78. My 50 Hour Labor Story (& What I'm Doing Differently This Time)
In this episode of The Nourishing Autism Podcast, join Brittyn for a very special and personal episode to wrap up the season. She sits down with her husband, Jack, to share the intense, raw, and incredible birth story of their first child, Sam, who is now soon to be a big brother! Listen in to hear all about Brittyn's 50-hour labor, what she's learned from it, and what she'll be doing differently this time around with baby number 2!
⚠️ Heads Up: We get pretty real about birth in this episode, so if you’re a soon-to-be mom or have some anxiety around deliveries, you might want to skip this one.
We’re so excited to wrap up the season with this deeply personal story and can’t wait to be back with more content in Season 3! Thanks for all your love and support – see you in 2025! 🎊
Join the Nourishing Autism Collective to start getting nutrition support today!
Follow @AutismDietitian on Instagram
SUBSCRIBE ↓
TRANSCRIPT
Hi, I'm Brittyn, a Registered Dietitian and autism sibling. I have a passion for helping parents of neurodivergent kids navigate nutrition and wellness for their child, one small step at a time. Here we'll explore practical nutrition tips, learn from top autism experts, break down the newest research, and share inspirational stories that will empower you to utilize nutrition to help your child feel their best and thrive.
Listen in while picking kids up from school, sitting in a therapy waiting room, taking a quick walk or wherever you find yourself, looking for some inspiration and a friend to guide you along this journey. This is Nourishing Autism.
Brittyn: [00:00:00] Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Nourishing Autism Podcast. I am so glad you're joining me for this very special episode. Because today marks the last episode of season two, and I can't believe how fast this season has blown by! And I'm beyond grateful for all your support. All of your five-star ratings, all of your sharing on social media, it's just been so much fun.
We've had such an amazing lineup of guests and if you haven't had the chance to listen to all of the episodes on season two, trust me. They are so fantastic. And that really is because of all of the amazing, amazing guests that I've had. And for all of the feedback that I've gotten from all of you.
So thanks for tuning in and thanks so much for all of your support. With that being said, we're taking a short break after this episode, but don't worry because I'll be back with season three at the beginning of 2025 with more exciting content and [00:01:00] special guests. And so much conversation around nutrition for autism, including supplements and labs and all of the questions that you have.
So I'm really looking forward to being back.
As many of you know, I am due with little baby girl here in like less than a week and am just so excited to be able to spend some time with my family and really relish in this transition of becoming a family of four.
Now a quick disclaimer, before we dive into today's episode. It's going to be very personal. My husband Jack actually joined me on the podcast. It was so fun being able to have him as a guest. And together we share the birth story of our first child, Sam. Which I've been requested to share for the past two years.
And I'm finally getting around to doing it. Now if you're a first time mom, you're currently pregnant, or you have any anxiety or trauma around birth or delivery, this [00:02:00] episode might not be for you. So feel free to skip this one. I say this coming from a person who might not have been ready to listen to something like this had I been pregnant with my first or even, you know, shortly after giving birth to Sam, because it did feel pretty traumatic. I will say he is completely fine.
He is thriving. I am doing great, fully recovered. But it was a long week. And it was an even longer, like 50 hours of labor, five hours of pushing. We'll get into all of that during the episode, but I just did want to give you the option to skip if it doesn't feel like it's right for you at the time.
For those sticking around, we're going to be talking about the raw and real details of this 50 hour labor, what we learned, and how we're preparing for baby number two.
So let's get into it.
[00:03:00]
Brittyn: Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Nourishing Autism Podcast. Today's episode is going to be very different than my typical podcast. In fact, I actually have never recorded a personal podcast before. I think all of my past episodes are all about nutrition and having guests on here. So I'm really excited to do this. And I also have my husband joining me, which is a first, Jack [00:04:00] is here.
Jack: Hello!
Brittyn: And I'm excited to have a man because we are going to be talking about our birth story with Sam who is my almost two year old. And this has been something that I've been asked about for the past two years over social media for people asking me to share the birth story, they want to hear more because it was about a 50 hour birth.
And I honestly just haven't been ready to talk about it, or wanting to think through it all the way, until here just recently, because we're expecting our second. I'm 39 weeks today. So we are like a week out from our due date. So I wanted to talk through that and then kind of talk through some of the things that I've been doing differently this time as well.
And so if you're interested, come join us to talk about Sam's birth story. And hopefully here in the next like week or two, I'm going to [00:05:00] have some really positive updates to share that it wasn't another 50 hour birth. So that's the goal at least. So, because I haven't had Jack on here before, I also will share a little backstory on us, but we've been together since 2014, no, 2013. But we met in high school and we've been married for six years.
It'll be seven in June. And we had our first son in November, 2022, and then we'll have two under 2 for like two weeks, which I'm like totally fine with. Yeah, so I think going into this birth, I'm really glad that we have such a strong relationship because it'll test you. I think I was surprised just how, I don't think if we were like so close or such good friends,
I don't know how people do births with a partner that they're not close to cause I feel like you saw some really honestly, disgusting [00:06:00] stuff.
Jack: Yeah. If you aren't close, then, you will be.
Brittyn: Yeah, you will be. I don't know. And I'll kind of decide as we go on how much to share on some of the gross stuff, but so we'll see where we go . Anyway, a backstory into the pregnancy, really healthy pregnancy, no issues, thankfully.
Really straightforward. I felt great the whole time. I felt fantastic. In my second trimester, I was like, wow, if birth is anything like this, it is just going to be like a breeze. I always felt really thankful that I felt so good because I had so many friends who did not feel very good during their pregnancy. And I took so many birth courses.
I mean, we did a birth class together, but I did you know, classes that talk to you on pushing and having the pain-free birth. And I was so focused on having this like quote unquote pain-free birth, because I had all these classes that were telling me that I could do that, that I [00:07:00] also think I went into it with the wrong expectations. And I think that made it so much harder.
I also think I was really anxious leading into the birth as well. I also wasn't planning to go to almost 42 weeks in the end. But I will say I did chiropractic leading up to it, especially in the end I was doing it every week. Acupuncture, massage, all the things that you are told to do. I was trying to do all of the things and even still had a long labor. So the reason why I have Jack here is because he actually I think remembers the entire experience so much better than I do because I mean, if anyone here has had a child, you know, your brain kind of just fully is focusing on that.
I just don't really remember the timeline so much. So I'm also hopeful for this pregnancy, going into this birth too, I think some of these things talking them through [00:08:00] right now with Jack will be really helpful. Okay. So. Jack, some of the things that I did trying to go into labor, as you know, I was pretty desperate.
Jack: Yeah. I think. We were just looking for all the ways to, I mean, no different than anyone else that's 41 plus weeks and is looking for all the help they can get. But the tea...
Brittyn: The red raspberry tea.
Jack: Yeah that tea, the curb walking, spicy food. I mean all the home remedies, dates, dates, yeah. Dates and everything. All for not, it seemed.
Brittyn: Yeah. Yeah. I would get the Chinese foot massage. I went in like every other day, just trying to go into labor.
Jack: Oh yeah all the ball. Oh yeah. The ball bounce. Yeah.
Brittyn: And I was doing, I did the mile circuit a lot too.
Jack: Yeah. Was that a two-parter like to expedite the [00:09:00] labor and wasn't he turned?
Brittyn: He was. I'd forgotten. He was. So I think it was like maybe 34 weeks. He was breached.
Jack: Yeah. And so I think we had to do the last time. And she went through all these things, whenever it was 20 weeks or the first appointment we had. And then at the second appointment, which was, I don't know when that was 30 weeks, the last one before they would come. She went through all those.
And so from like 34 or 5 weeks, you were just doing them once a week to by the final you know, 39 40, which you're doing them like every day, so.
Brittyn: That's right. And she used the spinning babies approach, which I believe is the mile circuit, but I can't remember what else that entailed. But it was, I don't remember how much I was doing that, but he did flip and then I did the mile circuit again, whenever we were trying to go into labor, which I will do this time too.
Jack: Yeah, I can't remember all the cadences, but you just, you did it a lot.
Brittyn: Yeah. Definitely. Which for anyone who's not familiar with that, it's this whole thing. I [00:10:00] actually need to reteach it to myself. Cause I remember there's like sideline and inversions and curb walking is a part of that or going up and down the stairs sideways, but I don't remember everything.
Jack: I think they sent us materials online.
I'll have to email them to you. I need to start doing it tomorrow. We're not doing a doula.
Brittyn: Yeah, we're not, that is one thing that we're doing differently. Even though we loved her. Jenny was the freaking best. If anyone is in Boulder area, let me recommend her. I think this time, we kind of just decided that we've done it once before, it's also really expensive.
Jack: But also the midwives, they take a step back to your doula, I think, if you have one. For the active hands-on stuff, but if you don't have one, they'll kind of become your doula if you want them to, and we have a midwife that we really like that is going to be there anyway,
so that helps.
Brittyn: That's right. And I think that is an important thing to say too. So at our hospital, if you are a low-risk birth, you are able to work [00:11:00] with the midwives rather than the OB's. And I think that's been really helpful. There are four of them and you kind of just rotate between them. And so that does make me feel more comfortable, not using a doula this time, because I do feel like all my birth preferences are going to be honored. I will say last time, too, the way I went into it, I was really wanting to have a birth without an epidural.
I didn't want to use any kind of interventions. I just really wanted to go into labor on my own. And I wanted to try that out. And I remember going into it with as open-minded as I could. Saying, you know, if I need an epidural, if I need these things, then I'm not going to give myself any grief for it or feel guilty. And I was really glad I approached it that way because I did need all of the things. And I don't have any regrets about doing any of that.
Although I do want to try again to do it without any interventions this time to [00:12:00] see how it goes.
Jack: And last time, you had to be on antibiotics because you tested positive for one of the streps. Group B strep. But this time you... what is it? It's like a super, you're basically almost forgone conclusion that you'll have it again, if you did the first time, but you don't this time.
Brittyn: I don't have it this time and it can be transient meaning like it can come and go. But our midwives weren't convinced that it would not be there. So, yeah, that was a bonus. I don't have to have antibiotics this time and some people still opt out of antibiotics, but I didn't feel comfortable doing that, especially after such a long birth. Okay.
So on my due date, it was October 24th.
We went in for our 40 week visit. And I declined a cervical check because I just didn't think that it was going to be helpful for me because I didn't feel like I was about to go into labor. And I'm kind of glad that I didn't know, because when we did a cervical check later which was the next week and my [00:13:00] 41 week appointment, I was only dilated to a one. And I think it would have totally killed a lot of my just excitement.
If I would've known, I'm not dilated at all. I was at 40 weeks.
Jack: Understandably. So you would have been. Wouldn't have helped anything.
Brittyn: So we said, okay, well, if by 41, I haven't gone into labor yet, let's do a membrane sweep so that we can kind of get things going. I had heard really great things about membrane sweeps.
And so many of my friends had done a sweep and then like, God put, like they were in labor and had a baby the same day. So I also had some unrealistic expectations around that. So then the whole week goes by, we did a lot of puzzles, trying to keep busy. I was totally going insane. I now looking back, notice how anxious I was. All my friends were checking on me, which is so sweet and family was reaching out.
But, [00:14:00] I just was such in a weird place mentally that I remember, I don't know at what point Jack, but I told you, I was like, I think you're going to have to tell some of my friends to not. Or like tell people, like my closest friends, I told them, hey, I'm just going to take a mental breather for a sec. But I think it was some family, almost that I had to be like, hey, can you tell them to not text me anymore?
Like to just text you. Do you remember?
Jack: Yeah. Yeah, it's just a request that for people that are closest to you won't come across the wrong way. But you, even though that's probably the case, you still are like trying to be diplomatic about it because they just are asking because they care. But also, yeah, you're already on pins and needles kind of. And so when you're having to tell everyone, not yet you know, three times a day, it can get a little tiring.
Brittyn: Totally. And I totally respect anyone to put those boundaries in place.
I think it really did help me. So then the following Monday comes around, I'm 41 [00:15:00] weeks and I did a non-stress test. And then I did a membrane sweep at 7:30 in the morning. She said I was only dilated to a one and I was 60% effaced. And at the negative three station, meaning like the baby was still way up in there. I remember this membrane sweep was really painful.
It did not feel good. And she was like, we usually don't recommend membrane sweeps for being dilated less than like two or three, because it's so hard to really get the sweep done. But I wanted it so bad and I was so desperate. I was like, I don't care. Just do whatever you need to do to get me going. And she said that he was sunnyside up at that point as well. I had a chiropractor appointment at three that day, and I was hopeful that that was also going to help put me into labor.
Cause everyone says it does. And then also have the note. I hate the word mucus plug. And we were just talking about that today, Jack and I, that like, I wish there were a better word [00:16:00] for that.
Jack: Yeah, that seems like a deliberate choice to be...
Brittyn: Disgusting.
Jack: Yeah.
Brittyn: But I said that I passed a lot of that at 6:30 PM that night.
So that was Monday. Tuesday,
I had some contractions kind of off and on.
Jack: Yeah, well I don't know how much you want me to share. I don't remember Tuesday as well. Up until Wednesday, it was kind of a blur from like after 40 weeks to like 41, 42 or 43. It was kind of just me half working and half doing puzzles with you for a lot.
And walking on the curb. So up until that point, I don't remember, but it was Wednesday. You did the second sweep. I remember and that was still not great, but it wasn't as bad. And I think you were like two or I think you were three, actually.
Brittyn: It was three.
Jack: Okay. And then, that was in the morning, so which would have been [00:17:00] Wednesday. The first week being Monday, and then you came home and you had some contractions that afternoon. And so we were like, okay, maybe we're rolling. And then they eased off and they were irregular and then they kind of stopped by the time we were going to bed. Which is a little frustrating.
Then you woke up. And you felt kind of normal again, but then they came back and they were irregular Thursday afternoon. And they started to regulate a little bit, every like
seven or eight minutes or whatever they start at. And then they started to get more regular and down to like whatever they are when you're supposed to call someone five or six minutes or something. Maybe not that fast, but we called our doula at... that was right. They're starting to get pretty painful at like nine or ten.
And so we called our doula and she was out of town because we were so late. She had a backup doula. So Amy referred us to Jenny. And Jenny lived like half an hour away. And so she got to us by like 11 or 12 and basically tag teamed contraction [00:18:00] support from like midnight to like five or six. And I think you've got some sleep in there after, at some point in there. And then we woke up. And they were manageable, but still regular.
And then at like eight or nine, Jenny was like, all right. We should get our stuff together. And I think it's time to go to the hospital.
Brittyn: So I think there was a shift at that point where I was like, I couldn't talk through them.
Jack: Yeah. Oh yeah, that's right. There's the conventional time window where it's like, once they get to only this far apart, then you go, which I think...
Brittyn: I think it's three minutes.
Jack: Okay.
Brittyn: Because her notes, she said, when we called at midnight, they were every five minutes and lasting a minute long.
And I think it was around nine that then it shifted into really painful contractions.
Jack: I remember her saying that you need to watch the time. The gap for kind of like conventional wisdom. Which is consistent with that, but [00:19:00] then, that it's a little bit more nuanced, that even if it's not that they're further apart, but you're breathing really hard and you can't talk through them, then that's another sign. And kind of both of those happened at the same time.
At like eight to nine in the morning and we got to the hospital at 10 after we gathered our stuff and got our ducks in a row and everything. And then we got to the hospital at 10, got settled into our room, and had our midwife come check in and get our nurses and everything situated. And I think that was when Martine came in and did your first check and you were four...
Brittyn: Four centimeters and 90% effaced.
So Jenny, our doula, took notes, which I'm referring back to, which is helpful.
Jack: Okay.
Brittyn: But, I just remember that moment, because when was it? It was Wednesday when I got that second membrane sweep and I was a three. So after all of this...
Jack: You had done a lot of work to only get to a four. I remember, which is why you were like, yeah, this sucks.
Brittyn: Well, Martine checked me and I [00:20:00] just remember her face.
And she was like, do you want to know? And I said yes. And she was like, you're a four. And I think at that point, I just started sobbing.
Jack: You weren't being that dramatic. But you were bummed cause you felt like you did a lot of work and the end result did not feel reflective of that. That was at like 10 or 11.
And then you got in the bath for like an hour. And then the pain started to get strong enough. And we were only a couple hours removed of having found out that your dilation had not really progressed to where we were like, okay. We want to honor the birth preferences or vision or whatever,
but there's that limit that we've talked about of you want to do everything you can to carry out here how you want your labor to go. But then if you just are too stubborn about that, and then you look back and you have upheld whatever you wanted to do, but it was so miserable that it was, you know, wasn't worth it kind of thing.
And we were like, I think we need to do the epidural. So then you did that at like [00:21:00] one or two or something in the afternoon sometime.
Brittyn: Well, I remember too, so Jack has two sisters and his oldest sister, shout out to Allie, with her first birth, it was kind of similar. And I remember her saying, this was multiple years prior, that she just felt like she was holding herself back, she was bracing with all the contractions and it wasn't until she got an epidural that things really move forward.
And I remember sitting in the bath being like, I feel so tense. And nothing's budging that I think I'm holding myself back. And so then when we made the decision to get the epidural, I felt so confident in it because I was like, this is what I need in this moment. And so I see, at 1:30 PM is when I got the epidural.
And then Jenny's next note says at 4:00 PM, they checked me again and I was still a four. [00:22:00]
Jack: Okay. I remember that. I didn't remember how, if it was in the afternoon or I had it in my head that it was later. So I miss-remember that, but I remember them coming back after you had a good amount more work behind you and it was the same. And then we were like, okay, let's see if we can get some more progress and then we'll make a decision.
If you know, you come back 12 hours later or later tonight or whatever, and it's the same. But I guess, before we got to that point, they started administering I think more Pitocin like throughout the evening. And there we thought we had reached kind of a crux because you were in enough pain by late hours in the evening, wee hours of the morning, which is, I mean, just the main side effect of Pitocin, which is supposed to stimulate the contractions.
You were in enough pain without enough progress that they thought the Pitocin was basically not worth its weight, because it was causing too much discomfort to not push you along any further. But then we [00:23:00] realized that the pain was because your epidural had disconnected. And so they had to come redo that at like two in the morning. And then you were in so much pain and you started getting sick, but then once they put that back in, you had settled down, you had a couple more contractions, and then the block kicked in. And then we both woke up.
Well, we slept. We slept till like seven.
Brittyn: Oh, that was the best.
Jack: And your thighs to your belly, you were completely good to go and not hurting. And we woke up at seven. Or sometime, basically by the time it was 9:00 AM, I think you were like nine and a half centimeters. And then we were like, all right, let's get people in here
in the next, whatever, few minutes, hour or so.
Brittyn: When I started having pain, I was like, why am I having pain? I have an epidural. And they were like, well this can happen sometimes it's just called a window. Cause it was just like this patch on my belly on the right side. And they were like, this can just happen.
Like we're going to shift you positions, but some people just get them. [00:24:00] But yeah, after a while it was like so painful and it wasn't letting up. It wasn't like I was having contractions. It was like one constant contraction to where I've never been writhing in pain. It was the weirdest thing.
And so finally, I kept clicking the button, but finally they came back in and they're like, oh yeah, it's slipped out. And I didn't even know that was a thing that could happen. So that was just so crazy. But I remember once it got replaced, I was so grateful for it. I also have here, they checked me at 9:30 PM that night and I was still a four.
Jack: Okay. Maybe that's what I was remembering. But in either case, I just remember you had checked when we got there and then checked a good amount later, like later that day at some point, and you hadn't progressed. And so we were bummed by that. Yeah, we did all that. And then the next morning you were feeling much better, or at least not in horrible pain.
And you had gotten 90% plus of the way done to start pushing.
[00:25:00] And then the pushing basically I mean, it went from nine to three, two officially, but from like nine to really far, like 2:30. You had gone and it was like you were working together with your contractions and the Pitocin. Then they stopped administering that because you were close to getting him out, but then your stomach had no energy left, it wasn't contracting. My uterus. That's what I meant.
So it was kind of like the rest of your body giving you energy slash willpower. And if there were a story, I guess that you tell normally to people when they ask about the climax of the labor was between two and three. And you were just exhausted and he was close to coming out, but you're so tired. And I kind of looked at Paige, our midwife, and we're like, all right, should we consider, like a C-section had kind of come up, but we didn't want to consider it unless we absolutely had to because she was on [00:26:00] antibiotics and the baby's heartbeat was fine, like the whole time.
And Brittyn was doing fine other than just exhaustion. And Paige was like, okay. I'll check the O.R, see what the doctor is up to, I'm going to go talk to the nurses and see... if we need to do this, we're going to have everything in place. So she goes around. She comes back in like 15 minutes at 2:30 PM. And she's like, okay, Brittyn, I talked to everyone, talked to the whole floor and they all think you can do it. And so we're going to do this and you're going to get this baby out.
And Brittyn was so mad. Paige is like her favorite doctor ever. But she wanted to strangle her because she was like, I was so prepared to have this C-section and have my work done. And in hindsight, obviously it was, hindsight 20/20, you pushed him out like 30 minutes later. But after 40 some odd hours and like five hours of pushing, not the news you were looking for at that moment.
Brittyn: I'm not a person to curse.
I very rarely [00:27:00] curse and just normal life. And I just remember the worst of the worst words coming to mind. I don't know. I don't think I said any of them out loud. But I was so mad at her and at the time too, it's like I have friends and know many people who've had C-sections and that's certainly not the easy way out. But I was just so exhausted at that point that I was just like, this baby is never going to come out.
I think this is the only option. But yeah. Hearing her say that I was like, okay, F you. But now looking back, I'm so grateful because she did know what I wanted in my birth plan. And she told me, if you ask me one more time, then we will move forward with a C-section. And so it was nice to know that yes, I can say one more time and can move forward with a C-section. But I was glad that she had my best interest in mind with what I wanted to do [00:28:00] in my plan, because everything else was not going to plan.
Jack: She used all her intuition and experience to inform the tight rope that she was walking of honoring what you wanted in the exact moment, but also knowing what you said for like the nine months before that. I'm like, this is what I want to do. And just reading this situation, I guess, to figure out what should actually happen.
Brittyn: And his heart rate was always fine.
He was always great. And I think that's why she also felt confident, you know, we're ongoing on four and a half hours of pushing, but he was still strong and fine. And she was like, your baby's safe. You're safe. Like, we can keep going. And I was just so tired and yeah, at that point, it's like the Pitocin had maxed, but my uterus was, I think so tired after basically contracting all week because I had gone into prodromal labor that I think it just like tired out.
And so I remember [00:29:00] sitting there. And it was hard to feel the contractions when you have an epidural, but I was like, I don't feel anything like nothing, no tightness. They weren't catching them on the monitors. And so I was like, can I push him out without a contraction?
She was like, well, yeah, you can. And that may be what we're up against at this point. And his head was right there, but it was like he was having a hard time coming under my pubic bone is what I remember.
Jack: Yeah. He had sat in the same spot for a good, like the middle chunk of the six hour window and that when he came out and he had, I don't think this is specific to him.
Just depends on which way they're facing, but he had bruising on his head for like a few days to a week just because he had so much pressure on there for like several hours before he came out.
Brittyn: Totally. But then he was so close and she was like, I want you to try and push him out.
And if he doesn't come out on this push, we may have to consider an [00:30:00] episiotomy. And from what I remember, I think she literally had the scalpel there, like ready on the next push to do it. And I think he came, well, I know I didn't have an episiotomy, but he came out.
Jack: Yeah. I actually had forgotten that. But now I remember, it was like, this is happening until the last moment.
And then I was like, actually I think we can do this. He came. I mean, it was a combo of just because he was so not ready to come out or I mean, it didn't seem like he was of her like pulling him out and you pushing him out just because he was, he wasn't vacuumed or forcep-ed or anything. He was just like, it was just a team effort because he was just at a weird angle.
Brittyn: One thing I did forget to say.
So they did break my water a few hours after I got my epidural and there was a ton of meconium. I remember that.
Jack: That was something they had to address right after he came out. Yeah, for the first minute or so. Cause he wasn't crying just because it had gotten down his pipes and then they...
Brittyn: I actually, I don't think it had gone down.
[00:31:00] I think that's what they said...
It was, he wasn't crying and they were saying sometimes, when they have all of that, they don't inhale it. I don't know exactly what was happening, but I remember he wasn't breathing yet and he wasn't crying. And they took him over and they cleaned him up and then he started crying and they were like, that's actually good because if he would've taken that breath and there was all that meconium.
Jack: That's right.
That's how they get like pneumonia.
Brittyn: Exactly.
Jack: Yeah. And it felt like it was five or six minutes. I think it was probably 30 seconds to a minute of him just, they were like, he's fine. But if you're going to cut the cord, do it now.
Brittyn: It was urgent.
Jack: And we just need to take him over here and get him sorted and he'll be okay.
But we need to do this. And I was like, okay.
Brittyn: Cause I wanted to do delayed cord clamping too. But that was not in the cards.
Jack: Yeah. They were like, sorry. He's okay, but we can't do this now. We just need to get him fine. And then we'll go from there.
Brittyn: But I remember being in so much shock that he finally came out, but then also being [00:32:00] so scared.
They never took him out of the room. They kept him, but I was like, he wasn't crying. It was just a scary probably yeah 20 to 30 seconds that felt like way longer than that. And then they put him on my chest right after and he was seemingly great.
His Apgar was, I don't even remember what it was,
it was like a two. And then within like 10 minutes, it was drastically different. Everything returned to where it should have been. And then after that he was great. And he just latched within like 30 minutes. And was just like this little angel baby. I mean the second night syndrome, someone could've prepped me for that.
Jack: Had not heard of that until it was happening. Or after it happened. Fun, shock, but I mean...
Brittyn: I simultaneously don't want someone who hasn't had a baby yet to listen to this podcast episode.
Maybe I should put a preface on this.
Jack: We'll edit that in.
Brittyn: Because it was [00:33:00] such a hard birth, but also I need them to know about second night's syndrome because nobody told us and we were like, why is he so sad and so awake and yeah, but anyway, after that, he's just angel boy.
Jack: Yeah, he really has been. It was hard to appreciate, I mean, because you don't know what you don't know. Well on your first one, but looking back on it. After the first six or eight weeks, we were just like, you are not a difficult baby. He started to sleep really well, I mean, he didn't ever sleep poorly when he was really young, but you can't really tell if they're going to be a great sleeper until at least they're like three or four weeks old. And by five weeks he had slept his first, is it five weeks
was the first nine hour stretch or nine weeks was the first five-hour stretch?
Brittyn: Five weeks he slept nine hours. Yeah.
Jack: And after that, it was just kind of like he was sleeping at least four to six hour chunks, like every single night, pretty much other than the occasional, you know, sleep progression that happens every four days.
Brittyn: [00:34:00] Yeah. But oh boy. Yeah. That whole birth experience. And so I think it's, you know, hard going into it this time, because that's the only experience that I've ever had. And I know everyone says, you know, A, they come sooner. Like you're not going to go to almost 42 weeks this time, which again, I'm sitting here at 39 weeks.
I'm expecting to hit my due date. But I am hopeful. And I'm also hopeful it's not going to take that long because my body's done it before. So I do find it helpful to relive the birth experience. Cause we've talked about it here and there, but it hasn't been something that I've gone through like line item by line item.
So for me, I'm the kind of person, I like all the information, I like processing through it and usually verbally to be able to really understand everything that happened again. But this time, I mean, I've done a lot of similar things, although I will say I felt way less anxious this time, too. I [00:35:00] think I have more confidence that my body can do it, even if it's hard. I mean, it will be hard no matter how long it takes, but I've continued to do chiropractic.
I've continued to do massage. I haven't done acupuncture this time because I personally just don't love it. Nothing against it. I started doing the dates, you know, at 37 weeks again, I've been doing the red raspberry tea every night. Doing all of the quote unquote things that we know help, walking a lot.
I'll do curb walking. I'll do the mile circuit, but I think this time, I just feel so much more at ease than I did last time. So I'm also hoping that plays into the positive birth story that we're going to have, so yeah. And that it doesn't take quite as long. That would be also awesome. So we'll definitely report back. I'm trying to think.
Is there anything else that you can think of that we didn't cover?
Jack: I don't think so.
No, nothing that comes to [00:36:00] mind as far as on the relevant events on the labor timeline.
Probably a little things here and there, but not that I remember.
Brittyn: I do have a question though. I feel like when I was going through it, I was so preoccupied obviously with the pain and the experience. I am kind of curious if you felt scared while we were in labor, what was that like for you or did it feel traumatic after?
Jack: Well, I never felt scared. The only time I felt scared or had any real reason to feel scared was right when he came out and they didn't quite explain everything, I mean, maybe they did. I think they probably did, but there was just a lot going on. When they had to like,
clear him up basically. And for those 30 seconds, I was just like not knowing what was going on. I was a little scared. Other than that, the only real nerves I had were right towards the end before he came out, because I thought we were going to have to go into the O.R and do a C-section, [00:37:00] which we hadn't planned. And I wasn't nervous about that, it was just, you know, it's another, psychological hurdle that you're like, okay, we've done all of this.
And now we've got to like basically do this operation, then you have to have surgery to give birth. And so for a few minutes, I was like, okay, hopefully we don't have to do this, but after there wasn't any trauma, I don't think. It was just like how do we you know, keep this kid alive?
How do we parent? How do we figure him out and how do we make him comfortable and figure out how to, you know, do this thing.
Brittyn: Yeah.
Jack: But I wasn't ever scared really.
Brittyn: You know, I never felt scared either. I always felt safe, which I think is a really important thing for giving birth to feel safe. And I trusted all the practitioners. There was never one moment that I really doubted anyone except for the person who placed my first epidural.
Jack: Yeah.
Brittyn: And said, yeah, I think that should be in the right spot.
And I said, you think or you know, and the nurse said, [00:38:00] he knows. And he was like, I didn't mean to say that in the way that I did or something, and then it did fall out, so.
Jack: Yeah.
Brittyn: That was on him.
Jack: Yeah. That was unfortunate.
Brittyn: Yeah. I don't remember it being painful to get either one placed. I think I was contracting so much that that pain overrode the pain of getting the epidural.
Jack: Yeah. I mean, because you didn't plan on doing it, so it's not like you went in and you got it proactively before you have any real pain. You were pretty preoccupied. That was the one thing they told me not to do. They were just like, some people...
enough of the population who decides they want to watch getting the port or the epidural, put in pass out. Yeah, because it's such a weird thing. So they told me not to do that.
Brittyn: I was appreciative cause you sat down in a chair in front of me and I put my feet on your thighs. So I had that stability. And I won't share all of this, but it's like I was [00:39:00] contracting, my water had broken, there was meconium. And I was throwing up. So I guess I'm going to share all of that, but that was a fun experience for you having my feet on your thighs while all of that was happening. That was like one of those moments in our relationship.
Jack: That was when she was putting it in right? I think so. Yeah. I remember it was night time and you were turned towards me. There was no other reason you'd be sitting up in that spot other than her having to get back there. So...
Brittyn: yeah, that was right. Because my water wasn't broken when I put the first epidural in.
Jack: Yeah. And so she was putting it in and I honestly, I didn't really... it just kind of happened.
And I was like, I've never thrown up from watching someone else throw up, but the thought of it always made me nervous that I would, if it's in person. And so I thought of that when you started to get sick. And then you started throwing up and I didn't really think and it was just this is what it is.
And you threw up a couple of times in like a really short window. So it wasn't a big deal, [00:40:00] but it was just I more felt bad for you. But I did think of that. I was like, please don't start throwing up. Cause I'm going to. And then it didn't affect me for some reasons.
Brittyn: I think it's different when I don't know when it's your spouse or your child throwing up.
It's like someone you love so much that it's just like, it hits different.
Jack: Yeah, it's not.. not as bad as
Brittyn: You feel more empathy than gross. I don't know which I'm glad. I mean, yeah. 'cause it was, yeah, that was rocky. But yeah, there's our crazy birth story, but I have to say the pregnancy leading up to it was super smooth. Postpartum was pretty smooth. Sammy's an angel baby.
He's turning two in just a few weeks. And he is the best thing that's ever happened to me, to us. He's the best.
Jack: He's a good little boy.
Brittyn: So obviously all of that was very, very worth it. But yeah, it was a wild ride. And then I did post on Instagram too, that I was going to be [00:41:00] recording this.
And so there were a few questions that people had asked. One, someone asked if I'd considered a birth center before? We did tour a birth center when I was like eight or nine weeks pregnant. And we really liked it. But then we have the thought of like, okay, what if something did happen? Cause I couldn't get an epidural there and you would have to be transferred through an ambulance.
And I was just like, that sounds so traumatic. Why don't we try the hospital for the first one with the midwives? And then the second one, we'll just see.
Jack: And you had had the labor that you had. It would've had the birth center. You've been transferred anyway, so...
Brittyn: yeah. I'm so glad that we chose the hospital.
And I know so many people do home births and birth centers and I think all of that is so beautiful. And amazing. But I loved our hospital birth. Like we didn't even consider doing anything differently this time because we loved it so much.
Jack: Yeah, they did a good job.
Brittyn: They took care of [00:42:00] us so well, the food was actually good too.
So I had no, I thought it was...
Jack: yeah.
Brittyn: We had a mountain view.
Jack: Yeah, that was the other thing.
If they need to take care of baby, which they did for the first minute after he was born or whatever, basically you never leave the room. Or you're never in a different room as your baby. So when he came out and had to like address a few things, they give them back to us. They stayed there when we were there for two more days. And we basically, it's like a basic hotel room, like we're all in the same room.
There's like a queen bed with a little adjuster. So you could sit up a nurse and all the things that would make it baby friendly, but it was like a little suite for us to stay with him. So that was awesome. Nice.
Brittyn: Yeah, I loved that they never took him out of the room for anything.
Jack: Yeah. So we didn't go anywhere else.
Brittyn: Yeah, we loved it. Another question I had was if I had any postpartum anxiety or postpartum depression, I didn't have any postpartum depression. Looking back in the [00:43:00] moment, well, in the moment, I didn't realize that I was having anxiety, but looking back on it, I realized that my anxiety was definitely up ticked postpartum and I think I did a pretty good job.
You'll have to tell me. Keeping it kind of buried down. Not that I'm praising myself for that because I wish I maybe would have been a little bit more aware, but like a lot of it, I just kind of chalked up to like regular postpartum anxiety feelings. Like what if he stops breathing in the middle of the night, some of those. A lot of other big intrusive thoughts.
And I think I wish I would have just talked through it with my midwife and maybe I would have realized that it was a little bit bigger than
you know, I realized, so I'll just be looking out for that this time. It was never, I was never in a place where I was like, so anxious where it was like, causing me to lose sleep, or causing me to really be in a bad, bad place. But it was definitely more than my normal worry. So, I don't know.
I [00:44:00] don't know if I officially had postpartum anxiety or not. But it was definitely more than normal.
Jack: Yeah, I don't, I don't know enough about it. Or anxiety in general, I feel like it's probably
not too black and white. But I don't remember anything being crazy out of the ordinary from my perspective being around you first few weeks after, but... yeah, I don't know.
Brittyn: The last question was, what am I doing for maternity leave? And last time I took off. Like three months.
And I ran my membership, but I still ran it kind of on the side, it wasn't my full thing that I do where it is now. And so I deferred to another practitioner who, funny enough, she's having a baby, like I think this week. So it's a good thing I'm not doing that exactly again, but this time I'm still gonna take the time, but I won't be stepping away from my membership.
I'll still be in my membership every day, [00:45:00] answering questions and just making sure everyone has the support that they need. And thankfully, I have an amazing team that also supports me too, but that's one thing that I'm not quitting this time.
A, cause I love it so much. And I love working, but also have so many members and want to make sure they have the right support. And then one cool thing this time too, is that Colorado passed the family act so that actually this time I can get some maternity leave. Like paid maternity leave and they didn't offer that last time.
So I had unpaid maternity leave last time and this time I don't. I get some paid leave, so that's nice. Yeah. So I'm excited that our state started offering that in January of this year. So that's the plan, but other than that, I think that's all. I think we're just at the end of the day, hoping for a healthy baby girl. Hoping for a shorter labor overall.
And [00:46:00] not pushing for five hours.
Jack: Yeah. That'll be nice.
Brittyn: We'll report back.
Hopefully in the next week or two.
Jack: Fingers crossed.
Brittyn: Fingers crossed. Thanks everyone for tuning in this episode and being a lot longer than I thought that it would be, but I ha if you have any other questions, touch base with me on Instagram and like I said, hopefully I'll come in here and have an exciting, positive, and maybe redemptive birth story next time, but I don't want to put that kind of pressure on her.
So we'll just go with the flow and just want a healthy baby girl out of it. So, that's all I have, anything else in the notes?
Jack: No. No. Thanks for having me.
Brittyn: Yeah, thanks Jack.
Thanks everyone for listening. And I will also be taking a little bit of a break from the podcast. Just to spend more time with baby girl when she gets here. [00:47:00] Spend more time with our family, our toddler, and really get used to the transition. So we'll definitely be having episodes coming in in 2025. But for now, definitely
listen back on some of the top podcasts that you can check out. We'll be sharing some of those on Instagram as well. If you want to check out some of those podcasts episodes and kind of going back in the queue. But for now, thanks for joining and looking forward to sharing the news of a healthy baby girl.
So, we'll talk to you soon. Thanks everyone.
[00:48:00]
Transcribed by Descript
About Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD
Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD, is a distinguished Registered Dietitian and Autism Nutrition Expert, known for her innovative, sensory-friendly feeding approach to nutrition for children on the autism spectrum. As the founder of the Nourishing Autism Collective, and as an autism sibling herself, Brittyn brings both professional expertise and personal understanding to her work. She empowers families with her expert guidance, helping children receive essential nutrients for optimal health and development. Her strategies are tailored to the unique dietary needs and sensory preferences of each child.
Brittyn's influence extends beyond her membership site through her active social media presence and her popular podcast, 'Nourishing Autism'. Her educational content on Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms has established her as a leading voice in autism nutrition, providing valuable resources, practical advice, and a supportive community for parents and professionals.
