I know, that post title is such a cliche. I know everyone has been dying to hear how my delivery went. Don't worry, I'm not going to give you any gory details or visuals you don't want. Just good, clean fun.
Before I get started let me give you a little background. First, my due date was May 30. Kent was scheduled to come home on May 25 had to leave June 5. If the baby didn't come on his own I was going to be induced on June 4 so he'd be here for the delivery. This was something I didn't want AT ALL and caused me all sorts of undue stress. I prayed and talked to the baby asking for him to please come on his on, preferably around May 27 so that Kent would be home and get to spend lots of time with him. However, being a first time mom I was sure that I wouldn't be early (statistically speaking, most first births in Caucasian women occur at 41 weeks, 1 day) and an induction was in the cards.
So, on the night of May 23 I was sitting watching TV before bed and I felt a pain that started in my back and went around to my front. I'd been having contractions for several weeks, sometimes a little painful so I don't know why this one stood out to me but it did. I thought, "Oh my gosh, is that a real contraction?" Quickly followed by, "Of course it isn't." I ended up going to bed shortly after without feeling another one. I don't know if it was anxiety or my body gearing up but I woke up at 4 AM and couldn't fall back asleep. At this point I figured I was just anxious because I was looking for signs of starting labor.
That day I went out and ran some errands but I felt cruddy and begged off from seeing a friend. Kent was scheduled to fly in the next day and I called him the night of the 24th and told him if it was at all possible he should see about trying to get in earlier since I thought by this point that maybe, possibly, I was starting labor. He and I both looked but the flight he was booked on would put him in earlier then anything else. We crossed our fingers that he'd make it in time.
I woke up at 3 AM on the 25th to a contraction. I got up and thought I'd hang out and see what happened before I called my mom and dad. I walked around, ate some soup and drank juice since I knew I wouldn't be eating again. Finally at 4 AM I called my parents and asked them to come over at 5 AM. My parents got to my house and I waited a little longer before calling my midwife. I was at the hospital by 6:30 and my contractions were 45 - 60 seconds long, with 3 - 4 minutes in between getting stronger. They checked me and I was very disappointed that I was only at 2.5 centimeters.
Anyway, I won't bore you with all the details but basically they put me on a monitor to track the baby's heart rate around 8 AM. I was watching it and noticed a change; it became really erratic looking. I called for the nurse to ask if it was normal, which it wasn't. Several nurses rushed in, they put me on oxygen and I thought they would give me a c-section. The heart rate stabilized and the nurse told me that I would no longer have the option of being off the monitor so I could walk around, get in the tub, etc. I would have to stay in bed. This was a pretty disappointing turn of events for me, as I was planning to have a natural birth and wanted to move around to manage my pain.
I labored in bed for a few more hours. They did let me sit in a rocking chair (NOT helpful in pain management) but I needed help to even go to the bathroom. It was very frustrating. I talked to Kent and knew by this point he'd definitely arrive in time for the delivery. It was a little after noon and I finally decided that maybe I'd like an epidural. I knew the risks, but since I couldn't do anything to alleviate my pain there didn't seem to be any point in not getting one. Maybe it sounds stupid but that was kind of a bummer moment for me. However, I was much more comfortable afterwards and the nurse told me that it was good I waited so long (I was at seven centimeters) because the further along you are the less likely an epidural is to slow down your labor.
Note: I would like to say one other thing in favor for an epidural. For the last six weeks of my pregnancy I had to go to the bathroom all the time since the baby made himself comfortable on top of my bladder. The epidural completely eliminated that feeling. It was wonderful.Frankly not much happened for the next few hours. My water broke naturally (I refused to let the midwife give me an amniotomy), I napped, Kent got to the hospital and we talked. Around 6:20 PM the nurse told me that I could try to push if I felt like it. Forty minutes later we had our baby. The midwife let Kent actually catch the baby, cut the cord and announce the sex. I wanted the baby right away but he'd inhaled some meconium and wasn't breathing when he was finally born so they had to take care of him first. It goes without saying that he was fine; otherwise this post would be quite different.
Having him was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced. I love him so much. As for my birthing experience, I would say I got about 80% of what I wanted. Obviously not being able to move and having an epidural were not what I originally wanted. The other thing that upset me was at the end they gave me Pitocin to augment my labor during the second (pushing) stage. In fact, they had to stop the Pitocin almost immediately because Bear started to show some signs of distress. I'm actually more upset about the Pitocin because I thought it seemed like arbitrary administration. In fact, right before the midwife came in and told me she was going to give me Pitocin the nurse told me she was shocked I had labored without Pitocin the whole time. Apparently it's almost unheard of not to have any labor augmentation in the hospital I was at.
I'm sure some of you think I'm silly for complaining, after all both the baby and I were healthy. I also know that I'm no expert and that my midwife made decisions that she felt were in my best interest. I'm luckier than most women; my providers were all compassionate, attentive and concerned with my comfort. Other than administering the Pitocin I felt like I was in complete control of all interventions (e.g. no one argued with me when I declined to have an amniotomy and when I said under no circumstances did I want an episiotomy). Despite my minimal disappointment I would absolutely recommend the practice and hospital.
I just want to say one other thing to any woman that is reading my blog and either pregnant or thinking about having a baby: PLEASE be informed about interventions available to pregnant women. I say "interventions" rather than "treatments" because pregnancy and childbirth are natural experiences and I don't think they require treatment. There is NOTHING wrong with choosing to have interventions but make sure that you are informed ahead of time about the risks and benefits; you may not get the information you need when you're actually in labor. Ask your provider how often he or she performs certain procedures. If you don't want a vacuum extraction or episiotomy and your provider performs them 90% of the time the chances are good that you'll have one too.
There are lots of interesting and informative resources. I hope I don't sound too preachy but I've known a lot of women that have had really bad birth experiences because they didn't know what to ask or expect. I find that sad and unnecessary. Thanks for reading, I hope you found this post interesting and informative.
