Ashton's Birth
So I never post on here but I read alot of other people's post and have learned so much from all of you ladies! My favorite ones to read when I was pregnant were the birth stories so I thought I could post mine.
I was due on 1/9, on 1/7 I woke up not feeling very well. I went to the bathroom and had some diarrhea. Sorry if TMI! I continued to not feel very well throughout the day. I usually would walk about 5 miles on the treadmill but did not feel up to it so I stayed at home and just laid around. I think my body knew I needed to conserve my energy.
At about 4pm I started having some cramping - like everyone says just like period cramps. They were coming about every 10 minutes. I tried to ignore them and make dinner and watch TV. At about 6pm I had my husband start timing the contractions. They were 5 minutes apart - by 7:30 they were coming about every minute. They were not overly painful so I was reluctant to call my midwife. She had told me that first time moms almost always call to early. So I called my mom instead (she's had 4 kids) and she encouraged me to call the midwife just to give her a heads up.
So we called our midwife and told her my contractions were about a minute apart. She said she should come over and check me. Thats when my husband and I started to get REALLY excited. When my midwife arrived (she is amazing by the way) she checked me and I was 4cm dialated. She told be we could go to the hospital now our I could labor at home a while longer.
I decided to stay at home so I could be comfortable in my own enviroment. My midwife predicted that I would last about 2 hours. She was right! I had to start focusing when a contraction would come. I would stand and sway back and forth with my husband or lean over the couch while he put an ice pack on my back.
After the predicted 2 hours we called our midwife and told her we were heading to the hospital. The car ride was not fun! We went straight up to L & D and I got into the shower. I sat on a birthing ball while my husband held the shower head and sprayed my back during contractions. The shower was nice but I couldn't get warm enough.
After a few hours in the shower my midwife had me get out so she could check my progress. My contractions were very painful at this point and still about a minute apart. She checked me and I was 7cm. To get through the contractions I would rub my thighs with my fingertips and breath slowly. Sometimes my breathing would get to fast and they would remind me to slow down.
Finally it was time to push. Pushing was the worst part of labor for me. I pushed for 3 1/2 hours and for the most part felt like I was getting no where. I was so tired I was passing out in between contrations. My midwife had me labor on my hands and knees and using the birthing bar, finally she had me labor on the toilet. For some reason that helped and I started to feel pressure - something to actually push against. It felt like the biggest bowel movement ever! After a while they moved me back to the bed and had me push on my hands and knees and using the birthing bar. I was so tired I didn't want to push anymore. But I knew the only way for it to be over was to keep going.
Finally at 4 am Ashton was born. The ring of fire crowning thing - most horrible feeling ever! But having my baby put on my chest was amazing. He had the cord around his neck but was just fine. He was 7lb 13oz . I had a second degree tear which sucked for two weeks but has now healed. I also had some bleeding after I delivered the placenta and they had to massage my uterus which was very uncomfortable.
Everyone told me that pushing would come as a relief. That was NOT the case for me. The contractions were fine - painful but bearable.
Breastfeeding was so hard at first but I think, hope we are over the hard part now. I feel like I need to add that I did not feel over whelming love for my baby the first week. I hated being a mom and how my life had changed. I was in a lot of pain from my tear and breastfeeding felt like someone rubbing sandpaper on my nipples. I dreaded feeding my baby and felt very guilty. Now three weeks out I love him so much and am really enjoying being a mom. My midwife has told me that this is normal. I hope that if any other moms feel this way they can know that it is normal and skip the feeling guilty about it. It gets better! Wishing you all the best.
Re: Ashton's Birth