Teddy Grey Padgett- Our Birth Story

Photo: Luisa and Douglas Manning

I've dreamed of writing this blog post for years, and I'm just elated to share this story with you all.

The emotions and experiences of labor and delivery are so incredibly overwhelming (in the best way possible), and I feel forever changed as a woman for not only carrying a little life for 10 months, but for birthing him as well.

Teddy came earthside on May 25th, 2022 and 9:19 PM weighing a massive 9.1 lbs and 21 inches long. His entry into the world was quite the adventure, which makes me wonder if that is what I am in for as his mama :)

Pre-Labor:

Leading up to our 40 week appointment, I was POSITIVE he would arrive early, so for 2 weeks prior to his birthday I sat around stressed wondering when he would arrive. I never had any Braxton Hicks contractions, never dilated past 1 CM, and never felt any signs of "this is it."

I kept working out, went to prenatal massages, chiropractor, the works. I hoped that maybe if I did enough squats and hammer curls, he would want to make his appearance! Haha.

At our 38 week appointment, my amazing OB checked my cervix and decided that I should be induced to prevent any chances of having a C-section. I knew I wanted to deliver vaginally if possible, since the recovery of a C-section is pretty complex and lengthy.

So off Hayden and I went, with an induction date of May 24th. We knew our sweet boy was coming soon, but I truly had no idea what went into the process of induction. I watched all these videos, but once the process actually started, I was surprised at how long it would actually take to go into "active labor."

Induction Process:

So because I was barely dilated and nothing interesting was happening, my process was fairly elongated. They placed a "balloon" filled with saline in for about 10 hours in hopes that that would kickstart everything. The balloon insertion itself wasn't too painful, it felt like when they check your cervix from weeks 34-40.

They let me know the balloon coupled with increases of Pitocin would begin major contractions, and I began to feel those contractions about 1.5 hours after the balloon was inserted and Pitocin began. They increased my Pitocin every 30 minutes and lets just say...OW. Hahaha

I would count the contractions in my head and they lasted about 14 seconds before they released. Counting and gripping the side of the hospital bed was the only way to get through each one.

They had to move me into a doggy style position with my body draped over the yoga ball since it helped with not only moving him down, but also helped me handle the pain of the contractions.

After around 4 hours, the contractions became so unbearable that I caved and asked for the epidural. I originally thought that the epidural only lasted X amount of hours, but then realized once it was in, they would just increase your dosage until after birth! *Praise hands*

The contractions were so painful that I wasn't even concerned with the epidural pain, and truthfully, the process wasn't bad at all! They instructed you on how to arch your back a certain way, and we had an anesthesiologist come into the room to administer and place the epidural.

Once the epidural was in, it was MAGIC. Friends, get the epidural if you can- truly the most mystical and magical medicine I've ever encountered. I could no longer feel the contractions and could instead focus on my breathing techniques as we geared up for the next 20 hours of active labor.

Unfortunately, after about 15 hours of the epidural, I encountered what is called a "hot spot," which is where the epidural works everywhere except a certain area. I began to feel every single contraction on just my right hip, and unfortunately, nothing can be done to aid it except well...deliver the baby haha. Lets just say that after that hot spot experience, I have 0 interest in ever experiencing a natural birth!

Another 8 hours passed before I was ready to begin true active labor, it had been a very long 25 hours in the hospital and I was so ready to meet our sweet boy. I was in excruciating pain on my right hip, and was feeling mentally and physically exhausted.

My nurse came in (who was a Godsend named Cierra), and she checked my dilation and saw that I was finally in the stage where I can be put in stirrups and began "practice pushing" until my OB arrived.

Delivery:

Once my feet were in the stirrups, Hayden and Cierra coached me through how to push correctly. It's the most bizarre feeling in the world to feel essentially nothing from your hips down while having to push as if "you are pushing poop out" haha. You don't really have any lower body control and can't figure out if you are pushing correctly or not.

Hayden and Cierra spent about a half hour coaching me through and having me practice during contractions to start getting Teddy to move down. After 5 minutes, my OB arrived and helped me start to get to a point where we could see his head.

Unfortunately, my OB got an emergency call that required her to scrub out for a bit. I was nervous at first, wondering if she was going to make it back in time or if I had the stamina/mental strength to go through this without her guidance. Thankfully, Cierra and Hayden were amazing and helped get me back into the right mindset.

Once they saw his head coming through, my OB came back in (YAYYYY) and the real test was about to begin! I was so mentally and physically exhausted by this point, but knew what I needed to do to get him earthside safely. Labor and delivery is truly such a mental game, and you have to dig really deep to find strength you didn't even know you had!

For the next hour and 50 minutes, I was put in different positions to birth him. A few didn't work well, and I was starting to feel the fatigue since it felt like there was no progress made in them. There was one position in particular (crunching towards one side and holding my own leg) that I found the right muscles to move him through the canal so we focused on switching sides in that same position for about 40 minutes.

Cierra, my OB, and Hayden were my champions throughout that time. Every time he moved further, they would praise me and cheer me on. They would say things like "DO NOT STOP. GIVE IT ANOTHER PUSH. I CAN SEE HIM. HE'S SO CLOSE. YOU'VE GOT THIS." And then finally, my OB yelled "GIVE IT ONE MORE PUSH. HE'S HERE." I had never felt such a rush of courage and determination before in my life as I gave it my all.

TEDDY IS BORN!!!

May 25th, 2022 at 9:19 PM

9 LBs 1 OZ

21 Inches

Wow, what a surreal moment that was. Nothing could have ever prepared me for the release of pure joy, gratitude, and pride that was felt when I felt him slip out of me and into my arms. I held my breath for what felt like an eternity waiting for his first cry to ensure he was alright. Once I heard that first wail, I just broke down and looked at Hayden. We did it!! He was here! And he was healthy!

The exhaust was immediately replaced by a wave of emotion that I can only describe as euphoric. It was an out of body experience. I went from being in my body to being completely in my soul and heart as I clutched the life that we created, our son, to my chest.

We created him out of so much love. I never understood how sacred the creation of life was until I went through this. It was a deeply profound and spiritual experience I can only thank God for giving me.

The next 10 minutes are where things get a little bit blurry for me. After a few minutes of skin to skin and delayed cord clamping (that Hayden did and was a champ at!) I asked for my water cup since I felt so dehydrated. Unfortunately, I drank too much and felt myself get immediately nauseous. I had about 5 seconds to warn someone that I was about to vomit, they took Teddy off of me and handed me a vomit bag. I had about 5 minutes of uncontrollable vomiting, and during that period of time, I had hemorrhaged.

Hayden recalls seeing our OB's tone change from relieved to serious as she instructed the nurses to do certain tasks to ensure I didn't bleed out. He says my whole body started shaking uncontrollably and I became ghastly pale. I didn't know this at the time, but I guess I had lost 3x the amount of blood most people lose during a vaginal delivery. Most people lose 500 ML, I had lost 1750 ML within a short span of time.

I spent the next hour shaking so intensely that I felt like I was seizing. I had tons of warm blankets draped all over me and I remember saying, "I can't stop shaking. I feel okay but can't stop shaking." I thought that this was just a sign of delivery and the adrenaline release associated with it, but it was a lot more complicated than that.

Thankfully, Hayden, the nurses and my OB were absolutely incredible at not only keeping me calm and unaware of the whole situation, but also incredible at stitching me up and saving me from something more detrimental. They are Godsends!

Recovery:

Since I had hemorrhaged, I had another balloon and catheter placed inside to help remove excess blood and to prevent blood clots from forming. I had to spend an extra day in the hospital so I could be monitored appropriately to ensure I didn't need any transfusions. The next day and night was long and exhausting, as I was constantly being poked, prodded, and examined- all the while Teddy was also going through the same thing. He was overstimulated and stressed out from all the tests and pokes, and was uncontrollably sobbing for about 90% of the day and night.

The worst part about it all was that I was hooked up to catheters/tubes and was bed ridden until further notice. I couldn't get up on my own to hold him or to do skin-to-skin. When he would start screaming, I would have to call a nurse in to hand him to me to see if I could calm him down. Unfortunately, nothing helped him during those 9 long hours, and he refused to latch or feed which made me feel like a failure of a mom.

Thankfully, I recovered well and was able to be discharged with our sweet boy on May 27th, 2022. Teddy was cleared for jaundice and passed all of his tests with flying colors, we were officially on our way home to begin our new lives as a family of 5 (fur babies count, too!).

Teddys Name:

Hayden and I disagreed on about 95% of names for our future babies, but there was one name in particular that we both loved: Theodore. My husband is a huge political junkie, and Theodore Roosevelt is one of his all-time favorite Presidents. He saw him as a dynamic leader that believed in American greatness and taught the rest of the nation to believe in that, too. We hope that Teddy carries on that optimism, love of country, and courage that Teddy Roosevelt once had.

Besides the famous name-sake, we also fell in love with the idea that he could have different ways of identifying himself. He could be Teddy, Theo, Theodore- etc. It gave him options as he grows and matures through life.

When he was in my womb, the name Teddy just felt right. It felt so natural to call him Teddy or Teddy-bear when he was acting up in there or giving me his sweet kicks throughout the day to remind me that he was present with us.

His middle name, Grey, is a family name from Haydens side. He had always wanted to carry on his family legacy with a family name, so we both enthusiastically agreed that Grey would become his middle name as a nod to his family heritage.

Teddy Grey, we love you sweet boy so much, and we are so honored to be your mom and dad. You have forever changed us.

Photos: Luisa and Douglas Manning Photography