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| Our brand new chunky monkey |
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| New family of 3 |
April 25th, my due date, came and went with no signs of labor. I was an eager first-time mom-to-be but I knew 100% that I did not want to be induced. My OB ordered bi-weekly stress tests and ultrasounds which revealed that the baby was happy and healthy, so much so that it had no reason to leave. Joe and I knew we wanted this baby to come when the baby was ready. We didn’t know the sex of the baby, but I was beginning to think it was a boy because it was being so stubborn. I had an OB appt on Monday May 4th when I was 41 weeks and 2 days where she brought up the dreaded word “induction.” Joe and I knew that she had to cover her butt and wouldn’t “let” us go past 42 weeks (in the back of my mind I was wondering how they could make me come into the hospital to be induced). She also said that sometimes just being put on the induction list could “trick” your body into going into labor. She had several other clients who were just put on the list and then went into labor on their own before their induction appointment. Unfortunately in the back of my mind, my dad was leaving town at the end of the week which is when I would have been 42 weeks, so I figured it didn’t hurt to be put on the list (thinking that we just didn’t have to show up).
Later that day Joe’s parents came over and made us dinner. During the evening I was beginning to feel a little different. I would get an occasional “different” feeling in my stomach. Not having had ANY Braxton hick’s contractions I wasn’t really sure what these feelings were. After Joe’s parents left and we got ready for bed these feelings got stronger and more frequent. Joe and I began timing them and around 9pm they were pretty frequent but not very consistent, 10 minutes, 6 minutes, 11 minutes, 8 minutes, etc. I couldn’t really sleep because I was concentrating on timing my contractions so I got into the bathtub which felt amazing. I told Joe to get some sleep but he would jump up every time I had a contraction to write it down and time it. He finally made a little nest on the bathroom floor next to the tub so he could time them better. I still wonder what Dr. Pepper (our dog) must have been thinking that night. Throughout the night my contractions quickly came more frequently but still very inconsistently, 7 minutes, 4 minutes, 2 minutes, back to 8 minutes, etc. I was still in the bathtub this entire time. Around 2:30am my contractions were intensifying and coming more regularly, anywhere from 2-5 minutes apart. Also at this time I was beginning to vomit and shake so we decided to head to the hospital. In hindsight, this is where we made our first mistake, but we were anxious first time parents. We should have called Tatiana, our doula, to come over to the house, but instead we called her and told her we were headed to the hospital and to meet us there.
We got to the hospital and all checked in around 4:00am. Tatiana arrived shortly after and was able to come back to triage with us right away. I was 5cm dilated when I arrived at the hospital. My first nurse was great; she was supportive of my birth plan, about wanting intermittent monitoring and not wanting an IV or any drugs. She set me up in the labor tub; unfortunately she was just finishing her shift shortly after I arrived. Laboring in the tub felt wonderful, especially because I was experiencing a lot of back labor. It was quite a scene with Joe in the tub with me, and Tatiana and Meradith (Tatiana’s back up doula) on the edge of the tub giving me counter pressure or helping however they could. I was very lucky to have both Tatiana and Meradith there because I needed all hands on deck. I was having back labor so I needed constant counter pressure, then I was throwing up throughout the entire labor so I needed someone to help with that, then one of my doulas was helping me get through each contraction by reminding me to relax, breathe away and visualize each contraction. Also because of the length of my labor they could all take turns to rest in between. While in the tub, my new nurse came in and she was queen of fetal monitoring, so just as I would get comfortable and in a rhythm in the tub, she would make me get out to be monitored. Of course, my room and the labor tub were at the opposite ends of the maternity ward so the walk back and forth was a great time…not. My doulas kept asking about a portable monitor so I could stay in the tub or at least right by the tub, but somehow ALL of the portable monitors were missing or broken. When checked at 9am I was 7cm dilated but then I stayed that way for the next 12 hours. I made at least 2 more trips to the labor tub, but again as soon as I was getting into a rhythm, the nurse would make me get out and walk the long walk back to my room to be monitored. I never saw another pregnant woman the entire time I was there so I kind of think my nurse was bored and since I didn’t want an IV or drugs, the only job she had was to monitor me. My doulas were amazing, helping me into many different positions to turn the baby into a better position and to help progress my labor. Because of my doulas helping me relax and breathe through each contraction rather than tense up, I was not in pain throughout labor, I was just really tired. I would find a great position to labor in but couldn’t stay there very long because my muscles would quickly fatigue. It didn’t help that I couldn’t keep any food or liquids down. Around 3:40pm my doctor suggested breaking my water and after 18 hours of labor I agreed to it. That didn’t help at all and it meant that I could no longer use the labor tub, what a bust. At 6:30pm my doctor, who was pro-natural birth, suggested that I get an epidural so I could have a chance to rest. I did not want an epidural but I knew I was on the hospital’s clock and I was also very tired. I allowed the anesthesiologist to talk to me and after talking with him I still did not want the epidural but kind of felt pressured to get one. I felt confident with the support I was receiving from Joe and my doulas. My doulas suggested that Joe and I take some time alone to reconnect, take a warm shower, try nipple stimulation and then reevaluate our options. While in the shower Joe and I talked to the baby and told the baby that it really needed to move things along, that it didn’t want an epidural and certainly didn’t want a c-section. After 45 minutes in the shower doing nipple stimulation and talking to the baby, my doctor sent in a hospital grade pump for more nipple stimulation. At 8:30pm I was checked and found to be 9cm and the baby had dropped lower into my pelvis. I knew it was our pep-talk with the baby…and maybe a little of the nipple stimulation. By 10:30pm I was fully dilated and very excited. Even though I stated in my birth plan that I wanted to labor down, the nurse mentioned pushing when I got to 10cm and I was so tired I agreed even though I had absolutely no urge to push yet. This was the most painful part of labor because the nurse would show me where I was supposed to feel the urge and push but I still felt nothing. I wasted a lot of time and energy going nowhere. I pushed for several hours in various positions (hands and knees, with a squat bar, on my side, on my back) when Meradith suggested that I sit on the toilet to get the feeling of having to push which really helped me. Unfortunately I was exhausted from the previous 30 hours of labor, not having slept at all for the previous 44 hours, and having thrown up everything I ate or drank over the past day. At one point I remember looking over at my doulas and Joe who were each nodding off in between pushes. My contractions started to slow down during the pushing stage and my doctor put me on a small dose of pitocin, but luckily the nurse didn’t hook it up right or turn it on so I never actually got any pitocin. I ended up pushing on my back with my legs in stirrups or being held up by my doulas and nurses. I was so tired that I secretly wished they could just reach in and pull the baby out or use the vacuum. I was done working but I knew the “prize” at the end would be worth every second of it. Eventually at 3:07am on Wednesday May 6th, I gave birth to a beautiful 9lb 9oz baby boy. I remember the doctor putting him on my chest immediately and the first thing I did was look down to see if he was a boy or a girl. According to Joe the doctor announced that it was a boy but I never heard that, I loved finding out for myself. Logan went skin to skin with me and stayed with me for a full hour. He took to nursing right away and nursed for a full 45 minutes. During this time was the most painful part of the whole experience when the doctor was repairing me from the episiotomy that I did not want and was never told I was getting.
It is so hard to describe what I was feeling as soon as Logan was born but I was just high on life. Everything that happened in the last 30 hours disappeared, I felt no pain or pressure, I had energy and was wide awake and I was even ready to have more kids. The nurses were a little shocked but my doulas said “that is natural birth for you.” Although it was a struggle in the hospital, I was able to have the un-medicated, vaginal birth Joe and I were hoping for. Joe was amazing during my labor but I honestly believe that I would have had a much different outcome without my amazing doulas. They gave me so much support and love throughout the entire process. They helped me through each contraction, by relaxing, visualizing and breathing through them one at a time. They helped get me into different positions to help my labor progress and to relieve my back pain and pressure. They kept cheering me on, telling me how strong I was and how well I was doing. They helped us deal with the hospital staff and made sure that our birth plan and wishes were respected and followed. I was very lucky that I did not end up having a c-section (because I know that was being discussed in the corner at some point) and I really attribute that to my doulas’ support.
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| Right after Logan was born |
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| Brand new Daddy |
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| Brand new Mommy |
