Introducing Ethan Alexander Byers

Quick Stats:
Born December 13, 2009 @ 9:46 am
20.75 inches / 8 lbs 2 ozs


On Saturday December 12 (Ethan's official due date) light contractions began around 9 am. They persisted throughout the day, and around 4 pm, I started having massive back pain throughout and between them.

Around 5:50 Josh and I were spooning on the sofa watching tv when we both heard and felt a strange pop come from my pelvic region. We were both pretty startled and wondered if my water had broken. I stood up but nothing happened, and I went to the bathroom to pee. When I stood back up, a contraction began and a big gush of fluid came out. I wasn't quite sure if I'd just peed on myself or not, but when gushes kept coming out with each contraction, I knew my water had definitely broken. I put a towel between my legs and laid down while Josh packed up a few last minute things for the hospital. By 6:45 we were off to Trinity!

After we arrived and got checked in, I was told my cervix was dialted to 4 centimeters. After water breakage, the average expected dilation rate is about a centimenter per hour, so we expected to be ready to push around 2 am. Unfortunately, Ethan was still in the occipital posterior (OP) position and I think we all knew I was going to be in for a long night of intense back pain and slow progression.

(When a baby is OP it means they are head down, but facing forward. Mom and baby are spine to spine, and with each contraction, the baby's head presses into the sacrum (lower spine) instead of on the cervix. It creates lots of back pain obviously, and dialation is slowed down since the baby's head isn't pushing up against the right area. It also means that pushing the baby out is going to be difficult because the head isn't coming through the pelvic bones at a great angle... but more on that later.)

Luckily I was allowed intermittant fetal monitoring, so I only had to be strapped up to monitors every 30 minutes for 30 minutes. That freedom of movement allowed me to use a birthing ball, which I draped myself over, hoping that being in a more "on all-fours" position would help Ethan move off my spine and hopefully turn around (which he never did).

To survive the incredible back pain, Josh had to put constant counter-pressure on it for HOURS. He was amazingly selfless and never once complained or stopped rubbing or pressing his hands into my back, even though I know he had to be getting pretty tired of it. Later in the night, he showed me a fist full of purple knuckles from pressing so hard and long. Owwie.

I had planned on having a natural childbirth, and I managed to labor drug-free with Josh's help til about 11 pm. At that point, we discovered I had only progressed to 6 cms dilated, and once the nurse mentioned an epidural, I practically begged for it. I just couldn't handle any more, and I knew I'd need all the strength I could get when it came time to push.

The anesthesiologist showed up about 20 minutes later, but it felt like a lifetime. When he went to place the epidural, he told me that I have a curved spine but didn't look like it would cause a problem. My back was already in such intense pain, I only felt a few little pricks (thank goodness). Josh and I were both relieved to get some rest once my drugs kicked in. It took away all of that miserable back pain, but I could still feel the contractions on one side of my body, which I wasn't expecting. I know so many people who after recieving an epidural, took a 5 hour nap and woke up when it was time to push. That's what I was fully anticipating after giving in, but that's not what happened.

At 5 am, the nurses checked me and I was stuck at 9 centimeters. I couldn't believe it. It'd been 12 hours since my water broke, and I STILL wasn't ready to push. I wanted to die. The doc decided to hook me up to pitocin (a synthetic hormone that causes or strengthens contractions) so that I would dilate the final bit. The contractions definitely picked up, and the left side of my body was in really intense pain during them. The anestesiologist came back in and gave me a double dose of whatever is in an epidural. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that must have taken the edge off my pain, but even after that I *still* had to focus hard through the contractions. I know it probably sounds crazy, but because I never went completely numb and had to "work" through the contractions, I feel like I got somewhat of a "natural" childbirth experience.

So, I kept laboring for what felt like a lifetime. Every noise I heard, I imagined it was going to be a nurse coming in to check me and tell me it was time to push. After a while without any checks, I really thought they'd forgotten about me. Around this time I muttered to my mom, "Where are the forms you sign when you want to give up?" Finally, 3 hours later they came in to check me. At 8:00 am on Sunday, my cervix was fully dialated, and I was ready to push at 8:05.

Pushing was such a welcome relief to the lying around I'd been doing all night. I was pretty tired and hungry, but I tried to block out the distraction. I was so ready to be done that I got down to business pretty quickly. With the first push, the nurses told me they could see Ethan's hair... and with every push after that, he came a little farther out. Because he wasn't situated in my pelvis too well, though, progress was slow, and I couldn't figure out why he wasn't out already if everyone kept telling me I was "so close." (He was getting hung up on my pelvic bones. A nurse told me later that I had plenty of room in there to push out a large porperly-situated baby, but at the angle he was coming through, it didn't look likely.) I really wanted to know how long I was going to be pushing so I could try to conserve energy for later, but no one was giving me any kind of indication how long it was going to last. In fact, the doctors started asking me if I knew anything about using forceps or suction to help get the baby out, as well as the possible need for an episiotomy and the risks of going to an emergency c-section. That all kinda freaked me out a little bit, and I decided to just give it my all for as long as I could and not worry about how much strength I had left.

After a while, Dr Harker showed up. He told me it looked like I did need an episiotomy to make the area a little bigger, but he said he'd make it small. I consented, and thankfully didn't feel a thing since Ethan's head was already crowning, naturally making it numb. Even with that, though, his head was still getting slowed down by my pevic bones, and they said that a little bit of suction would really help. I thought for a minute between the contractions, and said, "No, I'm getting this baby out myself." (How stubborn!) The nurses and doctors seemed surprised but cheered me on. A few contractions and pushes later, though, I knew I was about at the end of my rope. I consented to the suction, curled up like a shrimp on my back, and pushed as hard as I possibly could while they pulled. The suction didn't latch too well the first time, but with the second attempt, Ethan's head came out. Two pushes after that, his body came barreling out, and I let out a scream-yelp of surprise. So, after an hour and forty-five minutes of pushing, Ethan was born at 9:46 am. FINALLY, sweet relief!!!

Josh got to cut the cord, then after placenta-birthing, the doctors started stitching me up while they took Ethan to the other side of the room to get him cleaned up. I heard them say that he was pretty swollen and had fluid in his lungs (Josh and I discussed it later and think his mouth got sucked back in sometime between the last few pushes), but they took care of him quickly. Then, the nurse announced that Ethan was 20.75 inches long and a WHOPPING 8lbs 2 ozs. How a baby that size fit in me, let alone came OUT of me is still kinda freaky.

Unfortunately, when Ethan rocketed out of me, I ended up tearing the entire rest of the way (hole to hole! Yikes!!). Dr Harker had never stitched up a tear that bad, so he got over an hour's worth of practice on me. Thankfully I kept hearing the attending doctor say things like "excellent" and "that's perfect," so I trust that all will be well again down there one day.

Over the course of the next few days in the hospital, we heard stories from the doctors and nurses on duty (and others who had just heard about the birth) that everyone was very concerned that I would end up in an emergency c-section. One doctor was impressed with how well I seemed to be recovering in light of Ethan's birth being "like a grenade going off" in my nether regions. Gee thanks, doc!

In light of the severity of my injuries sustained during the birthing process, we asked for a doctor's note requesting that Josh's leave time be extended. His unit consented and granted him an extra 10 days to take care of me and Ethan since I can't drive for 2 weeks or lift anything or ... well, pretty much anything except nurse. I'm quite the invalid at the moment, and am so, so grateful to have a husband who's so willing to go the extra mile and be a servant to his family.

Ethan's pretty much the best baby ever. He only cries if he really and truly needs something, and the rest of the day he just kinda hangs out with us and makes us smile at his cuteness. I had no idea how much love I could have for a tiny human being, or how much his presense in our family could strengthen my love for and bond with Josh. We are truly blessed.