Nikki and Leah's Birth Story

Written by: Nikki Mitchell
This is Nikki's first child


Friday, February 4th, 2011 (40 weeks)

I was laying in bed watching HGTV, as I did everyday for the last 7 weeks of my pregnancy. It was my due date, but I was not expecting Leah to arrive that day. For the past 3 weeks, I had been doing everything in my power to induce labor on my own. I tried eating spicy food, bouncing on a yoga ball, eating pineapples and drinking pineapple juice, pre-natal massages, drinking herbal tea, laxative, walking.. you name it, I tried it. (But I did not try castor oil! No way Jose). 

I was so tired of being pregnant and waddling around and bumping into everything. My back hurt SO bad, and my feet were the size of watermelons. I couldn't wear shoes because my feet were so swollen! My hips hurt, my joints hurt, everything hurt. But no matter what I did to try to get myself to go into labor, nothing worked. 

At my 36 week doctor appointment, I was dilated to a 1 and 30% effaced. I was SURE that I would have Leah early. 
At my 37 week appointment, I was at a 2 and 50% effaced. I was getting very excited! 
At my 38 week appointment, I was still at a 2 but I was 80% effaced. When my doctor told me that, I got so nervous! I really thought that I was going to go into labor within a week. 
But here came my 39 week appointment, and I hadn't made any progress. That disappointed me a little because I just wanted my angel to finally be here! 


My doctor and I talked about my birth plan, and as we were discussing it he looked at his calendar and said, "Oh wow, next week I am on vacation, looks like I won't be here on your due date." 
I glared at him and said, "You. Better. Be. Here. For. This."

I got really scared, I wanted my doctor there. 

We continued talking and set an induction date for February 9th (I don't remember why). 
My 40 week appointment was set for Wednesday, February 2nd, but I didn't go because the office was closed because there was a bad snow/ice storm that week. I wasn't too worried about missing the appointment because my pregnancy and Leah were healthy and I had no problems or complications whatsoever. I was terrified that I would go into labor during the storm, but that didn't happen.

So, here I was, on my due date, relaxing in bed watching TV and not expecting anything to happen. I had been trying so hard for weeks to put myself into labor so I just thought, "This is my last week of it just being me, I am going to take it easy and relax." 

2:30 PM
As I was laying in bed, I felt a dull cramp in my lower abdomen. It only lasted a few seconds so I didn't think much of it. 
About 30 minutes later, it happened again. It only lasted a few seconds, so again, I just ignored it. 
30 minutes later, I got another one, so I tried using the bathroom. Nothing happened, so I went and laid back down. 
By the time it was 5:00pm, they were coming pretty often, I timed them:
4:52
4:57
5:02
5:07
5:11
5:15
5:20
5:26

I called my mom, who was on her way home from work, and I said, "Umm, mom.. I think I'm having contractions but I'm not sure..." I really wasn't sure, they didn't feel ANYTHING like braxton hicks. I was expecting my whole tummy to tighten up and for it to feel like BH but that was not the case. This was much different. They also wouldn't go away when I drank water and laid down. My mom said, "How long have you been cramping?" I told her since 2:30 and that they hadn't stopped. 

When she got home, she rubbed my back. As the next hour passed she could begin to tell when I was having a contraction because it was getting harder for me to talk and concentrate due to the worsening pain. 
The contractions got sporadic, 8 minutes apart, then 2 minutes, then 6 minutes, then 3 minutes; so my mom called the hospital. They told her, "Tell her to wait until the contractions are 2-3 minutes apart for an hour then head to the hospital." I said "F THAT! This freakin' hurts. We're going soon."

She agreed, so I took a shower (hoping the contractions would stop. I'm not going to lie, I was scared. Very scared. I had heard so many stories and seen so many shows on how a birth can go and I was so nervous about mine. Yes I wanted my baby, but I did NOT want to go through childbirth! The anticipation of not knowing what was to come is what made it so scary).

My mom got her bag and camera, I got my bag, then we went to pick up my best friend Jamie. Meanwhile, my mom was calling people on "the list" and letting them know I was most likely in labor and she would update them when we got to the hospital. 

The drive was slow, partially because the roads were still slick from the ice, and also because my contractions hurt SO BAD! My mom even stopped at a 7-11 right down the street from the hospital because she just had to use the restroom. She asked if I minded and I said no because I was just not mentally ready for everything! We got to the hospital at about 8:30 PM and I was taken to the triage room. They hooked me up to the machine to monitor Leah's heart-rate. The nurse checked to check my dilation, and she said, "Whoa honey you're at a 6!" I said, "Well can I get my epidural?!?!" She laughed and said, "Of course, just let us get a room set up real quick."

Real quick was NOT as quick as I wanted.

I got my own room at about 9:30 and the contractions were only getting worse. They called the anesthesiologist and said he would be there soon. 
He didn't show up until 11 PM. I was beyond agitated. 
My contractions were coming back to back and it was taking everything in me not to cry. I guess I handle pain well because Jamie said I was doing well and I was quiet. I had a few tears but that was it. When the anesthesiologist finally got in there, he sat there and read this long agreement form out to me that I had to agree with in order to get the epi. All I wanted to say was, "Shut up, I agree with whatever the heck is on that paper, just give me the medicine!" 

In the mean-time, they were also trying to get a-hold of my doctor, which failed completely. I was so bummed out. The nurses told me that the on-call doctor was a great doctor. And honestly, with all the pain I was in, I didn't even care, I just wanted my baby girl OUT of me! 

Finally, at 11:30 PM, I got the epidural. They had chosen not to check me because you can't get an epidural if you are passed 7cm and I guess they felt for me. Right after I had gotten my epi, the nurse broke my water and checked me and I was at 8cm. NO WONDER the contractions hurt so bad! The epidural eased my contractions completely, I couldn't feel a thing.

12:30 AM February 5th.
I was at 10cm, but Leah hadn't moved down much so the nurse said we would wait a while to save me work and let her move down on her own. 5 minutes later she came back in and said, "Well the doctor wants to get the ball rolling so I guess we're going get this started!" I was still so mentally un-prepared because it had all happened so fast. I was expecting me to be at the hospital for hours and hours before giving birth, but apparently not! 

1 AM
The stupid doctor pissed me off. 

I could tell he was in a rush.

He came in there and him and all the nurses were getting ready. They put my legs up in the stirrups and put the blue sheets all over me. 

Without my permission, or even telling me, the doctor got the Ventouse (vacuum) and started sucking/pulling Leah out. 

Immediately I felt something was wrong. I could feel EVERYTHING! I told myself to calm down, that it was normal for me to feel some pressure, but this felt more than just pressure. It HURT. I was not prepared for this because during my entire pregnancy I planned on getting an epidural. I took no birthing classes, never learned how to breathe to deal with pain, nothing. By this time I hadn't even pushed yet! After a couple minutes of him yanking Leah down the birth canal with the vacuum, I heard him say, "Get the scissors." I was thinking to myself, "Oh God Oh God I am going to feel him cut me!" But luckily I didn't. 

I was mad he cut me without asking, I wanted to tear naturally. 

After he cut me, I pushed and I felt her start to crown. WORST PAIN OF MY LIFE, EVER. It felt like a bowling ball coming out of me. I pushed with all of my might. Finally, her head came out. I felt so much relief. But most of her body was still inside me, so I pushed some more, and out popped one shoulder, and with one more push, her other shoulder was out and the doctor pulled her out and set her on top of me. 

1:08 AM 

...on February 5th, my perfect beautiful angel of a daughter was born.

The first thing I said when he put her on top of me was, "Oh my God, she's so tiny!" I was in disbelief. I had done it! And she was perfect - 7 lbs 8 oz, 19 1/2 inches long. Just perfect. They took her to clean her off and I just sat there with my hand on my head. I still couldn't believe it. 

Leah was getting oxygen as I was getting "cleaned up." I could feel him stitch me up - I guess the epidural didn't work completely. It felt like it took him forever to finish. My mom brought my baby to me and I just looked at her in astonishment. I didn't know how to react, I was just so happy! I just looked at her forever it seems like. 

She was so beautiful.

Leah - 2 days old

That was the best moment of my life. No moment can beat it. Although it didn't go at all as planned, it was still the best night of my life. I am so blessed to have Leah sleeping peacefully in her crib right now. 

After childbirth, and seeing the true miracle of life, I am going to say that I know God exists (not that I doubted before, just sayin...). 
Thank You Lord for Leah. 

Leah - 5 months old