Lennox’s Birth Story: A Scheduled Induction

Plus the things that doctor’s and nurses don’t tell you!

I’m writing out our baby boy Lennox’s birth story so that I don’t forget the details of this important day and to share honest insight with other Mums. I went into my first child birth wildly optimistic and openminded! I was excited for the new experience and to witness what I consider to be a true miracle. Unfortunately, my positivity got the best of me. I had a grueling 24 hour induction birth experience and the hardest day of my life. (Worth it!) I know, I’m dramatic.

Throughout my pregnancy Lennox’s head was trending large. As my due date came near, he was in the 97th percentile for head circumference. Turns out this is actually quite normal. (I’ve talked to a LOT of Moms who birthed large baby heads.) However, Lennox’s body was only in the 60th percentile.

Scheduling an induction

I probed my doctor during my 36 week appointment about what a large head meant for child birth. Would I end up with a C Section? Would I tear? To my surprise, the doctor heard my questioning and offered up a 39 week induction if I wanted to have a good chance of a vaginal birth. She said also due to my age (ahem, 35) it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have the baby a week early. I didn’t hesitate, and said YES. By my next appointment I had my induction scheduled! December 9th at 9pm. It was a blessing to know exactly when the baby was coming but also a curse because of the stress that came with trying to get everything done in time. And sooner than I anticipated with one less week to prepare.

During one of my final appointments my Doctor told me about what to expect with an induction birth. I don’t remember exactly what drugs she mentioned but I do remember her explaining a “mechanical balloon” that they would likely put in my cervix to speed up my dilation. Okay, sounded fine to me. I was open to any medication and procedures for the induction.

Go time

The night of the induction Lockie and I were ready to go! Around 7:30pm we got a call from the hospital saying that they weren’t ready for us. All the delivery rooms were full. Boo. They would call back when we could come in. Welp. We had nothing to do but go to bed and try to get some sleep. Thank goodness we did because I needed this later on. Lockie and I naturally woke up around 3:00am wondering when the hospital would call. So we called them for an update and they told us to come in at 4:30am. Woo! Go time.

We got to the hospital (Rose Medical here in Denver) and settled into our room. Things were super chill and moving slowly. We were a bit antsy and wanted things to move along quicker. Due to covid, we had to put on a mask anytime someone else was in the room with us and we couldn’t walk the halls of the hospital. Finally, at 6:20am my Doctor prescribed me Cytotec to get my induction going. I was 1 centimeter dilated at that point and I learned later that Cytotec is used for women who are less than 4 centimeters dilated. Things continued calmly for a few hours. I checked email and social media while Lockie ordered room service breakfast. (They said I could eat a “light” breakfast but nothing heavy incase I vomited later on. I did.)

Holy Foley Bulb

Around 10:00am things got interesting!! I’m not sure what prompted the timing of this, but my Doctor decided to move ahead with the “mechanical balloon” which is actually called a Foley Bulb. It’s a catheter that they put in your cervix to pump it up like a balloon and encourage dilation. My Doctor gently mentioned that it will be uncomfortable and I may want pain medication after it is put in. Okay, sounds tame. I was willing to give it a go and see how I felt.

WRONG. Getting the Foley Bulb was terribly uncomfortable and painful and would have been bearable but the contractions started immediately after they put it in. I don’t know if this is true, but it felt like I immediately dilated to 4 centimeters. The pain completely shocked my body and I was in such terrible pain that I immediately ordered Fentanyl (they offered it!). I felt like I needed to simultaneously have a bowel movement and vomit. The vomit won. And what seemed like 5 minutes later the Fentanyl wore off. The pain was so unbearable that I had no choice but to ask for an epidural. I kept vomiting. About and hour and a half later the glorious epidural was working. Damn that stuff is good. Highly recommend!

Phew. That was traumatizing. With the epidural working I could relax again. I sat in the hospital bed wondering how anyone does ANYONE do an unmedicated child birth. LIKE HOW? I’m not sure if I’m a huge baby or if my body just reacted horribly to the Foley Bulb and the sudden pain?

At this point I was exhausted from the drama. We relaxed for a few hours and Lockie even watched football. Some time around 3:00pm the Doctor came in and said I was 5 centimeters so it was time for Pitocin, another induction medication. Then around 5:00pm they broke my water and guesstimated I’d be ready to start pushing around 3:00am. Wow this is a long process. I couldn’t eat anything because I couldn’t keep anything down. I vomited after eating a popsicle and after some nausea medication. At this point I was saying yes to all the medication they offered. Later I found out that chicken broth would have been better choice than the popsicle option but the nurse didn’t tell me that. Also a fun fact: epidurals make you itchy. My stomach was very itchy.

Starting around 7:00pm we tried to sleep by taking small naps. The nurse would come in and move my legs into a new position and I would sleep for an hour. Sure enough, around 3:00am I was 10 centimeters dilated and ready to push! I had stomached some chicken broth and that was all the energy I had to push this guy out. I hoped it was enough.

Push, push baby

I started pushing with the nurse’s help. She taught me how to breathe in and push out three times. Repeat during each contraction. It wasn’t enough that I was already exhausted, I started vomiting every time I would push. I hurled 10 times total throughout the day. (Yes, I counted.) Even better, my epidural had worn off. I allowed this to happen on purpose, so that I could better push the baby out using my body’s natural reflex to push. The nurse offered me a mirror to get a glimpse down there and I loved it. We kept the mirror out during the whole delivery. It was helpful to see the progress I was making with each push. And I wanted to witness this damn miracle!

Buuuut the epidural wore off a little too much. I could feel everything down there. For some reason I didn’t think to do anything about it. I just sucked up the pain. It gets even more fun. His head got stuck. About half way out his head would not budge. The Doctor was finally here and I think she thought it would be an easy fix. She said “one more push!” about 50 times. We were at this for over an hour. If you’ve ever heard of the “ring of fire” that’s what it is. There was no relief with the pain since his head was jammed halfway out. I didn’t think the pain would be worse than what the Foley Bulb had done earlier in the day, but I was wrong. This was much, much worse.

At 5:31am Lennox finally poked his entire head out and I grabbed his arms to welcome him into the world. I was in disbelief when he was here. My whole body was swollen, tired and in shock. I don’t remember much after that. But I do remember holding him on my chest and thinking HE IS SO FREAKING CUTE! He was perfect and healthy and it was all 100% worth it.

Clearly, I like talking about this topic. If you have any questions at all I am happy to answer them. Just leave a comment! I usually reply within 24 hours. Happy birthing!