Gavin's Birth story

Gavin's birth story really is not all that spectacular. They say that second births are easier than the first, and that was definitely the case for me. The pregnancy, on the other hand, was filled with adventures. Between having a dislocated pelvis for five months and having cellulitus from a root canal gone wrong, labor seemed like a piece of cake.

On June 25, 2010, after close to two weeks of labor, my doctor finally decided it was time to intervene. I was at 5 cm and 80% effaced but not going into transitional labor. I reported to the hospital at 7:00 am and they hooked me up to several monitoring devices. The doctor broke my water around 8:00 am. My contractions continued to get worse. Around 10:30 or 11:00 my contractions hit hard and fast. I went from uncomfortable yet tolerable to completely overwhelmed with labor in about two seconds. Before we knew it my contractions were about a minute apart and lasting about 45 seconds, and they were STRONG.

Around 12:30 I was able to get an epidural. The process of receiving an epidural was touchy due to the fact that my contractions were so close together and incredibly intense. After that it was pretty smooth sailing. The nurse had me do a practice push at 4:00 at which time we decided I was ready. Once the doctor got there I pushed through 2 1/2 contractions and Gavin was here. The only complication with this point of delivery was that Gavin was born with the umbilical cord around his neck. We anticipated that some as every time I had a contraction his heart rate would drop.