Call me MOMMY: Labor and Delivery

  Who knew it would take so long to complete this blog post.?. Probably anyone whose been a mother. My life is now ruled by nursing, pooping, and sleeping, but I wouldn't have it any other way, plus everyone tells me to enjoy this time because it changes too quickly.  So to complete the story we need to back up again.  My due date was originally June 30th and then the doctor changed it to July 1st. June 30th was a Saturday. Bart and I spent the morning shopping and at Home Depot. The afternoon was dedicated to a nap and pilate's and then I started weeding while Bart power washed the house.  I felt completely "normal"-pregnant normal.  Around 7:30 PM, I noticed a tighter braxton hicks than before but didn't think anything of it.  8:00 PM Bart and I ate a healthy and nutritious hot dog dinner, and by 9:00 PM Bart and I were on a walk.  I had mentioned to Bart, on our walk, that I kind of felt weird and that my stomach was churning-those darn hot dogs :) and everyone now and then I needed to stop our walk to stretch my back and rest.  By the time we got home it was already 10:14, so we got ready for bed.  I was feeling stomach cramps and was uncomfortable but I still wasn't sure what was happening.  Was this labor, irritable bowel, or false labor? In the back of my mind I was thinking, "No one really has their baby on the actual due date."
 Earlier during pregnancy Bart and I took a prenatal class...again going with the knowledge is power theme. They told us that with a first labor you needed to plan on 14 hours and 2 of those hours may be spent pushing. Also, one of the books I checked out from the library said that false labor was irregular and often only painful in the abdomen and groin, while true labor often had some back and side pressure/pain. Well, I was having abdominal and groin pain and irregular contractions, so I was thinking that this was false labor.  I certainly did not want to be one of the ladies that went to the hospital and then got sent home or are told they are only dilated to a 3 or 4 cm!!!! 
   I kissed Bart around 10:30 PM, told him to get some sleep and turned out the lights.  I didn't know what to do, so I paced the house, laid in bed, sat on the couch...and toilet and by 11:00 I had rummaged up the "Lamaze 10 best labor positions" that I had printed off the Internet (very helpful information, if you want more detailed info. let me know).  Each time I felt the pain I would do deep breathing and keep moving-rocking or pushing my legs.  As the pain got worse I started thinking, if this is labor and I have to do this for 10-12 more hours I'm going to the hospital and getting an epidural.  I don't want to do this. I wish I never would have read those stupid books-thus the "ignorance is bliss" theme. The pain would go away and I would go back to pacing and repositioning until it happened again and that was the cycle-epidural, okay, I want an epidural, okay, give me an epidural, okay, etc etc.
    When I was at a pediatric conference in June, I visited with an MD who had a background with Lamaze and childbirth. Not only did she tell me I was having a boy just by looking and me and how my body was carrying, she also told me the the key to natural childbirth was to stay at home as long as you could in the bath and to plan to on your contractions being really bad after you got out of the tub.
  At 12:05 AM I started the bath water and got in. A couple minutes later Bart got out of bed to be with me in the bathroom. Bart started to monitor the time between contractions...irregular...4 minutes than 3 minutes than 5 minutes lasting from 30-50 seconds. I let water out and refilled the tub multiple times all while Bart and I sat, talked, and timed the contractions.  At 2:00 AM, I was feeling terrible. I felt like I hardly had time to recover before another contraction came. I was draped over the tub, thinking "epidural, epidural, I don't care if a natural childbirth is better for baby, I want an epidural." By this time Bart was worried, he'd been monitoring contractions for 2 hours and they were now every 2-3 minutes. He finally said "Ness, we are going to the hospital. We 've got to get you out of the bath, pack up and go get you checked by a nurse."  I gave in, got out of the tub and asked Bart if he would still love me, even if I went to the hospital to get an epidural? I laugh now that I asked him that but I was dead serious at the time :) He laughed and said of course. I got dressed, had more pain and contractions but now I was also having pressure-pressure in the "southern" region-now I really thought my hot dog dinner was giving me grief.
  I had 2 more contractions in the car to the hospital, which was only 6 minutes away.  I ended up being  one of those ladies that squatted in the hospital entryway.  I was squatting on the floor, Bart was carrying everything and the security guard asked if I needed a wheel chair.  Sitting was the last thing I wanted to do! The security guard told us the labor and delivery was the 5th floor and waved us by.  I had to squat in the entryway of labor and delivery in front of a full waiting room.  I guess the family members of some laboring woman were camped out on the chairs and couches.  They got me back to a room and I got into my gown, all the while I'm thinking I need to go to the bathroom.
  Let me tell you that as soon as I was in bed, things were even more painful. Being on my back, with an oxygen mask was not comfortable and I started hyperventilating.  The nurse check me and asked when my water had broken.  I told her that it hadn't and she informed me that it indeed had broken.  I told her that I had been in the bath from 12:00 to 2:00 AM and I obviously couldn't tell.  The nurse them turned her back on me and opened the door and spoke loudly (I won't want to say yelled but more that a whisper) "I've got a 9 cm, anterior presentation with meconium." WHAT, excuse me? 9 cm and my baby has swallowed meconium.?. by this time babies heart rate was dipping with the contractions so the turned me on my left side and told me that I had to count to at least 3 with each inhale and exhale. Bart was by my side holding my hand, feeding me ice chips or holding up my right leg, and the nurse was asking me medical conditions...who can remember what their blood type is at 2:45 AM during a contraction?
  Lots of people were swarming the room and opening sterile packages. They told me that that doctor would be there in 20 minutes and then hardest part happened.  A nurse came over and asked me if I wanted my epidural.  My emotions are screaming YES YES YES but some how my logical side decided to function and I remember my doctor saying that I couldn't have an epidural after an 8-9cm and I also remembered that the anesthesiologist would still have to prep me and do the 20 minute medicine trial. I asked the nurse if I had time to get an epidural and she replied that I did and with first time labor you could be pushing for an hour.  I took a deep breathe and said "NO".  My body was already pushing with each contraction, so I really hoped it wouldn't take an hour.  Again, if I hadn't read those dumb books I would have been sitting there pleasantly, numb, looking lovely not scarring my poor husband with every moan and contraction.  Ignorance is truly bliss.
  My poor doctor arrived, panting from running up the stairs and sat down, pulled out the stir ups and got his gloves on. He told me that with my next contraction I needed to hold my legs, hold my breath and push while the nurse counted to 10. Okay, I thought...what am I supposed to do again?  Three, 3, tres pushes later little Dutch Willem arrived at 0312. Only 34 minutes after I was admitted to labor and delivery. Since Dutch had swallowed meconium and the respiratory team was working on him, I had a couple minutes in bed while the doctor stitched me up. When my doctor was all finished, he patted my knee and said that I had a beautiful baby but that he would suggest getting to the hospital faster next time.  I smiled at him and said, "But Dr. Nance, you told me to stay home as long as I could."
And there you have it! Knowledge is power but ignorance is bliss and that is how and why I ended up delivering my first baby naturally without an epidural or even a tylenol for that matter.

The nurses and respiratory team.  Good thing my apgars were 8 and 9, even though I was only 5 lb 13 oz and 18 inches long. I was born on my due date!

First time mommy got to hold me

Forty minutes after delivery, when they were moving us from the labor and delivery floor to the mother /baby floor.

Handsome Leeflang men

Grammie and grammpy already adore me

Mommy already dressed me up and wonderful auntie Bria took my pictures...my hat is only a little too big :)