I did it!!
chance_encounters
member
First off I would like to say thank you to all of the ladies on this board. You all were a wonderful support leading up to my big day 
My apologies this will be quite a long post.
Friday morning started with some random contractions. By 4pm they were alot stronger and about 5 minutes apart so we called our doula. By 11pm the contractions were less than 1 minute apart but I knew they would get stronger and I did not feel like transition type contractions (boy was I right). Still we headed to the hospital as my doula was getting nervous that I was progressing quickly. When we got to the hospital I was dilated to 3cm and my contractions slowed down to 9 minutes apart. So they said I could walk the halls or I could go home. I was NOT going home as the contractions in the car ride there were miserable and I live 28 minutes from the hospital. So we decided to walk the halls but first they wanted to give me an IV (heplock). Well first they tried in my arm which did not work and now I have a huge bruise there. So they ended up putting it in my hand. Well, I never actually got hooked up to an IV so I very pointlessly had this damn thing inserted in my body. So we walked the halls for an hour or so and the contractions started getting stronger but still about 8 minutes apart. They checked me and I was a 3-4 cm and they decided they wanted to monitor me 20 minutes out of every hour. So at this point I decided to nap in between contractions. DH would wake me up when he saw one coming on. Shortly after this time just became a fuzz and every contraction seemed stronger and closer together. At some point I had them check me again and I was 7 and I broke down in tears because they hurt so bad and nothing I could do was comforting. I had a bathtub in my room and a shower and for a little while this helped at little at first but not much. At some point I thought my water broke but nope it was just blood and let me tell you it was ALOT. The bleeding continued in gushes throughout my laborand several times I thought my water had broken but it was blood each time. By about 11ish they checked me and told me I was 8cm so I knew transition was there and I cried alot as the contractions were strong and 3 minutes apart. I think I also dropped the f* bomb more than I have ever said in my life (which I dispise cussing so this is very out of character for me lol). Well by noon my water still had not broken and they had shift change so a new nurse wanted to check me. Well I was told that I was dilated to 7 (which meant I went backwards) and I broke down in tears and kept saying I can't do this! My doula and DH kept saying you are so strong and you are doing this. They were super supportive, reminded me to breathe and talk me through each contraction. My doula would remind me that each contraction was 1 contraction closer to holding my baby Well my poor mom was in the room for all of this and she thought they were forcing me to do this and she ended up crying and leaving the room for a little bit. During my PG I had sent her several pages/links of info on natural birth and she never read any of them. Shortly after she came back and told me that it was ok to take the epidural and that I am strong .......I told her no, I told the nurses who kept asking no. But over and over I kept saying I couldn't do it. So shortly after the Dr. came in to check me and agreed I was a 7 but she wanted to break my water to help things progress faster. Reluctantly I agreed, only a small gush came out when she broke it. So I asked if I could stand up or sit up in bed because laying down hurt so bad. So, I sat at the edge of the bed with DH in front of me and the next contraction my water came gushing out all down my legs and all over DH's pants lol. After the contraction I apologized to him and he just kind of giggled and said it was ok. It was kind of cute and funny at the same time. He just kind of wiped off his Jeans and that was that. So I asked if I could go stand in the shower to help ease some of the back pain I was feeling and reluctantly the hospital staff agreed. However this did not help I just ended up crying in the shower. So I tried sitting on a ball, squatting and eventually got back in bed and at some point they checked be and I was almost fully dilated with a small lip. So they asked me if I wanted to try pushing. I did with the next contraction but it hurt like a SOB and I ended up cursing, screaming and well flopping around on the bed like a fish out of water. I am not sure how long this went on but at the time it felt like an eternity! DH says it was only like 10 minutes. Finally something just clicked and I KNEW it was time to push well again to me this felt like it was a long time pushing but apparently it was only 15 minutes lol. At one point (even through all this pain I still kept part of my sense of humor) I yelled I NOW UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY MEAN BY THE RING OF FIRE, I wanted to smile but could not (everyone else giggled around me though lol). I felt his head come out and at that point I knew I just wanted him OUT. So I pushed again and he was out, it was crazy!!! They put him on my belly and the Dr. immediately went to clamp the cord and everyone yelled NO! (kind of funny), we want delayed cord clamping, the Dr. pointed out the cord was not pulsating and it was white. My doula looked at it, DH felt it and all agreed it was not pulsating anymore so we agreed to let her clamp it. Apparently the cord was wrapped around his neck 2x and they think that had something to do with it. DH did cut the cord even though the whole time through my pg he didn't think he wanted to. They put him on my belly and he was so beautiful. The Dr. kept commenting how big of a boy he was. They weighed him after about 40 minutes of bonding time, 8 pounds 7 ounces 21 1/2 inches long. Then they wanted to take Benjamin to the nursery and we refused. Kind of ticked off some of the nurses but oh well. So it was time to go to my recovery room and I told them I would walk him down, they looked at me like I was nuts. But I did! I could go on and on about the next events of the hospital stay but that is my birth story
Oh and one of the nurses said to me right as I was walking out of the room "you know you would be a great advertisement for an anisteziologist" I just turned and shot her the nastiest look ever and said I wouldn't change a thing! Then walked out of the room.
I am still glad I did things natural and I would do it all over again. For those of you wondering this is my 3rd child and my first two I DID have an epidural. I had horrible headaches for a month after and with my 2nd daughter they scraped my spine with the needle. I have not had any of the healing issues this time around YAY!
Best wishes to all of you ladies who are pg and waiting to meet your LO
Re: I did it!!
Congratu;ations on your wee boy! Way to stick to what you knew you wanted. Your DH and doula sound like they were a fabulous support.
I'm fuming over what the nurse said, but mostly I just think you did an awesome job!! Congratulations again!
Elizabeth 5yrs old Jane 3yrs old
Congratulations! Your son's birth story is quite inspiring! Thank you!
Check out my Team Green baby names! P.S. I'm not serious with any of the names
My BFP Chart
BFP 9/7/12, EDD 5/15/13
MW interview said 5/17/13 and changed back to 5/15/13 after first visit
I just read your birth story - CONGRATUATIONS on that new addition to your family a son ... now reading this I would agree with that nurse you really would do their profession a great service in being an advocate for them those Anesthesiologist that is - think about it!!!