Day 3: Family of Six

Today should be the day! The nurses prepped the carts for baby's arrival first thing this morning knowing that I went quick last time and the midwives and staff weren't quite ready.

I was started on pitocin again by 8:30am. By 11:00am Mary Kempf broke my water. A little meconium was noticed so a water birth was out of the question again. With Adelynn my water was broken at noon and she was born at 6:31pm. With a hour earlier start I figured our baby boy would arrive by 6:00pm at the latest.

Around 6:00pm my contractions were getting much more uncomfortable. There was a period of an hour where I had a super contraction that didn't offer me a break that whole time. That is when I said okay, I'll take another try at an epidural, knowing with Seth and Sam one was almost pointless. The anesthesiologist placed it and a hour later I felt no relief. She was called back up and gave me a bolus. I rolled to my back and before I knew it I was joking with Nick abc grabbing at little strands of chest hair to give him a little pain. I'm sure he was in pain standing by my side watching me cry for that hour of constant peak contraction.

By 9:30pm, my midwife informed me that she is giving me until 10:00pm because baby's heart rate was dropping during contractions not to mention he'd fall to the 60s if I rolled to my back.

10:00pm arrived and I was still only 7cm. His head would drop with contractions but return to a higher position afterwards. Dr. Sam Arnold was called and nurses began to hurriedly prep for a c-section. I've never had one and my doctors with Seth and Sam prepped the operating room for c-sections. Those two times I quickly turned around and was able to deliver naturally. Not this time. Something was wrong.

I was wheeled in and the operation started at 11:00pm. By 11:08pm our baby boy was born. I was so relieved to hear him cry. Yet so upset that I couldn't see him. I want my baby. I want to see him. 'Run your tests later' I was thinking to myself. It felt like forever before they brought him to Nick. Still then I couldn't see his face. I was so heartbroken at this new experience. Who cares that I'd have a scar. The operation was something that was necessary.

It was hours before I could see my baby naked. Little pieces here and there. I couldn't even find his fingers or toes. I felt great sympathy for mothers who had to experience this kind of birth.

Noah James Schiller

Born June 3, 2013 at 11:08pm

8lbs, 8.2oz

21in long with 15" head circumference

Our family of five is now six. Our family is complete.