crew's birth story

Crew Damon Chlarson was born October 18th 2016. His mommy guessed that he would be born today but did not realize that she would guess correctly! 

At about 7:30AM that morning I started having intermittent back pain that was keeping me awake. I wasn't sure if I should time the pains because I thought that back pain was just a normal part of pregnancy (especially in the third trimester). I, of course, turn to google for some "back labor" questions and found a couple people saying to time the pains, so I did!

At 7:36AM, I began to track them on my "Labor Signs" app. I was in pain but i had breaks. I texted Damon but didn't want him to come home from work just yet so I was pretty nonchalant about it. I texted my mom the same way and she came in my room and watched me through a couple of these episodes. She and I decided that this wasn't just back pain but that I was going into labor. I called the hospital and told Damon to come home. Unfortunately, Damon got behind someone slow and hit every red light on the way home. Keep in mind, since 7:36AM, until I stopped tracking the pains at 8AM, they were each less than 5 minutes apart and were just getting more and more intense. I was pretty close to have Damon get another ride to the hospital. 

He finally arrived and the pain was BAD and not far apart at all. The drive to the hospital was pretty silent. I couldn't speak, I was in so much pain with each contraction. I didn't get much of a break, they were around 15-20 seconds apart. Oh! And the bumper to bumper traffic on Bothell Everett Highway and the 405 didn't help. You always think that when you're in labor you have the right to honk and freak out if you're in traffic, i knew that behavior wouldn't quite work in this situation, worst timing ever. 

We got to the hospital after the longest 33 minute drive of my life. I went to the Maternity Center front desk and the lady saw my discomfort and shortly after introduced me to my nurse, Allison. Oh Allison, if i were having a girl I literally would probably have named her Allison because of this nurse. She was amazing.

In the hallway i let her know that i wanted an epidural ASAP. Once we were in the room, she had 100+ questions for me. I answered some and ignored some because I was still dying from contractions. She checked my cervix and I was at an 8! I still needed my epidural, I was not too patient about that. She got the anesthesiologist in the room pretty soon after. 

This guy was... not my favorite. Super friendly and all but I would have probably yelled at him if I took out my anger/pain in that way. He comes in and gives me a small talk and I tell him that I want the epidural now. He gets the show on the road and while he is inserting it (and i am dying in pain from what feels like one agonizing non-stop back contraction) he chooses to discuss the college football rankings with my husband! Sounds so innocent but if anyone knows how I feel about talking football and how it feels to be in labor, they would understand me. 

The epidural kicked in but only for half of me: I still was feeling contractions in half of my body. I also felt pretty nauseous and did each time the nurse pushed the epidural button. Allison was awesome and tried getting the medicine on both sides by turning and massaging me. Unfortunately, it didn't work and we needed an anesthesiologist to come help reposition the epidural.

This new guy was the best. Once he repositioned it and gave me a little boost of medicine, I felt just fabulous. Maybe too fabulous. I started to feel extra sleepy and it was hard to keep my eyes open. Allison didn't want me going to sleep and gave me some oxygen. From this point on I felt amazing. My nausea was gone and I just got to hangout with Damon, mom, chelsi, and Peggy numb from the waist down. 

Once pressure started occurring, the nurse said it was getting closer to try and push. She checked me said the head was right there. From that point on she was trying to get the doctor to come in for me to push! She and I did a couple test pushes which helped me know what to do. Once the doc came, I was ready to push. Allison was such a great guide and made it possible for me to have this baby. She told me when and how to breathe, I would have no clue how to without her. With no pain, I got the baby out. It was not easy, but it was painless. I was so grateful for that. I got to feel his head between pushes, that about put me to tears. 

Once I saw him come all the way out I couldn't keep it together and broke down. It was the happiest moment of my life. Damon and I cried together. It was so special. The baby went right to my belly for the skin to skin contact but then right away to the NICU staff who were set up in the corner of the room. 

During labor I heard the doctor talking about possible heart problems and about how my placenta was ruptured already and something about too much blood in the amniotic sac. The NICU checked the baby, said he was fine, and left the room. Then I got to hold my baby for a couple hours after he was born. It was the best thing ever. He had blonde hair and his daddy's nose. Every bit of the pain and trouble felt that day and in the past 9 months was way more than worth it. 

6 pounds 14 ounces
19.25 inches
2:43 PM








3.08.17