I found that when I had Kiddo, I enjoyed telling our story. And now that I have a 2nd kiddo (who I'm struggling to come up with a nickname/term of endearment for, at this point - although she may become Baby G) - I think it is only fair to share the story as it continues to unfold!
For the first post this month, I'll be talking about labor and delivery. Normally, I'm a bit squeamish on these things. However - I do enjoy telling the story. It's one of those "Rights of Passage" of a new mom. Please consider that my "fair warning" - and if you aren't interested, don't read past the picture.
Baby Girl was Eight. Days. Late. I had my heart set on early... and then perhaps Valentine's Day... and then I just resigned myself to it might just not happen. After a few "spells" of contractions (the Braxton Hicks kind) where I could lie down - or go out to dinner - or otherwise distract myself - the real stuff began. It was Saturday Night - after going to bed at my usual "early" 8:30 or 9:00 o'clock - and I began contractions around 9:30pm (or so). I got up. I came to the computer, worked on a blog, and then started timing... 5 mins... 7 mins.. 10 mins... 4 mins...
I woke up DH. "Sweetie, I think I'm having contractions? I think they are regular?" - to which his response was, "is it time to call the midwives?" I said, "Not yet. Let me wait at least another 30 minutes."
I laid down. Still every 10 minutes, and some seemed more like 5 minutes. He got out his stop-watch (an i-phone ap). He timed for a while, and we opted to call the midwife around midnight or so. Sarah gave me what I now consider the midwives "typical" first response: "Get in the bath or shower. Call me back in an hour." So, I got in the bath for 20 minutes or so, and then laid back down in bed. After an hour, things were pretty much the same, so we called back. She said, "I'm fairly sure you're in labor - you can come in, or you can wait." Waiting a little while longer sounded OK, so we decided to go ahead and call our friends (so we could drop off Kiddo). Within 15 minutes, they seemed to be more regular - ranging from 3 to 5 minutes - so we called back to tell the midwife we were on our way. She then said that the Peach room was the only room available (my 3rd choice!).
We (and by we, I mean DH) dropped off kiddo, got the dogs situated, and started to drive off. As I was having a contraction in the car, I told him to stop at the top of the driveway, since I knew it was the last time I could "make" him stop. As we pulled onto the main road, the first thing we saw was a police car!
As DH continued to drive, he stopped suddenly once or twice - which didn't make me too happy. One of the stops was for deer! After what seemed like forever later (45 minutes), we arrived at the Birthing Center. DH helped me get out of the car, and I stood in the misting rain until I thought I could walk inside. It was around 2am.
They did the typical "check" (I was 3cm dialated and 90% effaced), and told me they needed to run the antibiotics. Thankfully, they waited a little bit. I hate IVs.
I don't remember much of the next hour or two, other than a few quick conversations with DH. Me: "How can you stay awake through this?", Him: "Because I don't like seeing you in pain." Or later, Him: "I love you.", Me: "I don't love you right now. Maybe later."
It was around 4:45, and the contractions were worse- with the urge to push. The midwife wanted me to lay down to check me again, and I was very scared that I hadn't made enough progress. It was the point at which things get bad, and my attitude was definitely "I can't do this!". As is typically the case.. after I begrudgingly laid down so I could be checked again.. I was 8cm. She told me the baby would be here soon. It was around 5am, and I demanded, "HOW SOON?" - to which she responded, "within the hour. We're getting the room prepared for baby."
I wanted to stand, so I did. I walked to the bathroom, and she dutifully followed me, putting a towel under my legs. Once I got to the bathroom, I turned so I was not facing the toilet. She told me, "We're going back to bed now." She was very demanding. I said no.
Three pushes later, she "caught" baby Laura! And finally, moments thereafter, convinced me to come back to bed. Official time of birth was 5:09am.
Baby was great, mom had only a first degree tear - and unlike with Kiddo, Daddy even got to cut the cord!
There was some extra bleeding - but relative to the delivery with Kiddo - nothing to be too concerned about! Unfortunately, the IV line couldn't be removed until later. It was on to measuring baby's height and weight, taking all those vital signs (Apgar of 8 at 1 minute and 10 at 5 minutes), and all those other crazy new-baby things that have to be done.
We called parents first, but the first person we got to "talk" to was Uncle Sam!
After a couple of fussy hours baby G settled into a big long nap. Mom & Dad had not brought breakfast food, so we decided DH would go get food - and Kiddo. Stay tuned tomorrow for Big Brother meets his sister!
