No Time To Prepare: A Fast and Natural Labor and Delivery
By: Amanda
My due date with Nolan was February 14,2010. Typically I deliver about a week before so we felt he would probably go the same way. On Friday February 9,2010 I had a regular weekly doctor appointment with my OB. This was also the first time she was going to 'check' me. Everything looked great and I just KNEW I would be 3-4cm. At this point (39 weeks) with my first son, I was checked at 39 weeks and I was 4cm..he was born the next morning.
But nope. Not this time. I was 0 cm, high and not effaced at all. Talk about a major let down! I knew it would be another week before I saw her, and judging from the fact that I was not in any type of early labor I felt I would probably be pregnant until my due date or longer. The weekend went on and I looked forward to my weekly appointment the following Wednesday. Saturday February 10,2010 night rolled around and I felt so awful. I cried at my swollen feet and the fact that this was the longest I had ever been pregnant. My husband left for work at 8pm like he always does that night and I settled in with the laptop and my giant baby belly. I'm a night owl by nature, even pregnant so the night rolled on and I just felt awful. So tired, my head hurt so I tried to lay down around 1am. But my back hurt, the baby was so active, I had heartburn...sleep was just not happening. I decided to get up and eat hoping maybe he would settle down and I could sleep. Around 3:30am things changed. I knew my husband was on his break at work during that time so I called him and told him how bad I felt. He listened sweetly, telling me how sorry he was and that the baby would be here soon and I would not be miserable anymore. I laid down and don't remember sleeping much, just dozing in and out of consciousness with my back still sore (sciatica all 9 months...I did not think much of it) Then almost as if someone had smacked me I woke up at 6am on the dot very very sick. I have never been so sick in my life. I guess my body knew it was happening. I began having light braxton hicks that very quickly moved to real contractions. But they were so erratic. I would have two sets that were 5 minutes apart, and then not have another for 12 minutes, and then I would have one 3 minutes later, but then not again for 14 minutes. At a little before 7am I decided this was probably it, but felt silly going because they tell you to wait until the contractions are regular (I had no bloody show, my water had not broke or anything) I called and he arrived minutes later (he worked down the road from our house) we arrived at the hospital at 7:11am.
At this point my erratic contractions had become constant, and never ending. As soon as one would ease off I would feel another starting. As we walked into the hospital I began to feel a huge amount of pressure which was so alarming! In my mind (partly in denial I'm sure) I was still thinking they would say I was 5-6cm. We arrived at Labor and Delivery. It was still dark outside and there were actually no mothers in the ward that morning, no crying baby's anywhere. I changed and the nurse came in to check me. I had to ask her to stop many times so I could focus on the contraction. Finally she checked and looked at me very seriously. She climbed onto the bed with me, literally holding my son back. I asked her if I was dilated any, and she said she was holding my bag of water. Wow! My poor husband was probably about to faint, he was nervous enough. There was no doctor on call since there were no mother's birthing the night before. The nurse that checked me rode on the bed while the other quickly wheeled us into a labor and delivery room. I was quickly asked to get on the bed and I needed to push so bad. Being told that you cannot push when you so badly need to was the worst. The urge was just overwhelming. The second nurse is still frantically paging Dr. Turner who was at her home. Only a few minutes have passed at this point but it seemed like a lifetime. Breath, breath, don't push, contract, breath. Finally, I just could not control it. I knew he was coming and the nurse did too. My husband asked what was happening and she yelled for sterile towels. The second nurse ran in still asking me not to push. But I did. In one push my 6lbs 12 oz little boy was born into the world. He was born at 7:33am on February 11,2010. Just 22 minutes after we arrived at the hospital. Several minutes later my doctor walked into the room. She shook her head and laughed saying, "You told me you labor fast. I should have listened to you Friday!" There was no time for any prep work. No IV. It was just my husband and I,with the two nurses. It was a chaotic and unexpected birth but it was perfect. You can have an idea in your head of what you want a birth to be like, but it's one of the things in life that we truly have no control over!
**Please let me know if you would like to share your birth experience and be apart of my blog series, "Birth: Putting Things Into Perspective" Feel free to contact me via email at 3menandalady06@gmail.com. This will not only give someone the opportunity to have a voice, but to educate someone on their options as a woman and mother.**
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