March 22 2007 Thursday night
had contractions that woke me up starting at 11 or so at night. But they weren't so bad that I couldn't sleep
March 23 2007 Friday
Woke Jack up at around 4 am. That is when his alarm went off. He was supposed to go down to the boat and he was going to be unreachable for a few hours at the least. This did worry me. I was having to stand through the contractions and thought that it could be any time. We went downstairs, he went to Safeway to
pick up donuts for the girls, and me
. He called the boat and told them I was in labor and that he wouldn't be able to come in. Monica came down and we talked a little, she started some tea for me and did the dishes, keeping me company. Jack came back and I could feel that the contractions weren't as strong
and thinking we could go back upstairs after I ate something and try to sleep a little in between them. Well, my husband being who he is, suggested some activities to speed things along. I agreed and it was promptly after that that my contractions stopped. But I did end up with losing my mucous plug, bloody
show and a back rub, so I didn't feel I had the right to complain The rest of the day however, I think I had maybe two contractions. It was very discouraging. But then at around 11 or so they picked up to being almost unbearable.
March 24 Saturday
So at around 1 am we went downstairs into the tub. They became bearable and we timed them for an hour, they were 5 to 7 minutes apart lasting from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Here I thought were some good contractions. We called the midwife and she told us, no that wasn't what she wanted to see. That wasn't even quite early labor, and to call her back when they were coming regular and lasting between 45 seconds and a minute and a half. You would think that those 15 seconds on one side and 30 seconds on the other wouldn't make much difference, but it does. Almost right after talking to her, my contractions stopped. Layla had woken up with us. So we went upstairs and ate some donuts. Some advice, don't give donuts to a kid who you want to go back to sleep at 3 in the morning. I paced the living room, trying to get things starting again. I finally gave up, I was tired and it wasn't going to happen. So we went back upstairs and as soon as I laid down, I got hard strong contractions. They hurt so bad. I wrestled with them until morning. I decided that that day I would rest and try to de-stress myself from everything. Jack made me breakfast. My midwife called to see how things were going on. We decided to see if what I was doing was doing anything. So her assistant, Anna, came over, checked me. I was maybe 3 cm, but really high. The baby was at a +1 station though. But all in all, discouraging after two nights of little sleep. Everyone else went to Costco to pick up a few things. I went into the birth tub and had a little talk with the baby. I admitted that I was a little scared. The contractions had scared me because they were nothing like I remembered
with Layla, they were more like pictocin contractions I had with Natalie. I know now that it had more to do with Gwen being posterior. I did tell her that I did want to hold her more than anything else and I would work hard for it. So after talking to her for awhile, I went and listened to a relaxation tape.
Being all nice and toasty from the tub and listening to it, I got a good hour of sleep. At the end I was waking up with my contractions again. I got up, got back into the tub, it made things much easier on me. I knew that these weren't going anywhere and I had figured that she wasn't in a good position. So I tried
to lean forward as much as I could. It wasn't doing much though because she was already so far engaged. Jack again made us dinner and it was really yummy, though I did wonder if it was something I was going to throw up later. I had finally decided that my labor wasn't really going to come for a few days. I had
accepted this. I nursed Layla to sleep again, and decided to take something to make it easier for me to sleep. This was at 930. Jack told me he would massage my back has it was really hurting after all the contractions. He layed down behind me and I could feel as he pushed on my back that that was what was needed to move this baby. I could feel the spots, so I told him where and he pushed. i could feel the baby moving. And moving lots. I have to say that this was more uncomfortable than the contractions. The head was far down and it moving all around along with fighting arms and legs was about agony. Jack was falling
asleep, but he would still occasionally push on a spot so I layed there in bed still. And at the magic time, 11:30, it was too much and I told him we needed to get downstairs. I should have known that this was actually going to be the night right then. I was shaking and felt like I was going to be sick.
March 25 Sunday.
I got immediately into the tub. It felt so nice, warm and it stopped my shaking, or it was the rescue remedy, either way, it stopped. I still felt sick though. I had also realized from the last two nights that I didn't want Jack timing my contractions. For some reason this time, him telling me 5 minutes
lasted 30 seconds, annoyed the crap out of me. So I timed my contractions and kept it to myself. The only problem with this was that I kept forgetting what the last time was. So during my contractions, I started thinking of those numbers, 35 15 seconds 39 45 seconds. It gave me something to hold on to. Jack was
starting to worry that I was overheating from being in the tub. It was really hard for me to try and tell him, this was real, and I would be sweating this much even if I hadn't been in a tub. He did get me a wet cold rag that he kept cooling down. I went from wiping my face with it to biting on it. He fanned me
after I told him that there was no way that I was getting out, period. I was leaned over the edge of it, so only my stomach and my legs were actually in the water. He fanned my back between contractions and my face during contractions. I told him that the contractions were moving from 5 min apart to 3 min apart
and that we should call Peggy. He called, I really don't know what he told her, but she did think that this was it this time. That was a little after 1. He asked me if I wanted my contacts. I so did. My glasses were fogging up horribly and it was miserable. He went and got my contacts and I put them in in
between contractions. I have to say that it was weird and not something I thought I would be doing while in labor. But I immediately felt better. Throughout the whole time the baby was still moving insanely. I was almost having a hard time figuring out when the contractions were coming because every time she moved
it was more intense. I thought that maybe going to the bathroom would help. I was really scared to get out. I was starting to feel that I couldn't do anymore. I wanted the baby out right then. Jack helped me out. I took one step out and didn't want to move again. Jack told me to just pee on the floor, it
was no biggie. I just couldn't do it though. I leaned on him to get to the toilet. It was actually very wonderful to sit down and pee. I noticed I was pushing a little. I felt and could feel the head. I sat there for a good long time, a half hour maybe? Once I got there I didn't want to get back up. I had
stopped timing my contractions. It had almost felt like they had stalled. Jack tells me that they didn't though. It was at this time that it became very important to me that he was with me. I concentrated on him. His sweatpants, his strength. If you knew how soft his sweatpants were, you might understand. It
was like holding onto a big teddy bear filled with strength. And he was giving me his strength, I am not sure how he really felt, but he was just so strong and so sure, just like he always is. Peggy and Anna arrived around 2. They listened for heart tones. They were both a little surprised with how much the baby was moving. I wanted to get back in the tub. I think I thought that they would be able to not monitor me in there. They did. I was very happy to find that they didn't mind not checking me though. After getting in, I started to make noise, a good bit sometimes. I almost felt wild. Some of it was due to not getting a real break between my contractions. She just kept moving. I was squeezing Jacks hands and pushing on them. Every time I tried to dig my nails into him, he gently pulled my fingers off and made it so I could grab his hand. I think I looked at him rather meanly once, and he said something like, "I am not going to let you dig holes into my hand". Oh I was so pissed. I was having a baby come out of me and I couldn't hurt him just a little bit??? I am over it now though I started to feel her move down on one contraction. I remember feeling just like a huge opening of my whole body. Jack says I started to sing pretty much. I didn't hear any of the conversation, but I guess they asked to see if the head was crowning, and it was, and then the shoulders and then the body just came right out all with that one super push. It was so nice not to hear stop slow down. I pushed my baby out the way my body wanted to. I believe Peggy even said, "go with it" so nice to be encouraged. Anyway, Anna went and caught the baby. I had been on my knees leaning over the side, so she lifted the baby up and I lifted my leg as I turned around to sit. They laid her on my chest. It was amazing. She didn't cry, just sat there looking around with her head resting on her hands. They put a chux over her to keep her warm and wet. I tried to get her latched on. We heard the running of little feet and realized that my singing had woken one of the girls. Not sure if they had just known that something was going to happen that night, but they had both ended up in our bed before we made it downstairs. Layla came downstairs. She saw the baby. We told her to go get Natalie. So they both got to see the baby very shortly after the birth. At one point they lifted her up just a little so we could see if it was a boy or girl. I was pretty sure, but they confirmed that it was a girl. I was struck at how tiny she was. Her head was so small, she was covered in vernix. I was then covered in it. A little bit after we saw the gush of blood that meant my placenta detached. I was really hoping it would just slide out. But I actually needed to push it a bit. I saw Jack was concerned that Anna was pulling a little on the cord. My hand was also down there. I could feel the placenta right at the base. So I told him it was alright, it was already detached. She wasn't so much as pulling on the cord as was giving me a little help figuring out how to get it out. It was actually a bit of effort. After they clamped the cord and Jack cut it. It was kinda funny how both of the girls were talking about it being the placenta as they put it in the bowl. They let me sit there for a little while. And after I was ready Jack took off his shirt and they gave her to him and covered them both with blankets. They helped me out, dried me off and put on my robe. I was helped upstairs by Anna, she commented on how fast I was walking. I really felt just fine. I got settled into our nursing chair, rocking recliner, and they gave her back to me, putting her under my robe and putting many hot towels over us. And then it all starts to blur a little. Things that stick out, her asking about putting Baby Girl on the birth cert and Jack saying, No, her name is Gwendolynn. I looked at him and asked him if he was sure. It didn't really matter to me and I really didn't want him to feel that she needed to have that name. He said he was sure. We still don't have a middle name though. Monica came down. She made me some tea and the girls something to eat. Layla was of course hungry. At some time Layla actually went back upstairs and got dressed for the day, it was only about 4 am. The girls were absolutely fascinated with her though. Anna weighed her, I was a little surprised, she seemed so tiny to me, I was expecting around 6 pounds, she was 7 pounds 8 ounces. She was 20 inches long. They went over all the things we were supposed to watch over, got us settled into bed and left. It took us a good bit of time to get everyone settled into our bed and the girls settled back into wanting to go back to sleep. The girls love her, and want to hold her all the time. Natalie actually has carried her over to me, about 2 feet, with the help of Jack. She actually looks a lot like Natalie did. She is very alert and already a very expert nurser. At the beginning of this pregnancy I really wanted an unassisted birth. We decided to not do this mainly because we were unsure that Jack would be here, and that very nearly happened. When it came down to it though, I am not sure I could have had a better pregnancy or birth. Yes, it was filled with worry, and part of it could very well be that I am typing this just a day afterwards and still totally filled with love. But with everything that happened this time it has made me realize that I can count on my friends and other people. I had such an outpouring of love and support from people that it is almost hard to believe. It has been an amazing experience and I want to thank all of you who helped me.
had contractions that woke me up starting at 11 or so at night. But they weren't so bad that I couldn't sleep
March 23 2007 Friday
Woke Jack up at around 4 am. That is when his alarm went off. He was supposed to go down to the boat and he was going to be unreachable for a few hours at the least. This did worry me. I was having to stand through the contractions and thought that it could be any time. We went downstairs, he went to Safeway to
pick up donuts for the girls, and me
. He called the boat and told them I was in labor and that he wouldn't be able to come in. Monica came down and we talked a little, she started some tea for me and did the dishes, keeping me company. Jack came back and I could feel that the contractions weren't as strongand thinking we could go back upstairs after I ate something and try to sleep a little in between them. Well, my husband being who he is, suggested some activities to speed things along. I agreed and it was promptly after that that my contractions stopped. But I did end up with losing my mucous plug, bloody
show and a back rub, so I didn't feel I had the right to complain
The rest of the day however, I think I had maybe two contractions. It was very discouraging. But then at around 11 or so they picked up to being almost unbearable.March 24 Saturday
So at around 1 am we went downstairs into the tub. They became bearable and we timed them for an hour, they were 5 to 7 minutes apart lasting from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Here I thought were some good contractions. We called the midwife and she told us, no that wasn't what she wanted to see. That wasn't even quite early labor, and to call her back when they were coming regular and lasting between 45 seconds and a minute and a half. You would think that those 15 seconds on one side and 30 seconds on the other wouldn't make much difference, but it does. Almost right after talking to her, my contractions stopped. Layla had woken up with us. So we went upstairs and ate some donuts. Some advice, don't give donuts to a kid who you want to go back to sleep at 3 in the morning. I paced the living room, trying to get things starting again. I finally gave up, I was tired and it wasn't going to happen. So we went back upstairs and as soon as I laid down, I got hard strong contractions. They hurt so bad. I wrestled with them until morning. I decided that that day I would rest and try to de-stress myself from everything. Jack made me breakfast. My midwife called to see how things were going on. We decided to see if what I was doing was doing anything. So her assistant, Anna, came over, checked me. I was maybe 3 cm, but really high. The baby was at a +1 station though. But all in all, discouraging after two nights of little sleep. Everyone else went to Costco to pick up a few things. I went into the birth tub and had a little talk with the baby. I admitted that I was a little scared. The contractions had scared me because they were nothing like I remembered
with Layla, they were more like pictocin contractions I had with Natalie. I know now that it had more to do with Gwen being posterior. I did tell her that I did want to hold her more than anything else and I would work hard for it. So after talking to her for awhile, I went and listened to a relaxation tape.
Being all nice and toasty from the tub and listening to it, I got a good hour of sleep. At the end I was waking up with my contractions again. I got up, got back into the tub, it made things much easier on me. I knew that these weren't going anywhere and I had figured that she wasn't in a good position. So I tried
to lean forward as much as I could. It wasn't doing much though because she was already so far engaged. Jack again made us dinner and it was really yummy, though I did wonder if it was something I was going to throw up later. I had finally decided that my labor wasn't really going to come for a few days. I had
accepted this. I nursed Layla to sleep again, and decided to take something to make it easier for me to sleep. This was at 930. Jack told me he would massage my back has it was really hurting after all the contractions. He layed down behind me and I could feel as he pushed on my back that that was what was needed to move this baby. I could feel the spots, so I told him where and he pushed. i could feel the baby moving. And moving lots. I have to say that this was more uncomfortable than the contractions. The head was far down and it moving all around along with fighting arms and legs was about agony. Jack was falling
asleep, but he would still occasionally push on a spot so I layed there in bed still. And at the magic time, 11:30, it was too much and I told him we needed to get downstairs. I should have known that this was actually going to be the night right then. I was shaking and felt like I was going to be sick.
March 25 Sunday.
I got immediately into the tub. It felt so nice, warm and it stopped my shaking, or it was the rescue remedy, either way, it stopped. I still felt sick though. I had also realized from the last two nights that I didn't want Jack timing my contractions. For some reason this time, him telling me 5 minutes
lasted 30 seconds, annoyed the crap out of me. So I timed my contractions and kept it to myself. The only problem with this was that I kept forgetting what the last time was. So during my contractions, I started thinking of those numbers, 35 15 seconds 39 45 seconds. It gave me something to hold on to. Jack was
starting to worry that I was overheating from being in the tub. It was really hard for me to try and tell him, this was real, and I would be sweating this much even if I hadn't been in a tub. He did get me a wet cold rag that he kept cooling down. I went from wiping my face with it to biting on it. He fanned me
after I told him that there was no way that I was getting out, period. I was leaned over the edge of it, so only my stomach and my legs were actually in the water. He fanned my back between contractions and my face during contractions. I told him that the contractions were moving from 5 min apart to 3 min apart
and that we should call Peggy. He called, I really don't know what he told her, but she did think that this was it this time. That was a little after 1. He asked me if I wanted my contacts. I so did. My glasses were fogging up horribly and it was miserable. He went and got my contacts and I put them in in
between contractions. I have to say that it was weird and not something I thought I would be doing while in labor. But I immediately felt better. Throughout the whole time the baby was still moving insanely. I was almost having a hard time figuring out when the contractions were coming because every time she moved
it was more intense. I thought that maybe going to the bathroom would help. I was really scared to get out. I was starting to feel that I couldn't do anymore. I wanted the baby out right then. Jack helped me out. I took one step out and didn't want to move again. Jack told me to just pee on the floor, it
was no biggie. I just couldn't do it though. I leaned on him to get to the toilet. It was actually very wonderful to sit down and pee. I noticed I was pushing a little. I felt and could feel the head. I sat there for a good long time, a half hour maybe? Once I got there I didn't want to get back up. I had
stopped timing my contractions. It had almost felt like they had stalled. Jack tells me that they didn't though. It was at this time that it became very important to me that he was with me. I concentrated on him. His sweatpants, his strength. If you knew how soft his sweatpants were, you might understand. It
was like holding onto a big teddy bear filled with strength. And he was giving me his strength, I am not sure how he really felt, but he was just so strong and so sure, just like he always is. Peggy and Anna arrived around 2. They listened for heart tones. They were both a little surprised with how much the baby was moving. I wanted to get back in the tub. I think I thought that they would be able to not monitor me in there. They did. I was very happy to find that they didn't mind not checking me though. After getting in, I started to make noise, a good bit sometimes. I almost felt wild. Some of it was due to not getting a real break between my contractions. She just kept moving. I was squeezing Jacks hands and pushing on them. Every time I tried to dig my nails into him, he gently pulled my fingers off and made it so I could grab his hand. I think I looked at him rather meanly once, and he said something like, "I am not going to let you dig holes into my hand". Oh I was so pissed. I was having a baby come out of me and I couldn't hurt him just a little bit??? I am over it now though
I started to feel her move down on one contraction. I remember feeling just like a huge opening of my whole body. Jack says I started to sing pretty much. I didn't hear any of the conversation, but I guess they asked to see if the head was crowning, and it was, and then the shoulders and then the body just came right out all with that one super push. It was so nice not to hear stop slow down. I pushed my baby out the way my body wanted to. I believe Peggy even said, "go with it" so nice to be encouraged. Anyway, Anna went and caught the baby. I had been on my knees leaning over the side, so she lifted the baby up and I lifted my leg as I turned around to sit. They laid her on my chest. It was amazing. She didn't cry, just sat there looking around with her head resting on her hands. They put a chux over her to keep her warm and wet. I tried to get her latched on. We heard the running of little feet and realized that my singing had woken one of the girls. Not sure if they had just known that something was going to happen that night, but they had both ended up in our bed before we made it downstairs. Layla came downstairs. She saw the baby. We told her to go get Natalie. So they both got to see the baby very shortly after the birth. At one point they lifted her up just a little so we could see if it was a boy or girl. I was pretty sure, but they confirmed that it was a girl. I was struck at how tiny she was. Her head was so small, she was covered in vernix. I was then covered in it. A little bit after we saw the gush of blood that meant my placenta detached. I was really hoping it would just slide out. But I actually needed to push it a bit. I saw Jack was concerned that Anna was pulling a little on the cord. My hand was also down there. I could feel the placenta right at the base. So I told him it was alright, it was already detached. She wasn't so much as pulling on the cord as was giving me a little help figuring out how to get it out. It was actually a bit of effort. After they clamped the cord and Jack cut it. It was kinda funny how both of the girls were talking about it being the placenta as they put it in the bowl. They let me sit there for a little while. And after I was ready Jack took off his shirt and they gave her to him and covered them both with blankets. They helped me out, dried me off and put on my robe. I was helped upstairs by Anna, she commented on how fast I was walking. I really felt just fine. I got settled into our nursing chair, rocking recliner, and they gave her back to me, putting her under my robe and putting many hot towels over us. And then it all starts to blur a little. Things that stick out, her asking about putting Baby Girl on the birth cert and Jack saying, No, her name is Gwendolynn. I looked at him and asked him if he was sure. It didn't really matter to me and I really didn't want him to feel that she needed to have that name. He said he was sure. We still don't have a middle name though. Monica came down. She made me some tea and the girls something to eat. Layla was of course hungry. At some time Layla actually went back upstairs and got dressed for the day, it was only about 4 am. The girls were absolutely fascinated with her though. Anna weighed her, I was a little surprised, she seemed so tiny to me, I was expecting around 6 pounds, she was 7 pounds 8 ounces. She was 20 inches long. They went over all the things we were supposed to watch over, got us settled into bed and left. It took us a good bit of time to get everyone settled into our bed and the girls settled back into wanting to go back to sleep. The girls love her, and want to hold her all the time. Natalie actually has carried her over to me, about 2 feet, with the help of Jack. She actually looks a lot like Natalie did. She is very alert and already a very expert nurser. At the beginning of this pregnancy I really wanted an unassisted birth. We decided to not do this mainly because we were unsure that Jack would be here, and that very nearly happened. When it came down to it though, I am not sure I could have had a better pregnancy or birth. Yes, it was filled with worry, and part of it could very well be that I am typing this just a day afterwards and still totally filled with love. But with everything that happened this time it has made me realize that I can count on my friends and other people. I had such an outpouring of love and support from people that it is almost hard to believe. It has been an amazing experience and I want to thank all of you who helped me.
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