Ep.07 My *UNPLANNED* UNMEDICATED 3-hour Birth Story – Denied an epidural?
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Subtitles:
Hey you guys and welcome back to the channel. My name is McKenna. If you’re new here, makes you subscribe and hit the little bell button so you never miss any videos going forward. Today I’m going to talk about
my unmedicated birth story. It was definitely an unplanned medic, un unplanned, unmedicated birth story,
and um, it was kind of crazy. So
I figured I would share the story. I’ve done a little bit on TikTok sharing the story, but I feel like a long form video on YouTube just gives it more,
just gives it more, you know what I’m saying? So, um,
let’s chitty chat and let’s talk about my unmedicated, unplanned unmedicated birth story and kind of adjusting to having two
kids at home. Um, definitely not two under two, but two
and under. Lela just turned two a few weeks ago and then Millie came shortly after. So, um, if you’re new, my daughter, my toddler is named Lela. Her real name is Leland and we call her Lela.
And our, uh, newborn baby that is now a week old. She is Millie, and I think that name is so cute. I think it’s fun. My husband came up with it and I love it. So
let’s dive into the story. Um,
it’s just wild. I could have sworn that I was gonna go into labor
early because with Lela, I went into labor three weeks early. I was 27 or 37 weeks pregnant when I went into labor with her, and my water broke in the middle of the night. And so this entire pregnancy, my second pregnancy, I was convinced I was gonna go into labor early and I was feeling a little bit stressed out because
I have a wedding
that I had booked somebody to cover for me, and they bailed literally like two weeks before my due date. So I started to panic
because as a wedding photographer and as a business owner, I am so passionate about my business and I wanna be so hands-on in my business and I’m very type A when it comes to my business because it’s my name on the line. So when this photographer that I had booked
bailed, essentially, they honestly, I, I don’t wanna say they didn’t have a good excuse, but they really didn’t have a good excuse. Um,
I was very stressed out and kind of like, oh my gosh, I’m gonna have to do this myself and I’m gonna be doing it like probably one week postpartum.
Anyways, that’s besides the point. So I just felt a little bit of added pressure, but I didn’t wanna
make Millie come earlier than when she was ready. I did set an induction date,
I think for my doctor, said I could do 39 weeks, which I was a little bit hesitant about because I didn’t, again wanna bring her earlier than she was ready.
But I was also having so many Braxton Hicks contractions since like week 20. I was having tons and they were progressively every week getting stronger and stronger, but they weren’t changing anything, so they weren’t true contractions.
Um, and then about 37 weeks I started having very, very strong contractions that were
three to five minutes on the dot. Very, very strong, but they never progressed into being extremely painful
until
week 30, like the very end of 38
weeks. 38, yeah. Anyways, the day before my induction date that I had set,
I went into labor, which is wild and I’m very thankful for because I did wanna go into labor naturally. Um, but I also, you know,
have obligations that I had booked beforehand. So
I woke up,
well,
backtracking a little bit. My sister was in town, she was here to help with Lela when I went into labor, whenever that might be. And they had been here for like a week and a half,
considering I thought I was gonna go into labor potentially a little bit earlier. They came out
a few weeks before my due date just in case. And we were just hanging out. It was really fun. Lela was having the time of her life with her cousins. And then
on the evening, late in the evening on Sunday, it was May 26th, I started having really strong Braxton Hicks again, they weren’t hurting, so I didn’t think much of it, but they were definitely very strong
and they just were very consistent. They, no matter what I did, if moving whatever, they didn’t go away.
Um, sitting down, laying down, they didn’t go away. But that was pretty common for me.
And then going into the night, I went to sleep and I woke up around 1130 and they were getting a little bit uncomfortable and I was like, Hmm, this is a little bit different.
But my husband was still awake, he was trying to finish up a work project because he was trying to do that before he went on paternity leave so that he didn’t leave anything like opened when he left
and
he was still awake. I’m like, oh, these are a little uncomfortable. But I fell back asleep and you know, maybe 20 minutes later I woke up again because they were getting more uncomfortable
and again, went back to sleep, woke up again, they were even more uncomfortable. And I started to time them and they were very regular about three to four minutes apart, which again, I’m like, that doesn’t tell me anything because that is somewhat normal for me.
Um, but they started to get painful in my lower abdomen and in my back. So, um, I just kind of started to observe, pay attention. I think at this point it was like maybe 1245 in the evening or into the morning, I guess. Um, so just past midnight and
they were progressively getting worse and worse to the point where
they weren’t taking my breath away, but I was like, these are different, these are definitely different
than what I have been having.
Mind you, my last pregnancy, my water broke. So it was very easy, like, okay, my water broke, we need to go to the hospital.
I didn’t know when to go into the hospital with these. I I was just like, do I go now? Do I not? So I think around one, I ended up calling the nurse and I, or the nurse on call at the place I was delivering and I was like, Hey, so these are every three to five minutes apart. They’re kind of starting to get painful to the point where I’m like uncomfortable when they happen.
Do you, should I come in? Should I try to sleep again? Like what should I do? And she’s like, well, if you’ve been timing ’em for the last hour or more, and they’re very consistent, we want you to come in and we can check you. So I’m like, okay, is there a rush? Do I need a rush in right now or can I like take a shower?
And she’s like, no, you can take a shower. Like, you know, usually things progress pretty slowly. So
I’m like, okay, we’ll be in, in like 45 minutes to an hour.
So I think she let the doctor know. And I don’t know if the doctor has to come in from home or what, just I, I’m not exactly sure how that works or if the doctor is sleeping at the hospital that’s on call.
But I showered Joey packed his bag because he didn’t have one packed beforehand, but he packed really fast. Um, and we were just kinda taking our time. Um, I already had a bag packed for me and some stuff packed for our newborn baby that was on the way.
And obviously
we didn’t really have to figure things out with Lela because my sister was here. So I just shot her a little text and I said, Hey,
when you get up in the morning, we’re at the hospital, so can you grab Lela? Lela usually sleeps in later than my sister’s kids. So I knew she would be up before Lela got up. Um, so it wasn’t a big deal just texting her and heading out.
And we ended up getting to the hospital, I think around just after two 30 in the morning
and they put me in the triage room. So I guess when you get there, they put you in the triage room and they check you and then
they check you two hours later apparently. And if you’ve progressed or like you’ve dilated more,
um, then they keep you. And if you’re, you’ve stayed the same after two hours, they send you home,
which is great and all, but apparently people take a long time to go into labor. And so because of this,
I spent two hours in the triage room
and my contractions were every three to five minutes, very consistent. And as soon as we got to the hospital, they instantly started to progress and get worse and worse to the point where like, I think like 45 minutes to an hour into being in the triage room, I was like, Joey, I cannot handle these. These are so painful. So when I got to the triage room,
when the nurse checked me, I was three centimeters dilated and 70% defaced, which I had been 3% d or three centimeters dilated. And 70% he faced for two weeks at that point. ’cause they had checked me every appointment beforehand, so nothing had changed when I got to the hospital, but about an hour in, I was like,
these contractions are so bad. Like I had to
like, I couldn’t breathe through them. I was like trying my best to stay calm. They were just very painful. And so I called the nurse and I’m like, Hey, these are progressing. I don’t think I can make it another hour
with this amount of pain.
I’m like, ready for an epidural, you know, kind of a thing. And so she came in, um, I think she was kind of taking her time. She came in like 15 minutes after that, which I know they’re busy.
And she was like, well, if I check you now, I’ll have to check you again in two hour or in at the two hour mark.
So let’s just, let’s just wait it out. You’ve got 45 minutes. And I was like, in my mind I was like, I cannot do that. I cannot wait 45 minutes. But me, I just didn’t have the guts to say that.
I was like, okay. And she left and I was like, what did I just do? I should have been like, no, please check me now. Like, I need an epidural now. Like, these are so painful. And as soon as she left, um, they started to get so bad to the point where
after the contractions I was throwing up and I remember getting to the hospital and being kind of hungry and telling my husband like, shoot, I should have grabbed a snack and ate it on the way because they don’t let you eat when you’re in labor until after you have the baby. And I was like, shoot, if this is like a whole day or whatever or longer, I’m gonna be so hungry.
So I kind of regretted that and because I was throwing up, there was nothing to throw up and I had just drank some water, so I was like throwing up liquid.
I don’t know. It was, it was very weird. And I was like dry heaving. Um, I don’t know, we’re getting into all of the details. So
if you’re a little bit squeamish, I’m sorry, this might not be the best video for you, but I was just throwing up, um, liquid, like nothing was coming up, no food because I had an empty stomach. And um,
yeah, so I was like, okay, last time I was in labor, I got an epidural at the point of me being in so much pain I was throwing up.
And um, so I called her again and I was like,
please come check me. I am in so much pain.
Um, and I can’t, I can’t handle these anymore. Like, these are so bad. Um, so she came back in, I think it was like, it had been an hour and like 40 ish minutes at that point. And so she ended up checking me. I think by the time she checked me it was like
I had been there like just over an hour and 40, so maybe like an hour and 45 minutes.
And I was now five centimeters dilated.
Um, I don’t know if I had eef faced anymore or anything like that at that point ’cause she didn’t tell me. But um, she was like, okay, well you’ve progressed so we can admit you. Um, let me go let the doctor know and let me go get your room ready and stuff like that. And I was like,
oh my gosh, I have to sit here and wait even longer, you know?
So that’s kind of how I was feeling. Anyways, so she left and about the two hour mark, she came back and she was like, okay, your room’s ready. You can follow me down the hall, um, and I’ll take you to your room and then we’ll let the anesthesiologist know that you’re ready for your epidural.
And
so my husband picked up everything and was carrying everything.
Um, we didn’t, we didn’t bring in any of our hospital bags at that point. We,
we didn’t know if I was truly in labor when we were leaving the car.
If you can hear that like little humming,
that one that’s Millie. Um, she’s sleeping right next to me and she’s kind of like her little newborn noises, which I love.
Um,
but yeah, so I couldn’t carry anything because I was just trying to endure the, uh, contractions and as I was walking down the hall, I like had to grab the bar on the side of the hall and like squat down to take the contractions because they were so painful. You guys. I like,
I have never been in that much pain in my life. Obviously if you’ve had a baby, you can relate. It’s like super painful, those contractions,
especially at the point I was at, which I didn’t know how far along I was
at this point, but now looking back, I’m like, no wonder I couldn’t handle those. Um, and I kind of felt like a lot of pressure
down there, if you know what I mean. And I was like, oh my gosh, what is, what is happening? You know? So finally I get into my labor and delivery room and I was like, I have to poop.
I have to poop. So, um,
I went into the bathroom and I sat there
and I was like afraid to push because I kind of thought I could feel the baby,
which I know I’ve listened to birth stories before and they’re like, the moment you think you have to push it’s act or the moment you think you have to poop is when actually you have to push. And the baby is like right there ’cause they kind of feel apparently the same.
And I was kind of afraid to, ’cause I’m like, I think I feel the baby. I was taking the contractions, you guys, like,
I had to get off of the toilet and like, like sit down on the ground to take the contractions because they were so,
they were so
bad for me and I was just trying to focus on my breathing. My husband like came in and he was like, are you okay? Like, how can I help? You know, he is like trying to,
you know, help me relax and help me breathe through them and whatever.
And I’m like, I don’t think I can make it back to the bed. I don’t even think I can walk to the bed right now. Anyway, so he helped me back to the bed. I laid, I like sat down and I was waiting for
the nurses to come in and gimme an epidural or whatever. Um, and so the nurse that was there, she’s like, well, as soon as you sit down, like I can give you your iv, you can’t have, um,
you can’t have your
epidural until you get an iv. So she finally, I got back on the bed, she gave me an IV in my hand here. Um, and you can kind of see the bruise still. So like, I’m just, I’m a week postpartum
and I’m, I’m still like pretty bruised. I kind of got beaten up. So she got an IV in, she’s like, okay, I’m gonna go let the, uh, anesthesiologist know that you’re here. And she left. She came back in like five minutes later and she’s like, okay, my shift’s over. I’m leaving, but the new nurse will be in soon. And I was like,
I can feel the baby’s head at that point. I was like, no, I’m, I’m like 95% sure that what I’m feeling, all the pressure down there is the baby’s head. And mind you,
we had gotten into the room like maybe five or 10 minutes beforehand, like
I hadn’t even been in the room that long
and I was like, I am almost a hundred percent positive. I can feel the baby’s head like, I need an epidural right now. Like, I am in so much pain.
So she’s like, okay, the next nurse will be in soon
Anyways,
I was like kind of frustrated because I felt so unheard and unseen by her. Um, but I don’t wanna like go into that because I don’t wanna, like, I, I am not like trying to bash the nurse. I know that like usually laborers take a long time and usually you have like 12 hours or whatever or longer.
Um, so I’m sure she thought I just had like a low pain tolerance. But anyways, the next nurse came in and I was like,
I’m pretty sure I can feel the baby’s head. So she was like, okay, we’re gonna get a team in here. So she got more nurses in, she got whoever like checks the baby after that, catches the baby and like
weighs the baby, makes sure the baby’s like breathing, cleans out his note, whatever she got that girl in the anesthesiologist came in finally.
Um, and
I put my hand back to brace for another contraction and the IV
spun around in my hand, like the needle was right here facing this way. It spun all the way around and was now facing this way because I put my hand down and back, which I shouldn’t have done that. But when you’re in that much pain, like you just have no control over how you react.
And, um, oh my gosh, thinking all of this, I’m just like, wow. It was just absolute chaos. It all happened within like 25 minutes.
Um, and then since the IV spun around, I got another contraction pretty close to that one and the IV came out and I just started like kind of gushing blood from my hand here and I looked down and I didn’t even care. Like in a normal situation where I’m not in labor,
I would be like super queasy seeing like the blood coming out, the needle, whatever.
I didn’t even care.
I was like, I need that epidural
right now.
Pretty sure I can feel the baby’s head. She’s like, let me just check you and see where you’re at. And I was like, I need the epidural. And um, in that moment
I was like, oh my gosh, what if they don’t gimme the epidural because I actually do feel the baby’s head anyways. So in that moment she was like, let me just check you. I’m gonna get this IV back in. And she was trying to get an IV
back into me any literally anywhere, but I, every contraction, I couldn’t hold still. And I, I feel super bad, but like I just could not hold still. I kept on like trying to brace for it, put my hands down anyways, she couldn’t get one in the anesthesiologist tried, couldn’t get one in. Um, they, for whatever reason, the um, I was doing my best to hold still and the IV kept on blowing, I don’t know the right word for it, but where they hit it and then it starts bleeding and bubbling up or whatever. So I have, I don’t know if you guys can see these all over my arms, but I have like bruises
all over my arms for where they tried to get an IV in. Finally they got one in here. She’s like, let me just check you and see where you’re at. We can’t give you the epidural until we figure this out. And mind you guys, all of this was happening within like 10 minutes. Like it was all just chaos.
Um,
her little coups and stuff are so cute.
So it was just like absolutely all chaos. Um, and finally I’m like,
um,
and then as soon as I laid back for her to check me, I was like, they are not gonna gimme an epidural. Then she’s like, just let me check you really quick, see where you’re at and we’ll go from there. And I’m like, you have to gimme the epidural. In that moment, I think it stuck in that I’m too far along. They’re not gonna gimme an epidural because I think the baby is literally coming right now.
I was like, you have to gimme an epidural, please don’t tell me. Please don’t tell me it’s too late. I have to have an epidural. I was kind of like trying to reason with her and she’s like, let me just check. So I laid down, she checked and she was like, McKenna, your baby’s head is literally right there.
Do you think you can push? And I was like,
I’m like getting chills right now because I remember that moment so vivid vividly. I was like, you’ve gotta be kidding me.
I have to have an epidural in my mind. I was like, okay,
some gear switched and I was like,
I have to push like never before because as soon as this baby is out, I’m gonna feel a hundred times better and this is, this pain is gonna be over.
So I was like, it, let’s do it,
let’s do it. So you guys, I kid you not three pushes and Millie was out
and all of this when I got into the labor and delivery room happened before five 30, like I’m pretty sure I got in there
at around five and Millie was out before five 30. So it all happened within like 25 minutes, three pushes and my husband was like right there,
which was, I’m so thankful for because if my sister wasn’t in town, he would’ve had to drive Lela to his brother’s house and drop her off in the middle of the night. And I don’t even know if he would’ve gotten back in time
for the bird, which if he wasn’t there I would not have been able to do it.
But
three pushes the first push my water like busted and just went literally everywhere. The second push I could feel her crowning and it was so much
pain
and I was like, okay, I can feel her crowning. They were all like, we can see her hair, she has black hair or you know, I’m sure it looked black. Her hair’s very dark
and they’re like,
this is like the ring of fire, this next push, like let’s get her out.
And the next push, she came out three pushes. She was out, they put her on my chest. I was like, instantly the contractions. I know that a lot of,
I know that a lot of people experience like post-lab contractions that are really painful. I didn’t actually experience that. I, I don’t really know why.
Um, but as it was just like the relief of all of that pain instantly for me and maybe I did experience some post-lab contractions and like when they push on your stomach and stuff like that, it was painful but nothing compared to what I had just been through. So I was like,
fine, if that makes sense. Like
I had been in so much pain that nothing else compared and
I was like, I can do this. You know, I felt like I could literally do anything. Plus I feel like after going through something like that so hard and so painful, you just feel this huge sense of accomplishment when it’s over anyways. So that like all of the chaos that happened, and that was essentially like my birth story. We ended up being in the hospital for um, about 24 hours. We wanted an early release. So we left the next day. She was born just before five 30,
I think around 5 25 ish.
And we left the next day at around 10 or 11 and we were outta the hospital and it was so nice to be home and introduced Millie and Leila. It was so much fun. Leila was like a little bit skeptical at first, but now she’s definitely warming up to her.
And once you have the baby, it’s kind of like so magical. Like in the hospital everything’s just like quiet and peaceful and the baby’s like sleeping and um, you know,
I don’t know. And you just like get a hold her and hold him. I don’t know how to explain it. Like if, if you’ve been in that like newborn bubble and then bringing him home. And this last week, so I’m just over a week postpartum. I am a week in one day
and um,
it’s just been like a fun little newborn bubble. My husband has a couple months off and so he took Lela to the library and they’re running some errands, he’s going to Lowe’s
and
I’m just here with Millie. She’s just taking a little snooze. I forget how much they sleep. It’s like kind of wild. I
like forget that they literally sleep all day and all night and just wake up to eat and she has like an hour and a half wake window in the morning that she’s usually up. And then like right before bed, she’ll be awake for like an hour and a half and it’s fun, but it’s just wild. I kind of forgot about all that.
But
anyways, that is the chaos of my birth story. I, uh, thought that this would be fun to post on my podcast as well. So if you’re listening on the podcast, I’m sorry about the audio. I didn’t use a microphone for this. I’m just pulling it from my camera because I just wanted to sit down and chat when I had an opportunity. I don’t really have as much time obviously as I used to. So trying to keep up with the podcast, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, the works is very hard and time consuming. But
um, if you don’t follow me on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest,
what else? All those things. My username is McKenna h Ashcroft, you can follow me there and I feel like I post more regularly there. But I also have a podcast called in my thirties that you can catch on
pretty much all podcast platforms I should be on. So Apple Podcasts for sure.
And um, YouTube, I vlog. I like vlogging weekly, so hopefully I will be here more consistently now. I’m excited because I’m gonna make my next blog is gonna be a get back into routine with
a toddler and a newborn.
Um, because I haven’t figured out my routine so I need to kind of figure it out and I thought it’d be fun to take you guys along on that journey. Plus we have a lot of moving content. We’re moving in like three-ish weeks
to um, a place close by. We’re gonna move into my in-Law’s house. They’re living in Japan and we’re gonna live there for a couple months because our house is not finished in Washington. So we’re moving from Colorado to Washington
and um, it was supposed to be done this month, but it’s not. And we have renters that we want to get in and stuff like that into our current house. So we’re still gonna move out. We’re gonna move into Joey’s parents’ house and then when our house is ready, we’re gonna move into our new house, which it kind of works out perfect that his parents’ house is empty at the time being.
So anyways, lots of updates,
but we’ll save that for another video if you made it this far. I love you so much. Make sure you subscribe, hit the bell button and um, I can’t wait to just do this whole journey with you guys, two kids moving, lots of moving content coming. It’ll be fun. And um, if you wanna stay up to date with me, like daily, I post
pretty up to date on all other platforms. So I’ll see you guys in the next one.
Bye.
