Eli Bodie was born November 9 at 5:30 am. He is 8 lbs 4 oz and 21 inches long.
On Wednesday I was feeling lots of pressure and having some BH. I was feeling real discomfort at the top of my uterus. But I still was not thinking real labor. At around nine that night, I started having regular but weak contractions. They were about five to six minutes apart and got a bit stronger as time went on. I had a feeling in my gut that this was probably true labor, but still was having a hard time beleiving it as I usually have contractions for weeks on end, and have never birthed more than two days before my DD. But now I felt hyped up and an intensity in my gut. At 11:30, I decided to try to get some sleep.
I awoke at 1:30 with two intense contractions about 1 minute apart. I got up and walked around for a few minutes and knew that this was it. I woke DH -- I don't think he believed me, but got dressed anyway. Soon the contractions were every minute to 30 seconds and were fairly intense and so I called the midwife and doula. The midwife definitely did not beleive that I was in labor -- She told me to go to the hospital to get checked and they would call her. I kind of laughed knowing that she is new at this practice and doesn't realize how quickly my labors go. DH's parents were supposed to be on call to come and stay with the kids while we went to the hospital. He called four times and they did not answer! So helpful! We called a close friend and she came right over. Meanwhile the in-laws had called and they were on their way.
We arrived at the hospital at 2:30. My biggest demand was that I not be asked to lie down because in the past that had made the contractions feel very out of control. The nurse was great, she let me get on the monitor standing up. I had to lie down for a quick pelvic so she could check me cervix, but it was less than one minute. I was 4 cm, fully effaced. She called the midwife in. Our doula filled the tub so I could labor there. They were supposed to get some kind of strip of changes in the baby's heartrate, but it wasn't changing enough and wasn't working. The midwife said to forget it, just go to the tub. I labored for almost an hour in the tub, and then decided that I wanted the spinal narcotic. I had that with two of my other pregnancies and it works well for me as I approach transisiton and start to get tired and freaked out. When the midwife checked me, I was now 9 cm. I had the spinal narc, waited through contractions for another 30 minutes, then started to push. I pushed for 30 minutes, and at 5:30 am, Eli was born. I was pretty shocked that it was a boy -- I had gotten such girl vibes from this baby all along.
Our Doula knew that we did not want to stay in the hospital, so she immediately advocated for us to go home ASAP. We were home with the baby by 9 pm.
I am so happy to have Eli here with us!
On Wednesday I was feeling lots of pressure and having some BH. I was feeling real discomfort at the top of my uterus. But I still was not thinking real labor. At around nine that night, I started having regular but weak contractions. They were about five to six minutes apart and got a bit stronger as time went on. I had a feeling in my gut that this was probably true labor, but still was having a hard time beleiving it as I usually have contractions for weeks on end, and have never birthed more than two days before my DD. But now I felt hyped up and an intensity in my gut. At 11:30, I decided to try to get some sleep.
I awoke at 1:30 with two intense contractions about 1 minute apart. I got up and walked around for a few minutes and knew that this was it. I woke DH -- I don't think he believed me, but got dressed anyway. Soon the contractions were every minute to 30 seconds and were fairly intense and so I called the midwife and doula. The midwife definitely did not beleive that I was in labor -- She told me to go to the hospital to get checked and they would call her. I kind of laughed knowing that she is new at this practice and doesn't realize how quickly my labors go. DH's parents were supposed to be on call to come and stay with the kids while we went to the hospital. He called four times and they did not answer! So helpful! We called a close friend and she came right over. Meanwhile the in-laws had called and they were on their way.
We arrived at the hospital at 2:30. My biggest demand was that I not be asked to lie down because in the past that had made the contractions feel very out of control. The nurse was great, she let me get on the monitor standing up. I had to lie down for a quick pelvic so she could check me cervix, but it was less than one minute. I was 4 cm, fully effaced. She called the midwife in. Our doula filled the tub so I could labor there. They were supposed to get some kind of strip of changes in the baby's heartrate, but it wasn't changing enough and wasn't working. The midwife said to forget it, just go to the tub. I labored for almost an hour in the tub, and then decided that I wanted the spinal narcotic. I had that with two of my other pregnancies and it works well for me as I approach transisiton and start to get tired and freaked out. When the midwife checked me, I was now 9 cm. I had the spinal narc, waited through contractions for another 30 minutes, then started to push. I pushed for 30 minutes, and at 5:30 am, Eli was born. I was pretty shocked that it was a boy -- I had gotten such girl vibes from this baby all along.
Our Doula knew that we did not want to stay in the hospital, so she immediately advocated for us to go home ASAP. We were home with the baby by 9 pm.
I am so happy to have Eli here with us!
Sweet little baby Eli!
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