|
Welcome Thomas Arthur!!
|
|
Due Date: 4/28/07
Birthday: 4/24/07
Time of Birth: 8:01 am
Weight: 7 lbs, 4 ounces
Length: 20 inches
|
Birth Story:
On Monday morning, my water broke. Instead of one big break, I had the trickle so I noticed fluid gushing all day. I was
having very few contractions; much fewer than the many contractions I’d been having for the previous 2 weeks! I’d
been dilating and effacing well for the previous 2-3 weeks and was 2cm and 80% at my last appointment. By afternoon, I was
pretty clear that it was in fact my water and that labor was or should be on its way. I called the doctor’s office
and they said that if I should stay at home until contractions began/picked up. If there was no labor by 5:00am the next
morning, I would have to come in and be induced. I really wanted to avoid this! So when my Tom got home from work, we went
for a walk at the dog park and called our families to tell them it would definitely be the next 24 hours. After that, we
ate a big dinner and while there the rest of my water ruptured. Contractions began from there. From about 6:00-10:30 my
contractions were frequent but not that strong. At 10:30 I decided to try to get some sleep… either the contractions
would pick up and wake me up or they wouldn’t and I’d need to be induced in the morning.
At midnight I woke up and felt like contractions had stopped entirely. Frustrated, I rolled over to try to go back to
sleep. Then I had a “real” contraction. So I got up and sat in the living room with Tom for about 45
minutes. These contractions felt different and seemed to keep coming so we figured why not go into the hospital. Worst case,
they’d probably just admit me and keep me until induction time. They admitted us around 1:30 and I was 3 cm. We
were brought to our labor and delivery suite. When asked if she should start an IV, I told the nurse that I was going to
try it without meds. She was surprised, saying that she could count on her hands the number of women who she’s
delivered without epidurals. She was also incredibly supportive. What a gift she was. She only asked me about meds once
or twice and then realized I was going fast enough and handling it and really supported me from there.
My mom and best friend Amy showed up around 3:30 and Tom tried to take a nap while I labored in the shower and on the
ball. Amy used massage to help relieve the pressure of contractions. I had a small temperature so they had to start an IV
of fluids. I laid on the bed for a few minutes (I had been walking around the whole time before then) and got sick. I was
so uncomfortable in the bed; gravity felt so much better so out of bed I got. By now I was already about 5cm. Once on my
feet things progressed rapidly. I stood and leaned on the top of the bed swaying my hips back and forth the entire time.
Contractions brought a lot of weight and pressure but pain is not a word I would use to describe them and that surprised me.
She checked me again and I was 7cm. I practically jumped out of the bed when she finished checking me and was back on my
feet. After one or two more contractions, in between the moans I’d instinctually started to emit, I moaned that
I felt like pushing. Tom encouraged me to not do that yet and we kept rocking and moaning through the contractions. When
the nurse returned, I again moaned about wanting to push and she said “You want to push? Let me check you.”
So I hopped on the bed, she quickly checked and said I just had a little lip of cervix left. I rolled off the bed and got
back on my feet for another couple of contractions while she called into say I was going to begin pushing. At 6:15am I was
back in bed and got to push.
I’d read people say that pushing was such a relief… and it was! Pushing was hard work. I would still
not say there was something I would describe as pain involved, still just the pressure and pushing made the pressure feel
better. The hard part of pushing came from getting my legs in the right position, holding them there, and the holding my
breath and pushing. I could feel it in my face more than anywhere else and knew I had to redirect that energy. This is where
my nurse was really helpful. I think she and the doctor decided to have some fun with me since they so rarely had the opportunity
to work with someone who wasn’t numb. They kept suggesting new positions… I was up for anything. So
I pushed on my back, then on my side, then stood on the bed and used a squatting bar. They had never used the squat bar before
and it took them a while to set it up! I said, “How do I use this?” They said, “anyway you
want.” So I pulled myself up on my feet and stood on the bed. When a contraction would hit, I would swing down
into a squat and hold it there. Then I’d stand back up until the next one. Squatting felt good in the sense that
I could really bear down and feel like I was in a really active, productive position. Squatting was also exhausting and really
tired me out. So we went back to pushing on my back. By then we were in the final stages anyway and back pushing was much
more productive.
The nurses and doctors had their shift change right at the end of my pushing phase so the room was pretty crowded by the
time he was crowning. At about 7:45 my doctor came in and relieved the on-call night doctor. She was surprised to find me
in this state, figuring she’d show up and I would just be starting induction! It was cool that my doctor made it
just in time, though the other doctor was so awesome during the rest of my labor! I pushed for an hour and 45 minutes. I
had a small tear but didn’t even notice. At 8:01, my son was born.
Everyone was very impressed and proud of me for doing this naturally. Even during my days of recovery, nurses commented
on it. Many people assumed I just didn’t have time for an epidural, but I let them know I did it on purpose. I
didn’t choose this method to impress anybody, except maybe myself. I knew if I could do this, that I could do pretty
much anything. When it was over, I was most surprised by the way it felt. As I said before, I’m not sure I would
describe too much of what I experienced as pain. I think when people talked about the pain of labor, I was anticipating something
different. This I can only describe as extreme weight and pressure. Certainly not comfortable in any way, but nothing I
can compare it to. The pain of recovery has been much worse than anything I experienced in labor and has lasted much longer
than the 8 hours I was in labor! I was happy that I had the options in front of me and I am happy with the option I chose,
but I would certainly not ever pressure anybody else into choosing the natural option. The worst part of this choice was
the people telling me I was nuts to do it without meds. Also hard to handle were the people really pushing for a natural
birth because that’s how it’s supposed to be done. I really discovered it was such a personal choice
that was all about me at that point.
We did not take any natural childbirth classes. I read portions of the book on Hypnobirthing and only days before the
birth, I read “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth.” I would recommend portions of the first book
for help with the psychology of fear and the physical effects of fear on the body. Though I didn’t really see myself
successfully hypnobirthing, I found this “no fear” approach highly motivating. The “Guide to
Childbirth” was the perfect thing to read right before the birth. The birth stories in that book as well as the
practical and medical information were all very reassuring that this was something I could and wanted to do. I am most grateful
for the support of my husband, my mom, my best friend, and my delivery nurse Erica. It was a group effort and the result
is an incredible little boy who I am enjoying getting to know.
|
