…My SIL texted back saying she was so excited.
I woke Anthony up for good around 5:30 to let him know he would need to find a replacement to speak for him in the other ward.
At 6:22 am I texted my SIL again letting her know that the contractions were getting much closer together and that I hoped she had left already. After all, my labors are pretty quick.
PSH!! That’s what I thought anyway.
She wrote back saying that she would be getting her son and hubby up and going right away.
I hadn’t slept all night despite trying. I was able to lay down for about an hour and a half but the contractions wouldn’t allow for sleep.
The girls had all been invited to join us in the delivery room if they chose. They’ve known for weeks now. K was a definite YES, A was a maybe and H was a definite NO!! When I woke them up to let them know I was in labor and heading to the the hospital soon (6:30-ish) they were all super excited. A decided though that she would stay home. K was up and at ‘em right away. She couldn’t wait!
My mom, dad, sister and brother headed over around 6:45-ish. The surges were definitely getting harder and I was having to breathe through them. Since I was planning on doing this whole thing without the relief of an epidural it made great practice. I had read the Hypnobirthing book and thought it made a lot of sense.
By the time my dad got back from buying donuts for breakfast (that’s the kind of breakfast you get when Grandpa’s in charge ;)) I was ready to head to the hospital. Surely I was dilated to a 5 or 6. This was exactly how it felt when I was in labor with B and I was a 5 1/2 when I got to the hospital.
Anthony phoned his sister who had just left and I was just hoping she would make it. It was just after 7:00. She had been invited to be in the delivery room as well.
Then we left, the boys still sleeping and the two younger girls ‘trying’ to sleep. Grandpa and Uncle Parker were in charge.
Upon arrival, I was obviously introduced to the classic hospital gown. I would be allowed to labor in my own clothes once my cervix was checked (I never did change out of the gown). At this point I had no idea which midwife was on call for the day. I asked the nurse as she walked us to our room if she knew. Of course it was one of the three midwives I had never met, there are nine total. It’s one of the things I had worried about.
Lucky for me, she was AMAZING!! Had I met her before in the office I think I would have hoped for her anyway. We really ended up liking her a lot!
She came in, introduced herself, and then checked me…
Three…
WHAT!? Three? That’s it? UGH!
However, I was completely effaced except for a paper thin layer. Hooray!!
So, my options…….. I would not be allowed to stay if I hadn’t made any progress in the next little while. I could either go home and then have to come back when things started rockin’ and rollin’ or I could have my water broken or get pitocin. I chose to walk the halls in hopes of getting things rollin’. After monitoring the baby for a while, I went and walked for about half an hour. At that point, they wanted to have me checked again.
THREE!! Again!
Are you kidding me??
My options had slimmed at that point. Either have my water broken, pitocin, or go home. Walking the halls was no longer an option.
I didn’t like any of those options but I chose to have my water broken… oh how I hate the feeling of peeing the bed over, and over….. and over! But I suppose it was going to happen at some point. During surges I would have Anthony push with the heel of his hands underneath my knee caps and push my legs up. It worked to help alleviate the contractions a bit.
After more monitoring of baby’s heart rate, I was allowed to walk the halls again. But not before going in to the restroom to do the hula over the toilet. The midwife suggested it to try and release more of the amniotic fluid. It would make walking the halls less… messy. ;)
We made two loops without a single surge and then… they hit! And they hit hard!! I was no longer able to just think of something else and stay upright. Suddenly, I was having to grab Anthony’s arm or the hand rails in the hallway and really concentrate. Mom, Kortney, and K had gone to get something to eat in the cafeteria. But returned shortly.
Another check… 4 to 5!! Yay! We love progress.
Shortly after being checked, my SIL walked into the room. And shortly after that my mother-in-law and another SIL walked in. At that point I was ready to try the tub. I had heard that the warm water feels really nice. Little did we know that the tub would take a year and half to fill. Holy crap!! I was forced to endure more bed surges. But once the tub was filled, I was IN IT!!
It didn’t really feel all that great. I’m guessing it might have had something to do with the fact that, I had a gargantuan belly that didn’t quite make itself under the water with the rest of me. I labored there for… not very long. Just a few surges and I was outta there!
More monitoring…
I had no idea how long it had been. I was just concentrating on getting through each surge.
At some point my MIL had asked Anthony how we would feel if she stayed in the room to watch the baby being born. I hadn’t invited her. My mom and my sister had been invited to each one but I’m comfortable with them. This was the first birth that K would see and my SIL had been invited because she just makes me feel comfortable. It didn’t feel strange to invite her. Not that I’m uncomfortable with my MIL. I love her but having her in the room wasn’t something I felt comfortable with.
I thought it was a little strange that she was looking at Anthony to ask the question. After all, it would be MY body being exposed, not his. I honestly didn’t think they would allow her to stay because I had already invited the ‘max’ that they supposedly allowed. She ended up staying after the midwife said she didn’t care. I’m sure if the midwife knew that I was a little uncomfortable with it she would have asked her to leave but what could I say at that point? I have a hard time saying no.
And it ended up being alright. I’m still a little embarrassed when I think about it. I don’t know why. Just to think that she saw all my junk ‘downstairs’, ya know? Just feels a little awkward to me.
From this point on, I remember it all, but I only remember it from my crazy, surging body’s point of view. I am sure that everyone else in the room could give more accurate details and paint a more accurate picture.
I remember getting on the exercise ball hoping that would be a little more comfortable. The nurse, who had given birth naturally… twice (talk about pressure! ;)), told me some things that helped her. Leaning against the bed and laying my head down on my arms. Um, yeah, it wasn’t fun. After only two surges (I think) I was DONE with that. I remember vocally saying… possibly half yelling, “I think those HypnoBirthing people are full of CRAP!!” The nurse agreed with me which made me feel better.
I climbed back into the bed and decided that I was done. I couldn’t do it anymore!! I was sure that I was still only a 5 or 6.
Surprisingly I was at an 8!!
I asked how long it normally takes from that point. If I was already an 8 surely I could make it the rest of the way… so long as it wasn’t going to be much longer ;).
The nurse and midwife both said that I should have a baby in my arms within the next 15-20 minutes.
Ok, I could do it!! I could stick it out that much longer.
The midwife wanted me to try hands and knees for a bit. More like knees with the bed sitting almost straight up and I would hang over the top.
That’s when it really hit!! All of the sudden I was no longer just surging. I was DYING!! No longer able to breathe when the surges would hit, I became a frantic mess. It was all I could do to catch my breath. There came a point that I felt like I was no longer in my own body. I was feeling all of the pain but my head just wasn’t right. The pressure became unbearable and I yelled, “I’m either gonna fart or poop!!” To which the midwife said was a sign that I was in transition and baby would be here within the next couple contractions.
Then she wanted to check me… DURING a surge!! I just have one thing to say… YOWSERS!! That was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life!! Then she had me push hoping that pushing would help get the remaining cervical ‘lip’ to disappear (whatever that is!!!)
I was complete while surging except for that darn ‘lip’.
But I was done! I could feel myself slipping further and further away from myself and I HATED that feeling. It sounds silly but I have no other way to describe it. I needed relief. I think I was entering shock. And that 15-20 minutes they had said it would take had turned into an hour! And those ‘couple of contractions’ had turned into more than I could count. And I heard the midwife tell, I assume the nurse, “She can’t go on like this. She should have had a baby by now.” Something to that effect, anyway. Anthony says I had the whole room in tears.
{It wasn’t until shortly before he was born that I started to feel ‘normal’ again.} – side note
The anesthesiologist was called and I had to endure a few more breathless, panic stricken surges. He found it amusing that I was ‘going natural’ and yet, there he was… wisecracker!!
After it finally kicked in, the midwife gave me time to rest. I napped for about 20 minutes.
Anthony and his sister had just left to head to the cafeteria but were promptly called back in because it was time to push. They never made it to the cafeteria.
From my past experience I should have had a baby within just a couple of pushes. Heck, with H I didn’t have to push at all!!
Not the case this time. I pushed for almost an hour! And now we know why…
This kid has got a gigantic head! It ended up being 38 cm… 97th percentile. The midwife said that’s the biggest head she’s ever delivered in all her 30 years of midwifery! And she said that it explained why he wasn’t here within the time frame they had given earlier.
But he’s here! 4:32 pm. Almost exactly 24 hours from the very first REAL contraction. And I can’t get enough of the little… BIG guy! My biggest baby in all aspects!
The neatest thing was that Anthony actually got to deliver him. When we asked the midwife about that earlier in the labor process she got excited and started telling Anthony that he could deliver the whole baby (sounds funny, eh?) head and all or wait for the head to be out. Then she started explaining that there is a whole process to getting the head delivered to reduce or eliminate tearing. At that point Anthony said that he was ok with waiting for baby’s head to be delivered by the midwife and he would take it from there. It was pretty neat to have him actually hand the baby up to me and put him on my chest. Anthony is still talking about how neat it was.
One thing that I loved was that the midwife waited for the cord to stop pulsing before clamping it and having Anthony cut it. Anyone that wanted to was able to feel the cord pulse. I was too busy gazing at my new love! However, I did get to see the placenta which I’ve never done before.
WEIRD!!
The nurse (or CNA?) that weighed him asked us all for guess on his weight. We knew he was pretty good sized so we all started yelling out numbers. 8 lb 13 oz, 8 lb 15 oz, 8 lb 10 oz. Somewhere in that range. Then she held him up and bounced him a little and said, “I’m guessing nine six.” (As in 9lb. 6 oz.)
9 lbs. 7 oz!!! I guess she’s done this a few times ;) 22 inches long.
I tore only a little (not quite a 2nd degree) which is pretty good considering…
LOVE this baby!! Not quite sure what to call him on the blog because he shares a first initial with B.
And for the record, I am not in any way disappointed in myself for choosing an epidural in the end. I endured as long as I possibly could and am so grateful for medical technology. To be able to get that kind of relief when it’s needed is nothing short of a miracle, in my opinion. Had it been any of my other babies I am positive I could have done it naturally (in fact I did once, just not on purpose). This sweet baby and his gargantuan head…
But I look at him and see a tiny little baby. I don’t have anything to compare him to. It’s hard to remember how little the others were. Anthony slipped into the nursery once during our hospital stay and said that seeing our handsome boy next to the others was quite the shock. He really IS big! He kept asking the nursery workers if the others were preemies. To his surprise most of them were average 7-8 pounders.
I have to say that I absolutely LOVED having a midwife this time around. Why didn’t anyone ever tell me how great it was before? I would highly recommend this experience to anyone. The midwife was even willing to walk my SIL through every little thing. My SIL is a nurse in Idaho but has never done labor and delivery. She was asking all kinds of questions. She was even able to check my cervix early on. And she learned all about tears and stitching them back up.
IF and when (but bigger IF) I ever do it again I will absolutely choose a midwife again.
I was nursing in this picture which is why you don’t see the baby.
My mom on the left and Anthony’s mom on the right.
My sister and me. She took most of the pics. The nurse thought we were twins! I wish we would have been smart enough to have included Anthony’s sister in this pic. :(
More pics to come…
