Isaac's birth story

Saturday March 31st 2012

On Sat morning (March 31^st) I started having contractions a little after 6:00 am. The first one I wrote down was 6:25...so I could already tell they were stronger than the braxton hicks I'd been having forever. At first they were about 10-15 minutes apart and I gave up on being able to fall back to sleep, so after a bit I got up and took a shower.

I tried to take a nap…I was kind of half asleep for a half an hour or an hour. I didn't want to get up and go in the living room and deal with the children and all the normal daily stuff. I was wishing it was the middle of the night so I could be alone during labor like I had been with Adam. (I was induced with Erik and Tyler, so most of my comparisons are to my labor with Adam.) It seemed like this was definitely starting off stronger than Adam's labor which was mild for a whole day before getting into serious labor in the night.

At some point I came out of the bedroom and ate breakfast and sat on the couch with everyone.

After a while my contractions slowed down and at one point I went about an hour without having one, and then over half an hour. That was around 12:15 pm -1:16 pm, and then until 1:48 pm.  I was kind of relieved when they slowed down. I wanted labor to keep going...as in lead to baby being born at some point. But it felt good to feel like I had more time before I would have to make the decision to go to the hospital and everything. My contractions kept going more frequently again, but at first they still were not as strong as they had been earlier, so I still felt like we had more time, and baby would more likely be born the next day (Sunday,) not Saturday. They would be more frequent for a while, but then slow down again to the 20 min range...24 min, 26 min, 32 min, 25 min. It was during this slower time that Alex left for a church meeting.

Around 4:30 I asked Alex if he was going to priesthood session of conference (a meeting at church). He hadn't been planning to, but I said he could go since my latest contractions were 20 + min apart. Everything seemed so calm at this stage it seemed silly for him to stay home. My mom was here, so I didn’t have to deal with the children if I wasn’t feeling up to it. He thought by the time he got home that things would have picked up a lot...it turns out he was right.

Over the next hour or two my contractions became much more regular, closer together, and stronger. By 6:30 they were in the 7-10 min range and I was hiding in the bathroom (to avoid dealing with the children and such) most of the time, and making sure everything was packed and that I was ready for whenever we decided to go to the hospital. My visiting teacher from church stopped by, but I was not going to come out for small talk at that stage. Turns out she stayed and chatted with my mom for quite a while though. My mom made chocolate cake with the kids…so they were all occupied and having a good time. Alex called a couple minutes after 7:00 pm to see if he should come right home or if he could stop at the store...I said come right home. I was not thinking that we needed to leave right away yet, but I figured he should come home.

After he came home I was still getting last minute things ready to leave, and wasn't sure if we should go or if it was still too early at 7 min apart. But since we wanted to err on the side of caution (from experience with Adam) soon we decided to go.

We left sometime around 8:20 pm I think. The contractions I wrote down in the car were 8:25, 8:30, 8:35. The contractions that had been 7 min apart at home were now 5 min apart in the car.

As we walked into the hospital my contractions were coming faster...probably 3 min apart. When we got to labor and delivery there was someone already waiting at the check in window. I kept going into the little waiting room right next to the window while Alex waited. After I had a contraction I would try and come out...but no sooner than I would get to Alex I would have another contraction and have to turn around and go back. I put one knee on the chair in the waiting room and my hands on the backrest and kind of rocked or bounced a little...the back to the chair had spring in it. This was actually a pretty comfortable position - better than lying down for sure.

After a while we made it up to the check in window, but after getting that done they told us that it would be a few minutes because all their beds were full at the moment...but somebody was leaving soon. This is pretty funny knowing now how close I was to delivery. It's funny how they worry so much about inconsequential things in the hospital, but when I am actually really about to have a baby I don't get much attention or worry at all. Of course they didn’t know this at the time, but it’s still a little backwards I think. They ask so many pointless questions…but leave out some very vital ones, like how did your other deliveries go…were they fast or slow etc?

They finally had us come in to the evaluation room about 9:05 or 9:10 maybe? By now my contractions were 2 min apart and I was realizing that this was going much too fast. Fast is good overall of course, but right in that moment it sure doesn’t seem good, and I was wishing to go back to the 20 min apart contractions! I could barely get changed in between contractions, and then I stood by the side of the bed while I waited for the nurse to come. By the time she came in my contractions were really strong, but still not quite to the level they had been during transition with my other births. I think this was because my water hadn't broken. She put me on the monitor, and then went to check me...she said she "couldn't find" my cervix...I was 10 cm. Immediately my water broke. She asked if I had felt any pressure. I hadn't up until that moment. But once my water broke I could feel Isaac's head start coming down right away, so obviously the pressure started and got stronger and stronger immediately. She also said his head was +2 station. This was once again (recall Adam) crazy to realize I was 10 cm already...and I had gotten to 10 without my water even breaking up until that point, which was different than all my other labors.

Then the mad flurry of activity ensued as they rushed me to a different room. Once I “officially” started pushing (I was really already pushing before that and could feel Isaac was coming very fast.) Isaac was born in just 5 or 6 minutes probably. Alex said he could already see Isaac’s hair when I started pushing, so already pretty much crowning at that stage. My water broke at 9:20 or 21, and Isaac was born at 9:29 pm…so 8 or 9 minutes total pushing time. It was my fastest time yet for pushing. My other births were all around 20 min or a little less.

Right when Isaac was born they put him on my chest and he looked little to me...It’s so easy to always forget how small a newborn really is. And he had lots of hair like Erik did when he was born. Erik had wished for the baby to have hair like his – so that was fun for him to get his wish :) It was a relief that he was not a giant baby and didn't take a long time to push out. And so amazing and surreal that he was here, and mine, and we have another baby, and four children! Labor is so crazy that I almost forget that it's really about this new baby that's coming...and then boom...he's here!

He was 7 lbs 15 oz and 21 inches long. I was very relieved to have a baby back in the 7 lb range - if only just barely… and not 9 lbs like Tyler, or bigger. I’m so grateful all of a hundred things that could have gone wrong, didn't. We've made it through another pregnancy and birth! I really can’t believe we have done this four times and now have four children! I’m glad though…it seems daunting enough to imagine having one more child, I’m very glad I’ve already got four, and not just having my first baby and looking to have 3 or 4 more in the future! Of course right after having a baby is never the best time to contemplate future children anyways ;)

Welcome Isaac Daniel Fosse!

Isaac is Erik’s favorite pick for a name (and ours too obviously), and Daniel is Adam’s favorite name (and it’s my uncles name and my brother’s middle name)…so it’s neat that the boys were involved in the naming of their new brother.