On Wednesday, June 16th, I went in for my 40 week check-up and was very disappointed to learn that nothing was going on. I was still 0 cm and wasn't making much progress. We set up the c-section for June 24th, hoping that I would end up cancelling it.
Thursday was our due date and all day long I kept hoping something would happen but, knowing what the doctor has told me the day before, not expecting much. I decided to kick up the natural induction techniques. My cousin recommended acupuncture so I made an appointment for that afternoon. That was a weird experience but I was willing to try anything!
Friday, around 3am, I felt a few contractions. They only lasted for an hour, though. I woke up at 7am feeling a little crampy and hopeful. Nothing was going on beyond that so I went about my normal morning stuff. I picked the girls up from camp at noon and heard Rascal Flatts' "Feels Like Today", which I took as a positive sign
We went home and had lunch. During lunch, I noticed that my Braxton Hicks contractions were getting more stronger. At 1:30 I laid down to nap with Juliana and downloaded a contraction timer on my iPhone. At 2pm, my contractions were 10 min apart. They were definitely going somewhere. I got up and let RYan know things were happening. We had planned to go to the pool but decided to just use our own spa for the kids and stay close to home (a very smart move, it turned out). By 3pm contractions were 7 min apart but not too painful. Actually, they weren't painful at all yet so I didn't pay much attention to them. At 4pm, they were 5 min apart and I started having to breathe through them. I finished my shower (barely) and somehow got myself ready to go. This was it!!
Ryan's mom was here so she took the girls to dinner and we left for the hospital at 5pm. Contractions were 2-5 minutes apart and I was really suffering through them in the car. We called the doctor from the car at 5:20 and we made it to the hospital around 5:40. Ryan dropped me off at emergency (since it was after 5) and went to park the car. Any time I moved, I contracted, so getting out of the car was one, getting checked in was another, getting in the damn wheelchair was another. Finally they pushed me up to Labor and Delivery triage. I uncomfortably took off my clothes and reluctantly got in the bed with the monitors. Laying down was the last thing I wanted to do. I found that squatting at the knees and swaying was the best was to get through the contractions. Ryan ran down to the cafeteria to get himself dinner before they closed. While he was gone the nurse checked me and I was already 5 cm dilated! I was so happy to be 5!!! He got to triage and I managed to tell him I was 5 and to let the nurse know I'd be wanting an epidural soon. I also threw up a little bit of the oatmeal I made before we left (anticipating a long labor). I knew throwing up was a sign of transition and got a sense that things were moving very quickly.
After spending way too long on that stupid bed, they had me get in another wheelchair (contraction) and pushed me to my delivery room. Once there I basically refused to get out of the chair and into the bed. The nurse bribed me saying I had to get out to get the iv to get the epidural. So, out I rolled into the bed. They had trouble with the iv (blew a vein in my left arm) and finally got it in my right hand (great). They checked me again (against my loud protests because the only thing worse than laying in that bed was laying in that bed flat on my back) and found that I was 10. I couldn't believe it. I had gone from a 5 to a 10 in 30 minutes. Ryan told me later that they said the only thing keeping the baby in at that point was the bag of waters, which hadn't broken yet. The nurses were all out of the room, scrambling to find a doctor (any doctor) and an anesthesiologist when I felt my water break. I said "water" to Ryan. He asked if I wanted water. I moaned "No! Water!" and he asked again what I meant. The next contraction I gushed again and he figured it out.
Once my water broke, I pushed. There was no way around it. My body just had to push. The nurses came back and saw what was happening and told me I had to stop! One of the nurses really seemed to get it and she came right up to me and whispered to me to breathe through the contractions, breathe out the push. I knew I needed to do that and her reminder was perfect. It was too late for an epidural, so they gave me some Fentanyl which did absolutely nothing for me. I didn't care, though, all I wanted to do was push.
Finally, a doctor arrived (not my own) and they broke the bed down so I could push. Ryan and the nice nurse held my legs while I pushed. It was great to finally be pushing (although getting me into the position they wanted also took some convincing on their part. Ryan told me later I was surprisingly unhelpful and unresponsive to their requests. I remember telling them "No! It hurts like that!" But they said I was minutes from holding the baby so I did what they asked. I pushed through 2 contractions and felt incredible relief when her head came out. There was no ring of fire, just relief!! Then I felt pressure again and had to push out her shoulders. Then I felt her whole body come out and immediately felt better. She was born at 7:04 and weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 21in long.
They placed her right on my chest and she screamed. She got an 8 for her first apgar and a 9 for her second (she wasn't fully pink at first). With such a fast delivery, she had no cone head, just some bruising on her face. I didn't need an episiotomy (not like there was time) but I did have a small tear. I was very happy to have not been snipped! Ryan cut the cord. The cord had been wrapped around her neck, just like Juliana's had been. I later learned her heartrate dipped down to 70 at times during contractions (Juliana's dipped to 90 and they did the c/s). I bet if labor hadn't been going to fast, they would have had me in surgery for another c-section. They stitched me up and cleaned up my baby while Ryan snapped pictures with his iPhone.
Why did he use his iPhone? Because we had no other cameras!!! We were told on hospital tour day to leave all belongings in the car until we get to the delivery room, which makes sense. They want to make sure you're actually in labor before you go toting suitcases and birthing balls through the hospital. Well, by the time I got to delivery I was 10 and Ryan couldn't leave. That meant we had no camera, no video camera, no cord blood kit, nothing but his phone. I was so disappointed. Also, we had booked a birth photographer to come take professional pictures during the birth (not of the bloody stuff, just our first moments with our new daughter). She didn't make it in time. My doctor didn't make it in time. I didn't have time for antibiotics, being GBS+ It just went so fast! I'm heartbroken because we booked the photographer to get more pictures of this birth. Somehow, we ended up with practically none
I'm grateful that I had the labor I wanted (not the c-section I was booked for), but if I had the c/s I would have had the pictures. Ultimately, I'd rather have the birth I wanted, and I am glad that those contractions were only crazy like that for an hour. Fast labors are nice! But I wish we could have had pictures.
Anyhow, by then everything was calm and I was able to take in the most intense couple of hours of my life. I couldn't believe that I'd gotten to experience a labor like that. I feel like I've done it all! Samantha's was an induction with a fairly long wind-up and epidural (quick pushing, though, we remembered after the fact). Juliana's was a c-section with all manner of drugs. And Gabriella's was a quick VBAC labor with basically no drugs. As tired and sore as I am, I can't help feeling very, very blessed.
Thursday was our due date and all day long I kept hoping something would happen but, knowing what the doctor has told me the day before, not expecting much. I decided to kick up the natural induction techniques. My cousin recommended acupuncture so I made an appointment for that afternoon. That was a weird experience but I was willing to try anything!
Friday, around 3am, I felt a few contractions. They only lasted for an hour, though. I woke up at 7am feeling a little crampy and hopeful. Nothing was going on beyond that so I went about my normal morning stuff. I picked the girls up from camp at noon and heard Rascal Flatts' "Feels Like Today", which I took as a positive sign
We went home and had lunch. During lunch, I noticed that my Braxton Hicks contractions were getting more stronger. At 1:30 I laid down to nap with Juliana and downloaded a contraction timer on my iPhone. At 2pm, my contractions were 10 min apart. They were definitely going somewhere. I got up and let RYan know things were happening. We had planned to go to the pool but decided to just use our own spa for the kids and stay close to home (a very smart move, it turned out). By 3pm contractions were 7 min apart but not too painful. Actually, they weren't painful at all yet so I didn't pay much attention to them. At 4pm, they were 5 min apart and I started having to breathe through them. I finished my shower (barely) and somehow got myself ready to go. This was it!!Ryan's mom was here so she took the girls to dinner and we left for the hospital at 5pm. Contractions were 2-5 minutes apart and I was really suffering through them in the car. We called the doctor from the car at 5:20 and we made it to the hospital around 5:40. Ryan dropped me off at emergency (since it was after 5) and went to park the car. Any time I moved, I contracted, so getting out of the car was one, getting checked in was another, getting in the damn wheelchair was another. Finally they pushed me up to Labor and Delivery triage. I uncomfortably took off my clothes and reluctantly got in the bed with the monitors. Laying down was the last thing I wanted to do. I found that squatting at the knees and swaying was the best was to get through the contractions. Ryan ran down to the cafeteria to get himself dinner before they closed. While he was gone the nurse checked me and I was already 5 cm dilated! I was so happy to be 5!!! He got to triage and I managed to tell him I was 5 and to let the nurse know I'd be wanting an epidural soon. I also threw up a little bit of the oatmeal I made before we left (anticipating a long labor). I knew throwing up was a sign of transition and got a sense that things were moving very quickly.
After spending way too long on that stupid bed, they had me get in another wheelchair (contraction) and pushed me to my delivery room. Once there I basically refused to get out of the chair and into the bed. The nurse bribed me saying I had to get out to get the iv to get the epidural. So, out I rolled into the bed. They had trouble with the iv (blew a vein in my left arm) and finally got it in my right hand (great). They checked me again (against my loud protests because the only thing worse than laying in that bed was laying in that bed flat on my back) and found that I was 10. I couldn't believe it. I had gone from a 5 to a 10 in 30 minutes. Ryan told me later that they said the only thing keeping the baby in at that point was the bag of waters, which hadn't broken yet. The nurses were all out of the room, scrambling to find a doctor (any doctor) and an anesthesiologist when I felt my water break. I said "water" to Ryan. He asked if I wanted water. I moaned "No! Water!" and he asked again what I meant. The next contraction I gushed again and he figured it out.
Once my water broke, I pushed. There was no way around it. My body just had to push. The nurses came back and saw what was happening and told me I had to stop! One of the nurses really seemed to get it and she came right up to me and whispered to me to breathe through the contractions, breathe out the push. I knew I needed to do that and her reminder was perfect. It was too late for an epidural, so they gave me some Fentanyl which did absolutely nothing for me. I didn't care, though, all I wanted to do was push.
Finally, a doctor arrived (not my own) and they broke the bed down so I could push. Ryan and the nice nurse held my legs while I pushed. It was great to finally be pushing (although getting me into the position they wanted also took some convincing on their part. Ryan told me later I was surprisingly unhelpful and unresponsive to their requests. I remember telling them "No! It hurts like that!" But they said I was minutes from holding the baby so I did what they asked. I pushed through 2 contractions and felt incredible relief when her head came out. There was no ring of fire, just relief!! Then I felt pressure again and had to push out her shoulders. Then I felt her whole body come out and immediately felt better. She was born at 7:04 and weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 21in long.
They placed her right on my chest and she screamed. She got an 8 for her first apgar and a 9 for her second (she wasn't fully pink at first). With such a fast delivery, she had no cone head, just some bruising on her face. I didn't need an episiotomy (not like there was time) but I did have a small tear. I was very happy to have not been snipped! Ryan cut the cord. The cord had been wrapped around her neck, just like Juliana's had been. I later learned her heartrate dipped down to 70 at times during contractions (Juliana's dipped to 90 and they did the c/s). I bet if labor hadn't been going to fast, they would have had me in surgery for another c-section. They stitched me up and cleaned up my baby while Ryan snapped pictures with his iPhone.
Why did he use his iPhone? Because we had no other cameras!!! We were told on hospital tour day to leave all belongings in the car until we get to the delivery room, which makes sense. They want to make sure you're actually in labor before you go toting suitcases and birthing balls through the hospital. Well, by the time I got to delivery I was 10 and Ryan couldn't leave. That meant we had no camera, no video camera, no cord blood kit, nothing but his phone. I was so disappointed. Also, we had booked a birth photographer to come take professional pictures during the birth (not of the bloody stuff, just our first moments with our new daughter). She didn't make it in time. My doctor didn't make it in time. I didn't have time for antibiotics, being GBS+ It just went so fast! I'm heartbroken because we booked the photographer to get more pictures of this birth. Somehow, we ended up with practically none
I'm grateful that I had the labor I wanted (not the c-section I was booked for), but if I had the c/s I would have had the pictures. Ultimately, I'd rather have the birth I wanted, and I am glad that those contractions were only crazy like that for an hour. Fast labors are nice! But I wish we could have had pictures.Anyhow, by then everything was calm and I was able to take in the most intense couple of hours of my life. I couldn't believe that I'd gotten to experience a labor like that. I feel like I've done it all! Samantha's was an induction with a fairly long wind-up and epidural (quick pushing, though, we remembered after the fact). Juliana's was a c-section with all manner of drugs. And Gabriella's was a quick VBAC labor with basically no drugs. As tired and sore as I am, I can't help feeling very, very blessed.
