Birth Story

Wednesday, September 1, 2010
40 weeks, 0 days
5:45am - I was awoken by my water breaking in bed. I immediately called Mitchell to tell him to drive home from Charlotte. I then called Angela, our doula, to let her know that my water had broken. I asked her if I needed to call in a sub for school that day, and she said "Yes, Andrea, that would be a good idea." (DUH!) She told me to go back to sleep, and to take a walk when I woke up. I'm not very good at listening, so instead I packed up my stuff and drove to school.

6:45am - I arrived at school and was greeted in my sweats and t-shirt by the principal. He looked confused (sweats don't exactly meet the dress code), and I told him I had already called a sub and would be giving birth today. He said, "Oh, you're getting induced?" I told him that my water had broken about an hour before. He looked a little shocked and said, "I don't think you should be here... please don't go back and have this baby in your room!" I told him everything would be fine, and proceeded to make copies and write out some notes for the sub. I headed back to the house about an hour later.

8:15am - Mitchell got home from Charlotte. He was a little sick at this point- I think his nerves were shot from the early morning call. Ironically, the date we had been counting down to for 9 months was the only date we were SURE I wouldn't go into labor on.

9:00am - Angela called to check in on me. I told her that Mitchell and I had gone for a walk and I was starting to feel irregular and mild contractions. I made sure to eat some breakfast- an apple and yogurt- to keep up my energy.

11:20am - The contractions were fairly regular now, about 8 minutes apart and lasting for about 15 seconds. They were still very mild- at times it was hard to tell if I was really having a contraction, and I was having a lot of trouble figuring out when they started and stopped.

12:30pm - Mitchell and I took another walk, and the contractions were now about 5 minutes apart, lasting for about 20 seconds. They were still very mild. I had some lunch around this time since I knew they wouldn't let me eat when I got to the hospital.

2:00pm - It was too hot to keep walking outside, so Mitchell suggested going to the mall to walk around in the AC. The change of scenery definitely seemed to help, and the contractions started to get a little stronger. I took Alli's advice and got a frozen strawberry lemonade from Panera (not sure why strawberries would help, but it was delicious!).

3:00pm - We were still at the mall. The contractions were picking up- I told Angela, "There's no mistaking these contractions!" They were now about 3 minutes apart and lasting between 30-60 seconds each. Mitchell continued to time the contractions on his phone as we walked around. They were starting to get to the point where I would have to slow down to get through the contraction- still not very strong, but definitely uncomfortable.

3:40pm - The contractions were now about 2-3 minutes apart. Mitchell wanted to get to the hospital to have me checked to see what kind of progress I was making. The contractions were still not that strong, but were coming much closer together. We called Angela and told her to meet us at the hospital around 4 (which was perfect timing, since her husband was about to get off work and she wouldn't need to wait for someone to come over to watch her kids).

4:06pm - We arrived at the hospital and were taken into a triage room to check in. They said I was 2 centimeters dilated and about 90% effaced. We were a little shocked- with the contractions so close together we were sure I would be further along. At this point we told the triage nurse that I would like to attempt a natural delivery, and she put a note in the computer that I should not be offered any pain medication.

4:30pm - Angela arrived at the hospital and joined us in the triage room while we waited to be moved to our L&D room. The baby and I were being monitored, and I had to stay in the bed while they got a good first strip. The contractions were MUCH more uncomfortable while I was lying in the bed. The contractions were still about 2-3 minutes apart, and still fairly mild, though gaining in intensity. I could still talk through them easily, however I was eager to get off the monitor and be able to walk around again. Once they were done monitoring I was able to get up and walk laps around the halls of the hospital. I walked for the next hour and a half, only stopping every 20-30 minutes so the nurse could monitor me and the baby. I was pleasantly surprised how accommodating the staff was of my birth plan. I was able to get a hep lock instead of getting hooked up for IV fluids, and only needed to be monitored for about 5 minutes every half hour. I have to admit, I was VERY glad that our first nurse was almost done with her shift when we got there. She messed up when trying to place the IV the first time (a week later I still have a huge bruise on my arm), and had some unnecessary comments about other mothers who had attempted natural births and failed (way to be encouraging!).

7:00pm - I was no longer able to speak easily during contractions and needed to stop and focus inward to manage them. I would stand up and sway during each contraction to try to ease the pain. Contractions were now about 2 minutes apart and lasted 60-90 seconds.

7:15pm - There was a shift change, and I knew it was good omen that our new nurse's name was Allie. She checked my progress and said I was at about 3.5 centimeters and 90% effaced. Contractions were about 1-2 minutes apart and lasted for 90 seconds. To manage the pain I would stand up and lean over a birth ball on top of the bed while Mitchell and Angela massaged my back. It also helped to hold on to Mitchell's neck and sway my hips or squat. I also used focused breathing to make sure I stayed relaxed.

8:00pm - I started to feel a little nauseous. Contractions were growing stronger and were about 1 minute apart. I was able to get on my hands and knees on the bed and lean over the birth ball. Through contractions Mitchell and Angela would push on my hips and massage my back to provide counter-pressure and help alleviate some of the pain. Angela would also hold a towel with lavender essential oil under my nose to help calm me. The contractions were getting harder, but I was still able to relax between contractions to conserve my energy.

8:20pm - I started to feel the urge to push, but when the nurse checked me I was only at 7 centimeters.

9:00pm - I was increasingly feeling the urge to push through contractions. The nurse checked me again, and I was between 8-9 centimeters dilated. I had to breath through contractions to avoid pushing in order to prevent the incomplete cervix from swelling. I got on my knees and leaned over the back of the bed.

9:30pm - The contractions were virtually on top of each other at this point, and were so strong I was having a lot of trouble getting through each one. Mitchell was extremely supportive and he and Angela kept reminding me to take it one contraction at a time. A second nurse came in to check me, and thought she could remove the remaining lip of cervix manually to allow me to push. She allowed me to gently bear down while she pushed the remainder of the cervix past the baby's head. It took 3 contractions, but the nurse was successful.

10:00pm - I was completely dilated to 10 centimeters and began pushing. I was so happy to be able to do something to alleviate some of the pain. It took a few contractions to get the pushing right, but pretty soon I was making good progress. Mitchell said he could see the dark hair on the top of her head.

10:44pm - Baby Madison's head and body were born in one swift final push. (The nurses told me to slow down and let her help with the stretching- I thought they were insane.) I had just a small amount of tearing, so the doctor gave me a few stitches, waited for the cord to stop pulsating, and then clamped it for Mitchell to cut. The nurses dried the baby off and weighed her- 6 lbs 13 ounces and 19.5 inches long! When they handed her back to me I was able to nurse immediately- she had very little trouble latching on, and nursed for about 15 minutes. Shortly after Mitchell went out to the lobby to invite our family to come in and meet Madison. They of course agreed that she is the most beautiful baby ever :)