Well, I am definitely a March mama! Our littlest one entered the world this morning at 3:03. She weighs 6 lbs. 14 oz., and is 19 3/4" long. I started having contractions around 7ish pm on the 29th, but thought they would quit, like they have every day for weeks. I ate supper, cleaned up the kitchen, and told DH I thought I would go grocery shopping. Contractions got stronger, but not more regular while walking around the store, to the point that I thought I should probably call my MW, doula, and mom to give them a head's up. When I got home, DH and I put the groceries away, and then DH sent me to bed to rest while I could. That was around 10:30 pm, and I called my birth people for a head's up, and went to bed. About an hour later, I told DH to call everyone back and tell them to come. It seemed like *forever* for everyone to get here, although it probably really wasn't that long.
I started to feel kinds pushy, and tried breathing the baby down for a few contractions, which felt nice. MW checked me and said to try really hard not to bear down, since I was only at about 6 cm, and the membranes were bulging (which is why I felt so pushy). I tried breathing and relaxing for the next forever, which was really hard. MW and DH got the birth pool set up, but said the water was too hot for me to get in. I finally said "I don't care, I'm getting in!" and I did. I was at the point of feeling really yucky and not being able to relax through ctx. anymore, but when I got in the water, I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. Wonderful!
I labored in the pool for another forever, and started feeling like bearing down again, so MW checked, and said everything looked good, no lip (I've had a persistent lip with my previous 3 labors). I started bearing down, which hurt like mad. I had been sort of reclined in the pool, and felt like moving, so I draped myself over the edge of the pool. I guess that's what I needed, because I had one super long, incredibly intense surge of pushing, and really moved the baby down (I felt like I was going to burst, but kept reminding myself that it was just the baby moving down through my body). I had what seemed like about 3 seconds to catch my breath (everyone kept telling me to stop bearing down, relax, and breath, and I just *couldn't* stop). I had another massively strong, intense push, and said, "baby's coming, catch it!", and sure enough, her head slid out, and one more small push, and out came her body. It was amazing, intense, and just wow. I think my best birth yet. She is super alert; I couldn't get her to stop looking around long enough to nurse for probably 2 hours. She finally nursed, and went to sleep around 5 a.m.
We haven't yet chosen a name, so I'll have to post back later with that.
I started to feel kinds pushy, and tried breathing the baby down for a few contractions, which felt nice. MW checked me and said to try really hard not to bear down, since I was only at about 6 cm, and the membranes were bulging (which is why I felt so pushy). I tried breathing and relaxing for the next forever, which was really hard. MW and DH got the birth pool set up, but said the water was too hot for me to get in. I finally said "I don't care, I'm getting in!" and I did. I was at the point of feeling really yucky and not being able to relax through ctx. anymore, but when I got in the water, I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. Wonderful!
I labored in the pool for another forever, and started feeling like bearing down again, so MW checked, and said everything looked good, no lip (I've had a persistent lip with my previous 3 labors). I started bearing down, which hurt like mad. I had been sort of reclined in the pool, and felt like moving, so I draped myself over the edge of the pool. I guess that's what I needed, because I had one super long, incredibly intense surge of pushing, and really moved the baby down (I felt like I was going to burst, but kept reminding myself that it was just the baby moving down through my body). I had what seemed like about 3 seconds to catch my breath (everyone kept telling me to stop bearing down, relax, and breath, and I just *couldn't* stop). I had another massively strong, intense push, and said, "baby's coming, catch it!", and sure enough, her head slid out, and one more small push, and out came her body. It was amazing, intense, and just wow. I think my best birth yet. She is super alert; I couldn't get her to stop looking around long enough to nurse for probably 2 hours. She finally nursed, and went to sleep around 5 a.m.
We haven't yet chosen a name, so I'll have to post back later with that.
