My water broke Friday night at 2:30 AM. This was not what I was hoping would happen since I wanted to labor at home as much as possible. From about 3:00 AM on, Caleb and I kept going back and forth about whether or not we should call the doc or wait a bit to see if labor began on its own.
Since the fluid was clear, I did not have a fever and I constantly felt the baby move/kick, we decided to try to get labor to kick in and if not, we'd just go to the doctor's office when they opened at 8:00 AM since I already had an appointment.
Long story short, labor did not pick up on its own. When I would walk, I would have contractions that were 2-3 minutes apart....but they only lasted 30 MAYBE 40 secconds. Then, when I would lay still, they would be about 60-75 secconds in length, but coming every 8-9 minutes instead.
When we got to the doctor's office, labor had practically stalled. Dr. Bass checked me out (my first internal of this whole pregnancy) and we were told that I was 4 centimeters and that the baby had a full head of hair! He sent us to the hospital saying, "You will have that baby before you know it!"
Once we got to the hospital (around 8:30 AM), we started walking. We had to walk around the same loop, passing the same nurses all the time. The contractions remained irregular, but the baby's (and my) vitals all remained good. NO ONE...including myself....thought that I had progressed. We were shocked that I was a 6 when the doctor checked me around 1:30 pm.
We picked up the pace....and the contractions become more intense....to the point that I had to nicely ask Caleb to SHUT UP during them and to please NOT TOUCH ME. I worked through each one...but still remained bummed that they were not coming closer together.
Around 3:00PM, the nurse hooked me up to the monitors and forgot about me for over an hour =0). Having to lay down through the contractions made them worse. I started to shake all over and I felt like I had to throw up. We asked the nurse to come check me because I thought that maybe I had to push. I was an 8. Things then went really fast and I threw up all through transition. By 4:30 PM, I was complete and "ready to push".
But I couldn't push.
I didn't know how.
Nothing seemed to worked.
I started to freak out. I made it this far without meds and having to be induced and now I wasn't going to be able to get him out.
This is when Caleb came through for me! He just took over and forced me to try a number of different positions. Finally, he was able to pick my big pregnant self up off the table and force me to squat. That shortened the birth canal and did the trick. Mind you, it still took about an hour and a half to push him out, but by the end, my contractions were regular and strong enough to do the job. I don't know what I would have done without my husband there to coach me through that.
The baby came out FINALLY! I have a second-degree tear, but at least I didn't need an episiotomy. It still hurts to sit, but I am only on Motrin right now for the pain.
That is Benjamin's birth story.....I am still in shock over how that 8-pounder actually came out of me!
Since the fluid was clear, I did not have a fever and I constantly felt the baby move/kick, we decided to try to get labor to kick in and if not, we'd just go to the doctor's office when they opened at 8:00 AM since I already had an appointment.
Long story short, labor did not pick up on its own. When I would walk, I would have contractions that were 2-3 minutes apart....but they only lasted 30 MAYBE 40 secconds. Then, when I would lay still, they would be about 60-75 secconds in length, but coming every 8-9 minutes instead.
When we got to the doctor's office, labor had practically stalled. Dr. Bass checked me out (my first internal of this whole pregnancy) and we were told that I was 4 centimeters and that the baby had a full head of hair! He sent us to the hospital saying, "You will have that baby before you know it!"
Once we got to the hospital (around 8:30 AM), we started walking. We had to walk around the same loop, passing the same nurses all the time. The contractions remained irregular, but the baby's (and my) vitals all remained good. NO ONE...including myself....thought that I had progressed. We were shocked that I was a 6 when the doctor checked me around 1:30 pm.
We picked up the pace....and the contractions become more intense....to the point that I had to nicely ask Caleb to SHUT UP during them and to please NOT TOUCH ME. I worked through each one...but still remained bummed that they were not coming closer together.
Around 3:00PM, the nurse hooked me up to the monitors and forgot about me for over an hour =0). Having to lay down through the contractions made them worse. I started to shake all over and I felt like I had to throw up. We asked the nurse to come check me because I thought that maybe I had to push. I was an 8. Things then went really fast and I threw up all through transition. By 4:30 PM, I was complete and "ready to push".
But I couldn't push.
I didn't know how.
Nothing seemed to worked.
I started to freak out. I made it this far without meds and having to be induced and now I wasn't going to be able to get him out.
This is when Caleb came through for me! He just took over and forced me to try a number of different positions. Finally, he was able to pick my big pregnant self up off the table and force me to squat. That shortened the birth canal and did the trick. Mind you, it still took about an hour and a half to push him out, but by the end, my contractions were regular and strong enough to do the job. I don't know what I would have done without my husband there to coach me through that.
The baby came out FINALLY! I have a second-degree tear, but at least I didn't need an episiotomy. It still hurts to sit, but I am only on Motrin right now for the pain.
That is Benjamin's birth story.....I am still in shock over how that 8-pounder actually came out of me!
2 comments:
Congratulations!! All natural, just like you had hoped. :) Good luck with the breastfeeding. It's hard the first few weeks, but if you can muddle through the challenges and stick with it, the rewards are so satisfying! If you need any help, just call.
Happy New Year to you and your NEW family! :)
Good Grief you are a HERO! Congrats you guys, he is beautiful!!! Happy New Year!
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