Tuesday, 24 June 2008

• A Birth Story

  by Mama Hippo

  I had been having what I assumed were braxton-hicks contractions at night for a few nights-- I could feel my belly get all tense and hard, but there was no discomfort to go along with it.  Could I be close??  I wondered.  Then the day before my due date, I was woken up at 4am by what felt like intense menstrual cramps that came on, intensified to a point, and then went away again.  They weren't regular, so I just kept an eye on them and called my midwife at about 10am to let her know that something was afoot. 
  
  I noticed right away that the contractions felt more intense whenever I laid down.  I knew I should get some rest, so I tried to get comfy in a big overstuffed chair we have and take a nap there, knowing I wouldn't be able to if I laid down in bed.  My mom flew in from the US at about 2pm that afternoon.  The timing was beyond perfect.  Hubby picked her up at their airport, and when they got home and she got to see me with my big huge pregnant belly, she laughed with tears in her eyes, overcome with emotion at seeing her daughter pregnant with her first grandbaby.
  

  
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  Soon after I called my midwife again, as the contractions were now coming at a steady 3 minutes.  She came over, checked me, and then told us to pack up and go to the center.  The contractions were starting to get intense enough that I had to focus on my breathing to help get through them-- I'd take a deep breath in, and then blow it out forcefully but slowly, saying "breathe" in my head.  I continued to do this all through labor, focusing on breathing in and out during each contraction to keep my mind off the pain.  It helped make each individual contraction manageable. When I got to the center they had the bathtub ready for me.  I had read so many stories of how great hot water is when laboring, and as soon as I stepped into that tub, I knew they were true, as I could feel the tension I hadn't even realized my muscles were holding onto, melting away.  I stayed in there for about an hour, and then got out and focused on walking around and trying different positions to see what felt the most comfortable (or, more accurately, least uncomfortable).

  I hated getting checked by my midwife, as it meant lying down on my back in bed, which so did not work for me.  I knew then that if I had been in a hospital and needing to stay in a bed, I would have needed an epidural, no question.  I spent the last few hours of labor back in the tub.  The water really helped me relax between the contractions so much better.  I was so happy when my midwife finally told me that I was at 10 cm.  I naively thought, "Ok, now it's time to push!"  However little D had different plans, and his head was not quite descended into the correct position yet.  I was so disappointed, I was so ready to just DO something.  And all my books had claimed that once you made it past "transition", once you got to the pushing, you were basically on the "home stretch," that the hardest parts were behind you.
  
  Well to all that, I say BS.  Pushing was the hardest part for me.  After a good 30 minutes of more contractions, I finally was feeling the urge to push.  My water had yet to break, it did so on my second push-- all over my husband's lap!  I forget how long I actually pushed for, 30 minutes or maybe an hour, but it felt like forever (I found out later that my midwife had been concerned, I guess because of his position, and that if D hadn't come out when he did she would have soon suggested we go to the hospital).  My lord, was it hard.  I took solace in my mother telling me she had never had to work this hard to push us out during her labors (though I also wonder if that's what 20+ years of distance does to the memory).  He then finally came out, at 1:30am, all in one push, and I have never been more relieved to have something be over with than in that moment. 
  
  They laid him directly on my stomach.  Hubby was laying on the bed right next to me, and I think the first 2 things I said to him were, "Oh my god I'm so glad that's over!" and "Dude, look at his feet, they're huge!"  lol  I think D is going to be tall b/c his feet seemed so big at his birth.  He breastfed soon after, he and I cuddling for I don't know how long maybe an hour, and only then did they take him away to "clean him up" and weigh him, etc.  I was brought some food to eat to help give me a bit more energy, and took a shower, and after resting a bit and staring at this amazing little person now in our presence, we eventually left and went home, I think at about 5 or 6 in the morning.  We had the option to stay at the center, for up to 6 days if we wanted, but since my mom was with us we all figured it'd be better to get home, to our own place.  I stared at him in his car seat in the backseat the entire ride home, making sure he was breathing, amazed at his tiny-ness, at the same time not believing how he had ever fit inside my belly.

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