The birth story of Finley William Burns

I can't believe it is already October 12th. So much has happened since my last posting back in august. August seems like another lifetime even though it was only 5 weeks ago.

Finley William Burns was born Sept 2nd at 7:55pm after a birth experience I will never forget.

Everyday since week 38 I had been particuarly highly attuned to my body waiting for even the smallest signal that birth might be soon. I had been feeling random contractions here or there and the usual achiness and immobility since early august but the last few days everythign had chilled out and quieted down so I was beginning to really dread I would be pregant for another week or 2 and that I would end up getting induced sometime after week 41, like so many other 1st time moms.

Friday sept 1st was a beautiful late summer day. 80's and wonderful. since I had been having high blood pressures, the doc ran a bunch of blood & urine tests at the doc appt the day before. So on friday afternoon we got the call that we would need to go to saturday clinic the next day to get more tests b/c the tests indicated that I had some protein in my urine (blood was normal) and the doc was worried that I was heading toward having preeclampsia so i would need to get checked out the next day and if things continued to be bad then I might get induced!!

At this point I was so sick of being pregnant that i was not even worried about the possibility of being admitted to the hospital for observation or the possibility of a labor induction. I was concerned about the possible ramifications of preeclampsia but I trusted the UM hospital would be watching me very close if there indeed was a problem. Bill & I were both distratcted by the what we migth learn at the doc appt the next day so we decided to go out in the yard and try to keep our minds off worries and instead try to enjoy the yard a bit. my garden had already outgrown its borders, the morning glories had climbed all the way ontop of the roof of the garage and were winding themselves around our outdoor furniture and the lawn was so long it was tufting. so Bill mowed the lawn and I pulled a few weeds and chilled out in my swing chair. Bill chased the dog around the yard and lit a fire in the chimenea then we ordered pizza and ate a casual dinner outside.

The next day was the 1st UM football game and we were planning to go to a BBQ at Jeff & Caitlyn's after my doc appt.

When I was getting ready for bed that night, I noticed a little brown in my unders and felt a little jolt of excitement-hoping it was my mucus plug but then my heart sank b/c I remembered that the mucus plug can be lost weeks before birth and also i had read that the mucus plug was more 'exciting" than what I had seen, so i went to bed thinking I would have just another "normal" night-super pregnant, uncomfortable in every position, and 6 trips to the bathroom.

I was wrong!!! at 3:45am I woke up and noticed alot of wetness in the bed. I stood up and more ran down my leg-I suddenly realized that my water had broken!! I went down stairs to use the bathroom. The mucus plug came out and alot more fluid gushed out. there was no doubt-IT WAS TIME! I was so excited, I ran back upstairs and woke Bill up. He said "really-it's time?" and jumped out of bed quickly (which he never ever does). Kaia woke up too when she heard us stirring around-she could feel and smell the excitement in the air and knew something special was happening.

I was not yet having contractions so we calmly gathered our things, organized the house so things would be in order when we got home from the hospital, then we packed the dog and ourselves into the truck and drove to the hospital. The early morning air was warm and had an eerie calm-Bill asked if he should be speeding like in the movies and TV shows. but since I wasn't having contractions-we took it easy. We had pre-arranged with the dog daycare that when it was time to go to the hospital, we just needed to call and they would come pick her up from where-ever she was. this was great b/c I was not at all worried about Kaia and i knew she would be safe and having fun at the daycare for a few days while we get settled with the new baby.

we got to labor & delivery triage and they checked us in and admitted us right away b/c the doc said it was obvious that there was no question whether my membranes had ruptured-they had and it really was TIME! however I was still not having contractions so they told us to start walking around while we waited to get a labor & delivery room. the docs did not check my cervix b/c the risk of infection is high after the water has broken so dramatically like mine had. they said they would check the cervix in a few hours once my contractions were actually underway. we called both sets of parents and siblings to spread the word. We walked around the hallways from about 5-6:30am and finally I started feeling some contractions. they were strong enough and painful enough that I had to stop walking when they happened but I could tell it was going to get much worse.

at 7:30am they moved us to a labor & delivery room and Leah arrived with some snacks. They started my IV right away and the doc came in and said that I would be started on alot of pitocin immediately b/c my membranes were fully ruptured and thus I needed to have the baby out within 18-24h. I then requested an epidural right away since I had heard that pitocin made labor much worse. The pitocin started working with 15 minutes. I started having contractions more regularly every 5-7 minutes and they were moderately painful. This went on until 10:30a when the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural. The epidural process was very uncomfortable-like nothing I have ever felt-a very stange sensation in my spine. It hurt but I did nto care b/c I knew it would make the whole process easier. Once the epidural catheter was in place and started working, I could still feel my legs but they felt fuzzy, heavy, sort of "asleep". therefor I could not walk so I had to get a urinary catheter-this would have been very painful but since I had the epidural I could only feel pressure and no pain so the insertion was not bad at all. it was a huge relif to have the catheter b/c getting otu of the hospital bed with the IV and my giant belly was a huge pain in the ass.

so now things were pretty good for a while. I was having contractions but could only feel the muscle tensing-no pain really at all. we watched the contractions on the fetal monitor and listened to the baby's heartbeat-it was quite reassuring. the nurses stopped by every 30 min or so to check the pattern of the contractions and give me more pitocin if necessary. my parents, georgia, & hannah arrived and we called kurt & kelly and kev & steph with the news. kev & steph were on the way to cedar point! we told them not to worry and just to go have fun. Bill turned on the football game and we all settled in to wait. I enjoyed having everyone around since I was not in pain and I just layed back and relaxed and drank lots of water and juice and chatted.

at 2:30 the docs came in and checked my cervix-I was at 4cm and all looked good. they increased my pitocin and told me just to keep waiting......by about 3:30 or 4pm I started having painful contractions that were coming in clusters that would last several minutes with hardly a break in between. the nurses said this was NOT a "productive' pattern so they increased my pitocin even more. I asked for more pain drugs in the epidural b/c things were hurting bad enough that i could not talk to people or stay relaxed.

I asked the docs to call my doctor, Joy Williams and tell her I was in labor & see if she could come in to do the delivery-she had said she would if she was in town...so they paiged her.

around 4 or 4:30, Bob & joy arrived-they had been at the football game-which Michigan won so all the men were quite happy. around 5:45 pm the docs checked my cervix again and said I was at 8cm!!! now we were getting close-they said they would be back to check again around 7pm. I was still not really nervous-just excited and starting to get really hungry!! I had not eaten anything substantial since dinner the night before. I was dreaming of french toast! I don't know why but that is what I wanted. The contractions were quite painful despite the epidural and the nurse said there was nothing they could do and I would need to breathe through the pain. I asked people to leave the room while I labored through the contractions and begged the nurse to find the anestesiologist to see if there was any chance I could get more drugs. Bill & Leah & Georgia & Hannah stayed in the room and helped me through the pain. every one else came in peridocially to see how we were doing. Leah was friends with our nurse from the time when she had worked on the labor & delivery unit a few years ago-so this weas really nice b/c the nurse was wonderful and she gave us her full attention everytime she was in the room.

suddenly at 6:30 I started feeling a strong urge to push. major pressure in my lower pelvic area and a new kind of insistent, numbing, burning pain that was different than the all-over belly pain of the contractions. we pressed the nurse call button and told them about the new pain and the anesthesiologist had still not come and I was starting to freak out. so the nurse called the doc and finally at 6:45 they checked my cervix and I was at 10cm, fully effaced and READY TO GO!!! no wonder I was feeling so much pressure and urge to push.

fortunately my doctor arrived and I got an injection of pain drugs and she checked me and said it was time to start pushing!!! I could not believe it. So along with another woman resident, my doc instructed Bill, Leah, Geogia, & Hannah on what they woudl need to do to help me with pushing. We did 2 practice pushes and then we got strated for real. When I had a contraction (every 1-2 minutes or so) my helpers held my hands and legs while I had to push & bear down with all my strength 3X while counting to 10 with only 1 or 2 relief breathes in between sets. Bill was helping me with th lamaze breathing techniques so that I did not hyperventilate. the nurse removed the urinary catheter for the actual birth. I had to stay in the bed since I had the epidural so I coud not stand to squat which is the best birthing positon if the mom is able. but I could not do this so instead I was in a modified sitting-squatting position so I could bear down easily in the bed but my with my legs up. halfway through the process the nurses put a birthing bar up on the bed so I could grab on and pull to help me bear down better.

the docs said I was doing really well and I was a "good pusher" and they could see progress with every push. I could not think of anything else. the pain was so great and I was concentrating so intensely on what i was doing that everything in the room and the world was completely invisible to me. I no longer knew or cared who was in the birth room, I no longer cared what anyone or myself said or did or felt-I was entirely and completely focused on the feeling of pressure and the urge to push and the feeling of my child's head pushing through my cervix. I really don't think I have ever been that focused and centered in my life- it was like being in another dimension-blurry yet centered, extreme pain yet floating. I was listening intently to every instruction from Bill, leah, and the docs. Georgia and Hannah were encouraging me constantly and between sets of pushing and breathing I was starting to get really exhausted. then at 7:45 I started to freak out b/c the pain was so intense and overwhelming and I was feeling claustrophobic b/c I was so exhausted and i could feel the pressure and pain baby's head coming out but I was afraid that I could not push him the rest of the way out. the realization hit me that I was in a DO OR DIE situation for myself and the baby. I started panicking and Bill started to get upset and he said-"we can see the head!!-you can do it-you can do it-just keep pushing-the head is partly out-he's almost here!". Leah, georgia and hannah were intensely encouraging me and crying with concern and amazement and then suddenly with a last burst of terrible pain- the baby was OUT!! it was 7:55pm. my doc told me to stop pushing as they re-arranged the baby a bit then I had to push once more to get the shoulders out-this was nothing compared to the head. Then I fell back on the pillow, exhausted and they plopped the baby on my belly-I was so tired I could barely lift my head- I looked up and all I could see was his wet, gooey back and butt-but it was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. Bill was next to me and crying and thrilled but he kept his cool and was able to cut the umbilical cord-I was so proud of him!!! then the baby screamed and cried and we knew everything would be OK. then Bill helped the nurse pick the baby up and move him to the washing table where they also tested his APGAR scores-he got an 8 out of 10 on the 1st tests and a 9 on the second APGAR. he was exactly 7lbs and 19 and 3/4 inches long.

then the baby was wrapped in a receiving blanket and Bill handed him to me!!! I could not believe that my son was really OUT! and pefect and wonderful and so beautiful and he had lots of dark hair and his eyes were wide open and deep blue and his hands were wiggling-what an amazing moment! during this time the doctors and nurses were cleaning me and the room up. I had a small tear so they sewed it up. I was no longer feeling pain so this felt like nothing. the combination of the pain drugs, the endorphins, and my new baby in my arms were the most effective pain relief I had ever had! passing the placenta was no problem at all-it happened quickly and the docs were taking care of everything while we all stared at our new family member. truly I had never felt so good in my life! what a rush!!!

I could hear our parents out in the hallway laughing with excitement while the docs cleaned me up. as I held the baby-the docs asked what his name was...Bill and I looked at eachother and we realized that his name was Finley!!! after all the indecision and difficulty picking a name-the baby really did pick his own name. Finley was 1 of 4 names we were trying to choose between and it turns out that the baby chose it himself. I said his middle name was William. so then Bill took the baby out in the hall to present him to our parents. finally the docs and nurses cleared the room and our parents came in and we all had the most wonderful welcoming party for Finley.