Zanders Birth Story

Zander’s story starts awhile back, but I will try and condense the story. We were trying to get pregnant for almost two years and when we finally did I ended up with the exact same due date I had with Zoey! At about 30 weeks pregnant I started to feel the pressure of his head moving downwards. When I went in to my 33 week check up I was having lots of contractions and they decided it was worth checking my cervix. It turned out that I was already 2cm dilated, 60% effaced and at a -1 position. My midwife thought he would be born anytime from ASAP to 3 weeks. Since Zoey was born 39 weeks and 1 day, and he was already further progressed than she was at 39 weeks, I didn’t think there was any chance he would make it that far and share a birthday with her.

Fast forward to 37 weeks and he still hadn’t come, so we stopped worrying about pre-term labor! I stopped having contractions as well. For the next two weeks there was no progress, I went in to my doctors appointment on Thursday, September 29th and I was still only 2cm dilated. It seemed like he was pretty content to stay put so I started settling in for the long haul. Turns out he was just waiting for a very special day.

Saturday night on October 1st we had people over for dinner and while we were eating I started feeling mild contractions. The picture above is my stomach while I was having a contraction on Oct. 1st. My stomach was visibly larger and more ‘basketball like’ each time! They weren’t painful at all but they were really consistent. I didn’t think anything of it really because when I had Zoey I had been having painless contractions like this for a week already. I couldn’t help but think how cool it would be to have him on the same day as Zoey though, so I posted this on my Instagram story.

Two hours later the contractions were still really close together and consistent – but no pain at all. I decided to go shopping to see if walking would make the contractions stronger. Kris and I went out and bought a carseat for Zander – good timing right? The contractions didn’t get any worse or closer together. When we got home I kept doing things to try and get labor moving, I started to get discouraged though because they really weren’t changing at all. At 11:30 my last ditch effort was to take a hot bath. My midwife had told me that a hot bath usually made false labor go away and real labor get worse. I had TWO painful contractions in the bath, but nothing I couldn’t sleep through so I got ready for bed.

I was really so disappointed because I thought it would have been amazing to have him on the same day I had Zoey, but I was in labor with Zoey for 34 hours so I pretty much thought there was no hope of that. Literally the moment I laid my head on the pillow to sleep I was hit with a super painful contraction, one I could not even talk through……..

I didn’t think it would happen again, but three minutes later – BAM – another contraction. I took out my timer and for the next hour frantically showered and did my make up while Kris timed progressively worse contractions for me. They all last about a minute and were 2.5-3.5 minutes apart. At 1:30AM on Oct. 2nd we got in the car and drove to the hospital. My mom stayed home with Zoey, before I left I snuck to her room and kissed her goodnight and teared up a little thinking how special she is and how our world and hers was about to change.

The contractions were getting SO bad and yet in between every single one I just couldn’t stop smiling because I was SO over the moon that this was happening on such a special day. The picture below is right after they admitted us to the hospital! I was so excited to meet him…

When I arrived at the hospital I was already 4cm and they asked if I wanted the epidural. I was paranoid that if I got it my contractions would stop so I debated for awhile. Once they assured me this was definitely real labor, and once the contractions were painful enough that I was ready to quit, I decided to get it. The guy showed up at 3AM and by 3:30 the epidural had taken effect. The pictures below are after the epidural started working, so relieving… but not for long. It is kind of crazy what happened next.

The nurse took a paper clip, bent the point out and said, “ok pay attention to how this feels.” She poked my arm gently and moved down my side and asked me to tell her when I couldn’t feel it anymore. A couple inches below my rib cage I stopped feeling the paperclip. She did the same thing starting on my calf and moving up my leg. I stopped being able to feel it about half way between my knee and my waist. Basically this just showed what part of my body the epidural was numbing. Below my ribcage to halfway down my thigh.

For the next hour I kind of relaxed until I started to feel the urge to push, they checked me and I was EIGHT CENTIMETERS. My mouth literally dropped open when they told me that. This was happening SO fast. With Zoey I was only 2cm dilated after I had been in labor for 26 hours. They went to get the midwife and while they were out of the room I had a contraction that I could feel, it was almost as painful as they had been originally. Kris did the paperclip test on me and I kind of panicked because I could feel it everywhere… The next two contractions were super painful and when the midwife walked in I told her I didn’t think the epidural was working. She said that it definitely was and all I was feeling was the need to push. She broke my water and then the contractions got really painful. The epidural definitely wasn’t working. It was time to push him out and there was nothing that could be done.

The pushing was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. With every push I could feel his entire head and just how well it did NOT fit down there. I just remember in between every contraction in the ten seconds of relief crying and saying and knowing I couldn’t do this and thinking how much better it would be if they just grabbed him and ripped him out of me or pushed him back inside.

Kris kept telling me how amazing I was doing and that he knew I was strong enough to do this. In between each contraction this encouragement (plus the knowledge that I really had no choice) somehow gave me the courage to try one more time. After 20 minutes that felt like an eternity I felt relief as his head came out completely, and then a whole bunch more pain as Kris quickly pulled him out the rest of the way.

So Zander Kristian Burgess was born at 5:37AM on the October 2nd, 2016 – three years from the day I first became a mother. I pretty much have been staring at him since that moment.

Since he came so quickly my photographer wasn’t able to make it to the birth, but she came just a few hours later and took these pictures of Zoey meeting him for the first time. These are the iPhone pictures we got of the moment after he was born. Just like Zoey’s birth, Kris was the one to catch him and was the first person to hold him after he was born…

When Zoey came to see him my mom brought Zander out of the room. Then Zoey came in and sat with Kris and I and we explained to her what had happened while she was sleeping last night. Then my mom brought him in. She was so excited to meet her “beebee brutter” and wouldn’t let anyone else hold him. She kept smiling and squeezing him to her cheek and staring at him. She asked if we could please bring him home and for the first time ever told us she would rather baby brother than a doggy (phewph!).

And for those of you wondering about how we chose his name, we weren’t planning on sticking with Z’s and definitely won’t use a Z name for the next baby. But we both really liked the name Zander and the meaning of it as well. Zander means defender of the people. Kristian (obviously named after his dad there) means follower of Christ. So defender of the people and follower of Christ. I thought the name portrayed confidence, leadership & loyalty, as well as humility and wisdom.

So that is the story of Zander’s birth! I know this post was a little long, but I don’t want to ever forget any of these details. The past few days have just been heavenly. He is a perfect baby, mostly just sleeps and looks beautiful. I didn’t tear at all during the birth this time and so recovery has been amazing! Life couldn’t be better, I love my little family.

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My top: Seraphine Maternity | Zoey’s Dress: Zutano | Zoey’s Moccs: Freshly Picked | Zanders Sleeper: Old Navy | Zander’s Booties: Zutano | Kris’s Sweater: Old Navy