Experience of Labor and Delivery

So today I figured I would talk about my Labor and Delivery experience since people probably don't realize what all we had to go through. Let's back up to a couple of months before labor began.


First and foremost I have to say Katie's entire pregnancy has been a blessing to not only her but to me as well. I had a lot of people teasing me at work about getting prepared for pregnancy and how bad it could be. I had one person at work tell me to expect Katie to fix me dinner, go to hand me my plate, and then drop it on the floor as I tried to receive the plate. I was also being told about mood swings among other things. I can honestly say there was only maybe 1 or 2 mood swings and it was down at the Lake Cumberland and it really wasn't directed towards me. I can completely understand why she got upset, after all it was 4:30 in the morning and people were still partying very loudly outside our boat cabin. Katie continued to work all the way up until she went into labor and really didn't complain that much, other than telling me how much she hates her job somedays, but who in their right mind doesn't do that?? She was also very worried about weight gain but she put on weight at a very healthy pace and stayed below the average weight gain. I won't tell you how much weight she gained, we'll let her tell you that :) but it was under average. Pre-labor I have been very proud of her! She is a Trooper!

4 Days before labor we had our weekly Doctor appointment. At this time Katie was almost 36 weeks along. Everything checked out great and Michael was already into position! The doctor explained to us what to expect if Katie's amniotic fluid (water) were to break. She explained to us that it is very important to get to the hospital since there can be a risk of infection within the first 24 hours, and that if the leak is minimal she could continue pregnancy for a week. We left the office with a clean bill of health, both for Mommy and Michael. I was a proud soon-to-be Papa!

All of this changed on the morning of Dec 7th at 1:20 in the morning. I was DEAD asleep when I heard Katie yelling at me from the bathroom, "Ryan! I think my water just broke! I was asleep when I felt what I thought was Michael kicking me, and then there was a big gush of liquid. I know I didn't pee myself!" I jumped out of bed faster than a piece of popcorn being popped! I looked at the bathroom floor and there was water all over the place. Katie was very anxious and nervous. I think this was the first time I felt like I was in Daddy mode! I was doing my very best to stay very calm and try to keep Katie calm. I told her we needed to go to the hospital and that I would get the bags that we packed weeks in advance (Note: If you are pregnant and past week 32, GET YOUR DARN BAGS PACK! YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID AND YOU CAN THANK ME LATER!) I was grabbing the bags when I noticed our Boxer Mix, Buster, decided he would inspected the liquid on the bathroom floor. "No BUSTER, NO!", I yelled at him to stay out of the bathroom. He looked at me in confusion, "What dad? There is something on the floor and I'm going to clean it up for you". In about 15 minutes we had the car packed and we were rushing to the hospital around 1:35am. I did a great job staying calm for Katie even though I was pretty nervous. I remained optimistic after hearing what the Doctor had told us just days before about If Katie's water were to break.

Around 2am we arrived at Mount Carmel East and went straight into the Labor and Delivery section where we met the sweetest nurse named Mary that had a very thick accent who was originally from Scotland. "My love, let's get you into the bathroom and get you checked out ok?", she said. At this point I was just very happy we were at the hospital and in good care, and I remained optimistic. Not even a minute later they came out and Mary told me, "Your wife is Grossly Ruptured", as she rolled her R's telling me that sentence. I asked her what that meant. "That means you guys are going to have a baby", Mary said. At this point I became extremely anxious! I could not believe today (so I thought!) was going to be the day that we would bring Michael into this world. We were only at 36 weeks and 2 days. Would he be ok?

They admitted us to our hospital room in less than 5 minutes. They were starting Katie's IV so they could administer fluid. Another Nurse, also by the name of Mary, was doing the insertion of the needle. This nurse was trying for a good 5-10 minutes to get the IV into Katie's hand. Katie's face twisted in pain. "Boy you sure do have thick skin!", said the nurse. Anyone in their right mind knows this equates to "Damn, I can't seem to get this IV in your hand, please bare with me and let me try a different spot!" I watched the nurse do this and try to draw Katie's blood for 10 minutes!!!!! I do not freak out about needles and have a very high tolerance for blood and guts and all that kind of fun stuff. Well.....I started to get very queasy and my stomach felt like someone set it on fire! I felt nausea set in but I told myself I was going to be just fine. After a few minutes I turned and looked at Katie and told her I wasn't feeling so well. Mary and Mary looked at me and their mouths just shot to the ground, "We better get you on the floor and get you some wash rags!". I felt like the biggest $%^#@ on the floor. The nurses assured me that everything would be OK. They kind of laughed when they realized I didn't pass out and I was fine and said, "This type of stuff happens everyday, you are fine!" I was back up and feeling great in 5 minutes. I honestly think my body was just trying to settle itself down. I had been through a lot in 45 minutes and was really starting to worry!

Katie's IV was in and she was all settled in her room. They hooked up the heart and contraction monitor. The nurses couldn't believe it! "Do you feel those contractions you are having?", they said. Katie looked at them nonchalantly and answered, "No???". She was having pretty steady contractions every 2-5 minutes and they nurses were surprised she couldn't feel them. That was the longest morning of my life, and the longest day of my life! To pass the time though, I was the one to make all the phone calls in the morning. I had soooo much fun doing that. I called Katie's dad at 3:30 in the morning. He was a complete grouch! Of course I would be too if someone was calling in the wee early hours of morning and striking up casual conversation. I told him, "Hey Ray! What's up!? How are you doing?" While making casual conversation with him he responded sleepily, "Oh Nothing, just trying to get some sleep until you called...What's going on?" "Katie is in Labor! We are at the hospital! We are gonna have our baby!", I said. As you can imagine he was WIDE awake after I told him that! It was a lot of fun going through my phone book on my phone and calling everyone I knew to tell them about the great news. As you can see, it really made the time pass by quickly. Some people knew right away why I was calling. For instance, I called Stacie, who I call my common-law-sister-in-law. *Ring Ring Ring Ring* before I even had a chance to say anything to her she said, "Are you guys having a baby, Ryan!!!??" "How in the heck did you know that?", I said. She shouted back, "Well why else would you call me at 4:30 in the morning..hahahah". I had a ball calling people!!!

As the morning came to a close and the afternoon set in, Katie still was not feeling her contractions. We were both just sitting there in amazement that we were actually going to have our little boy. By this time our family was coming in to see us. My Dad and Sister took the day off and stayed with us the majority of the day.





Katie's Mom and Dad also was with us for quite some time. Katie continued to labor all day long. She was starting to get hungry since we hadn't eaten since dinner time on Sunday. 8,10,15 hours pass and Katie is still only dilated to a one! they had started her on oxytocin the minute we were there to speed things up since her water grossly ruptured. Still nothing. Her body just was not ready to dilate even though Michael let us know he was ready to see his Mom and Dad. Around 7pm that evening she was dilate to a two, but the nurses came in to let us know Michael seemed to be getting stressed and a C-Section may be on the horizon. Katie was devastated. She really had been working hard and really wanted to give naturally. I reassured her we needed to do what was best for her and the baby. She continued to be in labor and things started to look up for her and Michael.

3, and then 4 centimeters. Katie has been in labor for over 20 hours and decided it was time to get an epidural. She was really starting to feel the pain now. I told her not to be a superstar and to take the epidural. She was exhausted since we had both been up for almost 40 hours with no sleep and she has been in labor for 20 hours. They gave her the epidural and within 30 minutes she was out like a light and snoring. I could not sleep at all! I was laying on a on a pull out chair(didn't know they made such a thing), listening to Katie LOUDLY snore, and listening to Michael's heartbeat dip when he would get stressed.

Katie finally dilated to 6 but her body had enough and Michael had been stressing again. C-section it was. Katie was actually relieved at this point since she had labored for over 26 1/2 hours. She was relieved but very anxious! Anyone in their right mind would be anxious, after all they are wheeling her away to have major abdominal surgery! I packed up our belongings and moved them up to the recovery area. I was very nervous for Katie as well, and I was just praying to God that everyone would be fine and healthy. The nurses told us Michael may have a problem breathing on his own since he was at 36 weeks and 3 days and they may have to take him right away if he is having difficulty breathing. I got all suited up in my scrubs and again just prayed that everything would be fine and that I wouldn't pass out!

It is time! They called me into the Operating Room. From that point on my life changed. Seeing my wife completely strapped down and badly shaking just tore my heart in two! Watching them cut into her and clang all the operating tools around like they were a bunch of craftsman wrenches just made me feel completely helpless. I was there talking to her and comforting her. It was almost like she was going to go into shock, she was so scared and so was I. I felt my emotions get the best of me. I stood above the curtain many times. I did not feel queasy nor did I faint. I found it absolutely amazing the work they were performing and the fact that Katie was wide awake and talking to me. I watched them stick their hand deep down inside Katie's abdomen and pull out little Michael Ryan. Within seconds he was screaming and yelling and I knew he was going to be just fine. I won't lie, I cried! I cried because I was happy and I cried because I had just witnessed the long journey that my incredible wife had went through. She is a trooper and so amazing. After they delivered Michael they gave her a little morphine to take the edge off. I actually got to watch the surgeon reach inside Katie and pull out her uterus and stitch it together on the outside of her abdomen area. Absolutely amazing!
Once everything was all clear I was able to take photos of our Son and get to hold him for the very first time. My life changed forever from that day forward. Katie is one tough trooper. There is no way in Hell I would be able to go through what she went through for 26 1/2 hours. Michael ended up weighing in at 5 pounds 13 ounces, measured 19 3/4 inches long, and is a perfect healthy little boy. A friend told me once, a baby is a miracle sent down from Heaven. I truly believe this is one of God's precious gifts to our family and we are blessed to have Michael Ryan.