Ep 148: Taylor’s Birth Stories – Easy Births Do Happen

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This birth story is a little different because we’re going to talk a little bit about all 3 of Taylor’s births. Her stories are really a metaphor for life; you have some good moments and some not as good moments and we all have to work at managing that. As a matter of fact her mother told her she should not share her stories because everyone would hate her. But I wanted to share her story because I want you to know that easy births absolutely can and do happen.

However, just because her births were easy does not mean that her whole experience was ideal. Taylor had been diagnosed with a severe case of PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and was told that it would be nearly impossible for her to get pregnant. Of course, this did not turn out to be the case. Each of her three pregnancies came with its own set of difficulties: gallbladder removal with her first, an early baby for her second, and during her third she had a pap test come back with severely abnormal precancerous cells. Through all the ups and the downs she keeps it real and keeps me laughing.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

  • Why we should be telling patients that getting pregnant may be “challenging” as opposed to “nearly impossible”
  • How it made Taylor feel to be told she likely couldn’t get pregnant
  • How she handled recovering from both birth and a gallbladder removal at the same time
  • Why medical staff should have listened to Taylor when she said she knew her own body
  • Why she decided to commute a whole state away for her oncological care
  • What a “LEEP” procedure is and why Taylor needed to undergo it
  • Why she chose to have a student deliver her third baby

Links Mentioned in the Episode

Keywords

birth story, gallbladder, gallbladder removal, gallstones, PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome, precancerous cells

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Keywords

birth story, gallbladder, gallbladder removal, gallstones, PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome, precancerous cells

Categories

Podcast

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Ep 148: Taylor’s Birth Stories – Easy Births Do Happen

Nicole: Hey, Hey. Hey, it is a birth story episode. Welcome to the All About Pregnancy & Birth podcast. I'm Dr. Nicole Calloway Rankins, a board certified OB GYN who's been in practice for nearly 15 years. I've had the privilege of helping over 1000 babies into this world. And I'm here to help you be calm, confident, and empowered to have a beautiful pregnancy and birth. Quick note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Check out the full disclaimer at drnicolerankins.com/disclaimer. Now let's get to it.

Nicole: Well, hello there. Welcome to another episode of the podcast. This is episode number 148. Thank you for being here with me today. In this episode, we have a little bit of a different birth story episode with Taylor. Taylor is a para educator, mom and business owner from Kansas City, Missouri. She enjoys helping special needs students in school and ending the day by snuggling up for a movie with her own three girls and her husband too. In her free time, she enjoys crafting, which she actually has turned into a business, spending time with her girls and getting outdoors with, with her husband. This birth story is a little different because we're going to talk a bit about all three of Taylor's birth. Now, even before we talk about the births, actually, the first thing we touch upon is how in her late teens, Taylor was told that she had a severe case of P C O S and that it would be nearly impossible for her to get pregnant.

Nicole: This is someone who she herself will describe how she didn't have toy, you know, imaginary friends, she had imaginary kids. So this was a lot for her to deal with. That thankfully turned out not to be the case. And she went on to have three girls. And we're gonna talk about all of those pregnancies and births. In her first pregnancy, she had gallstones and had to manage stone attacks. And then after she got discharged from the hospital was back in the hospital, just a few hours later, having her gallbladder removed. Her second pregnancy was pretty straightforward. That baby was a couple weeks early. And the only thing that happened then is that the nurse didn't listen to her when she says she better call the doctor, cuz it doesn't take her long to push. And in her third, she actually discovered that she had an abnormal pap test that had severely abnormal precancerous cells that were just the step before cervical cancer.

Nicole: And then also she let a student deliver her baby girl for her third and final delivery. Now, even with all that, Taylor actually had pretty easy births. All of her labors were under six hours and she pushed for less than 30 minutes, including one nine pound baby. As a matter of fact, her mother told her that she should not share her stories because everyone would hate her. And that's not true. We're not gonna hate her. I wanted her to share her story because I want you to know that easy births absolutely can and do happen. And then also talk about some of the other things that can pop up during pregnancy and birth too. Her stories are really a metaphor for life. In my opinion, you have some good moments. You have some not good moments and we all have to work at managing that.

Nicole: Now, before we get to the episode, lemme tell you a quick story in my birth plan class, Make A Birth Plan The Right Way. One of the questions that I tell people to ask, and in that class, you learn a bunch of questions so you know that the doctors and nurses actually support what's in your birth plan. That's way more than just like Googling a form. One of the questions I tell folks to ask is what is your cesarean rate? And one of the students came back and told me that her doctor told her that he has a cesarean section rate of 70 to 80%, meaning 70 to 80% of his patients have a cesarean. That number really should be under 25% and she never would have known this and would not have had the opportunity to change to a different doctor. If she hadn't taken the class, hadn't got the questions to ask. So now I want you to go take the class too again. It's how to Make A Birth Plan The right way. It's drnicolerankins.com/register. You get several other questions to ask tips for how to get your doctors and nurses to pay attention to your birth plan as well as what to include. So again, this drnicolerankins.com/register, go take the class now. So you are not messing with somebody who has a 70 to 80% C-section rate. All right, let's get into the birth story episode with Taylor.

Nicole: Thank you so much, Taylor, for agreeing to come on to the podcast. Y'all me and Taylor went back and forth and back and forth about getting this scheduled. You have no idea. So I'm so glad that we were finally able to get it together.

Taylor: Yeah, I'm excited. It was, it was definitely a ringer, but we made it work.

Nicole: Yes, yes we did. All right. So why don't you start off by telling us a bit about yourself and family?

Taylor: Well, let's see, I live in Missouri, I've got three beautiful little girls, a fantastic husband. Um, we've kind of been through it all. I work at the school here in town and pretty simple small town girl here. There's not, not much exciting to go off of.

Nicole: Well, not wrong with that, nothing wrong with that. And I always appreciate a family of three girls. I'm from a family of three girls.

Taylor: That's all the power to everybody that only has one gender of children. I'm we're donezo with, with all of that.

Nicole: I hear you. Yeah. I have a girlfriend. One of my close girlfriends has three boys. So, uh, I, I know that exactly what you mean. All right. So we're actually gonna get into a little bit about all three of your births because there are highlights from each of them that I wanted to talk about. But first I wanna start with about the fact that you were told that because you have P C O S and for those who don't know, it's polycystic ovarian syndrome, that because of your P C O S it would be nearly impossible for you to get pregnant, how, and obviously you did get pregnant and we'll get into that. But at the time, how did that make you feel?

Taylor: So, uh, when I was initially told that it was during my previous marriage and he and I were trying to start our family, um, and we just, I mean, we were, I was young and I had always been under the assumption that it would be, you know, oh, you get married, you have babies. Like, this simple process. And you just like, wha bam, like you get it. And it's done. I never really thought about not having the option or it not being a possibility. And from a young age, my mother would always joke. And she would be a, like, you always ran around and you didn't have imaginary friends, you had imaginary kids and you had a hundred of them. They didn't have names. They were numbered like, here's kid 1, 2, 3. And so it was just, it was something that I had always dreamed of. So when I was told that I was on the higher end of the P C O S spectrum, and it would be nearly impossible for me to have kids. Like, I remember just calling my husband at the time and just breaking down. I was like, I don't know what to do. Like where do we go from here? I was heartbroken. Sure. And then, um, shortly after that, it was later on that year, we needed to go our separate ways from some of some wrongdoings. Yeah,

Nicole: It happens. Yeah. Yeah.

Taylor: And then, so I was, I found out a month after I left him. I was pregnant with my first

Nicole: Doesn't that just feel like, why, like yeah, yeah,

Taylor: Yeah. It was just, it, it was kind of, it was a tricky situation and I am very happy to say that he is not in the picture at all in that aspect. And I'm very fortunate that my husband takes over as her daddy in her eyes, and that's all that matters to us. Sure. And so I'm, I, it worked, everything worked out for the best, I think. Yeah,

Nicole: Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And then, so then did you have any trouble getting pregnant with the other two?

Taylor: Uh, no. So um, Maci our second baby she, I was terrified to have sex after Tucker. Like I did not want to get pregnant again.

Nicole: So you were like, I'm a, just like, please don't cuz well happened and it wasn't supposed to

Taylor: Yeah, yeah. Yes, absolutely. I was like, Uhuh, I don't wanna, I don't wanna deal with this right now, but here comes Maci and our girls are 14 months apart. So but yeah, it was no, no problem there.

Nicole: Clearly like I really, and the reason I bought this question up is because I really wish, and I want everybody to hear that obstetricians or, and gynecologists, we need to stop telling people this. I mean, we can tell people that it can be challenging. It may be difficult, but it can still happen. So don't think that the chances are zero cuz none of us ever know for sure.

Taylor: Yes. I absolutely absolutely agree with that.

Nicole: Yes. Yes. A hundred percent. Hundred percent. All right. So let's talk a little bit about your first pregnancy. So with your first pregnancy, you had problems with gallstones. What was that like for you ?

Taylor: At first, I was really, I mean, it was my first pregnancy and she was my first baby, so I didn't, I didn't know anything. I didn't know what to expect. And I remember I was over at a friend's house. Um, I was staying with a couple of girlfriends of mine and I was hunched over on the kitchen floor and they were all like, oh my gosh, what is wrong with you? Like do we need to go to the hospital, what is going on? I was like, I don't know, but I cannot breathe. Like I feel like I'm having a heart attack. And so I was just in the fetal position on the kitchen floor and then it finally like subsided and I went about my day. And then a couple months later I was, um, with my mother and my family and I had the same thing happen after dinner one night.

Taylor: And so I went upstairs and I, um, got in bed with my mom and I was just laying there crying. And she was like, what's wrong with you? And I'm like, I don't know. Like I am in so much pain. I cannot breathe. Like I don't know what's going on. I don't know. I don't know. And she had my dad take me to the hospital and they, you know, they admitted me and they did all the ultrasounds and the x-rays or MRIs or whatever it is that they were doing. And they were like, oh yeah, you've got gallstones. We'll have to do gallbladder surgery after you deliver. And like, everything will be fine. We'll wait until you're at your like postpartum checkup to try to do it.

Nicole: And how far along were you at that point when they told you that you would eventually need to get it? Do you remember?

Taylor: I was in my early thirties weeks.

Nicole: Okay.

Taylor: Okay. I think I was just about to my weekly appointments.

Nicole: Okay. Okay. Okay. So you didn't have too too much long?

Taylor: No left. Okay. And I think that was probably the hardest part was because how are you gonna tell a big old, pregnant woman that she can't eat the food that she wants to eat. Like I'm living on taco bell and you're saying not anymore. But then I, I had a couple more attacks, um, right after I gave birth to Tucker my oldest and she, um, I had to miss a couple of feedings with her because I was really, I was so desperate to try and breastfeed cuz I wanted that, that connection and that right. You know, just that I guess power you could say. Right. But she, I mean she was a nine pound baby, so okay. She was starving from the like straight out the get go. And then as soon as I was discharged, I got home ate, took a shower. As soon as I got out of the shower, I had another attack and my dad had to take me back to the hospital and they took it out that very next day it was, it was intense.

Nicole: Oh, so there was no, there was no way waiting for this six week postpartum recovery business.

Taylor: No, not at all.

Nicole: Left the hospital. And then came back. You said fi just a few hours later.

Taylor: Yeah, I was back that night.

Nicole: Wow. How, how did that go for you?

Taylor: I mean, it was okay. I think the hardest part was just knowing that my baby was not with me and she was with my mom. I couldn't have her there with me. Um, so I mean it sucked having to have my mom bring her up there to see me, which she was more than happy to do it. Just, you know, you're supposed to go home. You're supposed to be with your baby. Sure. Start your life. And I got put on hold for two days because my body couldn't get itself in check, I guess.

Nicole: Oh, so it, so you were recovering from having a nine pound baby. And did you have stitches or anything or any tears or?

Taylor: She did. I had two stitches with her.

Nicole: Okay. Okay. So not, well, thankfully not a ton. So, um, so you're recovering from having a baby and recovering from gallbladder surgery at the same time, correct?

Taylor: Yep.

Nicole: Well, how is, I mean, what was that like for you?

Taylor: I honestly don't think I have any complaints about recovering from any of my births, just because I, my mom always tells me she's like, you should not share your birth story because these women are gonna hate you when they hear about easy you had it. I'm like, well, what am I gonna do? I just I'll just push all of my birth Juju out on everybody else. Yeah. We love it. Like I would love for everybody to have the births that I do. I, I have zero complaints, honestly.

Nicole: Okay. Well that's good. That is good to know. I think it's important for people to know the possibilities. Like it's entirely possible for you to have normal, easy labors and births.

Taylor: Yes. And that's no, I feel like you never hear about that. You only hear about the scary, like my epidural didn't work. I felt everything. I was in labor for my best friend. She was in labor for like four days before they finally gave her a C-section like it was it's insane. You never hear about the like yeah, it was good. It was easy. They came right out. Perfect.

Nicole: Okay. Okay. All right. And then, and will I, I guess I should back up and say, was that was the labor itself easy for you too?

Taylor: Oh yeah. I have, like I said, I have zero complaints. I kind of just, the nurses I had with my oldest were they were fantastic. Like they were like talking me through the whole thing. They were saying, okay, well you should start to feel something like this. And then I would feel it. And they're like, okay, now we're at this point and we're gonna get to this point. So if you feel like you're needing to do this, or if you feel uncomfortable in this way, let us know. And I mean, I can't, I can't even remember her name, but she was probably one of the most godsent people that I have could have ever had with my delivery room with me.

Nicole: Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. And did you have ever epidurals or no? Oh yes. You like those. You said? Yes. Uh, definitely. Gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha. All right. All right. So despite having the gallbladder attacks and gallbladder surgery afterwards, things were otherwise pretty much pretty smooth.

Taylor: Yep. Everything was easy peasy.

Nicole: Love it. Love it. So then for your second pregnancy again, you said everything went smoothly and then things at the time of the birth were a little bit tricky. What happened then?

Taylor: So I was, I mean, I knew it was going into labor, like we were two weeks or, which was fine just because I, I anticipated what I was doing. Like I went on a walk, husband and I did the fun things. Like we were, we were ready for Maci to get here. And I go in there and they're like, yeah, like you're at, I think they said three or four centimeters dilated. Uh, um, we'll get Dr. Eggerss in here and she'll take a look at you. And so she came in and she was like, oh yeah, you're perfect. I'm just gonna, um, break your water for you. And we'll just get, we'll just get it taken care of. And I was like, fantastic. And so then we had a shift change, so I wasn't seeing Dr Eggerss anymore. And it was a different doctor, so, and I hadn't seen him before in the clinic.

Taylor: Um, and so the nurses, they gave me like the, okay, well tell me if you feel like you have to poop so we can know if you like it's time to push. And I was like, all right, fantastic. So I told them when it happened and she, the nurse was like, okay, well, I'm gonna have you start, you know, pushing and doing your practice pushes. And I was like, um, you don't want me to do that. And she was like, no, no, no, no, it'll be fine. Like, we'll get everything ready. You do your practice pushes. And then we'll get Dr. Heckler in here. And I was like, I promise you, like, you really don't want me to start pushing yet. Right. This baby's gonna fly out. Right. And they were like, no, I promise it's okay, we're right here. And I was like, all right, whatever. So I started doing my pushing and doctor finally comes in and I was doing like, I was not givin' my full throttle push. Like I knew I knew better. And so when he, Dr. Tager came in, he, um, was like, all right, we're here to have a baby. And then he looks, and he goes, whoa, whoa, whoa, stop, stop pushing. And I was like, yeah. I told him they didn't listen to me, he's like, OK, gloves, gloves, and he's, like one more push and she's, and I was like, right. Let's go. Right.

Nicole: Right, right. Right. And it's like, I, I, I told y'all that I know how to push baby out.

Taylor: That's, I'm telling you, like, I, I know how it works.

Nicole: Right, right, right. So he barely made it with getting the, the gloves. And did he even get dressed or get, or just, I,

Taylor: I don't remember that much. I just said that he was screaming for gloves and then there she was.

Nicole: She was. And how much did she weigh?

Taylor: She was two weeks early. She was six. Nine.

Nicole: Okay. Okay. Okay. So, and definitely so a lot smaller. So, um, probably did you push less with her than you did with the first one?

Taylor: Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Nicole: Yeah. Yeah.

Taylor: I don't think I tore at all with her. Okay. Cause she was so tiny. Okay. Yeah.

Nicole: Yeah. So, and so again, quick, fairly quick labor birth. What about the postpartum recovery?

Taylor: Yeah, everything was easy. Um, I don't think we had, the only trouble that we had with Maci was she was, um, very jaundice. And so she had to be put on like that glowworm light thing. Um, but they sent the, the, her pediatrician sent that home with us. So we didn't have, she didn't have to spend any time in the NICU. Um, everything was smooth sailing. She was the only one that had some after birth, like troubles, but gotcha. That was it.

Nicole: Gotcha. Oh, and I forgot to ask, did you, with the first one, did you end up resuming breastfeeding? Like, were you able to get that back going once you got outta the hospital?

Taylor: No, I wasn't. She was eating so much from the time that she came out, that I just could not keep up and she was so fussy and so miserable. And I just, I gave in the towel. Like we were still in the hospital and I gave in the towel, it, my heart, but I was like, I just, I need this baby fed cuz I cannot gotcha. Can't stand, hear her screaming and crying.

Nicole: Gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha. And then did you try to breastfeed with the second

Taylor: We did. I did with Maci and we made it, let me think. I think she was about four months.

Nicole: Nice, nice, nice, nice. So different experience the second time around then with breastfeeding, for sure. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Now during your third pregnancy, you were diagnosed with an abnormal pap test and you had to see an oncologist, is that correct? Yes, I did. Yeah. And an oncologist, a GYN oncologist, just I presume and an oncologist, um, for those listening is a cancer doctor. So tell us about that experience.

Taylor: That was definitely, probably one of the scariest moments that I think I've ever experienced. All I remember is getting a phone call saying like your pap abnormal, we need you to come in so we can do a biopsy. And that resulted in them saying that I had C I N 3 which, from what I can remember from the research that I did, it was basically like I had HPV that wasn't diagnosed and nothing was done. So it just progressed and progressed and progressed. And I was at like the final stage before it would've turned into cervical cancer. Yeah. Yeah. And so I was on overdrive with that on top of being overly hormonal from just being pregnant in general. And um, one of the main things that stuck out was I remember my doctor, she was probably, she was my favorite out of the three that I had. She told me that she was like, I don't know how this didn't get caught with your other two pregnancies. Like this has been here for years. And I was like, well, that makes me feel great. Thanks.

Nicole: Oh my God. Did you had, you had PS before and it just didn't show up or?

Taylor: No, it did. They, I had had abnormal paps with both Tucker and Macy when, when I went for like my initial visit and they were like, no abnormal paps are, are common with the beginning of pregnancy. We'll just check you after. And nothing ever happened at my postpartum appointments. Oh. So I was like, yeah, everything. I just assumed everything was good.

Nicole: Oh oh, okay. How did that did not make you I'm like blah, blah, blah. I can't even get it out. I

Taylor: Know it's yep.

Nicole: How did that make you and obviously your doctor kept it real. She was like, this should have been caught beforehand.

Taylor: I mean, it was, it was awful. I felt, it honestly felt like you're like you were just part of their day, like you were just being pushed through a door, like, right. They didn't really care. This is your you're their paycheck and they wanna get you in, get you out so they can go home. Which, I mean, I get it, there are days like that, but I feel like there's no way that two different doctors had the same coincidental day on my situation. You know what I mean? Like, it was just, it was very apparent that they, they didn't really care about their patients like that my OB did at the time.

Nicole: Mm. So was it, was it a different practice with your other pregnancies? Yes. Okay. Do you feel like it was because do you feel like they treated you differently because you were young or because,

Taylor: Oh, absolutely. I was only 20. When I got pregnant with Tucker, I was fresh outta high school. I was newly, you know, married and divorced. And so I I'm sure that had a lot to play in it.

Nicole: Oh my God. So then you ended up having to go see, so, okay. So you got diagnosed with the abnormal pap smear and I'm, I'm guessing in the early part of pregnancy with the CI N3 and then immediately you got sent to the oncologist. Is that or fairly shortly thereafter?

Taylor: Yeah, I think there was about a month of me trying to get in with an appointment just because the, the oncology department was so far booked out. Okay. And I could only see like one of two different providers, so I had to wait for one of their schedules to open up. Okay.

Nicole: Okay. And then when you saw them, what was that conversation and discussion like?

Taylor: So I actually ended up seeing both of the options that Dr. Heisman had recommended to me. Um, the first lady that I went to, she was absolutely horrible. I wouldn't recommend, I, I called my OB office crying and I was like, I need the number to the other lady. Like I cannot see this woman again, because she was just so awful. Oh,

Nicole: What was so bad about it? If you don't mind me asking.

Taylor: So I had my husband and my mom with me because well, a, I wanted my husband with me and B my mom, just, you know, how moms are, they ask, like certain questions that you can't think of in that moment. Yeah. And so I was trying to ask, just, I felt like basic questions and I was one of 'em was, okay, well, does my husband have anything to worry about? Like, if I am dealing with this now, like, are there symptoms, or anything that he needs to be concerned or on the lookout for. And she laughed and told me that I could Google it and just kinda went about trying to get me out of the office. Like I was the least of her worries,

Nicole: Are you serious? She, she told you, you could google it.

Taylor: Uhhuh. And the assistant that was in there with her laughed as well. And so I was just like, at that point, like I was fuming and we left and my husband was like, I'm literally sweating with how irritated that woman made me. And I was like, Uhhuh, we are not going back there ever again.

Nicole: Oh my God. That is terrible.

Taylor: Yeah. She, she was, she was horrible.

Nicole: Wow. So, and were they in the same practice?

Taylor: No, they were from different hospitals. Oh,

Nicole: Got it. Got it. Got it. Okay. Okay. So it wasn't like once you left her, it wasn't like, there was a possibility you could see her again. You could, oh, no, no, no, no,

Taylor: No. Oh, good, good. I drove across state line to see this second lady. Like I was not risking that one.

Nicole: Oh my, how far did you have to drive?

Taylor: Um, it was probably about an hour and a half.

Nicole: Wow. That is that, that, that's just really upsetting, you know? I mean, I'm really glad that you did the right thing. You know, you kept going until you found someone who, who worked for you, but obviously it shouldn't it be that way. So then how were things when you saw the second one?

Taylor: It was like night and day different. She was amazing. She was super sweet. She answered all of our questions. I had my oldest with me that day as well. Okay. So it was my mom, my oldest, and then my husband. She was, you know, she was playing with my daughter. Like she was more of an accommodating, the nurses were all super sweet. Um, she genuinely made it feel like no question was a stupid question. And she, I felt like I could tell that she actually cared about my concerns and could tell that I was genuinely concerned and that I wasn't just trying to make a big deal out of something that was a small deal to her because it was a big deal to me. You know what I,

Nicole: Right. Absolutely. Absolutely. So then what was the plan that was determined for how you needed to be monitored during your pregnancy and then what happened afterwards?

Taylor: So basically we figured out that, um, it wasn't growing at a rapid pace and it wasn't spreading. So we could, we wouldn't have to do anything during the pregnancy. We could wait until after I delivered. So we waited until I think it was my eight week checkup and we did another biopsy, made sure that everything was still decent and the same as what it was prior. And then we scheduled, um, a leap procedure to kind of like, just get rid of all of the, the yucky spots that were causing everything to be so messed up. Yeah.

Nicole: Yeah. I mean, basically a leap is like, it takes out a, for lack of a better way to say it. It removes a good size portion of your cervix.

Taylor: Yes. Um, and basically with that, they waited until my eight week postpartum appointment, they went in and did another biopsy just to make sure that nothing had spread more and that there were more areas that they needed to take. And, um, everything came back, I say, good on that aspect. So we just scheduled, um, scheduled the appointment for my surgery. We decided too that we were absolutely done having babies just because Hadley was probably the most difficult child, I think that anyone could ever have. So I was like on my consult call, I was like, can we please,

Nicole: Can we, we just need to wrap this all up. Yes. One, one stop shopping. Let's go ahead and

Taylor: Get this done. Yes. She was like, absolutely. That's no problem. I'm already in there. Let's just knock it out. Fantastic.

Nicole: And what was so difficult about your third? If you don't mind me asking.

Taylor: Oh my gosh. She is her dad's child. I dunno. She's blessing. She's a whiner. She was never happy with anything. Always just I she wasn't nothing like the others,

Nicole: Oh, and of course you still love her all the same, but it was enough for you all to be like, we're good. We're

Taylor: Done. Oh yeah. Everyone's like, don't you want a boy? And I'm like, Nope, we got a boy dog and a boy cat. We're good to go.

Nicole: There you go. There you go. Oh, and did you have any, but her birth itself wasn't, you know, once you found out you could get the follow up after afterwards, the rest of your pregnancy was pretty uneventful and your labor and birth were uneventful

Taylor: Yep. Everything was smooth sailing. Just like the other two. Um, no problems.

Nicole: Okay. Nice. Nice. Now I know with the third one, you allowed a student to participate in your birth, is that right?

Taylor: Yes, it did. Yes.

Nicole: And what led you to agree to that?

Taylor: He, the student was, um, a gentleman and he was always there at the appointments. So anytime Dr. Heisman would come in, they would always, you know, give the, I got a student with me today. Is that okay? And I, right. I don't care. You know what mean everybody has already been down there in my business. Why not. Don't make no difference to me. My husband didn't care. Oh my God, this baby. Right, right, right. I was like, yeah, that's cool. And she was like, so I think we're gonna, based off of this is what the doctor said. She said, I think based off of what you have told me about your other two births, I think you're the perfect candidate. It'll be like a nice, easy introduction for him into like the birthing world. And I was like, oh yeah, that's cool. I don't care.

Taylor: Right. Right. Right. And so he was, they let me schedule my induction for 39 weeks. So I was a week early with Hadley. Okay. And, um, I remember we specifically scheduled it so that he would be there cuz he was like, I'm so excited to be able to do this. And he told me the day of, he was like, I didn't wanna tell you this before, but I feel like we're on this level now. Like you're gonna be my first. And I was like, oh, I got you. Like, we're good. You're gonna soar. Right. I mean, it was as simple as the others, I went in for my induction. Once labor legitimately started, it was the same, like four to five hours pushing for 10, 20 minutes. And that was it.

Nicole: So you just made his whole day?

Taylor: Well, I remember, yeah. I remember my husband came back from, he was, I think getting a snack or something and he comes back in, he goes, I just ran into your nurse doctor outside. Or your student doctor. I said, oh yeah. And he goes, yeah. He looked at me and he was like, your wife wasn't kidding. Those babies fly out. I was like, I told him.

Nicole: Oh goodness, love it. Love it, love it. Oh, now, um, look back on anything. Is there anything that you wish you would've done differently about any of your births?

Taylor: I think the only thing that I genuinely wish I would've done differently was I wish I would've had the same doctor for the first two as I did for the third. Gotcha.

Nicole: Cuz it was a big difference. It sounds like.

Taylor: It really was like, I didn't have any issues with my first two doctors. I, you know, I don't have anything negative to say. I just don't. I don't feel like I received the care that Dr. Heisman gave me basically. But I mean, it wasn't anything like substantial.

Nicole: Gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha. And then, um, just to wrap up, what is the one thing or one piece of advice that you would tell other women as they get ready for their births?

Taylor: I feel like this is the most wonderful piece of advice that anybody can ever give anything. But it's also the one thing that nobody actually follows through with. Just don't overthink it. Don't think anything or that you're doing something wrong or what if this happens or what if this could happen, you're just gonna stress yourself out. Just let it happen. Let it be. You'll figure out as you go. And a lot of people say you can't do that with babies and with childbirth, but yeah, you can. You absolutely can just work your way through it. Talk to the people who know what they're doing, and then just take advice along the way and choose what's best for you. Don't let anybody tell you. You can or cannot do something.

Nicole: Yeah. Yeah. That's excellent. Life advice actually. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Well, thank you so much, Taylor, for agreeing to come into the podcast, like I said, you are funny and I have enjoyed this conversation. I clearly you, I know you keep it real all the time.

Taylor: Well, I, there's no point to go through life and you know, just wiggle your way around everything. I hear you. Be real and get it going and get out the way if they don't like it. They'll they'll move.

Nicole: There you go. There you go. All right. Thank you so much.

Taylor: You're welcome. Thank you.

Nicole: All right. Wasn't that a great episode. Taylor is funny and I really enjoyed chatting with her. Um, she had me laughing during the conversation in the background. All right now, you know, after every episode, when I have a guest on, I do something called Nicole's Notes and I have a bunch of Nicole's Notes from my conversation with Taylor. Number one, I wanted to tell you that I do have a podcast episode about gallbladder disease in pregnancy that's episode 128 with, uh, a friend of mine, who I went to college with Dr. George Crawford, and we talk all things, gallbladder and pregnancy. And that episode, that's drnicolerankins.com/episode128. If you want to hear that. So that's episode the word and then 128. And we'll link that in the show notes. Number two, remember that fed is best. Taylor mentioned how she had difficulty breastfeeding her first, but remember fed is best.

Nicole: And then also know that if it doesn't work out the first time you can try again, she was able to successfully breastfeed her other children. So even if breastfeeding doesn't work out the first time, definitely give it a try again, but always fed is best. Okay. Next point or next Nicole's Note is that students can really be enjoyable. Sometimes they're so eager and excited to be a part of the birth experience. So consider, you know, when you have the opportunity to have students available or in a birth that you can, you can decide how much they involved or not involved. You don't necessarily have to have the student do the delivery, but even being in the room for them can be really, really enjoyable and meaningful. And we all, at some point were students when we had to learn, I do have a downloadable guide on my, uh, website at drnicolerankins.com/resources, where there's a list of questions you can add, ask, and you can get an idea for how involved students and resident physicians are in, in a birth if you want to, but think about considering allowing students to be involved because it's really meaningful and it helps the next generation of medical professionals to learn.

Nicole: Okay. And then the last thing I will say, actually, oh, I take that back two more points. Number one is that was absolutely atrocious that she had two abnormal pap smears during her pregnancy and those results weren't followed up. And I obviously am not blaming Taylor in any way, shape or form, but keep an eye on your own lab results and things because you can't always necessarily rely on your doctor to do it for you. So make sure you keep an eye on those things, blood work, make sure you actually see the results. Don't go by the no news is good news policy. Make sure you see the things and, and, and look at them yourself. These days with electronic health records and some recent laws that were passed, you have access to really all of your lab results as soon as the results come back.

Nicole: So sign up for those patient portals, look at your lab results yourself, and then ask about follow up for anything that's abnormal. Okay. And then the final Nicole's Note is lots of people have easy births. It is totally possible that you could have an easy birth. So know that that may be possible for you. It may not be, but it definitely may be possible. And one of the things that helps make birth easier is being prepared with great child birth education. That of course is what happens inside the Birth Preparation Course, my online child birth education class, that gets you calm, confident, and empowered to have the most beautiful birth, check out all the details of the Birth Preparation Course at drnicolerankins.com/enroll. All right, so there you have it. Do me a favor. Number one, share this episode with a friend or share the podcast with a friend.

Nicole: If you like it. And number two, subscribe to the podcast where are you listening to me right now. And if you are so inclined, leave an honest review, in Apple Podcast in particular. I love to see what folks have to say about the show and it helps the show to grow. And one more thing, uh, come follow me over on Instagram. If you like social media, that's where I hang out in the social media streets you can find me there @drnicolerankins. We can continue the conversation after the show over there. All right. So that's it for this episode to come on back next week and remember you deserve a beautiful pregnancy and birth.

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