On Friday, April 12, I was three
days past due, which doesn't seem like much, but if you've ever been pregnant
and overdue you know it seems like a lifetime and that possibly the baby will never arrive. I went for an early morning walk
around a small pond near our house, which I had been doing each day since being
off work, had a leisurely morning at home, and took an afternoon nap.
In the late afternoon I felt some contractions/cramps, but they weren't
painful, just a little uncomfortable and I couldn't tell when one
started or ended. That evening before dinner I took another 1.5 mile walk for good measure, I was overdue and ready to meet our baby boy, maybe I could walk him out of me? That evening we went to dinner where I
continued to have mild contractions and thought this baby we have been so patiently waiting to arrive may be arriving soon, but I didn't
realize how soon.
That evening we went to bed about 11:00 p.m. and three and a half
hours later, I woke at 2:38 a.m. on Saturday, April 13, with painful contractions. It
didn't take long before we reached "511," i.e. contractions five minutes
apart lasting one minute for at least one hour, which we previously learned was
the magic combination when you should head to the hospital. When I say "it didn't take long" I mean within the first half hour I was having contractions that were
lasting over three minutes with just four to five minutes between contractions. Andrew
calmly rushed around the house getting everything ready to go (our bags were
already packed) and loading the car, while I got dressed and packed
my toiletries between the contractions. When I felt a contraction
come on I would yell for Andrew and he would come and massage my lower back
because that seemed to help tremendously with the pain. About 4:00 a.m. Andrew
was convinced we should go to the hospital, but I didn't think it was possible
since I thought for some reason I should be laboring at home for hours before
we should go to the hospital, I definitely didn't want to get turned away. He
called the hospital at about 4:15 a.m. and they agreed we should come in. But before we walked out the door between contractions I asked Andrew to help me make the bed. Andrew thought this was the most ridiculous thing I've ever asked. For some reason, I thought the baby should come home to a house where our bed was made.
We arrived at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital at about
about 5:00 a.m. After the typical questions, blood withdrawal and
being hooked up to machines to monitor my and the baby's heart rates, my cervix was checked and I was about 4-5
cm dilated and 90% effaced. At this stage they called my clinic's on
call doctor. I was disappointed the on call doctor was Dr. Miles instead of my OBGYN, Dr. Suzuki, but
I had yet to be disappointed with Bridgeview Medical Center and any member of
their staff and had met Dr. Miles so knew I was in good hands. My fantastic nurse Jen
asked what my goals were when she came on shift at 7:00 a.m. and I said that I would like to have a non-medicated
birth; however, I wasn't opposed to an epidural. I didn't last long lying on my
back, I found that position very uncomfortable. I spent some time managing
contractions on a exercise ball, on my hands and knees and
about 3 or 4 hours in the Jacuzzi hot tub with a jet focused right on
my lower back. I'm thankful I chose to get into the tub. I was a little
hesitant because it seemed like a lot of work to get in there and then I was going to be wet, but it was a really
helpful way for me to manage the pain. My amazing husband played
an integral role in my pain management by massaging or applying pressure to my
lower back with every contraction and encouraging me every step of the way. I
couldn't have done it without him. I didn't think it was possible, but I fell
even more deeply in love with him the day our baby was born and each subsequent day watching him with our little bundle of joy.
At about 10:30 a.m. I started to really think about an epidural. I
was worried that I was still in the beginning stages of labor and I wouldn't
have enough energy to push when I needed to push. Being the fantastic nurse
that she was, Jen said she would be happy to call anesthesiology for an epidural, but asked if I wanted to
be checked because it was possible that I was really close. In my mind I
thought forget it, give me the epidural, but I looked at Andrew and he
responded quickly saying "Knowing you, you would be disappointed if you got the
epidural and didn't know how far dilated you were." I knew he
was right, so I agreed to another uncomfortable cervical exam. Jen said I was 7 almost 8 cm
(although I could have been 6 almost 7 and she told a white lie) and the cervix
was super thin. I thought great, but commented that I didn't think I could
take another 8 hours and have enough energy to push, especially considering the
contractions were going to get stronger and more painful. Jen said she was confident that we
were talking one or two hours, including pushing, and yes, the contractions
would be worse and it could be longer, but most likely just a couple of hours.
Also, she added that pushing is very hard, but most women find a lot of relief
when they are able to push because you feel like you can do something with the
contraction. So... I decided against the epidural and I'm happy I did. Dr.
Miles checked me at about 11:30 a.m. and could feel my bag of water so she
broke it.
The next hour or so while I dilated from 7/8 cm to 10 cm enduring incredibly painful contractions, the six months of prenatal yoga I took came in real handy. I believe besides helping my body prepare for delivery, the instructor also helped me mentally prepare. I became a believe that your delivery experience is shaped by not just how physically "tough" you are, but maybe more so how mentally tough you are as well. You have to let go of control and trust that your body knows what to do. At each class my yoga instructor would inevitably say "Invite the contraction, don't fight it. With each contraction your baby is closer to being born." This is something I continuously thought of throughout the delivery. These words were what I focused on with my eyes closed through many of the horribly painful contractions.
Thankfully, it was finally time to push. Jen was right, I did
find some relief. After 15 minutes or so Dr. Miles was a bit concerned because
the baby's heart beat was plummeting during contractions so she and the nurses scurried to attach an internal monitor and got the vacuum ready just in case.
Thankfully the internal monitor indicated everything was fine. I continued to
push and about 45 minutes in I told everyone I had enough. I was done pushing.They all thought
this was a bit funny and assured me that I was very close, they could even see
the baby's hair. Andrew, Jen and Dr. Miles continued to encourage me and some
how I found the strength to carry on. After delivery Andrew reminded me that
towards the end, after a little pep talk I felt a contraction coming on and said in a
voice that wasn't my own, "Okay, let's do this." After a total of 50
minutes of pushing (Jen confirmed it was 50 minutes, I felt like it was 2 hours), our perfect baby boy was born and I couldn't have been happier. All the
pain and tiredness simply vanished as I held our new baby and Andrew kissed me
on my forehead with tears in his eyes. We were a family. This baby was ours and
we were in love.
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