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.
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