Birth in a Pandemic

PART II – THE TRANSITION

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I woke up at 5 am and started timing my contractions, 41 weeks and 2 days. While Jo, and the kids slept I put my worship music on and realized that something was happening, and my contractions were feeling real. Once Jo woke up, he got the kids fed, and came directly by myside. 

Because of this pandemic, my husband was home at the time I needed him the most. But also because of this pandemic, it was him and I alone laboring. No family, no doula, not my sisters, not my mother or mother in law, like we are used to. This is our third labor, so we broke out all of the tricks we had done in the past and began the journey to meeting our son. We called my sister, who was at work, to come and help with Caleb and DJ at our house so we could just have peace while my contractions came. Halfway through the day. My contractions are 7/8 mins apart and I’m exhausted, because of lack of sleep and the energy it takes to contract. Jo and I took a walk around the neighborhood, and when we got back to the house, we were shocked to see that the bathroom piped had backed up into the shower and there was over flowed poop water everywhere! 

Perfect timing! So, as I am wobbling down the stairs having contractions 7/8 minutes apart, and Jo has to leave me to go and deal with this emergency. In my room, alone, rocking to my worship music, moaning through my contractions, I could hear him battling the bathroom beast. I tried not to be resentful at the situation because I NEED my husband during labor. He is my rock, my constant, and it was just him and I this time! 

I just began to pray. And not the cute, little prayers where you are finding nice words to express how you feel, I just was saying “ Please Jesus, let him be done soon!” Jo is my anchor in labor, he massages me, rocks with me, and literally holds me up. All I remember is he returned, hours later, freshly showered, and ordering dinner. My contractions were now 5 mins apart. Exhausted, he supervised my nap time, and kept a close eye on me, rubbing my back and timing my contractions that were trying to space themselves out. After one hour of me sleeping in between contractions, I woke up to the kids being in bed, and jo was getting me ready to bring my contractions back to steady. We did squats, and I wanted to kill him! They hurt so much but put my contractions 4 mins apart. Jo knew what he was doing. Thank God for him! From there, my contractions got closer and closer. It was now 2 am, and I don’t even remember how we got there. We called the hospital to confirm coming in, when my contractions were 3 minutes apart and they told us it was good to “get ready” to come in. 

The 15-minute drive to Boston Medical hospital, in the back seat on all fours was the hottest, longest, bumpiest, most painful ride I have ever been on. Thank God that my sister drove, and my mother stayed with our kids. I knew I was getting close and my contractions were now 2 minutes apart, jo assured me that we were almost there and although my source of time was warped, I believed him. We got to the hospital and the only entrance I’d ever used during the pandemic, was closed after hours because of Covid. I had gotten the wrong info! But we hopped out of the car with our bags anyway and while we are walking up to the door my eyes scan and I saw no one! A contraction hit and I bore down on the glass doors when a security guard comes over to us and opens the door, he immediately calls for a wheel chair to meet us where we are and without question, realizing how close my contractions are he wheeled me directly upstairs. 

“No, she came through the Menino lobby door, and hasn’t been screened.” The guy told someone on the other side of his walkie talkie, as he pushed me to the elevators. I slid my mask up onto my mouth and nose when I remembered the times, we were in.  “Well her contractions are now one minute apart; we have no choice!” I heard him warn.

We approached the desk and they took my information, very quickly and got me into my triage room, separating Jo and I AGAIN. They had to screen him separately and wanted to get started with me. Aside from nurses, huddled around one desk in boredom, it was a ghost town. The doctor met me in the room, and I am writhing in pain as he is trying to inform me of the plans for this early morning. Jo finally joins us, and I am able to breathe. While his team hooked me up to monitors and one nurse started my IV, he was extremely calm in explaining that in between my next contraction I would be tested for Covid -19. A very invasive test where a long Q- tip would be stuck all the way down my nose, basically to my eyeballs for 10 seconds. I figured what could be worse than theses contractions right? 

Wrong! It burned and my eyes watered! I hated it, I felt like I had been drowning in a pool and the water was stuck in my nose. I coughed and gaged after the 10 seconds was up. After the test, he proceeds to check my cervix to see how far along I was he told me I was 9 centimeters dilated and that we were going to have a baby very soon! 

I looked up at jo in shock, and happiness. I couldn’t believe it, he couldn’t believe it either, 9 centimeters was so encouraging to hear as a woman with the long day I had. They wheeled me into the labor room, I ripped off my mask and apologized because it was incredibly hard to breathe through contractions with that thing! The team of women there, assured me I didn’t need to apologize, and no mask was necessary at a time like this. They encouraging me to listen to my body and push when I felt it. At the last minute Jo turned on my worship music again and before I knew it, I had given birth to my son in 30 minutes, and 4 pushes. My Doula made it there on the second push and was glad she didn’t miss the “good part”.

Baby Noah Elias Luceus, my slip-and-slide baby, was born Friday May 22, 2020 at 3:53 am at 6LBs and 13oz, 20 inches long. I can’t believe I did this. 

This quick birth was healing for us in so many ways. My goal in planning a birth during a pandemic, of such a vicious virus, was to labor at home as long as I could to minimize the time in the hospital. We felt safest at home, we felt protected, less exposed. this birth challenged Jo and I, and we saw what we were made of. Together, we accomplished something we’ve never done before. Something this hospital never sees. I’m proud of us, I’m proud of our story, and it was an answer to prayers. My COVID -19 test came back negative, and our birthing team was amazing, patient, and accommodating. Let’s just hope I don’t have to see them, in labor and delivery, again for another 2 years or so. * Fingers crossed! *