Vivian's 5.5 hr med free water birth story

sunflowergrl · May 2012

At around 6ish (pm) on May 13th, mother?s day, my EDD depending on who you ask (my MW?s had it marked down as the 14th though) I started having on and off contractions. They weren?t painful, and I continued on with my day. I had some cleaning left to do, so that?s what I was determined to get done. By 8, I had had dinner and finished cleaning. I had Phil take Cammie to the playground so I could get in the shower to see if they would go away. at this point, the contractions were about 5.5 mins apart, but only lasting 30-40 mins. I thought, that maybe rather than real labor, these were just a residual side effect from all the cleaning and such. The shower didn?t help much, so when Phil came back with Cammie, we put her to bed and I went for a walk. The walk also didn?t do much, but I refused to believe I was actually in labor since the contractions were still not even at a minute... even though, they did hurt like a ? you know what.

So, I made some calls. My MW, Cathy to give her the heads up that I?d probably be heading to the hospital tonight, and my parents to see if they wanted to come back down (they live 1.5 hrs away and had just left earlier that afternoon, and I still wasn?t sure this was real labor). I told them I was going to try to get some sleep and see if I could sleep them off. They said they were gonna head down anyway. About 5 mins later, I realized there was no way I was sleeping through these.

I labored at home till my parents got to my house at about 11:30. At this point, contractions were still only about 40 seconds, but now in the 2.5-3.5 min range. I had Phil call the Cathy since I knew I wouldn?t be able to talk through a contraction. He told her we were heading in. So off we went. Luckily my mom had her mini van, so I was able to spread out in the back seat with my yoga ball and survive the contractions in the car.

We got to the hospital around 12:20. I went in through the ER. and they brought me a wheel chair. I asked if I could walk, was told no, and replied ?ohh fantastic? She wheeled me up to the room, as I contracted through the whole ride. I was able to get the room with the birthing tub. (THANKFULLY!!) I looked at m MW when I got there, and said, ?Hi Cathy, I think I?m having a kid? She just laughed and said, I think so.

When I got out of the wheelchair, they had to do the initial monitoring, and I was hooked up to the machines, and Cathyh checked me. I was only at a 3! I looked at her and said, ?that is SO not what I wanted to hear? She tried to reassure me that 3cm didn?t matter, what mattered was how I was contracting and she figured I would progress pretty fast. While hooked up to that machines, contracting on my back in bed was just miserable. I had 10 more mins left when I just said I CAN NOT stay like this anymore and my MW and the nurses helped me move the wires and get on my hands and knees on the bed, while still attached the monitors.

Finally I was done being monitored, and got in the tub. Cathy asked me if I planned on staying in the tub for a while. I said that yes, I would probably finish the laboring there. So she excused herself to get some sleep, but told me to have the nurse get her whenever I needed. About 30 mins later, I asked the nurse, if it was possible that I was pushing already? She said maybe, and went to get my Cathy. She came in, and I apologized for interrupting her nap, told her what I was feeling, and that I was sorry, because it was probably just wishful thinking.

She said, ?no worries? and came to check me. ?Well, you?re not ready to push, you?re only a 7 but very different from when I checked you before.? She then went and sat in the chair in the back of the room and let me continue to labor.

I continued through the contractions, Phil got in the tub with me for a bit. I knew there was a change in my contractions, and I really felt like I was pushing with each one. But as far as I knew. I wasn?t 10 cm, so I just kept on keepin on. I remember telling my MW, that ?I feel like my butthole is going to tear apart? She just laughed and promised me it wouldn?t. lol. Some contractions, I actually dipped my head under the water for relief.

Finally, around 2:10, I had one really strong contraction, and I felt what can only be described as a POP. and I felt her coming. I yelled ?she?s coming? and Cathy jumped up, got on her full arm length water gloves. The nurse taped her up at the shoulders, and over she came.

At this point, I was on all fours in the tub. I could have sworn the head was already out, but my Cathy said she couldn?t see anything yet. But with one more contraction, I pushed, and felt that lovely ring of fire as I pushed out her head. So there I sat, on my hands and knees, her head hanging out under water. My MW assured me, that her head was indeed out, and with the next contraction, I would finish pushing her out. That 35 second break between contractions was the longest 35 seconds of my life. I just sat there and waited. When it finally came, I pushed, and out she came, 2.5 hrs after we arrived at the hospital. Cathy simply guided her in my direction, and she came between my knees/legs, and up along my belly and chest where she popped out of the water in front of me. I got to scoop her up all by myself. I scooped her up, turned onto my back, and just sat there holding my precious little girl. She didn?t cry right away, but Cathy explained, that that is actually common with water birth babies because they don?t have that initial shock of temperature/environment change.

Cathy gave me a towel to put over her, and while she helped massage the cord to let it pulse out, she dripped warm water over her to keep her from getting chilled. Once it was pulsed out, she clamped it, and Phil cut it. They took her to the warmer and I got out of the tub to deliver the placenta. I had no tearing and no need for any kind of care so Vivie was brought right back to me. I put her to my breast and she fed like a champ.

)

She was a tiny little thing, at 6 lbs 10 oz. and 18.5 inches long. They said, that even though my EDD says she came on time, they think it was a bit off, and that gestationally, she was younger, making her actually early. They say this because she came out with a TON of vernex on her which is indicative of a younger gestational age. Her apgar was a 9, and she passed her newborn hearing screening.

One thing I can say, is I had Phil and my mom in charge of taking lots of pictures. I figured whatever they got that I didn?t like, I could just delete. But it was amazing to have all these pictures to see what actually went on. I wouldn?t have done a single thing differently!