The Turner's Thoughts: Adalyn's Birth Story

I remember walking into the hospital in the rain…good thing I had my raincoat, which I ended up leaving and losing at the hospital...oops! We checked into triage, which consisted of signing some paperwork and getting a few of my bracelets. Soon we were off to our labor and delivery room. Our walk to the room seemed so surreal…I was walking to the room where our child would be born. Crazy! Our nurse went over some logistics and then our midwife came into the room to talk about the day and check to see if I was dilated. As she did, she said, “You’re not going to believe this…you’re 4 centimeters dilated!” Before I knew it she broke my water and said there was no need to induce me and that I could labor on my own. She told me she’d be back around lunchtime to check on me. Now I knew the contractions the night before had really done something! As I mentioned before, I really wanted to be able walk around and labor anywhere except the bed. And so the walking began. Greg and I walked around the same hallway so many times, we should have counted. The nurses joked with us when they saw us and commented on how we were still walking. I told Greg I think the hospital should have had some type of walking track for people like me :) We watched my contractions on the monitors and didn’t see too many changes throughout the morning, but were still hopeful that things would begin to progress quickly. There were tornado warnings that morning so we had to stay in our room rather than walk in the hallway at points throughout the morning. Greg and I had the Weather channel on TV as I labored to keep tabs on things, but really just to keep my mind off of the contractions. Throughout the morning my contractions were tolerable. In fact, someone from my work called to see if I had delivered yet and I proceeded to tell them that I was in labor in the hospital. They felt pretty bad for calling, but I didn’t mind because I was feeling okay at the time. I should mention that I sent a text to my family early that morning to tell them that I didn’t need to be induced because I was 4 cm dilated.

My delivery bed

After a somewhat long and uneventful morning, lunchtime rolled around. I was hoping I would get to eat lunch, but no such luck. My midwife came back around 1 pm. Unfortunately, I hadn’t progressed at all, which meant I needed to be induced to move things along. The other piece of disappointing news I wasn’t thrilled about was the fact that I couldn’t take the oral drug. My midwife told me that I needed to get the Pitocin so that they could monitor the amount I was given. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but honestly I was just so anxious to meet our baby and move things along that I was okay with it. I wasn’t actually given the Pitocin until around 2:00 pm. I was still able to walk around, but just had to lug around an IV pole, which we did, happily. The contractions became more intense as the afternoon went on. For the next two hours, I labored either by walking or moving around from side to side on the exercise ball. Around 4:00 pm I needed a change of scenery. I decided to hop (not literally) into the Jacuzzi tub. Due to the IV and the Pitocin I wasn’t able to use the jets, but I could still sit in the tub and so I did. My contractions became pretty intense while I was in there. I had a few where I thought I was going to lose it. I hadn’t started any patterned breathing yet, but knew that was just around the corner. I remember sitting in the tub wanting to push my feet against something to try to reduce the pain during the contractions. Of course the tub was slippery so I couldn’t. In the middle of contractions I told Greg that he needed to text my mom and tell her that I had to get Pitocin and to pray. It occurred to me that I hadn’t updated anyone…not that I planned to, but I really felt the need to share the latest with my mom.

I’m not sure how long I was in the tub, but I decided it was time to get out. The contractions were really painful. Before going back into our room I used the bathroom, which really hurt during a contraction. Looking back I now know that was a sign that I would soon feel the urge to push. While in the bathroom I told Greg to get our nurse so that I could talk with her. Have I mentioned yet how awesome Greg was through the entire process? He was a great encouragement and I really couldn’t have done it without him. I really wanted/needed to know how much longer the contractions would continue and how much stronger they would become. I wanted to give birth naturally without any pain medication, but honestly it really started to become painful! My nurse was great in that she didn’t try to rush me into making any quick decisions. She talked with me about my desire to give birth naturally and just had a very calming demeanor. She ended up calling my midwife who told her to check my progress. Before I got into bed so she could check me, I had some of the hardest contractions. I was laboring on the ball with my face and arms on the bed. Greg was massaging my shoulders and my nurse was pushing on my back since it had really started to bother me. There were a few contractions during which I really lost it! I couldn’t keep my breathing steady and I cried instead. Looking back, now I know why breathing is so important. When I was able, I got into bed. I was about to just scream that I wanted an epidural, but before I could do that, my nurse said “You’re complete!”. Those words were enough to completely switch my mindset. Complete meant 10 cm dilated. I was ready to have our baby! It was probably around 5:00 pm at this point. I stayed in bed the through the rest of my contractions.

Soon after my nurse called my midwife to tell her I was 10 cm dilated, I began to feel the urge to push. I knew it was real because I remember my mom telling me that with each of her children she vividly remembers feeling the need to push. I told my nurse I had to push. She called it involuntary, but I couldn’t help it. Each time a contraction came I wanted to push. I did push, but just not the type of pushing that would really push the baby out (I only know this now). I knew my midwife was on her way to the hospital, but I started to feel nervous and I think my nurse was, too. She had told us that there was an OB on call who could deliver our baby if my midwife didn’t make it and she had already called her to give her a head’s up. Around 5:15-5:20, she said that she could call the OB on call and ask her to come into the room just in case my midwife didn’t make it. I should also mention that from the moment my nurse said I was 10 cm dilated, they started preparing the room for delivery. They brought in a table with a blue sheet and a handful of things on it (I’m still not sure what everything was). I started to get really nervous and say with each contraction, I think the baby is going to come out! As soon as the OB on call walked in I felt relieved. But literally two minutes after that my midwife arrived. I was even more relieved! I really wanted her to deliver our baby. When I saw her I just said the baby needs to come out.

Before I knew it she was at the end of my bed and the process began. It’s funny…no one ever talked to me about how pushing is painful, but instead just focused on contractions being painful. Well let me tell you, pushing is painful! My midwife and nurse coached me through how to position myself and how to actually push. The pushing began around 5:30. I really tried to stay calm while pushing because I wanted to focus all of my attention on getting the baby OUT! About 10 minutes into pushing I decided to ask for a status check. I asked how much longer I would need to push. I had to know how much energy I needed to regain. My midwife said I would have the baby by 6:00. I remember thinking okay, I can do this. The pushing continued and the head began to crown. My midwife said, “Look at all of that dark hair, Amanda!”. I looked in the mirror and was amazed, thinking oh my gosh that’s my baby’s head. Greg made a comment about how the baby must get his or her dark hair from my side of my family. In between contractions my nurse and I realized that I graduated high school with her daughter! What a small world! We chatted about her daughter and high school for a bit. I must admit, it was a nice distraction, but amusing at the same time. In between contractions I also shared the story about how my grandma delivered one of her babies in the waiting room of a hospital without a doctor or nurse nearby. And in the middle of all the pushing, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I would soon be holding my baby. I thought as soon as I saw the head that the baby would come out, but that wasn’t the case. It was work to get the baby out! But before I knew it, it was 6:08 and our beautiful baby was born. What a feeling! The baby’s head came out and I felt my midwife and Greg pull the body and legs out. That’s when Greg said it, “It’s a girl!”. Of course part of me was shocked because I had convinced myself that we were having a boy, but deep down I should have known that God was preparing my heart for a little girl all along. I’m normally a pretty emotional person, so it was ironic that I didn’t cry as they handed me our healthy baby girl. I was just in such awe of what had happened I think I was in too much shock to cry. I’ll never forget holding Adalyn for the first time. I’ll never forget the way she smelled, the sound of her cry and the way she looked up at me. As I write this I have tears in my eyes and could sob thinking about that day. It was such an incredible day. Our God truly IS an AWESOME GOD! Sweet Adalyn changed our lives from that moment on.

In the midst of all the excitement, Greg and I took a few moments to just look in amazement at our child, a true gift from God. We waited about a half hour before calling anyone to tell them Adalyn had arrived. I called my family first. I decided to call my parent’s house phone. My dad picked up and I remember choking up and saying, “Dad, guess what? You’re a grandpa!”. My parents had decided to wait to find out the gender until they arrived at the hospital. About 20 minutes later they arrived with my brother, Whit and sister, Bec. We announced that we had a little girl when they arrived. The next few hours were pretty much a whirlwind, getting checked by the nurses, moving to our recovery room, making phone calls, etc. I remember that I was extremely hungry! I ordered a huge turkey club sandwich that didn’t even taste that great but I ate the entire thing so fast. I remember my legs just shaking the entire night. I guess it was from the laboring and my nerves. And of course there were all of the sweet moments, too…breastfeeding Adalyn for the first time, watching Greg hold and swaddle her, and kissing her goodnight only a few short hours after she was born. One day I might forget all of these little details, which is why I wrote down as many as I could remember. But I will never forget what it felt like to give birth to our little girl, sweet Adalyn Faith Turner. I will never forget the way she looked up at me the first time I held her. And I will never forget to tell her I love her each and every day.