Hi Ladies,
I'm a FTM, so this is my first time contributing to this particular board, although I'm a regular on some of the others. In the weeks leading up to my due date, I read all the natural birth stories I could find as a way to boost my confidence. I'm sharing in hopes that it will offer someone else the same type of benefit. Good luck to everyone for H&H pregnancies & deliveries. I'll warn ya in advance, that it is long.
At 39 weeks, my doctor indicated that she wanted to induce me at 41 weeks due to risk of placenta degradation. At first I went along with the idea, with plans of doing a lot of natural interventions first (walking stairs, sex, nipple stimulation, yoga, acupuncture, and as a last resort, a membrane sweep) and big hopes I would go naturally before that looming date. However, it kept weighing on me and I was starting to feel really apprehensive about interventions leading to a c-section if the baby or my body were just not ready. I asked her at my 40 week appointment if there were tests we could do to identify any valid health concerns with going to 42 weeks. She agreed and we scheduled regular NSTs & BPPs for the remaining 2 weeks.
The morning of my 41 week appointment, I was having cramps & tightening, but I had been experiencing those for several weeks. I had a busy day at work and didn’t really focus on it. At my OB appointment, I consented to a pelvic check and learned that I was 95% effaced & dilated to a 3. My doctor did a partial membrane sweep, as she thought a full sweep might rupture the BOW. I returned to work and realized that my cramps were getting stronger than they had been, but I also knew that could be a result of the pelvic check, so again, I didn’t think much of it. In the late afternoon, I had a small gush of fluid. We had our BPP at the perinatologist at 4:30 that afternoon, so I packed the bags in the car in case they found that I was leaking. I was GBS positive and my doctor wanted me to receive antibiotics at least once in the 4 hours prior to delivery. Baby passed the BPP with no issues and they didn’t believe I was losing any fluid so back home we went. The ultrasound tech estimated his weight at 8 lbs, 10 ounces, with a margin of error of 20 oz.
We got home around 5:00pm and I finally took the time to monitor the cramps/contractions. I found they were lasting around 45 seconds and were coming every 4-5 minutes, but they weren't anything I couldn't talk or walk through so I wasn't confident it was "real". I took a bath and had DH start timing them. The pain was picking up, but still not what I was expecting for contractions that were so close together. Also, the timing between was becoming less consistent. However, by 6:00pm, I had a bloody show and vomited so I couldn’t deny it any longer. We called our doula and she arrived around 7:00pm. She thought that while it was definitely real, that it wasn’t time for me to go to the hospital yet, despite the timing. I tried to eat some PB & crackers, but couldn’t keep it down. We walked around the block once, but I was feeling nauseated and wanted to stick to the house after that. Back at the house, we tried different positions and walked around the house a lot, confusing the heck out of our poor dog. I did a lot of side-lying in between contractions, due to the nausea. The contractions were getting more intense. I had a couple that were double peaked, I got sick a few more times and I had the shakes, so my doula decided it was time to go. She feared that I was becoming dehydrated (and with the trouble the nurses had setting my IV, I guess I had).
We got to the hospital around 10:00pm and I was so relieved to learn that I was fully dilated. The L&D nurses could only feel a bulging bag of waters. Luckily, my OB was on call that evening, which was a comfort. She had been very supportive of our natural childbirth plans. Details get blurry after this point, but I labored down in bed for the most part outside of a few trips to the bathroom. I alternated between freezing and burning up. I was standing beside the bed kneeling on my elbows and swaying when my BOW burst all over our poor doula who was standing behind me rubbing my back. This made me cold and I climbed into bed to get under the blankets, again in side-lying. The next contraction was the worst yet. I couldn’t fight the urge to push, so I did so and the OB was paged. I have to admit at this point, I was thinking to myself that if they continued at that intensity that I didn’t think I could do it. Luckily, the pushing and the knowledge that we were nearing the end helped. The future contractions didn’t even really register as pain, but hard work. I pushed a few times in side-lying, but the OB didn’t think they were productive. The squat bar was set up and they tied a sheet to it, so I could both push with my feet and pull with my arms. The OB offered great coaching through the next contractions, letting me know it was working and that she could see his head. I think in total we worked through 10 rounds of pushing. DH was an awesome coach, counting me through the contractions, feeding me ice chips and alternating between holding a portable electric fan in my face (the absolute best thing we thought to pack!) and covering me back up when I got chilled.
Our son arrived at 12:36 am on 5/28 at 41 weeks, 1 day. He weighed 10 pounds, 13 ounces and was 22 and a ¼ inches long. I had second degree tearing, but recovery has gone well. He is eating well and we just love him so much.
Re: Sharing our story
Engaged 10/2/1202
BFP (a lil quicker than expected) 12/7/2012
Married to my best friend 12/24/2012
Beautiful baby girl arrived 8/15/2013
BFP #2 3/13/2016