A little history. I had a c-section in Sept 2007 for FTP due to a
failed induction that was scheduled because my OB said nothing good ever
happened after 41 weeks. I was 41+2 weeks when I had Jack. I had a
VBAC in July 2009 with Dr Tate. I switched to him at 24 weeks. I was
15 days late with Abby, got an epidural, needed forceps, had a 3rd
degree tear and needed laparoscopic surgery less than 24 hrs after
having her. So, I thought for sure I was going to go 42 weeks this
pregnancy. I was due 11/11/11.
This pregnancy I hired Christine
and Nichole to be my doulas. When I was 38 weeks I felt a sharp pain
that brought me to the floor so I called 911. I went in to get checked
and they said I was having contractions every 4 minutes. I was
shocked. They told me Dr Tate wanted me checked, so I consented. I
found out I was 50% effaced and 2-3cm dilated. I would have been less
surprised if they told me I was having a litter of kittens. I was in
pain for hours to get to that point with Abby, so it was very
encouraging news. Dr Tate wanted me to walk the halls for an hour and
get rechecked. I consulted with Christine and figured it would be a
waste of time, if I was in labor I would just go back to the hospital.
Not to mention I was having an in-house yard sale that following morning
and I had already posted it on Craigslist and everything was staged, so
there was no way I could go into labor that night. To make sure, my
husband (Doug) and I went to dinner close to the hospital, but nothing
progressed so we went home.
From about 40 weeks on I would call
Christine every few days telling her I was having regular contractions,
just to let her know what was going on. They never became labor but it
was way more action than I had with Abby so I thought I would share with
her and Nichole.
Then the night I was 41 weeks I felt regular
contractions that started around 9pm. It was the Friday before
Thanksgiving week; Nov 18. That morning I ordered my birthing skirt
because I wanted to make sure I had it for labor. Yes. I was 41
weeks. I kept ignoring the contractions, because I thought I was
getting them from going through all of Jack and Abby’s Christmas
presents which required me to get up and down from the floor. I didn’t
bother calling Christine or Nichole because I felt bad for constantly
bothering them for false alarms and figured this would be more of the
same. I kept contracting and even my mom (we were living with my
parents while our house was getting renovated) asked me if I felt ok. I
told her I did and didn’t tell anyone about my contractions. I finally
decided to go to bed around 11:30pm. Well, I tried to at least. I
wasn’t able to sleep because the contractions were keeping my
attention. I finally got up around 12:30am because I couldn’t sleep
through them and thought I should probably pack my bag for the
hospital. Around that time, my contractions started coming every 2 min
and were lasting about 40sec. I decide to call Christine around 2am.
At this point I had to be on all fours to get through the
contractions. She told me to take a bath to see if that would stop them
but to call her back in 30 min. I got in the tub and realized quickly
that it sucked in there, because I couldn’t get comfortable. At all. I
wanted it to feel great since I have heard so many people talk about
how much they loved the tub, but at that point it sucked and I couldn’t
even sit; I had to be perched on my side. I called Christine back
before the 30 minutes and she said she would come to my house, but if I
was having the contractions 2 minutes apart for that long I probably
should go to the hospital. So, I told her to meet me there.
I
got everything ready and woke up Doug. Of course, he wanted to take a
shower so I told him to hurry. I had to vocalize through the
contractions at that point and they were lasting longer and still coming
every 2 minutes. I wanted to go in and kiss Jack and Abby goodbye, but
I knew I had to get in and out before a contraction hit. Hindsight, I
would have kissed them goodbye a little earlier. There is nothing like
being in labor and running in and out of rooms, bending to kiss your
babies and desperately trying to get out of the room before another one
hits. Before I headed downstairs, I went and woke up my mom to tell her
we were headed to the hospital. The plan was for her to meet us
there.
As we walked to the car another contraction hit which
caused me to get down on all fours and vocalize though it again, it was
at this point Doug realized I really was in labor. I think I did to.
Normally we live in Decatur, so the drive to the hospital would have
been about 15 minutes but we were in Lilburn, which made it about a
25-30 min ride. I was unable to sit so I squatted in the front of
Doug’s truck, which had a ton of crap in the floorboard and lean on the
seat. I hit transition in the car (although I didn’t know it at the
time) and started crying for no reason. I called Christine at 3am and
told her I couldn’t stop crying. Doug drove like an old lady to the
hospital and I told him to step on it, that Christine told him to step
on it. I remember him telling me he had done calculations and it was
better for him to drive 70-75mph then go really fast and get pulled
over. Um, WTH? Anyway, we got to the ER at 3:07am (Doug did go the
wrong way down a one way street to get there faster, although mainly to
appease me) and that is where I saw Christine. I walked into the ER and
they asked if I wanted a wheel chair. There was no way I could sit, so
I told them I would walk. A contraction hit and I went to all fours
again. It was at this beautiful minute that Christine applied counter
pressure. Oh, the sweet relief.
I was consciously aware I was
on my hands and knees on the floor of a hospital but since Christine was
applying the counter pressure, I really could care less. I remember
that long walk to labor and delivery. I remember joking with
Christine. It was so surreal; so different from my first two births. I
remember telling her I wasn’t going to be very dilated that we still
have many hours until the baby would arrive. Christine told me there
was no way, that he was coming soon. We finally made it up to triage at
3:25am. This was new for me because with Abby I came from Dr Tate’s
office, so I got to skip that part. When we got called back, as we
approached the room Christine made a comment about our nurse. I
immediately knew it was Carole and I told Christine I would fire her.
Christine said it was ok, that she was just my triage nurse. Carole
wanted me to get hooked up and to get my heplock started. I was on my
hands and knees on the gurney as I couldn’t sit. I would work through
the contractions, with Christine (36 weeks pregnant) up there with me
applying counter pressure. Carole got a little testy and bitchy because
I wouldn’t sit still through my contractions. Yeah, lady. I am just
trying to be difficult. It was in triage I found out I was 7cm/90%/-1
station. I was floored. I kept telling Christine that I was going to
be way less than that. Doug and Nichole both arrived while I was in
triage. I am sure Christine was relieved to see Nichole so she could
get a break from the counter pressure.
I finally got into my room
and I think my mom showed up. It is funny because this birth I was so
connected with Christine and Nichole. I remember my mom and Doug being
there, but I was trying to focus on them and stay ahead of the
contractions. For Abby’s birth we took a Bradley course, so Doug was
trained to be my doula. Too bad Bradley didn’t teach counter pressure.
I
was managing fairly well, but I had it in my head that I had 15 hours
of labor left. At 4:30am I was checked and I was 9cm/100%/0 station. I
freaked out and asked for an epidural. Christine told me no.
Seriously, she did. (I wanted a natural birth and we are friends, so it
was ok, but I tell you, I would have taken it if it was there at that
moment). So, I asked Dr Tate for a PCB. He told me there wasn’t
anything there to inject it into, but would try. The plan for the PCB
is to get it, get relief and push the baby out. The PCB just takes the
contraction pains away. The problem with the PCB is that you have a
short window until it wears off. So, I got my relief and at 4:32am my
water broke. I finally got to 10 and had zero urge to push. Then I
just sat there alternating between trying to push and watching the
clock, knowing the pain would return. As fate would have it (I wanted a
natural birth) it wore off. It was at that point I started asking for
the epidural again. Dr Tate told me that I would have the baby before
it would get there. I then started looking for exit routes in the
room. Seriously. I just wanted out of there. I told the room that I
had two great kids, a girl and a boy and I didn’t need another. It is
such a sobering moment when you realize you have no choice but to push
the baby out and he is only coming out one way. It took some convincing
from Christine and Nichole that the baby was coming because I honestly
didn’t believe it. Christine then made the comment that Dr Tate was
moving around quickly getting everything ready, so believe it that the
baby was on the way. After trying hands and knees and nothing happening
I decided to try Dr Tate’s position which is to curl into a C, grabbing
both legs and then push. I did think to ask for a mirror because I
wanted to see the delivery. I remember asking them to clean it because
it was nasty dirty.
I honestly didn’t push for long, but it
still was amazing how much it hurt. I remembered getting the “ring of
fire” but in all my reading about it prior I thought it was a onetime
feeling. I have no idea why it didn’t occur to me that you felt the
ring of fire the entire time until the head was out. That was eye
opening. Also, during pushing I had a sciatic nerve pain that shot from
my right buttock down my thigh. I seriously do not know what hurt
worse, my vagina or that nerve pain. Christine and Nichole each had a
leg and Doug was putting counter pressure on my butt/hip. Doug was
pushing so hard that he kept moving the table to which Dr Tate kept
asking who was moving the table. I knew but couldn’t quite tell him at
that point. I wish I had thought to tell someone to take pictures,
because I didn’t get any “action” shots of this birth. I am so thankful
I could watch it in the mirror. I think I only pushed for around 10-15
minutes and he was born. I was able to get him straight to my chest.
It was magical. I vaguely remember birthing the placenta. However, I
do recall getting stitched up. Wow. My husband was critical during
that part as I clung onto him and Wyatt while Dr Tate stitched me up.
THAT hurt. I didn’t feel it with Abby because I had the epidural. I
can’t remember how long it took Dr Tate to stitch me, but I had a 2nd
degree tear. Recovery wise, a 2nd degree tear was nothing like a 3rd
degree; it was like a walk in the park in comparison.
Wyatt was
born at 5:56am, Saturday Nov 19, 2011. We had arrived at the hospital
around 3am. I can’t believe I had him in such a short time. Both of my
previous births took around 17-19 hours, start to finish. This birth
was about 9 hours start to finish. I will say this birth was not as
painful as Abby’s. It could be the size difference, Abby was 9lbs 4 oz
and Wyatt was 8 lbs 6oz or it could be the incredible counter pressure
from Christine and Nichole or it could be a combination of both. I do
know I felt like wonder woman that Saturday. I sent my husband home to
help my parents take care of our first two. He was a little hesitant to
leave, but I kept explaining how great I felt. I took that day to lay
in bed with Wyatt and just be. It was glorious. The nurses left me
alone. I guess being a third time mom has its perks.
We had
some bumps in the beginning. Wyatt had a posterior tongue tie and a
thick labial frenulum that we got clipped. So, at first nursing was
painful which was a first for me, but we got it fixed. Then around 2
weeks of age, Wyatt started crying and didn’t stop. I was told it was
colic, but my mommy instinct knew something wasn’t right. He started
reflux meds and improved a bit. It wasn’t until I removed dairy and soy
that we saw a big improvement although he was still having issues.
When he was 6 months old, I went on a total elimination diet to see if
we could make him a 100% happy baby. I realized he can’t have corn,
eggs, fish, etc. So, today, as I finish writing this, Wyatt turned 1
yesterday. We are still battling his reflux and are going to get a
scope to see if he has eosinophilic esophagitis. I can’t believe it has
been a year. I have been putting off writing his birth story as I am
not certain if we are having any more children and writing it seemed to
be an ending to that time in my life. Crazy, I know.
