My Birth Stories

So I guess the most natural place to go have my long hi-etas from this blog is to the stories of my birth experiences. I know many of my readers are very close to labor. So maybe I should get this out there before.

My first son was due  April 1st, 2010. (yeah we had the potential for some April Fools jokes). I went to the doctor for my weekly check up on Wednesday, March 23. At my appointment I was told I was a centimeter dilated and to go to the labor and delivery unit on Friday to have my membranes stripped. So, by the time Friday came I was very excited thinking about the baby coming within the next day. But, labor and delivery told me that his head was not yet engaged so they could not strip my membranes and sent me home. So I was bummed. But I thought, well there are better odds of me going past my due date than being early, so I waited. On Sunday, March 27th I decided I was going to help baby move down. I spent the ENTIRE day bouncing on an exercise ball. I ate on the thing even. Only left it to go to the bathroom. I went to bed a little discouraged that I hadn't even had a Braxton-Hicks contraction! Little did I know...Right after 4 am on Monday, March 28th I had my first real contraction. At first I just thought I dreamed the extra pain and rolled over and fell back to sleep, but then I had another only 10 minutes after I had the first. I had them every 10 minutes for about an hour and decided I was going to get out of bed and take a relaxing bath. It was not relaxing. By the time I got the bath filled and got in, my contractions were coming every 7 minutes. My plan was to labor at home until my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. I also figured that since it was my first term delivery that I would be laboring for a good long while. Once again, I was proved wrong. I had been in the bath for 10 minutes before they started coming every 5 minutes. I figured it was a good time to wake my husband. It would give him a little time to get ready and have some coffee. I woke him and told him to take his time that contractions were coming every 5 minutes. Then they weren't! I had intense pressure that I thought was because I   had not yet peed. So I went to the bathroom and found lots of blood. Scared, I ran out and told my husband we had to go now! My contractions went from 5 minutes to 3 minutes within a 10 minute period. I knew the baby would be here soon. We got into the car and headed for the hospital that was the longest 20 minutes away. And of course we hit every single red light.

We got to the hospital just before 6 am and as my husband parked the car and got my paperwork from my OBGYN I walked up 3 flights of stairs to Labor & Delivery (not sure why I decided to take the stairs and not the elevator other than for some kind of internal pride I guess). My contractions were not coming every minute. Triage decided I was 8 cm and everyone was talking about how fast baby was going to come. I then was told I needed to decide if I was going to have an epidural.   Something inside told me to get it (and that something ended up being a saving grace later on) . I am not sure why, I was very set on having a natural birth. The nurses said that I needed to be given 2 bags of liquids before I could get the epidural. I didn't think I would make it that long before the baby got there. But finally the 2 bags of liquid were empty and the epidural was put into place. The pain was gone.

And now it was the waiting game. I was already 8 cm by the time I reached the hospital. So I knew there wasn't that much more time. Soon I was 9cm. Then I heard a rubber bad snap...boy was I wrong, it was my water. The anesthesiologist came in to check that I was no longer in pain and I informed him that my water had just broke (my husband even heard it from across the room!). A nurse came in quickly and checked. Sure enough it had broke and it was time to push. Suddenly there was a doctor and 3 other nurses in the room and the bed was transformed and my feet were up in the stir-ups. It was time to push! So I did, and I did, and I did (and I told my husband not to look down there, I didn't want him to see that!) One of the nurses left the room and quickly came back with another doctor. Weird right? Well, this doctor informs me that the baby's head was visible but that  he had not moved further down my birth canal in a while and his heart beat was quickening. She said they were going o try the vacuum  to get him out. They tried 4 times and nothing happened. They then decided baby needed to come out right away and that my only option was a c-section. My worst fear were coming true. I was terrified. I could not fathom being cut open while I was still conscious! I was even more scared that my baby was in distress.  I was quickly prepped for surgery. This is when I realized what a saving grace my epidural had been. Had I not had it, I would have had to get a spinal when the baby was in the birth canal. But, since I had it they just changed the medication that was in it as they were wheeling me into the surgery room. This happened so quickly and I barely remember anything. I remember being so cold and they put a tube that blew warm air down my gown to help keep my shivering body warm. I remember hearing the nurses do the APGAR test, and then them showing him to me briefly for the first time. I remember hearing the doctor asking for a tool count then the worst 2 words to hear..."staple gun."

                                                     notice my gown all puffed up with the air!

I was finally wheeled back into the recovery room where my husband was waiting and holding our son. I was finally going to be able to hold him! He was finally handed to me and I nursed him. Soon we were taken to our room and spent the rest of the day nursing and bonding. I was in the hospital for 2 days. During which time I had a nurse helping me go to the bathroom and putting huge pads in my hospital mesh under ware (talk about humiliating!). When it was time to go home I was so excited! We got baby all strapped in his car seat and I was helped into the car. Then the fear sunk in...oh my gosh, they       were sending us home with this beautiful little baby. I don't know how to be a mom! Where is the instruction book? What do I do when....? And of course my husband driving a little under the speed limit was still too fast for this precious cargo we had inside. We made it home, after a pit-stop to get breakfast...I was starving after only eating crappy hospital food. The dogs were so excited to see us and I had to keep them from excitedly jumping up onto my fresh wound. They each sniffed baby, gave him a little lick and that was it. They displayed no jealousy and we were lucky.  Then we settled in and adjusted to being a new family. We made it through our first night at home and our first bath and then our first doctor's visit and our first week.