Archives of Birth Stories

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Big-Balled Baby
-Anonymous, Montana

My water broke on a Monday morning at 1:30am. My husband and I went to the hospital and I finally gave birth at 7:00pm on Tuesday. After a long and difficult labor, I was given some heavy pain killing medication and was quite groggy. On Wednesday, I was finally coherent enough to spend some time with my new son. I laid my little guy down on the bed to change him. When I took off his diaper, I was shocked to see that he had huge balls. I didn't know that was normal for newborn boys. I let out a gasp and said, “Oh my gosh; he's got gigantic balls!” I thought my husband was going to die from laughter.

Now when my son outgrows a size in diapers or moves up a size in clothes, my husband always teases me and says it must be because of his big balls.

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Doctor MIA During Delivery
-Lura Lee, New York

I was well past my due date and playing cards with my mother and husband when I had the first, maybe real, maybe false, contraction. I really wanted this to be it! We all got ready to go to the hospital, just in case, and then continued playing. During the game I had no more contractions. That night, there were also no contractions. And when I woke up the next morning, still no contractions. Drat!

By 9:30 that morning I noticed that the baby hadn’t kicked or moved in a while. I started to do a "kick count" (something I never bothered with before that day) and I only got to one kick in two hours. I called my doctor and went to the hospital to get checked.

After about 15 minutes of monitoring the nurse said I would be going home as soon as she came back with the paperwork. When it had been over 30 minutes, I sent my husband to find her. I wanted to go home and have lunch. The nurse came in and explained that since they kept losing the baby’s heartbeat, the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound. After another hour, I finally got the ultrasound, by a very quiet and reserved doctor. He explained that there was no amniotic fluid and my baby needed to be born as soon as possible. I knew I was in for the long haul now.

For the next seven hours, my baby was monitored while I just lay there and listened to lots of other babies being born. Every once in a while a nurse would come in to adjust my monitors and tell me that I wasn’t being induced just yet because there were too many other babies being born at the time. Since I could be induced at any moment I was not allowed any food, and by then I was mad with starvation.

The nurse noted a drop in my baby’s heartbeat and then I was put on Pitocin to start labor. I was having some hard contractions and pain and asked for some pain medication. It took over two hours for my pain relief to be delivered. What torture! And, I was still starving.

The pain meds eventually wore off, but I wasn’t dilated enough for my epidural yet. I asked for more. The nurse disappeared for what I thought was eternity. When she finally came back I asked again for medication and took one more shot at asking for food. I was denied both. Finally, around 8am, I was dilated enough for my epidural. Thankfully my back was numb from the first shot in my spine, because it took the anesthesiologist 10 tries to put the dang thing in. But then there was relief, Jello and some popsicles, and life was good for a moment.

At 4pm my epidural stopped. Suddenly I had no pain relief and full-on contractions. My nurse said it looked like I was now progressing quickly. I asked for some pain relief and she left, I thought to bring me back a shot of Demerol. The pain relief never came back, nor did the nurse, until it was time. I could feel it was time for my baby to be born and my body told me to push. The nurse told me not to push and I didn’t know how not to. When she told me why I had to stop, pure rage pulsed through me. "It’s shift change," she said. My child’s heart was stopping, I felt like I had to push, I was feeling everything because she didn’t get me pain relief, but that was just too bad because little miss nurse had to go home now?!

The next nurse came in, did a quick check of my cervix, set up my husband and mother at the stirrups and told them to get her if they saw the baby’s head. Then she left. I didn’t mind that she left at that point. I just did what I had to: I pushed. She checked me every 15 to 20 minutes and then would disappear again. The third time she checked me, she freaked out! My husband didn’t know that the dark spot he saw was the baby’s head! The nurse yelled for the doctor or any other nurse to come and help. My mom, seeing the baby wasn’t going to wait any longer, told her to pull it together and asked if she had ever delivered a baby. She had, once, and at 8:09 pm on July 30th she did it again.

Wyatt is now a healthy one-year-old boy who has a sister due in just ten weeks. This time I am going to a different hospital and hope to have a doctor deliver the baby.

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A Happy C
-Anonymous, Oregon

With my first delivery, twin boys, I ended up with a C-section because of fetal distress. During my second pregnancy, I decided that I wanted to try for the VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean), but the baby was transverse, so my doctor scheduled me for another C-section.

My husband and I arrived at the hospital at 9:30am on a Wednesday, ready for my C. My parents met us there and we were all in great moods. We went up to Labor and Delivery, I was given an IV, and my husband and I settled down to wait. We watched Regis and Kelly for a bit and then I asked my husband what time it was. I suddenly realized that I was about to go into surgery and I felt all panicky and started crying. Right after I got myself under control, the nurse came in with my husband’s lovely green cap, gown and footies. The nurse then asked if I wanted to walk to the OR. During the last pregnancy, I wasn't allowed to do a thing due to the complications, so I excitedly jumped at the chance to walk to the OR this time.

When I got into the OR, everyone was smiling and friendly— not rushed and serious like last time. I climbed up onto the table and got prepped for my spinal. I remember looking at the nurse and telling her I liked cats, but I didn't know how to arch my back like one. She helped me arch my back the correct way and the anesthesiologist got to work. He seemed so nice. I thanked him for being so gentle.

It took a few times for a nurse-in-training to get my catheter in, but that was okay, because I couldn't feel a thing. I just laughed every time she said, “Whoops! It slipped out again.”

The nurse then pulled the curtain up near my face and turned on music. I was so happy to have music and to have the doctors and nurses laughing and joking with one another. It was a wonderfully calm atmosphere. My husband came in and sat next to me, and that's when I realized things were about to start. I started to feel a little freaked out, but calmed myself down before anyone realized how stressed I was becoming.

I hardly spoke the whole time, because I was so focused on thinking about my baby and how wonderful the whole experience is. Then they lowered my curtain just a bit, I heard some vacuuming and then a baby popped up. The nurse said, “You have a big baby girl!”

I began bawling my eyes out and suddenly this baby in front of me began screaming as well. I've never heard a baby scream that loudly before!

They took her out of my view to get her cleaned up. I encouraged my husband to go over and see the baby, but he insisted on staying with me and wiping away my tears. After a few minutes the nurse brought over this little girl and put her on my chest. Every time my husband or I talked, she went quiet and seemed content.

Serena Nicole was born at 12:32pm that day. She weighed in at 8lbs, 7oz and was 20.5" long.

I am so happy to have fond memories of a C-section this time around. It was a perfect birth for my family and me.

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