Sweet Hyrum Alan Erickson was born on February 4th, 2014. He is perfect and beautiful in every way. We’re already so in love. I am truly in awe at the miracle of life.
Hyrum was due on the 30th of January which was a Thursday. I had that date starred in every single calendar we own, but my due date came and went with no baby. I was a little frustrated, and very anxious. It seemed like everyone called and asked me where my baby was, and I couldn't call anyone just to chat because they were on high alert and were simply waiting for the news. I prefaced every phone conversation with, "No, I haven't had my baby yet, but how are you doing?" Luckily moms who had experienced a late baby were very understanding. My aunt Mary and I spent a day together that week for some companionship. I needed a friend. We ran errands, went out to lunch, and talked about babies…all my favorite things. Mallory sent me this text, “How are you feeling this week? A) Patiently waiting. B) Uncomfortably waiting. C) Timing contractions. D) Anxious. I love you and I’m thinking of you all week!” I think I felt all of the above except, I was NOT timing contractions. I didn't fully feel contractions until the day Hyrum was born.
I had a doctor’s appointment on my due date. The doctor checked me and I was at 3.5 cm and 70% effaced. I'm pretty sure the doctor gave me that extra half a centimeter just to make me happy. The week before I was at 3 cm and the week before that I was at 1-2 cm. I had him strip my membranes, and afterwards he said I was at 4 cm. The baby could come any day. I was hoping and praying with all my hear that he would come every hour, done being pregnant and excited to meet my boy. I talked to my mom about the injustice of it all to which she said, “Remember that prayer is really aligning your will with God's.” After that I still prayed that Hyrum would come every hour, but I tacked on an “if it be Thy will” at the end trying to be patient and to put my trust in the Lord. My doctor scheduled me for an induction a week after my due date, and I was left with another week to try and be productive, and to prepare for little Hyrum.
By Monday, my sweet baby still did not seem like he would be making his big entrance. I set up another day date with Mary for the next day. I was trying to keep myself busy so I wouldn't go crazy, but I was also trying to tempt fate. What’s more fun than messing with people's perfectly laid plans? I’m pretty sure it worked because much to my delight, Hyrum was born the next day and Mary was one of the first people I told I was in labor as I canceled my plans.
Tuesday morning I woke up at about 5:50 am for my routine trip to the bathroom. At this point in my pregnancy it was common for me to be up in the middle of the night anywhere from 2-4 times for this expressed purpose. There's not much room with the baby getting so big, and I often couldn't sleep due to discomfort anyway. Miraculously though, the night before Hyrum was born I actually slept 7 whole hours, a tender mercy. After my bathroom trip I came back to our room, and I was climbing into bed when I felt a big gush of fluid that I could not hold back. Did my water just break? I didn't want to get too excited if it was a false alarm, but I did tell Joseph that my water might have broken. Much to his credit he bounded out of bed and was instantly being helpful. Eventually the constant leaking made me think we would probably head to the hospital. I jumped in the shower, and Joseph started packing my hospital bag, something I had neglected to do. (Next time I’ll pack my bag early. Sorry Joseph!). After I got out of the shower I felt really strong rectal pressure. The pressure went away, but it was back again in about 3 minutes. We called the hospital and they told us to come in and they would check me out.
It was a struggle to get to the car. A woman in labor is a very slow moving creature, not to mention the fact that Joseph was running around assembling all the belongings I would need for my stay. It was 7:30 am by the time we made it to the hospital. For the excitement and urgency I was feeling, the hospital staff was surprisingly and, to me, somewhat annoyingly calm. The nurse that helped us in the triage room acted like I wasn't even in labor. When the nurse asked me if I was full term, I was pleased to sassily reply that I was actually 5 days overdue. The resident doctor came in to do some tests to see if my water really did break by checking the ph balance of the fluid, seeing if it crystallized on the slide, and other exciting things. I don’t think my contractions were strong enough to make it really obvious that I was in labor, but I was. The leaking wetness was, in fact, amniotic fluid, and I was dilated 6 cm as well as 100% effaced. Ha! The doctor said, “Well, it looks like we’ll probably keep ya!” What great news!
At about 8 am we were admitted and taken our own room where they gave me an IV to begin administering the antibiotic for Group B Strep (since I tested positive). I had a fetal heart monitor strapped to my hugely pregnant stomach along with one to measure my contractions. Joseph would say that this was the worst part of labor for me. The monitors were quite irksome. In my heightened awareness and discomfort, these things strapped around my stomach were super obnoxious. They were driving me crazy, and I was contemplating ripping them off. The monitors also didn't track either the baby’s heart or my contractions very well unless I was lying down. Unfortunately, lying down is probably the worst position to be in when you’re having contractions. My favorite position was sitting on the birthing ball so that was how I labored for the majority of the time with the monitors not picking up much.
I didn't get an epidural, and I was uncomfortable, but I was trying hard to be nice, especially to my sweet husband who even packed my hospital bag for me. Joseph said that I am actually meaner on Fast Sunday when I haven’t eaten than I was in the delivery room, and I would consider that a success. I was so glad Joseph was there to help me through contractions.
At about 10 am the nurse came in and told me that they were having trouble monitoring me and my baby since I was up and about…not lying down. She said that I needed to lie down for at least 20 minutes to make sure the baby was okay. They also wanted to monitor my contractions since they seemed erratic, and if they didn't become more normal my doctor wanted to put me on pitocin. She handed me a silver instrument with a black button and told me to push the button when a contraction started. She went away and I dutifully stayed in bed and pushed the button when needed.
Awhile later she came back seeming a little surprised and asked if I had been feeling “rectal pressure”. I responded in the affirmative. I had been feeling that sensation for quite some time, and it took everything I had to relax through contractions instead of pushing. She checked me, and I was at 9 cm. It was time to start pushing! The nurse walked me through the process—breathe out, breathe in, hold breath and push, push, push, push (for 10 seconds). When I began pushing through contractions I immediately felt better. That intense pressure that I had been feeling through contractions went away. Or at least it was being put to better use. After a few pushes with the nurse, the resident doctor came in, then my doctor came in, and then the entire hospital staff came in. Not quite, but there were seriously a lot of people in the delivery room.
Everyone was suited up, and the baby was coming any minute. Joseph said he could see a little bit of hair on the baby’s head when I pushed. Surprise!! He has hair! A few pushes later my doctor said that the birth canal was pretty tight and he would like to do an episiotomy. I really didn’t want one so I politely declined. A few more pushes later and Joseph commented that it was indeed really tight. The baby was right there, but he couldn't quite make it through. My doctor then said that I would probably tear. The question would just be where. My response was, “Well, can you promise me that the baby will be out in 30 minutes?” To which the doctor promised me the baby would be out in two. On the next contraction the doctor cut while I pushed. I gasped as the baby slid out. Even though I knew I was having a baby, I was surprised to see his completeness and his perfectness. It was hard to imagine that he had come out of my body. The time was 11:29.
The rest of the festivities are a bit of a blur. The doctor continued to stitch me up, which kind of hurt, and they also massaged my uterus, which was not my favorite. I responded with a, “Are you done with me!?” Joseph says I was probably meanest to the doctor. Hyrum was put right on my chest after birth, and we attempted to breastfeed. Later he was weighed and measured, 7 lbs 14 oz and 21.5 inches long. The perfect size. The nurses helped me go to the bathroom, which stings and burns, we moved to the recovery room, and then we toasted to Hyrum’s arrival with cranberry juice.
