Baby P. Birth Story

It was a stormy night....
Or it could have been.

But really it was 4 days past your due date and I started looking for someone to strip my membranes. My friends that were knew how to do it didn't have the necessary equipment. We needed a sterile glove but we couldn't find one.

You didn't seem to be as active as you once were, so I went to the doctor the next day. They ran a non stress test, which was pretty stressful for me. I laid in a recliner and focused on your movements. I could hear your hear beat going up and down as you moved. Sometimes, I would lose your heart rate all together, and I would frantically search for it. It was suppose to be a 20 minute test, but after about five minutes, Dr. Taylor said you looked excellent. After the test, I asked Dr. Taylor to strip my membranes. He said "You call this stripping the membranes, I call this a vigorous exam." Whatever, I just wanted to not be pregnant.

I was getting stressed about your daddy's pending vacation. He wouldn't have left if we needed him here, but he was looking forward to it and we had already spent a lot of money buying tickets and such.

After the appointment, I had some contractions periodically throughout the day. That night, I didn't sleep very well. I think some contractions were waking me up, and there was the constant march to the bathroom because you seemed to be pressing down on my bladder. The next morning I woke up at 5 with a contraction. I looked at the clock and saw that it was five and went back to sleep. I thought about my friend who said the perfect labor would start at 5 and end sometime before 5 that day.

We rolled out of bed at 6 to start our day. My contractions were getting closer, but I wasn't willing to say I was in labor just then. At about 7 I decided to call in sick to work. I also decided to start counting my contractions. They were 7 to 9 minutes apart. I tried to stay on my feet, helping get the kitchen cleaned and your sister ready. Your father went off to work and to dropped your sister off at daycare. At about 8, I figured I was really in labor. At 8:30, I called your father and asked him to come home. I didn't want to be by myself. My contractions were getting closer.

You will never understand what contractions are like. I don't know how to describe them to you besides that your get a giant knot in your belly that kind of wraps around to the back. It is a hard thing to reflect on. It sounds trite, but when you are having them, you know you are having them. I think it might be different for everyone. The contractions with you were painful, but they were nothing compared to your sister. I think some of it had to do with your sister being a week later than you.

When your father got home, we went for walk. At around 10:00 the contractions were 5 minutes apart pretty regularly. At about 10:30 I really wanted to start towards the hospital. I think we actually left the house sometime after 11:00. I think your father was thinking that we would have infinite time like we did with your sister. He was doing all of the little chores I had been asking him to do for days. Things seemed to be moving quickly with the contractions between 3 and 5 minutes apart.

When we got to the hospital THEY WERE FULL. BUT, they had just moved someone out of a room and were going to let us in there. The nurses were scuttling around saying the storm was bringing people in. Storm shorm, I know Doctor Taylor had brought about this labor. Doctor Taylor had given me a list of nurses to request. I am a bit of a special case these days because I wanted an unmedicated birth. I don't think I got anyone that was on his list, but the lady I did get, Jamie, was wonderful.

We finally got into a room at around 12:00 or so. At around 12:30 they checked me. I was dilated to about 6 or 7 cm, so I was clear to stay in the hospital. I had to labor with the monitor on in bed for the next half hour so they could get a good read on what you were doing in there. They measured my contractions at every 7 minutes, but I don't think they were reading them correctly. When I got the all clear to get up, your dad went and got something to eat and I labored on my own for the next hour or so. The nurse checked me again at 1:45, and I had gone through transition and was ready to push.

The nurse was shocked. She did not expect me to have progressed so far. I guess I was too quiet? (I don't hear that very often). She told me that I was obviously built to have babies and that you would probably be out in a couple of pushes. I was excited and relieved. We were getting so close to the end. She called the doctor and told him to hurry. There wasn't time for me to get the rest of my antibiotics.

Jamie, our nurse, brought another nurse in who happened to be our child birth educator from when your sister was born. They got busy setting up the room.

I got up to go to the bathroom. (evidently, this isn't normal. people don't go through transition, walk to the restroom, urinate, and walk back). When I was finished something really strange happened. I had a weird sensation and let out a crazy moan. I looked down and my water had broke. It was such a bizarre feeling. I was pushing. I remember thinking "oh Shit" and feeling scared. This wasn't territory I had tread with your sister. I was scared that you were going to get there before the doctor did. I was scared that it was going to hurt. I was scared that something was going to go wrong. I was scared.

The doctor arrived shortly after my water broke. I think they were still cleaning up the mess. Something happened and I don't know what, but he dropped his phone into or near my amniotic fluid. He picked it up and wiped it off on his shirt like it was no big thing. It made me laugh big belly laughs because it was so gross but he acted like it was no big deal. Evidently, he didn't get any fluid on it, but that didn't stop us about making jokes about sending the phone back.

Then the pushing started.
and kept going
and going.

It was hard. I didn't think the laboring part was very hard. Does it hurt? yes, it hurts. But you don't have to do much and the pain goes away fairly quickly. But pushing, is tiring, and discouraging. I pushed for about an hour. My contractions weren't very strong and they were getting further apart. The doctor asked if I would like some vitamin P or Pitocin. I said yes. I made the mistake with your sister of not accepting the pitocin. It was the one thing I would have done over if I could.

With my first contraction on the pitocin you crowned. I don't know if it was because of the pitocin or something in my head. They told me to reach down and feel your head. I told them to give me something to numb the pain down below. THAT SHIT HURTS! Evidently, you have a giant head. I blame your father. The doctor gave me a little bit lidocain and an epositomy. With the next contraction you were delivered. The room screamed at me to open my eyes, and I saw you coming out. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I always thought that it kind of sucked that the mother didn't get to see the birth, but here I was, in the perfect position to see my baby boy being born. It was absolutely amazing.

You were out and I saw your father cut your cord. You didn't cry. There was a little bit of a gurgle, but it didn't really seem to phase you to be out. You just kinda looked around. I held you for a short time, then they started sewing me up. I had two small tears and an epositomy. The stitching back together hurt because everything was so tender. I had to ask the doctor to tell me when he was going to touch me because it made me jump every time.

When I got to nurse you, you latched right on and nursed off of both breasts. (and haven't stopped nursing since)

You were 8 lbs 15 ounces (and some because the nurses couldn't decide if they should round up or not) and 21.5 inches long. Your head was a whopping 16 cm around (no wonder it hurt so bad. Your apgar was 8 at birth and 8 at five minutes. You were born a big strong boy.