The Birth Story of Bowin Robert Hyde

Oh my heavens, it's been so long since I've updated my blog. I used to write in this thing, religiously, and now I'm lucky if I make two posts a year. I feel so bad that I haven't kept up with posts about our little Bowin boy while he was in the womb. I have some letters I've written to him saved in my notes but haven't uploaded them to here yet--its on my to do list. In the meantime, here is the birth story of Bowin. So, originally his name was going to be spelled Bowen, but one day we were driving in the car and JJ said, "Oh my gosh, we should spell his name Bowin, as in WIN so that every time he writes his name he'll be reminded he's a winner." It was way too cute to argue with, so I agreed and that's how we got the spelling for our little Bo man. He already has so many nicknames: Big Bo, Bo, Bubba, B. He is also named after his paternal and maternal great grandfathers (Robert Hyde and Robert Schroeder)

OK, so here's the story.

My pregnancy with Bowin was super easy, no morning sickness in the first trimester, playing bball in the second trimester, and just stuffing my face with anything and everything I wanted. Then the third trimester came and it hit me like a trainwreck! I was having tons of pelvis issues, I started fainting again, and I was always tired. Initially, I was very anti- getting induced, but after hearing several different experiences from moms who had gotten induced-- I started feeling more comfortable with the idea. Then around 34 weeks, I went to get my blood drawn at the hospital and I passed out and landed directly on my stomach!! I like bounced off my stomach which was so scary, and my uterus was going nuts--I started having contractions. After that, the passing out happened more frequently just like it did with Carter. I wanted this baby out, and so I asked my OB if we could do an induction at 39 weeks, which worked out perfectly because JJ had a mandatory training for work the week of January 2nd (my due date was January 3rd)

So, Christmas rolled around and I was hoping I would spontaneously go into labor by myself but it never happened. I was having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions but none of them ever hurt, just mostly a lot of tightening.

The day finally came: Induction day. December 29th. I was stoked out of my mind. I didn't sleep a wink the night before. We checked in at 7 AM, and they got me hooked up to an IV and gave me a dose of sidetek to start the contractions. My cervix was posterior so it was very high and hard to find and I was only at a 2. The sidetek gave me contractions, none that I could actually feel--which meant my cervix wasn't dilating. So they gave me another round, same thing. My doctor came in to check me, and sure enough I was still a freakin' 2. So the Doctor asked if I wanted to insert a cervical balloon which would cause my cervix to dilate. I was hesitant at first because I just didn't like this idea of a "balloon" filled with water hanging out up there, it made me feel grossed out-- I didn't want to get sent home though, so I said okay and she started the process. Immediately, I started to feel crampy and the contractions were a little harder but still not painful--just more pressure was all.

The balloon would essentially fall out once I was dialed to 5 cm, my doctor was going to give the balloon 12 hours to do its job and if it didn't fall out, she would take it out and I would get sent home as a failed induction. Why was this? Well, my doctor didn't want to start me on pitocin if my cervix was unfavorable(aka not dilating), because that would push me right into a c-section most likely; so I am very grateful that she was mindful of that. So, the balloon was inserted at 5 PM which meant I had til 5 AM the next morning for it to work or we would be leaving the hospital.

Then came the waiting game. . . . . for hours, we tried everything; rocking my hips back and forth on my hands and knees on the bed, walking the unit, labor dancing, the yoga ball, etc. Still, the contractions didn't hurt and they were very inconsistent. A lady gave birth while we were walking the halls, she had checked in around the same time as me, and I could hear her crying tears of joy along with her family members. WOW I was so jealous, I couldn't keep the tears in any longer. I started weeping and my husband put his arm around me and said it would happen when it happens. They gave me visiral to try and sleep and not be so anxious but to be honest, I couldn't sleep. I said prayers that he would come that night and I wouldn't get sent home. Well, 5 AM rolled around (22 hours after I had checked into the hospital for my induction) and it was time for the big test. My doctor took out the balloon because it hadn't fallen out on its own (so I thought 'welp, we're going home!) and she checked my cervix and it hurt so bad--oh my gosh I was dying.

She said the words "the balloon did it's job, you're a 5!!" We were stoked. I asked the nurse if we could wait on the epidural AFTER starting pit so that I could at least feel some hard contractions. She came back in around 5:45 AM and said that the anesthesiologist had a caseload to do in another part of the hospital starting at 8 AM so if we didn't do it now we would have to wait....... well I didn't want contractions THAT BAD ha ha so I gave the green light to send him in before starting Pit.

JJ held onto me tightly as he did the epidural, honestly on a scale from 0-10, it hurt like a 3. MAYBE. It was over so quickly and it was so worth it to not have those contractions from hell that come with pitocin. Next step was to start Pit. At 11:15, my doctor broke my water and I was at a 7! By 12:18, I was at a 9 and by 12:50, it was time to start pushing. This labor and delivery was so different than Carter's. With Carter's, I couldn't even feel when to push and my legs were like jello, I couldn't feel anything. This time, I still didn't feel pain but I felt enough pressure to know when to push which I thought was perfect. I love pushing and giving birth, its the best. I delivered Bowin at 1:38 PM. There were a few things that shocked us, one being that he had blonde hair and eyebrows. Secondly, he was born at 39 weeks and 1 day and he was HUGE!!! 9 pounds, 6 oz. 22 1/4 inches long. We were not expecting that AT ALL! I thought he would maybe be 8 pounds, maybe.

Even though the process was long (over 30 hours), I loved being induced and I will be doing it again next time for sure. I loved that I could get an epidural any time I wanted to, I loved that I could plan when I was giving birth, etc. My recovery has been so much better this time around, I'm still really swollen but I didn't tear and I just needed a couple stitches for another thing that was just for cosmetic purposes. We stayed 2.5 days in the hospital after Bowin was born and it was perfect. It was fun spending new years' eve in the hospital with a bottle of sparkling cider and our little baby boy.

I loved having my mom and JJ in the room with me when I delivered, they are both so sweet and supportive and know all the right things to say and do when I'm in the zone. I love them both so much and it was awesome seeing JJ with his new son.