*Originally posted September 17, 2015 on Fab . Fit . Me*
Here we are again! 2 months later. I've tried numerous times to try and find the time to sit and hash out the rest of my birth story but being a first time mom with a very demanding new baby, I kinda had my hands full. In between nursing, changing diapers, soothing the baby and trying to get her to sleep, I opted to utilize my little breaks to use the potty or to fix me somethin' to eat.
With that said... let's move on to the rest of my birthing story before my little monster wakes up! Just a tip for all you first time mamas and mamas-to-be out there - baby wearing is bliss! How else do you think I'm able to do anything around the house these days? My newborn is very needy and clingy because apparently this world is a scary frightening place for her and the only place that seems to keep her calm is in her momma's arms. And believe me.... I've tried everything.
So... are ya ready to read the fun stuff? You know, looking back on it now, I wish I had video recorded the entire labor & delivery experience. When I first got pregnant, I watched all kinds of Vlogs on YouTube of pregnancy updates and all that good stuff. Same with blogs. There's a girl I follow on social media that documented her entire labor on video and shared it with her followers. It's what actually inspired me to do it all natural. No joke. She was a badass. And not that I'd want you guys to see the whole thing, just this one part during my delivery, at the very end, where things got a little rough, and then all the nurses on staff that day came in to cheer me on. That was definitely a moment to capture.
If ya didn't get a chance to read Part 1... Click here to get the back story 😁.
If you remember my last Blog Post, the hubs and I had ended our night by watching Transformers on Netflix and went to bed around 11. Nothing new. At this point I didn't look forward to bedtime because for me, it meant uncomfortable and sometimes painful sleeping positions. But I was exhausted and needed as much rest as I could possibly get. So... Lights were out at 11. After tossing and turning and finally getting into a somewhat comfy position, I drifted off into dreamland.
Shortly After Midnight
A pain in my ass woke me up. Literally. It didn't last long. But it was a pain in the tailbone area. And I had no idea what it was. I didn't think anything of it. When it didn't happen again right away, I went back to sleep.
Then it happened again. Maybe about 2 more times within the next hour. By the 3rd time, I just couldn't go back to sleep. I laid there and waited for it to come again. And it did. And then a few more times. This time, a little closer together. But only in the tailbone area.
So what did I do? Got on my phone and Googled it. Found articles on how babies sometimes can be head down but "sunny side up" (where baby is not facing the rectum area like they should be) and then causing all this pressure up on the nerves in the tailbone. The remedy for it? Do pelvic tilts in hopes of getting baby to turn around so it can relieve the pressure. So there I was, at like 1 in the morning, doing pelvic tilts on the floor.
At Around 2:30am
Nothing seemed to help. The pain kept coming in waves. And getting stronger. Occasionally going up to my lower back.
It finally dawned on me. Omg could this be contractions? Yeah, call me slow. But I didn't even think those would be contractions. And even still, I was kinda in denial. Only because
I've never heard of people having contractions in that area. I expected to feel the usual contractions in the belly.
Google was my best friend that night. Even though I was advised at my first prenatal appointment to stay off the internet and that if I had any questions, I need to call and ask a nurse on staff. But nope.I asked Google EVERYTHING. And it didn't tell me I was in labor. So I just continued to do pelvic tilts on the floor.
2:45am
I finally decided to time these waves of pain. To see how far apart they were. I monitored it for the next hour. They ranged from 2 minutes to 6 minutes apart.
Still didn't think this was the real deal.
For the next couple of hours 3-5am
The pain came in consistent waves. About 2-5 minutes apart. Trips to the bathroom became more frequent.
TMI Alert - Don't know exactly when it started happening but I started passing mucous-like blood clots. I can only assume it was my mucous plug. But at the time I thought it was because of that membrane sweep from a couple days prior.
Around 7am
Still no change. Pain still happening. Still peeing a lot. Still bleeding. And still thinking this was all gonna pass.
But by now, the pain was felt all up in the pelvic area. And I finally came to terms with this being contractions. But still thinking it could also be false contractions. Yup, I was in complete denial.
So the hubs finally called Labor & Delivery for me to see what they recommended we do. I know some of you are probably reading this and thinking "I would have already gone to the hospital!" I wanted to labor at home as much as I could. So if this was labor (and it clearly was, I just didn't want to admit it), I was doing it at home.
Anyway, the nurse asked me a series of questions. She told me to take some Tylenol. 600mg of it. With about 32oz of water. And then if nothing changed within that hour, that I needed to call back.
And that they'd mostly have me come in to be evaluated.
We didn't have Tylenol so the hubs had to run out and get me some. On the way back he bought some donuts. 😁
Took the meds around 730-ish and then proceeded to wait.
From 7:30-9:00am
I ate a donut. The hubs decided to clean up the kitchen and then planned to clean our bathroom - you know, in case this is the real deal, the bathroom would be clean for when visitors came by.
And no I'm not joking.
9:30-10:30am
The hubs finally called L&D to let them know my status hadn't changed. So they told us to come in so I could be evaluated.
I took a shower, got dressed, and even put on my makeup. After my shower, the hubs quickly cleaned the bathroom.
Then I felt an intense wave of pain in my pelvic area that finally made me yell "ok Bubs, we gotta go now!" Hubby didn't hesitate. He grabbed our bags and loaded up the car.
But! Just in case this wasn't the Real Deal... We left the bags with the snacks and nurses goody baskets behind because I didn't want it sitting in the hot car. #StillInDenial
If we did get admitted, my brother in law would bring it to us since the hospital wasn't too far away.
Between 10:30-11am
Arrived at the hospital. Walked up to L&D. Was escorted into a delivery room and was instructed to change into a hospital gown.
A midwife on staff that day came in with my assigned nurse. Asked me a few questions. Then gave me a pelvic exam and lo and behold I was already dilated 7cm. Holy freakin crap!
Denial no more! This shit just got real.
The midwife smiled and said "yup we're having this baby today. Let's get you admitted." Followed by "I'm impressed. You are dilated 7cm, obviously in pain, but you're so calm!"
This being my first time, 7cm had no meaning to me. I knew I had to be dilated 10cm before I could start pushing Baby out... But any reference to the level of pain and intensity of these contractions, I had no clue. Nothing to compare it to.
As I was being admitted and hooked up to machines, I was asked about the epidural. My midwife was looking at my birth plan and asked if I wanted to get the epidural. Both she and the nurse were so impressed with my pain tolerance and the fact that I was so calm and not hysterical.
I thought about it for a split second. About getting the epidural. But then I thought to myself, I made it this far. And yeah this was painful... But not as painful as I thought this would be. When my nurse saw the hesitation, she took the time to talk to me about what I should expect from there on out. And what the epidural would do if I decided to get one. She commended me on how well I had dealt with the pain thus far. Told me that pain-wise, it could get a little bit more intense. And that it won't be that much more painful. She did tell me about the Ring of Fire. But at that point it wouldn't faze me at all. And the hardest part of all is pushing Baby out. The epidural was meant to help manage the pain. But I'd still feel the pressure of each contraction.
At the end of our conversation, I made the decision to stick with my birth plan. I turned down the epidural.. And that was that.
From 11 am - 1 pm
The next 2 hours in that room flew by. And my nurse was right. The contractions got a little bit more intense but nothing I couldn't handle. It took every bit of me to stay focused and to breathe through each one.
I managed to crack a smile in between contractions...
The great thing about not having had the epidural administered was the fact that I was able to move around. I didn't want to be confined to my bed for hours on end. Which is another reason why I chose to labor at home for as long as I could. If I had labored any longer, I might have even walked the halls of the L&D floor.
This position helped me get through many of those intense contractions:
Leaning on the backside of the bed while the hubby pushed down on my back helped relieved the pain in my tailbone.
And like my nurse and midwife said... I was quite the trooper!!!
After being there for 2 hours and breathing through each and every contraction, the moment every laboring woman talks about when telling their birth story happened, I felt the sudden urge to push. Like bad. Of course once I said that out loud, I was advised not to push till I was examined by my midwife.
My nurse went out to get her while I fought the urge to push through the contractions. She returned with the midwife a few minutes later and it was confirmed... I was completely and fully dilated.
A million emotions zapped right through me when she said I was fully dilated. I couldn't believe that it was already time to do it. After 38 weeks of carrying her in me, I was extremely excited that we'd finally be meeting the tiny human I'd been growing inside of me. And at the same time I was completely terrified of what was to come in the next phase of delivery. But totally relieved to know that this would all be over soon...
To Be Continued...
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