Labor went exactly how it is supposed to go with Ana. Tuesday morning contractions were regular and I started timing. I went to the store and made banana bread for a friend who had just had a baby herself. Contractions were getting closer - about 5 minutes apart. About lunch time I called Dave and told him when he got off work we probably would go to the hospital. He called me back a while late and said, "Just come and get me now." After I picked him up, we headed to my friend's house. After that we went to eat at Subway, but I wasn't too hungry. We got to the hospital about 6 and they decided I was probably in labor and admitted me. But they didn't have any rooms so they told me to walk around for a while. So Dave and I walked around while he read some cheesy church novel to me. Fun times.
About 8 I was in a room. Labor was going pretty well. Contractions were steadily getting harder and closer. At 10 they broke my water. Then contractions came hard and fast. I couldn't relax. I was worried. Everyone said the pushing was the hardest and I was already in ALOT of pain. I couldn't breath through them. Dave touching me drove me crazy. So I opted for an epidural. I got one about 12 AM. I threw up right away and then I finally slept. (Dave did not. He stood next to the TV watching the Cosby Show.) At about 2 o'clock I woke up, I wanted someone to check my progress. Finally at 3 the doctor came to check and Ana was crowning. I pushed for about 30 minutes, during which time Dave got light-headed and had to sit down. Ana was born at 3:34 AM.
Jack was different. Labor was stop and go for 2 days. I Finally on Saturday afternoon I went to the hospital. After walking around for a while, they decided to keep me. I had Group B strep, so I had to labor for 4 hours while my antibiotic ran, so I decided to get an epidural early. Once again, I threw up and my blood pressure dropped so I had to have some oxygen for a while, but then Dave and I chatted and watched TV for a few hours. The doc told us he'd be back at 7. It came and went and Dave kept saying we should call him. But I was watching Ever After and wasn't in a hurry. Finally he showed up at 8:30. He broke my water and then, knowing Dave was a soon-to-be med student, he put him to work. He told the nurse to get him some gloves and she pulled a couple out of the box. "No, not those. Get him sterile gloves." The nurse looked a little shocked, and handed Dave the gloves. With the doctor as his guide and the nurse as my pushing coach, Dave delivered Jack a few minutes before 10 PM, only an hour after my water was broken. It was awesome!
By the time I was pregnant with Katie, I recognized that my problem with Ana's birth was my inability to keep myself calm. But I had been working on it. (I'm still working on it.) I didn't want an epidural this time. I had no issues with my previous births, but I didn't like the woozy feeling I got right after my epidural, so I wanted to do it without. I practiced breathing through it by breathing through the leg cramps I got frequently during pregnancy. The Saturday before she was born we went up to the hospital late at night because my labor was pretty regular. But then sent me home because contractions stopped. That continued for the next 3 days. They'd be regular for a while and then stop. I went to the doctor every day that week to be checked and I wasn't progressing. I told the doctor how I wasn't getting any sleep and that my labors usually pick up after my water is broken. So we decided to head up to the hospital to brake my water. I was so thankful! She knew I didn't want an epidural, but she warned me that sometimes intervening early can lead to problems and that we might end up with one anyway if I needed pitocin. I understood, and we headed to the hospital.
At about 1 my water was broken. I then spent the next few hours walking around the maternity ward. It has a fabulous view and Dave and I spent much of our time laughing and trying to figure out a way to use my Grandma's name (Doris) with Katie. (Most options were quite comical and we ended up not using it at all.) By 5-ish the contractions were quite strong and uncomfortable. I took a shower and took a lot of deep breaths. After that I just wanted to lay down. So I spent the rest of the time in bed breathing. I held Dave's hand and breathed. My doctor was fabulous. Knowing my plan, she never even offered an epidural but spent the time telling me I was strong and that I was doing great. Time came to push. I told Dave that I couldn't do it anymore. He assured me I could (though he was thinking that I didn't have a choice anyway) and I pushed for 20 minutes. She was born about 7:30 PM. They placed her on my chest and kept her there. It was wonderful.
Giving birth is such a wonderful, empowering thing. It doesn't matter how it happens, epidural or not, c-section or natural, it is a wonderful thing to hold that baby and know that you grew it and now it is here.
Now I have a 5 year old, a 3 year old and an adorable little baby and they are my world! I am so grateful for my body and my babies.
1 comment:
I've had labor and birth on the brain too - I'm curious as to how my third will be different from my other 2.
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