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May 7, 2010

***Warning - this post may contain TMI***

February 09, 2010 (Happy 29th Mike/Dad!)

We spent the morning doing nothing. Mike had the day off because he was suppose to head to the dentist for a check-up, so we were all enjoying each others company.

Shortly after nine o'clock I headed to the bathroom, again. I think I spent 1/3 of all my days peeing in my third trimester. This would be the last time my bladder was affected by a baby kicking around inside. I was pullin' up the pants when my water broke. (Side note - what's with me, my bladder, and my bag of waters?!) Yes, I know it was my waters and not urine (Mike checked).

I hadn't had any contractions yet, and still none were coming. I figured we wouldn't head to the hospital if I wasn't contracting. Nothing like going in to be sent home and all. So nine turns to ten and I start having small contractions, somewhere around 7-8 minutes apart. I tell Mike that we should start getting ready to leave, since we had to take Max to daycare first. I wasn't feeling rushed, so it was another hour before we were heading out the door. I kid you not, as soon as Mike took our bag down to the car my contractions suddenly got painful. Aren't they suppose to work their way up the pain scale? It was an intense jump. And they were coming nice and close together. Just my luck.

I happen to look at the clock as we were pulling out of the garage, 11:00 exactly. We managed to drop off Max at daycare and were on our way to the hospital in record time. My contractions were coming less than a minute apart by now (less than 20 minutes later), and I was wondering if we were going to make it! Mike was pulling off the freeway as the nausea hit me. I made him pull to the side so I could vomit, but ended up just dry heaving. He had to pull me back into the car my contractions were hurting so bad!

The hospital is just 2 minutes from the freeway exit, so we were there in 1 : ) Mike dropped me off at the sky walk to the maternity ward and went to park the car. I started making my way to the elevators. I got about halfway there before I couldn't walk/communicate through my contractions anymore. I kind soul leaving the hospital helped me the rest of the way to the elevators. We were just getting on when Mike caught up with me. Down two floors to maternity and the few feet to the registration desk. We will later learn that it was 11:28 a.m. I make my way to Triage to be evaluated.

The nurse hands me the gown with instructions to change and lay on the table. I'm in so much pain that I can barely change w/o Mike's assistance, never mind getting up on the table/bed. Mike stuck his head out into the hall and yelled at the nurse to come back, that I was ready to go. She was all like, I'm coming, I'm sure she's fine. She does come back soon, just not as soon as I'd have liked ; ) So, they check me, and she tells us that I'm at an eight. (BTW, that means we're past the point where they can give you drugs.) Now, I don't remember it exactly like this, but Mike swears to it's truth: Mike maintains that the nurse stepped out of our Triage room and calls to the other nurses, "Holy shit, she's an eight!" Nurses storm the little room while the initial nurse gets on the line to call my doctor. This conversation I remember, "You have a patient here, (me), and she's ready to deliver.....Yes, she is definitely feeling pressure."

Feeling pressure? Understatement! I was pushing to relieve the pressure/pain. They are all like, don't push! Then give me something for the pain! Anyone who has been through labor w/o drugs knows that you cannot help but push, it's your body's natural reaction to the process! And, nope, nothing available to help the pain now. It was fun, or not, getting transferred from bed to bed while my body was racked with constant contractions. They set me up, and from what I remember hearing, the doctor on call had the nurses manning the door with a gown and gloves ready for my doctor when he arrived. (He was at another hospital in town, getting ready to do a c-section.) So, Dr. Munro gets there and literally walks into his gear and over to my table. I push once and get an episiotomy. I push twice and we have a baby girl! And, for the record, there was screaming involved in this process; something that was lacking when I delivered Max. Elly was born at 11:48 a.m., exactly 20 minutes from when we walked up to the reception desk, and less than three hours after my water broke. And from here on out, Daddy shares his bday with his little girl.




For the record, I never wanted an un-medicated birth. Now having done it with meds and w/o, I felt much more in control when Max was born. People keep saying to me that it must be nice that it was over so fast; no, it going fast did not make it easier! My body went 0-60 too fast for me to deal/process/adjust to the pain; I felt completely out of control of my body. Precipitous labors are traumatic and dangerous. I wish everyone a safe and easy delivery, but fast? No. (Precipitous labors run risks of hemorrhaging for the mama.) Side note - S.A.: you are a hero for laboring for 30+ hours before delivering, all w/o meds! The bright side was that in addition to no meds, there was also no time for an iv, so no swelling for me this time : )

The nurses/doctors informed me that with the next child I am to go directly to the hospital after my water breaks or risk delivering elsewhere. What next child? I do believe I'm done!

3 comments:

  1. You just described my labor when my daughter was born. It went really, really fast and no pain medication. Also after I had my daughter I knew I was done!

    Thanks for sharing your birth story! I love hearing them.

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  2. Oh man - what a horrifying beautiful story! Glad you got to the hospital in time and that all ends well.

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  3. at least pushing felt natural to you - i didnt want to push I HATED pushing. I am STILL mad at my doula (and one of my best friends down here) for making me push. it was an EVIL EVIL idea...by the time i wanted pain meds i was at an 8. I am glad i didnt go to a hospital because they would've sent me home and then they would've insisted on a c-section because it was a very long and slow process...everyone said this is better for mama but of course none of those women were having the baby...certainly believe in evolution and not intelligent design because NOTHING about that process seemed intelligent to me. I don't to raise him as an only child, but I sure as HELL never want to do that again but i dont want pain meds either.

    by the way - no matter how long it takes to progress as I was the far end of the spectrum - you don't feel in control when you do it naturally for the first time. but i suppose that's because we are NOT in control or the baby wouldn't be coming out of that freaking hole that incredibly big :op

    ~SA~

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