sigh
Cautiously preg with 2nd
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Here is my birth story. Please excuse typos and grammar, as I am quickly typing this one handed as I feed the baby 
After weeks of on and off pains, Thursday evening (12/6) I had some cramping and lower back pain that was so bad it brought me to tears. DH was massaging my back and it helped a little. I thought maybe this was it but then it totally stopped after an hour so I thought it was another false alarm. I was still lightly crampy but nothing unusual. Around 2 am (12/7) my cramps woke me up... nothing terrible, just felt like a period cramp that would come and go. At 3 am I went to the bathroom and had another bloody show (had one the week before) so I thought maybe I should time them. They felt nothing like my BH contractions, no tightness or shortness of breath, just period cramps. I timed them for an hr and a half and realized they were 4-6 mins apart and lasted 40 secs to 1 min. I still thought this wasn't it but figured I'd call my DR just incase. She told me to come to the hospital so we packed up the remaining stuff and got to the hospital around 5:15 AM. I didn't stop to eat breakfast because I STILL didn't think this was labor and thought I'd be sent home. They checked me and said I was dialated 3-4 cm and would like me to hang around to see if I progress more since I was 2-3 cms at my last DRs appointment.
I walked the halls with DH for about an hr and the contractions started getting worse. A few of them were very painful but still nothing like I thought labor would be. I could talk through them and wasn't out of breath, it just felt like a horrible period cramp with lower back pain that lasted a minute or so. I stretched as they came and it really helped the pain. I think I have a fairly high tolerance for pain because when they put me on the monitoring machine, the contractions were registering off the charts but they weren't unbearably bad for me. They checked again and I was 5-6 cms so they admitted me (and I was starving because I didn't eat!). It was a good thing I came when I did - I got one of the last rooms and the maternity ward was packed that day. About half an hr later, the epidural was administered... I let a small yelp out as it hurt for about 2 seconds and then the drugs started kicking in. It was the greatest thing ever. I felt nothing and thought this is going to be easy! When I hit 7 cm, the doctor broke my water. The baby's head was so low that barely anything came out.
Around 1:30 PM, DH went down to the cafeteria to eat lunch and I started to feel a lot of pressure on my inner left thigh. It would come and go but the nurse hadn't checked me for a while so I figured I should call her. She checked me and immediately looked panicked. She paged my doctor and told me she was surprised that I progressed so quickly. I texted DH to come to the room and as soon as he got back she had me start pushing (still trying to find our doctor).
The nurse put a mirror in front of us so we could see what was going on (I didn't think I'd want to look but it actually motivated me to keep pushing). The pushing wasn't so bad at first. I saw a small part of the top of her head and thought it was amazing! My doctor finally arrived and the pressure quickly turned into pain despite the drugs. Towards the end of the pushing (the last 20 mins), the pain was pretty bad/uncomfortable and I didn't think I could do it. My blood pressure dropped and I was given oxygen but it still wasn't as bad as I had originally pictured it in my head, especially after all the horror stories I've heard. I just kept thinking that this is not about me and my pain. its about helping my baby get into this world safely and quickly - and that got me through it. At 2:31, I gave one last big push and felt sharp pain down there and suddenly the pain stopped. I looked down and there was her head, eyes wide open staring at me. Weirdest thing ever! They pulled her out and laid her on me and I was in shock. The most beautiful thing ever!! I was so distracted by her I didn't notice the giant wave of waters and other gross stuff that came out behind her. The nurses ran out of the way as it splashed all over the floor. (Gross!)
DH cut the cord and they weighted our daughter - 8 lbs 4 oz, 21.25 inches. We were SHOCKED at her size, especially since the doctor told me a few days before that I was measuring only 37 weeks when I was 39+ weeks so we should expect the baby to be around 6 lbs. She was a big girl! Dr then stitched me up (I had inbetween 1st and 2nd degree tearing) and then I got to spend time snuggling my new love - Eliana
So lessons learned:
Just because your friend's cousin's mom's brother inlaw's wife had a bad birth story, doesn't mean yours will be bad! People had me so freaked out that I just expected the worst. Of course anything can happen, but listen to positive stories like this one too!!
Better safe than sorry - If you think there's even a small chance you're in labor, call your dr or midwife! Contractions can be different for each person and mine were nothing like people described to me.
EAT BEFORE YOU GO TO THE HOSPITAL, even if you think you aren't in labor. I was starving but wasn't allowed to eat.
Sorry for rambling on, I just wanted to share a positive story since I would've loved to read more like this during the 3rd tri!
After weeks of on and off pains, Thursday evening (12/6) I had some cramping and lower back pain that was so bad it brought me to tears. DH was massaging my back and it helped a little. I thought maybe this was it but then it totally stopped after an hour so I thought it was another false alarm. I was still lightly crampy but nothing unusual. Around 2 am (12/7) my cramps woke me up... nothing terrible, just felt like a period cramp that would come and go. At 3 am I went to the bathroom and had another bloody show (had one the week before) so I thought maybe I should time them. They felt nothing like my BH contractions, no tightness or shortness of breath, just period cramps. I timed them for an hr and a half and realized they were 4-6 mins apart and lasted 40 secs to 1 min. I still thought this wasn't it but figured I'd call my DR just incase. She told me to come to the hospital so we packed up the remaining stuff and got to the hospital around 5:15 AM. I didn't stop to eat breakfast because I STILL didn't think this was labor and thought I'd be sent home. They checked me and said I was dialated 3-4 cm and would like me to hang around to see if I progress more since I was 2-3 cms at my last DRs appointment.
I walked the halls with DH for about an hr and the contractions started getting worse. A few of them were very painful but still nothing like I thought labor would be. I could talk through them and wasn't out of breath, it just felt like a horrible period cramp with lower back pain that lasted a minute or so. I stretched as they came and it really helped the pain. I think I have a fairly high tolerance for pain because when they put me on the monitoring machine, the contractions were registering off the charts but they weren't unbearably bad for me. They checked again and I was 5-6 cms so they admitted me (and I was starving because I didn't eat!). It was a good thing I came when I did - I got one of the last rooms and the maternity ward was packed that day. About half an hr later, the epidural was administered... I let a small yelp out as it hurt for about 2 seconds and then the drugs started kicking in. It was the greatest thing ever. I felt nothing and thought this is going to be easy! When I hit 7 cm, the doctor broke my water. The baby's head was so low that barely anything came out.
Around 1:30 PM, DH went down to the cafeteria to eat lunch and I started to feel a lot of pressure on my inner left thigh. It would come and go but the nurse hadn't checked me for a while so I figured I should call her. She checked me and immediately looked panicked. She paged my doctor and told me she was surprised that I progressed so quickly. I texted DH to come to the room and as soon as he got back she had me start pushing (still trying to find our doctor).
The nurse put a mirror in front of us so we could see what was going on (I didn't think I'd want to look but it actually motivated me to keep pushing). The pushing wasn't so bad at first. I saw a small part of the top of her head and thought it was amazing! My doctor finally arrived and the pressure quickly turned into pain despite the drugs. Towards the end of the pushing (the last 20 mins), the pain was pretty bad/uncomfortable and I didn't think I could do it. My blood pressure dropped and I was given oxygen but it still wasn't as bad as I had originally pictured it in my head, especially after all the horror stories I've heard. I just kept thinking that this is not about me and my pain. its about helping my baby get into this world safely and quickly - and that got me through it. At 2:31, I gave one last big push and felt sharp pain down there and suddenly the pain stopped. I looked down and there was her head, eyes wide open staring at me. Weirdest thing ever! They pulled her out and laid her on me and I was in shock. The most beautiful thing ever!! I was so distracted by her I didn't notice the giant wave of waters and other gross stuff that came out behind her. The nurses ran out of the way as it splashed all over the floor. (Gross!)
DH cut the cord and they weighted our daughter - 8 lbs 4 oz, 21.25 inches. We were SHOCKED at her size, especially since the doctor told me a few days before that I was measuring only 37 weeks when I was 39+ weeks so we should expect the baby to be around 6 lbs. She was a big girl! Dr then stitched me up (I had inbetween 1st and 2nd degree tearing) and then I got to spend time snuggling my new love - Eliana
So lessons learned:
Just because your friend's cousin's mom's brother inlaw's wife had a bad birth story, doesn't mean yours will be bad! People had me so freaked out that I just expected the worst. Of course anything can happen, but listen to positive stories like this one too!!
Better safe than sorry - If you think there's even a small chance you're in labor, call your dr or midwife! Contractions can be different for each person and mine were nothing like people described to me.
EAT BEFORE YOU GO TO THE HOSPITAL, even if you think you aren't in labor. I was starving but wasn't allowed to eat.
Sorry for rambling on, I just wanted to share a positive story since I would've loved to read more like this during the 3rd tri!
