Shes perfect. Born March 31,2009 at 10:31 am. 7 lbs 3 oz., 20 inches long. It took 36 hours of labor for her to make her grand entrance. It was an amazing experience both physically and emotionally.
Starting on Friday I had a sense that things were changing. I just felt she might be coming. An instinct I guess. Saturday I cleaned my house and tied up all loose ends to prepare for her arrival. On Sunday I woke up with the need to go grocery shopping again. I stocked up and when I got home I was exhausted. The rest of the day I was tired, kinda moody, and a little crampy. I even told Ryan that day that things may start happening tonight.
Sure enough around 10 pm I started getting some stronger contractions. I noticed they were developing a pattern of regularity so I started timing them. About every 10 minutes. Of course I got all excited and couldn't sleep from that point on. So all night I was trying to relax and sleep, but with little success. At about 6 am contractiong were about 6-7 minutes apart so I called into work, as did Ryan. My mom and Anne also headed down. At about noon contractions were 5 minutes apart and getting stronger, so we decided to head to the birth center. Excited and anxious. I was 4 cm dialated and 90% effaced, not considered active labor I was told by my midwife. I needed to be 5 cm dilated to be in active labor. It was frustrating to be told I wasn't in labor, when it sure as hell felt like it. I was given the option to stay and see if things progressed or go home until contractions felt stronger. We stayed until about 6 pm when they did another exam and nothing had progressed I was told to go home and rest. Take a benadryl and warm bath with strict orders to get some sleep. I was so disappointed but followed this advice. After a couple of benadryls, glass of wine, and hot bath I got about 1 hour of sleep. The contractions got too strong to sleep even with the aid of benadryl and wine. I was feeling alot of the pressure in my low back and hips. Walking or standing seemed to move the pain out of that area. So I paced the floors for a couple hours while Ryan, Anne and Mom watched on. Around midnight we decided to head back up to the hospital. I was so nervous and stressed out. I feared they would tell me I was still a 4 and to go back home. My stress level was pretty high at that point due to lack of sleep, frustration, and pain of contractions. After more than 24 hours of contractions and 1 hour of sleep I was having a hard time focusing on my relaxation. When the nurse checked me and reported that I was at 6 cm I cried out of relief and joy. Yes, I could stay now! The first thing we did was fill up the whirlpool so I could really get into my relaxation and better handle my labor.
The whirlpool and elation of being at a 6 gave me the 10th wind that I needed. I sat in the tub for about 3 hours. The heat was able to let me relax all my muscles so that I could let my body work with the contractions and not against them. During contractions I was able to close my eyes and focus on relaxing. Between contractions I was chatting with Ryan and Mom. Even Dad came in for a little while to visit. Mary, my midwife came in aroudn 6 am. When she checked me I was only at a 7 so we decided to break my water to move things along better. I was getting so tired and delirious at times I just wanted to finish the journey and meet my baby.
I think the tired ness was affecting me the worst. It was getting increasingly difficult to focus and relax. I wanted so badly to lay down and rest between contractions, but everytime I would get a contraction I would bolt straight up to stand up and walk through it. I was also having a hard time relaxing my hips and butt through contractions. I think it was because of the back labor I was having. I was trying to protect myself from feeling any pain in that area by tensing up. It was probably just making everything slower though. My nurse was able to convince me to sit on an exercise ball at the end of the bed and rest my head on some pillows. I reluctantly agreed to try. It was at this point that my hypnobirthing practice saved me. I was able to relax and open up my hips while sitting on that ball and just breath calmly through each contraction. I was in my happy place I guess. It was like a magical spell was cast over me and I was even able to get a few minutes of sleep. I'm not sure how long I sat there. It's funny how the whole experience is kind of just one big time warp. I just knew I was getting increasing inpatient and wanted to be done.
The whole experience of pushing Kathryn out is somewhat hard to describe. It didn't seem like it took too long once I started. It felt like an out of body experience somewhat. I was kinda freaked out by the way it just took over my body, and I didn't know what to expect. It didn't hurt. It was just intense I guess. And it was the greatest feeling once she was finally out! Mary tried to convince me to feel her coming out, but I refused. I just wanted to focus on getting her out! Ryan helped recieve her which is pretty awesome though. Once she was up on me it was complete elation and joy! We waited a little while to deliver the placenta, which was easy and felt great too. We were able to bond and nurse right away. I don't think she left my chest until a couple hours after. We had to ask for her to be weighed and measured, that's how laid back they were.
The whole natural birth experience was perfect and exactly what I wanted. I know it would have been very difficult to achieve without all of my preparation and practice though. It is hard work, and hard work requires adequate preparation. But it was all worth it in the end. My nurses and midwife were amazing. The birth center was AMAZING! It was so laid back, comforting and nuturing. I trusted every nurse there and they helped me tremendously. I never felt pressured or stressed out. It really didn't feel like being in a hospital, other than I felt extremely safe. I highly recommend them to anyone even thinking about going natural.
Now we are home adjusting to life as a family. I'm overwhelmed as I try and process everything that has happened in the last few days and how much my life has changed. I'm trying to rest and learn all the things I can so that she will grow to be healthy and strong.
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