Trey's Birth Story

Here at Expecting and Empowered we LOVE birth stories. Each babe makes his or her unique entrance into the world and we love hearing about it. 

I'm excited to share the story of our second baby Trey Daniel. 

The morning of November 10th I woke up 39 weeks, 1 day pregnant. The day before I had my regular OB appointment and had learned my cervix looked the same as the week before. I knew that the baby could still come at anytime, but did have my moments of “I’m going to be pregnant forever!” I’m sure some of you can relate. I did mentally prepare to go the whole 40 weeks + since our firstborn Maxwell came late (40 weeks + 1 day).

Shortly after waking, I started having contractions. Our 17.5 month old toddler Maxwell woke up, Drew was getting ready for work, and I started paying attention to these nagging cramps. I’m a woman that experiences a lot of contractions at the end of pregnancy, SO I’ve learned to never get too excited when they start happening. I had a few that were around 15 minutes apart and definitely slightly painful. I let Drew know and we had to decide together if he should go to work or not.

Here is everything we needed to consider: my OB wanted me to call and come to the hospital when my contractions were 10 minutes apart. I was GBS positive (a strain of bacteria that was found in my urine early in pregnancy) and needed at least 1 dose of an antibiotic 4 hours before the baby was born. Because Maxwell came fast for a first baby the chances that this one would come fast too were high. Drew works about a half hour from home and we live about a half hour from our hospital. So we needed to account for that hour. Also making things more difficult: Maxwell just so happened to wake up with pink eye. I called the clinic as soon it opened and the good news was they could prescribe eye drops based on his symptoms and send it to our local pharmacy to be filled. BUT, this meant he was contagious and not supposed to be around other children for 24 hours. Our friend Maria that was our in town option for watching Maxwell if I went into labor and she has a one year old. All of my neighbors that I would feel comfortable leaving Max with also have small children. The timing on this pink eye was just comical.

I wanted to set the scene because this IS a part of Trey’s story. He is our second born and planning how we’d get to the hospital was much more tough with a sweet toddler. As the mama I felt a lot more pressure to KNOW if I was actually in labor or not. The thing about that is it takes TIME to figure it out.

I decided Drew should go to work until things escalated and I’d figure out what to do with Max.

It turns out this WAS IT. Trey’s labor would last the whole entire day, contractions from 6 am and delivery just after midnight. BUT, the contractions would continue to be irregular and sometimes pause for a long time (30-40 minutes). My labor and delivery nurse friend Amanda was SO sweet and ready to help me make decisions. I even sent her a picture of something that came out of me, thank GOD for nurse friends that are used to weird stuff. She said it was my mucus plug and was a sign that things were changing, but not necessarily that labor was starting.

I had a few contractions midday that were pretty darn strong. But, they never got much closer then every 15 minute apart, so I went about the day. I had to smile when I was in the Walgreen’s drive thru picking eye drops up for Max and breathing through a contraction. Perfect sneak peak into TWO little people needing you at the same time. Max was also particularly needy during one painful one and I was like "OH gosh!!!!" 

I had a feeling and the strong contractions tell me that this was probably baby #2’s showtime. I wasn’t in denial as I might be making it sound, I just didn’t want to call a false alarm.  I had to swallow my pride and make the best decisions for both my babes. I ended up calling my parents to let them know I thought I might be in labor, they live about 1 hour and 15 minutes away. I told them, “I’m not positive, but I’d really love it if you came incase I need to leave quickly.” My dad came into town around 4pm. Drew worked the whole day and came home around 5pm.

At this point my dad, husband, toddler, and I just had a hoot. We ate dinner (although I didn’t eat much because I knew I would have a high chance of possibly throwing it up if I did), watched basketball, played with Max, and visited. This might not sound ideal to some of you, but it took my mind off focusing on the time between contractions SO much. I was just enjoying three of the people I love more than anything.

I would occasionally and casually start breathing through a contraction. It was adorable because my dad and Drew would always notice and look at me with their sweet and concerned eyes. I did have my running watch on and I was timing them, just so I was aware of what was going on. They were still anywhere from 10-20 minutes apart at this time.

From 7pm to 7:30 pm, I had ZERO contractions. I thought, “OH GREAT! I went through all of these and this isn’t it?!” I talked myself of the ledge by saying, “Amy, this baby will come in his or her own time and in God’s time. Stay positive!”

Right then I would have FOUR contractions in a row that were strong and 8 minutes apart. I quickly called my OB  and after we went through this story, she told me to come right in. Apparently my labor wanted to skip the 10 minute apart step and go right to 8.

It was perfect timing because I did get to put my first born to bed. He didn’t know what was going on or that I was contracting as I sweetly laid him down to sleep and kissed him goodbye. It would be the last time I saw him as my only baby and for some reason SO DARN SPECIAL that I got to have that moment with him (okay….crying really hard typing that part).

We arrived at triage right around 9pm. The contractions were now about 6 minutes apart and I definitely was breathing and squatting through them (that is my labor move). The nurse checked my cervix and I was 4-5 cm. At 9:30 pm, I was checked into my delivery room, I had my IV antibiotic flowing, and I went into labor game time mode. From both the nurses, I was getting the sense that everyone thought this was going to go pretty fast.

For the next hour or so I would be breathing and squatting through contractions. The contractions were gaining momentum and were intense. I knew how much pain relief I had experienced in the tub last time, so right before shift change and making sure the nurse had enough time (#nurselife) I asked if she draw the bath and help me get into it. She suggested a waffle pad behind me to rest my head on and if there is one thing I learned from last time, it is to go with what the nurse suggests. 

I used the tub differently than I did my first time. With my nurse’s suggestion, I laid down resting my head between contractions. When a contraction would come on, I would pull myself up and work through it sitting up. I would deeply breathe all the way until the contraction was over. This time I was less focused on my running watch, although I did use the split timer for each contraction. I focused on my breathing and that each contraction was getting me closer to meeting our second baby. This labor I felt IN CONTROL. I knew I had done it before and I believed hard in myself. This time I didn’t udder things like, “I’m scared.” I actually probably said 4 sentences throughout the intense part of labor and that was answering the questions of the nurses and doctors. It was me, the water, the baby, and my amazing husband (who sat quietly next to the tub).

The tub was EVEN better this time around. Between contractions, I was completely zen. It’s going to be very hard for you to believe, but I kept nodding off as I floated through the break. Drew couldn’t believe his eyes and either of us talked about it until afterward. I would come to as the upcoming contraction demanded, sit up and get through it. I would then go back into my zen place until the next. This wasn’t a plan or something I had researched, it is just what happened this time around.

Around 11:50pm, my contractions were nearly constant. At this point I was sitting up this whole time and working through them. They were so intense that I quietly said the “F” word three times. Later, Drew and I decided that is the key to knowing when the baby is SUPER close because both times I’ve done this.

All of the sudden, I had intense pressure. I knew the baby had to come. With Drew and the nurses help I stood up. I LITERALLY wanted to take a stop on the toilet and just birth my baby in the bathroom again. The 12 steps toward the edge of the bed seemed incermountable. The nurse insisted I get outside the bathroom and everyone kind of whisked me to the edge of the bed.

I said, “I NEED to push!” I put my hands on the bed and was in a bent over position. Drew said I looked like a center on the football team about to hut a football, ha.  The doctor still needed to check me because I hadn’t been checked since triage. She did so and said, “Okay, we’re having a baby!” My water simultaneously broke like a water balloon under very heavy pressure. I immediately pushed with the next contraction. I could feel the baby was about half way out with my first push. Drew said, “Amy! You are almost there!” I tucked my chin and knew I could do it with one more push!

The baby cried immediately upon entry into the world. Drew said, “It’s a BOY!” and Trey was right there hanging between my legs. His cord was short and the nurse was literally crouched between my legs holding our baby. Drew came over to cut the cord. I got into bed and put Trey on my chest. He would stay there for a long, long time.

From the time I exited the bathtub until the time we met our Trey Daniel was no more than 5 minutes. It was insane and intense. The doctors had none of their garb on and just enough time to get gloves on. My water and the blood just went all over the floor with one little pad trying to catch it all.  The attending ended up catching the baby, because I have a flair for overwhelming the residents at delivery. I have to say though, I gave zero warning that I was that close and that is why the end was SO wild.

The high I’ve had from birthing both of our boys now is indescribable. It is runner’s high times a million. It is bliss. Of course it was painful, but there is something about productive pain that makes it much more tolerable. I knew it was necessary and that it was going to give me my baby.

Hope you enjoyed Trey’s entrance into the world. He was 8 pounds, 2 ounces. 21 inches long. Max’s exact stats, except for Trey was 2 ounces more at birth. If you’ve never read Max’s with story you can read that here and here.

Huge thanks to Madison Women’s Health for providing AMAZING OB care AND always supporting me in how I want to deliver. They are truly an amazing group, and I can easily and highly recommend them. Dr. Wiedel is my OB and Dr. Yanke delivered Trey. Good thing she is sure handed and good under pressure!

Special thanks to Melissa of Bee at the Moment Photography for the black and white photos! She took our engagement and wedding photos and wanted to come snap this special time for us. Love you girl!

Amy