ANNOUNCING....
Torin Salvatore
:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wombatclay/
After the iffy 42 week NST on Friday morning, we were scheduled for a second check Friday afternonon. The message was if there was no change we'd be sent to the hospital for AROM and probably a scheduled c/s. I was totally bummed/stressed but when we came back at 2pm there was a new midwife on call and she sent us off to walk after a second membrane strip and told us to page her (instead of going to the hospital) if anything happened. And if nothing happened, to meet her at the (closed) office Sat morning for a check, sweep, and talk about options.
Well, around 9pm Friday I started feeling "bigger" contractions and having some show (but after TWO sweeps in the previous 12 hours it didn't feel like it "counted" you know?). We started timing them around 10pm. They were 5 minutes apart at 10-ish, 3 minutes apart at 11-ish so we called the midwife and met her at the hospital. Our doula arrived around 11:30. And Torin arrived at 3:23am Saturday morning. Since I was still at 3cm with a postrior cervix when checked at 11-ish and all 9lbs 8oz 21.5 inches 14.25 inch head was in my arms roughly four hours later (after an hour of pushing).... you get the idea! My throat is in shreds and I'm glad the L&D floor was empty because I was not quiet and, after the first hour or two, not the best example of "soft low tones" either.
I think I spent maybe an hour in the room, and hour in the tub, an hour back on the bed being monitored (which was fine by me since there was no way I could move given the intensity and frequency of the contractions), and an hour pushing.
I was actually prepped for an epidural (the contractions were huge, long, and close... at one point I dilated 2cm in 15 minutes and I told them I really REALLY needed some time to recover) but went from 8cm to 10cm between the end of the IV fluids and the arrival of the drug guy half an hour later. By which point I didn't want the meds and was pushing. The midwife was completely laid back and very hands off, my doula held my leg while I pushed on my side, and I basically mangled DH's hands for the final hour or two. Torin did get a bit stuck... not a dystocia, just a big baby and a lot of scar tissue from Rowan's birth. I had a small 2nd degree tear along the scar line and have a few stitches but the only real "owie" is my left hip/sciatic nerve (and my throat!). Apparently Torin smashed the nerve for the full hour of pushing and it's insanely painful even now, 7 hous later.
Tor's a breastfeeding champ, very chatty, his big sibs have declared him "very cute", and as soon as someone goes out to the house and gets the usb cable we'll get some pictures online. Thanks for the energy, wishes, and birth vibes!
Torin Salvatore
:http://www.flickr.com/photos/wombatclay/
After the iffy 42 week NST on Friday morning, we were scheduled for a second check Friday afternonon. The message was if there was no change we'd be sent to the hospital for AROM and probably a scheduled c/s. I was totally bummed/stressed but when we came back at 2pm there was a new midwife on call and she sent us off to walk after a second membrane strip and told us to page her (instead of going to the hospital) if anything happened. And if nothing happened, to meet her at the (closed) office Sat morning for a check, sweep, and talk about options.
Well, around 9pm Friday I started feeling "bigger" contractions and having some show (but after TWO sweeps in the previous 12 hours it didn't feel like it "counted" you know?). We started timing them around 10pm. They were 5 minutes apart at 10-ish, 3 minutes apart at 11-ish so we called the midwife and met her at the hospital. Our doula arrived around 11:30. And Torin arrived at 3:23am Saturday morning. Since I was still at 3cm with a postrior cervix when checked at 11-ish and all 9lbs 8oz 21.5 inches 14.25 inch head was in my arms roughly four hours later (after an hour of pushing).... you get the idea! My throat is in shreds and I'm glad the L&D floor was empty because I was not quiet and, after the first hour or two, not the best example of "soft low tones" either.
I think I spent maybe an hour in the room, and hour in the tub, an hour back on the bed being monitored (which was fine by me since there was no way I could move given the intensity and frequency of the contractions), and an hour pushing.I was actually prepped for an epidural (the contractions were huge, long, and close... at one point I dilated 2cm in 15 minutes and I told them I really REALLY needed some time to recover) but went from 8cm to 10cm between the end of the IV fluids and the arrival of the drug guy half an hour later. By which point I didn't want the meds and was pushing. The midwife was completely laid back and very hands off, my doula held my leg while I pushed on my side, and I basically mangled DH's hands for the final hour or two. Torin did get a bit stuck... not a dystocia, just a big baby and a lot of scar tissue from Rowan's birth. I had a small 2nd degree tear along the scar line and have a few stitches but the only real "owie" is my left hip/sciatic nerve (and my throat!). Apparently Torin smashed the nerve for the full hour of pushing and it's insanely painful even now, 7 hous later.
Tor's a breastfeeding champ, very chatty, his big sibs have declared him "very cute", and as soon as someone goes out to the house and gets the usb cable we'll get some pictures online. Thanks for the energy, wishes, and birth vibes!
