[This is a birth story, so words like
dilation and placenta will be bandied about. Since apparently not everyone
has dinner conversations about eating your own
placenta, if this sort of thing makes you all queasy or shifty
eyed, you have been forewarned.]
Nadia
Charlotte
Born
January 18, 2016 at 10:35am
6lb
5oz, 20 inches
 |
| 37.5 weeks and no idea I was about to have a baby |
My stomach wasn't feeling great when I
went to bed, which wasn't too unusual these days, and I woke from
contractions several times during the night. This also wasn't
unusual, although these contractions did seem a bit more painful than
before. I didn't think anything about it until close to 5 am, when I
realized I was having some semi-regular contractions.
I still didn't think it was labor, but
out of curiosity I started keeping an eye on the clock. They were
ranging from 8-12 minutes apart, but they were starting to feel
deeper and more in the back, which was the main difference I
remembered from real labor contractions vs. the months of braxton
hicks. I lay in bed debating whether to wake Kevin. After barely making it to the hospital last time, I knew I shouldn't delay too
long, but I wasn't feeling any urgency.
A bit before 6am I woke up Kevin and
said, “I'm having some contractions...”
He sprang up. “Should we go to the
hospital?”
“Well...I don't know yet...but maybe
we should pack some things?”
He hurriedly packed our hospital bag
and woke my mom, who was coming with us, while I lay in bed trying to
determine if this was really labor. I had a few stronger
contractions interspersed with weaker ones. Juliana came in about
this time, confused and a little disturbed to see our light on and us
packing up.
About 6:20 I decided we'd better go to
the hospital, just in case. This time it was a peaceful drive.
Kevin asked if I wanted music, but I just wanted to sit in silence
and think about the possibility of labor. Contractions were around
6-8 minutes apart and still varying in intensity. I was halfway
certain we'd end up getting sent home, mostly because I was so sure
the baby wouldn't come this early.
I had to pause for a couple of
contractions as we made our way through the parking garage and waited
to register. During contractions I thought, “Okay, maybe this is
the real thing,” but in between I didn't feel like I was in labor.
 |
| Settled in at triage; Kevin trying out his camera |
I was settled into a triage bed for
monitoring and was 5cm dilated when checked around 7 am. I settled back in the
bed to rest as much as possible in case this really was labor. I
kept thinking about the things I had still been planning to
accomplish. I hadn't really gotten around to thinking about labor or
preparing for baby, and I really wanted to get her hat finished!
I decided to give the girls a quick
call since we left home just as they were waking up. Adalyn listened to me say hi, but she wouldn't say anything to me. I told Juliana we
were at the hospital.
“Is the baby coming?” She asked.
“I'm not sure,” I said, “We're
going to see.”
“Oh. Are you having a nice time
there?”
I laughed. “Yeah, I guess so. I
just wanted to say hi for a minute.”
“Oh. Well I could talk for longer!”
Contractions calmed down a little for a
while, a number of wimpy ones interspersed with a few stronger ones.
After a while they settled into about 5 minutes apart. I was still
comfortable lying back on the bed, gripping the bed rails and
breathing through the stronger contractions. Kevin sat by my side
and mom offered me water and juice, but mostly I just wanted to lie
there and be quiet and try to mentally prepare for labor.
When I was checked a little after 8 am,
I was 6cm dilated. “You are definitely progressing,” the midwife
said, “So we'll get you checked into a room.” While I was
starting to feel like it was real labor, this was the confirmation I
needed that we really would be having our baby today.
The L&D was completely full, so we
waited while a room was cleaned for us to move into. I spent a few
minutes talking to mom and Kevin about my labor desires and our plans
for after the baby was born, since that was one of the things we
hadn't gotten around to yet.
The contractions were getting too
intense for lying down. I sat on the edge of the bed, leaning into
Kevin and breathing through the contractions, the hymn words going
through my head: “Rock of Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in
Thee.” I imagined pushing the baby down with my breath which
helped me feel I was working with the contractions instead of just
waiting them out.
We were able to move into a room at
about 9am, and I was eager to get in the water. I started in the
shower but quickly decided to try a bath instead. The bathroom had a
fabulous, deep birthing tub and as I sunk into the water, I
immediately felt soothed by the water. I sat up and gripped the
hand-holds during contractions and sank back to relax in between.
The midwife and nurse checked in
occasionally but mostly they just let me labor in peace, which was
what I needed. Kevin rubbed my back and mom brought me cold
washcloths. They reminded me to breathe slowly and stay loose. The
contractions were getting more intense and were 2-3 minutes apart,
but I could still handle them well. I breathed loudly
through each one, occasionally moaning but mostly staying pretty
quiet. I was very inward focused. If I focused hard on breathing
then the pain was quite manageable. In between contractions, I was
still able to think clearly, very different from the exhausted stupor
I felt as I got toward the end of my first labor.
Sometime around 10:20, I started having
trouble breathing through contractions, and I realized I was feeling
a little pushy. The nurse asked if I'd like to be checked but I said
I'd wait a little longer. I didn't feel quite ready to push.
I was reminded of my labor with
Juliana, when I felt the urge to push long before I was ready. I
didn't recognize it at the time; I just knew that everything felt too
hard to handle. Its hard not to feel a little panicky when your body
starts to take over and feel beyond your control, but this time I
reminded myself that I knew what was going on, and when I was ready,
I'd be able to push.
After just a couple more contractions I
said the nurse had better check me. “Oh yeah, you're complete!”
The midwife asked if I wanted to get out of the bath, and I decided
I'd better do it now if I was going to. Between contractions I
got out of the tub and made my way to the edge of the bed.
“What position would you like for
pushing?” the midwife asked. “You can stand by the bed, or you
can lie down or kneel on the bed if you'd like...” “I'm not sure,” I
said, “Maybe I'll just see how it goes.”
As the next contraction started, my
water broke forcefully and I felt baby rushing through the birth
canal. I wasn't consciously pushing but my body was bearing down on
its own. I felt the impossible pressure of her head as she was
crowning – then the head was out. I instinctively reached down and
grabbed her head and then her body as it slid out a few seconds
later. I felt the deep relief that comes with birthing a baby –
plus surprise that she had come out so suddenly. The midwife dove
down to grab the baby as well, so fortunately there was no danger of
me dropping her. I always thought it would be cool to catch my own
baby, though, so that was pretty fun!
“I thought she would come quickly
once the water broke, but I didn't think it would be that
quickly!” The midwife exclaimed.
I held the baby awkwardly between my
legs as the midwife helped me bring her up to my belly. After a
brief silence, baby started to wail loudly. I managed to get onto
the bed where I could hold baby on my chest.
 |
| A few minutes after birth, still covered in a healthy coat of vernix |
I kept her on my chest and waited for
the placenta, which came shortly after. The midwife examined it,
showed me the unusual cord attachment, and considerately asked if
I wanted to keep it (I didn't, fyi). She discovered I had a second
degree tear, something I was hoping to avoid, but the 30 second
delivery meant there wasn't much of a chance to control the speed. That part felt like Adalyn's birth! Apparently I no longer push babies out; when they're ready they just barrel out on their own.
The nurses took the baby to the other
side of the room to check her out while the midwife put in a few
stitches. This really is my least favorite part of labor. You are so ready to be done and not have someone poking around at you. Also the
afterbirth pains were starting up and by baby three, it almost feels
like you're still in labor.
I heard them call out the baby's weight
– 6lb 5oz. She was the smallest of my girls and almost identical
to my size at birth. I was also born 2.5 weeks early.
The stitching was finished about the
same time as baby's check up. Baby came back to snuggle on my chest
where she nursed off and on while Kevin and I settled on her name: Nadia Charlotte.
After a couple of hours I realized Kevin might want a chance to hold
her too!
It was pretty much my ideal labor.
Juliana's birth was 15.5 hours - not bad for a first labor I guess,
but I found it difficult, overwhelming, and exhausting. Adalyn's birth
was less than 2 hours and quite exciting - it happened so quickly I
hardly even had time to process it. Nadia's birth was 5.5 hours and
very peaceful. We had plenty of time to settle in at the hospital,
and the only part that was rushed was her actual emergence. The
labor was never unmanageable and I really felt in the zone, able to
focus completely and breathe through the difficult contractions all
the way to the end.
Later that afternoon, the girls came to
visit, excited to see meet their new baby sister. Juliana was
especially enamored – Adalyn was a little more interested in
exploring the hospital room. They both gave lots of kisses and
Adalyn practiced saying “Nadia, Nadia, Nadia” while playing hide and seek
behind the curtain.
“So,” Juliana asked once again, “Did you
have a good time today?”
“Yes,” I told her. “I guess I
did.”
 |
| It wasn't the cute owl hat I had planned, but I did finish a hat for Nadia's homecoming! |
No comments:
Post a Comment