Penelope's Birth Story

I cannot believe it’s been a week since welcoming our precious Penelope Rose into the world. It seems like it’s been years since the previous weekend—granted that weekend felt like an eternity, too. This is a long birth story…about as long as the weekend felt.

On Tuesday, September 15, I went in for an appointment with my midwife, Marie. My blood pressure was slightly higher than usually and a test indicated I had some proteins in my urine. My midwife was being cautious, wanting to rule out preeclampsia, and had me pick up a 24 hour urine test. She also sent me home with instructions to make an acupuncture appointment, and on what vitamins and supplements to take to lower my blood pressure. It was great fun….I came back on Thursday and my blood pressure was still slightly high, all we needed to wait for was the test results from the urine test. I immediately made an acupuncture appointment and unfortunately couldn’t get in until Monday. I was hoping that the supplements would lower my blood pressure enough to rule out concern for preeclampsia.

On Friday, September 18^th at 5:36pm I got a phone call from Marie with devastating news. My urine test had come back with concerning levels of proteins and I would have to go into the hospital to be induced…that night…I was shocked. I did not know what to say or how to take the news initially. I tried asking questions and then it sank in…I was going to have this baby tonight or tomorrow or very soon and I WAS NOT EMOTIONALLY READY!!! And this was NOT my plan. I know that birth plans are just that…plans. But I thought that I could at least have a say of where I wanted to give birth. I was so set on a waterbirth at home using Hypnobabies. I felt prepared and was excited at the thought of having a wonderful birth experience. I was excited to maybe wake up one morning and feel something happening. I was excited to spend the day with John, maybe taking a walk, make some brownies and dinner for my birth team, and work through my pressure waves (what Hypnobabies calls contractions) using hypnosis. I was excited to have a natural birth! But now all those hopes and all that excitement quickly faded into what I dreaded most—a hospital birth with Pitocin. Was I going to be able to make it without an epidural?? What if they decided on a c-section?? I had no idea what to expect besides what I heard about inductions…which was not all that positive.

I had to hang up on Marie to let the news sink in and to have a good cry. I called John; he could barely understand me but he thankfully was right off of work and was on his way. There are very few times that John panics but that drive home from Kent to Tacoma was one of those times. I called my parents, I called my sister, I called my sister in law, I called my mother in law, Shannon, to come over ASAP! I could NOT be alone. When Shannon came I just cried some more and tried to tell her what Marie told me. Honestly, the details and instructions of my conversation with Marie escaped my mind. We decided that I should take some time to calm down, talk it out, and start gathering my things to go to the hospital. Thankfully, I had started a hospital bag just in case but wasn’t finished with packing all the necessities. Shannon and I called Marie back and got the full details that we would be going in that night and that she had contacted Dr. Baghdadi who would be delivering Penelope and checking in on me. Finally, John came home. I could see the panic and worry on his face. I felt so bad. I told him we could take our time getting to the hospital. We were both able to take showers and mentally prepare ourselves (well as much as we could) for what the night had in store. I asked for a Priesthood blessing and John’s dad came over and helped administer one. By the time we left for the hospital there was a calm presence in us—we knew all three of us were going to be taken of.

After arriving at the hospital quite late, we got settled in and were told that I would have to be on monitors all night to check my blood pressure and to make sure baby was doing alright. I had two straps around my belly monitoring me. It was super uncomfortable but I was determined to be relaxed enough to lower my blood pressure. I had an amazing nurse, Steffanie, who was very encouraging. I had some high readings and some lower readings throughout the night and apparently some contractions. Steffanie asked if I had felt anything…nope. The on call doctor, Dr. Sam Davis, also came in to check me. He was super gentle, which I would later find out not everyone is. I don’t remember how much I was dilated, obviously not that much, but felt good about the prospect of going home.  I was told that Dr. Baghdadi would be checking up on me the next day and make the decision to either send me home or be induced.

Saturday morning came and we were able to eat some breakfast and relax before finding out the decision. Waiting for Dr. Baghdadi exercised our patience. By noon he came in and checked me. Oh my heavens it hurt like the dickens!!! And then he told me that I had very mild preeclampsia. He then proceeded to explain that if I was 29 weeks along then he would send me home and I would be on bedrest and monitored often. But..since I was 39 weeks exactly he  was going to give orders for me to be induced. Our hearts sank a little at the news and I began to shake a bit. I was so nervous about it! We were going to have a baby! They didn’t start me on pit right away (which I was so grateful for). Instead, they inserted cervidil which helps soften the cervix getting it ready for birth. We were going to see how far along I would be after about 12 hours.

Saturday night was a night of endless monitoring. By 6:30pm I was dilated to a 2.5 and 60% effaced. Some progress, but still no real distinguishable contractions. For the life of me I could not get comfortable. Any time I was comfortable the monitor would slip off or be moved just enough so they lost the reading on my blood pressure and baby’s. It was so annoying. One slight move and the next thing I know the nurse would be in telling me not to move and seem frustrated that she had to readjust the monitors…really?? Not move…haha..right. I wanted to be calm and use my hypnobabies techniques which had been helping thus far but just could not handle it any longer. Plus, I had a nurse, Natosha, that checked my cervix and it hurt so bad!! I was at my wits end and was not coping well with this huge change in plans. At 11:05pm I finally asked Natosha if there was any way I could just be off these monitors and be checked every couple hours. I needed sleep! She, of course, told me no. I was so upset, so so upset, and proceeded to have a panic attack. Thankfully, Shannon and John were right there to comfort me. Shannon immediately told John to give me a Priesthood blessing. Let me tell you they work!! The Spirit immediately filled that hospital room and I was able to calm down enough not to be in a panic state. The nurse was able to hook me up to a portable monitor so I could walk around and get my bearings. While roaming the halls I saw Steffanie and we were able to talk through what happened and she gave me a hug and told me I was doing amazing under the circumstances. She also reminded me that “healthy momma; healthy baby” was what really mattered. I’m not sure how I felt about that phrase in my situation but I just let them say it over and over again. I felt a lot better and when we went back to the room I was able to get some sleep. There was a change in nurses (by this time I’m losing track of who is caring for me), I don’t remember if it was the older spunkier lady who had me laughing a bit, or the sweet woman who was gentle and kind who I felt genuinely wanted what was best for me. Either way, from that point on I had amazing nurses in the delivery room.

On Sunday at 5am with a few hours of sleep I got checked. I had made some progress and was told I was having regular contractions but was not in active labor. I didn’t feel them! Yay Hypnobabies! At 9:01am I was dilated to a 4 and 70% effaced. It was Pitocin time; game time! I wasn’t sure what to expect with that stuff pumping through my body. Everything just built up from that point on. Thankfully, they started me off really slow. I know that sometimes hospitals won’t do that and they end up putting women on a big shot of pit first. Not like natural labor at all. But I felt like labor was building at a decent rate. We kept ourselves busy by playing cards and listening to hypnobabies tracks. We started to walk around a bit, did some positions on the birthing ball and in John’s arms to help me progress. At 1:12pm I was dilated to a 5.5 (really?!) and 80% effaced. I was calm and handling labor really well. I was able to get in the tub and that felt so good. Still at that point I felt very little pressure and absolutely no pain. I got out of the tub a short time later and laid down for a nap. When I woke up an hour or so later I really started to feel something! Holy pressure! I got back into that tub and by this point I had no clothes on. I was trying to guide my natural anesthesia downward by saying “peeeeeaaaaccce” and using lower moans.  I was in that tub until about 4:20 when I hit transformation (Hypnobabies term for transition) and my water broke. Things happened very quickly by that point.  At 4:55 I was dilated to a 10 and ready to push. I remember being in bed and the back of the bed was propped up so I could be in a somewhat upright position draped over. There was so much intense pressure and I really lost all sense of time and all the techniques I had practiced. Shannon guided me through the pressure waves as I held tightly on to John’s hand. I remember falling asleep between each wave and that felt soooo good. I also remember my swearing problem came out…one if the nurses asked if I wanted to be checked. I told them, “H*** no!!!” Then it came down to really pushing. I felt so unprepared and sad that we didn’t talk about the positions available to me in my state. I ended up resentfully on my back pushing. It didn’t feel good to push like I had read in so many stories. It was annoying! But I did it and even though I knew I was tearing I just pushed her out with all my might.

She was (IS!) so beautiful! We did it! I was elated and happy to have her on my chest. I was crying and laughing and just telling her how proud of her I was, and although we were not 100% sure Penelope was going to be her name it was what came out of my mouth and that confirmed it for us. She fed right away. Wow! What a latch! I remember saying how happy I was that she had hair and asking if she was actually a girl! Then the next thing I knew Dr. Baghdadi and the nurses around me started to sound very worried. They quickly had John cut the cord and I was told that I was hemorrhaging. Scariest moment of my life, also the most painful experience. As I was pushing my IV had popped out and I was no longer receiving Pitocin. I was screaming from the pain and wincing back. Dr. Baghdadi had to get everything out and my placenta was not coming out as one whole. He was also firmly asking for the pit IV over and over again. Where was it? Why weren’t the nurses putting it in?! The nurses kept pressing on my uterus trying to push everything out. I saw John across the room with Penny. I had never seen him look so scared. Shannon was trying to calm me down and communicate to me what the doctors wanted me to do. Finally the nurses were able to put an IV in me but I was still not wanting Dr. Baghdadi to touch me. He asked if I needed to be put on anesthesia because I was not calming down. Thankfully, a nurse explained to me that that would cause issues with breastfeeding. I knew that if I didn’t get the birth experience that I wanted I was determined to have a wonderful breastfeeding experience, especially because she fed so well a few moments ago. Just seconds after making the decision not to get anesthesia I was told that everything was slowing down and that the hemorrhaging was subsiding. Miracle. I did end up tearing but not much--I only had about 4 or 5 stitches. I was finally able to have Penelope back but I was shaking so bad. The next few minutes were just a blur as I gazed down at our beautiful daughter. She was perfect. 8 lbs 6 oz, 21 inches long. 10 toes, 10 fingers, big beautiful wandering eyes, my eyes. She had Daddy’s features, his nose, mouth, lips, cheeks, and even dimples! This was bliss.

What came next was pretty routine and standard. They had me clean up and put new sheets on the bed for me. I was super super thirsty and must have drunken 5 big jugs of water. I was able to eat some protein bars I had stashed away. I remember John’s family stopping by to see her but I was in no state of mind to have anyone come in the room and visit so they just saw Penelope through the door. Two or so hours later they moved me into the after delivery room (is that what they call it?) and on the way there they had me stop and they played a short version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star welcoming Penelope into the world. Also on the way there I saw a mom come in about to have twins. It was so special talking to her. We got settled into our new room and got ready for bed. I don’t think John or I slept well that night; we were still a bit shell shocked. As I was drifting into sleep I couldn’t help but think what just happened. I would start shaking and then I’d try using my hypnosis techniques and prayer to calm me down. John and I said a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for our new child and that everything was ok. This was the beginning of our family. The next day Steffanie came in to see us and she was just amazed at how I was able to give birth without an epidural and asked what essential oils I used throughout the night—Serenity and Past Tense. I thanked her profusely for being my nurse.   

The next day I woke up so hungry! I ordered a huge breakfast. Slowly nurses started coming in asking me a bunch of questions, what screenings would I get, shots, how is your pain level yada yada yada. It was an endless stream of nurses and there was definitely some communication errors. One nurse kept saying he and not she. Paper work I was supposed to fill out was not explained to me. I had a visit with the lactation consultant and felt that if I wasn’t successful today I might just have to resort to pumping and/or formula. I remember she was mainly focused on latch. Penelope has no trouble with latch. It’s all these positions that are super uncomfortable. (Laid back positions are the best and are way more natural for baby). We were told later that she had a bit of jaundice and that I would need to supplement. I felt that was not an option. What I later realized was that she just needed to be fed more and have a sun bath or two. At 8:00pm we were finally able to be discharged. It felt so odd to leave. It felt like we had been in the hospital for months. Fresh air felt incredible on our lungs. The drive home was surreal and we had no idea what that night would bring us. A rude awakening for sure!! Pun intended! She would not sleep in her pack n play. I have since relaxed a bit and have had her sleep on my chest. (I know! Terrible!...) but despite all the negativity I thank God for this opportunity to be a mother and for John to be a father. Penelope Rose Davis is well loved and she loves us. She was worth it.