I believe labor had already started because I’d had some light contractions in the early am on October 7, but when my midwife came over Saturday morning around 9am and offered evening primrose suppositories and homeopathic stuff to stimulate contractions I was happy to accept. I do feel a little guilty about that now, BUT I was trying to deal with the “Chinese torture” of being two weeks past my EDD and not coping terribly well with life in general the night before. The suppositories definitely got things going more strongly by 11:30am and then the homeopathic remedies (basically black and blue kohash) kept them coming regularly throughout the day.
A stall of labor came late that night which I slept through fitfully, but somehow the sleep was also restful. I woke a number of times with contractions, but was always able to go back to sleep. DH and I had some mama/daddy fun time around 5am Sunday morning. I was pretty sure it was the last time for sex for a while and I'm glad we took the opportunity.
By 7am contractions were getting to the breathing-through-them difficulty level.
Labor was very regular with some pretty difficult contractions through Sunday morning and early afternoon, but then stalled AGAIN. DH, DD, and I took naps and woke up to more contractions and went off to my Mom’s house for some distraction (dinner with friends). By the time we left, around 11pm, the contractions were picking up in duration and regularity AND getting quite a bit more difficult.
My midwife was unavailable through all this because all THREE of her October mamas were in labor (me and two others) and the other two live REALLY far away from me... so that was ridiculously nerve racking!
So, Sunday night was the most difficult night of my life thus far. I was in hard-core labor all night – from 11:30pm onward. My Mom and DH told me that it seemed like things were easier with this birth than my first because I was dealing with it so much better. Well, I’m glad I could make it look easy!
haha
Anyway... I did the best I could to sleep between contractions and remain relaxed through the night. (I hadn't done that the first labor and it made things sooo much more difficult to deal with overall.) My DH was MUCH better about helping me through contractions and with general support this time around. I’m super proud of him for taking charge of directing my breath (something I totally needed the first time and he didn’t do worth a crap). I didn’t need it as much this time, but it was WONDERFUL to have his support.
I went through transition around 5am and another phase of the same about 2 hours later. (I threw up BOTH times!! ARGH And that's after eating the right stuff - supposed to keep you from throwing up. I think I'm just a barfy chick! hahaha) My midwife was able to arrive around 9:15am Monday morning and she checked me (I REALLY needed to hear that I was well into transition and to mentally ‘let go’ of the stop I know I subconsciously put on my labor). I was 7 to 7.5cm and felt OVER THE MOON about that! I was hoping to be 9cm, but thought I was probably closer to 6cm. So finding out I was more than I expected to be was really GREAT news.
An hour later the contractions were definitely different and my midwife checked me again. I was complete with a small forward lip. So, I had to do lots of forward learning stuff, which was TREMENDOUSLY difficult and beyond painful... but a really short time later I was able to feel the urge to push a little bit and we started in on that. Pushing with my first had been a quick and easy 13 minute affair (and part of that had been moving me from squat to on the bed – SO NOT NICE!). This time, it was at LEAST 40 minutes and a really difficult process for me! I didn’t push effectively and KNEW it, but couldn’t seem to focus correctly. But I did get baby moving after a bit.
I started out on a birthing stool. Moved to another position and finally put myself in a REALLY deep squat on the floor. The squat made all the difference to my psyche and ability to focus pushes. And baby was born with me in that position.
So, my midwife saved my baby’s life. Baby was crowned with a prolapsed cord and my amazing midwife managed to get the cord back into my body so it could resume its care and feeding of my baby as much as possible. The ring of fire was sheer torture because this baby’s head is GInorMOUS!!! Seriously... if my midwife hadn’t been working on my perineum the way she did I probably would have an opening from clit to anus! I’m only using a LITTLE bit of exaggeration – SERIOUSLY! As it happens, I have only a tiny tear from when I pushed too hard after the head was born and baby’s shoulder tore me an itty bit on their way out.
Baby was born rather purple, but not as discolored as my midwife expected. Baby was breathing, but it was with difficulty and the concern was over mucus and meconium because there was some poop on the belly and legs. Through all this I didn’t know the cord was prolapsed and didn’t really GET that there was a reason to worry about baby’s breathing... it just seemed to me that the new baby was like my first. My first didn’t cry at ALL after she was born and she didn’t have ANY issues with breathing. Anyway... I could see as soon as baby was born, lying on the floor in front of me, that I’d made another GIRL!!! She was BIG! 9 pounds 8 ounces isn’t so bad when I was really expecting 10 pounds, but MAN, I wasn’t expecting that HEAD!!! She definitely takes after her Daddy!!! hahaha
Her big sister was pretty freaked out by the actual delivery. However, she slept through the night of my most difficult labor AND played near me the whole time I was in hard core labor. She didn’t like the pushing part (I was much noisier this time than last BY FAR!). She also didn’t like watching the baby come out so well. As soon as the body was born my DD#1 ran away saying, “Baby go back, baby go back!” I didn’t hear it, but can totally imagine! DH was WONDERFUL and went to her to comfort her. He brought her back and guided her introduction to her new sister. DD#1 (2.5yrs old) held her new baby sister within 2 hours of birth and the first thing she said TO her new sister was, “I love you.” I was over the moon in love with my new family... and I’m even more in love with my oldest daughter because she is SUCH a good big sister. She’s having attitude problems, disobeying quite a lot, and testing mama and daddy more, but she LOVES her new sister! So, we can deal with the behavior stuff.
Kathryn Star
born: 10-9-06
weight: 9lb 8oz
A stall of labor came late that night which I slept through fitfully, but somehow the sleep was also restful. I woke a number of times with contractions, but was always able to go back to sleep. DH and I had some mama/daddy fun time around 5am Sunday morning. I was pretty sure it was the last time for sex for a while and I'm glad we took the opportunity.
By 7am contractions were getting to the breathing-through-them difficulty level.
Labor was very regular with some pretty difficult contractions through Sunday morning and early afternoon, but then stalled AGAIN. DH, DD, and I took naps and woke up to more contractions and went off to my Mom’s house for some distraction (dinner with friends). By the time we left, around 11pm, the contractions were picking up in duration and regularity AND getting quite a bit more difficult.
My midwife was unavailable through all this because all THREE of her October mamas were in labor (me and two others) and the other two live REALLY far away from me... so that was ridiculously nerve racking!
So, Sunday night was the most difficult night of my life thus far. I was in hard-core labor all night – from 11:30pm onward. My Mom and DH told me that it seemed like things were easier with this birth than my first because I was dealing with it so much better. Well, I’m glad I could make it look easy!
hahaAnyway... I did the best I could to sleep between contractions and remain relaxed through the night. (I hadn't done that the first labor and it made things sooo much more difficult to deal with overall.) My DH was MUCH better about helping me through contractions and with general support this time around. I’m super proud of him for taking charge of directing my breath (something I totally needed the first time and he didn’t do worth a crap). I didn’t need it as much this time, but it was WONDERFUL to have his support.
I went through transition around 5am and another phase of the same about 2 hours later. (I threw up BOTH times!! ARGH And that's after eating the right stuff - supposed to keep you from throwing up. I think I'm just a barfy chick! hahaha) My midwife was able to arrive around 9:15am Monday morning and she checked me (I REALLY needed to hear that I was well into transition and to mentally ‘let go’ of the stop I know I subconsciously put on my labor). I was 7 to 7.5cm and felt OVER THE MOON about that! I was hoping to be 9cm, but thought I was probably closer to 6cm. So finding out I was more than I expected to be was really GREAT news.
An hour later the contractions were definitely different and my midwife checked me again. I was complete with a small forward lip. So, I had to do lots of forward learning stuff, which was TREMENDOUSLY difficult and beyond painful... but a really short time later I was able to feel the urge to push a little bit and we started in on that. Pushing with my first had been a quick and easy 13 minute affair (and part of that had been moving me from squat to on the bed – SO NOT NICE!). This time, it was at LEAST 40 minutes and a really difficult process for me!
I didn’t push effectively and KNEW it, but couldn’t seem to focus correctly. But I did get baby moving after a bit.I started out on a birthing stool. Moved to another position and finally put myself in a REALLY deep squat on the floor. The squat made all the difference to my psyche and ability to focus pushes. And baby was born with me in that position.
So, my midwife saved my baby’s life. Baby was crowned with a prolapsed cord and my amazing midwife managed to get the cord back into my body so it could resume its care and feeding of my baby as much as possible. The ring of fire was sheer torture because this baby’s head is GInorMOUS!!! Seriously... if my midwife hadn’t been working on my perineum the way she did I probably would have an opening from clit to anus! I’m only using a LITTLE bit of exaggeration – SERIOUSLY! As it happens, I have only a tiny tear from when I pushed too hard after the head was born and baby’s shoulder tore me an itty bit on their way out.
Baby was born rather purple, but not as discolored as my midwife expected. Baby was breathing, but it was with difficulty and the concern was over mucus and meconium because there was some poop on the belly and legs. Through all this I didn’t know the cord was prolapsed and didn’t really GET that there was a reason to worry about baby’s breathing... it just seemed to me that the new baby was like my first. My first didn’t cry at ALL after she was born and she didn’t have ANY issues with breathing. Anyway... I could see as soon as baby was born, lying on the floor in front of me, that I’d made another GIRL!!! She was BIG! 9 pounds 8 ounces isn’t so bad when I was really expecting 10 pounds, but MAN, I wasn’t expecting that HEAD!!! She definitely takes after her Daddy!!! hahaha
Her big sister was pretty freaked out by the actual delivery. However, she slept through the night of my most difficult labor AND played near me the whole time I was in hard core labor. She didn’t like the pushing part (I was much noisier this time than last BY FAR!). She also didn’t like watching the baby come out so well. As soon as the body was born my DD#1 ran away saying, “Baby go back, baby go back!” I didn’t hear it, but can totally imagine! DH was WONDERFUL and went to her to comfort her. He brought her back and guided her introduction to her new sister. DD#1 (2.5yrs old) held her new baby sister within 2 hours of birth and the first thing she said TO her new sister was, “I love you.” I was over the moon in love with my new family... and I’m even more in love with my oldest daughter because she is SUCH a good big sister. She’s having attitude problems, disobeying quite a lot, and testing mama and daddy more, but she LOVES her new sister! So, we can deal with the behavior stuff.
Kathryn Star
born: 10-9-06
weight: 9lb 8oz
C on g r a t u l a t i o n s ! 
My daughter was 2lbs less than yours, but had a 37cm head! You make it all sound easy mama. Happy babymoon to your new family.
