Zach was born on May 25, so this is a bit old now, but I realized that I hadn't put this on this board yet. Enjoy!
At my doctor's appointment the day before (Friday) my due date, we scheduled an induction for the following Thursday. I took off work the day before the induction to make sure everything at home was in order. My little guy had other things in mind though!
I
started having contractions around 11:30 am. I called DH to come home from work so he could drive me to the hospital. I called the hospital to let them know we were coming, and we were off. We got to the hospital a bit
before 2. My water broke in the car as we pulled into the valet parking
(so happy for leather seats!). One of the valet guys RAN me (in a wheelchair) to the elevator and up to triage. DH was right behind him, but everything was going so quickly at that point, that all of our bags were left in the car.
Once I got into triage, they checked me
and said I was fully dilated/effaced and could start pushing if I felt the urge. Somehow I got out of my clothes and into the hospital gown, but I honestly couldn't tell you how that happened.
I was wheeled into my labor room
at 2:10. Everything went so fast that I had
no time to get any pain meds, but I sure asked for them a lot! My doctor made it into the room just as I was starting to push - she later told me that she left 3 patients behind at the clinic and sped the entire way to the hospital just to make it in time!
Crouching on my hands and knees was the best for me to deal with the contractions, but I wasn't able to push effectively that way. I tried squatting on the labor bar, but baby didn't like that - his HR kept dropping. So I ended up on my back with the back of the bed up all the way with nurses and DH holding my legs for me. After pushing for about 20 minutes, they said that he needed to come out ASAP b/c of the dropping HR or they'd need to use suction. I guess that was all the encouragement I needed, because he came out with the next push. I thought I was done at that point because the "ring of fire" had gone away, but only his head was out! A few more small pushes and he came out crying like crazy.
He was put right on my chest as they cut the cord. We snuggled for a bit like that before they took him over to be checked out (weighed, etc.) while I delivered the placenta and got stitched up.
About an hour after he was born, I was up and showered. Then I got to order a TON of food for supper - I was starving at that point!
Zachary William was 6
lbs, 15 oz, and 19 inches long. I ended up with a 2nd degree tear, but
overall the pain was a lot less than I thought it would be for natural childbirth.
Congratulations! What a story! Do you think you'll go for natural childbirth again, assuming that you even get a choice the second time around with how fast that went? With DD, I had a slow birth with a failed epidural, but knowing that I can do it is empowering and I'm going for natural this time around - 100%.
Beabs
member
Re: My accidentally natural birth story
Married since 06/19/2004|Anna born 11/19/2006|Charles born 11/1/11
Double undergrad graduation May 2011| Me: Psychology, DH: Communication| A long journey!
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