Punctual Baby Girl! (jbelle)

jbelle · March 2014

Our baby girl was born punctually on her due date this past Sunday.

Abbreviated details (with all the pertinent stats I could think of):

This is our first baby, PAIF, and AMA. We had a girl, born 3/16/2014 @40w0d gestation, 7lbs 2oz, 20" long. Hospital birth with epidural lasting about 17 hours start to finish (~6am to ~11pm). 2nd degree tear. Pushing lasted about 1.5 hours. Milk came in for sure on day 4.

Long version:

I woke up twice overnight on Saturday night/early Sunday with discomfort and wondered if labor was starting, but was able to fall back asleep. Finally woke in too much discomfort to fall back asleep at 5:45am. I got in the tub for a while, tried my exercise ball, and sat on the toilet. The latter was the best spot during contractions for me.

Timing them was more difficult than I thought. I couldn't exactly decide when one started or stopped and some were intense while others were weak. I was averaging every 6 minutes, I'd say, but I promised myself if I lasted until 9:30am I could call in regardless of if I hit the 5-1-1 rule. Doc said to come get checked so I woke my DH up and told him to take his time, get a shower, and we were going in.

Still convinced I wasn't going to be admitted, we didn't even carry our bags into the hospital at a little after 11. At noon, I was checked and was 5 cm and asked if I planned to have an epidural. I didn't have a 100% plan, but accepted without really thinking about it. The pain was manageable at this point, but I was really concerned about post-delivery stitching--I hate getting stitches. Especially in that area.

We were shortly taken to our room, there by about 1pm, and anesthesiology was there within 5 minutes of our arrival putting in my epidural. That process could not have gone more smoothly. I felt very little during application and it totally took away the pain. At 3pm I was 7cm and my OB broke my waters at this point they were "clear."

At 6pm I was 9cm. Still feeling great through contractions. By 8:20, I hit 10cm, but they let me "labor down" until about 10pm. I was definitely feeling the contractions by then.

At some point, when they cleaned up the water collecting underneath me, "thin meconium" was identified. The OB reassured me this was not unexpected for a full term delivery and that a pediatrician would be present for the delivery to check her out immediately afterwords, but there was nothing to be concerned about.

I started pushing at about 10pm and baby girl was born at 11:18pm. Although she tolerated labor very well (remarkably so), the cord was wrapped around her neck. I could hear the OB cutting multiple times (DH had already opted not to cut it--too squeamish, LOL).

Pushing did not feel good for me like it seems to for so many; I just wanted it to be over. My OB performed perineal massage and I had a 2nd degree tear, and there was no epidural drug bump to be had when she stitched me up. I was not happy about that. But the cliche is true: you forget. Even a week later, it's so faded.

She had a great first doctor's appointment and DH and I have been joking about our "textbook" experience all around (I believe all those numbers above put me right in the average, save the PAIF and AMA stuff!). Almost a week out from delivery, my recovery is going great and I'm feeling exponentially better each day--those first days hurt, not much way around it. BF is going well, and I'm anxiously awaiting her 2 week appointment to learn about how she's doing weight-gain wise.