Joseph Jason Hall’s Birth Story

November 3rd, 2010

The pregnancy summed up was normal and healthy. I was a zombie in the 1^st trimester when we moved from AZ to UT. I only got sick twice, even though I felt nauseous all the time. It was much better than with Abby when I was sick for the first 6 months. While still in AZ, I went to the hospital a couple times because I had some light spotting. Everything was fine and healthy; I was just stressed and overworking with the move.

The 2^nd trimester was pretty uneventful, except around 27 weeks when I slipped on some ice and fell on my tailbone and back (twice)! I went to the hospital per my midwife’s request so they could monitor the baby and make sure everything was fine, and it was. I was in a lot of pain for a while, sat on a donut the rest of the pregnancy. I was able to go to a chiropractor weekly though, which helped a little.

My 3^rd trimester was very interesting. At 32 weeks I went into preterm labor, I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes for 3 hours. I rubbed some lavender oil on my belly, laid down and relaxed, drank water and had Joe give me a blessing, and they finally stopped. A couple days later at my midwife’s office, they checked my cervix and I was at 2 cm and 80% effaced. So I got the cortisone (steroid) shots to make sure the baby’s lungs would develop faster in case I did have him too early. And my midwife put me on modified bed rest and prescribed Nifedipine, which is a blood pressure medicine that prevents contractions. I hated this medicine that I had to take 4 times a day; it gave me bad headaches and made me feel weak and shaky, and made my heart race (which was weird considering what the medicine is for). It gave me several panic attacks, where I’d hyperventilate and my hands and arms would go numb, not fun! Because I complained about the medicine, my midwife said I could go down to two a day at 34 weeks, and one a day at 35 weeks, and stop at 36 weeks. Within those weeks, I went into the hospital a couple more times to be monitored because of preterm labor and was given the Terbutaline shot once to stop the contractions. My midwife and the rest of us all thought for sure I’d go into labor as soon as I was done taking the meds, because once I was taking the Nifedipine less often I was always having contractions except for a 4 hour window right after I took one.

At 36 weeks, I was taken off of bed rest and off the meds…..and nothin’! There were contractions, but they always stopped. I know it’s not something to be upset about, but when you’re huge and pregnant and in labor on and off for over a month, by the time you’re “allowed” to go, you just want to go!

On March 14^th at 12:45 AM, my water broke! I immediately texted my mom (who was part of my labor support team), my friend Amy (who spent the night at our house to watch Abby), and my friend Megan (who took the professional pictures during labor and delivery). When Amy came over, she brought her boyfriend with her to hang out. This was the first time we met Mark, who is now her hubby! About 15 minutes later I realized I should probably call my midwife, duh! So I called and they told me to head straight to the hospital. Fine. I originally wanted to do most of the laboring at home until I couldn’t walk or talk through a contraction, but since my water broke they needed to monitor me right away.

I got checked in and the midwife on call gave me a ring in my room, the first thing she said was “We’ll start your Pitocen at 5:30.” I said, “No…” and continued to explain my plan to do this all naturally, and that the Pitocen would make that more difficult so I didn’t want it. I explained that I wanted to be allowed to walk around the hospital to encourage my contractions, and that I wanted only intermittent monitoring as my birth plan outlined. She said that wasn’t allowed. Now, I was being not so nice when I explained that when I discussed my plan with Jana, the midwife I usually met with, she said that was perfectly fine, and I reiterated that I needed to be allowed to walk around. She was kind of taken back and said, “I guess I can call Jana in the morning and ask if she wants to come in.” I agreed that that would be a good idea. I feel really bad for being so bratty now, but at the time I was pretty upset that all my plans might have gone out the window. So of course my contractions slowed way down, and almost stopped completely. Through the night, my mom, Megan and I watched movies (Joe slept), while I walked around my bed or rolled my hips sitting on the birthing ball, trying to get the contractions going again.

At about 5 AM, I got a call from Jana apologizing that she was out of town, explaining that if she weren’t she would definitely come in. She encouraged me saying that even if I have to have Pitocen that I could do it naturally, saying that contractions are contractions, Pitocen doesn’t make them stronger, they just make the strong ones come sooner. I wasn’t convinced, but she said she could have Jenn, the midwife student come in and help. I had met with her before once or twice, so I knew her, plus I heard only amazing things about her from everyone at the hospital. Jana said having her would be like having a doula there, and it was!

Well they pushed the 5 AM Pitocen deadline because of Daylight Savings, and eventually started me on it at about 7:30 AM. At this point I was already exhausted from standing and pacing and staying up all night, blah. Joe was the only smart one to take a nap. They agreed to start me off slow, and when my body realized what it should be doing it would take over and they could stop the Pitocen. I started at a 2, and went as high as 8, but stayed at 4 or 6 the majority of the labor, and needed it up until he was out. Every time they tried to back me off, my contractions slowed way down. What the heck!?!? Haven’t I been in preterm labor for the last 5 and a half weeks!? Why couldn’t I be in labor now?! Makes no sense! But as a side note: the same type of thing happened with Abby. I went into labor the day before I was 36 weeks, they stopped it, and I had tons of contractions almost every night for the last month that always stopped. Then I had to be induced and finally had her at 40 weeks and 4 days. Back to the story. I was doing pretty well at first, Joe massaged my back, I tried the hands-and-knees and side lying positions, and used aromatherapy heat packs to help with the pain. A few hours later, though, I asked for Jenn’s help and she was amazing! Did you know the pushing on your knees cuts the pain in half? Crazy! Jenn, Joe and my mom made the perfect team; I couldn’t have done this without them! Jenn encouraged me so much, really made me believe I was doing a good job.

The book “Birthing From Within” I read while I was pregnant to prepare me described a phase called “laborland” which is a phase I definitely was in for a while. I wasn’t really aware of what was going on around me; I was just trying to breathe to survive the next contraction. I remember being told to relax my body, then forehead, then eyebrows; I remember that helping. I remember silence most of the time, but maybe that was just in my head. I remember listening to Alanis Morisette did NOT help, haha! I remember slapping Joe while trying to cover his mouth and telling him to shut up because he was talking too loud and right in my ear. Sorry honey! I remember breathing very loudly (moaning) through each contraction; I remember it helping if I started moaning right when I felt the contraction coming, rather than waiting until it really hurt. I remember being told “Good job!” the louder I moaned, and being confused. The louder I was the more I thought I had lost control, but I was later told that wasn’t the case.

I remember the midwife coming in several times and always saying, “The baby’s not happy, he’s not happy.” They wouldn’t tell me that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck until several hours after he was born. Pretty early on, they refilled my amniotic sac with saline to give cushion to the baby, so the cord wasn’t so tight around his neck. I can’t remember what excuse they told me for doing this at the time. They also hooked the baby up to internal fetal monitoring, and put in the internal contraction monitor.

I remember getting checked and being at 7 cm…..again….and again….and again. My uterus was tilted to my left throughout the pregnancy, which made the location of my cervix up and to the right. This means that the baby was not putting weight on my cervix to help move things along. I was stuck at 7 cm for over 4 hours! Jenn helped me try all sorts of different positions to help move my uterus’ weird position, but I was still stuck. Being on the Pitocen made the contractions stronger and closer as time went on, but I was still at 7. This was the most psychologically challenging part of the labor! I started asking for an epidural but Jenn said I couldn’t ask for one during a contraction, I had to ask in between contractions. So in between she’d ask, “OK, do you want an epidural?” and I’d say, “No”. I somehow forgot how bad the pain was less than 30 seconds ago! Finally, the midwife came in to repeat that the baby was not happy, and pretty soon I’d need an epidural to get him out quickly, otherwise I’d need an emergency cesarean. There was my out! It was an epidural or cesarean, so I agreed to the epidural. At that moment, my state-of-mind totally switched from “I’m going to do this naturally” to “Where’s the epidural!?!?”

Joe told me later that I started asking where the Anesthesiologist was right away, and he kind of laughed and said that they just called him; he needs time to get to the hospital. It was miserable waiting for him! I was lying on my right side – still at 7 cm last they checked – hanging on to Joe’s neck, screaming in his ear. Well, I thought I was screaming, others claim it was just the moaning but much louder, which was a good thing I guess – a sign of control. At this point, I felt like I had zero control.

My state-of-mind switched right back during the next contraction. My body started pushing, and I screamed, “I’m pushing, I’m pushing!” Still laying on my right side, someone lifted up my leg and checked me. I was at 9 ½ cm!! My birth plan specified that I wanted to push on my hand and knees, or in the squatting position, but everything happened so fast. They rolled me from my side to my back, yelling in my ear (needing to be louder than me), “You need to let go of your husband now!” I released Joe from the choke-hold I had him in.

They checked me again and I was at a 10! All of the sudden there were what seemed like dozens of people in the room. I wasn’t aware of what they were all doing; I just knew that I was pushing! My birth plan specified that I wanted to push at my own pace, how my body told me to. But again, “the baby’s not happy” so I needed to get him out fast and listen to their instructions. Fine, whatever, here comes the contraction, PUSH! I was aware of the nurse screaming in my ear. I was aware of the “ring of fire” I was feeling. This was good; I had read about this, I wasn’t afraid of this. This made me feel in control; it made me feel powerful. It almost didn’t feel like pain. PUSH, PUSH, PUSH….STOP STOP STOP!! The head was out, they cut the umbilical cord. I still didn’t know about the cord, but I wasn’t asking questions right now either. PUSH, PUSH, PUSH….STOP STOP STOP!! I started tearing…{up}! They gave me an episiotomy {down} to prevent further tearing. PUSH, PUSH, PUSH, PUSH!!! Joseph Jason Hall was born!

And he was blue. And he was having a hard time breathing. I asked why and they said it was because his lungs were underdeveloped because he was early. Well that didn’t make sense, he was only 2 ½ weeks early, plus I had those steroid shots to ensure his lungs WOULD be developed enough. I don’t know why they didn’t tell me the truth at this point. I didn’t get to hold him right away; they were trying to make sure he was OK. Then I held him and he was still blue and still barely breathing. I was so scared I didn’t want to hold him; I just wanted the medical staff taking care of him. So when they took him back almost right away, I was relieved. He spent two hours in the nursery hooked up to a CPAP. Joe was in there with JJ the whole time, keeping a close eye on him. I went to the nursery for a couple visits, in between showering, napping, and eating. JJ recovered quickly, and when he was able to come back into my room, he remained on a heart rate and oxygen monitor, just for good measure. The first time breastfeeding him, the nurses said he might have a hard time because of his “breathing problem”, but he latched on perfectly, immediately, and aggressively!

We stayed in the hospital a couple more days. A lot of people came to visit and meet our new angel! The first day, my dad and his family brought Abby in to meet JJ. And the next day, Joe’s cousin LaChelle was watching Abby, and she brought her in again. We missed our Abby so much! We had so many friends and family members helping us with everything, and making it such a wonderful experience. Thanks so much

Joseph Jason Hall was born on March 14, 2010 at 2:14 PM. He was 6 lbs 7 oz, and 19 ½ in long. He was named after his dad, who was named after HIS dad, Joseph. His middle name was given to honor Joe’s best friend Jason Brown, who passed away on March 2, 2010. JJ was born on Mothering Sunday (Britain’s Mother’s Day), which is appropriate considering Joe’s English heritage. 3/14/10 is also “Pie Day” so we’re convinced he’ll be a genius.