~Colleen~
my loves...
Member since 5/05 9129 total posts
Name:
guess
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The Birth of Charlotte Parker
This is going to be a long one...hope it all fits in one post!
June 10th was my original EDD so in my head, it was the day I was expecting my little one to arrive. The day started out like any other - except I felt slightly off. I was pretty sure I saw parts of my mucus plug when I went to the bathroom earlier in the morning so I was looking forward to my afternoon (1:15) Dr's appt - hoping to hear that things progressed. The prior appts showed no signs of the baby showing up and we actually scheduled an induction for the 19th. Moving on...I went for a pedicure later in the morning and ran a couple of errands. At this point I was feeling a lot of pressure and some cramping. Made it home around 12:30...my husband called to let me know he was on his was to the Dr's office, that he would meet me there, despite my protests that he didn't need to go. (So happy, in hindsight that he didn't listen! LOL) I asked if he could pick me up instead since I didn't think I could drive with the pressure.
The Dr checked me and said I was 3cm dilated!! Woohoo, progress! She also noticed that my water ruptured during the exam. She checked the baby via sono and noted that the amniotic fluid was a little lower than she would like...and then hooked me up to monitor my contractions and how the baby was reacting to them. Um, contractions? That's what I was feeling!? LOL Seriously, at this point all that's going through my mind is that this is all going rather fast. It was determined that my contractions were anywhere from 10-5 minutes apart. The Dr said I should make my way to the hospital. I protested - I wanted a natural birth, I did hypnobirthing and yoga to prepare and I didn't want to labor down at the hospital while being poked and monitored. I had to go home to get my bag anyway and I told DH that we would take our time 
I was moving slow at this point...taking time to stand and rock out the contractions. I placed my arms around DHs neck and rested my head in his chest while I rocked side to side. Worked well (up to 5cm). Made it to the hospital around 3:15/3:30, checked in, met my labor nurse and was hooked up to monitor the contractions. I was giving my pain a level 3 at this point and was told I was 5cm with contractions a steady 5 minutes apart. I was still mobile and working through everything.
In no time at all, things changed. Contractions intensified and I was no longer comfortable rocking it out. My comfort zone was in the bathroom, on the toilet. At this point the vomiting started and sitting on the toilet relieved the pressure on my bum as well as allowed me to rock a bit. Around 5:30 I was getting tired and feeling beaten and when I was asked again if I'd like the epidural, I said yes. The Dr (not my Dr but another in the practice...the one I was nervous to deliver me and in the end, proved to be absolutely perfect!) came in close to 6 to check me. He said he could give me the epi but suggested that I might want to just start pushing since I was 10cm  Man did that go fast...as did my pain threshold - it shot up to an 8 in record time. A wave of fear swept over me, I won't lie - this all was moving way too fast. The Dr assured me that pushing would relieve the pain of the contractions...and he was right.
There were moments where DH & I were alone in the room pushing...and I watched the progress in a mirror (not for the faint of heart...as things progress, there are things going on with various body parts that I wasn't expecting to see...and I'll leave it at that). There were periods where it was most painful to just lift my legs to get into position...but my husband was my rock and my labor nurse was absolutely incredible. I took time between contractions (as best I could since they were 3-1 minute apart and peaking each time) to power down and rest. I managed to snooze a bit - which still amazes me LOL
It took over 2hrs for me to get her head pushed down past the bone for it to crown...I wound up needing an episiotomy b/c I was going to tear in the wrong spot - but it required just 2 stitches so all is good. About 4 pushing sessions later (3 pushes, counting to 10, in rapid succession in each session), 8hrs of labor and 2.5hrs of pushing, my little girl arrived!!
Afterthoughts: Once the head crowned (and the Dr stopped massaging me - that honestly was more uncomfortable than pushing) the pain subsided. It is now 1wk later and yesterday was my most mobile day. I really don't feel the stitches, it's the enormous hemmies I have that cause me the most discomfort. But I expect to feel 90% by the end of the week.
I feel blessed that I was able to have the calm, drug-free, epidural-free birth that I wanted. Charlotte is gorgeous and I fall in love each time I look at her. 
Message edited 6/18/2008 7:18:02 AM.
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eroxgirl
My Loves
Member since 5/05 15697 total posts
Name:
Rebecca
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Re: The Birth of Charlotte Parker
I don't know why but I'm reacting to that story as if I did not just do the same thing 5 months ago. Or maybe because it's reminding me of 5 months ago.  I forgot about that 'massaging' bit. I hated that. 
I'm glad it went well!! 
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