I woke up around 6:30 am feeling fairly rested compared to nights past. No one else was up, so I went to the bathroom and felt the need to pull myself together (I.e. oil pull, brush teeth, hair, wash face, etc.)
I had been having contractions on/off for a week now with bloody show and overactive bowels so I had added deep squats to my morning routine to try and entice him down. I put in an extra effort that morning. This pregnancy hurt and I could tell babe was bigger than I had hoped.
Everyday I told him I can't wait to meet him. That morning everything felt different. LO1 woke up and I brought him out to the family room recliner for his morning milkies. Cosmo (the dog) came to join us and snuggle between my legs right next to LO1. I made sure to give extra love and attention to both as I had this feeling that moment may not last.
Sure enough, as LO1 switched sides, I felt a pop low in my uterus, and whoosh! There goes my water. I yelled to Hubs who was sleeping in (lucky guy! It was 8 am) to hurry and bring me towels.
As he raced to the linen closet, LO1 climbed down and followed. He brought me his box of Jake bandaids for Mommy's boo-boo and dumped out the box on the floor in front of me.
I called the Dr's office and waited for a call back, called my aunt to come stay with LO1 since she's closest, changed the sheets on our bed so Hubs's mom could sleep comfortably as she would be staying with him, and made sure I had enough towels between my legs as this gushing kept flowing!
Slight contractions started around 9:15 shortly after my aunt arrived. Everything seemed to work out perfectly (except for our poor recliner!). 20 minutes to the hospital in the pouring rain.
Checked into labor and delivery at 9:50 am. They brought me to my requested tub room. I was checked (5cm), baby monitored, iv set up, then took off for the halls.
The first lap, I had one easy contraction. The next was two. The next the two I had lasted a minute two minutes apart. They needed to start the antibiotics for GBS+, so we headed back to the room and I climbed in bed.
I refused to labor in bed with LO1 as the contractions were so bad in bed. What I didn't realize back then is that's a good thing. This time, I sat up in a position to press hard on my cervix. I was able to push myself up with the bed rails to make it through each one (these guns are aching today!)
Once they let me out of bed at 6.5 cm I realized my dream of laboring in the tub would stunt this progress so Hubs and I took to the halls again.
Another hour, another 2 cm.
That last half hour was absolutely horrific. I was standing next to the bed choking Hubs with my right arm and pushing on the bed layered with pillows with my left. Contractions came every two minutes still lasting a minute. Every time one that came, I started doing calf raises to try to ignore the pain...ha..ha.... in between the nurse suggested to sway my hips to get him to shimmy on down.
By the time I felt like pushing the doctor had been ready with his boots on, I must have been pretty loud. Hubs had been fanning me as I was getting super hot and remembering my breathing, not just sounds, was getting difficult. That felt amazing.
I got in bed and while the idea of stirrups and laboring on my back freaked me out (I refused both ideas with LO1 - then I was an acrobat), I figured I'd give it a go.
Even though I didn't have an epidural the first time, I didn't figure out how to push then either. LO1 Came out after 45 minutes. After the past 3 weeks of fully emptying my bowels several times a day, I finally understand what it meant to push a baby out (poop him out!!). No I did not poop on the table, but those 10 minutes of pushing that baby out felt like an eternity! Ring of fire lasted that entire 10 minutes. Dr offered to snip and I said no way, so instead he stretched the skin around the baby. Holy hell!!!
This kid is built like a linebacker with very broad shoulders. His head was nothing. Waiting for the next contraction to push was horrific. Hearing that little cry (1:14 pm) and feeling his goobery body plopped on my chest really did make me forget the previous 10 minutes especially as the doc was tugging for the placenta then shooting me with lidocaine for stitches (2nd degree tearing and nothing compared to the first).
Baby refused to feed in the beginning, so I passed him on for vital checks and got my stitches and cleaned up. Apparently that table was super clean and the nurses joked I should teach a class on natural child birth – which at the time, all I could do was chuckle because I was so sore and exhausted I thought they were just blowing smoke up my you know what.
Baby finally nursed for about 20 minutes on each side, then I got the nurses to move us early to our Mother Baby room as I was starving! After eating, I was up hobbling around and felt absolutely amazing. Thighs were extremely sore (apparently a good sign in labor that baby's head is engaged with your cervix) still but I just lost 20 lbs and felt like I was walking on water.
Today is a different story as I'm feeling drained and very sore all over. Uterus is larger the second time so contractions to shrink it are harder to deal with, and the mommy diapers are oh-so glamorous, you know.
Last time was the best I could have hoped for (10 hours natural 7 of that in the hospital). This time is the best I could have hoped for (5 hours natural 3 1/2 of that in the hospital). Next time, I hope to not have the baby in the car on the way to the hospital.
I'm so happy I was able to do it naturally. My mindset was where it needed to be. I kept telling myself that my body is made for this and I kept envisioning my mom. The past few weeks really wore me down and made me question myself and what I wanted. Adrenaline + visualization. It's not a perfect combination that works every time, but it worked for me this time, and it makes me believe in myself more for next time....but I seriously recommend the stool softener they offer...
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