Colby George Adams - Birth Story

I love, love, LOVE birth stories! I feel emosh when I hear them, and I always cry when I see them on TV. Bringing a new life into the world is unpredictable, life changing, and truly exhilarating! Colby was a week late, and I was convinced he was never coming! Instead, he gave me another birth story to share. (You can read Hudson's birth story here.)

Short Version

My water broke around 8, and I started having contractions immediately. We arrived at the hospital around 9, and I was dilated to a 5. My contractions were AWFUL until around 11 when I got my epidural. The doctor arrived around 12:15, and Colby was born during the third push at 12:27: )

Long Version

Everything went much faster than I expected - Colby was born 4.5 hours after my water broke! In comparison, Hudson was born 14 hours after my water broke. It went a little something like this...

8:00 - I put Hudson in the tub. When I reached over to add his bubble bath, I felt my water break. It was just a small gush, so at first I wasn't sure that it was my water breaking. Nick was busy around the house, so I didn't say anything right away. I sat down for a minute, and then I stood back up to find more gushing. I knew that it was definitely my water breaking and called to Nick!

8:07 - I called the doctor's office and then waited for the on-call doctor to return my call. I awkwardly tried to start putting the final things in our bags, but I was kinda freaking out - and making frequent trips to the potty as I continued to leak everywhere.

8:13 - The on-call doctor (Dr. Harris) called me back. I explained that my water broke and that I was concerned that it wasn't clear fluid. It was sort of chalky textured/colored. She said that I should head to the hospital to have it checked out since I was already 4 cm dilated at my appointment the week before and because colored fluid sometimes indicates that the baby is in distress.

Nick called his parents to come get Hudson, got Hudson out of the bath, let Callie out, and put our bags in the car while I gathered some final odds and ends. (So much for taking a shower and laboring at home!)

I started bawling as I got Hudson ready to leave! I knew it was our last moment together before he'd truly be a big brother, and we took a few final Mama / Hudson selfies. I was a little emosh, so I'm only sharing one here - my face looks even crazier in the rest! LOL.

Around 8:35 - Judy arrived and played with Hudson in the living room while we ran around the house. I was having contractions by this point and soon realized that they were only a few minutes apart and were growing in intensity! We would have been headed to the hospital at this point whether the waters were weird or not!

Around 8:50 - Judy left with Hudson, and we left for the hospital! I was a little freaked out about how close the contractions were coming.

8:53 - We started to time the contractions using the car clock - ha!

8:57 - I texted our families and Krista to let them know we were headed to the hospital and that Hudson was at Butch and Judy's.

8:59 - I had my third contraction since 8:53, so we knew the contractions were about 3 minutes apart. The contractions were still bearable, but I was pretty uncomfortable.

9:03 - The main hospital doors are locked at 9, so we entered through the emergency room entrance of the hospital. Another pregnant woman and her husband entered the ER as we pulled up. They were helped just before us, but nobody had said anything to us yet. We had some brief exchanges with the other couple (as I was doubled over a chair...and she was relaxing in a wheel chair), but then I soon overheard that the other woman was being induced. As soon as I saw the next nurse, I rudely and loudly asked Nick to make sure the nurse knew I was in active labor. It was my attempt to cut in line! We were quickly escorted to the labor and delivery wing and into our private room! (I never saw the other couple again, but I hope the induction went well - ha!)

9:07 - We were in our delivery room and waiting for my L&D nurse. (I remember this time because we noted that it was exactly an hour after I'd called the doctor!)

9:15-11:00 - This hour and 45 minutes is kind of a blur! I could tell right away that I had an awesome nurse! She was very understanding and friendly, and I felt comfortable with her. She had to ask a million questions about medication, Ebola exposure, etc. before she could check my progress, and I was starting to lose it as my contractions really started to take over. 

I could NOT find a comfortable position: ( It seemed like I'd have a contraction, cramps, another contraction, a break, a contraction, cramps, another contraction, a break, repeat. Most of the pain was VERY low on my belly, and I felt like I could feel the head moving down. Nick put some counter pressure on my hips, and that helped...sometimes. When it didn't, I'd yell at him to stop...poor guy.

I also tried the birthing ball, but I continued to gush everywhere - gross! I was also sweating like crazy - ew. I knew early on that I was going to ask for the epidural sooner rather than later as I was feeling SO MUCH PRESSURE and had little relief between contractions. My nurse checked me, and I was dilated to a 5. I can't remember ever hearing about effacement.,,

I made sure my nurse knew that I wanted an epidural ASAP and asked how long it would take to get it. My nurse said she had paged my doctor...but she hadn't heard back from her yet: ( Eventually she reached the on-call doctor, and the doctor put in orders for pain medication. An IV was started, and I knew I was getting closer to the epidural. Changing positions was excruciating at this point, and I was moaning and screaming like a crazy person (and it wasn't really helping!).


At some point, my nurse was also in touch with my doctor and told me that my doctor would be there for delivery - yay! 

11:00? - The anesthesiologist arrived, and my nurse checked me once more. I was dilated between 5 and 6 centimeters, and I was disappointed that I wasn't going to progress further before the epidural. 

It felt like it took them FOREVER to prep everything, but somehow I was able to get myself under control (sort of - ha!). I felt sort of out of my own body at this point. I remember swaying on the bed and finally controlling my breathing...and only kind of feeling like I was going to die - ha! Nick and I talked about it later and think that I was able to calm down a little bit because I knew pain relief was in sight! I'm really in awe of people who can give birth naturally - I think I'm too impatient and don't trust myself enough. Fear takes over, and I can't relax. I know what I should do, but I can't do anything except freak out - ha! I feel good about my decision to have an epidural, though. Both times it has been the right decision for me.

I felt almost instant relief once the epidural was in place. My blood pressure was low, so they added some meds, gave me some oxygen, and monitored things for a few minutes. My legs became tingly, but I had a little bit of control over them. I could feel the contractions way up high, but I could only feel some tightness - no pain. I thought it was time to nap for a while...but that wasn't the case at all!

While Nick went to get himself a snack, my nurse checked me again. Now I was almost dilated to a 10, and the baby was right there! WHAT!?! I was in shock, and my nurse said that she was going to call the doctor. Nick walked in around the same time, and he was also shocked to find out it was time to push and not time to eat and rest - ha!

12:01 - Nick texted our families and Krista to let them know the epidural was in and the doctor was on the way! I relaxed and waited for everything to be set up - still totally in shock that the baby would likely arrive within the hour!

12:15? - My doctor arrived, and everyone seemed really laid back and ready to go. I felt very relaxed and ready to meet our baby! They told me that each push would be a series of three, ten-second pushes. After the first round, they said I was doing a great job! The doctor said he was right there and that he had blonde hair! After the second round, the doctor had me reach down to feel the top of his head between my legs - CRAZY!

12:27 - I started to push a third time - was told to stop (I'm assuming he was crowning and that she was maneuvering him) - and then I pushed him right out! Colby was born!!! As she placed him on my chest, my doctor said, "He looks just like Hudson!" and commented on how big he was. Everyone was so happy, and he looked great! Hooray! He was pink and screaming, and he had the LONGEST fingernails I've ever seen: )

We snapped some pictures, and I held him for a long time while my doctor delivered the placenta (which actually took longer than pushing out the baby!) and gave me a few stitches. He held my finger SO tight: ) 

The nurses and Nick made guesses about Colby's weight (all guessing 8 lbs + some ounces), and we found out that he was 9 pounds + 1 ounce and 20 + 3/4 inches long! He's our not-so-little man: ) We were instantly in love and SO SO happy to FINALLY have him in our arms!

The rest of the night is kind of a blur! We didn't sleep until probably 5 am - we were too excited!! - and the nurses checked on us frequently, gave Colby a bath, got me some food, etc.

It was another unbelievable experience! I'm so thankful for all of the encouragement and support from friends, family, and coworkers - especially during that last week! - and am excited for our new journey as a family of four: )