Wednesday, 28 November 2012

• Birth Story! Labor and Delivery

  
  I have been MIA from xanga and most of the world for the past three weeks because I was adjusting to life with my newborn son, but I am ready to share my delivery story. I am over the moon with my little baby, he is perfect in every single way!

  My labor and delivery:
  
  On Wednesday, October 24th (40.1 weeks pregnant) at my doctor’s appointment, she did a membrane sweep but said that since I had not progressed at all in a week it would probably still be awhile before I went into labor. I went home with my husband disappointed and told my bump that if he didn't come out by Sunday he was getting evicted. I got home at 5:30 pm, by 6 pm I started having painful period-like cramps regularly, every 7 minutes. I wasn't sure what it was and googled it, and everything said it was contractions. My husband wanted to take me to the hospital right away but they weren't that painful and only 7 minutes apart so I told him to wait.
  
  By 9pm contractions had not gotten closer together but were still regular and had gotten stronger so my husband decided that he was going to take me in to check. We got in the car and I told him not to rush (thinking about the 5-1-1 rule and that I was most likely not in active labor). I kept trying to convince my husband that I, indeed, was NOT in labor. On the way to the hospital, he mistakenly got off the wrong exit and a trip that during test runs took 15 minutes in traffic, that Wednesday night at 9pm it took 35 minutes. My husband wanted to park in the lot, but at $10/hr or $20/day I told him to find parking on the street instead (since it's not active labor and they will send me home and I didn't feel like paying $10 for that). By then, the contractions were every 5 minutes but had not intensified so I was ok. We found parking 3 blocks away, and even stopped at the bank and took out some cash.
  
  We got to the hospital at 10pm. Nonchalantly, I told the nurses at Labor and Delivery Triage that I was having contractions every five minutes and they hooked me up to a monitor to see baby's heartbeat and my contractions. His heartbeat was great and my contractions were a tad irregular, every 5-6 minutes. The PA checked my cervix and said that I was 3cm dilated and that they were booking me into delivery but it would be a few hours. I was told to go take a long walk with my husband either in the hospital or around it. We choose around.
  
  We walked for two hours, joking how soon we might be parents or how this might be my body teasing us, had some pretty good Chinese food at 12am and then walked back to the hospital. By then the contractions were more painful, I guess from all the walking. They checked me again and I had dilated a half centimeter more, but contractions were every 4 minutes and intensifying. So they hooked me up to a bed in a delivery room and asked if I wanted epidural. I said I wanted to do this naturally so they complied.
  
  By 12pm I hadn't dilated at all and with contractions every four minutes baby was getting stressed so they said that had to break my water. I complied and within minutes of breaking my water I started having very painful contractions every 3 minutes. Again they asked if I wanted an epidural and I said no. By 3 pm the contractions were strong and extremely painful. I couldn't stop tears from running down my face so I begged my husband to get me the epidural, screw natural, it was too much! After 21 hours of painful contractions I finally gave in and got my epidural, to the delight of my nursing staff. They said they could see on the monitor what kind of pain I had been in since 12am and were astonished it took 21 hours to beg for pain relief.
  
  After my epidural was in place things progressed faster. By 3:30pm I was given pitocin since I (still) wasn't progressing fast enough and baby was getting distressed and by 10pm I was a full 10cm dilated and baby ready to come out!
  
  The doctor I was originally seen by was not able to come, so his partner (who I had seen 3 times) assisted the birth and she was amazing. In between contractions she massaged my perineum and advised me when to push and when to stop. My pushing started at 10:36pm. With a few good contractions baby's head appeared and I heard a tiny squeak. It was surreal, and then with three more pushes the baby's body just simply popped out. I was the most amazing experience of my life. My son was born at 11:06pm, a healthy 6lbs 15oz boy. I did not tear or rip or anything and only needed a few small internal stitches on my hymen because it got lightly scratched. I am doing great right now and my son is adorable! I am the happiest mother in the world!

  Say hello to my son Zachary Anton!!!!!

  
  
  
  
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