Thread: April 07 Birth Stories!

I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 6am Monday morning for my C-section, and I woke up at 3:30am b/c of bathroom/baby kicking/heartburn and just overall excitement. I know, starting off on the wrong foot, right? After calling the hospital to make sure it wasn't overbooked, we woke up my daughter, who is 4, gathered all our stuff together and headed out. When we got there, just seeing the nurses at the front desk made me emotional, like "whoa this it," and I had to look away and say something random to my DD.
Once we got to my room, we had to wait for my MIL and SIL to show up to take care of my DD while I was in the surgery. They somehow got lost, and I was getting concerned that my DH wouldn't be able to attend the surgery at all. The doctor was running even later, so everything worked out. In the meantime, nurses were running around my room checking on things, and it seemed like they all had to ask me how long it had been since I had eaten and what. I had to fess up to my Oreo binge at 9pm, which was still before the midnight deadline. The IV was one of the best I have had. They numbed the area with Lidocaine (sp) first, and it didn't hurt at all. Then I said goodbye to everyone and walked (was not wheeled!) to the OR.
After I got there, I sat on the operating table for a bit, and watched the nurses finish setting up all the instruments. I looked at them, all shiny and sharp, and I was like, Oh crap. Then someone came in to tell the anesthesiologist that this teenage girl really wanted an epi. I felt really sorry for her, and said I didn't mind waiting. It probably wasn't entirely up to me, but we ended up walking back to my room, to the surprise of everyone, and waiting some more. The second walk back to the OR wasn't nearly as climactic, and when I got there, I laid down on the table, and the anesthesiologist tried to put my spinal in. Tried is the correct word here, b/c it didn't go very well. They gave me some more Lidocaine, and told me to tell them if I felt sharp pains in my back or legs. Well, very soon, I felt a sharp tingling pain in my back, so after jerking away, which you are not supposed to do (ha) so they gave me more Lidocaine, but then I felt it again. This happened a few more times, and I asked the nurse if they were almost done, and she said "well he is finding all the places where it WON'T work. So I thought, crap, in other words they haven't even started yet. I felt like such a wuss. They ended up going in from the side somehow b/c my vertebrae were all too close together. I remember that warm heavy feeling running down my legs and thinking, Finally!
So then everyone came in, including DH with the video camera, and they said he could get a shot of the actual birth, which was really cool. They put the drape up, and started working. I was having a difficult time believing they were actually cutting me open b/c I didn't see them, and I couldn't feel anything. It was all very surreal. They could have been back there ordering takeout and waiting for a stork to show up for all I knew. Anyways, shortly after I heard a cry, and then the doctor said "she's crying already" ( I guess they didn't have to jumpstart her. I have not seen the video yet) and they whisked her over to the table to be cleaned up, which was in my field of vision. And there was the thing that I had been dreaming about and feeling for the past nine months. It seemed like there should have been trumpets playing or something. I saw them giving her a little bit of oxygen, (her APGAR scores were 8/9) and then they wrapped her up and gave her to DH, and then he nuzzled her face next to my head. My hands weren't tied down, so I stroked her and kissed her and talked to her. I expected them to take her away while I was getting stitched up, but they never did, and she wasn't crying.
When we got back to my room, there was all this pent up energy. DD was very sad she didn't get to see them take the baby out, and felt overwhelmed in general, and I felt torn between wanting to comfort her and wanting to see what they were doing with my baby. I guess I will feel that more often.
I didn't sleep much Monday night b/c she didn't like being in the bassinet, and by Tuesday night I guess I looked pretty tired b/c the nurses strongly offered to watch her for me and let me sleep. So I took a long hot bath in an awesome birthing tub and had a really good sleep. I gave them the OK to give her a bottle, but it was the only one she has had.
I went home Wednesday afternoon, and everything is doing pretty well. Baby has figured out that pacifiers are not breasts and the bassinet is not the same thing as being held, so we are together a lot.
Anyways, the official stats: Shiloh Eleanore Grace was born at 9:47am April 16. She weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces and is 19 inches long. She lost 9 ounces the first day at the hospital, which makes me think a lot of that weight was amniotic fluid or meconium. She left the hospital at 6 pounds 14 ounces, but all the nurses said she was a good nurser, so I'm not worrying too much about it. She has her first doctor's appointment Monday.

Mariah's birth story:
(7lb. 2.4 oz
7:05pm
4/18/2007)

On Monday 4/16 I went to my last prenatal check up. My doctor said that he would be on call on Wednesday and I should schedule an induction starting on Tuesday using Cervidil and then on Wednesday start me on Pitocin. I was already 8 days late and I was caught between feeling relief and fear. I have heard that induced labors are more painful so I decided that I should go ahead and have an epidural also I have been suffering with back pain as it was. I had read that there is a high liklihood that if I have the epi that the baby could be born occiput posterior because it tends to relax the uterine muscles causing the baby to turn the wrong way. Before I had let my other pregnancies go late but my doctor told me that as the baby stays in utero the amniotic fluid absorbs which can make things more risky. I agreed but still hoped that I would start labor naturally. I was already having constant pains infact that evening I called Richard and told him that I thought I had started labor again and like several other times those pains died away. No denying that I was really irritated about this.

The plan was that I'd call the hospital at 3 to see if they had a room ready for me at 4. So Tuesday I made my last preparations. Richard came home from his work early and took me out to the Chinese buffet. I kind of felt like this was my last meal.

When I called the hospital they said that they had been busy and to come at five. An hour means everything when you are about to have a baby. I think I took a shower to kill the time.

So after we got registered, given a room and hooked up to a monitor. I had to wait for the midwife to be freed up. There was another lady giving birth. She apparently was pushing for hours.I said a prayer that her baby would come. Poor thing! Finally when the midwife arrived to check me and give me the cervidil. She said that I was already at 3cm dialated and my cervix was soft. She thought that I was already in the early stages of labor and would have little use for the Cervidil.She said she was going strip my membranes to help things move along. I declined at that but she told me that I may not need to be induced and my body would just proceed. I agreed to it so she went ahead and stripped them.That was SO painful! She assured me that my labor should go on it's own.The cervidil was pulled out after short while. I was cramping too much. I was told that it wasn't a big deal that there were small dips in the baby's heart rate everytime I had a contraction but the nurses were keeping an eye on things. As the evening progressed, my daughter arrived after work. My older son joined us for a while. I was having mild contractions so I tried napping. There were some speculations that I might have the baby as early as 3a.m. since I have had two previous fast births. I fell asleep, sometimes waking to peek at the monitor so see that I had very mild contractions that felt like Braxton Hicks. They were not getting any stronger. Around 2 a.m. a nurse came into the room to give me a pill to stop my contraction (What?! I was almost NOT having any and now they were stopping them??? I was thinking that since there were several babies being born maybe they were throwing me on the back burner, but it turned out that the doctor oncall was concerned about the small dips in the baby's heart rate.)

In time I figured out that if I laid on either side there was less a problem with the heart rate. Flat on my back seemed to bring on contrctions but also caused the dips.

During this time, being hooked up to the monitors and the IV, I could not count the number of times I had to go to the bathroom. Erica quickly learned how to unhook me and help me. Both she and Richard were very helpful seeing that I was comfortable. It was also nice that the hospital allowed me to drink and eat lightly. In the past I was only allowed ice chips. As the morning arrived everyone was tired. Richard had enough of the uncomfortable recliner he slept on. We were eagerly awaiting the doctor to arrive to see what's going on and make the call on if I should be started on Pitocin. I assumed they'd send me home but the nurse assured me that I had already paid for my ticket. The doctor was held up and everyone was getting very antsy and irritated. Finally when he arrived he checked me. There was really no change to my cervix (ow! the midwife bruised me earlier!). He wanted me to have an ultrasound done to make a determination about either going ahead with the Pitocin, doing a c-section or sending me home. All of the above kind of worried me. We had to wait longer for ultrasound. The doctor had to tell them to squeeze me in or otherwise I'd have to wait until 2pm. It was about afternoon when I had my ultrasound. Everything seemed fine. The amniotic fluid was borderline. It was kind of low. I asked the technician which way was the baby lying. She said she was on her side. No telling if she would descend posterior or anterior. After the ultrasound, It was up to the doctor (and me) to make the next call about what to do. He discussed it with me. I had to fill out a paper to agree upon a c-section incase it was needed and then the pitocin was started at 2pm. The contractions returned and were comfortable enough. I took a nap for about an hour keeping on my side. I made sure to get up when I could, walk the halls, go to the bathroom. It was a complete pain to have to drag the monitor and the IV stand around with me everywhere I went. I can't quite recall the time. Maybe around 5 or 6 with the nurses continually turning up the pitocin my contractions went from comfortable to unbearable. I told this to the nurse before going to the bathroom. I found myself getting down on my knees to deal with the pain. They already had the anethesiologist on his way over. It crossed my mind that the last time I had a baby (almost 13 years ago) that when I was down on the floor like that that I was really close to delivering. Everything started to happen fast. I was sat up on the edge of the bed, feet on a chair, pillow infront of me and Richard beside me holding me up. I didn't realize that they sent my daughter out of the room, all I knew was I was getting these horrid contraction that were 1 minutes apart and lasting about 2 minutes while I had to sit perfectly still for the anethesiologist. While he hooked me up it seemed like forever. I must have contracted about 5 times. I kept my head low moaning in pain. Finally when he was done I laid down but could still feel the pains. He kept adding more medication, but it didn't seem to do much at first. My doctor arrived all prepped and ready to start the show. He told me he was going to break my water. I asked him to hold off for a moment. He looked like he was going to wait--I thought the pitocin contractions were bad as it was, I wasn't ready to go any worse than that. Suddenly the doctor ripped the hook from the nurse's hand--surprising her-- and like that he broke my water. I was turned over on my side, oxygen mask on my face, holding Richard's hand feeling the last of my contractions and dealing with them as best as I could. With each one I knew the baby was descending until I felt it was time. The bed was converted and I was told to push when I felt ready to, but I could no longer feel any contractions. The doctor said to just try a push to get things started. I did and it was pretty amazing that I could feel her moving down and out without the extra pain, no complaints. I could see the doctor grabbing the scissors, so I knew I had gotten an episiotomy. With a few pushes the doctor had her out, clearing her airway and she was breathing right away. Richard, to my surprise --did cut the cord although he swore he wouldn't. I was glad that he did. Then she was handed over to me for a moment---She was covered in my blood. I guess I bled a lot. First thing I noticed about her was her eyes focused right on me. She had the most beautiful eyelashes that curl up like a lady's. She had to be whisked away since the doctor said she had meconium. I then learned--She WAS born occiput posterior and I was torn pretty bad and she had the cord wrapped around her neck twice. Fortunately they checked the cord gas and there was no problem there. The pediatrician gave her a 9/9 apgar to which my doctor was so pleased because he says that she's a tough one to give out good scores. Richard told me that he watched the doctor work quickly to get her out and breathing right away. Give the guy credit for that!

We came home Friday morning from the hospital. It was beatiful and warm out and the flowers were blooming (purple crocuses) Breast feeding has been a lot of work. I've been pretty sore, but I am very much in love with my beautiful new daughter!
Monday she went to her first doctor appointment. I was pleased that she put on weight (was 7lbs 7oz.).

Pictures from the hospital:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...9&id=172500368



Dad giving first bath at home
with big sister Erica
playing video game with brothers

Hi everyone! Its good to be back
So here is my story....
I woke up at around 4:30am on Friday the 13th having contractions about seven minutes apart. I fell back to sleep and woke up at like 9:00 and they were five minutes apart, I still wasn't sure if I should call my midwife cause she lives like an hour and 45 minutes away so I wanted to be sure I was in labor before I made her drive all that way. They went from 5 minutes to about 3 minutes pretty fast though so I called her and told her what was going on and I called my DH at work and somehow even though DH works almost 2 1/2 hours away he got home before the midwife got there She checked me at like 11:00 and I was 4 cm and 100 percent effaced. I walked around the house with DH for like 20 minutes till my contractions hurt too bad so I went back and laid down falling to sleep for a minute or two between contractions. Somehow it took me till 1:00am to be dilated to 10, the contractions were really powerful so they put me in the tub as soon as I was fully dilated. Its felt SOOO good to get into the tub. I threw up like seven times during my labor so I had like NO energy already and I hadn't even started pushing. They gave me some shots of vitamin b12 or something like that to give me energy and they kept feeding my spoonfuls of honey and trying to get me to eat ice chips. Finally she had me try pushing cause for some reason even though I was ready I didn't have any urge to push. My water broke in the tub, but it was taking a really long time for her to move down for some reason so after about two hours in the tub and like five different positions I got out and was on the bed for another hour or so, pushing and pushing and having everyone hold my legs and push on my feet and everything else lovely. Finally the midwife told me to sit on the toilet for a while so gravity could work better, so I sat there for like half and hour fourty five minutes pushing and finally i could feel her head, I was so exhausted but when I reached down and touched her head I was so happy to know she was almost here. I pushed till her head was almost out then I knelt down by the bed and pushed her head out in a couple pushes, I was so releived cause I THOUGHT her body would follow like its supposed too, but when my next contraction came I pushed and NOTHING happened! I new something was wrong then cause I have seen how birth is SUPPOSED to happen..and it wasn't happening! So I held my breath and pushed again with all my strength and I felt the midwife wrestling with her and finally she pulled her out at 5:42am! she had to be suctioned for a good minute or two and they gave her oxygen, apparently after my water broke she pooped and swallowed some maconium water before she finally came out. She was all white and purple and my DH grabbed my head and wouldn't let me turn around and look at her cause he thought she was dead. But after a little bit of rubbing and oxygen and suctioning she started to cry. I was so happy to know it was over and now all I had to do was get the placenta taken care of, easy right? NO! I pushed on my next contraction and felt something yucky come slipping out, unfortunatly it was a blood clot, disgusting. So I tried again and the same thing happened! Finally my midwife had to reach in and get it out manually. Which seriously hurt worse then the entire rest of the birth. SO I had to get a shot of potocin and something else? Meth something or something. I also had to wear an oxygen mask for a while and they gave me like four different cups of stuff to drink, some iron mix and some post partum tea stuff and some fiber drink thing. So I really wasn't starving after birth like everyone said I would be. Anyway, they cleaned me off and somehow I got out of it without a single tear! I was so amazed and thankful. Little Amelia weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 20" long. Her head was 14" which my midwife said was the average size for a 9lb baby! But the reason she had such a hard time coming out is cause she had her hand up by her head the whole time, so after her head finally came out she kept her arm in a funny position by her body which is why the midwife had to wrestle with her to pull her out. She also had super low blood sugar cause i threw up so much so they gave her some mollasses and water in a dropper. I lost alot of blood and have been on bed rest till today but were doing alot better. Nursing is going great and sleeping hasn't been too bad either. So i finally have my beauiful baby girl and I am so thrilled. It was worth every minute and I cant believe how much I love her. I also have to give major props to my husband who has never seen so much as a cat give birth but did soo beautifuly during my labor I was astonished. He helped hold my legs and saw her head come out and cut the cord and everything. So there it is, a little long i know but thats how it goes.
Congrats to all the mommies!!
Rachel

click below for pictures


http://family.webshots.com/album/558744743GtqBXY

Ella
April 14th, 2007

Tuesday 4/17--dr stripped my membranes, lost some of mucous plug and had cntx for 3 hours then they went away.
Wednesday 4/18--cntx on and off all day...went walking around the block a few times and to the mall
Thursday 4/19--started having strong cntx at noon around 4-5 min apart. Called DH to come home. Got to the hospital about 3 pm and was 4 cm and in pain! They said I needed two bags of IV fluid before I could get my epi. Got the epi around 5:15. About 8pm I was 6 cm. At 10:30 pm they broke my water. I started running a fever and it got up to 100.7 so they gave me antibiotics and tylenol. At 12:30 am I was around 8-9 and 100% effaced but baby was still high (-1 station). There was talk about c-section. They kept asking me why I had my previous c/s--it was b/c she was too big (8lbs 15 oz) and she wouldn't descend. It looked like the same thing was going on. They said this one was "no peanut" and that they would give me a little more time to progress. At 2 am they checked and there was no change so we agreed the best thing was a c/s. Adam Vance was born at 3:08 am Friday April 20th. He weighed 8 lbs 1 Oz and was 19 3/4 inches and looks absolutely perfect His apgars were 9/9. He has had no problems with nursing at all thankfully.

Since I ran a fever during my labor, it's routine to check for an infection in baby too. They pricked his heel, but that blood clotted so they had to do it again a cpl hours later. Then they did it again and again to compare the results. His white blood cells were high and kept getting higher. (now I know it was likely because of the stress of labor) However, as a precautionary measure, they had to start antibiotics. They took him at 10 pm to the NICU. I was very upset even though I knew it was most likely going to be fine. They sent away for blood cultures.

Right after they took him away, I started having horrible pain in my right chest and lungs and under my ribs. It hurt to breathe in and got worse really fast. Nurses said it was just gas pain b/c of the c/s and that I hadn't been up and walking enough. DH had just left (at this hospital dads can only be there between 10 am and 10 pm--isn't that a bunch of crap!!!!!) Anyway, I called him to tell him he needed to come back--I couldn't breathe. By the time he got there I was hysterical and panicky. The nurses gave my a percocet, put warm compresses on my chest and then had me get up to walk around. The episode lasted probably an hour but went away. I didn't think that gas pains would come up to my chest and even my neck and shoulder, but that's what they said it was and I haven't had any more problems since. (I had been on a liquid diet for breakfast and lunch and then dinner was normal. I asked a nurse if it was ok for DH to bring me food from outside--she said yes--DH brought me a cheeseburger from Wendy's--I later found out that that was probably the cause of the episode).

The next morning DH showed up, we went to see Adam in the NICU. I nursed him there and then went back upstairs. A little while later they said he could be released from NICU and that they would leave the IV in to administer his antibioticsupstairs. I was thrilled! He got back to me at 3 pm. They had to take him away for about an hour at 10 pm and 10 am for his antibiotics each day.

Monday April 23rd--I was discharged--without Adam I was so upset. He had to stay until they finished with his blood cultures which would be Wednesday. If they were positive, then more tests needed to be done. Negative and then they would have to decide whether or not to continue with the antibiotics. It was so hard to leave the hospital without him especially since we live about and hour and a half away from it. Went home for a little while, then back to the hospital to see Adam. I pumped while at home and brought back milk for him.

Tuesday April 24th--Saw my two oldest DD's off to school then made the trip to the hospital to see Adam. The nurses said that he may come home the next day! His blood cultures were negative. Antibiotics did need to continue until Friday night though, but what they were doing was trying to set up a home health care nurse to come out and administer his IV antibiotics at our house. So, we waited to find out if that would be possible. It was and we were so excited.

Wednesday April 25th (his due date!)--Adam was coming home. They said to be there early to catch the dr to do the circumcision, so we did, but dr. was doing a c/s that lasted forever. Finally he came and did it. He said to wait half an hour so they could check it. We went down and ate and then came back. His nurse was showing me how to care for it--when she took off his diaper, I immediately started crying b/c there was a lot of blood. I asked if we should wait to leave and she said to come back in 30 min so she could check it again. We came back--she was at lunch We came back again and finally got discharged. The home health nurse came at 6:30 pm to do paperwork and then give his meds. She seemed tired and there was something about her that seemed weird to me. Anyhow, she told us that she was showing us how to do all of this and that we were to do it on our own in the morning!! WTF!!!! I am not a nurse. I don't know how to take care of an IV! So, she goes to flush his IV and says she feels resistance (I have since learned that she should have stopped then). She proceeds to give him the antibiotics. Thankfully, DH noticed his arm bubbling up and turning white. She wasn't even looking at his arm. He mentioned it. She said it wasn't supposed to be like that. The IV had come out of the vein and the meds were going into his arm. I panicked! She said we had to take him back. She packed her things and left! We dropped off DD's at DH's sisters and headed to urgent care--an hour away. They said he would be fine, his body would absorb it and the swelling will go down. They took the IV out and put another in and gave him his meds in a slow drip which took an hour. Then another hour to get home.

We cancelled the home health nurse and decided to drive him an hour each way in the morning and at night for the next cpl days instead. So, thurs and fri we spent 4 hours driving back and forth and 2+ hours there getting his meds. thankfully fri nite he got his iv out and we can finally settle in and spend some time at home!

On Sunday, April 22, at around 1pm I lost my mucous plug. I had some mild, irregular contractions the rest of the afternoon. When the contractions started getting stronger and closer together, I started timing them and around 10:30pm they had been 5 minutes apart for an hour. My mother-in-law came over to stay with DS while DH and I went to meet the certified nurse midwife at the birthing center. By the time we arrived (11:15pm), my contractions had progressed to 3 minutes apart and when the midwife checked me I was 7 cm dilated. I was handling the contractions pretty well, DH was great with rubbing my back and holding on to me as I breathed through them. It wasn’t long before I decided to give the hot tub a try and the warm water felt wonderful. However, when I started feeling tremendous pressure and the beginnings of the urge to push, the midwife decided it would be better to move to the bed and he was absolutely right. At first I was able to push through the contractions much better, but at some point I somehow tore my labia which made pushing unbearable. I started crying and ended up screaming through each push. It should have only taken a couple of pushes to get the baby out, I could feel him/her right there, but I was in agony and knew exactly what I had done and it scared me. Just as the midwife was about to cut a small episiotomy, I found the strength to give one last push and out came the baby’s head. The feeling of relief I had is more than I can describe. Once the baby was all the way out, I heard DH saying that it was a girl! I couldn’t believe I gave birth to a little girl! I had convinced myself this baby would end up being a boy even though my initial instincts at the beginning of the pregnancy were for a girl. She had to have a puff of oxygen to get her going but then I heard her cry and she was absolutely perfect. The midwife placed my little girl on my chest and eventually, after it had stopped pulsing, DH cut the cord. I was able to hold my baby while being sewn up, and knew that she was worth every stitch.

At 1:08am on Monday, April 23, Allison Nicole finally joined us after 41 weeks and 3 days, weighing 7 lbs 10 oz, and measuring 20.75 inches long.

Born April 21st at 3:57pm.
Thursday, April 19th I went to my 40 week appt and had my membranes stripped. From that point I started to bleed and pass my mucus plug. On Friday I felt strange (can’t explain) and Friday night around midnight I started to get, what I now know, as my first contractions. They were sporadic and not too intense as I was able to fall asleep. I woke up around 2:00am and felt more contractions so I decided that I better wake DH and get his contraction timer he built…I told him to go back to sleep as I was unsure of what the heck was going on. As I started timing, I realized that the sensation was about 10 minutes apart. I finally woke up DH around 3:00am, and we decided to go to the hospital to get checked out. On our way there I called my mom and sister to let them know that I thought I could be having contractions (LMAO) but not to worry that I would call if the hospital decided to admit me. We got to the hospital around 5:30am and I was contracting at about 4 minutes apart - - then they became very intense. (Btw, my mom was already on her way to the hospital). I knew as I was having them that I had to get through them, but looking back it seems amazing that I did!!! The only issue I seemed to have was my blood pressure dropping dramatically!!! At around 3cm I finally got my epi and pitocin – and my doctor came in and broke my bag of waters (I was so happy that he came in!!!) - - I had a nurse that was so rough with me!!! After that point time just flew. The nurse came in and said that at 3:00pm I would be ready to push and so she suggested I go to sleep. (Are you kidding me)? Well at around 3:00)pm I finally got tired, go figure. The nurse came in at 3:00pm (just like she said she would – he he) and said if I was a good pusher we would not need to turn the epi off, but if I sucked at it, say goodbye. Well I had 3 sets of pushes and I was ready to go but they my doctor was at another hospital. So we waited for like 15 minutes and there he was!!! Anyway, he was upset when he got there because I had 2 severe tears. Once we started to push again – 3 sets of 3 pushes my little girl had arrived. She was sunny side up (obvious as I had terrible back labor) – and right before I pushed her out, Dr. turned her (which I could feel, but it didn’t hurt which was so strange). It is such an amazing experience. I thought I would be nervous when the time came, but I wasn’t at all.

Here is a pic of us right after giving birth!!! Btw, at the hospital they said she was 6lb 7oz, and 19 ¾ inches long….well at her pedi appt. 2 days later she lost an inch (they measured her wrong, she is 18 ¾ inches long)…..my lil’ squirt!!!!!

Will post the birth story when able, I'm a bit under the weather...

Emily Ann was born on Friday, April 20th @ 2:18 am, weighed 7 lb. 11 oz. and 20 inches long.

...was born on April 29th at 11: 30 a.m.

It started Saturday morning, the 28th, when I had a lot of "bloody show" but no other symptoms of labor. The amt of blood worried me and so DH drove me to the birth center where they monitored me and checked for dialation. I was 100% effaced and only 1 cm dialated so they sent me to walk an hour. When there was no change, they sent me home and I thought for sure I wouldn't be back before my appt with the OB on Monday. Boy was I wrong! We went to a movie Saturday evening and I came home and took a bath. We both took it easy but it was hard to sleep because I was so huge and uncomfortable. Finally, at around midnight, I went to bed.

Around 2 a.m. Sunday morning, I woke up with a strong contraction. Not wanting to make another wasted trip to the birthing center, I decided to monitor the contractions and see if they went away. After about 15 minutes, DH woke up and saw the light on in our room (he had been sleeping in the spare room to make me more comfortable). We determined that I was in labor and headed back to the birth center.

When we arrived they checked me and the nurse said that I was at 1 cm but that she broke through some scar tissue on my cervix and I immediately went to 4 cm. They admitted me and moved me to a birthing room. DH and I had attended Lamaze and was looking forward to a natural birthing experience but in spite of a birth plan, the doc signed me up for continuous monitoring and so I was "tied" to the bed with a monitor, IV, blood pressure cuff and oxygen. Because of the position that Reilly was in, the nurse had me on my left side and pressing on my tummy with each contraction because the monitor was having a hard time picking up Reilly's HB. Sooooo......I was miserable. No birth ball...no walking...no positions or anything that we discussed in Lamaze. I was so disappointed. I labored this way from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. with steadily stronger contractions. Finally, being only 4 cm still, I asked for an epidural. As soon as the epidural was given, I was at 8 cm. The nurse said that once I relaxed, everything openend up. DH was FABULOUS in helping me through each transition and I couldn't have done it without him there. Finally, the doctor was called and she came in for about 30 minutes of pushing. I got to touch Reilly's curly head when she crowned and finally delivered her at 11: 30 a.m.

She weighed in at 8 lbs 5 ozs and was 21 inches long. Beautiful in every way with her daddy's hair and eyes and my mouth. She surprised us with a cute dimple in her right cheek and it was love at first sight!

Jacob Thomas
Monday, April 16
11:03am
8lbs 9oz

1:30am - contractions start, mucous plug coming out in clumps
2:30am - start timing contractions
4:00am - contractions 2-3 minutes apart, lasting 30-45 seconds
5:30am - arrive at hospital
6:30am - admitted to L&D, 4-5cm dilated
7:00am - 5cm dilated
9:30am - 7cm dilated
10:00am - 9cm dilated, water breaks
10:30am - 10cm dilated, start pushing
11:03am - Jacob arrives!

I know it's late, but in celebration of Jacob turning one month old today, here's his birth story.

I hadn't been trying any methods of natural induction prior to my due date. But in the days leading up to his due date, my boss started to act as though I'd be there forever, and my doctor started talking about medically inducing me only 10 days past my EDD. Between the two of them, I was getting seriously annoyed. So I decided I wanted the baby to come the weekend he was due - as soon as his due date hit, I figured it was safe to get him moving.

We spent Sunday afternoon walking around the mall near our home. Sunday dinner was a recipe I found for honey curry chicken - with a bit of extra curry. Sunday evening...well, who hasn't been told that nipple stimulation, orgasm, and semen are all useful in moving things along?

Blame whatever you like, the contractions started at 1:30am. I couldn't get back to sleep through them, so I set up camp on the bedroom floor and timed my contractions while reading a book. My mucous plug was really coming out now, after a couple days of light bleeding. At 4am, the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, lasting for 30-45 seconds, so I figured it was a good time to wake up the soon-to-be-daddy and tell him I was in labour.

Turned out to be good timing, since the contractions got a lot worse soon after. We showered, packed our hospital bags, and called my co-worker to let him know we were headed to the hospital. There was a big snow storm at the time, so the drive took longer than usual. The drive was awful, since I couldn't get into a comfortable position during the contractions. I was so relieved when we finally got there at 5:30am.

The next hour was spent sitting in the assessment room waiting for the nurses to realize that I wasn't lying when I said I was in labour. I had to sit ("and lean back!") in a chair while they monitored the heart rate and contractions. It hurt so bad to sit back. After a good fifteen minutes of this, I couldn't take it anymore. They had plenty enough tape, I was leaning forward. Sure enough, a nurse bustled in soon after to give me trouble for messing up the monitors. I refused to sit back, so she gave up and sent the resident doctor in.

Finally, after several "be back in a few minutes", I was checked internally at 6:30am. I was 4 or 5 cm dialated with paper thin sacs. The cranky you're-not-really-in-labour nurse suddenly became the cheerful let's-get-you-admitted nurse. Yes, let's.

I was set up in L&D and hooked up to the IV to receive antibiotics for my GBS. I was now fully 5 cm dialated. I had to stay in bed for the IV, but moved to the hot tub as soon as it was done. The tub felt so much better as most of the pain was in my back. Isaac joined me in the tub and applied pressure to my back through each contraction. It really helped. I wasn't exactly exciting company or anything by this point, but I was still doing okay. Then the new shift's nurse came in and told me she had to check the baby's heartrate - at this point, I started full out crying. After sitting in the chair being monitored, I dreaded having anyone come at me with the doppler for the rest of the labour.

I stayed in the tub for a couple hours, then wanted to lay down in bed for a while. The back labour was still really bad, so the nurse told me she wanted me to try going on my hands and knees and rocking the baby into a better position. It seemed to work well enough, or at least made things more bearable. She was a great nurse, honestly, though at the time I just wanted all these people to stop coming at me with all their questions and dopplers, expecting answers and movement as I moaned through my contractions. Isaac was great, though - very encouraging, but still staying back and fairly quiet for the most part. I just wanted Isaac there holding my hand and everyone else to stay out of my face.

I lose track of time at this point, but I think it was around 9:30am that I was checked again. I was 7 cm with bulging sacs. The doctor made to break those sacs when the wonderful wonderful nurse stopped him. She reminded him that I was having a natural child birth and that it would be plain and simple mean to break my water at that point, as it would make the contractions much worse. She asked him to wait until 8 cm.

I was getting pretty out of it at this point. I would moan through each contraction, trying very hard to breath properly, then basically pass out in between. Poor Isaac was getting a bit worried. I don't remember much except that it felt like the contractions were coming almost constantly and that everything was moving far too quickly - I had envisioned a much longer labour, with breaks in between the contractions to recover, maybe even say a word or two to my husband. But no.

Shortly after 10:00am, the nurse checked me again. I was now 9 cm with very bulging sacs. She said she'd call the doctor to break my water, but then she checked me again and, to use her words, "tickled the baby's head" during my next contraction. Nice warm gush of fluid and my waters were broken. I was relieved, as it took a lot of pressure off down there - it had been getting pretty uncomfortable.

I think it was around this time that I was offered laughing gas. I hadn't wanted any sort of pain medication, so Isaac waited until I said yes, I'll take the gas. The nurse wanted me to take it to help control my breathing. It definitely helped that way. Deep breath in, long moan out, deep breath in, long moan out. I didn't like the fact that I started to feel numb after a few breaths, so I usually took it away from my face at that point. But the last of the contractions were really bad, so I pretty much just sucked that gas back like there was no tomorrow.

After that things really started moving. The doctor arrived, took a look at me, and said he'd be back later. He was still in the room, though, when I said (loudly) that I needed to push. The nurse said it wasn't time yet, but I told her I needed to push, now. I had been fairly quiet through labour thus far, but that all ended immediately. She asked my husband if I'd been that way before (she was a new nurse, filling in while the other one was on break), and my husband assured her that no, this was very very different. So she checked me again and sure enough I was 10 cm and the doctor had just walked out of the room. She started moving a lot faster at that point.

Suddenly everyone was back. The old nurse, the new nurse, the doctor, the resident doctor, the med student, and possibly one or two other nurses, I really didn't care at the time. They told me to start pushing.

Here is where I'm rather disappointed with my "technical performance", if you will. I sucked at pushing. It hurt, everything was moving way too fast, and I didn't want to push. I recall thinking that if I just refused to push, they would have no choice but to cut me open and pull Baby out. Not exactly rational, I know. That's the thing with the laughing gas - it helped me stay in control through the worst of the contractions, but then I was feeling pretty disoriented and out of control for the delivery. But if I hadn't used it, then I wouldn't have been very much in control during the last contractions, but perhaps I'd have been more focused during delivery. Hard to say whether I made the best choice there, but I used it and that's that.

The baby's head was now part way out. I hadn't even realized until my husband was suddenly on his back on the floor. The sight of the head didn't go over well with him. The nurses had him lie down. I remember just being annoyed that I didn't have his hand anymore, and that everyone was rushing to help him and I didn't know what to do. Poor man. Fortunately, he was up again shortly and was fine for the rest of the delivery.

I, however, was less fine. I was attempting to push a kid through a very small hole. The doctors were getting more insistent that I keep pushing, as I was doing a pretty bad job of it at that point. I knew it, but I couldn't seem to convince myself to suck it up and do better. They had me feel his head and told me that he'd be out in another push or two, but a few pushes later and he was still in the same spot. Then the nurse who had been there through my labour (and came back early from her break to be there for the delivery) leaned over and quietly told me that my baby's heartrate was dropping and staying down and I needed to push the baby out, for Baby's sake. Everyone else was just randomly yelling at me to push ("push through your contractions!" - but I couldn't tell when I was having a contraction anymore!), but she just told me this quietly and directly. It was much appreciated. A few proper pushes and Baby was there, 11:03 am.

Less than 10 hours of labour, start to finish. It moved so much faster than I'd expected, I felt like I couldn't keep up, but the nurse and Isaac were both great at keeping me focused and assuring me I was doing well.

Baby was so blue when he came out, and so quiet. The doctor tried to take him away, but the same wonderful nurse told him not to, that the baby had a good heartbeat and would start crying right away. I was still just trying to find out whether it was a boy or girl - when I could finally string together enough words to ask, Isaac told me it was a boy. Isaac says that he started flailing his arms and making faces as soon they started touching him. He was nice and healthy.

They laid him on my chest and left us alone for a couple minutes. I pushed the placenta out when they told me to, but otherwise just laid there looking at our son until they took him to be weighed and such. 8 lbs 9 oz - a fair bit more than six or seven lbs like my doctor said! The doctors and nurses kept commenting on how he was such a big baby, and how rarely they have natural child births these days.

Once I had him back, the nurse asked how I was feeling. I wasn't sure what to say - very happy because he was here, relieved that the labour and delivery was over, absolutely exhausted, or incredibly sore.

My vagina. It hurt. It burned. But! I hadn't torn at all! I was so relieved. No stitches were needed. I wanted to hug the doctors for helping him come out without tearing me.

I was given Tylenol and Motrin while the baby was given his tests and eye ointment. They brought him back to me to feed. The little man breastfed from each side - he had no problems latching on. He looked so content to lay there feeding away.

I showered (which felt pointless, as I just kept bleeding), went to the washroom (the nurses insisted that I pee), and was moved to the maternity ward, our swaddled son in my arms. A couple days later, the three of us were back at home, everyone happy and healthy.