Rory’s Story

Here is the story of Rory’s birth. As with Riley in 2010, this account is long and detailed, mostly because Kenny and I want to remember as much as we can about the day we welcomed our second son into the world. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Kenny and I were able to check into the hospital at 10pm last Wednesday night to begin the induction process. We got everything buttoned up at home, packed the car, took a few last pictures in the nursery, and waved goodbye to Grandma, who graciously agreed to stay with Riley while we were in the hospital.

We settled into Labor and Delivery Room 4, and our first nurse (Heather) started my IV, put the dreaded blood pressure cuff on, and strapped two bands around my belly to measure contractions and Sprout’s heartrate. She also gave me the first of two Cytotec pills to help soften my cervix.

Heather came back in around 3:30am to check me and to give me the second pill. I was at 2cm at this point. We were also told that Dr. S had called to check on me and decided to limit me to two pills instead of the normal three, since she was confident my body would remember what to do and help the process along.

The rest of the night was uneventful, with Kenny and I trying to get as much sleep as we could. We got two new nurses in the morning around 7:30am (Jennifer and Shelly), who stayed with us through the duration. I was still only 2cm.

Shelly started me on Pitocin around 8:30am, and Dr. S arrived a little before 9am to check me and break my water. She said I was still 2cm but that I immediately progressed to 3 after she broke my water. She also said Sprout dropped further down.

Dr. S left, saying she would check on me around lunch, and then the anesthesia team came in to talk about my epidural. After a bit of debate, I decided to go ahead and get it. My contractions weren’t bad, but I knew I would want it eventually and I had high hopes things would kick into high gear at any minute, and I didn’t want to risk not being able to have it. My epidural was on board just before 10am and I was feeling mighty fine.

I had no issues with the administering of the epidural (the worst part was the sting of the numbing medicine), but it did make me itchy and incredibly sleepy, as well as a little bit nauseous. All I wanted to do after that was sleep. So we kept the lights on low and I dozed in and out most of the rest of the morning. We did have a few visitors drop by, whom were a welcome distraction.

Shelly checked me again a little after 10am and said I was at 3-4cm and 60% effaced. Dr. S came back a couple of hours later and said I hadn’t made much progress. She decided to up the Pitocin and put in a pressure catheter to more accurately measure my contractions and determine if they were doing what they needed to do. She mentioned the possibility of a C-section at this point but did not feel it would come to that.

It was around this time that Kenny and I realized this labor was going very much like Riley’s did. Gone were my hopes that I would deliver my second kid really quickly, as many of my friends did. I got a little frustrated with that realization but unfortunately there really wasn’t much I could do. We were on Sprout’s timeline, and that’s all there was to it.

At 1:45pm Shelly checked me again and said I was about 5cm and 70% effaced. She also started putting me in different positions to encourage Sprout to continue to drop and really get things going. She had me sit up in bed first, to let gravity do its job. She also turned the Pitocin off at one point, to see if my body would kick start itself naturally. It was around this time that my stomach contents (luckily only water) finally rebelled and came back up.

An hour later I was at 6-7cm and still progressing slowly. Shelly and Jennifer had me lay on either side to see if those positions would work better, and they put an oxygen mask on me. I also started to feel some pressure down yonder. Not pleasant, but at least I knew it meant things were most likely getting started.

Another hour after that, around 3:45pm, the Pitocin was turned back on, and I threw up again. Sprout’s heartrate also started to drop with each passing contraction. Half an hour later I was at 8cm and 80% effaced. I was also laying on my right side with one leg draped over the other. Extremely uncomfortable for me because of the constant pressure I was feeling, but Sprout apparently liked the position a lot so I had to stay like that. I remember Shelly and Jennifer telling me they would come back at 5:15 to check me again.

It was at 4:35pm that things really got going. I remember thinking there was no way I’d make it to 5:15; the pressure was getting really intense. I was still on my side, firmly holding onto the bed’s side rail with both hands, and shivering, moaning, and crying uncontrollably through each contraction. It was much tougher than I remember it being with Riley; thank goodness it didn’t last as long.

Kenny, naturally, was a bit worried, so I think he was overjoyed when I told him to call the nurses station and tell them that I was at the point where I really wanted to push with each contraction. I knew that meant the time had come.

Dr. S was called at a quarter to five, I started pushing with Shelly and Jennifer just before 5pm, Dr. S arrived at the top of the hour, and Rory David was born at 5:25pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013. I was so glad I didn’t have to go through an hour and a half of pushing like I did with Riley, I did it all on my own, and I actually was able to keep my eyes open this time and see him being born. Amazing.

Rory was immediately placed on my chest while Jennifer and Shelly worked to clean him up. He released a ton of meconium when he came out, but he left most of it on me and Jennifer suctioned the rest of it out of him. Kenny cut the cord, and then he was moved over to the newborn station. He was cleaned up a bit more, inked for footprints, and given his three ID bands.

 

Luckily, Dr. S didn’t have much to do to me after delivery; she only had to put in one little stitch. Hooray! I stayed on Pitocin to help my uterus contract and awaited Rory to be returned to me. Once he was, I held him close for a bit, we took a family pic and one with Dr. S, and then I attempted the first feeding, which went pretty well.

Kenny ducked out into the waiting room to announce the new arrival and finally reveal the name we had chosen. Nola, Nopsi, UJ, Aunt E, Uncle Jeff, Baby Kate, Uncle Dean, and Aunt Lizzie were overjoyed to hear the the news, and Grams and Bop arrived shortly after they got the call.

 

About an hour after delivery we were told that they didn’t have a post-partum room available for me. It was a full house with lots of new moms and newborns. That also meant the nursery was backed up, so we got to keep Rory with us for a bit longer before he went off to be measured, weighed, and bathed. We let our friends and family back to take a sneak peek at him while we had the chance.

Just as our room was ready around 8:30pm, Kenny (and Grandpa, who showed up to visit for a bit) finally brought Rory to the nursery. He was in there for more than four hours; that’s how busy things were that night. But Kenny did get to go in and see him weighed and measured, and he observed his first bath through the nursery windows, as did Grandma, who came by around 10:30pm.

By that time the rest of our friends and family had been long gone, and Grandma left shortly thereafter. Uncle Jeff had brought us a much-needed takeout dinner from Houston’s, so Kenny and I ate, took showers, and then walked down to the nursery just after 11pm. Rory was still hanging out under the warmer after his bath, but we finally got him back from the nursery around 1am.

And with that, Rory’s birth story comes to a close. Stay tuned for recaps of our other two days in the hospital (including Riley getting to meet Rory), finally coming home, and Rory’s special gift to his big brother.

My thanks must go out to all of the hospital nursing staff, especially the Labor and Delivery department. They were all so wonderful, and they really made the experience a smooth one.

I also must thank my husband. Again, just like with Riley, he was such a comforting and reassuring presence throughout the whole process, and I am so lucky to have him by my side. I love you so much, Baby, and I can’t wait to see what life has in store for us as a new family of four.