Our Birth Story: Emergency C-Section

It all began early in the morning on Saturday, October 29th. We woke up early because we had a busy weekend ahead of us, moving back into our trailer and finalizing everything we needed to do before Vaden’s arrival… that wasn’t supposed to be for another three weeks. When I woke up, I just felt heavy. I told Kyle, “We will have a baby within the week; I know it!”

I felt heavy; my body was so tired and weak, and I knew something was different! But I pushed forward; I finished packing our stuff to move, we went to Kyle’s soccer game (he was finishing his coaching season), ran some errands, and headed back to pack the car. When we got home, our dog (if you know baby, this is no surprise) had gotten into her bag and literally ate the bag of dog treats we had packed. As I began to yell at her, a gush of water filled my pants. I ran to the bathroom thinking I had just peed, but I just had a strange feeling my water had broken, but I didn’t believe it. So, I changed my pants and headed downstairs to eat dinner. Another gush of water filled my pants as I hit the bottom step. At that moment, I knew it wasn’t pee, and it was indeed my water breaking.

Now, my goal this entire pregnancy was to labor at home as long as I possibly could. So I ate dinner, finished packing my hospital bag, enjoyed some cake, and did my best to progress labor. I bounced on my ball, walked up and down the steps, pumped, took a hot shower, relaxed, and went to bed.

The following day, around 10 a.m., we headed to the hospital because they suggested heading in within 24 hours of your water breaking. At this point, I was not feeling any contractions and minimal movement. We got to the labor and delivery floor (L&D), and they brought us back to a triage room. They conducted 3 tests to determine if my water had broken. The first 2 tests came back negative. After about 35 minutes, they returned to confirm my water had broken.

We were moved to an L&D room, where I was hooked up to the fetal heart rate and contraction monitor. I was only 1 cm dilated at this point, 12 hours after my water had broken. So, they gave me some medicine to help my body progress. After a few hours, I was 3cm dilated and made minimal progress. They suggested a foley balloon, which I declined and requested more progression medication. Around 5/6 p.m., the nurses did a round because it was shift rotation. My new nurse was getting updated about my case. While in the room, she had concerns about my “contraction” monitor showing significant contractions, but I was not feeling any of them.

Around 7 p.m., my OB checked my progress, and I had not progressed past 3cm. He was actually questioning if my water had truly even broken. He suggested we go for a c-section, but I asked him to come back after his surgery to see if I had progressed any more before making a decision. Plus, Kyle was outside sneaking in some food, so I wanted to discuss it with him.

At 9 p.m., my OB returned with significant concerns that the baby’s heart rate was weaker than they liked and that I was not feeling my contractions or progressing. He suggested we head for a c-section. Once I permitted him, the prep team rolled in and prepared us to head to the operating room (OR). My body was thoroughly sanitized and prepped, Kyle got his scrubs on, and our items were loaded onto a transportation cart. I handed my phone to Kyle at 9:11 p.m., and we were off to the OR.

Upon arriving at the OR, Kyle waited in the hallway while I got my spinal block and strapped to the table. The team was moving fast, so fast I was worried they wouldn’t wait for my spinal to kick in. I told them I still felt my toes, and we waited for a few minutes until I felt nothing. Then, they began the process. At that point, they brought Kyle back to stand by my head.

At 9:37 p.m., Vaden was out and peeing everywhere, lol! The umbilical cord was wrapped around him. They untangled him and moved him to the baby bed. He peed 3 times before getting to the baby bed. Once on the baby bed, the nurses stepped between Kyle and him because he was not breathing. Vaden had an APGAR score of 3 and was significantly purple. After the nurses used the respiratory machines, he breathed stronger than ever… and peed again!

They sealed me up and moved us to the post-op room. They took his little handprints and footprints, checked his breathing, and brought him over so we could do skin-to-skin and attempt to breastfeed.

Little man latched on quickly and was just the most peaceful nugget. I did hand him back to Kyle while I worked my legs like crazy to wear the spinal block off. Within an hour of Vaden being out, we were moved to the postnatal floor and soaked in becoming parents.

Our birth story was the complete opposite of what we had planned for. Was slightly scary, yet a true testimony of God being present throughout the process. While it was not the planned route, I am grateful God moved through the situation to get Vaden out before it was too late. I pray if God allows us to have more children, I can attempt a VBAC but have confidence heading into either situation.