A birth story: welcome to the world Eli!
Elijah Philip Kaewsowatana graced us with his grand entrance into the world two days before his estimated due date on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at 7:46 am, measuring just over 18 inches and weighing in at 6 pounds and 7 ounces. We had long awaited his arrival and we were so overjoyed to finally become a family of three.
My birth plan was to not have much of a plan at all, but to rather go with the flow. I did not want an epidural, but should I need that medical intervention, I wanted to have an open mind. I also dreaded the thought of needing to have a cesarean section, but again, should that be necessary, I would need to be open to it.
It was quite a whirlwind leading up to sweet Eli’s birth day, so let’s rewind the clock a bit…
It was a typical quarantine evening for us: dinner and a Marvel movie, specifically Ant Man that Monday night. Phil was already working from home, thank you Corona Virus, so “late” night week nights for us were pretty regular; and by “late” night, I’m talking 10:00 pm curfew. We moseyed on up to bed a little later that evening, closer to 11:00 pm. Around 3:00 am, after settling into bed for a few hours, I woke up feeling like I had to pee and perhaps had already started to go before I made it to the bathroom. What I thought was pee was actually my water breaking! It wasn’t until I had actually finished going to the bathroom and continued to “leak” that I realized what was happening. I kept wondering if my water broke because I had no pain whatsoever, no contractions, no other telltale signs to alert my body that I was indeed in labor. I began to walk from the bathroom to our bedroom and more water began to trickle down my leg. This was it. I calmly turned on the lights and with an excited, yet scared voice, I woke Phil up, “honey, I think my water is breaking??” I’d never seen anyone emerge from a deep sleep so quickly!
As my water continued to leak over the next several minutes, I began to feel contractions starting. I was still in denial that I was in labor because my contractions weren’t particularly painful, although they were very close together and they were lasting an entire 60 seconds. I knew I was supposed to call the doctor if my water broke, but we resorted to expert Google for reassurance. I called the emergency hotline of my OB/GYN practice and waited for my OB to call me back, which was promised within 15 minutes. Much to my dismay, it took my OB 45 minutes to call me back, and you bet in the meantime my contractions became more and more painful and intense. The doctor, whom I clearly disrupted from a restful sleep, directed me to head to the hospital. So, I threw on some clothes, and with an overnight bag in hand and my water still breaking, I got into the car and Phil ever so calmly sped us to Howard County General Hospital. This was it! Baby boy was finally coming and we felt so unpreparedly prepared.
When we arrived at the hospital, around 4:15 am, we were directed to put masks on, thank you again Corona Virus, and make our way to the labor and delivery wing. I felt like a waddling duck who had just bathed in a pond and was still shaking off the water. Contractions were getting more intense. As we checked in at the front desk, the nurse had us sign several documents and asked me several questions, most of which I moaned through in labor pain. And since my water was still “breaking,” the nurses were going to put me in a waiting area until my labor progressed, but I kept emphasizing the intensity of my contractions. The nurses obliged and took me directly to a delivery room, where they readied me and a bed for the big event. Shortly after getting settled, around 5:30 am, a nurse checked me to see how far along dialed I was, and at that point I was only three centimeters dilated (I had been two centimeters weeks prior already). I thought to myself, “this is going to be a long day.”
Contractions were getting more intense by this point, and for some reason, this is an opportune time for nurses to ask a woman in labor very important health and family history questions. On top of the pain and the inundation of questions, the nurses proceeded to draw my blood for routine, pre-labor lab work. I was severely dehydrated, so my veins were not cooperative, and it took four different nurses and an anesthesiologist to draw just one of four vials of blood needed. At 6:30 am, another nurse came in to check my dilation progress and much to their surprise, within that one hour, I progressed from three to nine centimeters (mind you, ten centimeters is full dilation and is code for time-to-push). Since this was my first baby, all of the nurses and my OB expected a very long, drawn out labor, so they were not prepared for what happened next; in fact, my OB was not even at the hospital yet! She thought she could take her grand old time! The Howard County General on-staff OB had to pinch-hit until my OB arrived. I began pushing at 6:45 am without any pain medication or epidural, as was my wish (although I probably would not have even had time for an epidural!).
I am embarrassed to admit, in my utmost ignorance, I had told Phil a few weeks prior that I didn’t want to be one of those women who screamed during labor. How rude of them to be so disruptive to the other patients in the hospital! Really, Mandy? The joke was on me! Who was I kidding that I thought I would actually be able to control anything, let alone my expression of pain during labor. Let’s just say I learned something about myself that morning, and Phil can say the same, that I can scream pretty unbelievably. I tapped into a deeper level of bodily awareness, or unawareness if you will, I never knew I was capable of.
After I started to push, the doctor thought perhaps my bladder was full and needed to be emptied so I would have an easier time pushing. She thought it would be helpful to insert a catheter. Thankfully I was in so much labor pain I didn’t realize what she was attempting, and she quickly learned her idea was a bad call. About halfway through my pushing efforts, my OB finally arrived and took over. I continued to push for the duration of one hour and at 7:46 am, Eli was born! From start to finish, my labor and delivery was less than five hours, which I am told is extremely unusual, especially for a first-time mother. I can’t imagine pushing or being in labor for longer than I was! I’ve never run a marathon, nor do I have the desire to, but I would argue that the amount of energy and exertion a woman experiences during labor is equivalent to running 26.2 miles, perhaps even more.
As soon as Eli came out, the nurses placed him on top of me for precious skin-to-skin bonding time. What an amazing experience. Phil and I cried tears of joy and laughter. Our long-awaited son was finally here and he was perfect. Perfectly ours, fearfully and wonderfully made. I laid in awe of how this tiny human could have just come out from my belly. What a miracle of life! I am still in awe today and everyday as I stare into my son’s angelic, bright eyes.
Eli’s namesake comes from Hannah’s story in the book of 1 Samuel. Eli was the priest who gave Hannah the blessing that she would bear children after struggling for many years of barrenness. Elijah also was a prophet in Biblical times, as recorded in the Books of 1 and 2 Kings. Elijah, or Eli, means “Yahweh is my God”, so we wanted our sweet son to be reminded daily that he is the Lord’s and that his sole purpose on this earth is to honor Him.
