Bria's Birth Story

Bria Michelle Holcomb entered this world on February 20th at 4:37 am, her due date. She weighed in at 7 pounds 4 oz and was 19 inches of perfection. Here is how she entered this world:

At my 39 week appointment I had still made no progress- no dilation at all. I was bummed, but focused on the fact that Bria was healthy and doing well.

Tuesday and Wednesday (17th and 18th) brought at least a little change as I lost parts of my mucous plug. I didn't get too excited though since labor could still be a week away. Wednesday I started having some mild contractions, but nothing that was timeable. Again, I didn't let myself get excited since some women have contractions for weeks before they deliver. Thursday morning between 4 and 6 am I had timeable contractions that were like bad menstrual cramps, but they dwindled off and I went back to sleep.

That day I did a few things around the house and then went to my mom's to put more songs on my Ipod and help watch Kailey and Porter (my niece and nephew). At about 2 pm while I was watching Shrek with the kids I started getting timeable contractions, they would be anywhere from 8 minutes to 15 minutes and were uncomfortable. I went home and watched some tv until Brian got home. It was the first time that week that he got to come home at a decent hour, he had been working such long hours and was exhausted. So at 7 pm I sent him to bed just in case this was labor and then I went for a walk. The contractions were getting more painful but I still thought it was going to be a long time before things got going, in fact I thought I'd be going to my doctor's appointment the next morning at 10:30 am and all I could think was that I hoped I was dilated enough for them to strip my membranes!

I came back from my walk and laid on the couch while timing my contractions. They were now 5 minutes apart and were getting really hard to deal with. I tried laying down, standing up, swaying, but they were getting pretty bad. At about 9:30 pm I was lying on the couch and felt what I thought was wetting my pants. I couldn't believe it, I had made it 9 months with no bladder accidents and now I wet my pants. I waddled to the bathroom only to find blood, lots of blood and it was still coming. This freaked me out. I mean they tell you your water can break, but they don't talk about blood coming out. So I called my mom who said it was probably fine but I should call Jaime to ask if she remembers blood and then call the doctor. She said it definitely sounded like I was in labor with how much pain I was in. I called Jaime who said to get to the hospital, we both were thinking it could be the placenta tearing away. Leave it to us to think the worst!

So I waddled upstairs and woke Brian up by telling him it was time to go to the hospital. He was adorable, trying to finish packing the hospital bag half awake. We got the car loaded and dropped MJ off with my Mom then continued to the hospital. The bumps and turns were so painful, I kept telling Brian to stop but he didn't, probably a good thing.

We got to the hospital about 10:30 pm and they checked me, I was 3 cm dilated! I was so happy that this really was labor because holy cow the contractions were coming fast and were painful. They monitored me and Bria for 1/2 hour and then I labored in the jacuzzi tub which was awesome. Brian rubbed my arms while I sat with the jets on my lower back, it made contractions so much more manageable. The contractions started getting so close together though that I barely had a break in between and I had to focus all my energy on relaxing. I pictured my cervix opening and Bria moving down. I also focused on the parts of my body that didn't hurt, so I would tell myself that my lips didn't hurt, my nose didn't hurt, etc. It actually helped and I remained surprisingly calm during contractions.

They checked me again around midnight and I was at 4 cm so things were continuing to progress, thank goodness. This is when I ordered the epidural because the contractions were getting very painful and so close together that I was struggling. Brian was doing a wonderful job keeping me relaxed and helping me through it all.

I believe this was around the time that my favorite midwife came in-Tina Gain. She is the sweetest woman and so incredible, I was ecstatic that she was on call.

The anesthesiologist finally arrived at 1 am and I was so happy. She had me sit on the edge of the bed with my feet up on a chair and a pillow on my lap-it was the worst position ever. Meanwhile she decided to do her prep work with me in that position and I was dying. I had to remain somewhat still through contractions and that seemed like an impossible task. I just kept reminding myself that relief was on the way. She placed a big plastic thing over my back and then did the numbing shot. The nurse couldn't believe I didn't flinch with the shot, but compared to the contractions that shot was a hug. The epidural did not hurt at all and I could not wait to feel the effects of it. The anesthesiologist removed the big plastic thing on my back and couldn't believe how much I was sweating, what did she expect?! She had made me sit in the worst position ever for 45 minutes while I had the most painful contractions ever, of course I was sweating! Anyway, about 5 minutes later my contractions started getting less painful and soon I was in epidural heaven. I was all smiles after that and so excited that soon we were going to be meeting our little girl. The nurses kept telling me to get rest and I looked at them like they were crazy, how was I suppose to sleep when I knew that soon we were going to be welcoming Bria into this world.

At 2 am they put the catheter in and checked me again and I was at 7 cm! Wow, things were progressing fast and I was relieved that the epidural didn't slow things down. Bria was at 0 station and I was 100% effaced. I continued to enjoy the epidural and talked with Brian, his mom, my mom, and my sisters. We were all so excited and couldn't believe how fast it was progressing, especially for my first.

At 3:47 am I started feeling contractions on my right side in my lower back and in the front a little. So the nurse decided to check me and what do you know, there was no cervix left! It was go time and I was ecstatic. I pushed 3 times during a contraction and then would rest for a bit. The pushing was exhausting but it didn't really hurt since I was still so numb from the epidural. Brian counted to 10 for me each time which really helped. I kept asking the nurse if I was pushing correctly because it just felt like I was holding my breath. She said I was doing a good job and soon everyone else started to see progress. It motivated me so much to hear my little cheerleaders rooting me on and saying I was doing a good job. I loved having my mom's and sisters there, they were such a huge support. Around 4:20 am the nurse told me to not push too hard until the doctor came because Bria's head was right there. My last push before Tina showed up Bria's head stayed right where it was instead of going back up. Tina walked in, got ready and had me push, Bria's head popped right out with her right hand up by her ear! The cord was wrapped around her neck twice which scared the crap out of me, but it wasn't causing her distress during the contractions or pushing so it must not have been wrapped around her very tight-thank goodness. As soon as Tina removed the cord from her neck she had me give a little push and the rest of her came shooting out. They put her on my chest and I was in pure heaven, I couldn't believe she was finally there. Brian and I were in awe of this perfect little girl.
Brian got to cut the cord and he was actually suppose to help catch little Bria but she came out too quickly. He did help give her the first bath and changed her first diaper. When they handed him Bria all bundled up after her bath I couldn't help but cry and neither could he, it was an amazing moment.
We just looked at her and looked at each other-our little girl was finally here.






The placenta came out pretty easily and when it came out I felt so much weight come out, it felt awesome. As far as recovery goes it was better than I expected. I had a small 1st degree tear that she put 2 little stitches in, I was very grateful for that. The only time I really needed assistance was my first trip to the bathroom. I sure did fill up that cup they leave in the toilet, I think they had 3 bags of IV pumped into me so I was full of fluid. I was going to the bathroom every hour and still filling it up, the nurses were impressed. I really was surprised at how good I felt physically, don't get me wrong, I kept up on the pain meds. Breastfeeding makes your uterus contract and that felt like labor sometimes! But all and all it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I really think it was due to the fact I walked so much in the last 8 weeks, I will have to do that with the next baby :)
I feel so good about the whole labor and delivery experience, I think back on it so fondly. It was such an exciting time and I handled the pain way better than I thought I was going to. Brian said I made it look easy, but I assured him it was FAR from easy. But totally worth it.