Gianna’s Birth Story

 On Monday, March 29 I went to what I was hoping would be my very last prenatal appointment this pregnancy. I was 39 weeks 5 days along and felt more than ready to have this baby. The midwife I saw checked my cervix and said I was still the same as my last appointment - about 2.5-3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. She asked if I wanted a membrane sweep and I said yes! Since I wanted to give birth already but didn’t want to get an induction. Her sweep was more painful than the one I had gotten the week before, and since I was further along in weeks I felt like it would probably work. And I believe it did! Immediately after my appointment I started having super spaced out, but painful contractions. I didn’t want to focus on it or time it since I know my body has long labors. I just continued on with my day and went to hang out with some friends. We had scheduled a play date so our kids could have some fun together. It had been a really long time since we’d gathered like that due to the pandemic. It really lifted my spirits! 

I kept randomly contracting throughout the day, and I suggested to Josh that we do some Costco shopping that night. I knew walking around for an hour would help. We had dinner and put the kids to bed and started watching Parks and Rec together. Of course I fell asleep then at 10:30 I woke up to shower and get ready for bed. Immediately after my shower, around 11 pm, I had this burning pain that started in my back and wrapped around to my belly. This was very different so I knew something had changed and labor was starting. From that point, I began contracting every 5-7 min or so. I told Josh I think this is the real deal, so he cleaned up the whole house and packed the car. He was so wired and excited! We called my in-laws to give them a heads up so that they knew to expect a call from us in the middle of the night in case we needed to get to the hospital and we needed them to come stay with the boys at our house. I tried sleeping but would be awakened by contractions. At 2 am I finally told josh to get some sleep because he’s gonna need it for the long haul. I, however, could not sleep. I watched some more Park & Rec and around 5 am went down to the kitchen to make some no-bake lactation cookie balls to take with us to the hospital. When I had my 1st baby, my sister-in-law Shy made these for me and not only were they delicious, they were a lifesaver in between waiting for meals. They’re also good as energy bars. So I made it for myself when I had my 2nd and wanted to continue the tradition for my 3rd. 

We had breakfast together, packed the kids’ backpacks and dropped them off - Napela went to stay with a friend in our ward and Mikala went to preschool. Meanwhile I had been contracting 3-4 min apart for about 7 hours by this point. I thought, I’m for SURE in active labor now! I must be like 5 cm at least! Haha, I was wrong. 

We checked into the hospital at about 8:30 am and the same midwife I had seen for my appointment the day before was there! When she finally checked me, she announced that I was STILL 3 cm and 50% - so 8 hours of contractions and no progress?! That was so disappointing. She said she’d return in an hour to see if my contractions stay regular and help me to progress. When she came back again, she checked me and no change, again. Meanwhile, my contractions were becoming more painful and intense but I could still breathe through them. 

At this point, I was pretty bummed and sure that they were going to send me home. However, the midwife (Luisa) said that there were several contractions that caused baby’s heart rate to go down. If it weren’t for that, she would have sent me home. But she said she wouldn’t feel 100% certain that baby would be okay if she sent us home, so she decided to admit me. I was happy to stay, but worried about baby. But I felt reassured that she and I were in the best care by staying at the hospital under constant monitoring. I have to say though, that the worst part of the admitting process was getting COVID tested. They stuck a swab so far back in my nose that it felt like they hit my brain or something. It was so uncomfortable and somewhat painful.

To help my labor to be more productive (i.e. actually dilate my cervix) she decided to take a very gentle approach by inserting Cervidil into my cervix which would soften and ripen it more. I was SO grateful to not be put on pitocin or to have to suffer with a foley bulb in me for hours like I did with Napela’s birth. She said the Cervidil could stay in for up to 12 hours but they’d take it out earlier if I didn’t need it anymore. After she left the room, I broke down crying because all these negative thoughts flooded my mind. If it does take an extra 12 hours, that means an even longer wait before I would be able to see my boys again. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no visitors allowed, which means I wouldn’t be seeing my boys until I was discharged after giving birth. 

I also started to think negative thoughts about my body. Why are my labors so slow? Why aren’t my contractions doing anything to help me progress? I probably received like 3 blessings from Josh that day because I was struggling mentally. I had also texted my in-laws and they offered supportive words. 

Thankfully, the Cervidil (and prayers) worked really well! After only 2 hours I progressed to 5 cm 70% effaced, and my contractions were very regular so they removed it and allowed me to get the epidural. I was very exhausted because I hadn’t slept at all the night before and was laboring all day. I got the epidural around 7 pm and was able to sleep a bit. During this time, I didn’t realize my water had broken and without the extra fluid, baby’s heart rate kept dropping again during contractions. The nurse tried adjusting my position (laying on my right side vs my left side) but things didn’t improve. There was also meconium in my water. At this point I became worried that they’d make me deliver via c-section because that’s what happened to my mom when she had Alena. I was so grateful that the new midwife on shift, Connie, didn’t even mention that being a possibility. Instead, her strategy to help baby was to do an amniofusion where they’d push fluids back into my womb to give baby a bit more cushion. I was so grateful she made that decision because it totally worked and baby’s heart rate returned to normal! I slept a bit longer and a little before 11 pm Connie came back to check me. I was 8-9 cm and 90% effaced. She did something new that I’ve never done before. She actually had me do gentle pushes while she manually pushed back that last bit of my cervix that was in the way. It worked and I was fully dilated and effaced and ready to have this baby! She came out in 2 long pushes, and it turned out that her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck 2 times! Connie quickly but gently unwrapped it and then handed me my baby. Seeing the reason for all her heart rate drops made me and josh so emotional. It reminded me of when Napela was born, and Linda showed us the true knot in his cord. Apparently my body makes extra long umbilical cords. I got to see it in its full length this time and I swear it was over 3 ft long. I was overwhelmed with gratitude that Luisa made the choice to admit me instead of sending me home. 

I got to breastfeed her on both sides and bond with her skin to skin for an hour before she got cleaned up and dressed. She was born on March 30, 2021 (one hour before her due date) at 11:03 pm weighing 7 lbs 14 oz and measuring 20” long. 

Gianna Kamāhinahinaākamāhealani Harumi Graham