Logan's Birth Story!

On May 6, 2016 at 5:54am our little love Logan Isaiah Chessum was born. It's still so surreal to write those words! I wanted to write down his birth story before details become fuzzy and to share with family and friends who have asked. There are some nitty gritty details so read on as you would like ;)

May 5th at 2 am, Ian and I were in the kitchen talking since he had just gotten home from work. I felt a small gush, and looked at him and said "uh oh, I think my water just broke!" It was a small amount of water, and I wasn't having contractions, so we finished eating and headed to bed to hopefully get some rest. I woke up around 6:30 a.m. with contractions that were irregular but uncomfortable enough that I couldn't sleep. So I showered and decided to do things around the house to pass the time. I wanted to go on a walk at 10 am, hopefully giving Ian some good rest. At 9:10 I was so uncomfortable I woke him up and begged to go on a walk then because my contractions were about 2-3 mins apart now. He graciously hopped up and off we went. Throughout my whole pregnancy we had walked this 2 mile loop by our house and did the same today, but it was so special because it was the last walk with just us two!

When we got home we continued to clean things up and I tried to snack a bit and rest. Around 1 pm I was a lot more uncomfortable and contractions were coming about every minute and 45 seconds. We started packing the car and headed to the hospital around 1:45 since it had been 12 hours since my water broke.

We got there and the nurse checked me out, and said my water was still in tact! She suspected it had been a "forebag" or pocket of water that ruptured, but she said my main bag of water was still in tact. When she monitored my contractions, she said what I was feeling was due to "irritability" in my uterus - kinda like menstrual cramps mixed with contractions every few minutes, but I wasn't dilating so technically I wasn't in labor. I was so relieved to hear my water hadn't broken because that meant we could go labor at home! We headed back about 3:30 p.m. when they finished tests and my doctor gave the okay.

No sooner had we left the hospital, and were in our car driving on a side street that I felt a pretty strong contraction, then a huge gush. Definitely my water breaking. It was so much liquid there was NO mistaking it. We still went home to hopefully labor there before going to check in at the hospital. When we got home I had several more very large gushes of water, and I was definitely only having contractions now, not anymore cramping. The contractions started out at 3 minutes apart, but quickly became 55 seconds long and 1 minute 30 seconds apart. I tried to get comfortable but nothing worked, At 6 pm I asked Ian if we could head to the hospital, because I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't imagine moving later with my contractions so close together. The intensity was building making it hard to even catch a break in between.

 We checked in and got confirmation my water had definitely broken, and that I was 2 cm dilated. In between contractions I tried just picturing a rose opening ( a technique from my birthing book) and to relax. They moved us into a labor room where I was free to move around and just let me labor progress. After 2 hours (8 pm) they checked me again and I was 4 cm dilated. I continued to just do what I was doing, dealing with the rising intensity. My mom got to the hospital around 10 pm and joined us in the room. At this time I was 6 cm and feeling pretty icky. I went to the restroom and literally threw up everywhere. Which felt good because I had been so nauseous all day!

This was a turning point in my labor because my contractions were now coming every 1 minute or less, and lasting about a minute and a half. I literally couldn't have any thoughts or even be excited we were having a baby because I wasn't getting any break in between. Every so often I would have a 3 minute break, followed by a very intense, 2 minute or more contraction. This whole time I had been laying on my back, and the nurse came to check on me she said I was swelling a bit from laying that way and suggested I try turning on my side. The moment I did, my contractions intensified exponentially and started peaking very rapidly every few seconds and amniotic fluid was gushing with each peak. Looking back I was actually in transition, but didn't realize it because I was in so much pain, and it had only been an hour since my last check where I was 6 cm.

>> A side note, this whole time Ian was my rock and the most encouraging, comforting presence in the world. I had very few thoughts during labor but most of them were "I couldn't do this without Ian!" It was definitely not like the movies, and I never wanted to punch him or yell at him. I just wanted to have the baby so I could hug him! Husbands really are such a blessing, and going through labor together brought us so much closer together.  It's amazing how God designs all these things to strengthen our trust in Him and love for each other :)

After about two minutes of this I asked the nurse for an epidural. I had not been hoping to have one, but something in me knew I would be worse for the wear after labor if I didn't get one. This was totally Gods grace which I saw after Logan was born. The nurses asked if I wanted to be measured first, which I said no to, and they administered the epidural. They checked me after they administered it and I was 9cm, 95 % effaced and a +2 station AKA baby is coming now. They gave me some time to fully efface and then wanted to start some practice pushes. I pushed for about an hour but because of the epidural I couldn't direct my pushes as much, so they turned turned it off to give me more feeling. With the medication off it helped me to be able to feel where I was pushing. Each push the nurses and Ian would see Logans head come forward, but it would slip back because it hadn't passed through my pelvic opening. After 2 hours of this, they called the doctor, who came about 15 minutes later. After 2 sets of very big pushes he let me know that the baby's head was too big for my pelvis. He said we could probably get the head out with the assistance of the vacuum but that there was the possibility of his shoulder getting stuck, and having to be broken in order to get him out. So he said the only safe option for baby and me was to have a c section. I felt so much peace with this because when I had been pushing I kept thinking and praying "Lord I know if you want him to come out on this push he will." He said no to this prayer, and I trust it was the best thing for both of us.

I was wheeled over to the OR and prepped for surgery. The medication they gave me made me shiver and shake so bad that they had to strap one of my arms down. From here everything went very fast and is a blur for me, but Ian walked in just as they were cutting me open at 5:48 am. Because baby had progressed just short of crowning my doctor told me that they would have to have someone push him back up from the outside to then be pulled out by the doctor. When they opened me up it became apparent that his head had literally been "screwed" or locked into my pelvis, kind of locking him in. The doctor was pushing and pulling and it was probably more painful than any stage of labor I went through. There was a lot of concerned sounding shouting from the doctor to the nurses mostly saying "go go go!" And then "no, stop!"  It was the first time I heard my doctor sound anything but calm and collected. Then amid the tugging I could feel that they had gotten him out, and I looked over at Ian, who said "he's moving!" Right as he said that, I heard a little tiny person squeak from behind the curtain.

At this point, the doctor asked the anesthesiologist to sedate me because I was shaking too much, and that's last thing I remember. Ian told me that I started moving even more and trying to grab various things around me, so he had to hold one of my arms down, while two other nurses held the other. He got to cut the umbilical cord and held Logan as they started to stitch me up. They moved Logan and Ian to the recovery room while they finished my surgery. I came to just as they were wheeling me from the OR to the recovery room, to meet our baby boy! (I hadn't seen him or held him up to this point). I was still very groggy and soo sleepy, but it was so surreal looking up and seeing Ian holding our little son! He was so alert and looking around. Ian handed him to me and he started nursing right away. He was the cutest baby I ever saw (I think all moms say this ;). The first thing Ian said when he saw me was "You were right! He weighs 8 pounds, 2 ounces!" A few weeks before he was born Ian and I guessed what his birth weight would be, and turns out my guess was spot on. Kind of a funny coincidence.

We had to stay in recovery for an hour, during which time my doctor came in to check on us, and let me know that any more babies the Lord gives us will have to be bore cesarean as well, because he had to make a secondary incision in my uterus in order to get Logan out, since he was so stuck in the birth canal. It sounds like bad news but we are just thankful for the wisdom our doctor has and that the Lord kept Logan and I safe through the whole ordeal. It's amazing how the Lord knows every detail of our lives and future and we are just finding out day by day.

We had so many kind visitors in the hospital, and many who have continued to come by with kind words and yummy food, which has been such a blessing for us in this time. Above is Ian's best friend and cousin Colby holding his son Ryder, who is 2 1/2 weeks older than Logan. I hope they become best friends just like their daddies :)

So that's Logan's birth story! I am so thankful our little buddy is here, and he is so darn sweet. We love him to death and pray he comes to know Jesus as his Savior as a young child.