Scout's birth story

Me and a good friend, Beth, in February 2007

For a very long time, I've wanted to write down my children's birth stories. I realize that it's been four years since my little Scouty was born, and almost two since Ruby was born, but better late than never.

Scout at Ella's second birthday party, 2008

My pregnancy with Scout was a bit rocky at first—lots of nausea and vomiting that didn't subside until well into my second trimester (around 24 weeks is what I remember), but after that things went well. Originally diagnosed with “low-lying placenta,” an ultrasound at around 30 weeks revealed that the placenta had predictably moved with the uterus as it expanded and I would be allowed to deliver vaginally. Throughout the pregnancy, we chose not to discover the sex of our baby. I think I gained over 35 pounds (maybe 37?), but did not really have any swelling in the ankles until the last few weeks. I remember needing to eat protein in the morning to help with the nausea, so Cory would fix me eggs and toast every morning. We picked the names Jack and Scout very early in the pregnancy, and shook on it--no further discussion of names. Prior to my pregnancy with Scout, I was a vegetarian for about a year or so. But once pregnant I began craving meat and “home cooking”-type dishes. I remember a lot of pork chops, mashed potatoes and saurkraut. Mmm.

With her Papa and her favorite blankets: Yellow and Pink

My due date was May 27, 2007, and by the time I went into labor on May 31 at 11:45 pm, I had already scheduled my induction date at the hospital. I was so grateful that Scout had decided to come on her own time, rather than having to be induced. To me, this meant a lot, because I had read so much and wanted to have a drug-free birth. I envisioned a long labor, like 17 or 18 hours, and I knew it would be tough but I had all sorts of moves planned, Cory was on board, and I had even signed up for the doula service provided by the hospital.

November 2010

Before I went into labor that night, I had gone out to dinner with Cory and my cousin Joe Wollersheim who was randomly in town for work. We ate Thai, then came home and I noticed something odd. Without being too immodest, I had passed my “mucus plug,” and was told by the doctor that I would likely start labor in the next 24 hours. At around 11:45 pm, I started mild contractions that felt like menstrual cramps. Up until this point, I can honestly say that I didn't have any false labor—what I felt that night was a totally different experience, and I confidently thought “This is it!” Good thing for me, it was! I tried to rest all night, contractions coming about 15 minutes apart. By 5 am or so, I had to get up and move because the pain had increased. After Cory woke up, he and I talked and he decided he wouldn't go into work that day. He called his parents and let them know that things had started. They were on their way!

Scout and dad, at Ella's birthday party 2008

Throughout the day, we went on at least two walks down to the park with the dog. I don't remember being visibly in pain to anyone other than Cory. My contractions were manageable and still quite far apart. I don't remember the exact time, but by late afternoon Cory's parents had arrived, and his two sisters arrived at some point as well. At 4:30 pm or so, I contacted our doctors office and they said to come in before office hours closed—it was Friday, and they closed at 5 pm. Cory and I went, and like I had heard before my labor stalled somewhat in the space of leaving home and going to the doctor's office. I believe they checked me and I was 1 ½ cm, maybe 2 cm. I was told to return home and labor for as long as I could at home. So I did. I labored for a while in our room, on all fours, in my bra and underwear. The rest of the crew had ordered pizza, and Cory brought me in some. At some point we ran a bath for me, and I was in and out of the tub, laboring half-naked all over our bedroom, and the time passed quickly. At around 9 pm, the contractions were close enough together that we decided to head to the hospital. It took a long time to be admitted, and I remember sitting through every question of the front desk attendant thinking, “Isn't THIS why we preregistered?”

Scout with a present for her first birthday, 2008

We entered the labor and delivery floor close to 11 pm, and were promptly hooked up to fetal monitors and introduced to our nurse Danny. As I recall, Danny checked me and I was barely 3 cm. Total defeat for me, since I thought all this pain, movement, focusing on my cervix opening like a turtleneck being pulled over your head, was all going to bring on the perfect labor. We walked the halls for a while with my pain and exhaustion intensifying. By around 2 am, I was ready for some relief. Our doula, Serena, arrived about 20 minutes after I'd asked for the anesthesiologist.

Scout at Halloween 2009

The rest of the night was completely different. With the amazing help of the epidural, I took a nap, and Cory and I chatted with Danny and Serena. Cory likes to tell the story that he had just sucked down a ton of coffee, in anticipation of needing to be my coach, and then I went and took a nap. As luck would have it, one of the doctors from our practice, Dr. Suzanne Weber, was the floor doctor that night, so we had the added bonus of being attended to by the doctor quite frequently. By 7 am, I was “complete”, and the shift changed so Danny left us and another nurse came in. I'm blanking on her name, but a nice lady from what I remember. I believe I was told to rest for another hour before starting to push, and by 8 am, my legs were up in the air—Cory on my left side and Serena on my right. I pushed and pushed, and each time I released I would feel a surge of pain on the left half of my tush. Oooh, the pain: I would say (yell/scream??) to Cory, “Rub my butt! Rub my butt!” He would oblige. Throughout the pushing process, I was told by everyone that there was “a lot of hair on the baby's head” but I swore up and down that they were just trying to motivate me. By 9 am we were almost there, and I believe Scout was born at 9:07 am. We waited a second, and as I recall, I actually had to ask: “Is it a boy or a girl?” And the doctor said at the same time, “It's a girl.” They placed her on my chest, this hairy little monkey girl, and I looked at her, then at Cory, and I said, “This is Scout, honey. It's Scout.” As in, up until two seconds ago, it was either Scout OR Jack, and now we definitely have a Scout.

December 2009, Photo by Cory

While they stitched me up and cleaned me up, Cory held Scout. He walked over to the window with his little girl in his arms, and I could see that he was tearing up. Shortly after, we told the family (Cory's family was all in the waiting room. Although, as would become integral to their telling of the story, Alan had just asked Margie to run and get him some coffee, so initially the news came to Papa Alan.) and they came into the labor & delivery room about an hour after she was born. I have many memories of Scout's scrunched up newborn face, her hair pre-bath all long and slicked to her skull.

Scout in the swing at Grandma and Papa's house

That is the story of how my firstborn came into the world. Despite having slept very little in the previous two days, we both stayed up and marveled at this precious wonder. I remember hearing her hiccup, and one of the nurses saying, “Well, you probably recognize that from her doing it in the womb.” It was a realization at that point, “YES! I totally recognize that little hiccup!" In fact, I recognized this person head to toe, body and soul, and it was perfect.

The hospital photo--June 3, 2007

Note: Since so few people read this, I was candid. If I was entirely too candid, I apologize, but I was doing this mainly for our own family's posterity. Also, I tried to include photos that were not previously included in the blog for my own purposes, but try as I might I cannot find old photos of Scout when we first brought her home--I think there's a kink in our archives and I'm missing things from February 2007 through October 2009. Boo. I will have to look into that. Since my family is so liberal with sharing photos, I found many that Lexie, Lacey or Margie took, and owe them photo credits.