Parker Jeffery
January 7, 2009
6 lbs 12 oz
18” long
Apgars: 8 & 9
I’d been having inconsistent contractions since Christmas and saw my bloody show Sunday evening, but I didn’t really think that I would have the baby early. But I woke up with really strong contractions at 6 am on Wednesday morning. When I had four of them by 6:30, I decided to take a bath to see if anything changed. They just got stronger and closer together. By 7 am, they were between 2-4 minutes apart and I couldn’t finish breakfast. I called DH to come home from work and by the time he got here at 8 am, I couldn’t talk through the contractions and decided to get back into the bath. After a couple of minutes, I started shaking and feeling queasy so I knew that I didn’t have much time.
Even though the hospital is only about 2 miles away, of course, we hit every red light and then couldn’t find parking. The whole way there I was hanging on the handle above the door in the truck. The walk from the truck to the birth center took forever, since I had to stop and hang on DH every other minute. We were almost there when I felt the baby drop and engage (I think this is when my water broke, but I’m not sure). DH had to prod me to get me moving or I was going to have a baby in the hallway. I’m sure I scared anyone who was there for tour with my moaning and yelling, but it felt really good to vocalize.
When we finally got to the check in desk, someone grabbed a wheelchair and raced me into a room. She had to take my clothes off and get a gown on me, while trying to tell me not to push but it was too late. At this point, doctors, nurses and a midwife were all running into the room. There was some confusion about who would catch the baby (I have Kaiser insurance) but I wasn’t waiting for them to figure it out. It took me a little while to get my pushing organized and I wound up breaking some blood vessels in my eyes, but the baby came out after about 10 minutes of pushing.
I have a 2nd degree superficial tear that was quickly stitched up while I did all the check in paperwork, including the VBAC consent form.
The nurses seemed really concerned that I wasn’t sure when my water broke or that there wasn’t time for an IV and kept asking if we had planned it this way and while I did want to labor at home, we weren’t planning on it coming that close. But I wouldn’t change anything about his birth. It was perfect.
January 7, 2009
6 lbs 12 oz
18” long
Apgars: 8 & 9
I’d been having inconsistent contractions since Christmas and saw my bloody show Sunday evening, but I didn’t really think that I would have the baby early. But I woke up with really strong contractions at 6 am on Wednesday morning. When I had four of them by 6:30, I decided to take a bath to see if anything changed. They just got stronger and closer together. By 7 am, they were between 2-4 minutes apart and I couldn’t finish breakfast. I called DH to come home from work and by the time he got here at 8 am, I couldn’t talk through the contractions and decided to get back into the bath. After a couple of minutes, I started shaking and feeling queasy so I knew that I didn’t have much time.
Even though the hospital is only about 2 miles away, of course, we hit every red light and then couldn’t find parking. The whole way there I was hanging on the handle above the door in the truck. The walk from the truck to the birth center took forever, since I had to stop and hang on DH every other minute. We were almost there when I felt the baby drop and engage (I think this is when my water broke, but I’m not sure). DH had to prod me to get me moving or I was going to have a baby in the hallway. I’m sure I scared anyone who was there for tour with my moaning and yelling, but it felt really good to vocalize.
When we finally got to the check in desk, someone grabbed a wheelchair and raced me into a room. She had to take my clothes off and get a gown on me, while trying to tell me not to push but it was too late. At this point, doctors, nurses and a midwife were all running into the room. There was some confusion about who would catch the baby (I have Kaiser insurance) but I wasn’t waiting for them to figure it out. It took me a little while to get my pushing organized and I wound up breaking some blood vessels in my eyes, but the baby came out after about 10 minutes of pushing.
I have a 2nd degree superficial tear that was quickly stitched up while I did all the check in paperwork, including the VBAC consent form.
The nurses seemed really concerned that I wasn’t sure when my water broke or that there wasn’t time for an IV and kept asking if we had planned it this way and while I did want to labor at home, we weren’t planning on it coming that close. But I wouldn’t change anything about his birth. It was perfect.
: What a great story to tell him later. 
