Jonah's birth story....long labor.
At my 37 week appointment I was 2 cm dilated, I came home and began losing my MP the following day and continued to lose it over the following week and a half. During this time I was also having timeable contractions at night but I would usually wake up in the morning fine. These contractions were not really painful, just uncomfortable.
At my 38 week appt I was dilated to a 3, my cervix was more thinned out and baby was at 0 station. 5 days later, Sunday May 31st, I started having regular contractions again while my husband and I were painting our basement. We were in a rush to get the office finished prior to baby's arrival so I was up until 11 pm painting before I decided to go to bed for the night as the contractions continued to be about 10 minutes apart. I slept on and off until about 2:30 am when the contractions began getting more painful, keeping me from sleeping. I was having a LOT of pain in my back with the contractions, so I took a hot shower and went and laid on the couch and watched TV, timing the contractions anywhere from 8-12 minutes apart.
I did end up going to sleep on the couch, only to wake up at 9 am on the 1st to more pain, mainly in my back and pelvic area. I kept timing the contractions all day, they got about 6 minutes apart at times, then would be 12 minutes apart...I was getting really tired and uncomfortable!! I had a bloody show at about 10 pm and continues to have very heavy discharge all day after that.
Our hospital taught us in our birthing class the rule of 5-1-1 as to when to go to L&D, so I was really just waiting on them to get close enough together to head up to the hospital as I was getting pretty uncomfortable My husband and I decided to walk around our neighborhood to get things moving along a bit at 5 pm. Finally at around 7:30 pm I timed them anywhere from 4-6 minutes and decided it was time to go.
We arrived at L&D where they hooked me up to the monitors and the nurse performed an internal exam. I was only 3 cm and 0 station like my appointment 6 days earlier! She suggested walking or hopping in the jacuzzi tub to speed things up, otherwise they would have to make me go back home as they don't admit you unless you are 4 cm dilated (I did not know this prior to this time!). We walked and walked and walked. Came back to be checked an hour or so later and no progress. She offered me Percocet or Ambien before leaving, and I thought I was handling the pain of contractions pretty well with breathing, so I went for the Ambien so I could get some rest, and we headed back home.
We got back home around 11 pm, and the contractions started getting MUCH more intense. The back pain was horrible and I found myself very groggy and drunk feeling from the medication, but I was unable to actually sleep because of the contractions, which continued to be abuot 4-5 minutes apart. At midnight I begged my husband to take me back, but he convinced me to wait it out a bit longer and I took a hot bath. I could not get comfortable and we headed back to L&D at 1 am on June 2nd.
We live MAYBE 5 minutes away from the hospital and I had 3 very intense contractions on the way, as well as when I was walking into the ER. I could not walk or breathe through them any longer but was still very afraid they would turn me away again. The same nurse checked me upon arrival and I was 6 cm and 90% effaced! She admitted me and called the anesthesiologist right away so I could get the epidural.
Getting the epidural was much more pleasant than others described. It was not painful at all (compared to what the pain of the contractions for sure). I did have one contraction during the procedure, and that was very difficult, but I almost had immediate relief and was able to sleep between the nurse checking me.
At about 6 am the nurse checked me and I was 9 cm dilated and completely effaced, but my bag of waters was still intact. She said we would wait until the baby began descending further into the birth canal so I wouldn't have to push as long or hard. By 7 am I was fully dilated and the doctor arrived and broke my water, which I didn't notice that much because baby was SO low he was acting like a cork. The contractions were coming about every 2-3 minutes and it was time to start pushing!
At 7:30 am I started pushing. I had no pain whatsoever, but I could really feel what I was doing and could tell they were productive pushes. My husband was so excited and told me "you have to see this" so I asked for a mirror even though I had totally ruled this out of the birth plan. It was helpful to see the progress I was making visually and I could really tell which way of pushing was the most effective by watching in the mirror. I pushed every 2-3 minutes for about an hour and a half, and baby Jonah made his appearance at 9:02 am.
I cried when I saw him and could not believe that this little life just came out of me! I held him at my chest while the doctor sutured up my tears....I had 3 small tears, the largest being 2nd degree. We are still in the hospital and doing well. It was such an amazing experience and I would TOTALLY do it all over again!
Re: Jonah's birth story....long labor.
DD -- 5YO
DS -- 3YO