When I last left you all, it was 8:30 AM on Friday and the contractions were three minutes apart. By 9:00 AM, they were two minutes apart and my doula was on her way over.
At 2:30 PM the contractions were what I would call intense. I am told my vocalizations were changing as well, and so we were off to the hospital.
I was chanting, completely without being aware of it, "Loooooose. Go looooooooose," in a very low tone. My sweet wonderful husband was doing it right along with me, and whenever my pitch rose, he would lower his and I would unconsciously echo him.
This next part kind of amazes me. The L&D nurse I "drew" was not a natural supporter... so she swapped with a nurse and an intern who were rabid about supporting natural birth. And every single attendant who came onto my case was the same way. Furthermore, my midwife (who is attached to a standard medical practice), stayed with me almost the entire time. At one point the room was filled with women bringing their best energy to the scene. It was remarkable and beautiful.
Unfortunately, I'm just now getting to appreciation. Let me explain how I wound up with three shifts of nurses, and two shifts of doulas. I checked in at 90% effaced... and one cm dilated. I stayed at two minutes apart for the next twelve hours. That would be 17.5 hours at two minutes apart, intense enough that I could not talk through them.
We tried the ball. We tried walking. I focused. I chanted. I sang. I sat in the shower and was lovingly sprayed. I blew bubbles with my lips. I kept my face loose and relaxed. I danced with my husband. I drank tons of water, and nibbled on the snacks we snuck in. Well, until I couldn't deal with eating at all and stuck to water and popsicles.
At around 2:00 AM Saturday morning, my body finally hit the wall and the contractions spaced out to five minutes. The midwife, the doula, and the nurses conferred with my husband, and they decided on a very light pitocin drip. I asked about the increased pain, because I really did not think I could take much more. (Note: Refuse as many internal exams as possible - each one triggered a contraction lasting at least five minutes long. My midwife RULES and only did three throughout the process, but I will remember those three for the rest of my life.) My midwife said the out of control pain comes with induction, but as I was already in labor, it should just enhance.
It worked, the contractions immediately went to every two to three minutes, and not more intense. At this point I am ashamed to admit that I completely lost it anyway. They again conferred, this time in the hallway, and decided on 10 MGs of... some kind of pain killer, delivered through a saline bag.
That let me rest in between, but it absolutely did not take the edge off the contractions. All I could do was go along.
I honestly do not know what happened next, exactly. I remember asking for painkillers again and having everyone tell me that I didn't need them anymore. I remember the midwife telling me to change my sounds to something very grunty. I remember the doula telling me to Look At Her and follow her breathing in between contractions. I remember my husband crying and telling me he was proud of me. I remember looking down and watching them pull the foot of the bed away. It wasn't until that moment that I realized I was literally giving birth and that the pain was his head coming down. It was totally primal. I wasn't above it all in any way, it was all in the moment.
I also remember taking not one, not two, not three, but four mighty craps on the chux pads. It ain't all mystical. They were all laughing at me because I kept telling them I'd done it, like they hadn't noticed!
Anyway, the last push is also seared into memory. It went on forever. I'm told it was actually three minutes.
Then they put my son on my belly at 5:20 AM on Saturday. He kind of "mawped" at us. He was very still, but he was looking at me and my husband with wide eyes. Then they grabbed him, and the midwife started stitching me up. (She wouldn't tell me how many, but later I overheard a nurse in the hallway say "Our natural's in there, she's got a second degree.") I found out the next day he'd been born with his cord around his neck three times, longest cord they'd seen in a dog's age - but since his heartrate had been so steady we had no idea until he was out. They grabbed him because he was a bit slow to pink up and his temperature was a bit cold.
But Saturday night the pediatrician saw him, and said he was perfect. And he is. And they told me I could go home early, so I did. He was 6 lb 14 oz, 19 inches long, he nurses like a champion, and he has a head full of dark hair he can already hold up just a little. He cries just like a Star Wars banta when he's mad.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9388464...th/2258679162/
I am still kind of dazed, and will try to catch up on all the births that happened over the weekend as soon as I can - but congrats to all of us in the meantime. Wow. I can't believe we all did this/do this.
At 2:30 PM the contractions were what I would call intense. I am told my vocalizations were changing as well, and so we were off to the hospital.
I was chanting, completely without being aware of it, "Loooooose. Go looooooooose," in a very low tone. My sweet wonderful husband was doing it right along with me, and whenever my pitch rose, he would lower his and I would unconsciously echo him.
This next part kind of amazes me. The L&D nurse I "drew" was not a natural supporter... so she swapped with a nurse and an intern who were rabid about supporting natural birth. And every single attendant who came onto my case was the same way. Furthermore, my midwife (who is attached to a standard medical practice), stayed with me almost the entire time. At one point the room was filled with women bringing their best energy to the scene. It was remarkable and beautiful.
Unfortunately, I'm just now getting to appreciation. Let me explain how I wound up with three shifts of nurses, and two shifts of doulas. I checked in at 90% effaced... and one cm dilated. I stayed at two minutes apart for the next twelve hours. That would be 17.5 hours at two minutes apart, intense enough that I could not talk through them.
We tried the ball. We tried walking. I focused. I chanted. I sang. I sat in the shower and was lovingly sprayed. I blew bubbles with my lips. I kept my face loose and relaxed. I danced with my husband. I drank tons of water, and nibbled on the snacks we snuck in. Well, until I couldn't deal with eating at all and stuck to water and popsicles.
At around 2:00 AM Saturday morning, my body finally hit the wall and the contractions spaced out to five minutes. The midwife, the doula, and the nurses conferred with my husband, and they decided on a very light pitocin drip. I asked about the increased pain, because I really did not think I could take much more. (Note: Refuse as many internal exams as possible - each one triggered a contraction lasting at least five minutes long. My midwife RULES and only did three throughout the process, but I will remember those three for the rest of my life.) My midwife said the out of control pain comes with induction, but as I was already in labor, it should just enhance.
It worked, the contractions immediately went to every two to three minutes, and not more intense. At this point I am ashamed to admit that I completely lost it anyway. They again conferred, this time in the hallway, and decided on 10 MGs of... some kind of pain killer, delivered through a saline bag.
That let me rest in between, but it absolutely did not take the edge off the contractions. All I could do was go along.
I honestly do not know what happened next, exactly. I remember asking for painkillers again and having everyone tell me that I didn't need them anymore. I remember the midwife telling me to change my sounds to something very grunty. I remember the doula telling me to Look At Her and follow her breathing in between contractions. I remember my husband crying and telling me he was proud of me. I remember looking down and watching them pull the foot of the bed away. It wasn't until that moment that I realized I was literally giving birth and that the pain was his head coming down. It was totally primal. I wasn't above it all in any way, it was all in the moment.
I also remember taking not one, not two, not three, but four mighty craps on the chux pads. It ain't all mystical. They were all laughing at me because I kept telling them I'd done it, like they hadn't noticed!
Anyway, the last push is also seared into memory. It went on forever. I'm told it was actually three minutes.
Then they put my son on my belly at 5:20 AM on Saturday. He kind of "mawped" at us. He was very still, but he was looking at me and my husband with wide eyes. Then they grabbed him, and the midwife started stitching me up. (She wouldn't tell me how many, but later I overheard a nurse in the hallway say "Our natural's in there, she's got a second degree.") I found out the next day he'd been born with his cord around his neck three times, longest cord they'd seen in a dog's age - but since his heartrate had been so steady we had no idea until he was out. They grabbed him because he was a bit slow to pink up and his temperature was a bit cold.
But Saturday night the pediatrician saw him, and said he was perfect. And he is. And they told me I could go home early, so I did. He was 6 lb 14 oz, 19 inches long, he nurses like a champion, and he has a head full of dark hair he can already hold up just a little. He cries just like a Star Wars banta when he's mad.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9388464...th/2258679162/
I am still kind of dazed, and will try to catch up on all the births that happened over the weekend as soon as I can - but congrats to all of us in the meantime. Wow. I can't believe we all did this/do this.
: welcome little Edwin George!! Congrats to you! You did it!
Sounds like you had a quite a labor...it's amazing how it all blurs, isn't it?
Enjoy your babymoon -thanks for taking the time to share the experience!!
: You are wonderful mama!!!! What a beautiful birth story,
