2 weeks ago today & an update
(our birth story)
(our birth story)
(fyi DH= Dear Hubby)
Let's see here... backtrack...
Early Tuesday morning I woke up to pee at 3:30. Couldn't get back to sleep, so I got online for a bit. I ate a nutty bar and had a glass of milk. Had to pee again, and was constipated, so I decided to drink some prune juice, that was about 5 a.m. I went back to bed, and shortly afterward, contractions began. It was a little after 6, I think. But I wasn't sure if they were contractions or indigestion from the juice. I got up to go to the bathroom and felt a small gush, similar to the one I had felt the night before. Except this time, the gush was followed by more liquidy trickle and not just mucous. And gradually, each time I went to the bathroom, there was a teensy bit of pink mixed in. Around 6:30 a.m. I decided to call my doula and my parents. Mom and Dad arrived about 7:15, and we told our doula to meet us at the hospital. When we left the house, my contractions were 12-15 minutes apart, but I knew I was GBS+ and needed to get on the IV since my water had broken. Of course, we hit traffic, but we kept reminding ourselves how much worse it would be if we had been going north into the city (I delivered at a smaller county hospital, but it has a level II NICU.) Sure enough, once we hit the interstate, we were cruising for 5 minutes til we hit the exit, then we were there. Good thing, too... because let's just say the prune juice worked. Way too well. But I was contracting at ready to meet my baby and did not care too much to be utterly humiliated. (The denim, almost brand new capris did end up in the trash, though.)
By the time I got to my room and the IV was in, it was 8:30. They put me on fluids and the penicillin, as well as zofran for nausea (I have a bad gag reflex normally, so the onset of nausea came as no surprise to me), and told me I could only have ice chips. I HAD to rinse my mouth after being nauseous (I have a bad gag reflex anyway, and it kicked in as the contractions got worse), I also snuck sips of water. I knew I was not planning on the epidural, even though I did sign the forms just in case. At this point the contractions were about 5 minutes apart. My doula was coming down from the downtown area, and had not arrived yet, but hubby was doing well and they were manageable. However, when she did arrive, I was so relieved to see her. (Honestly, I was still a little apprehensive about having an almost-stranger who I had met twice before attend my birth, but I knew from talking to friends that the extra support would be helpful. I knew she knew what my goals were and respected them, I liked her, I just felt a little odd having a non family member and non nurse present. Little did I know how much I would come to value her support!....)
The nurse checked me when I got there, I was about 3-4 cm, but about an hour and a half later I was already up to a 7. At that point, I had a burst of confidence. It was hard, but DH and Heather were helping me stay calm and focused, telling me I was doing a great job and could do it. Shortly after this, it got REALLY, hard. Really painful, and burning pain. My hips were killing me, and DH and Heather each massaged one, my lower back, or my neck as I requested it. I was sitting upright, the bed was set so it was kind of a modified sitting/squatting, and I gripped DH's hand for dear life and my doula's, too. One of the nurses came in from the nursery to have me sign something, and as I was working through a contraction, she also encouraged me. It turns out, in her 20 yrs of nursing experience, she was a labor coach. She encouraged me to try to relax my grip as I breathed, and use lower tones instead of screams. (My doula had tried telling me this, don't know why it took another person for it to kick into my brain.)
At this point, I also began closing my eyes and doing neck rolls back and forth, that helped me relax. I also found that pelvic circles helped in between contractions. The pain was so intense, changing positions was really hard for me, so I stayed pretty much in the same position that whole time.
I had begun to give up, and told DH and Heather I wanted to ask about my options when the nurse came back in. When she came back, she checked me first, and I was at 8 cm, but she said she could stretch it to a 9 if I wanted. Um, of course! And I knew by the time the meds got there, they wouldn't kick in until after the baby came out, so we were going for it.
It was really hard. I cussed a lot (at least I am honest), prayed a lot, moaned a lot. I stated aloud, "This is better for my baby." My OBs and nurses never once questioned my goal of an NCB through the whole process. to the point that they did not even strip my membranes when I had gone in on Monday and found out that my water had not broken. During labor, when it got really bad, my support team reminded me that NCB is only better if I could stay relaxed and helped me focus my breathing.
As I hit transition, it was awful. My doula suggested I change positions and try side-lying, and even though it hurt even more, it was just what Brandon needed. The nurses were prepping the tables and tools, OB prepping with her gloves, and I knew the time was coming (they had been in and out doing their things, monitoring me and my fluids and BP, throughout, my DH and doula were the only ones there the whole time)
I can't really describe the pain. By the time I was able to push, I was lacking the strength, and gripping my husband's biceps for dear life. I had to let go and grip the handles on the bed.
The really cool part in the midst of the pain was that though I could not control the pain, I did not feel out of control in the same way I had when I had been medicated with DD. It was a different lack of control, but I kept reminding myself of the purpose.
I was almost scared to push when it was really time, and my team coached me when to breath, hold breaths, push, etc. I pushed for about 20 minutes, through 4 or5 sets of contractions, and his head made it out. Then his shoulders.
I got to hold my little guy immediately, all slimy and gorgeous. He was blue, which scared me, but his apgars were still 8/9, and he was alert, etc..
He weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz, 21 inches long, 14 cm head circumference, at 12:17 p.m.
He is perfect. His head is perfect.
I have felt so much better physically than after DD was born. Still tired, of course, but not as sore, and am bleeding less. I don't feel like I am in the medicated fog that I was after DD's birth, and am so glad I tried to go natural and basically did, except for the fluids and antibiotic.
Would I do it again? I would like to say yes, but I will say, "I hope so." It was intensely difficult, and fortunately I had a quick labor, relatively speaking. I don't know that I could have done it with a longer labor. I am fortunate in that there was no need for extra interventions, my BP stayed good, baby's heartbeat was good, etc. And when the lead anesthesiologist came in to ask how I was recovering from the epidural (since I had signed the paperwork, I was on his list), I was able to laugh and ask and tell him I managed without it.
***
I'd like to say that nursing is going perfectly, but alas there are some physiological difficulties and my baby's mouth just needs to be a bit bigger for his suck to be more effective. Plus he nurses well for 5 minutes, then turns into a sleepyhead. So it's a struggle, but we're still giving it our best. My goal is to make it through the first month... sometimes it's just day by day. When hubby goes back to work, I doubt I will be able to nurse him for 1 1/2 to 2 hours almost straight and be the Mommy that our daughter needs, so he'd better pick up the pace.... I refuse to stress out like I did with Bear, and don't have it in me to consult various experts every other day for suggestions. Baby has to eat, period. And when he goes to kindergarten, they won't ask how he was fed as a newborn.
By the time I got to my room and the IV was in, it was 8:30. They put me on fluids and the penicillin, as well as zofran for nausea (I have a bad gag reflex normally, so the onset of nausea came as no surprise to me), and told me I could only have ice chips. I HAD to rinse my mouth after being nauseous (I have a bad gag reflex anyway, and it kicked in as the contractions got worse), I also snuck sips of water. I knew I was not planning on the epidural, even though I did sign the forms just in case. At this point the contractions were about 5 minutes apart. My doula was coming down from the downtown area, and had not arrived yet, but hubby was doing well and they were manageable. However, when she did arrive, I was so relieved to see her. (Honestly, I was still a little apprehensive about having an almost-stranger who I had met twice before attend my birth, but I knew from talking to friends that the extra support would be helpful. I knew she knew what my goals were and respected them, I liked her, I just felt a little odd having a non family member and non nurse present. Little did I know how much I would come to value her support!....)
The nurse checked me when I got there, I was about 3-4 cm, but about an hour and a half later I was already up to a 7. At that point, I had a burst of confidence. It was hard, but DH and Heather were helping me stay calm and focused, telling me I was doing a great job and could do it. Shortly after this, it got REALLY, hard. Really painful, and burning pain. My hips were killing me, and DH and Heather each massaged one, my lower back, or my neck as I requested it. I was sitting upright, the bed was set so it was kind of a modified sitting/squatting, and I gripped DH's hand for dear life and my doula's, too. One of the nurses came in from the nursery to have me sign something, and as I was working through a contraction, she also encouraged me. It turns out, in her 20 yrs of nursing experience, she was a labor coach. She encouraged me to try to relax my grip as I breathed, and use lower tones instead of screams. (My doula had tried telling me this, don't know why it took another person for it to kick into my brain.)
At this point, I also began closing my eyes and doing neck rolls back and forth, that helped me relax. I also found that pelvic circles helped in between contractions. The pain was so intense, changing positions was really hard for me, so I stayed pretty much in the same position that whole time.
I had begun to give up, and told DH and Heather I wanted to ask about my options when the nurse came back in. When she came back, she checked me first, and I was at 8 cm, but she said she could stretch it to a 9 if I wanted. Um, of course! And I knew by the time the meds got there, they wouldn't kick in until after the baby came out, so we were going for it.
It was really hard. I cussed a lot (at least I am honest), prayed a lot, moaned a lot. I stated aloud, "This is better for my baby." My OBs and nurses never once questioned my goal of an NCB through the whole process. to the point that they did not even strip my membranes when I had gone in on Monday and found out that my water had not broken. During labor, when it got really bad, my support team reminded me that NCB is only better if I could stay relaxed and helped me focus my breathing.
As I hit transition, it was awful. My doula suggested I change positions and try side-lying, and even though it hurt even more, it was just what Brandon needed. The nurses were prepping the tables and tools, OB prepping with her gloves, and I knew the time was coming (they had been in and out doing their things, monitoring me and my fluids and BP, throughout, my DH and doula were the only ones there the whole time)
I can't really describe the pain. By the time I was able to push, I was lacking the strength, and gripping my husband's biceps for dear life. I had to let go and grip the handles on the bed.
The really cool part in the midst of the pain was that though I could not control the pain, I did not feel out of control in the same way I had when I had been medicated with DD. It was a different lack of control, but I kept reminding myself of the purpose.
I was almost scared to push when it was really time, and my team coached me when to breath, hold breaths, push, etc. I pushed for about 20 minutes, through 4 or5 sets of contractions, and his head made it out. Then his shoulders.
I got to hold my little guy immediately, all slimy and gorgeous. He was blue, which scared me, but his apgars were still 8/9, and he was alert, etc..
He weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz, 21 inches long, 14 cm head circumference, at 12:17 p.m.
He is perfect. His head is perfect.
I have felt so much better physically than after DD was born. Still tired, of course, but not as sore, and am bleeding less. I don't feel like I am in the medicated fog that I was after DD's birth, and am so glad I tried to go natural and basically did, except for the fluids and antibiotic.
Would I do it again? I would like to say yes, but I will say, "I hope so." It was intensely difficult, and fortunately I had a quick labor, relatively speaking. I don't know that I could have done it with a longer labor. I am fortunate in that there was no need for extra interventions, my BP stayed good, baby's heartbeat was good, etc. And when the lead anesthesiologist came in to ask how I was recovering from the epidural (since I had signed the paperwork, I was on his list), I was able to laugh and ask and tell him I managed without it.
***
I'd like to say that nursing is going perfectly, but alas there are some physiological difficulties and my baby's mouth just needs to be a bit bigger for his suck to be more effective. Plus he nurses well for 5 minutes, then turns into a sleepyhead. So it's a struggle, but we're still giving it our best. My goal is to make it through the first month... sometimes it's just day by day. When hubby goes back to work, I doubt I will be able to nurse him for 1 1/2 to 2 hours almost straight and be the Mommy that our daughter needs, so he'd better pick up the pace.... I refuse to stress out like I did with Bear, and don't have it in me to consult various experts every other day for suggestions. Baby has to eat, period. And when he goes to kindergarten, they won't ask how he was fed as a newborn.
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