I was having lots of irregular contractions Thrusday and Friday, and into Saturday morning. So I went out to run errands Saturday, hoping to keep things moving! I thought the contractions were getting closer and more intense by the end of my errands, but guessed they would once again stop as soon as I sat down for lunch! I was wrong, and figured out around 11am that Saturday may be the day. By Noon I was sure so we headed to the hospital. Contractions slowed on the way there, so we thought we may have come too soon, but as soon as we hit the bumpy roads near the hospital they picked up quicker! By the time I was checked in triage, I was 6cm. By the time I was in my room, I was 8cm so I hopped into the tub. I LOVED the water! If we were having more kids I would definitley plan for a water birth next time! My husband was great support, and my OB was phenomenal. She sat through contractions with me, put pressure and heat on my back during the end of labor, and was just perfect support through delivery too! My water broke in the tub, I argured I needed to go to the bathroom, but my OB convinced me to get to the bed. Somehow I made it there, pushed a few times halfway on the bed, and barely got all the way onto the bed before Ana arrived into Daddy's hands! This was my first natural childbirth, our last two were induced due to severe pre-e and pih, and I had an epidural/spinal with them. The pushing phase surprised me by how little control I had, and how much my body just took over and I was along for the ride. My eyes were closed the whole time and I remember grabbing the bed just trying to hold onto something! I was definitely more vocal than I expected, but really didn't care at all in the moment. It was so fast, then she was in my arms and so alert and awake! She laid on my chest with a tight grip on one of her Daddy's fingers just looking back in forth between the two of us, and we were instantly in love!
I had agreed to let a med student come in, and I was glad I did. I wasn't sure about having a man that I didn't know present, but I didn't even notice him there. After the birth my OB went through and explained everything he missed in detail, when/why/how she provided support for me at each point, and pointed out how well we were both doing afterwards thanks to the natural birth. So Tom and I were really glad we chose to let him come in, because we both love my OB and thing the world could certainly use many more like her! Working with her is like chatting with a friend between contractions, having a very experience midwife work through it all for you, but having a high risk OB present to step in immediately if anything more is needed!
I am still just in awe. We didn't plan to get pregnant, and it was really hard adjusting at first, especially for DH. The all day sickness hit and was only gone for about 2wks before I was on full bedrest for a subchorionic hematoma. I was having regular contractions from weeks 13-15, so we didn't really know wether she would make it or not. Then things improved, but as the sch healed we noticed her growth was dropping in the ultrasounds. So she was down to the 10.7th percentile at one point, and we thought she would be an IUGR diagnosis, but we somehow avoided that one because her growth picked up. A few weeks later it looked like we were headed for pre-e stuff again, but then that resolved too. So it is just really surreal to finally have gone into labor naturally, then to get a natural birth, to have it go so well, and to have Ana doing so well!
I had agreed to let a med student come in, and I was glad I did. I wasn't sure about having a man that I didn't know present, but I didn't even notice him there. After the birth my OB went through and explained everything he missed in detail, when/why/how she provided support for me at each point, and pointed out how well we were both doing afterwards thanks to the natural birth. So Tom and I were really glad we chose to let him come in, because we both love my OB and thing the world could certainly use many more like her! Working with her is like chatting with a friend between contractions, having a very experience midwife work through it all for you, but having a high risk OB present to step in immediately if anything more is needed!
I am still just in awe. We didn't plan to get pregnant, and it was really hard adjusting at first, especially for DH. The all day sickness hit and was only gone for about 2wks before I was on full bedrest for a subchorionic hematoma. I was having regular contractions from weeks 13-15, so we didn't really know wether she would make it or not. Then things improved, but as the sch healed we noticed her growth was dropping in the ultrasounds. So she was down to the 10.7th percentile at one point, and we thought she would be an IUGR diagnosis, but we somehow avoided that one because her growth picked up. A few weeks later it looked like we were headed for pre-e stuff again, but then that resolved too. So it is just really surreal to finally have gone into labor naturally, then to get a natural birth, to have it go so well, and to have Ana doing so well!
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