Ze birth…

I figure I need to get this written down (read: typed) before I completely block it out.  It’s fading fast!  Photos to follow the birth story (with a couple thrown in the middle). Excuse all the grammar errors and the inconsistent way it’s written… I’m just trying to remember it all and am going to write as I remember without regard to writing style.

photo taken at hospital when we had our “false alarm”, which wasn’t really a “false alarm” since we knew it wasn’t the ‘real’ thing, but wanted to get checked to see where I was at… 36 weeks, 3 days pregnant

Tuesday, April 7th:

late morning: went to see the midwife for my 39 week appointment (was 39 weeks, 2 days).  She swept my membranes again, twice, and it was SO uncomfortable.  Went on with my day, thinking it wasn’t going to trigger labor since it didn’t work last week.

taken on April 7th… the day before Paige was born.  I was SO enormous!!!

3:30 – 5:45 pm: took a nap, not knowing I wouldn’t sleep again for a full 24 hours

late evening: was on the computer not sleeping – updated the blog, played on facebook.  Had some contractions, but the baby had cried wolf too many times so I just drank more water. 

Wednesday, April 8th:

4:30 am: decided to hit the hay. Was finally tired enough and Paige had finally settled down enough.  Andy was home to get up with Jacob, so I knew I’d get some sleep through the late morning. 

As soon as I got ready for bed and laid down, the contractions got a little stronger.  I figured, at first, it was because I had been moving around and was so tired.  They were coming closer, though, and I was having to get up on my hands and knees and rock back and forth to get comfortable through them.

Andy’s alarm went off, and I told him maybe he better not go to work just yet.  That was fine with him (he was thinking he had an excuse to sleep a little longer). 

Within a few minutes, it was apparent to Andy that he wasn’t getting more sleep.  He saw the look on my face and heard my deep breathing through the contractions and was up telling me “we need to go to the hospital!” I was like “Let me drink some water and go pee – maybe they’ll stop.” He was like “I think we need to go now.”  (note: he was NOT interested in delivering the baby himself).  I had another contraction that I couldn’t walk through on my way to go to the bathroom, and he was like “get ready to go.” I started to panic, saying “I’m not ready!” (lol!)

Andy woke up Brittany, got our things together, and got dressed while I got into the nearest pair of jogging pants and shoes (my outfit was REALLY attractive – Andy’s military t-shirt and one of his sweatshirts, with some non-matching too-short jogging pants… sexy! But at that point – I couldn’t have cared less… I was lucky to have been able to put the pants on because the contractions were coming stronger and closer together – FAST!). 

Brittany got in our bed where Jacob was already sleeping so that he wouldn’t freak out by us not being there, and had instructions to stay home with him while making sure the other three kids made it onto the bus.  I don’t think she ever went back to sleep with all the excitement.

5:30 am: I *think* we left the house close to 5:30 am.  I looked later, and I had Andy call Andrea at 5:40 am, which I know happened en route to the hospital.  I was sitting straight up in the car holding onto the handle on the ceiling the whole way to the hospital (which is normally about 40-ish minutes away in morning traffic).  The contractions were getting stronger and were HURTing.  Yikes.  I’m flinching just thinking of it.  lol.  So much for my plans to breathe and get in comfy positions and relax between contractions.  These contractions were too mind-blowing.  The louder I got (I find it comforting to make noise during pain?  So yeah – a bit of yelling through the contractions), the faster Andy drove.  He had his hazards on, weaving in and out of traffic.  He called labor & delivery and had them all rushing around anticipating our arrival.  We got to the Fort Lewis gate close to 6:00, the busiest time of morning on a military post, and they heard me yelling and rushed the cars out of the way so we could get through.  My contractions were still ‘bearable’, but the noise while blowing my breaths out helped me cope with the pain.  And I was not relaxing between them.  Every muscle in my body was flexed, I think… I couldn’t relax.  Oh well.

6:00 am (ish): We pulled up in front of the ER, and there was no way I could hike up to the 3rd floor at this point.  Andy ran in for a wheelchair, and L&D was there in the ER waiting on me to get there, so they came out to retrieve me.  The nurse kind of pulled outside my door and was like “get in” and I tried – I really did, but my body wasn’t moving very easily.  Andy pushed her out of the way and was like “here, let me help you” since she obviously wasn’t even offering me a HAND!  They wheeled me in while Andy parked the car.  The on-call midwife (one of the two I hadn’t met yet, of course [she turned out to be great, but at the time I was like "where is the midwife I love?! - she was in Hawaii!]) was waiting in the ER and asked me if we had time to go upstairs.  I think I nodded and waved my hand so she, I, and a few nurses (a couple of whom were holding medical supplies in anticipation of retrieving an infant from a car – just in case) raced up to L&D. 

A few minutes after 6:00 am: They wheeled me into triage, and I was about to tell them this wasn’t a drill, but another contraction started and when they saw my reaction, someone said “uh, I think we need to just bring her to a room?!” Between contractions (which were 1 or 2 minutes apart), I climbed onto the bed in the room they brought me to.  Someone told me to get out of my pants so they could check me.  My most comfortable position was on all fours so I could rock and take some of the pressure off  my back, so I climbed into the bed that way and just shoved my shoes and pants off – onto the floor behind me, I think. Classy! lol

The midwife (who was very nice and patient with me) said that after my current contraction she wanted me to roll over so she could check me.  At this point, rolling over seemed impossible to me, but I managed to get in a semi-convenient position for her.  She said I was at 6 cm.  Andy was in there by then (he got there just a minute after us – he ran from the parking lot after getting the car parked), and told her I go fast once I hit 6 cm.  Two contractions later, she checked me and I was at 7 cm.  I had already rolled back over twice to get on all fours and rock so I could breathe through contractions in the most comfortable position I had found.  The lady trying to get a needle in my arm (I opted against an IV so I wouldn’t be tied down, but they still have to put the heplock in there just in case they need to administer drugs fast – plus she had to take blood for the routine tests) was not having fun trying to get me to hold still enough, but she was a pro and managed to do what she needed to do.  And I possibly had a few harsh words for her while she was doing it.  I don’t really remember.  But I have a vague recollection of her ignoring me.

Speaking of words – um, apparently I said a few things that aren’t normally in my day to day vocabulary.  Well, when you are experiencing pain like that, you really can’t be held responsible for what words fly out of your mouth!  lol.  Andy was only a little embarrassed.  ha!  After the baby was born, and I was coherent, we had a conversation about how I never cuss, and a nurse and the midwife both said they said things while in labor they don’t normally say too. 

The midwife was trying to get me to lie back again so she could break my water.  She said my amniotic sac was bulging, but it was thick so wasn’t breaking on it’s own.  She was like “let me break your water so we can have a baby!” I was like “I can’t roll over!” She was like “It’ll just take a minute, then you can roll back over.”  (between contractions I was able to converse – by this point, though, during the contractions I couldn’t speak at all – I couldn’t even hear what other people were saying, so when they were instructing me to do anything I had no clue… the pain was pushing me into a state of shock, and actually had been since the end of the car trip.  And I don’t know if you’ve ever tried t0 converse with someone who is in shock?  But it doesn’t generally work very well.  I was completely non-responsive.) 

6:20 am: After a couple of contractions, I rolled over.  I was at 8 cm and she broke my water.  I had a contraction while she was still ‘in there’, and I’m pretty sure the expletives were flying and I was telling her to get OUT!  Eh, what can ya do?

Oh man – the next 8 minutes were rough!  Paige was bearing down and I did NOT want to push.  I was like “I can’t do this!” and Andy was like “Yes you can – you’re doing great.”  During one contraction, I’m pretty sure he said something like “Petra, you need to relax and breathe.” and I was like “YOU RELAX AND BREATHE!!!”  I was one of ‘those’ women this time.  lol!  Seriously, I have never cussed or yelled or been mean during labor/delivery before.  This was a first.  Paige decided she was coming strong and fast – and wow – the pain was crazy.  I guess when I prayed that she would come quick, I forgot to pray for it to be PAIN-FREE! ha!! 

6:26 am: When I got to the hospital, one of the nurses had put a band around my belly to monitor the baby’s heartbeat.  During the contraction where the top of Paige’s head started to show, I ripped it off and threw it going “GET THIS OFF ME!!!” Andy was like, “I think they need that,” and the midwife was just calm and said “it’s okay.”  ha.  After that, the nurse just held the monitor up to my belly to hear the baby. 

6:26 – 6:28 am: So when they finally managed to get me into a position where I could push and they could get to the baby (finally ended up sitting at a 45 degree angle against the bed holding my legs – getting me to hold my legs was difficult at best, but I think they finally forced me and that really helped me be able to push).  I was telling my body to push, and I knew I NEEDED to push, but there was a problem!  Before Paige’s head came all the way down, my cervix (which has been sitting low throughout the pregnancy – something about being my 11th pregnancy and my uterus wearing out) was coming out ahead of the baby.  Not good.  So the midwife had to reach in and hold my cervix out of the way in order for the baby to be able to get past it.  I was NOT happy about this transaction and let her know.  That was the worst pain of it all – her holding my cervix out of the way while Paige came down the birth canal.  Yikes.  That was totally brutal.  So… I *finally* was able to push (the contraction before, as I was telling my body to push and it wasn’t listening, the midwife said “you are sucking the baby in, not pushing her out!” lol!!), and Paige’s head, the top of it, made an appearance.  We were hoping for her to be out in a couple more pushes – ya know, push the head out, let the midwife ease the shoulders around and push the body out.  Well, the next contraction, Paige decided enough was enough.  She came FLYING out all at once, head, shoulders, body – everything.  Amniotic fluid went flying everywhere (my eyes were closed as my face was scrunched up because I was concentrating on pushing a giant baby out of me… okay, she wasn’t *giant*, but she FELT like it!).  Andy said he wouldn’t be surprised if some hit the ceiling – it was like something out of an Alien movie, seriously.  Fluid flew all over one of the nurses, all over her shirt, neck and side of her face… Andy said she was an old pro and just went “eh, I needed a shower anyway.”  ha!  So as soon as she came out and the midwife literally had to CATCH her, she placed Paige on my belly and she didn’t even cry.  She was just looking around like “hey guys, how’s it going?” calm as can be.  I got to touch her and hold her hand while the placenta was delivered (which was no big deal after Paige made her fast and furious entrance).  They took her over to the other side of the room to weigh her, clean her, etcetera (her apgars were 8 and 9 – she missed points on “color” but was perfect on all other points). 

6:30 am: The aftermath.  Apparently, when Paige BURST into the world spraying everyone in her path with goop and goo, she decided that my 5 kids and no stitches record needed to be broken.  Dang it.  I tore.  The midwife wanted to sew me up, so I said okay.  Then I saw what was in her hand – a giant needle.  I was like “um… what are you doing with THAT?!” She said she needed to numb me.  I was like “well, I don’t want to be poked with the needle.” She was like “well, that’s how I have to numb you.” So I said “well, then I don’t want stitches.  Do I *really* need them?”  She was like, “it’ll just sting for a minute, then I can sew you up numb. I can leave it if you want, but it would be better if I stitched you up.”  I hemmed and hawed staring at the giant needle (I don’t like being stuck with needles, okay?), and she was going “I need you to tell me what you want me to do – I’m not going to start until you say it’s okay.”  I finally was like “do you *really* think I need them?” and she was like “yes!” so I was like “okay, fine, then just do it.” And I complained the whole time she was numbing me and sewing me.  lol.  Well, not the whole time… they brought Paige to me to distract me (probably getting annoyed with me going “yeah, I can feel that – you said I wouldn’t be able to feel it…”  and when she said “see? that wasn’t as bad as you thought, was it?” after numbing me with the medicine filled needle and I was like “YES! It WAS!”  ha!). 

But then I had a beautiful new baby in my arms, and it was all worth every second.  Although, I did not remember the labor/delivery – just fragments of it – until two or three days later.  When it all came flooding back to me.  Yikes. 

So, Kendra, with your “I really never felt any pain” natural childbirth story – I got your “I feel no pain”!!!!!!  It was the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced, and I think that it would have been easier to have the pitocin in a controlled inducement, even without pain medication – even though pitocin makes the contractions come on fast and strong.  Because my contractions came on fast and strong anyway – and the mad dash to the hospital and rushing around and not really having time to think through what my “plan” was (“plan” – haha!!) just made it worse.  I’m not planning on having more children, but *IF* God decides differently, then I’m thinking they can just knock me out and cut me open next time.  Because I never want to do that again.  Just saying. 

And now, without further ado – photos…

Keep in mind, everything was a crazy fast rush up through her birth, so there are no photos until they had already wiped her off and Andy grabbed the camera and went to the side of the room she was on.

She was kind of swollen when she was born.  She ended up losing 10 ounces in her first 48 hours.

Just looking around checking things out…

Getting weighed for the first time – 7 pounds, 2.8 ounces.  They said she was 20″ long, but when I later read the papers they printed out, it said she was 19.7″. 

Next post – Paige’s first two days.  (Then: Easter, Olympic peninsula trip, and Paige’s 12 day photo shoot)