He’s Here! Liam Maverick’s Birth Story Pt. 1

Before I introduce you to the one who has completely changed my life for the better, I will begin the birth story from where I last left off.  This is when I had my 40-week OB appointment.  They did a membrane sweep, I found out I was dilated, and effaced and my induction date was set up.  You can read all about it here.

Before the induction date of October 10th arrived, we were to have an ultrasound on the 7th just to check a few things.  (The fluid levels, the blood flow, his heart, etc, and make sure all was well). We were told that we would get a call during the day to know when to go in.  But, if we didn’t, to call them after 6.  Thankfully, they called at 1:50 PM and said to come in anytime but before 7 PM would be best.  I called my parents, and we arrived at the hospital and were set up for the NST by 3:05 PM.

The NST lasted about half an hour…

during which, I had to drink some juice to wake Liam up.  I knew this would need to be done, he was too quiet for the hour leading up to getting there.  The juice worked; his heartbeat which had been averaging at around 124 bpm went all the way up to 150.  You could hear him moving around more.  I had a contraction while being hooked up and noticed his heartbeat went down to 109.  At this stage of pregnancy, a regular rate is 110-160 so it did not worry me that it went down to 109.  Especially since I was lying down and that can affect how slow his heart beats during contractions.

Once that was done, we ended up waiting almost an hour to see the Dr for the ultrasound.

We could see a LOT of fluid, a healthy heart beating away, a slight profile view, and his cute tiny hand.  It is also apparent that he is in fact, a boy.  When she was trying to get a good view of his heart, he wasn’t moving. Without warning she nudged and moved my belly around HARD to try to get him to move.  It worked, but all I will say, is OUCH, and thanks for another contraction.

The scan was done in less than 5 minutes and we were told Liam was a very healthy baby. There was no need to worry or for us to stay at the hospital.  I was very, very relieved to know that he was doing okay and just taking his time.  On Tuesday, when the Ultrasound and plans for induction were planned, I thought “Okay, Monday latest, he will at least be progressing and on his way to meet us. But first, we have to get through Friday’s tests.” So I focused on the tests.  After the ultrasound and NST were done, there was nothing else medical-related to be done.  The next step would be going to the hospital to deliver him.

This was both exciting and terrifying.

I couldn’t believe we were that close to meeting our Son.  I also thought that while he could definitely come before Monday, I think he was waiting to have some Thanksgiving turkey and family time before making his appearance.  So, maybe Sunday night once he had his appetite fulfilled, he would be ready to meet us.

However, unbeknownst to us, when they do NST tests, they want you to go in every two days so they can continue to track how the baby is doing.  I found this out when they called me just as I began to have my Thanksgiving celebration with family (sigh!) so once we were done celebrating, we headed back to the hospital.  They hooked me up to the machine again, but this time I had a button to press every time I felt Liam moving around.  When I told them this wasn’t part of the test last time, they seemed surprised.  Different nurses with different attitudes…. that was just the beginning of THAT aspect of this adventure but more on that later.

I once again had to have some juice to wake him up.  After the 20 minutes were up, they asked if I wanted a membrane sweep to get things rolling.

I explained I already had one the Tuesday prior. They said I could go home since Liam was still healthy waiting and depending on how many other patients there were, maybe we would only get induced on Tuesday rather than Monday.  Needless to say, I was starting to get a bit disappointed that things kept changing.  I understand there are women who are higher priority and they have more urgent cases, so I am not complaining.  It was just hard to have the plans continue to change.

With that, we went home, carrying the bags that we brought with us in case they had decided to just let us stay overnight to get induced.  As soon as I got home, I started drinking the raspberry tea my Sister gave me as part of an “Induce Labour Kit” which included pineapple, pineapple juice, and the tea.  It was delicious.

It was hard to sleep thinking that I could possibly be meeting my Son the next day.

When I awoke the next morning, at around 8:30 AM,  I had a missed call from the hospital.  (Why does my phone not wake me up ONLY when I wouldn’t care if it did?)  When I called back, they said I could head in to be induced but to take my time, shower, eat breakfast (yeah right), and arrive within the next hour and a half!  I started crying, I called my parents and my Sister and got prepared to leave the apartment for the last time without a baby in my arms.

My parents and Sister arrived at our apartment and we were on our way to the hospital!

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming up!  Thank you for being so patient! it is hard with a newborn to find time to have a shower, let alone type all of this up but I will see how far I get and post it whenever I can!

Related:

Liam Maverick’s Birth Story Pt. 2

Ready to *POP* ! Due Date Has Been Reached!

A New Mom’s Journey with Breastfeeding