Doula attended, med-free, Bradley hospital birth
A few hours after I woke for the day I started to feel some cramping and back pain. I was totally clueless and assumed that it was a result of the insane number of pancakes I had for dinner the night before (despite being a few days "overdue" at that point). I spoke to my sister on the phone who suggested I *might* be having contractions. There wasn't any rhyme or reason to the cramps so I figured it would be a good idea to go for a walk to see if it had any affect on things.
At around 11 AM we piled into the car and went to the local outdoor mall. The walking definitely helped move things along but the minute I sat down the contractions fizzled out. No big deal. (I was surprisingly relaxed about this.) We went back home and went about our business. I had some lunch, took a nap and lounged around for a while.
Around 10:30 PM things really started moving. We called our doula to give her a heads up but declined her offer to come over and hang out with us. I really wanted to be alone and just get through it. She was fine with that, suggested that I get as much rest and I was able to and to keep her in the loop. I got back into bed and tried to sleep. Ha! The contractions were coming regularly and were fairly uncomfortable - I was definitely not able to sleep through anything. I got into the shower. Then the tub. Then back into the shower. It was around 1 AM at that point. I was pretty sure I was going to die and totally freaked out because my water hadn't broken (and for some reason *that* was the sign that meant I was actually in active labor. I was assuming I was still in the beginning stages - ha!). I really had to go to the bathroom and huddled on the toilet while my H called the doula back to tell her we were going to head into the hospital. We had started to time the contractions during my last shower and the were well within the hospitals 5-1-1 rule for coming in, more like 3-1-1 (my plan was to labor at home as long as possible - we live less than a mile fromthe hospital).
While he was talking to her I was throwing my guts up and packing my hospital bag. Nice, huh? We got the bag into the car, I got into the car and we began the worst drive of my life. Believe it or not, as we pulled up to the hospital another couple was also arriving. The woman was as perky as can be! Holding her pillow, pulling her own suitcase. She cheerfully announced that she was in labor as I was draping myself over the back of a chair wishing her a slow, painful death. I let them check in before me as my husband was getting my stuff out of the car still and I was in no condition to speak to anyone :-)
We got checked in, my doula arrived and they immediately sent me to a delivery room (no triage for me!). Luckily we had a doula with us because my carefully crafted birth plan was laying on the printer at home. The nurse did a heplock, got the monitor on me and pronounced me dilated to 8cm. I asked my doula what stage of labor I was in, hoping that she would say active labor because I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle much more of this "early labor" stuff. Luckily, she informed me that I was in the throes of transition. The relief that I felt at that moment was unbelieveable. I had a huge burst of enery, remembered the tricks and tips I learned in class and really got myself back on track mentally. It was about 3 AM at that point.
I continued to labor, shifting my side to side and a little on my back (hate, hate, hate!). I was sure that I'd want to move around and bounce on my ball but in the moment I really wanted to be in that bed, on my left side with my knees curled up. Go figure.
The nurse continued to check me sporadically. I was almost fully dilated except for a tiny lip. I tried to roll over on my side at that point but the baby's heartrate would drop. They strapped some O2 on me and she was fine but that freaking lip was p!ssing me off. And my water still hadn't broken.
The nurse suggested I try a few pushes to see if anything would happen. I did but it didn't really change anything. I decided with the help of my doula to labor down for a while and just ride through the contractions until I felt more like pushing. Estimated time: 4:30 AM
Eventually I was fully dilated and felt like pushing. So I did. My water broke with a huge gush and we discovered some meconium in the fluid. I think I pushed about 3 times and the kiddo was born. 5:36 AM. They took her to the other side of the room to clear her airways and to make sure she was okay. My H went with her while I layed around waiting for the oncall doc to come back to stitch me back together (there was someone else, not the chick from the lobby, pushing at the same time I was). It took about an hour for him to get back to me but I got to hang with my new little girl once they brought her back to me. She was 8lbs 12oz and 19 inches of perfection. Total time in the hospital was about 3 hours. From the beginning of active labor to her birth was about 6 hours.
Up until I realized that I was in transition I thought I wouldn't be able to make it. I couldn't imagine it getting worse and being able to muster through but luckily I was in the midst of the worst part :-) Once my doula got my head on straight I KNEW I could do it. I should have had her come to the house but at the time I really wanted to find a secluded corner and do my thing. Regardless, it was an amazing experience and I'm really looking forward to having #2 though we're opting for a birthing center instead of the hospital.
Re: Doula attended, med-free, Bradley hospital birth
oh sooo very jealous.. i pushed for 3 hours.. pure h*ll.
Congratulations on your med free birth!
Matthew Kevin
7/31/83-7/20/11
Met 1/8/00
Engaged 4/21/06
Married 9/29/07
Two beautiful legacies: Noah Matthew (2 yrs) and Chloe Marcella (8 mos)
Day Three