Theodore's Birth Story

I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t had the baby by the time my due date (Nov. 7) came and went!

At 10 days past the due date, I had a regular doctor appointment scheduled. Daniel and I thought the doctor might suggest an induction and we weren’t excited about that option. So, we decided to not get a babysitter and just take Mabel to the doctor appointment with us, possibly giving us an excuse to have at least overnight to delay being checked in. Plus, Mabel loves going to the hospital because there is a kids’ play area with a slide and lots of “friends” to play with there.

We got to the doctor appointment at 2 p.m. but the doctor hadn’t arrived yet. Doctors here usually work at multiple hospitals which are spread out all over town and so it isn’t unusual to wait quite a while as the doctor goes from one hospital to another through busy traffic. So, we waited and watched Mabel play. We waited and waited. Mabel finally got tired of the slide and we were bribing her with candy to keep her happy and waited some more. I was tired and hot in the waiting room and just was ready to go home. Finally, about 4:30 the doctor finally arrived and it was my turn to be seen.

The doctor examined me and said I was already dilated to a 3 or 4 and she could easily push it to a 5. She said she didn’t want us to leave the hospital because she expected that I would deliver that night and thought with the traffic, I should just stay there and wait for the contractions to start. I am not sure if she intentionally stripped the membranes or just the examination got things going, but I immediately starting bleeding a little and having contractions. My doctor told the nurse to admit me and told me tonight would be the night we were going to meet our baby!

Since we hadn’t expected to be admitted, though, Mabel was still with us. And as sweet and well-behaved as she is, watching mommy in labor wasn’t part of our birth plan! So, Daniel and I decided that I would stay at the hospital alone while Daniel took Mabel back to our apartment to meet our friend, Katie, who had agreed to watch Mabel. We were a little concerned that I would have a fast labor and with peak rush-hour traffic, Daniel wouldn’t make it back in time, but we still thought it was the best option we had. So, around 5:00 p.m. the nurses admitted me to the hospital and Daniel left in a hurry with Mabel.

A nurse took me up to Labor and Delivery where they hooked me up to a fetal monitor and did a nonstress test for about 45 minutes tracking my contractions and the baby’s heart rate.

All of my interactions with the nurses were in the local language. They were all complimentary of the way I was handling the contractions. It gave me confidence and helped me to relax. I asked if there was a way I could order food for dinner and they thought that was so funny since I was 5 cm dilated and I wanted to eat and wasn’t in a lot of pain. I really didn’t think I wanted much food, but I knew Daniel would be hungry whenever he got to the hospital. Anyway, they ordered some food for me and continued to be encouraging about how the labor was going.

Not long after, my doctor showed up after finishing seeing her other patients and told me she had decided to just wait at the hospital with me because she also didn’t think she could make it to her other clinic with the traffic and then make it back to deliver the baby. She sat in the laboring room at a little desk playing Candy Crush on her phone. ;-)

I was really calm though and doing great, so I didn’t mind. I was having frequent regular contractions, but really wasn’t in much pain at all for most of the labor process. I listened to my Hypnobabies relaxation mp3s and it really was calming and helped time pass quickly. And, I tried to walk around the little room as much as possible since I would be confined to the hard bed soon enough.

Just before 7 p.m. Daniel arrived at the hospital. He came into the room dripping with sweat. In an effort to get to me as fast as possible, he had got out of his taxi, which was stuck in traffic, and walked a good ways – with our bag – the rest of the way to the hospital. Then, at the hospital, the two small elevators were taking forever and so he climbed up the four flights of stairs!

I was relieved to see Daniel and I think he was relieved to see that I was still so calm and he hadn’t missed anything exciting. We took a few pictures together and enjoyed a few minutes to relax and prepare for baby boy’s birth. I was so grateful that Mabel was being taken care of by a trustworthy friend and that Daniel was with me.

The doctor checked me not long after Daniel arrived and I was at 6 cm. She wanted to break my water to speed things up, but we thought that was unnecessary since I was still progressing on my own and asked if we could wait longer. (Our other concern was a c-section: The rate here of c-sections is really high, and most of the women we talked to who wanted a natural delivery said the doctor told them they needed an emergency c-section. So we were a little suspicious of breaking my water and starting the c-section “clock.”) The doctor agreed to wait longer.

Waiting for baby

Then, Daniel ate the dinner I had ordered for him and we just chatted as I walked around the labor room. Around 8:30 p.m. I finally sat down on the bed because the nurses said the doctor was going to come in to check me.

The doctor came in closer to 9:30 p.m. and said I was 8 cm dilated. She still wanted to break my water and this time we consented. Although that procedure didn’t hurt at all, I thought there was way more water than there should have been and it was concerning to me. It seemed like water was gushing out for a couple of minutes. The doctor did seemed surprised by the water too (and the mess it made all over the room which she wasn’t prepared for), but she didn’t seem concerned about it and still said it was normal. The water was a little meconium stained, which wasn’t too surprising since he was past his due date.

The contractions quickly started becoming more intense and like my labor with Mabel, I had a lot of nerve pain in my hips and legs. Daniel was doing a great job helping me. There were about four nurses in the room, though, who weren’t too interested in helping me out, but were interested in watching me.

At this point, my memory gets a little cloudy. But it was less than an hour later and I was feeling the urge to push and began pushing during some contractions. The nurses jumped into action and with a lot of prodding, got me to move to another bed so they could roll me into the actual “delivery” room across the hall.

Daniel started to come in with me and the nurses seemed surprised he was going to be there for it! They made him put on a lab coat, a face mask, and a hat. (We had talked to the doctor about him being in the delivery room, but I guess the nurses didn’t know.) Daniel says there were eight other people in the little room with us. I’ll have to take his word for it, since my eyes were closed pretty much the whole time.

Once they got me on the pushing table, they were trying to force my legs into a terribly uncomfortable position and I just kept saying “No. I don’t like that” over and over again in the local language. Finally they stopped trying to move my leg up anymore and made due with the position I was in to put on some kind of giant sterile sock that came up to my thighs on each of my legs and covered up my chest with a heavy cloth. I was burning up with heat and I did not like either.

I was still listening to the relaxation mp3s even though I could hear what was going on around me. During each contraction I was pushing and I felt like my mind was really calm, though. I was focusing on meeting the baby and even though I felt pain, I also felt relaxed about how the birth was going. I was focusing on keeping my face and hands relaxed and putting all my energy into pushing that baby out.

I could tell the baby was almost out and I was really happy. With a few more pushes, his head was through. There was a lot of activity and the doctor pulled the rest of him out, which didn’t feel good at all and surprised me. The cord had been wrapped tightly around his neck, so she was hurrying to get it unwound I guess. Because of that, they didn’t put him immediately on me, and I was asking Daniel if he was okay and if it was really a boy. I heard someone say “yes, it’s a boy” and heard his cries. I was so thankful!

Cutting the cord

Daniel was looking at him and taking some pictures as the doctor was cleaning me and stitching me up. It wasn’t too long until they brought our baby boy to me to hold! He immediately started nursing. Daniel and I confirmed our name choice with each other and welcomed Theodore Augustine Tignor to the world!

Theodore Augustine

Holding our new baby

Mabel loves kissing her baby brother

The hospital staff as we were leaving

Birth stats:

Theodore Augustine Tignor

Born at 10:58 p.m. at Parami Hospital

7 lbs 6 ounces

18 in