Birth Story: Ezra Hart by Kaitie Goodson
From finding out he was a boy to birth this little man was giving us white hairs already! Again. Plan for baby was go as long as possible, going into labor naturally! 32 weeks come along as they are measuring my fluid. I have WAY too much.. they want to do weekly scans to make sure he’s doing okay and to see if the fluid recedes. We do all the tests and nothing pops up as to why I have high fluid? I just do. It’s now 36 weeks and I have felt some AWFUL movement. He’s now transverse in my belly. Great.. spinning babies! I do all the things I physically can to get him head down. He actually turned DURING a visit with my midwife! Just to show off! Now due date is creeping closer. We are all getting concerned about the cord. We talk with a doctor who wants to help and is known for doing inversions to turn baby from the outside! Okay doc join the team! New game plan. 39 weeks and 1 day I get there at 5am for an inversion then we start to induce and get him out! During the induction, because of a the fluid the doc wanted to do a slow water leak. Breaking my waters slowly to reduce the “swimming space” and he wanted to follow the flow to check for any cord near my cervix.
The night before we had our daughter stay with my in-laws and I was an absolute wreck. Crying holding her blanket rocking in her room. On top of it all I couldn’t sleep due to his movement! He was so painful! I remember sitting there in the chair talking with him saying there was a doctor that’s going to move you around in Mamas belly! If you don’t want to get pushed around, get head down!
We get ready and leave the house by 4:15am, getting to the hospital a little before 5. They get us all checked in and the nurses come in to do a quick ultrasound to see where baby’s head is. They put the wand right above my pubic bone. Boom. Head. He’s head down! I am crying tears of relief. We call everyone on the team. Both my midwife and the doc say to strap a massive belly band on me to keep baby down! Next. A horrible pill in my cervix. Fingers crossed just one! That was 7 am... it’s now noon and I’m a solid 3! No more pills! The doc wants to do that slow water break soon, he wanted me to have the epidural before. While waiting for that I was bouncing on my ball, all the figure eights. Taking laps around the birthing floor. Eating! It was totally different from my daughter. Unmedicated and just on my own! I was laughing and dancing! Had my diffuser of course going again with my lavender oil! It was great!
About 4.5 hours later... I’m now dilated to a soft 5 on my own! They have also pumped 3 bags of fluid in me. I have low blood pressure and with an epidural it was sure to drop again. Plus they were to start me on Pitocin to help move everything along quicker! The anesthesiologist comes for the epidural and during it I could feel immense pressure on the right side. I did NOT like it. So I’m vocalizing I don’t like it. My husband who has been a rock the entire time. Starts to get woozy from lack of food and now the added stress of me being in pain. He starts to pass out! He’s going down and the little 5 foot nothing nurse shoves him into the door behind him and gets him to the floor! The epidural has stopped at this point because I am so worried about my husband. I’m calling to him saying I’m okay everything is fine and he finally responds “yeah I’m Aaron...” great! You know your name! They get him some juice an alcohol swab to wake him more and a pb&j to eat! The epidural is starting to kick in and I notice I cannot move my right leg except to pivot my ankle. It’s miserable. I want to move around into different positions! Side lying with the peanut ball. Straight up all of that! We finally get to pop my waters and the “slow leak” was the flood of 2022... we all were laughing. Which caused more water to come out! The doc had his fingers up controlling the water flow because so much was gushing out! I was literally sitting in a kiddy pool! It was hysterical! My midwife was telling the nurse taking notes “just put A LOT of water came out!” The good news on that front there was no cord at the cervix and he couldn’t feel one from his point. Just bub’s head! Now that my waters are broken we take a break on the pitocin and let me progress naturally. Constantly wanting to change positions.
At one point we were going to change positions to get me side lying from sitting up and I was laughing so hard, my right leg was slowly falling off the bed. I’m yelling “there it goes! There is goes!” He ran around the bed just in time to catch my leg! We both laughed for a long time about that!
It’s now about 7 pm and I am feel ALL the pressure. The good pressure! We kept noticing Ezra decel on contractions. So they added a little tube to add water in to help him have a room and not cramp. Waters are flowing with every contractions. I finally got that belly band off and now have internal monitors for both contractions and baby! It was glorious.
Fast forward to about 8:30 and during a movement and checking my cervix goes from a 6 to an 8 turning from one side to the front. Everyone is immediately calling everybody to get there now. My midwife who was about 20 minutes away got there in 10! She came in checked me and sure enough my cervix was falling apart in her fingers I’m to try a push on the next contraction and see how he does.
At this point I’m convinced there is a cord wrapped around something because of his decals during contractions and my mama instinct is telling me to get him out.
I’m finally at a 10 but there is a small lip that keeps him back! I move one more time and it finally goes away. We try another test push and my midwife told everyone I’m a great pusher just get ready!
My husband is on my left. Nurse on my right. Midwife at the ready. And the next contraction I’m bearing down! I am going and going and going! There is a nurse behind my husband who is cheering me on and if it weren’t for her it would have taken a little longer! She saw his head and just kept saying “good push! Oh my gosh! Great push! Go! Yes! Ah what a good push!! Just go!”
And in one contraction he was out! I tore again straight up a bit but nothing major. The next little contraction my placenta comes out and I don’t even care I’m in Heaven. My sweet boy is here and I’m crying! The room is silent and it’s amazing. He came out so quick there was a cord around his neck loose enough my midwife popped it right off and he was on my chest! They did all the checks. Aaron stayed with me this time and finally went to get him. And I was basking in that sweet relief. 6lbs 8oz 20inches long at 9:23pm I apparently like to have babies at 9pm at night!
My sister in law came earlier that day and dropped off food for us. I wasn’t able to eat but you bet your sweet bottom I smashed that massive burrito and queso and chips after! It was glorious!
My name is Kaitie Goodson, mama of 2! Sadie 2.5(in October) and Ezra born 7/6/22, I’ll be 30 in November! I’m a stay-at-home mom alongside a lifestyle photographer! I specialize in weddings, maternity and newborns! My husband, Aaron and I have been together for 10 years, married in August 2018 after my mother’s passing in October 2017. She had a long fight with pancreatic cancer. That probably been the hardest for me being a mom. Not having mine to be there and talk with. I thankfully have an amazing mother and father-in-law and my dad and stepmom are amazing as well! My husband is also a small business owner, he works on lawnmowers, 4wheelers and side by sides. Because we are our own bosses we get to make our own schedules and we go camping and boating a lot! My daughter is already a water bug! She loves wakesurfing with her daddy! We just love the outdoors and having fun!