mctlaw
07-11-2012, 03:46 PM
I finally completed DS2's birth story and want to share it with you all:
My EDD was 5/27. For several days around my due date, I had days of several hours of BH type contractions that were regular for hours, then just stopped. My due date came and went but I did not really stress about it knowing I was late with DS1. I was super annoyed that at the end of 40 weeks, my pregnancy I-phone app (Sprout Lite) reverted to week 1 of pregnancy, though, that was like salt on my wounds! Also, my OB, a true solo practicioner, had a mild heart attack and was out out of commission for a week. I didn't want to go into labor with a random hospital doc because my baby was transverse and this would likely net me a c-section. My OB is one of the only two in town who would not have scheduled me for a c under the circumstances. We hoped baby would turn on his own at the last minute or my doc would try to turn him in labor. The one thing my doc kept telling me was not to let my water break before I got to the hospital, because then he may not be able to turn him. OK, like I have any control over this???
On June 3, my Dr. had started to discuss induction dates with me - his general policy is 2 weeks postdate. I told him that I would try everything short of a medical induction before going that route and he said to go for it. Since birth no. 1, I had hoped for a natural birth for #2 (- as I had with no. 1, but when I was augmented with pitocon the first time around, I was unable to sustain the many hours of piticon augmented contractions, and got an epidural).
I hired a doula for additional support this time around. Also, I did Hypnobabies home study. My DH is a wonderful man, but cannot stand to see me in pain. He wanted me to have the birth I envisioned and though he did not really understand my desire for a natural birth he was supportive and recognized he did not have the tools to get me there.
I had an appointment scheduled for 6/4 and planned to consent to my membranes being stripped (that jump started my labor for DS1) since I was a few days away from a medical induction. I also told my MIL and DH that I would stop at a chinese spa on the way home and get a reflexology foot massage. For some reason DH was worried about the safety of this ?!? I told him it was past time to have the baby, already! That night I looked up Latia's castor oil regime on the BBB and decided I would reserve that as a last ditch effort if necessary....
It turned out I didn't need to to resort to any of these methods :) Somewhere between midnight and 1 AM, I became aware of very mild contractions that I was mostly sleeping through. They felt like mild lower abdominal cramps. I continued to sleep for a while and woke for good around 2 AM when I started to time the contractions on my i-phone app. They were 4-8 minutes apart but quickly progressed to 3-4 minutes apart, though they were lasting only 30-45 seconds and were barely uncomfortable. I woke my DH at 3:30 AM to tell him my contractions were happening and they were real this time! I was excited but calm....excited about birth and also excited that my labor finally started on its own rather than needing any type of intervention to jump start it. We got up and added the last minute items to our hospital bags. My doula came over at about 5:30.
During labor at home, it was obvious that baby was still transverse at this time To encourage a position change, my doula had me get onto my hands and knees. I did this on the sofa for comfort. Right after a bathroom break, I was standing near the end of the chaise lounge and seconds later, mid-contraction, I heard a pop and my water gushed out. It was a huge amount and it soaked my skirt and was like a river on the floor. I remember being glad at some point it didn't break while I was kneeling on my Mitchell Gold sectional sofa cause I love that sofa so much...
I had my freakout moment at that point, though. My doc had warned me not to let this happen because he could not turn baby wiuhout ample fluid, and here mine was all over our floor, so I "let" it happen :). My doula told me to immediately get on my hands and knees, which I did. I remember saying "I'm scared," because I thought now baby will be stuck transverse and I'll need an emergency c-section. The next contraction was far more uncomfortable now that my water was broken. Then my doula took my DH aside and told him to haul ass to the hospital, which he did, turning a 20-25 minute drive into an 11 minute one. Although he did have the nerve to ask me which direction to take when he was looking in his navigation. I can't remember what I said in response but I remember biting my tongue! We pulled into the ER parking lot and were quickly assisted to L & D triage.
One of the best moments in my labor occurred once I was triaged - I was ultrasounded and the nurse said, "head is down". I was hugely, hugely relieved and could have cried I was so happy. Everything was going to be OK! Once I got my L & D room, I refused a heplock and no one gave me grief about it. Not having one was awesome as the heplock in my hand for my first birth was really painful and I was hyperfocused on it. My only complaint about the laboring in L & D was that not too long after I got settled in my room, I opened my eyes between contractions and there was a man who had suddenly materialized there. He gave me (what I deemed to be) a creepy smile and said "I'm Dr. ___, the anesthesiologist." I didn't know what to say...my birth plan said not to bring up pain relief and I would ask for it if I wanted it. I sure had not requested this guy's presence in my room uninvited. I said We'll call you if we need anything" and he left.
On admission I was 4 cm and 90% effaced. I remember thinking I was not that far along but my doula i told me I was progressing quickly and that I would not be there long. I then set about getting through natural labor. After being so worked up mentally about my water breaking, it took me a while to get on top of my contractions. I felt like they were beating me for a while. With my doula's help I recalled my Hypnobabies breathing and began repeating a mantra...with that I was able to ride through most of the contractions. The worst of my contractions were into my rear upper hips and low back. Squeezing them gave some relief. Then, my bladder became distended and I knew that I needed to pee but I could not get it out to save my life. In retrospect, I should have peed in triage. The distended feeling now was becoming more painful than the labor around my hips/back. I had to be cathed to get the pee out which was a huge relief although having it inserted was not a load of fun. I got on top of the contractions for a while. At some point though, I began to tire and began to contemplate pain relief. I had enough of a grain of my desire for natural birth left in me that I confessed it to my doula but left it at that. I didn't say anything to my DH because I knew he would get me the epidural if I told him I wanted it.
What seemed shortly thereafter, I recognized that the room was being prepped for delivery. I wondered why, as no one had checked me since triage and I had only been 4 cm then. I'm kind of fuzzy about what happened there. Then the resident came in and checked me and said "You're complete." I said "Really?" I was surprised but so happy that I made it through transition!
I pushed for a total of about 45 minutes. I remember most the point where I felt the baby's head coming down the birth canal. This may sound totally weird, but for me this was one of the best, most intense moments of my labor and delivery. It was such a contrast from my first (epidural) birth where I felt disconnected from the whole thing. It was a total awareness that my body had all power to bring our baby into the world. After I reveled in that feeling for a few moments, though, I then said "please get this kid out of me now" and my doc warned me to listen to him when he told me to slow down the pushing. I felt the head coming out and slowed down to pant when he told me (I had a third degree tear in my first birth and definitely did not want to repeat that). I was given a bunch of loud coaching which I had not wanted in my plan but at the time it didnt really bother me.
The head came out and then another push cleared the shoulders. I looked down and saw my baby and once all of him came out, he was placed on my chest. He just looked at me and it was an incredible moment...
He is a super sweet baby though he does prefer to be stuck to me like glue. His name is August Joseph. I was really happy with my birth experience. I know it can't go 100% per plan but I feel like I got what I hoped for, probably as much as one could hope.
Newborn:
http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp53%3B5%3B%3Enu%3D327%3B%3E937%3E4%3A 5%3EWSNRCG%3D379%3B%3A%3B4%3B5232%3Bnu0mrj
At one month:
http://images3a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp73435%3Enu%3D379%3B%3E8%3C2%3E268%3E 288%3C8%3C235923%3Aot1lsi
My EDD was 5/27. For several days around my due date, I had days of several hours of BH type contractions that were regular for hours, then just stopped. My due date came and went but I did not really stress about it knowing I was late with DS1. I was super annoyed that at the end of 40 weeks, my pregnancy I-phone app (Sprout Lite) reverted to week 1 of pregnancy, though, that was like salt on my wounds! Also, my OB, a true solo practicioner, had a mild heart attack and was out out of commission for a week. I didn't want to go into labor with a random hospital doc because my baby was transverse and this would likely net me a c-section. My OB is one of the only two in town who would not have scheduled me for a c under the circumstances. We hoped baby would turn on his own at the last minute or my doc would try to turn him in labor. The one thing my doc kept telling me was not to let my water break before I got to the hospital, because then he may not be able to turn him. OK, like I have any control over this???
On June 3, my Dr. had started to discuss induction dates with me - his general policy is 2 weeks postdate. I told him that I would try everything short of a medical induction before going that route and he said to go for it. Since birth no. 1, I had hoped for a natural birth for #2 (- as I had with no. 1, but when I was augmented with pitocon the first time around, I was unable to sustain the many hours of piticon augmented contractions, and got an epidural).
I hired a doula for additional support this time around. Also, I did Hypnobabies home study. My DH is a wonderful man, but cannot stand to see me in pain. He wanted me to have the birth I envisioned and though he did not really understand my desire for a natural birth he was supportive and recognized he did not have the tools to get me there.
I had an appointment scheduled for 6/4 and planned to consent to my membranes being stripped (that jump started my labor for DS1) since I was a few days away from a medical induction. I also told my MIL and DH that I would stop at a chinese spa on the way home and get a reflexology foot massage. For some reason DH was worried about the safety of this ?!? I told him it was past time to have the baby, already! That night I looked up Latia's castor oil regime on the BBB and decided I would reserve that as a last ditch effort if necessary....
It turned out I didn't need to to resort to any of these methods :) Somewhere between midnight and 1 AM, I became aware of very mild contractions that I was mostly sleeping through. They felt like mild lower abdominal cramps. I continued to sleep for a while and woke for good around 2 AM when I started to time the contractions on my i-phone app. They were 4-8 minutes apart but quickly progressed to 3-4 minutes apart, though they were lasting only 30-45 seconds and were barely uncomfortable. I woke my DH at 3:30 AM to tell him my contractions were happening and they were real this time! I was excited but calm....excited about birth and also excited that my labor finally started on its own rather than needing any type of intervention to jump start it. We got up and added the last minute items to our hospital bags. My doula came over at about 5:30.
During labor at home, it was obvious that baby was still transverse at this time To encourage a position change, my doula had me get onto my hands and knees. I did this on the sofa for comfort. Right after a bathroom break, I was standing near the end of the chaise lounge and seconds later, mid-contraction, I heard a pop and my water gushed out. It was a huge amount and it soaked my skirt and was like a river on the floor. I remember being glad at some point it didn't break while I was kneeling on my Mitchell Gold sectional sofa cause I love that sofa so much...
I had my freakout moment at that point, though. My doc had warned me not to let this happen because he could not turn baby wiuhout ample fluid, and here mine was all over our floor, so I "let" it happen :). My doula told me to immediately get on my hands and knees, which I did. I remember saying "I'm scared," because I thought now baby will be stuck transverse and I'll need an emergency c-section. The next contraction was far more uncomfortable now that my water was broken. Then my doula took my DH aside and told him to haul ass to the hospital, which he did, turning a 20-25 minute drive into an 11 minute one. Although he did have the nerve to ask me which direction to take when he was looking in his navigation. I can't remember what I said in response but I remember biting my tongue! We pulled into the ER parking lot and were quickly assisted to L & D triage.
One of the best moments in my labor occurred once I was triaged - I was ultrasounded and the nurse said, "head is down". I was hugely, hugely relieved and could have cried I was so happy. Everything was going to be OK! Once I got my L & D room, I refused a heplock and no one gave me grief about it. Not having one was awesome as the heplock in my hand for my first birth was really painful and I was hyperfocused on it. My only complaint about the laboring in L & D was that not too long after I got settled in my room, I opened my eyes between contractions and there was a man who had suddenly materialized there. He gave me (what I deemed to be) a creepy smile and said "I'm Dr. ___, the anesthesiologist." I didn't know what to say...my birth plan said not to bring up pain relief and I would ask for it if I wanted it. I sure had not requested this guy's presence in my room uninvited. I said We'll call you if we need anything" and he left.
On admission I was 4 cm and 90% effaced. I remember thinking I was not that far along but my doula i told me I was progressing quickly and that I would not be there long. I then set about getting through natural labor. After being so worked up mentally about my water breaking, it took me a while to get on top of my contractions. I felt like they were beating me for a while. With my doula's help I recalled my Hypnobabies breathing and began repeating a mantra...with that I was able to ride through most of the contractions. The worst of my contractions were into my rear upper hips and low back. Squeezing them gave some relief. Then, my bladder became distended and I knew that I needed to pee but I could not get it out to save my life. In retrospect, I should have peed in triage. The distended feeling now was becoming more painful than the labor around my hips/back. I had to be cathed to get the pee out which was a huge relief although having it inserted was not a load of fun. I got on top of the contractions for a while. At some point though, I began to tire and began to contemplate pain relief. I had enough of a grain of my desire for natural birth left in me that I confessed it to my doula but left it at that. I didn't say anything to my DH because I knew he would get me the epidural if I told him I wanted it.
What seemed shortly thereafter, I recognized that the room was being prepped for delivery. I wondered why, as no one had checked me since triage and I had only been 4 cm then. I'm kind of fuzzy about what happened there. Then the resident came in and checked me and said "You're complete." I said "Really?" I was surprised but so happy that I made it through transition!
I pushed for a total of about 45 minutes. I remember most the point where I felt the baby's head coming down the birth canal. This may sound totally weird, but for me this was one of the best, most intense moments of my labor and delivery. It was such a contrast from my first (epidural) birth where I felt disconnected from the whole thing. It was a total awareness that my body had all power to bring our baby into the world. After I reveled in that feeling for a few moments, though, I then said "please get this kid out of me now" and my doc warned me to listen to him when he told me to slow down the pushing. I felt the head coming out and slowed down to pant when he told me (I had a third degree tear in my first birth and definitely did not want to repeat that). I was given a bunch of loud coaching which I had not wanted in my plan but at the time it didnt really bother me.
The head came out and then another push cleared the shoulders. I looked down and saw my baby and once all of him came out, he was placed on my chest. He just looked at me and it was an incredible moment...
He is a super sweet baby though he does prefer to be stuck to me like glue. His name is August Joseph. I was really happy with my birth experience. I know it can't go 100% per plan but I feel like I got what I hoped for, probably as much as one could hope.
Newborn:
http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp53%3B5%3B%3Enu%3D327%3B%3E937%3E4%3A 5%3EWSNRCG%3D379%3B%3A%3B4%3B5232%3Bnu0mrj
At one month:
http://images3a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp73435%3Enu%3D379%3B%3E8%3C2%3E268%3E 288%3C8%3C235923%3Aot1lsi