Birth Stories
izzybella
member
2nd time mom, 1 day late
izzybella
member
I wanted to make sure I remembered all the details of little guy's birth, so here's my birth story :)Monday afternoon (5/25) around 230 I went to L&D b/c I thought my water had broken-- turned out it was just very watery discharge. My doc was on call and said that this was something that usually happened before labor started, and she wouldn't be surprised if I was back again in the next 24-48 hours. She did an internal, told me I was 3 cm and 75% effaced and stripped my membranes. I had quite a bit of bleeding afterwards, but no real cramping. We had dinner and I had about a pound of fresh pineapple that I had picked up at the store. I was a seemingly bottomless pit for the first time in forever!Around 630 or so I noticed I was beginning to get some cramps, but attributed them to the position I was sitting in and the BHs I was having. Around 715 I realized the cramps were different-- coming more from the pelvic floor and pulling up than anything else. I was also feeling them in my butt. I started timing at 730 and they were loosely around 5-6 mins apart, but nothing really painful. I kept timing, convinced that it was just from the aggressive internal. They got worse and then closer together, coming sometimes at 4 min intervals and sometimes at 2. **contractionmaster.com is amazing!**At about 1015 I called the on call service and told them what was going on. My doc told me to come in. DH and I got dressed again, threw together our last minute things, dropped off the monitor with MIL and drove to the hospital. On the way there I went about 8 mins without a contraction and I got so discouraged thinking I had been wrong about labor and I was going to look like a fool! Thankfully they came back and in force!I was admitted around 11, where I was put on the monitors to get a baseline. The nurse checked me and said I was a "very stretchy 3" and somehow DS' head was at a -3 station-- a huge change from the -1 he had been at 3PM!! Somehow he went backwards, but I think the nurse was wrong. Let me tell you, laboring in bed SUCKS. The minute I could get out of the bed I did and started laboring on the birthing ball. That was MUCH better and made the pain more?manageable. I was open to the epidural but wanted to see how far I could get on my own. I hadn't brushed up on any relaxation techniques, but I just breathed through the contractions and counted in my head. ?Since I had to have an IV drip and a bolus of fluid in before I got the epi, we started that around 1AM. The contrax then were probably around a 7, but I was handling them fine. I wanted to know that I would be completely ready to get the epi when I needed it, and I'm so glad I did that. Around 215 the contractions were coming fast and hard and it was hard for me to stay on top of them. I tried to imagine pushing the pain down with my breathing through my feet and that helped, but by the time the anesthesiologist came in around 3 I was so ready for him to do his thing. I was shaking uncontrollably and having to stay still during horrendous contractions was very hard but I reminded myself of the reason why and I pulled through it. By 330 I was much more comfortable, and my doc came in to check me. I had managed to labor to 7cm on my own!! I was so happy about that!The epi was amazing. I still had feeling in my feet, but from my knees to my chest were number. I was able to move myself around in bed, which was great. After the epi, we all tried to get some sleep because we had been up all night. I wasn't able to sleep much b/c of the BP cuff. I rolled over about 30 mins into the "nap" and around 420 my water broke on its own. I called my nurse in to check me and I was 9 cm with a little lip. I was starting to feel pressure and wanted to push but she and my doc told me to breathe through them-- THAT was hard!! The epi allowed me to feel a lot of the birth, which was great (and not at all what happened with DD!).Finally she let me push, which was awesome. DH held one leg (with one eye closed, haha) and the nurse held the other foot. I grabbed behind my legs and used most of the force that way. After 12 minutes of pushing, I helped pull him up on my chest. At 504AM our little guy was born weighing 7lbs 15.5 oz and measuring 21" long. DH even managed to cut the cord, which I am so proud of him for doing! He is beautiful and looks just like my Irish side of the family, with DH's furiness 
No name yet but we'll keep everyone posted I'm so glad I let him come on his own!My last belly pic, taken before trip #1 to the hospital:
Our little man, 5 hours old:
?
No name yet but we'll keep everyone posted I'm so glad I let him come on his own!My last belly pic, taken before trip #1 to the hospital:Our little man, 5 hours old:?This discussion has been closed.
Re: 2nd time mom, 1 day late
He is so beautiful!!
Great story, btw!
He is adorable! Congratulations!