Anyone interested in my birth story?

[Bernadine]

I liked reading them once I was pg, and I want to type it all out before I forget.

So, June 19, at 40w 4d, I begged h to have sex around 8pm.  Afterwards, I sat with the breast pump for an hour, switching sides every 15 minutes.  Started having contractions around 9pm.  Tried to go to bed around 11, but when I laid down, the contractions got really painful, mostly in my back.  I got up and sat on the sofa, and around midnight I asked h to come out and sit with me and rub my back during contractions.  They were coming every minute and a half to three minutes, but only lasting 30-40 seconds.  But like I said, painful enough that I couldn't lay down and sleep through them.  At 1am, I posted here, lol, and by 1:30, I called the on-call midwife.  I explained that they were coming frequently, but not lasting a full minute.  She said it was up to me if I wanted to be checked.  H and I decided to head to the hospital.

Get there at 2am- I'm only 2 cm dilated.  I was really hoping to be about 4 cm by the time I got to the hospital.  The midwife said again it was our decision- that she thought I was in active labor, but I could go home for a while if I wanted to.  We decided just to stay, since we were already there and had everything with us.

At 5am, the nurse asked if I wanted some pain medicine.  YES.  Lol.  It did help me relax some between the contractions, but I was definitely still feeling them.

At 9am, the midwife comes in to check me, and I'm 5-6 cm dilated.  Yay!  At this point, they ask if I want an epidural.  I had totally planned to go without.  But, I was exhausted.  I knew I had at least a few hours to go still, on no sleep, and I decided to get the epi.  Honestly, I'm so glad I did.  I thought I'd be disappointed in myself if I gave in, but I'm not, at all.  I know I made the right decision.  The midwife was kind of encouraging me to wait, telling me a warm shower would help, but the nurse grabbed the anesthesiologist and got me the epi right away.  When the midwife left, the nurse was like, yeah, the shower wasn't going to help that much.  She said that she could see in my eyes that I was ready for the epi, lol.

So, epi goes well, I'm much more comfortable and resting and....the contractions start slowing down and spacing apart.  OMG.  The midwife checks me again at 3pm, and I'm still only 5-6 cm dilated.  So they started pitocin.  The contractions pick back up and at some point, I lost track of time, the epi started to wear off.  Another anesthesiologist comes in to top off the epi, and I'm feeling better again.  

Around 8:30 pm, I start to feel like I could push.  Midwife comes in to check, and dd isn't quite in the right position.  So she has me labor down for an hour, with a peanut between my legs, rolling between left and right sides every 15 minutes.  This was probably the worst part of labor, trying not to push.  I was also shivering really badly, with my legs straddling this huge peanut thing.

FINALLY, at 9:45, I start pushing.  Honestly, the pushing was easy.  H was SO great- totally encouraging, and he just kept looking like he was so amazed at what I was doing.  I'll never forget it.

I pushed for an hour, and dd was born at 10:43pm on June 20.  Holding her in my arms was everything I dreamed it would be.

[iamali]

I seriously thought this is what you were talking about.



Sent from my Fortress of Snatchiness

Attachments:

[Bernadine]

Jul 4, 2016 18:56:33 GMT -5 iamali said:

I seriously thought this is what you were talking about.



Sent from my Fortress of Snatchiness

It was huge. Like, an inflatable exercise ball, but peanut shaped. Terrible.

[underwaterrhymes]

I love reading birth stories. ❤️ Thank you for posting it.

ETA - epidurals are awesome. Everyone here knows I named K after the anesthesiologist.

[ErinExpat]

You did great. Thanks for sharing!

How's YOUR peanut doing?

ETA: That sounds weird. I meant baby R! Lol

[tiptoetulips]

I love birth stories! Congrats and thanks for sharing!

[Bernadine]

Jul 4, 2016 19:09:12 GMT -5 ErinExpat said:

You did great. Thanks for sharing!

How's YOUR peanut doing?

ETA: That sounds weird. I meant baby R! Lol

She's good! I'm a little nervous for tonight, because she slept a lot today, lol. But she's giving us some pretty good stretches of sleep overall.

[Monica Geller]

Love birth stories!! Epis are amazing! I'm in awe of women who can do it without...b/c seriously, That shit is not easy!! And I agree, laboring down and trying not to push when your body really wants to is Hard!!! So happy for you!!

[bcv513]

Awesome! I used the peanut too. I wish I had written out my birth story while it was still fresh

[snipsnsnails]

You're awesome!!!

And, fwiw, I've birthed with an epi and without and epi allllll the way for me.

[Bernadine]

Jul 4, 2016 19:42:09 GMT -5 snipsnsnails said:

You're awesome!!!

And, fwiw, I've birthed with an epi and without and epi allllll the way for me.

That's what the nurse said. She was like, there's no prize for going without, lol.

[snipsnsnails]

Jul 4, 2016 19:43:19 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

Jul 4, 2016 19:42:09 GMT -5 snipsnsnails said:

You're awesome!!!

And, fwiw, I've birthed with an epi and without and epi allllll the way for me.

That's what the nurse said. She was like, there's no prize for going without, lol.

LOL, tis true. I cursed out my OB and you know me, I've never cursed at anyone!! I said I would tell any friend that was thinking of going natural to NOT do it!

So happy for you all! I hope she's sleeping and eating well for you!

[Aquatica]

I love birth stories, congratulations!

[noodle]

Thanks so much for sharing!

[slcjess]

Yay! I knew i was getting an epi but stupidly wanted to see how long I could go without. The answer is apparently 3 hours into pitocin hell. I was sitting on the edge of the bed sobbing and clutching a pillow when the nurse came in so she pushed me some fentynol while the anesthesiologist walked down and that led to me giggling while I was cathed. lol

[sapphireblue]

I love to read these birth stories too.

Congratulations on your daughter!

[meganew]

I love birth stories!

And OMG I'm sorry you had to labor down. I did with both mine and you're totally right, it's the worst part. It hurts SO MUCH.

But aren't babies cute?? Lol.

[carrotsmakemefat]

That baby's nickname is peanut now isn't it? Don't lie...

I'm always amazed when I read birth stories so thanks for sharing. I hope you and baby are doing well!

[melodramatic26]

I loved all of this. Great job!!

[DotAndBuzz]

Congratulations!

[cjcouple]

Thanks for sharing. Great job

[melissa]

I love reading birth stories. I wish I had written mine down at the time.

[nikki25]

I love birth stories! Congrats!

Question- what is a peanut? Like a ball to help move her? I never heard of it.

[Bernadine]

Jul 5, 2016 10:40:58 GMT -5 nikki25 said:

I love birth stories! Congrats!

Question- what is a peanut? Like a ball to help move her? I never heard of it.

It's like an inflatable exercise ball, but peanut shaped. Idk exactly what it's supposed to do, but it worked, lol.

[Raggedeannie]

Thanks for sharing your story! You did great! I totally teared up at the part at the end about your H being amazed - it really is amazing that our bodies can do this!