Easy Second Labor

Beevol

I woke up a little after 4 am Sunday morning with nasty heartburn, needing to pee, par for the course at 40wks 3 days. I heaved myself out of bed to pee and noticed a bit of bright red blood - I'd not even had a touch of spotting the whole pregnancy or with my first, so I freaked out a bit and called my OB's exchange. the on-call doc told me to go ahead and get checked out in L&D just to be safe, so I woke up my husband and called my dad (who wakes up at 5 anyway to have him come watch our still sleeping DD). I felt really dorky because I wasn't in labor and here I was waking everyone up before dawn to go be told everything was fine and I could go home. We hadn't packed a bag for the hospital yet, because we have a toddler and I went 41 weeks with her and blah blah blah, so we packed up a bag just in case, I made myself a pb&j (another give away that I definitely was not in labor - with my first, I didn't eat and was not hungry at all for the entire labor, all 40+ hours). 

We got to L&D triage around 6 am (we weren't rushing) and the nurse put me on the monitors and checked my bleeding and said everything looked fine - I was having some light contractions, mostly BH, but I'd been having contractions (the painful kind as well as BH) all week but just a few a day, so that wasn't too exciting. She asked me what I planned to do that day and I said "do laundry, clean up the house, get things ready to have a baby" and she checked my cervix and said "well... you wont be cleaning your house today!" I was already 4cm and 70% effaced, and by that time, the monitor was showing regular contractions (that I could just barely feel). 

At 6:30 we got checked into a room and I decided I should try to sleep, but I was too excited to nap. Luckily, DH remembered to bring the Ipad so we watched some Netflix. The nurse checked me at 8:30 and I was 5 cm. I was starting to feel the contractions but I was talking through them and everything. I still didn't feel like I was in labor which is crazy because I was already way further along than I got with my first without pitocin and an epidural. My OB came by around 9am and we decided to start a pitocin drip since everything was looking good on the monitor but I was still bleeding a bit. So we started that and by 11:15 am, I was in full on labor. DH was amazing and held my hand through contractions - it was the perfect thing for me to use as my focus so that I could relax into the pain. I'm pretty sure my first labor stalled for so long because I was fighting the pain too much. The nurse came in and turned down the pit and checked me again and I was 6-7 cm, and I decided it was time for an epidural. 

With my first, I really wanted to do it without pain meds, but after 36 hours, I needed a nap and was sure that I would end up with a c-section so I figured that I might as well be comfortable. With my second, I realized that the pain wasn't getting me anything - it was just uncomfortable and did not make me feel powerful or strong or anything, plus, I knew that I tore last time and I was not looking forward to feeling that happening (after having felt it heal). The nice anesthesiologist came in and got me going around 12:30pm and once again, we turned on Netflix. I could still wiggle my toes and I felt the contractions but they just felt like BH - tightening, but no pain. Both times I got an epidural, everyone talked to me about how it would hurt when the put the needle in, but to be honest, I didn't really feel it either time. 

Lying there on my side about an hour or so later, I felt /something/ bulging into my vagina... like a balloon filling itself and bursting, and then my butt was wet. I called the nurse, and she confirmed that my water had broken. Not only that, but the membrane was hanging out of me (I made her get me the mirror so I could see - it was bizarre and she said she'd never seen anything like it) AND my baby was all but crowning. She basically had me cross my legs so that she could get my OB. Within 20 minutes my OB came in - she had finished her Christmas shopping and just left the mall when the nurse called which was super convenient for her, after my last baby was born at 3:45 am, I thought it was only fair to make it easier this time around :P. 

They got me into position and I got two good pushes in and on the third my OB said something funny (I can't remember what now) and I laughed stopping the push and keeping her in. The fourth push got her out and into my arms at 2:19 pm. She was so chunky! A full pound and 2 oz bigger than my first with fabulously chubby cheeks. They put her on my belly since her cord was too short to get her to breast. DH cut the cord, we pulled my gown off, and I got her latched on and she was a natural right away. All told from waking up to pee to holding her, it was a little less than 10 hours. 

We've been home almost a week now and it's been amazing. The second time around, I feel so much less anxious and so much more confident. It helps that she's been a pretty good baby (eating well, peeing/pooping, sleeping - basically what you expect) and that her big sister has been really taking to the role (and she even has a cold that's been waking her up at night - you would think two kids waking up at night at different times would make things more stressful, but DH and I have been managing really well so far - knock on wood).