Erica and Charles became parents on April 28 when they welcomed their son, Curtis Vance, into the world. Erica made a very comfy home for her son because the weeks ticked by and her body showed no signs of imminent labor. Still, she had a strong feeling her dates were off and her baby had more growing to do, so she did not get discouraged as the time passed. But when an induction was scheduled at 42 weeks she was curious how that would go since her suspicions about her baby not quite being ready might have some merit.

The waiting continued because Erica did not get a call for a ready bed when originally expected. It wasn’t until the following morning that she was told to head in. Around 7:30 am an exam showed that Erica was dilated 1 cm and 50% effaced. The plan was Cytotec every 4 hours throughout the day to see if her cervix would respond. They also kept an eye on her baby’s heart rate which had some concerning patterns.

Then at 3:30 pm Erica’s water broke. It was a very good sign that her body was on board with the plan for labor. Erica moved her labor into the shower as the contractions began to require more of her focus. She struggled to relax between them while in the shower and wanted to labor back on the bed where she could sit upright and also recline. Erica also chose to get some i.v. Stadol to help her relax and settle in to labor. After all, she had every reason to expect it would be a long process and she wanted to keep her head in the right place. Charles squeezed Erica’s body in different places to distract her from the pain of the contractions. She breathed deeply and calmly as he did so, and managed to labor well like this for a while.

Erica considered her reasons for not wanting an epidural originally, and realized the reasons were no longer relevant. She desired movement but had chosen to get medicine to help her rest and relax so she was relegated to the bed. And her birth had already gone down a very different path with the induction, helping Erica to recognize the value of an epidural on her new journey. With contractions coming strong every 2 minutes, Erica was ready for relief. Epidural in place, she was comfortable by 10:30 pm.

Shortly after 11:00 pm they began Pitocin since Erica’s contractions had spaced apart, a fairly common labor response after an epidural. It was at a low level (4.0 mu) but her baby’s heart rate started to dip again so it was bumped back down. We were sure to do all sorts of positions to give her baby every opportunity to descend and help to dilate Erica’s cervix. Erica lay on her right side with the peanut ball between her ankles. And just before midnight she was dilated 5-6 cm, 90% effaced, and baby’s head was at 0 station. Yay! She was in labor!

By 12:20 am we rolled Erica to her left side and kept the peanut between her ankles. She was able to get some sleep around 12:45 am, and with baby’s heart rate looking good her nurse bumped the Pitocin up a little to 6.0 mu. After 30 minutes or so it was pushed to 8.0 mu. Erica felt some pain or pressure in her left hip which had us wonder if something significant was happening in her labor. She pressed her pca button and we rolled her back to her right, this time with the peanut ball between her knees. There was some bloody show – a great sign of progress in dilation!

And by 3:15 am Erica was completely dilated and her baby was at +1/+2! She labored down a bit as her nurse set up the delivery table and notified the midwife. And at 4:45 Erica gave her first pushes. Her contractions had spaced to 5 minutes apart, so the pushes were spaced as well. Erica gave a good effort pushing on her hands and knees (yes, with an epidural), but it made more sense to labor down. She was not pain-free as the discomfort on her left side intensified. So we tried moving onto her right side to help manage the pain by using gravity to spread her epidural to the left, and we also put her right leg in a stirrup to have a bigger impact. Erica was breathing through these contractions at this point. The epidural was not providing full relief anymore. She pushed the pca button but that pain in her bottom was growing. So the best plan was to just have a baby! Erica resumed pushing with her midwife at 6:26 am. And it didn’t take long, thanks to gravity, laboring down, and strong pushes. Erica brought her son into the world at 6:50 am right before shift change, much to her nurse’s delight!

She was not pain-free as the discomfort on her left side intensified. So we tried moving onto her right side to help manage the pain by using gravity to spread her epidural to the left, and we also put her right leg in a stirrup to have a bigger impact. Erica was breathing through these contractions at this point. The epidural was not providing full relief anymore. She pushed the pca button but that pain in her bottom was growing. So the best plan was to just have a baby! Erica resumed pushing with her midwife at 6:26 am. And it didn’t take long, thanks to gravity, laboring down, and strong pushes. Erica brought her son into the world at 6:50 am right before shift change, much to her nurse’s delight!

Curtis was latched at barely an hour old and snuggled with his mom for a good long while before we learned his stats. He weighed 8 lb. 5 oz. The adoring looks exchanged between Erica and Charles were so sweet and heartwarming. And judging by the amount of vernix all over Curtis’ body, even the nursery staff suspected he might have been less than 42 weeks. His mom was right!

This birth meandered for sure, but at the center of it all Erica and Charles were united in their decisions. And as their midwife said, “Erica went from 1 cm to baby in 24 hours, and that’s pretty awesome!” We’ve since had our postpartum visit and I can report that Erica is going above and beyond to ensure Curtis continues to grow and thrive. I am so proud of Erica and Charles and the way they have grown into Curtis’ parents!

The Birth of Curtis Vance 4/28/23