Alaina Tyler's Birth Story (10/21/2019)

At first I wasn't going to write about Lainey's birth story. But when I wanted to, time had gotten away from me. So today, on the Eve of her First Birthday, the time seems just right.

Before I begin, I would not suggest expecting mothers to read this. My advice is to stay away from birth stories. I read quite a few before I delivered and all they did was freak me out. I am writing this more so for my own memory and not as a form of advice. Also, I am far from a nurse or doctor so I am probably misinforming a whole ton.

Without further a due, here we go!

To set up Lainey's birth story, I need to start when I was 35/36 weeks pregnant. Around this time, Lainey was stationed very low (+2 station), and I was put on unofficial bedrest. Lainey was stationed so low, I could not walk or get dressed (I literally could not spread my legs apart to dress myself). At each of my weekly appointments, Tyler would drop me off at the door while he parked, and I would start walking to the elevators. I had to pass a service desk at the hospital, and every week, one of the ladies would ask me if I was okay and if I needed a wheelchair. I would smile (and say I was okay) but often wondered about how ridiculous I must have looked!

Needless to say, I was in rough shape. So after my 38-week appointment, my doctor asked how ready I was to have a baby. And I said ready. So she suggested we scheduled an induction on Monday, October 21, 2019, when I was going to be 39 weeks and 2 days. I am very much a planner. So having a planned induction was pretty nice! I knew Lainey could come earlier, but there was an end date. So the weekend before, we went on our last date, we cleaned the house, I showered, shaved, got my nails done, etc. It was pretty fantastic - the planner in me was pleased! However, there was a lot of anxiousness around being induced. I had read some horror stories about it. Birth, in general, caused anxiousness but then a friend had given me great advice. I simply did not have anything to compare the pain against so how would I know if an induction was "worse" than a birth without Pitocin. Great point.

I also put my faith in Jesus. Our Pastor had reminded me that Jesus had the perfect day picked out. He was going to protect and help me, as well as Lainey. That gave me so much comfort. I kept telling myself "faith over fear". Monday morning came with a 4:05 alarm, although I am quite certain I was awake before it. We were to be at the hospital at 6 am. By 8 am, I had an IV going with Pitocin. I was 1.5 centimeters dilated before the Pitocin. The plan was to have an epidural as soon as I "made progress". After that, the nurse left, we turned on the Food Network, and pretty much hung out in our room. Within five minutes, I was feeling stuff happen, but nothing super crazy (yet).

A selfie before we headed to the hospital, 5:34 am

Heart rate monitors and IV drip of Pitocin, 8:42 am

My nurse would come in about every 30 minutes to check on me and increase the Pitocin (I think). To be honest, I am not too sure because she didn't tell me much. I had a couple popsicles, and we went on a walk. We had to take a few breaks as I had contractions, but it wasn't anything serious.

Our walk,10:30 am

Around 11 am is when things really heated up. I had been having contractions but starting at 11, things went into overdrive. I thought I was feeling pretty good when my nurse suggested another walk. I tried to stand up and barely could. I was in so much pain and was actually quite speechless. I decided to go to the bathroom instead, and after taking about 20 minutes to travel 10 feet to the bathroom, I laid back in my bed and decided to call for an epidural.

After my nurse checked me, I was 5 centimeters dilated, and she quickly called the anesthesiologist. Waiting for the anesthesiologist felt like an eternity, but actually, was quite long. At one point, I almost asked if there was anything that could be done for the pain as we waited for the anesthesiologist to arrive. But forty-five minutes later, the young anesthesiologist was in my room, and we were getting set-up. The epidural should not have been as bad as it was, but my contractions were so intense, I could not relax my body and I could not stay still. I was flinching, causing her to hit things she shouldn't (probably my spinal cord?), and my legs were going numb. I was screaming, saying I couldn't feel my legs. The anesthesiologist would ask if it was pain or pressure, and how I was suppose to tell the difference, I don't know. This happened two or three more times until finally the anesthesiologist found the spot, and the epidural was in. Within minutes, I found relief and started to relax.

After the epidural was in, the nurse checked me, and I was 7 centimeters. However, Lainey was face up so they gave me this "peanut" to put between my legs to help Lainey turn. Low and behold, twenty minutes later, and she was face down - it worked! The epidural was great, but my body was shaking uncontrollably! I asked Tyler to hold my arms down so I would stop shaking. That helped some. Shortly after, my doctor popped in and they were going to insert the catheter but turns out, it was go time!

My doctor broke my water, which I was nervous about, but I didn't feel a thing! I only felt a bunch of warm liquid against my body, and my doctor telling the nurse, "I made a mess over here". It gave us all a laugh.

After that, more nurses and equipment came rushing into the room. My original nurse scooted me to the end of bed and put my leg in the stirrups. Tyler quick ran and got a sip of water (later to tell me he didn't know how long it was going to be), causing my knee to crash into my other knee because I couldn't hold it up on my own. The nurse asked Tyler if he was squeamish, and he said no (I beg to differ) and then she said, "Good! Now grab a leg!". My doctor coached me on how to push and 20 minutes later, she said, "one more good push and her head will be out." And just as she said, one more push later, her head was out! At that point, my doctor asked if I wanted to touch Lainey's head, but I declined. I didn't feel like I needed to do that. One final push, and at 2:38 pm, the best gift I could have ever received was laid up upon my chest!

Our first kiss and one of our first pictures together, 2:40 pm

All the events that happened after that moment were a whirlwind. Lainey was laid on my chest as they cleaned her off. Then they quickly took her to be weighed and measured (and maybe they did some other things too). As they took her to the station, I remember them saying, "Look at the rolls!". She did have a lot of rolls!

While Lainey was being tended too, my doctor tended to me. I will never forget what she said, "Now don't move, I have a big needle down here". My doctor was quite talkative but to be honest, I was only half listening. I was more curious what was going on with Lainey! I remember yelling over to the station where Lainey was, "how big is she?". Our sweet girl came in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces and 20.5 inches long.

Photo by Dad, 2:48 pm

Tyler was floating all around, between me, Lainey, taking photos, and assisting the lady wiping up the floor ("there's a spot over here"), all with a huge smile on his face.

At some point they asked us her name. Our list was narrowed down to two names but we didn't want to decide until birth. We knew her middle name was going to be Tyler though. We both looked at each other and said, "should we go with Alaina?".

Alaina, means "Ray of Light". That day was cold, dreary, and windy. I actually had worn my winter jacket to the hospital that morning! But after she was born, I remember looking out the window, and there was sun. Minutes later, it was gone. Totally a sign in my mind - she was meant to be named Alaina. In every way, she is our Ray of Light.

Our first family photo, 3:05 pm

At 6 pm, we allowed visitors. Everyone in both our immediate families got to meet her. Tyler ordered Pizza Hut delivery, and we ate a cold but delicious pepperoni pizza at 10 pm that night.

It was perfect. She was perfect.

October 21, 2019 will always be a favorite day of mine. The birthing experience is an absolute miracle. I know every birth story is different, but everything about the experience was magical to me.