Owen's Here! Birth story and pic

For a few days I?d been feeling really crappy, like I wasgoing to get my period. Lower back ache, tired legs and almost felt like Icouldn?t walk because baby was so low.  Ihad been losing my mp for about a week and on Weds I had a lot of bloodydischarge. I was getting sporadic contractions but nothing that hurt badly. Iknew my body was telling me Owen was on the way but I was so anxious to knowwhen! On New Years Eve I started having timeable contractions around 9pm. Theywere uncomfortable and about 10 minutes apart. As the night went on theyincreased in duration and pain but they were still manageable. I got throughthem mostly by walking, lying on the medicine ball or being on my hands andknees. At around 1 I realized we should try to get some rest and my husband andI slept until 5. Throughout the night the contractions would wake me but Iwould fall back asleep. When I woke up at 5 contrax were 7 mins apart andgetting really uncomfortable. They continued to increase in duration, severityand get closer. I knew this was still prelabor so I tried to relax as much as Icould, shower and just breathe. My goal was to labor at home for as long aspossible but at around 9am contractions were 4 mins apart and we decided to goin.

When we got there I was checked and only 2cm dilated but 90%effaced. I remember being so disappointed that hours of early labor onlybrought me to 2cm. I was overwhelmed thinking about how long I?d have to laborto get to 10cm. My midwife and I decided to have me walk around awhile and seeif progress was made after 2 hours. When she checked me again I was 4cm ! Bythis time I really had to breathe and focus through contractions. I found aflower on the wallpaper that I made my focal point and kept telling myselfthrough contractions that my cervix was like that flower opening up. It soundscorny but it really helped me to imagine and focus on my cervix opening. Oncewe got a room I continued this mental thinking and physically tried somedifferent positions. I used some inner tubes to get baby in a good position andI used the medicine ball to bounce and tilt my pelvis. Contractions were now 2minutes apart and very strong. At some point my water broke and I knew as soonas it happened that things were going to move very fast from here on out. Mymidwife filled up the Jacuzzi for me and Ihave to say I smiled for the firsttime in hours when I got in! My muscles seemed to relax and I was able to restmore between contractions. There was a drawing above the bath of a beautiful goddesslooking woman and she became my focal point through contractions. I tried totell myself over and over that my body was amazing and I could do this. Throughoutmy pregnancy I always tried to remind myself that this is what my body was madeto do and I tried to keep that in the back of my mind throughout labor.

The next time I got checked I was 7cm and from that point onthings got a little fuzzy. The pain was so intense and as much as I tried tobreathe through them I ended up screaming through most of them. I was terrifiedbecause I knew I was going through transitioning and the most painful partswere coming up. I asked about the epidural once just to make sure it was stillan option, which it was. I honestly could not believe that my body was enduringthat much pain and I was still alive. I felt like I was being ripped apart andI was so scared to push. I saw them bring in the labor cart and instead ofbeing excited I was terrified that I would have to start pushing soon. I don?t remembermuch more except I was checked one more time and I was at 10 centimeters. Atthis point I decided I really didn?t want to push without the epidural. I wasterrified to push and really didn?t think I had any strength left.Unfortunately there was an emergency and the one, yes one, anesthesiologist inthe hospital couldn?t make it to the room for another ? hour. That last halfhour was brutal and I was frantic. I cried and couldn?t understand how thehospital could only have one guy on call! I also had to get out of the bathwhich made contractions even harder on my body. I no longer felt like a personand was just screaming like an animal writhing in pain. When I finally got theepidural my body relaxed, but I could still feel the pain and the contractionssince I was so far along.  I wanted torest but my midwife said it was time to get this baby out! I am so glad I gotthe epidural because my body was able to relax and I got so excited to push. Pushingfelt amazing and my support staff was great telling me with every push how muchcloser he was  getting to coming out, andhow they could start  to see his headcoming out? this encouragement helped me to push harder and more effectively. Iended up pushing for 35 minutes and got to feel Owen as he slid out of my body.As soon as he came out Joe made the announcement that it was a baby boy andthey slid him right up onto my chest. I immediately felt a sense of calm andpeace radiate through my body. I can?t explain it but I felt so complete andhappy. I knew I would love Owen right away but didn?t realize the depth of thatlove or that he?d feel like he belonged me right away. We waited until the cordstopped pulsing and then Daddy got to cut. Owen stayed on my chest for about anhour and we breastfed right away. He didn?t take a bath or get any shots,measurements or get weighed for a few more hours. I was so happy to have thosefirst few hours to just rest and relax and bond together.

He was born on 1-1-11 at 7:21pm. He weighed in at 7lbs, 10 ounces and 20 inches long and got9?s on his apgars.

Looking back I am so happy with the way everything went ? myhusband was an amazing coach and I felt so proud of us both afterwards. It wasso exciting to not know if Owen was a boy or girl and hearing Joe announce itwas incredible. I?m extremely glad I got the epidural at the end because itreally helped me relax and be calm in body and mind for when Owen came out. Thewhole experience has left me in awe of what our bodies are capable of doing andI?m so incredibly grateful for the experience.