On Tuesday, October 1st I officially hit 39 weeks in my pregnancy. I was a bit surprised- the entire time I not only measured a week ahead, but I’d also just
felt like he was going to arrive early. Not a whole lot seemed to be happening, so I started to wonder if I’d go late! I had an appointment that afternoon and was curious to see if I’d made any changes. (At 38w I was dilated maybe to 1 cm and was about 50% effaced. )
As my appointment time came up I mentally noted that I’d had more contractions that morning than I usually had. Then during the appointment I had several more! I was dilated to 2cm and still about 50% effaced, so I was pleased to have made some progress, but at that point still wondered if this baby would go late.
However by about 9pm that night my thinking switched and I wondered if I was going into labor! My contractions were steadily increasing and I remember thinking, “Should I time these?!” I didn't though- in just my offhanded glancing at the clock I knew they were a good 15-20 minutes apart. I decided to go to bed and cross my fingers that something happened the next day. Little did I know though that those same 15-20 minute apart contractions would continue
through the entire night! Needless to say, by 6am the next morning, I was exhausted. I got up with Adrian and filled him in on my night, got a snack, then actually managed to go back to bed and sleep for a good 1.5 hours, until the kids woke up and went to school. I told them all that I thought the baby was coming that day- they were pretty excited!
After the kids left, I began the rest of my morning routine with Colin and Leah. Pretty soon afterwards I realized I wasn't doing so well- the contractions were still spaced apart but they were increasing in intensity and I’d have a pretty good one a couple times an hour. It was getting hard to continue on like nothing was happening! So I called Raz who agreed to come over and help me out.
Raz arrived at about 10:30am, so I opted to try and go back to bed and get more rest. After about an hour I realized that was useless. I have no clue how anyone can sleep through contractions- it just wasn't happening.
For the rest of the morning/ mid-day we just stayed home, worked in the kitchen a bit (I’d ordered 40-lbs of chicken that was delivered that day of course, so we stood and trimmed and packaged it up. That was fun!) I took a bath and tried my best to relax. I started having some bloody show, which made me happy- I felt like despite the contractions not getting closer together, maybe things were still progressing. The contractions really stayed in the same pattern- they were about 10-15 minutes apart. I’d been keeping Adrian up to speed on how things were going and by 3pm, he couldn't focus at work and came home. He and Raz convinced me to call the midwife, so I left a message and about 15 minutes later, they called me back. I explained all that had been going on and she noted that I could always come into the office and get checked, as opposed to going straight to Labor & Delivery. I’m one to not show up to L&D unless I knew, without a doubt we were going to have a baby soon, so I agreed.
We got to the midwives office at about 4pm. Contractions were still a good 10-15 minutes apart but I’d had some really intense ones so I was anxious to hear if I was dilating. She checked me and I was now 3cm but my cervix was apparently incredibly soft (which usually means faster dilation will happen shortly!) I didn't really want to go to L&D just yet and the midwife agreed. She mentioned that she wanted to see me in a bit more discomfort than I was in at that point. LOL! So we went to the hospital cafeteria, got some dinner and did a bit of walking, in an attempt to get me more uncomfortable and hopefully dilating more. We even found some stairs and walked up a good 5 flights!
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| Right after I got the IV and got back in the tub. Things were getting intense! |
We walked into L&D at 6pm- they were told I was coming, so they were all ready for us! The nurse checked me and I was now dilated to 5cm! So baby was definitely on his way. We checked in and they began blowing up the birthing tub. It took a while to blow it up and fill it with water. We called Christy and Keoki and told them what was happening, and they were making plans to come down to the hospital soon.
At about 8pm I was checked again- now 6cm- and the midwife broke my water. I was able to get into the birthing tub. It felt incredible! I was able to relax… perhaps a little too much, lol! Over the next 3 hours I was in and out of the tub, I bounced on the birthing ball, I walked around the room, laid in bed- I was trying
anything to get the contractions closer together. Nothing was working and I was not only getting really frustrated, but I was so exhausted! The midwife had casually mentioned “pitocin” a few times and I was really trying to avoid that route- getting an IV was not what I wanted! However after Adrian gave me a blessing, I knew without a doubt that’s what we needed to do. We told the nurse and at about 11:30, preparations began for getting me an IV and some pitocin.
The IV was terrible! I have bad veins as is, but more so when I’m in labor. Not only that but spontaneously, just as she was prepping me for the IV, my contractions came back again out of nowhere. It was closing in on midnight here and I thought-
I don’t need pitocin anymore- this baby is COMING. I was trying to hold still and let her place the IV but it was so difficult. My contractions started coming right on top of each other and I started shaking. In my mind I wondered if I was in transition already! I was begging her to hurry so I could get back in the tub.
Finally I got back in the water yet the relief only lasted a few minutes. I knew these contractions meant the end was near and sure enough, after several minutes had gone by I had a contraction that was awful and afterwards I felt the need to push.
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| Just minutes before Adam was born. I have no clue who said what, but I'm guessing it was funny as I managed to smile slightly and Raz is giving whoever the "look." |
I’m not even sure if any of the Pitocin had even had time to work, but part of the deal was that I had to have continuous monitoring on my belly, so that we could track the baby’s heart rate while on pitocin. That was so annoying. Right after I announced I’d needed to push, the heart rate monitor went blank and so the nurse was moving it all over my belly, trying to get things back in place. I remember asking her, “please stop touching me!” It was so uncomfortable having her right there! I just tried to focus and block her out and so I turned on my side away from her and began pushing.
Pushing was REALLY intense, as it always is! It’s crazy because your body just takes over and I felt somewhat out of control during the process. I felt like I was pushing so hard but everyone in the room kept telling me to push harder! I could tell that something was going on with the baby’s heart rate too- they flipped me over on my other side to see if it would improve. In my mind though I thought,
“I just need to get him OUT.” So I pushed as hard as I could again and again and again- even if I wasn't having a contraction. I worried about tearing, but at that point I was on a mission and didn't care. It seemed to work too- I hear I only pushed for just over 6 or 7 minutes and he was born at 12:24 am on October 3rd! (It felt MUCH longer to me!)
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| Almost there! |
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| Adam is born! Can you see his little head? |
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| This picture is very telling of the situation- particularly Adrian's concerned look. It was an intense 5 minutes! You can actually see a little skinny leg down by my arm. |
One of the reasons I wanted to do a water birth was for the serene bonding time for mom and baby afterwards. I was really looking forward to that. However in the seconds after he was born, I knew that was not going to happen. He didn't look like he was doing well. His eyes were open but he was a purplish/ gray color and he wasn't making any noise. His body was also very limp. They placed him on my chest and immediately about 4 other hands were on him, including mine, in an attempt to stimulate him, wake him up- make him cry- anything! After a good 30 seconds of that, nothing was working and the atmosphere in the room changed considerably.
I remember someone speaking loudly to “cut the cord” and someone was there immediately cutting his cord. Her hands were shaking and it was then I started to really worry. Right before they took him off my chest though he made a soft little noise and that was so comforting to me!
Within seconds the room flooded with people. (We later learned that one of the nurses had pushed the “CODE” button, which prompts the NICU team to hurry in. Luckily they had just come out of a c-section and were literally right by my room!) They stuck a tube down Adam’s throat to suction out any fluids, got him under the warming lamp and really just tried several different methods of stimulating him. It was a long few minutes, but FINALLY he cried and everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief! His first APGAR was a 2, but he improved and his second was an 8! All our other babies’ APGARS were either 8 and 9 or 9 and 9, so this was a completely new experience for us. I’m just glad he recovered and all was well!
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| NICU team helping Adam start breathing. |
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| Finally crying and pink! |
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| Raz was my eyes and ears while the NICU team was helping Adam. All I could do was ask, "Is he okay?" and for a while no one was answering me! I made Raz go over and she started giving me the play-by-play, which was so reassuring. |
I got out of the tub and got situated on the bed to deliver the placenta. I was super happy (and surprised!) to hear I had torn just a tiny bit and that it didn't require any stitches. The midwife said it was likely a result of delivering in the tub- since not only was he a good sized baby (for me!) but he came very fast. It was also a blessing in hindsight that we'd started pitocin. Even though it didn't have time to take effect during the birth, afterwards it was one of 3 different medications I was given to get my uterus to stop bleeding! I was in recovery a bit longer than anticipated, but again, it was a good thing my IV was there.
They weighed him and measured him- 7 lbs 11 oz and 22” long- a full pound larger than any of our other babies! They brought him over to me and I finally got to hold him. He was still recovering from whatever happened after delivery, so they encouraged me to nurse him immediately, which wasn't hard at all- the kid latched on and nursed like crazy.
He’s 2 weeks old now and is doing fantastic. I've since talked to the midwife about what on earth happened to him after delivery and she gave me some good explanations. Up until about 15 minutes prior to delivery, my labor was somewhat slow, so chances are the process of him descending into the birth canal then being delivered just minutes later put him in a state of shock so to speak. She also told me that the cord was wrapped tightly around his neck upon delivery, so that could have contributed to it as well. At any rate, I’m just glad he recovered and is a healthy baby.
Overall, I’m happy I delivered in the water, but it certainly was nothing like I anticipated. It did help with the pain and the intensity of the contractions. One thing I didn't care for about being in the tub, particularly while I was pushing was I felt very alone. No one else was in there with me and even though Adrian was right by my side, I didn't feel as supported physically or mentally as I wanted to be. I couldn't find a good position to push in, which distracted me. Raz was right there too- I apparently was gripping her hand so hard I almost pulled her in the tub with me at one point! Her sleeve was all wet afterwards, lol! Adrian was right behind me and although I could hear him, I couldn't see him and I would have liked to see him during the process. Talking to him afterwards, he didn't care for the water birth. As you can see- I have mixed feelings!
The birthing process is both incredible and amazing and I am humbled to have been able to experience it once again. All of my labors and deliveries have been so very different, but yet similar. I seem to labor along with quite manageable contractions, then once the real crazy back-to-back, unbearable contractions begin, I only have to go about 10-15 minutes and then I have a baby in my arms! I’m just glad the end result was a healthy baby and a relatively easy recovery on my part.
We had a restful hospital stay. Adrian brought the kids to visit me about 24 hours after Adam was born. That was wild and crazy, but so far being at home has been much less of a circus!
