January 2, 2010
11am
Woke up, went to the bathroom and noticed what I thought was my waters broken. I wasn’t sure because there was only a little and it wasn’t a constant flow. So I woke C up to get me a paper cup to catch anymore flow but I didn’t have any more.
After walking around I felt more warm gushes and was able to catch some in a paper cup. It was light yellow with pieces of vernix in it. Per my doctors orders I decided to go about my day until contractions started. I made myself a nice breakfast: ham & cheese omelet w/ 2 slices of toast with RRL tea. I decided to finish folding up clothes and cleaning the house a little too.
I called E (my doula), to let her know my waters broke but I wasn’t having contractions just yet. She asked when I wanted her to come over and if I had called Dr. A yet. I told her no rush and I would call the doc to see if she had a time frame. Of course as luck would have it my doc was not on call. Another doctor in the practice, Dr. G, was on call. She wanted me to come into the hospital because my waters broke to check for infection. Of course I was not happy about this. This was around 3:30pm. So I called my mom, sister, and doula and told them to just start preparing because we would be going into the hospital that night. When everyone got there we sat around and talked and ate.
Finally around 6pm I decided it was time to go to the hospital. I wasn’t contracting; I was just ready to see my baby!
We get to the hospital and I go back first. My nurse, A, checked me and I was a stretchy 4 cm, 80% effaced with baby at -1. I had been at this for 3-4 weeks now so I was not shocked, just amused. So after everyone came back and I got settled E and I walked the halls doing lunges and squats. I was told I couldn’t drink my apple juice. My doc told me I could and even signed her ok on my birthplan so I did it anyway and I ate my honey sticks for energy.
The next time I was checked I was finally at 5cm. I got to 6cm pretty quick and then to 90% effacement. The problem is I stayed at 6cm it seems for FOREVER!! All this with no contractions even! So since my waters broke so early in the day the on call doc wanted to start me on pitocin to see of some contractions would help my body take over then she would take me off the pit. So she had the nurse start me at a level 2 on the pit. I handled the pit contractions with only breathing and listening to my Hypnobirthing CD. C also did some triangular breathing with me to help me focus. I eventually had to focus really hard through the contractions but they still didn’t make me moan or scream like you see on A Baby Story, lol.
Around 3am the nurse made me get in the bed so they could monitor me continuously which was fine with me because I was getting tired but couldn’t rest because the pitocin was giving me some mean ctrx by then. I was up to level 16 by then. Yet still no screaming or pain just lots of pressure like bad gas. Well the nurse said the doc wanted to put an internal monitor on me because she couldn’t figure out why with the intensity of the contractions my cervix was not changing. She said the baby’s position may have changed and her heart rate was dropping. She put me on oxygen and said if the internal monitoring showed distress the next step would be a c-section. Everyone in the room got quiet. So me being me and taking the Bradley classes I was all questions. I asked what my options were, how much time I had to decide, etc. My other option was to get an epidural so they could up the pitocin and that was still no guarantee. So I needed to get out of the room to think and I had to pee. Before I got out of the bed I had a MASSIVE contraction. Like a balloon popped in my abdomen. It happened so fast we didn’t have time to breathe through it and my mom, sister and doula were busy asking the nurse questions about the c-section. So I told the nurse I needed to pee and she took the oxygen off of me. C helped me into the bathroom and I peed then told him to get out because I had to poop. He stepped outside and as soon as he did I started feeling a contraction. I told him and he came back in to help me breathe but this one was way too strong. For the first time in all of my 18hrs of labor I moaned and groaned loudly. They were coming on fast by then and I couldn’t get a handle on them. C was trying to get me back to the bed but I told him I couldn’t move and I really needed to poop. I got hot all of a sudden and threw the gown on the floor then I told him I needed to puke. I puked and moaned and still had not pooped lol. Then when I felt like the poop was coming there were a million people in the bathroom with me.
The nurses were telling me I needed to come back to the bed unless I wanted to have my baby in the toilet. I was screaming at them to get out I have to poop, lmao. My nurse was trying to check me while I was on the toilet and I wanted to kick her. She was like I feel your baby’s head you need to get to the bed now! I couldn’t move I swear even if I wanted to. So C, my mom and the nurses were all talking to me at once telling me to get up and saying just listen to me and meanwhile I’m having contractions back to back and I just screamed SHUTUP!!! I remember my sister saying ALRIGHT YALL SHUT UP, YOU KNOW SHE DOESN’T WANNA HEAR TALKING WHEN SHE’S IN LABOR! She remembers from last time, lol.
So I somehow made it back to the bed and was in the hands and knees position, which felt great by the way, but I had to flip over. It felt like I was crushing Kerrigan’s head between my legs. I was still in denial. I mean just 2 seconds ago I was 6cm and about to be forced in to a c-section! My nurse pulled the mirror to where I could see her come out. I don’t even remember the doc coming in and introducing herself. All I know is I pushed her out in like 4-5 pushes. All 7lbs 2oz of her with no episiotomy and NO TEARS!!! I felt the infamous ring of fire so I knew her head was coming out. It almost felt like I didn’t know which way to push so I started pushing like I had to poop since that’s what I felt earlier. I remembered to pant instead of push like the nurses were telling me to do. They were doing the hold your breath countdown and I listened to C and my doula telling me to trust my body. I gently breathed her out while blowing out my breath and not holding my breath. I relaxed my face and smiled to help relax my perineum. It felt great to push! The nurse was trying to tell me when to push and I looked at the doc and told her I need to push and that’s the point when I pushed her head out. After 2 more pushes she slid out and it felt like the best orgasm ever! My nurse joked with me saying all she had to do was mention c-section and I pushed her out, lol. I know it was because I went from laying down to standing up.
C cut the cord after it stopped pulsing (somehow I remembered to remind them that’s what I wanted) and they put her on me immediately…since I was reaching for her like crazy, lol. I remember hearing E saying “she said give her that baby” lol. I remember my mom over to the side clapping. This was the first birth of a grandchild she has ever attended. My sister was in charge of the camcorder and from viewing the tape she didn’t want anyone to be able to see it, lol. She caught me in all my glory! Kerrigan really didn’t cry, not even when they stuck her with the needle. Her APGAR scores were 8 and 9.
In all I got the birth I wanted even with the addition of the pitocin. By the time I thought about wanting meds it was 2 mins from being over. My mom asked me if I would do it again and my answer is yes. I was up walking around RIGHT AFTER I got cleaned up. My doula said she had never witnessed anything like it before. No contractions, fast birth and no tears then up walking around, lol. C said he thinks I was born to push because I pushed Kaori out in 3 pushes and Kerrigan out in 4.
Kerrigan came out ready to eat! We have been doing a good job with the breastfeeding other than the latching without the shield. I will be getting more help with it though because she is so greedy we will go broke if we have to buy formula.
Kaori came to the hospital that night to see her baby sister and eat dinner with us before going back to spend the night with my mom. She’s been a great helper.
11am
Woke up, went to the bathroom and noticed what I thought was my waters broken. I wasn’t sure because there was only a little and it wasn’t a constant flow. So I woke C up to get me a paper cup to catch anymore flow but I didn’t have any more.
After walking around I felt more warm gushes and was able to catch some in a paper cup. It was light yellow with pieces of vernix in it. Per my doctors orders I decided to go about my day until contractions started. I made myself a nice breakfast: ham & cheese omelet w/ 2 slices of toast with RRL tea. I decided to finish folding up clothes and cleaning the house a little too.
I called E (my doula), to let her know my waters broke but I wasn’t having contractions just yet. She asked when I wanted her to come over and if I had called Dr. A yet. I told her no rush and I would call the doc to see if she had a time frame. Of course as luck would have it my doc was not on call. Another doctor in the practice, Dr. G, was on call. She wanted me to come into the hospital because my waters broke to check for infection. Of course I was not happy about this. This was around 3:30pm. So I called my mom, sister, and doula and told them to just start preparing because we would be going into the hospital that night. When everyone got there we sat around and talked and ate.
Finally around 6pm I decided it was time to go to the hospital. I wasn’t contracting; I was just ready to see my baby!
We get to the hospital and I go back first. My nurse, A, checked me and I was a stretchy 4 cm, 80% effaced with baby at -1. I had been at this for 3-4 weeks now so I was not shocked, just amused. So after everyone came back and I got settled E and I walked the halls doing lunges and squats. I was told I couldn’t drink my apple juice. My doc told me I could and even signed her ok on my birthplan so I did it anyway and I ate my honey sticks for energy.
The next time I was checked I was finally at 5cm. I got to 6cm pretty quick and then to 90% effacement. The problem is I stayed at 6cm it seems for FOREVER!! All this with no contractions even! So since my waters broke so early in the day the on call doc wanted to start me on pitocin to see of some contractions would help my body take over then she would take me off the pit. So she had the nurse start me at a level 2 on the pit. I handled the pit contractions with only breathing and listening to my Hypnobirthing CD. C also did some triangular breathing with me to help me focus. I eventually had to focus really hard through the contractions but they still didn’t make me moan or scream like you see on A Baby Story, lol.
Around 3am the nurse made me get in the bed so they could monitor me continuously which was fine with me because I was getting tired but couldn’t rest because the pitocin was giving me some mean ctrx by then. I was up to level 16 by then. Yet still no screaming or pain just lots of pressure like bad gas. Well the nurse said the doc wanted to put an internal monitor on me because she couldn’t figure out why with the intensity of the contractions my cervix was not changing. She said the baby’s position may have changed and her heart rate was dropping. She put me on oxygen and said if the internal monitoring showed distress the next step would be a c-section. Everyone in the room got quiet. So me being me and taking the Bradley classes I was all questions. I asked what my options were, how much time I had to decide, etc. My other option was to get an epidural so they could up the pitocin and that was still no guarantee. So I needed to get out of the room to think and I had to pee. Before I got out of the bed I had a MASSIVE contraction. Like a balloon popped in my abdomen. It happened so fast we didn’t have time to breathe through it and my mom, sister and doula were busy asking the nurse questions about the c-section. So I told the nurse I needed to pee and she took the oxygen off of me. C helped me into the bathroom and I peed then told him to get out because I had to poop. He stepped outside and as soon as he did I started feeling a contraction. I told him and he came back in to help me breathe but this one was way too strong. For the first time in all of my 18hrs of labor I moaned and groaned loudly. They were coming on fast by then and I couldn’t get a handle on them. C was trying to get me back to the bed but I told him I couldn’t move and I really needed to poop. I got hot all of a sudden and threw the gown on the floor then I told him I needed to puke. I puked and moaned and still had not pooped lol. Then when I felt like the poop was coming there were a million people in the bathroom with me.
The nurses were telling me I needed to come back to the bed unless I wanted to have my baby in the toilet. I was screaming at them to get out I have to poop, lmao. My nurse was trying to check me while I was on the toilet and I wanted to kick her. She was like I feel your baby’s head you need to get to the bed now! I couldn’t move I swear even if I wanted to. So C, my mom and the nurses were all talking to me at once telling me to get up and saying just listen to me and meanwhile I’m having contractions back to back and I just screamed SHUTUP!!! I remember my sister saying ALRIGHT YALL SHUT UP, YOU KNOW SHE DOESN’T WANNA HEAR TALKING WHEN SHE’S IN LABOR! She remembers from last time, lol.
So I somehow made it back to the bed and was in the hands and knees position, which felt great by the way, but I had to flip over. It felt like I was crushing Kerrigan’s head between my legs. I was still in denial. I mean just 2 seconds ago I was 6cm and about to be forced in to a c-section! My nurse pulled the mirror to where I could see her come out. I don’t even remember the doc coming in and introducing herself. All I know is I pushed her out in like 4-5 pushes. All 7lbs 2oz of her with no episiotomy and NO TEARS!!! I felt the infamous ring of fire so I knew her head was coming out. It almost felt like I didn’t know which way to push so I started pushing like I had to poop since that’s what I felt earlier. I remembered to pant instead of push like the nurses were telling me to do. They were doing the hold your breath countdown and I listened to C and my doula telling me to trust my body. I gently breathed her out while blowing out my breath and not holding my breath. I relaxed my face and smiled to help relax my perineum. It felt great to push! The nurse was trying to tell me when to push and I looked at the doc and told her I need to push and that’s the point when I pushed her head out. After 2 more pushes she slid out and it felt like the best orgasm ever! My nurse joked with me saying all she had to do was mention c-section and I pushed her out, lol. I know it was because I went from laying down to standing up.
C cut the cord after it stopped pulsing (somehow I remembered to remind them that’s what I wanted) and they put her on me immediately…since I was reaching for her like crazy, lol. I remember hearing E saying “she said give her that baby” lol. I remember my mom over to the side clapping. This was the first birth of a grandchild she has ever attended. My sister was in charge of the camcorder and from viewing the tape she didn’t want anyone to be able to see it, lol. She caught me in all my glory! Kerrigan really didn’t cry, not even when they stuck her with the needle. Her APGAR scores were 8 and 9.
In all I got the birth I wanted even with the addition of the pitocin. By the time I thought about wanting meds it was 2 mins from being over. My mom asked me if I would do it again and my answer is yes. I was up walking around RIGHT AFTER I got cleaned up. My doula said she had never witnessed anything like it before. No contractions, fast birth and no tears then up walking around, lol. C said he thinks I was born to push because I pushed Kaori out in 3 pushes and Kerrigan out in 4.
Kerrigan came out ready to eat! We have been doing a good job with the breastfeeding other than the latching without the shield. I will be getting more help with it though because she is so greedy we will go broke if we have to buy formula.
Kaori came to the hospital that night to see her baby sister and eat dinner with us before going back to spend the night with my mom. She’s been a great helper.
