Before Labor
The morning of my due date, I was on edge all day, just praying I wouldn't go into labor at work (my worst nightmare!) I actually thought I was having a few contractions that afternoon around 2pm, but they were inconsistent, not too uncomfortable, and stopped by 2:45. Again, I thought I was having contractions that night, but they were inconsistent and stopped by 10pm.
Because I had passed my due date, my midwife agreed to meet me the next day (the 23rd) to sweep my membranes. At that point, I was dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced. I was glad to hear there was progress, because at my 37 week appointment I was only dilated to a 1. My appointment was in the afternoon, so I took a half day off work and Brodie went with me. I went home feeling hopeful - I went for a long walk and took a warm bath and then waited. But nothing happened. So that night we went to Gresham to watch the Olympics with Brodie's family. I was having mild contractions, but at the time, I didn't think anything of it. I thought it couldn't be real labor because I was expecting the big, painful contractions. We considered spending the night in Gresham, but ultimately decided not to.
watching Olympics in Gresham
Early Labor
It's a good thing we went home, because at 5:45am I woke up to a "pop" that I both felt and heard. I rushed to the bathroom in case my water broke. And it did! I called Brodie in, and I think we were both in shock. I felt surprisingly calm. We knew this was a sign to head to the hospital, but I still wasn't having strong contractions, so we stayed at home for a little while. Trying to keep things normal, we made the bed, got dressed, ate breakfast, and took care of the dog. We left the house at 6:45am and got to the hospital just before 7am.
On the drive over, I timed my contractions and they were consistent and close together. At this point, they were already 1-2 minutes apart, but still not extremely uncomfortable. We felt confident things were moving right along, so we walked into the hospital with our bags to check in and said, "We're here to have a baby!" Either they could tell we were first-timers, or we sounded overconfident, because the desk staff laughed before pointing us to triage.
Once in triage, they placed sensors on my belly to see if I was really contracting (which I knew I was!) They were surprised to see me dilated to a 5 already with consistent contractions close together. The nurse kept saying, "Wow, you are really contracting!" I was contracting hard enough that the sensors kept slipping off.
They admitted me right away, and as I walked from triage to my room, I experienced my first "real" contraction. People define contractions as something that stops you in your tracks - you are unable to talk or walk through them. Up until that point, I could tell I was having contractions (and they were uncomfortable), but it wasn't extremely painful. But as I walked to the room, I had to pull over in the hallway, lean against the wall, and wait for it to pass.
Labor and Delivery
Once I was checked into my room, I lay on the bed while the nurses got prepped and set up a drip in my arm. The "real" contractions were coming pretty close together at this point, but I was able to breathe through them. Brodie and I didn't have a set labor plan . . . I guess our plan was to wing it. Or according to the nurse we had a "flexible" birth plan. But that didn't mean I was completely unprepared. I had read several books from the library about natural births and even watched a DVD series about breathing and labor. I knew labor wasn't going to be easy, but I wanted to see for myself how far I could progress before using medicine as pain management.
The midwife rushed in around 8:20. She wasn't the midwife I saw throughout my entire pregnancy. But she was the one on call that day, and she didn't know until about 8am that she needed to come into work. Her scrubs were mismatched - the top and the bottom two different shades of blue, which we both laughed at. She said she just received the call and hurried in as soon as she could. She hadn't missed much . . . I was still on the bed, taking the contractions one at at time as they came. And when they came, I didn't want anyone talking or touching me. So Brodie and the midwife chatted softly on the other side of the room while I did my thing.
Some time later, I needed to use the bathroom and the midwife and Brodie both followed me in. That is definitely one thing I learned quickly during labor - to not be embarrassed about anything! Kate (the midwife) sat on the edge of the tub in the bathroom while I sat on the toilet. Brodie stood near the door, and three of us stayed in the bathroom for about 30 minutes while I worked through increasingly difficult contractions. Between contractions, however, I felt absolutely no pain. And during that time, Kate did an excellent job of keeping it light. We laughed and joked until another contraction would come. And then Kate and Brodie stayed quiet, while I attempted to breathe through it. It came to a point where I felt like I needed to push - but Kate said it was too early and I shouldn't. I was only dilated to a 6 and still had a ways to go.
This was very discouraging to hear. To distract me, Kate suggested that I move to a new position. I made my way to the bed and tried leaning over the back. I guess this is a comfortable position for most laboring women, but I did not like it. Just as I was turning over to lie down, the contractions became very intense. Kate could tell I was struggling and asked if I would like an epidural or nitrous oxide to manage the pain. I asked how much longer I had to go. She predicted it would be about 4 more hours (I guess it's typical for first time mothers to dilate about 1 cm per hour.) I was shocked. Four hours?!? There's no way I can wait that much longer!
I told Kate that I just really felt the need to push. So she checked me again before we made a final decision about any medicated pain management. The next thing I heard was, "He's here! I can feel his head. It's time to push!" Somehow, within 10 minutes, I had quickly progressed from 6cm to a 9 or 10. No wonder the contractions were so intense!
Well this is when it all becomes a little blurry. For me, I was able to breathe through and manage the contractions leading up to delivery. But during the actual delivery of the baby? That's when I lost my cool. Brodie was standing at my left shoulder and Kate was to the right by my legs. My natural reaction was to try and curl up tight in the fetal position . . . which is not the best for giving birth :) The two nurses in the room had to physically hold me down to prevent me for curling up. And I am sure everybody in the hallway could tell what was happening . Yeah. . . I was no longer calm or quiet during delivery.
Even though I was not handling the situation very well, Kate was a rockstar. She was calm and collected through the whole process. There was a scary moment when Briggen's head was stuck and his heart rate dropped. Kate stood by with scissors and the vacuum if needed. But she believed in me. She looked me in the eye and said, "I am ready to do whatever it takes to get this baby out. But I think you can do it all on your own. Take a break, take a deep breath, and try not to scream. Instead use all your energy to bring your baby boy into the world." It's embarrassing that she had to tell me to stop yelling, but that's what did the trick!
Briggen was born Saturday, February 24th at 9:28am, after 15 minutes of pushing, and 3.5 hours after my water broke. He was 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 20.5 inches long. I am so grateful for Kate and her calm personality in that moment. And her humor. The second Briggen was born she winked and said, "You gave birth naturally once. Great job! Cross that off your bucket list and never do it again. Unless you want to . . . but I used an epidural for both my kids!"
Post Delivery
Immediately after Briggen's birth, they placed on him on my chest. I remember feeling the most wonderful sense of calm and relief. I kept thinking, "I did it!!" And all I wanted to do was hold him, but my strength was gone. Even the effort of raising my arms was too hard. The nurses gave me nitrous oxide to help manage post-delivery pain, which made it even more difficult to stay lucid. A doctor then came in to discuss my options for surgery. Because of Briggen's speedy arrival, I tore pretty badly and needed immediate stitching. Typically women are stitched up in the labor/delivery room with some local anesthetic. However, they had run out of the correct anesthesia, so my two options were . . . 1) to receive an epidural and be numb from the waist down for the next 6 hours or . . . 2) Go to the operating room to be put under during the procedure. I opted for the second choice and was wheeled off down the hallway. Briggen was left with Brodie for the next hour while I went to "take a nap".
After surgery, it took about 30 minutes for the drowsiness to wear off. I was then able to spend the rest of the day snuggling my perfect newborn babe.
Sunday evening he had his first bath
After his bath, we realized he had auburn hair!
awake and happy :)
We are blessed, happy, and grateful beyond words. We love you, Briggen!
