Maverick Paul's Birth Story!

The night of March 16th, I received a text from Maverick's godfather, Adam. It simply said, "I don't know why but I can't shake the feeling that tonight is the night, kiddo. Praying for you." I told Brian what he said, and we both lay in bed talking about how we sure hoped he was right!

Around 11:00 p.m., I woke up to use the bathroom. I noticed a very uncomfortable tightening in my lower abdomen, much like Braxton Hicks. I shook it off, used the bathroom, and got back in bed. I laid there for a few minutes, unable to sleep bc of the pain. I decided to take a Tylenol PM and get some rest. Around 1 a.m., I was wide awake again, hurting bad. I knew the pain had woken me up, bc Tylenol PM usually knocks me on my butt for hours!!! I then decided to get out of bed and just walk a little. I had always heard that you can change positions to make BH contractions stop, but nothing will stop the real ones. They didn't stop after pacing the floors, but I laid back down anyway. I dozed on and off until about 3:30, when the pain was just too much to stay in bed. I got up and jumped in a hot shower, to see if they would subside. The whole time I was in there, I kept praying that the Lord would show me a sign so that I would know whether or not this was the real thing. My heart could not take another false alarm!

I stayed in the shower for about 35 minutes, then got out once I saw that the contractions were still coming. I then decided to try and time them, which they were about 5 minutes apart, but nothinig consistent. I woke Brian up, and he told me to call the doctor. Of course I was still hesitant, not wanting to be sent back home if it were not delivery time. I finally gave in and called around 5:00 a.m. I told them what I'd been experiencing all night. The on-call nurse told me to come on in and they would monitor me and check things out.

I was so nervous the whole ride to the hospital. Brian and I decided not to call anyone this time, until we knew that this was for sure happening! We got to the hospital and in the triage room around 6 a.m. I was only 1 1/2 cm dilated, and the contractions were not as steady. The nurse said she would be back in about an hour to see how I was doing. When the sweet nurse, Chris, came in about an hour later, I was still 1 1/2 cm. However, when she checked me, I had the "bloody show," which is an indicator of labor beginning. She also said my contractions were 3-5 min apart, so she wanted to talk to Dr. Virtue and see what he wanted to do.

Dr. V was heading into a c-section delivery, but told her he wanted to see me himself (good sign that I'd be staying!). I was excited, but didn't get my hopes up. Chris said that the drs rarely come in themselves unless they are admitting the patient, and she really felt that he would keep me and we would have a baby soon. This made me feel better, but still guarded. Finally, around 9:45, Dr. V made it in to see me. He checked me and I was 3 cm dilated!!! Praise God for progress! He said he would admit me then come around and break my water to try to get the contractions regulated. We immediately began calling our family and friends to tell them the good news...we would meet our precious boy in a matter of hours!

Dr. V broke my water around 11 a.m., and we started the pitocin shortly after. Let me tell you, I did NOT like the feeling of the water running all over the place! I felt like a helpless old lady who couldn't control my bladder! :( So, then we started the process of letting the pitocin do its job and seeing what happened! I could tell the contractions were closer, and they began to get really strong. I was trying so hard to hold out on getting the epidural, but around 1 p.m., I couldn't take it anymore! I let Chris know that I was ready! She kinda chuckled and said "Oh, are you?!" bc the whole morning I was telling her not to offer it to me, and I would let her know when I was ready! She was such a sweetheart.

I was 3-4 when she checked me at 2:25. I then got to meet Marilyn, my new nurse. Chris was actually the head nurse on the floor, so she wasn't supposed to actually have patients, but just make sure all the nurses were doing okay. However, we formed a bond that morning so she stayed with me most of the day, until Marilyn came. What a wonderful nurse she was as well! We were SO blessed with sweet ladies to take care of me and Maverick. Marilyn checked me around 4:45 and I was 5 1/2-6 cm! Well, it felt like only an hour had passed when I started feeling the strong urge to use the bathroom. I let Marilyn know, and she said "I've been waiting on you to tell me this!!!!" She rushed in the room to check me, and I was 9 cm! She said, "There is nothing in there for you to push out except a baby!!!" So she got into position to help me start pushing. Brian had been walking around outside for about 20 minutes before, so I had someone call him and tell him to GET IN HERE! :)

My mom, Brian's mom, Brian and Rosalind all gathered around as Marilyn talked me through the pushing. With each push, I was able to see his head and all the dark hair he had! I pushed for around an hour, when Dr. V came in. He said the baby's heartrate was dropping and we needed to use the suction cups to get him out. I was scared, but tried to stay focused. I pushed once more, and Dr. V said he would have to do an episiotomy :/ Again, I just focused on the fact that I needed to get him out. One more push and here came my sweet baby boy! I was absolutely amazed at the sight of him, and could not stop crying!

Maverick Paul Stiles was born on 3/17/11 at 7:43, weighing 7 lbs 9 oz, and measuring 19 3/4 inch long! What a wonderful experience to meet my baby boy for the first time. Brian was amazing in the delivery room, and was just in awe of his precious baby. We held each other and cried while they cleaned Mav up and began to sew me back up. Up until this point, my labor and delivery were a piece of cake! The sewing up process was quite uncomfortable, and I still hadn't got to hold my Maverick yet. When they finally brought him to me and placed him in my arms, I couldn't thank God enough for this beautiful miracle that he entrusted to us.

And everyone was right...I completely forgot about all of the pain and throwing up that my pregnancy brought! It was worth every minute of it!!!