Greta Marie's Birth Story
I woke up on the morning of Oct. 19th at 2:40 PM to feel a trickle of liquid running down my legs. Went to the bathroom and some more liquid trickled out. At that point, I KNEW that my water had broken and today would be birth day. I went back to bed and tried to rest, but didn't get much sleep (too excited). Periodically I would feel more trickle and the occasional contraction. I got up for good at around 4:30 AM and packed my bag for the hospital and got on the computer. I called my mom at 5:00 and told her that my water had broken and she needed to come up to watch Heidi (DD). I think my body was subconsciously waiting until it was early enought to call my mom, since I HATE to bother people in the middle of the night and I didn't want to call Deb (doula) during the night either). At around 6:30 AM, Heidi woke up and I took her in the living room and put on a movie for her (Hans Christian Anderson). I wanted to be totally relaxed and not have to worry too much about being mommy, so labor could progress well. I also told Ben (DH) at that point that he better call in for a substitute teacher for the next few days, as he wouldn't be going to work that day. I also called Deb and told her what was happening and that we would call her when we needed her. I also talked with her on the phone periodically that morning to keep her updated. I spent the morning, watching movies with DH and DD, eating breakfast, getting on the computer and waiting for my mom to get here. Had the occasional contraction, nothing really intense or painful. It is supposed to be a 2-hour drive, and she left at 6:30, but didn't get here until 11:00 AM. After about 9:00 I started to get worried, and I think that was why I wasn't having too many contractions and things weren't really progressing. Finally, she got her and then things started to pick up. I started to have more contractions closer together. Around 12:00 PM. I was having them every 5 minutes and they were lasting about 1 minute each, but they weren't painful or uncomfortable at all. Heidi had gone to bed late the night before and gotten up early that morning, so I took her in the bedroom and nursed her to sleep for a nap. We decided that while she was napping was the best time to head for the hospital. I called the dr. and told him what was going on and we headed over there. Pretty much as soon as I got into the car, everything stopped, no more contractions. But, we decided to head over there anyway, since I knew I was in labor and thought that I would start up again once I was relaxed and settled in the delivery room. I also called Deb at that point and told her to meet us over there. We got to the hospital, they did the intake procedures, hooked me up to the moniter to check the heartbeat and contractions and then spent a lot of time to see if my water really had broken. I KNEW it had, but they weren't able to collect any amnionic fluid, since I think it had broken up high and Greta's head was plugging up my cervix. The dr. checked me and I was 4-5 cm dialted, 70% effaced and baby was at -2 station. So, we stayed there. After the dr. left and nurses left and it was jus Ben, Deb and I, I was able to relax. We were talking and laughing, joking around, and that helped me relax at lot. Things started to pick up more, and I decided to sit on the birth ball. We were still talking and laughing about different things. It was fun and I was having more contractions which were getting close together and more painful and uncomrtable. At one point, we were joking about the back of granola bars I had brought and the 1-800 number you could call for questions and concerns. Ben called it on his cell, I was just laughing and having a great time. After about an hour of that, things got more intense and I decided to get in the Jacuzzi. This was at about 4:00 PM Deb put lavander bubble bath in the tub, which was great, really soothing and we just relaxed and talked some more. After being in the tub for awhile, things started to get even more intense and the contractions were quite painful and intense and were coming really close together. I started getting on my hands and knees and rocking back and forth during them while Deb and Ben would press on my back and massage my belly. After about and hour or so of that, things were pretty intense and I started to fell pressure, so I got out, and just put the robe on and went to the bed and lied down. At that point, I was having contractions very frequently, they were very intense, I had a lot of back pressure and pain and things were difficult. Ben and Deb were wonderful, massaging me my back and being very supportive. I started to scream during contractions "make it stop, make it stop, I can't do this anymore" and felt like crying. It just hurt soo bad. Things were very intense. I think I was having some back labor, which made it harder. They called the nurse in to check me and I was 7 cm. I only said "only 7" and was so disappointed. That was at about 5:00 PM. Right after that, I started vomiting a lot and they called dr. in to check me and he said I was 7-8 cm. I was also hopeful, because I could see the nurses getting everything ready for the delivery and I knew that it wouldn't be much longer, although it felt like an eternity to me. I had a few more really intense contractions and then instead of screaming "make it stop, make it stop, I can't do this anymore" I started to scream "out, get the baby out" during each contraction. I was feeling pressure to push but didn't know that is what I was feeling. I just felt like I had to go to the bathroom or something. I was totally uninhibited, almost naked with all these nurses and dr. around and I totally didn't care (which is unusual for me, normally I am a very inhibited person). I was just screaming and doing what my body needed to do, without caring that I was almost naked and all these people were around. I tried different positons, but mostly just lied on my side and moaned and screamed during each contraction. At about 5:20 they checked me again, and I was complete. I eneded up pushing flat on my back, because I didn't have the energy to squat or get on all fours or do anything else. The dr. was telling me how to push and I was pushing soo hard. I got the head out, gave one more push and out came the shoulders. She was born at 5:33 PM, and had her first cry at 5:35 PM. I just had a tiny little tear and the doctor put in 2 little stitches and that was it. Her face was really bruised and they said it was because she was born so fast and descended so quickly down the birth canal. They immediate put her on my stomach and started rubbing her to stimulate her. Afterewards, I felt very relieved and very tired and drained. It was a very intense labor. Once things really picked up, it wasn't long until she was born. I also felt kinda weak and shaky and it turns out I started bleeding really heavily. Later they gave me a shot of something to stop that. It was really great to be able to hold her right away, and Greta latched on like a pro and spent most of the first hour of her life outside the womb nursing off and on. She was a vigorous nurser from the start and already a true nurse-aholic.
Overall it was a very positive experience, but very painful and unfortable. I thought I was prepared and read up on the link between pain and fear and all that, but it was still painful. I have no idea how people have "painfree births". The plain truth was it hurt, and at several points I would have gladly taken drugs or even a c-section to get it over with. The only reason I didn't was because I knew my emotional signposts and I knew that by the time I was in so much pain I would have wanted drugs, it was almost over and birth would happen shortly. And, it was only about 40 minutes from when I really couldn't take it anymore to when she was born. I think my favorite thing though was that I went into birth totally on my own time, it happened on its own, nothing augmented it. It just happened when it did. My body was ready, the baby was ready (although I do have to say I am soo glad it was 10 days early, I don't how people who go late can do it). It went at its own pace. It was nice to know I can do that and that I felt uninhibited and free enought for my body to do what it did. I was peeing and pooping and passing gas during the pushing, all sorts of really embarrassing things, but I totally didnt' care and my body just did what it needed to do.
I woke up on the morning of Oct. 19th at 2:40 PM to feel a trickle of liquid running down my legs. Went to the bathroom and some more liquid trickled out. At that point, I KNEW that my water had broken and today would be birth day. I went back to bed and tried to rest, but didn't get much sleep (too excited). Periodically I would feel more trickle and the occasional contraction. I got up for good at around 4:30 AM and packed my bag for the hospital and got on the computer. I called my mom at 5:00 and told her that my water had broken and she needed to come up to watch Heidi (DD). I think my body was subconsciously waiting until it was early enought to call my mom, since I HATE to bother people in the middle of the night and I didn't want to call Deb (doula) during the night either). At around 6:30 AM, Heidi woke up and I took her in the living room and put on a movie for her (Hans Christian Anderson). I wanted to be totally relaxed and not have to worry too much about being mommy, so labor could progress well. I also told Ben (DH) at that point that he better call in for a substitute teacher for the next few days, as he wouldn't be going to work that day. I also called Deb and told her what was happening and that we would call her when we needed her. I also talked with her on the phone periodically that morning to keep her updated. I spent the morning, watching movies with DH and DD, eating breakfast, getting on the computer and waiting for my mom to get here. Had the occasional contraction, nothing really intense or painful. It is supposed to be a 2-hour drive, and she left at 6:30, but didn't get here until 11:00 AM. After about 9:00 I started to get worried, and I think that was why I wasn't having too many contractions and things weren't really progressing. Finally, she got her and then things started to pick up. I started to have more contractions closer together. Around 12:00 PM. I was having them every 5 minutes and they were lasting about 1 minute each, but they weren't painful or uncomfortable at all. Heidi had gone to bed late the night before and gotten up early that morning, so I took her in the bedroom and nursed her to sleep for a nap. We decided that while she was napping was the best time to head for the hospital. I called the dr. and told him what was going on and we headed over there. Pretty much as soon as I got into the car, everything stopped, no more contractions. But, we decided to head over there anyway, since I knew I was in labor and thought that I would start up again once I was relaxed and settled in the delivery room. I also called Deb at that point and told her to meet us over there. We got to the hospital, they did the intake procedures, hooked me up to the moniter to check the heartbeat and contractions and then spent a lot of time to see if my water really had broken. I KNEW it had, but they weren't able to collect any amnionic fluid, since I think it had broken up high and Greta's head was plugging up my cervix. The dr. checked me and I was 4-5 cm dialted, 70% effaced and baby was at -2 station. So, we stayed there. After the dr. left and nurses left and it was jus Ben, Deb and I, I was able to relax. We were talking and laughing, joking around, and that helped me relax at lot. Things started to pick up more, and I decided to sit on the birth ball. We were still talking and laughing about different things. It was fun and I was having more contractions which were getting close together and more painful and uncomrtable. At one point, we were joking about the back of granola bars I had brought and the 1-800 number you could call for questions and concerns. Ben called it on his cell, I was just laughing and having a great time. After about an hour of that, things got more intense and I decided to get in the Jacuzzi. This was at about 4:00 PM Deb put lavander bubble bath in the tub, which was great, really soothing and we just relaxed and talked some more. After being in the tub for awhile, things started to get even more intense and the contractions were quite painful and intense and were coming really close together. I started getting on my hands and knees and rocking back and forth during them while Deb and Ben would press on my back and massage my belly. After about and hour or so of that, things were pretty intense and I started to fell pressure, so I got out, and just put the robe on and went to the bed and lied down. At that point, I was having contractions very frequently, they were very intense, I had a lot of back pressure and pain and things were difficult. Ben and Deb were wonderful, massaging me my back and being very supportive. I started to scream during contractions "make it stop, make it stop, I can't do this anymore" and felt like crying. It just hurt soo bad. Things were very intense. I think I was having some back labor, which made it harder. They called the nurse in to check me and I was 7 cm. I only said "only 7" and was so disappointed. That was at about 5:00 PM. Right after that, I started vomiting a lot and they called dr. in to check me and he said I was 7-8 cm. I was also hopeful, because I could see the nurses getting everything ready for the delivery and I knew that it wouldn't be much longer, although it felt like an eternity to me. I had a few more really intense contractions and then instead of screaming "make it stop, make it stop, I can't do this anymore" I started to scream "out, get the baby out" during each contraction. I was feeling pressure to push but didn't know that is what I was feeling. I just felt like I had to go to the bathroom or something. I was totally uninhibited, almost naked with all these nurses and dr. around and I totally didn't care (which is unusual for me, normally I am a very inhibited person). I was just screaming and doing what my body needed to do, without caring that I was almost naked and all these people were around. I tried different positons, but mostly just lied on my side and moaned and screamed during each contraction. At about 5:20 they checked me again, and I was complete. I eneded up pushing flat on my back, because I didn't have the energy to squat or get on all fours or do anything else. The dr. was telling me how to push and I was pushing soo hard. I got the head out, gave one more push and out came the shoulders. She was born at 5:33 PM, and had her first cry at 5:35 PM. I just had a tiny little tear and the doctor put in 2 little stitches and that was it. Her face was really bruised and they said it was because she was born so fast and descended so quickly down the birth canal. They immediate put her on my stomach and started rubbing her to stimulate her. Afterewards, I felt very relieved and very tired and drained. It was a very intense labor. Once things really picked up, it wasn't long until she was born. I also felt kinda weak and shaky and it turns out I started bleeding really heavily. Later they gave me a shot of something to stop that. It was really great to be able to hold her right away, and Greta latched on like a pro and spent most of the first hour of her life outside the womb nursing off and on. She was a vigorous nurser from the start and already a true nurse-aholic.
Overall it was a very positive experience, but very painful and unfortable. I thought I was prepared and read up on the link between pain and fear and all that, but it was still painful. I have no idea how people have "painfree births". The plain truth was it hurt, and at several points I would have gladly taken drugs or even a c-section to get it over with. The only reason I didn't was because I knew my emotional signposts and I knew that by the time I was in so much pain I would have wanted drugs, it was almost over and birth would happen shortly. And, it was only about 40 minutes from when I really couldn't take it anymore to when she was born. I think my favorite thing though was that I went into birth totally on my own time, it happened on its own, nothing augmented it. It just happened when it did. My body was ready, the baby was ready (although I do have to say I am soo glad it was 10 days early, I don't how people who go late can do it). It went at its own pace. It was nice to know I can do that and that I felt uninhibited and free enought for my body to do what it did. I was peeing and pooping and passing gas during the pushing, all sorts of really embarrassing things, but I totally didnt' care and my body just did what it needed to do.
