Birth Story

Well here it is if you want it, but Im not forcing it on you. :) On Sunday January 30th at 2:30 am, I woke up to a new "sensation." 7 minutes or so later when it happened again, I realized, these might be contractions. I could be in labor. I couldnt really fall back asleep because I kept having these contractions so I watched the clock while I laid there and tried to practice relaxing. I was having them fairly regularly, but they were not too intense. I went downstairs around 6 am to get a change in scenery. I also called my mom and told her I thought she should go ahead and come. It was a 9 hour drive so I wanted to give her plenty of notice. Brandon woke up around 7 and I told him I was in early labor and wanted pancakes. :) He took me to Winsteads. Then we took a little walk (in the cold with snow on the ground). I decided I wanted to try to go to church to distract me. Labor slowed down at church and I got very tired so I thought it would be good to take the break and get some rest. I do not think I fell asleep but I laid down for awhile. Brandon went and got some lunch. Around 3, my mom arrived. I was slightly frustrated that it had been 9 hours and I still felt about the same. I called Debbie since she was at the birth center and asked if she would just check me while she was there. When we got there, she said i was effacing, but only about 1 cm dilated. Again, slightly frustrating, but I knew I was not in crazy labor. I just hoped I could get some rest. My biggest fear in all of this was that I would be in labor for a long time and would get too exhausted to push when I needed to. I have been in the business long enough to know how much trouble that can cause, but who can sleep when you are going to meet your baby soon (and when you are having uncomfortable contractions every 3-9 minutes!)
That evening is kind of a blur. I took another walk. I laid down and napped a little for a couple hours between contractions. Then I got in the tub. I do not know when they picked up, but I remember that the contractions were more intense and it was getting late. I had brandon call Debbie and tell her that I wanted to come labor at the birth center. We got there around 11pm. Debbie checked me again and I was 1-2. WHAT! I was discouraged, but asked Debbie if I could stay and labor since we live with people and I knew I would not relax well if I felt like I was keeping them up. Brandon called Grace at that point. He and my mom were tired and not really sure how to help me any more. Grace was wonderful! She walked the halls with me and helped me relax during contractions. She helped me eat small snacks and give me drinks. I love her and will always be grateful to her for her help. Around 4 or 5 am, Debbie came to check on me again. I just knew I had to be at least 5-6. I had thrown up and I had the shakes and everything. so you can imagine my disappointment when after 24 hours of work, i was 3 cm. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!? I broke down, along with my midwife. This was the point that Debbie told me later she wanted to throw me in the car and get me an epidural. Silly Debbie. She did give me some medicine to help me sleep though. While this was probably the thing that helped get me through without being completely exhausted, it also made that part of labor intense. For the next 3 or 4 hours, I would wake up every 3-12 min at the peak of a contraction. There was no way to relax or ease into the contractions. It just would hit me and I would jump out of bed like crazy person. I kept feeling like I needed to go to the bathroom, but mom would encourage me to lay back down, and most of the time I would fall right back asleep. Whenever I did have a 2nd contraction it was not as bad, but I was so sleepy I needed to go back to the bed. Around 8:30 or 9am, I got up during a contraction and went to the toilet. As I was sitting there I felt like I needed to poop. In my world that sometimes is code for you need to push. I told my mom to get Debbie. When she came in, I told her she better give me good news. She agreed. :) Luckily, she said I was about an 8! finally some progress. I finally felt like I was allowed to say I was "in labor" although the only thing that had really changed was some number. I decided to stop sleeping and get in the tub. About 20 min later, I started feeling pushy at the top of contractions. Debbie said, "are you complete" I said I dont know but my body is pushing. :) She let me go with it. For the next two hours, my stupid irregular contractions continued to be unpredictable. Over that time I started pushing a few more times with each contraction. At one point I remember mom saying, I bet the baby will be here by 10:30. I looked at the clock and it was about 10:10. I smiled to myself and thought...Silly mom! I was making good progress, but I was not going to shoot this baby out. I had brandon hold a mirror for me to watch and I kept my hand down there to protect myself. I remember the first time I felt her head, it was so encouraging. At this point I did not feel tired or frustrated, I felt strong and ready to see my baby. I am proud of this part of my labor. I know there is nothing I could have really done to help the first part go better or differently, but this part was something I felt like I did right. At one point I did feel like i had torn and then I just pushed her out because I thought the damage was already done. Luckily, I had not torn already and I did not tear at that point either. At 11:45 am, I was holding my sweet 6lb 12 oz baby girl Nora Kate! She was so sweet. I remember saying, She has no eyebrows. I am proud to tell you she has them now, although they are blonde and hard to see. :) So anyway, It was worth the 33 hours it took to get her here. It was worth the 9 months of pregnancy to grow her and it was worth the year of waiting to get pregnant. I love this baby, and yes I plan to do it again.