February 12, 2012- A day that I never expected and will never forget.
My first two babies were born through induction and epidurals. They were both perfectly healthy 7 lb. 14 oz. babies born at 40 weeks. I planned to have this baby the same way, until around 30 weeks gestation. I google everything. One day I googled the side effects of an epidural and found that a drop in blood pressure is fairly common. I realized that this is what happened to me during the labor of Elizabeth's birth. I passed out and Elizabeth's oxygen levels were in jeopardy. After seriously thinking I was about to die (and the baby), it was time to push and she came as a healthy little girl in April 2010. Weeks after her birth, I was still have dizzy, lightheaded spells- which now, I believe were an effect of induction and/or the epidural. Not everyone handles these drugs in the same way. SO, I never thought that I would do it...but I started researching natural birth!
First, I started talking to my friend Tammy, who was expecting two weeks before me and had experienced natural birth. She gave me the Bradley Method book. I read it cover to cover and found things that I never knew, after two pregnancies/births. I came to believe that natural would be best for me and the baby. But I'm the girl who cries over a stumped toe! I could never handle the pain!
Then I mentioned my ideas at playgroup and found that at least three or four of the ladies had experienced natural birth. Wow! This was the first time that I actually felt like I could do it. I was feeling a little excited! My friend, Emily, is also a doula, so I drilled her with questions every Tuesday:) Another friend, Christine, brought me this book. I read this book cover to cover as well. On the inside cover, several women had signed their names and the date of their baby's birth. It was so sweet to see how they had been helped through this book.
January 29, 2012 was my official due date. After the first of the year, I was ready. Everyday I was freezing food, making sure the laundry was done, and cleaning the house. So, by January 29th, I was done. Tired of waiting. My OB had been offering an induction since 37 weeks, but I wanted my baby and my body to choose the birth date. At 40 weeks 1 day, I actually heard my doctor outside my room say "How did this happen?!". It is very rare for her to let anyone go past date, but I waited it out though my baby's estimated weight was 9 pounds (give or take 2 lb.).
On Saturday, February 11 I had the second massage in my life. The lady knew that I was two weeks over due so had researched accupressure points to induce labor. I relaxed through the massage while listening to Nichole Nordemann Radio on Pandora. I found this station very soothing throughout my pregnancy and listened to it often during "resting" times. In the past week I had tried nearly every natural labor induction method that I had read about because my doctor was going to induce on Monday, February 13. That afternoon I went to Wal-mart, mainly to walk since it was rainy outside. That night around 9:00 p.m. Allen and I started watching "Contagion" and I had my first REAL labor pain. I knew then that the contractions I had been feeling for the last month were NOT the real thing! These contractions were around 7-10 minutes apart.
Around midnight, I decided to try to get some sleep. I still wasn't a hundred percent sure that this was real labor. Sleep was NOT happening! My back hurt so bad. I made a goofy looking contraption by strapping a heating pad around onto my back with a maternity belt and tried lying down again. Around 1:00 a.m. Allen was sleeping good, but I realized there was no way I could sleep through this, so I walked around my house and kitchen eating mixed nuts (protein=energy for labor!). Elizabeth woke up during this time, and I had a few minutes of snuggle time with her. At 1:30 a.m. I filled my tub with warm water and tried to relax. The contractions were around 4 minutes apart, so I could still rest and relax in between. I was elated and excited at this point, because I knew REAL labor was here! I woke Allen up at 2:30 a.m. and finally convinced him that his was the real deal, and he called his mom to come sit with the kids. It took me a while to convince him, but once he got the gist he was busy packing. The suitcase zipper broke and he had to repack all of my clothes :) We arrived to the hospital around 3:30 a.m. to find that I was 6 cm and 95% thinned! Yay! My doctor was out of town for a conference, so I requested the midwife on call. God completely worked this out. The midwife on call was the most highly recommended midwife by all of my friends and she had connections with my family.
The nursing staff was so supportive of my choice to have a natural labor. I couldn't have asked for a better, more supportive staff. They monitored the baby for 10 minutes out of every hour. While being monitored and getting my IV (group b strep precaution), I was still very kind and remember saying "Hold on, I'm having a contraction.....OK, now...". My midwife was very helpful, telling me to find a focal point and keep my eyes open during a contraction. She had a very soothing, motherly presence about her. This was my focal point while in the room. I called it "the red straw". I don't really want to know what that's used for.
As soon I got arrived, they began filling up the jacuzzi. I labored here more than in the room.
This tub was awesome! It would be awesome even if I weren't in labor :) My pains were mainly in my back. I expected my uterus to hurt the most, but nope...it was my back. She was not posterior, so I'm not real sure why I experienced so much back labor. Allen was really good at applying pressure during each contraction. The guy didn't get many breaks.
When I got out of the tub to be monitored, I was at 7 cm. I was still holding up pretty well at this point. I sat on the birthing ball for a while. The midwife estimated this baby's weight to be
around 9.5 pounds. She had to tell us the risks involved in vaginal
delivery such as shoulder dystocia which can lead to a temporary or
permanent paralyzed arm. At that moment, we had to chose between
continuing with natural vaginal birth or having a c-section. Although
we both were scared, we chose to continue with a vaginal delivery.
Thankfully I had researched this thoroughly and knew that labor
positioning can help tremendously with this type of delivery.
The time passed by rather quickly. By 6:00 a.m. I was at 8 cm and they let me get back in the jacuzzi. My contractions were hurting pretty bad at this point. We decided on this baby's name during this time: Rachel Grace - "ewe", "one with purity". I had to get a focus point in the tub...I kept saying OFF, FFO. Goofy, I know. I realized that I handled the contractions by being goofy, but it was seriously painful. As much as I wanted to cry at this point, for some reason I couldn't. Allen prayed over us.
My contractions were very painful at this point, still mainly in my back. (Have I mentioned pain?) My midwife decided to break my water, and we saw that it had meconium in it (baby poop). Another risk factor that scared me a little more. At this point I turned on Pandora- Nichole Nordeman Radio hoping to calm down. The songs that came on at that time were familiar from hearing them at naptime and during my massage. One song was special because I first heard it on a mission trip to Chile during college. Godly music is powerful! I prayed out loud at this point as well. The nurses and midwife said that were going to leave and let me labor alone. VERY shortly, I hit the call button! "Can we help you?" I didn't know what else to say but "I'm HURTING and feeling a lot of PRESSURE!!". They came in and was time to start pushing! I pushed through about 8 contractions, for maybe 10-15 minutes and baby Rachel was here!!! (That was the most painful thing I have ever experienced and I became quite a vocal person. They said "don't scream, grunt it out" over and over and over) They immediately handed her to me, while still attached, and I loved on her. I tried to nurse her, but they said that I needed to wait (wish I had been more aggressive on that). Shortly they told me that she weighed 10 pounds and 14 ounces...I really did NOT believe them. Then I said "Put me on the news!". Rachel had no problems coming through the birth canal and no problems with meconium aspiration. What a blessing!!!
Rachel Grace Carr - 2/12/12 - 8:11 a.m. - 10 lbs. 14 oz. - 23 inches long
No comments:
Post a Comment