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Natural Birth
AimnJus917
member
Jeremy?s natural hospital birth story (long)
AimnJus917
member
I was 1 day past my due date (9/18) when I had a lovely bloody show after coming back from taking the dogs for a walk with DH. It was around 7:00 pm and I wasn?t having any contractions yet. I was excited but didn?t want to get my hopes up because I?ve heard bloody show doesn?t necessarily mean labor is imminent. Around 9:00 pm I started to have mild cramping, like I was going to get my period. Around 10:30, DH and I decided to go to bed, but then at 11:00 I started to notice a pattern with the cramps ? they were becoming more regular so I started to time them. They were ranging from 3-5 minutes apart, 30-60 seconds long. I decided to let DH sleep while I timed the contractions for a while by myself. At 1:30 am the contractions were getting more intense and I needed help timing them while I tried to find comfortable positions so I woke up DH and told him to help me.
By 3:30 am they were 3 minutes apart lasting about 1 minute long so we decided to call the Dr. and she called us back and told us to come to the hospital. So we rushed around the house getting things ready while I breathed through the contractions. They weren?t that bad, they definitely took my breath away and I stopped me in my tracks but between them, I was in no pain which is what helped me get through them I think. We got to the hospital between 4:30 and 5:00 am and they checked me ? I was 5 cm! Yay! I was so relieved because I didn?t want to be sent home. A week prior at my 39 week appointment I had only been 1 cm/50% effaced.
I gave the Dr. my birth plan and surprisingly she and all the nurses read it and pretty much went with it. Some things on my birth plan were ? no epidural, being able to labor in different positions, no continuous fetal monitoring if possible, no episiotomy, pushing in different positions, holding the baby immediately after birth. The Dr. was adamant about continuous fetal monitoring so I asked if wireless monitoring was available and it was, so I used that. I ended up not really needing it because the wires were plenty long enough for me to walk around the room, except going into the bathroom but I used the telemetry anyway.
After about an hour and a half, the Dr. came to check me and I was 8 cm! By this time I was starting to get the urge to push but of course DH and the nurse kept telling me don?t push!! It was so hard not to and I started yelling through the contractions! I was offered an epidural a couple times and the Dr. told me that it might help me relax so that my cervix would open easier but I wasn?t having it. (I was doing just fine without it and progressing rather quickly if you asked me). About 30 minutes later DH told the nurses I really wanted to push so the nurse checked me again and said ?I feel a head but your cervix is still covering a little bit.? About 6 or 7 people came into my room, the Dr. put on his goggles and gloves and I thought ?I guess this is it!? and they let me start pushing. Man did I have the wrong impression about pushing!! So many birth stories I?ve read where the woman pushed 3 times and the baby was out. I thought that was going to happen to me! Yeah right!! I pushed for almost 2 hours exactly. It was thee hardest thing I?ve ever done in my life. After a while I thought, what if they won?t wait or they think I can?t do it and they decide to do a C-section? I remember thinking ?just cut me open and get the baby out!!? because I actually started to think I physically couldn?t push him out. I was starving and exhausted from being in labor all night. But, at 9:11 am I finally got him out! We were team green so it was so exciting to hear DH say ?it?s a boy!? They placed my son on me and wiped him off and I was beyond elated he was finally out. Then the pain continued as the Dr. stitched me up for what seemed like forever! He gave me a small episiotomy earlier and I still had a 3rd degree tear. I was told without the episiotomy there was no way my baby was coming out. He weighed 8 lbs, 6 oz and was 20.5 in long. Now I am only 5 feet tall so that is quite a big baby for me!! The nurses were stunned I gave birth to a baby that big without drugs.
So there you have it ladies that want a natural birth in a hospital ? although it was not one without interventions ? the fetal monitoring, episiotomy and I was given Pitocin after the baby was out to help my uterus contract but I am fine with all of those. I birthed a baby with no pain medication and no childbirth classes ? it is very possible!!! I will tell you that I didn?t even consider having a natural birth until I was about 7 months pregnant so I thought it was too late to try to find a birthing center and midwife. I read The Official Lamaze Guide ? Giving Birth with Confidence which really helped me to not be afraid of birth. I also watched The Business of Being Born and Orgasmic Birth which further convinced me to really try to go natural. I have to say that I was so extremely nervous about going to the hospital because I thought my birth plan would be ignored and I would end up having a bad experience but everything went just as I wanted and I would go back to that hospital again for the next baby. I feel very fortunate that my pregnancy was low-risk, my labor started on it's own, went smooth and quick, and I believe that those things contributed to me being able to go natural. I can only hope that happens next time around!
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Re: Jeremy?s natural hospital birth story (long)
http://www.jakeala.etsy.com
I agree - it sounds like you were plenty relaxed and had a great labor! Congrats! And yay for sticking to your guns with what you wanted! Enjoy your little boy!