Myles' Birth Story

We welcomed Myles Patrick Hillis to the world on Saturday, July 20th at 6:19pm! He weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 19.5 inches long with blonde hair and blue eyes. I am excited to share some photos and stories about our new family in the coming weeks. I was hesitant to share our birth story because it isn't a very positive one but I so enjoyed reading other people's birth stories when I was pregnant that I'm putting it out there for those who are interested. In short, I had a very long and difficult labor that ended in a c-section, not exactly what I was planning.  We are both doing well now -- on the road to recovery.

Here is the longer version for those who are interested in birth stories:
On Thursday the 18th we went to our appointment with the midwives and I was already dilated 2.5cm so we were starting to get excited that he may arrive soon. Early Friday morning (around 2am) I woke up having strong-ish contractions, I got up and took a bath and was trying to decide if this was the real thing or if it was just more Braxton Hicks contractions like I had been experiencing for the past nine weeks. I spent the rest of the night dozing and breathing through the contractions. In the morning I started timing the contractions and they were getting stronger and closer together. Patrick and I walked to the cafe down the street to get some iced tea and they increased even more. We called our fabulous doula, Vanessa, and the midwives and headed to the hospital arriving around 3:00pm. By the time we got there I was dilated to 3.5cm and the contractions were very painful. Vanessa arrived and we started using all of the techniques that we'd planned on for a natural labor. For the next nine hours I walked, rocked, stood in the shower and soaked in the jacuzzi bath, breathing through each contraction. It was very painful (especially in my hips, yow!) but we had a good rhythm going and I was convinced that I was making progress and getting close to the end.

They checked me at 12:30 and I was only 4.5cm dilated, not even close to the end. At this point, with the help of the midwife and my doula, I made the decision to get an epidural so that I could endure the rest of the labor. This allowed us all to get some rest and prepare to start pushing but I wasn't allowed to eat any food. By noon on Saturday I was fully dilated and the midwife gave me the go ahead to start pushing. Although I was exhausted and starving I was excited to meet our little guy. After just an hour of pushing we could see the very top of his head and everyone was convinced I just needed a few more pushes to get him out...this lasted for a total of five hours! I was having severe mid-back pain all through pushing, likely due to his placement in my pelvis. The OB tried to use a vacuum to get him out but it didn't budge him and scraped his little head. Finally, after 27 hours in labor at the hospital, I was sent downstairs for a cesarian section. Unfortunately, the epidural was not working to fully numb me so I had to be put completely under with general anesthesia. When I woke up our wonderful nurse was standing next to me with our camera and a picture of baby Myles. I had to go for an MRI due to my back pain and then was finally able to meet my baby at around 9:00. The pictures that Jenny posted last week are just 30 minutes after I met him for the first time-- how Jason was able to capture photos that I looked even remotely good is a mystery to me, he is a magician!

Myles laying on the lights for his jaundice

Needless to say, our labor experience was not what I had hoped for and is still something that I'm working through. We spent five nights at the hospital recovering as I was in bad shape and Myles had jaundice that needed to be treated with lights. I am so thankful that we are both on the road to full recoveries and for all of the wonderful care that we received at the hospital. The nurses in particular were so incredibly kind and helpful to us as we learned how to take care of little Mylo.  I will post more later this week about how things have been at home but we have been incredibly lucky with breastfeeding (he has already surpassed his birth weight!) and thankful for all of the support from family and friends.