTS of pictures)

*Disclaimer: don't read this if you don't care to read about the process of child birth. It's rated G, but some may not want to read about it. :)

Let's start from a couple of weeks ago. After the rear end accident during week 35 with the L&D visit, I went to L&D two more times that week with contractions (once on Tuesday night and once on Friday). On Saturday, Chris, Ashley and I were coming back from taking pictures in Rockwall, and we were in another rear end accident, only much scarier! Long story short, a kid fell asleep at the wheel (at 9 am!) and hit us going approximately 90-100 mph. It was very scary, but looking back, Chris and I see God in that accident in a lot of ways. That is another post though. :) So, back to L&D we went on Saturday for more monitoring. Lawson was doing well, although his heart rate was a little high. My blood pressure was also high (wonder why?!?!?). No regular contractions though, so I was sent home. I saw my doctor that next Wednesday, and my blood pressure was still high, so she immediately put me on leave at work and asked me to come back that Friday. I also had to go to L&D again for more monitoring. Again, everything was ok with Lawson, but something in my bloodwork was off. I went back on Friday, and after checking me (I was 2 cm dilated at this point), and checking my blood pressure, she said "I need you to have this baby before you get any more interesting!" Lawson was scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, September 7th!

On Wednesday, Chris and I arrived at the hospital at 4:30 am, but they were short staffed (it was almost shift change time), and someone was delivering when we got there, so we waited until 7 am to actually see a nurse. I was slightly irritated. I could have used that extra two hours of sleep! At 7 am, the nurse (Jackie, who was a GOD SEND, seriously don't know what I would have done without her, she was amazing!) came in and checked me (dilated to 3 cm just from contractions the week before), and started me on Pitocin. She swore to me that she would do everything in her power to make sure I had Lawson on her shift (she was scheduled until 7 pm), but I wasn't sure it would be that fast.

At about 8:30, I was dilated to a 4, but a firm 4 (not good, but not terrible), and my OB (Dr. Gillean- more on her later) broke my water. I was scared of that part because I've heard it is painful/uncomfortable and I had not had any pain medication at this point. It wasn't painful at all, actually I don't think I felt anything except gushing. And something I didn't expect- the gushing does NOT stop just because your water is broken. It continues for the whole labor off and on. It was a very weird feeling.

At 10 am, I was between a 4 and a 5, so not great progress, and I was really starting to feel the contractions. I could no longer talk through them and they pretty much made me want to cry. Jackie offered me the option of just the epidural or pain medication to take the edge off for a bit and then getting the epidural later. She suggested going straight to the epidural. I didn't want my labor to go even slower than it already was, so I told her I would think about it. She came in ten minutes later and whispered to me that she ordered the epidural and smiled. See, God Send...she knew exactly what I needed even when I didn't.

Around 10:30-11, I had the epidural placed. This was the worst part of the whole day. I hadn't had any pain management until this point, so I felt every bit of that needle going in. It was awful. Then, after the anesthesiologist placed the line, it pulled out and we had to start over. I started bawling when he told me it came out. The hardest part was having to hold the position of scrunching over while contracting. My contractions were off the monitor they were so bad. Add that to the fact that I had to sit there for longer than I should have waiting to have it placed...it was awful. Chris and Jackie talked me through all of it. They were both rubbing my legs and hair and telling me what was going on and trying to calm me down. I don't know what I would have done without either of them.

When the epidural was placed, I immediately started to feel sick. My blood pressure plummeted and I started vomiting like crazy. It took about 30 minutes to get all of that regulated, and once they got everything worked out, I can honestly say that I was glad to have the epidural. I felt NOTHING for the rest of the day. I can't say enough good things about the anesthesiologist either-although it was a rough start, as soon as my blood pressure dropped, he was right in there with the nurses trying to fix it and get me feeling better. He also came back in the room once an hour or so to check on me and to make sure I was feeling ok and not feeling pain.

I pretty much just hung out from 11:30-1, when the OB came in to check again. Still at a 5, and Lawson was NOT tolerating the contractions well. His heartrate was very elevated with few periods of relief even in between contractions (which were now about a minute apart even though I couldn't feel any of them). My OB came in and told me that she was giving me an hour to labor with the Pitocin turned down to see if Lawson would get better, and if he didn't I would have a c-section. This really upset me. Chris even asked point blank "Are the odds of her having this baby naturally good?" and she said "No" straight up. I didn't want to have a c-section, especially after laboring for 6 hours already and it felt like that would be for nothing. Also, I think I was mostly mad that this all had to happen because of some idiot that hit us a week and a half before. I was angry that Lawson didn't get to decide to come out on his own, and when I found out that all my plans would have to change, it just made me madder. Chris again was so wonderful in calming me down (and I found out later that he wasn't very calm himself when he left the room for a few minutes, but he never showed me his worry or his anxiety. He was my rock.), and Jackie kept reminding me that getting worked up was not going to help L's heartrate.

I didn't keep too many people updated on what was going on other than family members who were at the hospital. I didn't text friends or anyone from work because I was stressed out enough and didn't want to answer a million questions. I can't explain it, but I felt so protected and prayed over from that point on. It just seemed like everything went too perfect to be a coincidence.

At 2 (after the hour was up), the nurse came in and checked me and I was at 7 cm. She was very pleased with the progress and said she would call the OB and try to see if I could labor some more since things were going well. Lawson's heartrate was still high but holding stable enough to not be an emergency yet. She came in and said my OB was willing to let me try an IV antibiotic since high baby heart rate is sometimes an indication of infection, but there was no way she was letting me go past another hour if Lawson wasn't doing well by then.

At about 2:50 (check the timing!), I felt pressure to push. I paged Jackie and she checked me and said we were going to do a practice push. All I remember saying is "Not without the doctor!" in this panicked voice, ha! She just laughed at me and said she would get Dr. Gillean since I was worried. I also remember asking if I was still at a 7. She said "Honey, you're complete- you're about to push!" I don't remember much except being really scared, but really relieved that this baby was hopefully getting here naturally. Dr. Gillean came in and wanted me to try a practice push because Lawson was still a little higher than she would have wanted. She talked to me about pushing and then we started. Pushes are supposed to last 10 seconds. I got to 6 on my "practice push" when she yelled at me to stop because Lawson's head was coming out! It took her about 15-20 minutes to get the baby nurse in there and get everything set up in the room, and about 3:15 or so we started pushing for real. I had to wait in between contractions (something else I didn't realize I would have to do, I guess I just though pushing was constant), but after about 3 contractions (5-6 pushes total), his head was out! I remember Dr. Gillean saying "Oh gosh, that's tight" and being worried, but a few seconds later I heard Lawson's first cry. I can't explain what I felt in that moment other than this huge sweep of emotions of actually hearing his sweet voice after waiting on him for so long. One more push and he was out at 3:26 pm. Chris got to cut the cord and Dr. Gillean handed him off to the nurse (another reason I knew something was wrong- she didn't let me hold him immediately). I had to deliver the placenta and get a few stitches (gross, I know, sorry, this is the uncut version), but that only took about 10-15 minutes and Chris was right by my side the whole time. I just remember staring to my right at every little thing the nurse was doing with Lawson the whole time. I just wanted to hold my baby. I watched them weigh and measure him and was shocked at how little he was! 6 pounds, 1 ounce and 20 inches long! Tall just like his Daddy!

After he was cleaned up, and I was done, Chris handed Lawson to me to hold. If I never remember anything about my labor for the rest of my life, I will remember this moment. I never knew I could love someone so small so much. I felt like I had known him my whole life. Everyone left the room and Chris and I got to snuggle and love on Lawson for a bit, and then Dakota got to come in and meet him. She was so excited when Chris went and got her from the waiting room. She didn't want to hold him, but she just stared at him and talked to Chris and I for a while and then my mom took Dakota back to the waiting room so Chris and I could have a few minutes with him.

The nurses took Lawson to the nursery while I got cleaned up, changed, and ate dinner. I was moved to a recovery room about 6:30 and family came in and they brought Lawson in. He was having some blood sugar and temperature issues (both were low), so he was only with us for about 30 minutes before he had to go back to the nursery. I was mostly upset that they were not letting me hold or feed him. He was being bottle fed in the nursery to get his blood sugar up. Around 10 or 11 pm, a nurse brought him to us for me to feed and hold, and we had skin to skin time to get his temperature up. That worked well, and he didn't have any more temperature issues. His blood sugar came up by the next day.

I asked Chris that evening if the cord was wrapped around Lawson's neck. He said yes. I knew that something wasn't quite right when I was in that moment, but I am truly grateful that no one told me. My doctor and Chris knew me well enough to know that I didn't need the added stress while trying to finish pushing, and since everything turned out ok, I can honestly say I am so thankful that I didn't know this when it happened.

Chris and I stayed at the hospital through Friday evening and we have so enjoyed being a family at home. We love Lawson so much it's crazy! And I love my husband even more than I knew was possible now that I have gotten to watch him be a Daddy to our son. I always knew he was a great dad because of his interaction with Dakota, but it's just different watching him with Lawson, maybe because now I know the love he feels too.

I truly feel like my labor was completely ordained by God himself. I don't know if anything could have gone more perfectly for me. Everything I was scared or nervous about ended up going ok, and mostly everything went as it should have. My husband was my rock and I honestly don't know if I could have gone through this experience with anyone else. Having Lawson with Chris by my side just proved to me even more that I married the perfect man for me, and God is good all the time.

About Dr. Gillean- I would 110% recommend this doctor to anyone needing an OB. From day 1 when I met her, she listened to my fears about labor and my birth plan and wishes for Lawson's birth. She did everything in her power to assure me at each appointment and then even more in the hospital. I trusted her with Lawson's life, and I am so grateful that she is the person I chose to help him come into the world. She is wonderful, and I couldn't imagine anyone else having played such an important role in our son's first day on earth.

Now, for pictures! :)

Lawson's first minutes as an outside baby! :)