Konner Joseph's story starts way back in June of 2015 whenever he was just a tiny little blimp on the ultrasound screen. It was decided then that he would be our "team green baby", our surprise. 39 weeks passed in the blink of an eye and before I knew it it was induction day. We went out to dinner at Olive Garden. It was our very last dinner as a family of three. I remember that our waitress didn't even ask about my pregnancy and it took all I had to not yell out "I'm having a baby tonight!" In truth it would be the next day but of course, we were starting the process that evening. We arrived at the hospital at seven pm. They were incredibly busy so we watched Dance Moms and took pictures before my grandparents arrived to pick up Kinlee. That night, Cervidil was finally placed at 10:30 pm. At this point I was 2 centimeters dilated, 50% effaced and baby's station was a -2. Nervous energy abounded and kept me awake until one am. I diffused lavender and clary sage essential oils in hopes of relaxing and encouraging dilation. I awoke at 3:45 am to my nurse changing out my IV bag. Because I was group B positive, I was receiving IV antibiotics. I noticed I was feeling nauseous so I sniffed some peppermint oil hoping to help it pass. Whenever that failed, I asked my nurse for some zofran. It was at this point that we noticed I was contracting every 2-4 minutes on my own. Because I was hoping to birth without an epidural, I was hoping to avoid pitocin and this seemed like a victory! I stayed awake until 8:30 am when my doctor showed up to check me. Because I was almost 4 centimeters dilated and contracting on my own, he decided to break my water which was incredibly painful. The plan was to let the cervidil work for two more hours before removing it.
I bounced on a birth ball and listened to my hypnobabies birthing day affirmations. At my next check we discovered that the cervidil had fallen out whenever my membranes were ruptured. I was 4 centimeters, 60% effaced and baby was still at a -2 station. It was at this point that, to my disappointment, we started the pitocin. My contractions stayed at two minutes apart but got much stronger. I walked the hallways with my husband for 30 minutes to encourage baby to move down. After walking, contractions were getting much more hard to handle. I asked to be checked and was found to be 5/80%/and baby at -1. I then got into the shower. I thought that this was my breaking point. I cried to my husband. I released my fears for an hour until the nurse came to get me to monitor the baby. I could not believe it had been an hour. By this time I was 6/90/and -1. I had a feeling Konner was posterior and asked her to confirm. By feeling his head she confirmed and had me get on my hands and knees on the bed to help him turn. Shortly after she came back in saying he was not tolerating it well so she turned me onto my right side with a peanut ball under my left leg. At 3:00 pm I was seven, but "almost an eight." My husband texted the birth photographer at 3:07.
The next 40 minutes are a blur. I was checked once more and found to be a 9, almost a 10, with a little bit of a lip left. My nurse had me turn around facing the back of the bed to encourage his head to come down on my cervix. I wanted to give up at this point. The pain was so much greater than I had ever anticipated.The next thing I knew, I had this incredible urge to push. I couldn't control my body. The nurse ran to grab the "laborist", the doctor that attends births when it is clear the woman's doctor will not make it in time. I turned around and they asked me if I wanted to feel his head.
I screamed "no" but looking back, I wish I had. Two pushes and my beautiful boy was born. My husband and I said "boy" at the same time. It was such a rush of emotions to find out at the birth that our baby was
our son. It was in that instant that it felt like we had known all along. I all of a sudden could not imagine him being a girl when moments before, I had no idea. He was 6 pounds 4 ounces, 20 inches long- born at 3:47 in the afternoon.
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