Owen's Birth Story

With Owen's first birthday coming up and seeing my sister Kristin post her birth story I figured I would finally sit down and write it. Owen Rees Johnson. I had an amazing pregnancy let me start with that. I played softball every Thursday up until 38 weeks. (And yes I ran with my big belly bouncing around.) I worked in the LDS Logan Temple till the month before (which consisted of long shifts standing). I hardly even noticed I was pregnant. I also think that Owen had way too much fun in the womb that he didn't want to come out. Thus my going 11 days over my due-date. My mom came up the week before to help me. Bless her soul she was so patient! We had so much fun in this time. Sadly, and SO regrettably we figured she was sick of us by now (Tuesday the 18th the day before I went into labor) that we had her go down to my brother Danny's house. (This is the only thing about my deliver I truly wish I could have changed, I wish my mom had been there.) ANYWHO. We decide three days before Owen came, Monday August 17th, to get our membranes stripped to see if we could move things along (I was 8 days over due at the time). When our midwife stripped them she said 'this is going to hurt are you ready?" I was so nervous because many other people told me how it hurt them SO much. But when she was done I said "have you done it yet?" She said yes, and I asked her if she would do it again to make sure because I didn't feel a thing! She sort of laughed and said something like, it will be exciting to see how you handle pain in the real thing! This should happen in about 2-3 days.

Two days later on August 19th Jeremiah worked his regular temple shift (which I thought would be fine because I didn't feel like anything was happening.) Little did I know I was nesting and I cleaned the entire house, did the laundry and made dinner for when Jeremiah got home from the temple. He got home around 10. We ate and talked and I was exhausted. We decide to watch one episode of Granite Flats and it was about 12. When I went to get in bed I felt some tightening and what felt like what I thought was a contraction. We texted Launa (midwife) and she asked if she should start driving down. We said lets wait it out. We slept for one hour (it was one AM) and BAMMMMM I was having contractions every 2 minutes for 1 minute long. I tried to get relief by getting in the tub and rocking back and forth but got no relief. Every time I had a contraction Jeremiah had to go behind me and hold my tummy up and I would get on my tippy toes and try to hard to ride it out. Launa arrived at the house around 3 and tried to get me some relief. By the signs of labor she thought I was really close to labor. When she checked me she said you are a 9! I thought phhheww! Lets get this over with! Then she checked again and said uhh actually you are only a 4! GAH! WHAT! haha Bummer Dude!  I was so exhausted only having one hour of sleep under my belt, cleaning and cooking all the day before and having contractions every 2 mins for several hours all I wanted to do was LAY DOWN on my back!! But they said I couldn't do that because it would slow the labor. Our midwife was wondering if maybe I had a posterior baby (face up) by how much pain I was experiencing. They started to fill the birthing tub in case I wanted to slip in there, but all I could think was I need to go to the hospital, I need to go to the hospital. We talked it over and decided it would be best if we went in and got an epidural. There was no way, with how exhausted I was, that I would be able to push this baby out. I needed to get an epidural so I could rest and be able to push. We left the house with hardly any belongs and headed for the hospital.

On the way to the hospital, which is literally only 1.4 miles away, we stopped 5 times because of contractions! We would hurry and pull over, I would hop out and Jeremiah would run around the car and hold my stomach and then we would hurry get back and stop shortly after that again. We were worried about getting pulled over because this was on the only car that had gas but it wasn't registered. After driving on the worlds bumpiest road ever constructed, we made to the hospital and left the car running by the front entry to the Women's Center at Logan Regional. After about a half hour a nurse moved/parked our car for us. We went inside and went to the third floor and waited FOREVER to get checked in. (: When we got checked in, they took us in a room and I literally was saying " can we get an epidural" "I'm ready for my epidural" "pick me for the epidural please!" The epidural man came and assessed me and said I was ready. I was able to sleep after that, which was AMAZING! I had a slight pain in my left leg so they brought me a peanut shaped ball to put between my legs which helped. Jeremiah slept on what they called a couch. Some of the contactions I had on the chart were 15 seconds apart. WOAH.

We slept and slept and every hour they checked on my and every hour I went up a number. 4-5-6-7-8-9-10. Jeremiah grabbed one leg and my midwife who was now my birthing doula grabbed the other and we started going. I was a ten and almost complete and they had me pushed. I was complete and I pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed. About two hours later and NOTHING. My doctor was unsure of what to do at this point because I was complete I was pushing great and the head was there and engaged. Little did he know, like my midwife who knew, Owen was posterior. They then sent in Doctor Tandy Olsen who had Army Surgeon General HANDS! He had me push to see if I was pushing good and I was so He decided to see if the baby was posterior by reaching up there to feel for the ear.  HOLY COW PEOPLE COME ON! haha. The doctor told us he would have to turn the baby and they we would probably need to us a suction. He told me that they could only reach suction 3 times before it could cause complications and if we didn't get it on the third try we would need to do a emergency C-section. He reached up with both hands, which I felt through the epidural, and turned the baby while nurses were pushing on my stomach to help him turn it. YOOOWW-CH.

They put a mirror in front so I could see his head. It looked so big! He then began the suction and I pushed and heared the first POP (from the suction coming off Owen's head) then the second POP. I was then thinking to myself ah! We are going to have to have a c-section! I then heard the third POP and then I heard the whole room sort of sign and everyone in the room started moving quickly. The atmosphere in the room completely changed. WE DID IT! They cut and pulled him out, then Jeremiah cut the cord and they took him and wiped and weighed and put him on my chest. HEAVEN!!! It was a miracle. Owen Rees Johnson was born at 3:45 PM on August 20th. Weighing 8 lbs 12 oz, 21 1/2 inches long with a 35 cm head. He was perfect and quiet and beautiful and everything we could have ever hoped for. The birth went no where near where I hoped it would and the recovery was the hardest thing I ever went through, but I have a happy, healthy and amazing child who God sent to our family. I learned so much from my experience and I am grateful for everything that happened. I had a amazing experience and I know God was with us and smiled down as Owen came into the world and into our arms. We Love You OWEN!