Now that I'm a little better at one-handed typing, here is our birth story:
I woke up on Sunday with a burst of energy, and got a lot of things done. Thank goodness, I also took a nap, since that was the last sleeping I would do for quite some time. I had contractions all day, but had been having them for days, so didn't think much of it. Around 10 that night, though, they started to really hurt, and came about every 10 minutes. I tried to go to bed, but lying down hurt too much, so I bounced on the yoga ball, hung out with DH and read a bit. Within a couple of hours, they were getting much more intense, and closer together--more like 5 minutes apart. I could no longer sit down at this point, and wouldn't be able to for the rest of my labor.
We spent the rest of the night at home--listened to music, hung on my DH's neck, bent over the counter, hands and knees in the shower. I was coping fine, except when I tried to sit--very painful. The shower really helped, and I was there for a long time. Around 5am we called my parents, so they could start their three hour drive to be with us, and about 30 minutes later headed for the hospital. I was really reluctant to leave my cozy home, but worried that if we waited any longer I wouldn't be able to handle the car ride. I had no idea how far along I was but contractions had been 5 minutes apart for a few hours, so it felt like time.
Things slowed a little when we first got to the hospital, but quickly picked up again. I was checked and was only 3 centimeters--a little frustrating after all that work, but I knew that first labors could be long, so I wasn't too worried. I got used to the hospital room pretty quickly, and was happy that the nurses were very respectful of our birth plan--no IV, just intermittant monitoring with the doppler, continuing to eat, etc.
My mom arrived around 9, and I continued to progress slooowly the whole day. Every contraction was very intense, both in my belly and my back, and they were coming between 2-5 minutes apart all day. I was getting pretty tired from not being able to sit. I walked a lot, hung off the window ledge, knelt on the bed, etc. I needed to focus on my DH's face during every contraction--if I couldn't see him, I would lose it. I also was really loud--I chanted "open" during each, and it seemed to help me relax and breathe through it. My mom and DH also held accupressure points for pain on my feet, hands and back, which seemed to really help.
I spent two long periods of time in the shower--if that hadn't given me so much relief, I think I would have needed an epidural. As it was I kept asking to be reminded why I didn't want meds. I'm really glad we had in our plan that I didn't want to be offered any meds--if they had offered them, I probably would have said yes, but I'm so glad I didn't.
At 8 centimeters, around 6 or so that night, I was in serious transition--throwing up, panicking a little. They checked me and felt a bulging bag of waters, and asked if I wanted it to be broken. I said yes, and actually felt a tiny bit of relief--the contractions were worse, but less pressure in between. Then the babe started to move down, and the pain in my tailbone was incredible. My DH was amazing--he was able to help me stay focused and somewhat relaxed even at this point.
Eventually, I was at 9, and wanted to push sooo badly--but had a couple of stubborn lips. The nurse tried to help them along, which hurt worse than anything, but they didn't budge, so she encouraged me to hang in there and breath through a few more contractions. At that point I ended up lying in bed--it hurt worse, but I was so tired after almost 24 hours on my feet, I didn't care. The urge to push was unbearable, like nothing I've ever felt.
We had one scary moment when the baby started to move down and had a major decel. The nurse put my on my left side and on oxygen, and he recovered right away, but I was in transition-land and really scared. The nurse was incredible--so strong, reassuring and encouraging, she really helped me get it together again. I think the oxygen really helped, too--I had felt like I couldn't catch my breath.
Finally time to push! My doctor was there, as was the nurse, and both really helped to coach me through it. We tried lots of different positions. I was so tired at that point that they needed to physically move me and support me. Between the two of them, my mom and my DH, I felt very supported. Pushing went somewhat slowly, but it was a relief after transition. As he started to crown, I reached down and felt his head--I'm so glad I did, because now when I touch his head, I can remember that moment.
The ring of fire was pretty intense, and everyone was urging me to go slow, let everything stretch, but it was hard! I didn't really believe he would ever come out, but after 2 hours and 15 minutes, in one big push, out came the head and then his whole body. It was a beautiful sight! He came out crying and went right on my belly, and my DH looked to see that he was a boy. That was such a fun moment, I loved not knowing!
From that moment on, I was just entranced with my little one, and didn't really notice that I delivered the placenta, was bleeding quite a lot, and had a second degree tear stitched up. Nothing mattered but holding our beautiful son.
thanks for reading!
Congratulations to all the others whose babes have arrived, and good luck to those in labor!
My little one arrived on August 6th. I can't believe that it has been a week and half already--it feels like a lifetime ago that I was pregnant. I'll post a birth story when I have time, but now he's waking up!
Oliver
7 pounds, 5 ounces
20 inches
10:25 on August 6th
Pure joy!
I woke up on Sunday with a burst of energy, and got a lot of things done. Thank goodness, I also took a nap, since that was the last sleeping I would do for quite some time. I had contractions all day, but had been having them for days, so didn't think much of it. Around 10 that night, though, they started to really hurt, and came about every 10 minutes. I tried to go to bed, but lying down hurt too much, so I bounced on the yoga ball, hung out with DH and read a bit. Within a couple of hours, they were getting much more intense, and closer together--more like 5 minutes apart. I could no longer sit down at this point, and wouldn't be able to for the rest of my labor.
We spent the rest of the night at home--listened to music, hung on my DH's neck, bent over the counter, hands and knees in the shower. I was coping fine, except when I tried to sit--very painful. The shower really helped, and I was there for a long time. Around 5am we called my parents, so they could start their three hour drive to be with us, and about 30 minutes later headed for the hospital. I was really reluctant to leave my cozy home, but worried that if we waited any longer I wouldn't be able to handle the car ride. I had no idea how far along I was but contractions had been 5 minutes apart for a few hours, so it felt like time.
Things slowed a little when we first got to the hospital, but quickly picked up again. I was checked and was only 3 centimeters--a little frustrating after all that work, but I knew that first labors could be long, so I wasn't too worried. I got used to the hospital room pretty quickly, and was happy that the nurses were very respectful of our birth plan--no IV, just intermittant monitoring with the doppler, continuing to eat, etc.
My mom arrived around 9, and I continued to progress slooowly the whole day. Every contraction was very intense, both in my belly and my back, and they were coming between 2-5 minutes apart all day. I was getting pretty tired from not being able to sit. I walked a lot, hung off the window ledge, knelt on the bed, etc. I needed to focus on my DH's face during every contraction--if I couldn't see him, I would lose it. I also was really loud--I chanted "open" during each, and it seemed to help me relax and breathe through it. My mom and DH also held accupressure points for pain on my feet, hands and back, which seemed to really help.
I spent two long periods of time in the shower--if that hadn't given me so much relief, I think I would have needed an epidural. As it was I kept asking to be reminded why I didn't want meds. I'm really glad we had in our plan that I didn't want to be offered any meds--if they had offered them, I probably would have said yes, but I'm so glad I didn't.
At 8 centimeters, around 6 or so that night, I was in serious transition--throwing up, panicking a little. They checked me and felt a bulging bag of waters, and asked if I wanted it to be broken. I said yes, and actually felt a tiny bit of relief--the contractions were worse, but less pressure in between. Then the babe started to move down, and the pain in my tailbone was incredible. My DH was amazing--he was able to help me stay focused and somewhat relaxed even at this point.
Eventually, I was at 9, and wanted to push sooo badly--but had a couple of stubborn lips. The nurse tried to help them along, which hurt worse than anything, but they didn't budge, so she encouraged me to hang in there and breath through a few more contractions. At that point I ended up lying in bed--it hurt worse, but I was so tired after almost 24 hours on my feet, I didn't care. The urge to push was unbearable, like nothing I've ever felt.
We had one scary moment when the baby started to move down and had a major decel. The nurse put my on my left side and on oxygen, and he recovered right away, but I was in transition-land and really scared. The nurse was incredible--so strong, reassuring and encouraging, she really helped me get it together again. I think the oxygen really helped, too--I had felt like I couldn't catch my breath.
Finally time to push! My doctor was there, as was the nurse, and both really helped to coach me through it. We tried lots of different positions. I was so tired at that point that they needed to physically move me and support me. Between the two of them, my mom and my DH, I felt very supported. Pushing went somewhat slowly, but it was a relief after transition. As he started to crown, I reached down and felt his head--I'm so glad I did, because now when I touch his head, I can remember that moment.
The ring of fire was pretty intense, and everyone was urging me to go slow, let everything stretch, but it was hard! I didn't really believe he would ever come out, but after 2 hours and 15 minutes, in one big push, out came the head and then his whole body. It was a beautiful sight! He came out crying and went right on my belly, and my DH looked to see that he was a boy. That was such a fun moment, I loved not knowing!
From that moment on, I was just entranced with my little one, and didn't really notice that I delivered the placenta, was bleeding quite a lot, and had a second degree tear stitched up. Nothing mattered but holding our beautiful son.
thanks for reading!
Congratulations to all the others whose babes have arrived, and good luck to those in labor!
My little one arrived on August 6th. I can't believe that it has been a week and half already--it feels like a lifetime ago that I was pregnant. I'll post a birth story when I have time, but now he's waking up!
Oliver
7 pounds, 5 ounces
20 inches
10:25 on August 6th
Pure joy!
