Community› The Bump Message Boards› Birth Stories
Birth Stories
New Discussion

med free birth story

ridesbuttonsridesbuttons member
in Birth Stories

At 39w6d my DH and I were watching tv late - you all know the drill.  That late into pregnancy sleep is a luxury that doesn't come easily!

I noticed that I had gone to the bathroom several times that evening with very loose stool, kept feeling the urge to go but really had nothing left.  My normal evening restlessness was more pronounced.  I was up and down every ten minutes either going to the bathroom or just puttering around, which was odd as my sciatica was severe and moving was painful.

It dawned on me that my uncomfortableness was labour, and I finally recognized that I was having contractions.  It surprised me because my first labour (18 months earlier) had begun with a very dramatic water breaking in the middle of the night.  I had expected (foolishly) the same thing to happen.

I timed my contractions for half an hour or so.  They were 3-6 minutes apart but very short, only 20-45 seconds long and not painful.  I let my husband know that I was contracting and we decided to call L&D at the hospital to ask for their advice.  They said to come on in, the worst that could happen is that they would send me home.  Our next call was to my mom to come and sit with our toddler.  She arrived 30 minutes later and about 20 minutes after that we decided to go to the hospital.  I said to my mom as we left that we might be back in half an hour as I wasn't completely sure I was in real labour.

I checked into L&D and a nurse hooked me up to the monitors.  She confirmed that I was indeed having good contractions and the baby's heartbeat was strong.  Then she checked my progress.  She felt around for a while and then called in another nurse to check as well.  She said that I was 7-8cm.  Great.

Almost immediately I went into transition, which was excrutiating.  The contractions were intense and on top of each other.  I literally had trouble catching my breath in between contractions.  It was the middle of the night and the on call doctor had not yet arrived.  I wasn't worried about that exactly, but truthfully I could sense the tension in the room.  The nurses I am sure are more than qualified to deliver a baby, but ideally a doctor should be present.

I remember a doctor in scrubs walking in and sitting on the edge of the bed.  I later learned that they called up someone from the ER.  Shortly thereafter my water broke.  The pressure was so great in my pelvis that it shot out and hit my foot and floor.  A contraction or two later I announced I was going to push.  3 pushes later my 8lb 8oz baby boy was born.

I estimate the length of the transition to have been about 15 minutes.  The pushing was highly satisfying, I don't recall the contractions being painful during that time as I was very concentrated on getting the baby out.

They laid him on my chest and I delivered the placenta, no drama there.  They then took the baby to clean him up and brought him right back in.  I could hear him making sucking noises as my DH carried him back into the room and he settled on the breast right away.

The on-call doctor arrived after my son was delivered and stitched me up (second degree tear, don't know how many stitches).  I felt just wonderful.

The time from me recognizing my first contraction and delivering the baby was about 2.5 hours.  I was in hospital 30 minutes before he was born.

It was an amazing experience that I would wish on anyone, and I would do again in a heartbeat.

 

promised myself I'd retire when I turned gold, and yet here I am
Report Reply to Post

Re: med free birth story

This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"