Coleton's natural water birth *added PIP*
laurieb602
member
I wrote this out fast while he was happy in his swing, I am sure I have left parts out and will continue to tweak it. Enjoy!
The Punctual One
Thursday, July 26th, the day before our precious boy was due went like any other day. I got up at 6 am, got ready for work and took Cason, our 2 year old, to daycare. I worked all day and got home about 6 pm, feeling absolutely fine. We had dinner and started Cason?s night routine. I went to the restroom and realized I was losing my mucus plug, a whole lot of it at once which I had never done. I told my husband and then told him it didn?t really mean anything but I was excited for any kind of movement in the birth direction!
After we got Cason to bed at about 8 pm, I decided to take a shower. During the shower I noticed some pains that seemed to be timeable but they were very low in my pelvis. I got out of the shower and started timing them, 7 mins apart. We tried to lay down about 10 pm and my husband fell asleep but I kept feeling these low pains and they were getting more intense. About 11:30 I woke Brian up and told him they were getting worse and I was calling Amy, our midwife, to see what she thought. Amy told me that I should feel them a little higher so to keep timing and call her back. It seemed almost as soon as we hung up the contractions hit 3 mins apart. We called my mother in law because she was going to have to drive up to sleep here with our son and it would take her about 45 mins.
My mother in law arrived about 12:15 am and I tried to bounce on my yoga ball a bit but told Brian to call Amy back and tell her we were coming in because the contractions were getting closer and stronger. We got in the car about 12:45 am and headed out. When we hit the interstate I realized we forgot the camera and made Brian turn around! Contractions in the car were so horrible but I wanted my camera. We made it to the birth center around 2 am and Amy checked me, 7 centimeters! I was ecstatic! She had me bounce on the ball to try to get to 10 centimeters. After about 20 agonizing minutes I heard her filling up the tub! Amy said I could get in and I feel like I sprinted to the bathroom! As soon as I took my tank top off I started vomiting, luckily they had a pan right there and I threw up 5 or 6 times just standing there waiting to get into the tub.
I finally got into the tub around 2:50 and Amy said I was complete and it was time to push. This is where I thought I would rock it, I pushed my kids out fast and furious. I tried to push but I couldn?t find that ?sweet spot?. It didn?t matter how I pushed I just didn?t feel like I was doing anything and I started to retreat from the pain. Instead of pushing through every contraction, I would push twice and then give in to the pain. This wasn?t working, at all...Amy suggested we move out of the tub but I really really didn?t want to. I was terrified to move! Finally Amy said I had to stand up, I?m pretty sure I whined and cried but I stood up and held on to Brian. When a contraction hit, I would squat into the water and push...there it was! the sweet spot, I felt him come down and pushing felt awesome and productive. We did this 4 times before Amy said to lay back into the water again. I could feel his head right there so sitting back down was very awkward.
I got back into a sitting position in the tub and pushed with everything I had. I felt his head coming out but I never felt ?the ring of fire? maybe because of the water. Soon his head was out but his shoulders were stuck. Amy switched with Dara who had longer fingers and with her help we slowly got his shoulders out, it took about 2 mins. As soon as his shoulders were out, he slid right on out and was on my chest! It took him a minute to breathe and I think it really freaked my husband. Later he admitted that with his head out in the water for so long, he thought he was drowning (he?s so cute). Brian cut the cord and took Cole to be weighed and measured while I delivered the placenta. I had to have a shot of pitocin in my leg and stand up again to deliver the placenta but it wasn?t painful. Coleton was born at 3:40 am, an hour and 40 mins after arriving at the birth center and only 8 hours after the first signs of labor.
They came back and told me our son was 9 lbs 14.5 oz and 22 inches long! I was shocked! No wonder I was having a hard time without gravity! I did lose a lot of blood and the after birth pains were no joke! I was amazed when Amy said all was well down below and I wouldn?t need any stitches! Recovery has been ok, I had to stay at the birth center to monitor my blood loss and blood pressure but I felt great and we went home the morning after his birth. I am so enamored with our little boy and honestly, feel a little like a rockstar!
Re: Coleton's natural water birth *added PIP*
Sometimes, I'm hilarious.
My super all about me birth story:
Then: Fraternal twins born at 26 weeks in 1983. Me: 640 grams. Brother: 840 grams. Family kept watch in the NICU for 5 months before being allowed to go home. On oxygen for a year and a half after being released.
Now: Me: PhD student and married. Brother: Lawyer and married.
Dad's wedding speech: Thank you to all the family who stood watch and prayed for our children's survival. Well now the little scrawny chicken is married. Who would've thought? (Thanks dad for making me laugh and cry at the same time).
My BFP Chart
Yay! Small world! And thanks everyone!!