marinecrazy
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So I have had my baby for 4 months now, but I haven't written her birth story down yet, and this seemed like a really nice place to start.
I went into labor around 3:15 in the morning, which would have been lovely if I hadn't gone to bed at 1:30 am after helping my husband at his tattoo shop because he needed a receptionist. It felt kinda like light cramps but in the very middle of me around the top of my pelvis and I was rather glazed from being very tired. I got into the bathtub and lit a candle and watched it for an hour or two. That is when I decided to wake Brad (daddy) up to let him know, but I wasn't really sure that I was in labor yet. He got up and sat with me for a while timing contractions, finally calling my sister (who was also my doula) around 5 or 6 am. I am a little fuzzy on the times, seeing as I was in labor. I got out of the bath while it was daylight and got on my bed. Sitting was the most comfortable at the time, leaning slightly forward. My candle came with me, it was my focus. I had taken Bradley classes and often practiced breathing and focusing from Hypnobirthing and was just fine with the contractions. I have no idea how long I stayed there, I remember getting onto my hands and knees for a while, but I was working to not pay attention. A back massage was the only thing keeping me going by then; I didn't know it at the time, but I had back labor. Brad worked on massaging my back for hours, with my mom stepping in every once in a while near the end, he was my savior. My sister/doula decided it was time to go to the hospital, in a now or never kind of way. I protested. Everything was so great where I was, I didn't want to ruin my focus. However, I had a plan that involved the hospital (just in case something went wrong) and my sister or husband do not know (or want) to catch my baby.
The car was AWFUL!!! So many red lights! I did good about staying calm, while yelling in a strange kind of mother in labor moan. The worse pain I was in the louder and higher pitched it was. All of the pain was in my hips at my spine and spreading out from there. I had to sit in almost an "S" shape to make my contractions feel better, pushing my pelvis forward and pulling my shoulders back to arch my spine. I still have back pain from sitting that way through labor. We checked into the hospital, the wheelchair sucked almost as much as the car, but I couldn't really walk either. Brad and I never went to visit the hospital before I went into labor, so thankfully my sister knew the way. They put me in triage and I have no idea how I managed to get changed. I still had to sit in the "S" position, except to check my water and make sure I was in labor. I was already at 7 cm. I think we were there for a while, but I was lost in contractions and back massage. It really didn't hurt that bad when I sat the right way, I could talk and laugh in between the contractions. When I got moved into the hospital room, it was like getting wheeled into a torture chamber. (Okay so that is a little dramatic, but it made my labor a bad experience.)
The nurse had to get at minimum of 15 minutes of fetal heart rate monitor before she could allow me to labor alone. She maxed out at 15 seconds. My contractions were 20 seconds apart and my baby girl was backwards. This apparently causes back labor, as does a larger baby, and she was almost 10 lbs. But for three hours my body pulled me into the "S" position for a contraction for over a minute and then the nurse would pull me backwards for another attempt at the monitor for the 20 second "break". I couldn't catch my breath, I couldn't focus, it was just pain. The nurses and my sister moved into various positions like hands and knees and a birthing ball, but they were horrible too. It wouldn't have been so bad if that other position hadn't taken almost all of the pain away. My classes went out the window for this birth, there was no way to be prepared. I had checked into the hospital at 7 to 8 cm, and had now gone down to 5 cm. I was too exhausted to think. They gave me a drug that I can't remember the name of that would be just a quick break, they still hadn't gotten enough of her on the monitor. When that wore off I was in so much pain and was so tired that I got an epidural.
I wanted so bad to have a natural childbirth, but the epidural allowed me to take a 3 hour nap. I woke up and told the nurse that I thought it was time to push. She checked and sure enough we got my nurse midwife and my family back into the room. I really didn't even feel an ache with the epidural from a contraction; compared to what I had been going through, this was bliss. My nurse midwife had my nurse and my sister hold my legs and I started pushing. It was no different then my contractions had been, no pain. I am now fuzzy on timing due to an epidural, but I know I pushed for less than an hour. I actually stopped with Sabrina crowning and reached down to feel her head, and look without a mirror, to wait for the next contraction. It was cool and very very weird. I got her to that point without any tearing, then I got to her tummy. I have never heard of a baby getting stuck by their tummy, but most babies aren't 9 lbs 12 oz. My Dr. had to literally pull her out of me. I tore a little at that point, but never enough for stitches (yay!) My biggest fear had been an episiotamy, so I was thankful. The nursing staff and doctors started making bets on her weight at that point. My Dr. cleaned her off and handed her to me, allowing her to start nursing. We let the cord pulse out before it was clamped and cut. She was such a hungry baby already that they had to make her stop eating to weigh her and stop her again to get her checked out for height and a cleaning. She was perfect, 9 lbs 10 oz, 21.5", and born at 4:22 in the afternoon on March 9th, 2011.
I had planned such a different birth than I went through, I had felt so prepared when labor started. I hear a lot of people see their baby and right away they are filled with love and admiration, unfortunately all I could think of was "who are you?" I feel awful that that was all I felt for the first few days. I was protective and I knew her cry, but I wasn't convinced she had been in me, even though I knew she had. I guess that was because she looked EXACTLY like her daddy, or maybe the epidural, but I still feel bad. I loved looking at her, and I loved having her eat even though it hurt. She smiled at her daddy the first day she was with us, it was incredible. I slept a lot, and she ate a lot, and her daddy and I LOVED having our little girl. She is and has been my everything since.
There is sooooo much more that I could put into this about the classes, and the pregnancy, but this was her birth. I feel a lot like I wasn't there even though I remember it pretty well. I'm am not sure that is a bad thing. I plan to do a home birth next time though, I think I would have been perfect without the nurse there. I love my family and I love being a stay at home mom!
I went into labor around 3:15 in the morning, which would have been lovely if I hadn't gone to bed at 1:30 am after helping my husband at his tattoo shop because he needed a receptionist. It felt kinda like light cramps but in the very middle of me around the top of my pelvis and I was rather glazed from being very tired. I got into the bathtub and lit a candle and watched it for an hour or two. That is when I decided to wake Brad (daddy) up to let him know, but I wasn't really sure that I was in labor yet. He got up and sat with me for a while timing contractions, finally calling my sister (who was also my doula) around 5 or 6 am. I am a little fuzzy on the times, seeing as I was in labor. I got out of the bath while it was daylight and got on my bed. Sitting was the most comfortable at the time, leaning slightly forward. My candle came with me, it was my focus. I had taken Bradley classes and often practiced breathing and focusing from Hypnobirthing and was just fine with the contractions. I have no idea how long I stayed there, I remember getting onto my hands and knees for a while, but I was working to not pay attention. A back massage was the only thing keeping me going by then; I didn't know it at the time, but I had back labor. Brad worked on massaging my back for hours, with my mom stepping in every once in a while near the end, he was my savior. My sister/doula decided it was time to go to the hospital, in a now or never kind of way. I protested. Everything was so great where I was, I didn't want to ruin my focus. However, I had a plan that involved the hospital (just in case something went wrong) and my sister or husband do not know (or want) to catch my baby.
The car was AWFUL!!! So many red lights! I did good about staying calm, while yelling in a strange kind of mother in labor moan. The worse pain I was in the louder and higher pitched it was. All of the pain was in my hips at my spine and spreading out from there. I had to sit in almost an "S" shape to make my contractions feel better, pushing my pelvis forward and pulling my shoulders back to arch my spine. I still have back pain from sitting that way through labor. We checked into the hospital, the wheelchair sucked almost as much as the car, but I couldn't really walk either. Brad and I never went to visit the hospital before I went into labor, so thankfully my sister knew the way. They put me in triage and I have no idea how I managed to get changed. I still had to sit in the "S" position, except to check my water and make sure I was in labor. I was already at 7 cm. I think we were there for a while, but I was lost in contractions and back massage. It really didn't hurt that bad when I sat the right way, I could talk and laugh in between the contractions. When I got moved into the hospital room, it was like getting wheeled into a torture chamber. (Okay so that is a little dramatic, but it made my labor a bad experience.)
The nurse had to get at minimum of 15 minutes of fetal heart rate monitor before she could allow me to labor alone. She maxed out at 15 seconds. My contractions were 20 seconds apart and my baby girl was backwards. This apparently causes back labor, as does a larger baby, and she was almost 10 lbs. But for three hours my body pulled me into the "S" position for a contraction for over a minute and then the nurse would pull me backwards for another attempt at the monitor for the 20 second "break". I couldn't catch my breath, I couldn't focus, it was just pain. The nurses and my sister moved into various positions like hands and knees and a birthing ball, but they were horrible too. It wouldn't have been so bad if that other position hadn't taken almost all of the pain away. My classes went out the window for this birth, there was no way to be prepared. I had checked into the hospital at 7 to 8 cm, and had now gone down to 5 cm. I was too exhausted to think. They gave me a drug that I can't remember the name of that would be just a quick break, they still hadn't gotten enough of her on the monitor. When that wore off I was in so much pain and was so tired that I got an epidural.
I wanted so bad to have a natural childbirth, but the epidural allowed me to take a 3 hour nap. I woke up and told the nurse that I thought it was time to push. She checked and sure enough we got my nurse midwife and my family back into the room. I really didn't even feel an ache with the epidural from a contraction; compared to what I had been going through, this was bliss. My nurse midwife had my nurse and my sister hold my legs and I started pushing. It was no different then my contractions had been, no pain. I am now fuzzy on timing due to an epidural, but I know I pushed for less than an hour. I actually stopped with Sabrina crowning and reached down to feel her head, and look without a mirror, to wait for the next contraction. It was cool and very very weird. I got her to that point without any tearing, then I got to her tummy. I have never heard of a baby getting stuck by their tummy, but most babies aren't 9 lbs 12 oz. My Dr. had to literally pull her out of me. I tore a little at that point, but never enough for stitches (yay!) My biggest fear had been an episiotamy, so I was thankful. The nursing staff and doctors started making bets on her weight at that point. My Dr. cleaned her off and handed her to me, allowing her to start nursing. We let the cord pulse out before it was clamped and cut. She was such a hungry baby already that they had to make her stop eating to weigh her and stop her again to get her checked out for height and a cleaning. She was perfect, 9 lbs 10 oz, 21.5", and born at 4:22 in the afternoon on March 9th, 2011.
I had planned such a different birth than I went through, I had felt so prepared when labor started. I hear a lot of people see their baby and right away they are filled with love and admiration, unfortunately all I could think of was "who are you?" I feel awful that that was all I felt for the first few days. I was protective and I knew her cry, but I wasn't convinced she had been in me, even though I knew she had. I guess that was because she looked EXACTLY like her daddy, or maybe the epidural, but I still feel bad. I loved looking at her, and I loved having her eat even though it hurt. She smiled at her daddy the first day she was with us, it was incredible. I slept a lot, and she ate a lot, and her daddy and I LOVED having our little girl. She is and has been my everything since.
There is sooooo much more that I could put into this about the classes, and the pregnancy, but this was her birth. I feel a lot like I wasn't there even though I remember it pretty well. I'm am not sure that is a bad thing. I plan to do a home birth next time though, I think I would have been perfect without the nurse there. I love my family and I love being a stay at home mom!
