It was Monday afternoon and I was headed to my 40 week appointment. It was the day I had been anticipating for months.. my due date! My doctor (Dr. Garner) happened to be out of the office so I saw one of his partners (Dr. Jameson). He checked me and let me know that I was about 80% effaced and 1cm dilated. Not exactly what I was hoping for. It was looking like I was going to go over my EDD. I headed home and went about my day as normal.
That evening around 10pm I was laying in our bed next to Blake when I felt a couple contractions. I noticed they weren't as mild as the braxton hicks I had been frequently having. Before I could even time them or realize I was in labor I felt a gush. I slowly got up and waddled to the tile in the dining room and boom. My water broke everywhere. Jayde was at his desk and so he also got to witness it breaking. I immediately called my mom to come over and Blake went home with my dad. My fluid was not clear. It had a brown tint to it, so we headed to the hospital beings it was a 45 min drive. My contractions were 4 minutes apart on the drive there. I remember needing complete silence so that I could concentrate through each one.
By the time we arrived at the hospital it was close to midnight. The nurse explained that it was good that I came right due to there being meconium in my water. Basically, little miss Claire pooed in my belly. She said that it was common for full term babies to do so, and they would just monitor me. When we got into triage my contractions remained 4 minutes apart. The nurse checked me and I was still at 1cm 80% effaced. Baby was low and at 0 station. I then suddenly began to feel nauseous. It really just came out of nowhere. The nurse gave me some Zofran and in no time I was feeling better.. minus the contractions.
We made it into labor and delivery where I spent most of my time bouncing on the birthing ball and walking around the room. I absolutely could not lay down during contractions. Laying down or sitting made them 10x worse for me. They stayed intense and at 3-4 min apart for which seemed like an eternity. I remember finding myself in all these weird positions. Anything to try and ease the pain. I imagined I was a log floating in the ocean and my contractions were the waves.
It was now a new day and I had been up all night fighting the contractions that remained intense and at 3-4 minutes apart. There was no possible way for me to get any sleep. I couldn't bare to even get in the bed. The contractions also became so intense that I could not get through them alone. Either Jayde or my mom had to hold my hand, rub my back, etc. to get me through them. The nurses assured me I was making progress, but oh how slow it went. Beings my water had broken it was important that I not labor too long. My nurse gave me a little bit of pitocin to speed things along. That's when I really started to lose myself in the contractions. No matter how hard I tried to relax I just couldn't take the pain. I started saying "help me", "I can't do this", you name it. All the books I had read to prepare myself basically went out the window. I was not prepared for that amount of pain. Those books were bull$hit. I was 15 hours into labor and I was exhausted. My dream of a vbac was slowly fading away. I thought that I may never progress to a 10. My mom kept reassuring me that I was going to pull through. I cried at the thought of another cesarean. I had fought too hard to have things end that way again. I did not want to be cut.
My birth plan was to not have an epidural. Partly, because I feared any medical intervention that might stall my birth and result in surgery. And let me tell you, I fought hard, but it did not happen. I was up all night, labored slow, and my contractions remained intense from the start. I was desperate for a break. I wanted that epidural. I then yelled "Jayde, you get out there and get me that epidural, NOW!". Yep. That happened. I was that girl yelling for an epidural. It didn't take long for the anesthesiologist to make his way into my room. He was my savior. I had never been so happy to see a complete stranger. He got the needle in so fast and efficient. As soon as it started working, I felt like a completely different person. I was relaxed, finally. I could even still move my legs which was a plus. I couldn't believe what relief it gave me. I was shocked. My unbearable (felt like I was dying) contractions turned into what just felt like pressure. I could finally take a snooze and rest.
After getting some much needed rest I was still pretty discouraged that my body was progressing. It was hard to believe that I could lay there so calmy and my labor be moving along. I was in utter disbelief when the nurse checked me and said I was at a 9.5. I began to cry (happy tears) as my dream of a vbac seemed to be in my reach. That moment I had been dreaming of was that much closer to me. I couldn't believe it.
About an hour later my midwife came in and checked me and I was ready to push. My doctor entered the room and cheerfully asked me if I was ready. I was ready to meet our baby girl!
Claire Kathryn was born January 27th at 6:09 pm. She weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce and was 19 inches long. She stole our hearts as soon as she made her way into the world. My vbac dream became a dream come true.
No comments:
Post a Comment