Labor Day

I know that it has been six weeks since our baby girl arrived, but I wanted to retell the story of her birth. It is a pretty important day to remember because this cute little girl arrived and changed our lives forever and we are so happy to have her!

Six Weeks Old

Saturday morning I woke up and was bleeding some so, I thought this is it today is the day. We waited and waited; no contractions. We waited some more, took the dogs for a walk, and still no contractions. I did start bleeding more and after talking to my mom and calling the hospital the verdict was to go get checked just to be safe. Everything was fine with the baby and I was not dilated, the nurse actually couldn't even find my cervix because it was to posterior. They discharged me and told me to come back when my contractions were three minutes apart and so painful that I couldn't talk during them. We went home leaving the hospital about ten o'clock at night we ate dinner, relaxed while watching TV, and then got ready to go to sleep.
Then, what do you know a little after midnight I felt my first contraction. The rest of the night was spent trying to get some sleep, but being woken up more and more frequently through the morning. Around 11 o' clock the contractions really started picking up being about 5-7 minutes apart. I started pacing the house hoping they would just speed up so we could get the show on the road. At 3:30 the contractions were three minutes apart and I told Ben it was time to go.

At the hospital they hooked me up to the monitor and asked how far I was dilated the night before about ten times. I KEPT telling them I don't know she couldn't find my cervix. What I wanted to say was who cares just check me now! I then was left for a little over an hour without one person checking on me. I even pushed the call light 15 minutes later finally someone came in. Another patient had just delivered and there was only one OB nurse on shift, so I was trying to be understanding, but it is hard when you are in pain!

Finally they checked me, by then It was a little after 4:30. I was admitted immediately because I was already dilated to a 5, fully effaced, and the baby was in the lowest station. I have known for a long time that I did not want an epidural. From my experience with clinicals I had observed that the fewer medical interventions involved the fewer complications and there tends to be a faster recovery process. I wanted to experience all of labor doing what my body was made to do. But, I wasn't closed off to other interventions and actually wanted to try the Jacuzzi tub and the birthing ball. If needed I was okay with some IV pain medications as well, which after moving rooms, being stuck four times by the nurses trying to find a vein, and my contractions becoming very frequent (a minute apart) I was ready for some. However, I was a little disappointed because it did absolutely nothing for the pain of the contractions. It did help some with back pain as well as helping me to rest in between contractions. I never got to try the other interventions because my labor was progressing to fast.

Sometime after six, my contractions were coming one after the other with only seconds in between and I was having the urge to push. The nurse came in and checked me I was dilated to a nine. They called the doctor when she arrived she broke my water and it was time to push. But, the anticipation was halted for a moment because there was no contraction to push with. After a few minutes I could feel a contraction coming on. It was exciting, but the excitement was mixed with an extreme amount of pain as I pushed; I definitely vocalized that! In between contractions I lightened the mood of the room when I said, "I was crazy for not getting an epidural". I pushed for 4-6 contractions (the exact number of contractions was the last thing on my mind at that point). At 7:10 after one last push our bright-eyed beautiful baby girl was out!

One of the things that Ben remembers most is as soon as she came out she opened her eyes and looked at him. Her arrival brought tears to Ben's eyes and pure relief to me. Once the baby was out I told the doctor I never thought I would be that noisy. I actually work with the doctor that delivered me and she just laughed saying that it was definitely not expected coming from me!

Bringing a baby into this world was one of the most amazing (and painful) experiences of my life. Despite the pain I would do the whole thing over again if needed to get Jocelyn because she was worth it

A Few More Pictures...