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Natural Birth
BransonsBecca
member
Birth story- long (sorry!) :)
BransonsBecca
member
As August approached quickly, I had already accepted the fact that the baby would be born in August. Not a big deal, but I had high hopes for a July baby. At 40 weeks, I was so tired of being pregnant. All the preparations were done... now where was this baby?!
I woke up the morning of July 31st. It was a Tuesday around 7:00am. I went to use the restroom and saw what I thought to be a piece of my mucus plug, although it honestly could have been a piece of lint. I returned to bed to wish Scott a "Happy Anniversary!" since it was our two year. We talked about what we were going to do with our day and thought that just a dinner out would be nice, one last date before the baby arrived.
I then started having contractions, about ten or thirteen minutes apart. I started timing them because at that point, I wasn't even sure if they were contractions. Scott asked me if I was interested in going for a walk and I agreed. We took Cricket with us. While we were walking, my contractions began to get a little closer together, at 6 minutes apart. When we got home, I called our doula, Julie, who agreed that it was the best idea to at least head closer to Springfield. While we were driving, my contractions grew a little in intensity. We decided if this was it then I needed to eat, so I decided on a light salad. We checked into the hotel to labor in comfort, only staying an hour before my contractions were two minutes apart! Julie told us to head to the hospital! At this point, I was pretty much immersed in contractions. I had 5 big ones just walking from the parking lot to the elevator at the hospital. Once we got to the 5th floor, I could hardly walk. I stood in the elevator, having a contraction, while someone grabbed us a wheelchair. I remember that I started crying because I knew it was time. We checked in with triage at 4ish and then I was checked.... I was already at 5 centimeters! Halfway there! It was official- we were checked into labor and delivery.
Once we got to the labor room, time seemed to stop. I had started bleeding so the doctor preferred me to stay in bed. One doctor guessed baby's weight at 7 pounds, 10 oz. I was moaning and breathing through each contraction. Scott reminded me to breath and that each contraction was one less to go though. He reminded me to think of the river, and just ride the river. At some point, my contractions changed. They were no longer waves of intensity. The pressure was unbelievable. I knew in the back of my mind that this was the turning point. It was too far gone to ask for drugs. I didn't want to move, although Julie tried encouraging me to do so, but I was too scared of the pain/pressure. Eventually, I managed to squat up on the bed and suddenly my water burst and the pressure escalated. I begged to lay back down. The back pain was horrific. I might have been able to have better control of myself had it not been for that.
I think around 9 centimeters, I stalled out. The baby was stuck and could not move past my pelvic bone. I tried standing up to help, but again, the pressure was too much and I was too afraid to succumb to it. I ended up laboring on my knees, hanging up and over the bed. With each contraction, Julie (and my husband!) helped me to bear down and grunt... pushing my baby down each time. At one point, the doctor mentioned something about having a c-section if I didn't make any progress. At first I thought, "YES YES YES! Please! Get this thing out of me!!!" but then I told myself, "No one else is going to push this baby out, Becca. You HAVE to do it." So I gave in. And it was terrifying.
Eventually, somehow, I got to the pushing stage. I could feel everything. I wanted to die. I think I told Scott that I couldn't do this, I didn't want to do this. I heard people talking about the head. It was hard to comprehend what was going on. I was there but then again, I wasn't. It really was an out of body experience. When I started crowing, I think I started screaming with pain. I knew I was losing control. After the head came out came a quick whoosh and the next thing I knew I heard my husband say, "Its a girl!" and then saw him trying to cut the cord. All I could say to him was, "I did it..." And then I saw my daughter, staring at me from the little table, as there was some meconium present. I had a second degree tear that was being stitched up while Scott sat with me and told me about our girl... who had big hands and feet and my nose. I still could not believe that our team green baby, Ziggy, had been a girl the whole time. We were convinced we were having a boy. I was so exhausted. I was feeling every emotion possible. And it was so surreal because I still could not believe I had just given birth. When my mom walked into the delivery room, it was all we could do to just put our heads together and I told her, "I did it..."
Apparently, when my husband went to tell our families that our baby was a girl, one of the first things he said was, "She is tough as hell!" And you know what? I was. I knew from day one I would have a natural birth. I would not have changed a thing. The doctors and nurses I encountered were so supportive of my choice. My doula was invaluable and I will always have a special place in my heart for her. And my husband really was my knight in shining armor. I will be so proud to tell my daughter how she came into the world. At 10:09 pm on July 31st, weighing in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and measuring 21 3/4 inches long, Lola Everdeen became the most wonderful anniversary present we could have ever asked for.
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Re: Birth story- long (sorry!) :)
Congrats and welcome Lola! You did awesome, mama.
Also, you are the only other person I've ever heard describing the end of natural labor as an "out of body experience". That is exactly how I felt with my second. Our labors were a bit different (mine was 3hrs start to finish), but I've used the phrase often when I've told the story to others, and no one gets it! My mom walked in when I was nine cms (abt 5mins before baby was born), and I kind of remember it and kind of don't...like I was hovering above myself watching all this {horrific} pain happen to someone else. So odd. So worth it and amazing, but such a strange last little bit. Congrats again!
Sometimes, I'm hilarious.