Now that the little one is 2 1/2 months old, I'm finally starting to have some free time where I can do fun things like blog! I actually wrote down thoughts and events from our birth story right after it happened, so here are some of my thoughts.
A few days before BR (Baby R) was born, I slept fabulously...like the best sleep in a long time during the pregnancy. I also rested and took several naps in those days leading up to the delivery. It was as if my body knew what was coming and was starting to prepare. It probably also helped that I finished the teaching term and the work in our basement was completed as well, so I could relax finally. So I had 2 or 3 great days of sleep and then energy like none other the day after that. I really went to work organizing the laundry room. I went to bed that evening just feeling different. The Baby was moving differently, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it, she seemed more active. I told Scott I wasn't sure what would happen the next day....
and sure enough, I woke the next day (39 weeks exactly) with bad back pain. I thought maybe I had overdone it working in the laundry room the night before. I had had back pain the whole pregnancy, so this was nothing different, but the usual remedies that I had used, did not make it go away. Around 6:30 or 7:00am, I started asking Scott what time it was, and finally after the 3rd or 4th time, he figured out what I was doing. It seemed my back pain was coming in approximately 10 minute increments. I still didn't think I was really in labor, but I emailed our doula (labor coach) and gave her a heads up that things were different that day. She told me to go about my day as I had planned and to go for a walk.
Scott went in to work because he still had to prepare for Sunday (this was a Thursday) and I tried to get ready for the day as my back pain increasingly became more of a pain. I finally got so uncomfortable I called Scott to come home because I needed him with me. He arrived home around 9am and we tried to time what I now knew were my contractions (I was still only feeling it all in my back). They were coming closer than every 10 minutes, but they still were at unpredictable intervals. I made him call our doula again around 10am because it was no longer comfortable for me to walk and I could not relax enough to make the back pain go away.
The doula came over shortly after and tried to help ease my back pain through her comfort measures and relaxation techniques. She also made me eat a little bit (peanut butter toast with a banana) as I hadn't eaten anything that day. She said it was probably going to be a long day because at my last OB appointment 2 days prior, I'd only been dilated to 1.5 cm and 85% effaced. The doula guessed I was at a 2 1/2 or 3 at that point.
I increasingly felt myself beginning to focus more on myself and not talk to others through the contractions. I knew this was the next part of labor, but I remember thinking to myself, "Am I faking this to pretend I'm farther along in the labor process than I really am?" Funny what thoughts go through your head, huh? I was actually thinking I needed to go to the hospital 30 minutes prior to when I actually said something. I delayed speaking up because I didn't want them to think I was a wimp about pain, and surely labor was going to be hours and hours long, right?
It seemed liked the contractions started coming closer and closer together where I hardly had a break between them, yet they were still at pretty irregular intervals. It finally got to the point where I couldn't imagine sitting in the car for 10 minutes, so we agreed to head to the hospital. Originally, our plan was to let friends and family know we were on our way to the hospital, so they could be praying, but everything happened so quickly we didn't have time to do that at home, so the first info people got was after she was born!
Our doula had to run home and get her overnight bag, and Scott drove me to the hospital, in what quickly became the most uncomfortable car ride ever. At one point, I unbuckled my seat belt because I just couldn't get comfortable, and Scott thought for sure I was jumping out of the car. ha, ha. Uh no...that would only lengthen the amount of time it would take to get to the hospital, dear.
We parked and slowly walked into the hospital. I had to stop a few times to get through the contractions, and I remember thinking, this is how it is in the movies! It was 12:05pm when we got to the hospital and checked in. They took me back to a room and started the long, slow process of asking what seemed like a million questions. I just wanted the nurse to hurry up and check me as I was so extremely uncomfortable. She noted my stats from the OB appointment 2 days before, that this was my 1st baby, etc. We also made sure she had a copy of our birth plan at this point as well and was very receptive to following it.
Finally, she could tell I was quite uncomfortable and decided to check me. I was at a 7! I looked at Scott in shock. I couldn't believe it. The nurse quickly picked up the pace on things and stopped asking questions. I got a heparin lock put in and a bag of fluids for hydration and our doula arrived. I can still picture her eyes bulging out of her head when we told her I was at a 7. They put a fetal heart monitor on to check the baby and then let me move around, changing positions, doing whatever I could to get comfortable. It was about at this point that I asked for pain meds, and was told there wasn't enough time. The doula was great getting me through that time when I desperately wanted relief from all the pressure and pain I was feeling.
In 45 minutes (by 12:50) I had gone from a 7 to a 9 and my water still had not broken. I agreed to let them break my water, so that I could progress to a 10. By 1:20 they were ready to let me push because I kept saying I felt like I need to. Pushing was hard, but Scott and the doula were great in helping me use various position to get that baby out including a birth bar attached to my bed. The doctor was called to come back around 2:30 because the head was crowning and BR was born at 3:05pm...exactly 3 hours after we had arrived at the hospital!
They immediately placed her on me and Scott got to cut the umbilical cord. She looked so blue to us, but was screaming up a storm from the get-go, which told me she was perfectly healthy. When I was ready, they took her and cleaned her up before giving us skin to skin time together and our first attempt at nursing. Her apgar scores were 8 and 9...perfectly healthy. We were in the delivery room until 4:30pm before they wheeled me up to our mother and baby room where we would spend the next 2 days.
What a whirlwind first birth, huh? I'd already earned a reputation by the time we were taken up to our room...the 1st time mom who arrives at a 7. It was not the birth we had planned for or anticipated, but I'm so glad it went the way it did. I had expected labor to last for hours. I know the statistics for 1st time moms and how long the average labor lasts. We had a doula because I knew I would need her to help me get through the long hours of labor. We had a birth plan because I wanted to labor on my own for as long as I could make it, but ultimately I thought I would end up needing an epidural because I don't have a high pain tolerance. I just wanted to delay as long as possible before getting pain medications. I am glad I didn't have a choice to make!
Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought I could have a natural birth. That's only something strong women can do and that's not me. I was incredibly afraid of the labor process and pain associated with it...even right up until the last week before I had BR. But you know what? I am so glad I did have a natural birth. It is so amazing to me that my body just knew what to do. Sure we had taken classes and practiced breathing techniques and talked about birth preferences, but when it came right down to it, I just knew what I needed to do. Amazing!
And the best part about a natural, pain-free birth is how alert BR was. She was awake for 4 hours after birth! And I felt "great" and alert myself...like I was on the biggest adrenaline rush of my life. We had such great bonding time as a family from the beginning. I am so thankful things went as smoothly and as quickly as they did! And thanks to God for this amazing gift in the form of a precious little girl that we get to raise.
And here's our little bundle on the 2nd day of her life. She had lots of hair!
And long feet!
I'm working on updating more photos into an album on Facebook, so be sure to check there next week. And if you're not on Facebook yet, what are you waiting for?
A few days before BR (Baby R) was born, I slept fabulously...like the best sleep in a long time during the pregnancy. I also rested and took several naps in those days leading up to the delivery. It was as if my body knew what was coming and was starting to prepare. It probably also helped that I finished the teaching term and the work in our basement was completed as well, so I could relax finally. So I had 2 or 3 great days of sleep and then energy like none other the day after that. I really went to work organizing the laundry room. I went to bed that evening just feeling different. The Baby was moving differently, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it, she seemed more active. I told Scott I wasn't sure what would happen the next day....
and sure enough, I woke the next day (39 weeks exactly) with bad back pain. I thought maybe I had overdone it working in the laundry room the night before. I had had back pain the whole pregnancy, so this was nothing different, but the usual remedies that I had used, did not make it go away. Around 6:30 or 7:00am, I started asking Scott what time it was, and finally after the 3rd or 4th time, he figured out what I was doing. It seemed my back pain was coming in approximately 10 minute increments. I still didn't think I was really in labor, but I emailed our doula (labor coach) and gave her a heads up that things were different that day. She told me to go about my day as I had planned and to go for a walk.
Scott went in to work because he still had to prepare for Sunday (this was a Thursday) and I tried to get ready for the day as my back pain increasingly became more of a pain. I finally got so uncomfortable I called Scott to come home because I needed him with me. He arrived home around 9am and we tried to time what I now knew were my contractions (I was still only feeling it all in my back). They were coming closer than every 10 minutes, but they still were at unpredictable intervals. I made him call our doula again around 10am because it was no longer comfortable for me to walk and I could not relax enough to make the back pain go away.
The doula came over shortly after and tried to help ease my back pain through her comfort measures and relaxation techniques. She also made me eat a little bit (peanut butter toast with a banana) as I hadn't eaten anything that day. She said it was probably going to be a long day because at my last OB appointment 2 days prior, I'd only been dilated to 1.5 cm and 85% effaced. The doula guessed I was at a 2 1/2 or 3 at that point.
I increasingly felt myself beginning to focus more on myself and not talk to others through the contractions. I knew this was the next part of labor, but I remember thinking to myself, "Am I faking this to pretend I'm farther along in the labor process than I really am?" Funny what thoughts go through your head, huh? I was actually thinking I needed to go to the hospital 30 minutes prior to when I actually said something. I delayed speaking up because I didn't want them to think I was a wimp about pain, and surely labor was going to be hours and hours long, right?
It seemed liked the contractions started coming closer and closer together where I hardly had a break between them, yet they were still at pretty irregular intervals. It finally got to the point where I couldn't imagine sitting in the car for 10 minutes, so we agreed to head to the hospital. Originally, our plan was to let friends and family know we were on our way to the hospital, so they could be praying, but everything happened so quickly we didn't have time to do that at home, so the first info people got was after she was born!
Our doula had to run home and get her overnight bag, and Scott drove me to the hospital, in what quickly became the most uncomfortable car ride ever. At one point, I unbuckled my seat belt because I just couldn't get comfortable, and Scott thought for sure I was jumping out of the car. ha, ha. Uh no...that would only lengthen the amount of time it would take to get to the hospital, dear.
We parked and slowly walked into the hospital. I had to stop a few times to get through the contractions, and I remember thinking, this is how it is in the movies! It was 12:05pm when we got to the hospital and checked in. They took me back to a room and started the long, slow process of asking what seemed like a million questions. I just wanted the nurse to hurry up and check me as I was so extremely uncomfortable. She noted my stats from the OB appointment 2 days before, that this was my 1st baby, etc. We also made sure she had a copy of our birth plan at this point as well and was very receptive to following it.
Finally, she could tell I was quite uncomfortable and decided to check me. I was at a 7! I looked at Scott in shock. I couldn't believe it. The nurse quickly picked up the pace on things and stopped asking questions. I got a heparin lock put in and a bag of fluids for hydration and our doula arrived. I can still picture her eyes bulging out of her head when we told her I was at a 7. They put a fetal heart monitor on to check the baby and then let me move around, changing positions, doing whatever I could to get comfortable. It was about at this point that I asked for pain meds, and was told there wasn't enough time. The doula was great getting me through that time when I desperately wanted relief from all the pressure and pain I was feeling.
In 45 minutes (by 12:50) I had gone from a 7 to a 9 and my water still had not broken. I agreed to let them break my water, so that I could progress to a 10. By 1:20 they were ready to let me push because I kept saying I felt like I need to. Pushing was hard, but Scott and the doula were great in helping me use various position to get that baby out including a birth bar attached to my bed. The doctor was called to come back around 2:30 because the head was crowning and BR was born at 3:05pm...exactly 3 hours after we had arrived at the hospital!
They immediately placed her on me and Scott got to cut the umbilical cord. She looked so blue to us, but was screaming up a storm from the get-go, which told me she was perfectly healthy. When I was ready, they took her and cleaned her up before giving us skin to skin time together and our first attempt at nursing. Her apgar scores were 8 and 9...perfectly healthy. We were in the delivery room until 4:30pm before they wheeled me up to our mother and baby room where we would spend the next 2 days.
What a whirlwind first birth, huh? I'd already earned a reputation by the time we were taken up to our room...the 1st time mom who arrives at a 7. It was not the birth we had planned for or anticipated, but I'm so glad it went the way it did. I had expected labor to last for hours. I know the statistics for 1st time moms and how long the average labor lasts. We had a doula because I knew I would need her to help me get through the long hours of labor. We had a birth plan because I wanted to labor on my own for as long as I could make it, but ultimately I thought I would end up needing an epidural because I don't have a high pain tolerance. I just wanted to delay as long as possible before getting pain medications. I am glad I didn't have a choice to make!
Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought I could have a natural birth. That's only something strong women can do and that's not me. I was incredibly afraid of the labor process and pain associated with it...even right up until the last week before I had BR. But you know what? I am so glad I did have a natural birth. It is so amazing to me that my body just knew what to do. Sure we had taken classes and practiced breathing techniques and talked about birth preferences, but when it came right down to it, I just knew what I needed to do. Amazing!
And the best part about a natural, pain-free birth is how alert BR was. She was awake for 4 hours after birth! And I felt "great" and alert myself...like I was on the biggest adrenaline rush of my life. We had such great bonding time as a family from the beginning. I am so thankful things went as smoothly and as quickly as they did! And thanks to God for this amazing gift in the form of a precious little girl that we get to raise.
And here's our little bundle on the 2nd day of her life. She had lots of hair!
I'm working on updating more photos into an album on Facebook, so be sure to check there next week. And if you're not on Facebook yet, what are you waiting for?
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2 comments:
Thank you for sharing your story. It sounds like it was a positive experience even if it didn't go as you planned! :-)
I'm glad to hear you are sinking into a routine and starting to get your energy back!
Great story! I know natural childbirth isn't a choice everyone wants to make, nor does it always work out even when you do want it but when it does, it is just so amazing to see how a women's body doing just what God created it to do.
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