The Birth Story

**Advanced warning - This story is not terribly graphic, but I do tell the truth about the labor and delivery process.**

On Thursday night (February 4) our usual crew was over to watch Jersey Shore. We ordered take out and I got cheese tortellini, salad, and bread. Nothing too crazy, though I did put red pepper flakes in my pasta for a spicy kick (couldn't hurt right?) As the night progressed, I started feeling "funny" which is the best way I can describe it. My belly felt different and I jokingly said to everyone, "You guys, I'm totally in labor right now." We laughed, and continued to watch Snookie embarrass herself down the shore. Good times...

The next morning I got up to get ready for my last day of work. As I went to stand from bed, a noticed a stream of fluid run down my legs. I immediately thought, "Either my water just broke, or I peed myself." I also shared this with John. :)  I went to the bathroom to clean up, but nothing much else happened. I had read that if you lay down again the fluid will pool and you'd notice a larger gush. I went back to bed for about 30 minutes. When I got up again, they was more fluid, but nothing like the movies show. I wanted that puddle on the floor! Either way, I knew something was up, so I called my principal and told her I wouldn't be in. I went downstairs and sent a few more work emails, including one to my poor sub who'd be getting an earlier start in the classroom. When I stood up from the computer to use the bathroom again, I got my movie gush! My pants were soaked and I knew this was it. I was officially in labor.

The funny thing about all the preparations I had done is that none of it involved this particular situation. So few people have their water break before contractions that I didn't ever envision this. After I called the doctor and he confirmed that he thought my water had broken we decided I would hang out at home and wait for contractions to start. They did around 10 AM, but were very mild. I felt "crampy." This continued for several hours with increasing intensity, but nothing major. I checked in with the doctor every few hours as well. I got my first "holy crap that hurts" contraction in the late afternoon. The next few were similar, and by dinner time, I was in tears. I held off as long as I could, and we eventually decided to head to the hospital around 7:30 PM. I was hoping and praying that the contractions had done their job and I'd be pretty far along in the process. So you can imagine my disappointment when I got my first internal and the nurse said I was three centimeters dilated and the baby was at -3 station. Oh no! My immediate thought was to go back home, but I was told that since my membranes had been ruptured since 6:30 that morning, they would need to start me on antibiotics to ward off infection for both me and Charlie. And here we have medical intervention #1, which I know was totally necessary for Charlie's well-being. Unfortunately, it also meant I was tied to an IV for the remainder of labor. I continued to experience those I-think-I'm-gonna-die contractions for about four more hours. A little after midnight, I got checked again. I was only 4-5 centimeters and he was still at -2. Yikes!! At this point, I was crying through every contraction and I was trying not to think of the e-word, but I wasn't sure what I was going to do for the next eight hours (which was how long they estimated it would be before I started pushing). I also hadn't slept since waking up at 6:30 and couldn't fathom pushing after another eight hours of these contractions with no rest. John was trying to convince me to do what was best for me, and was worried about me. Ultimately, I decided I needed help. There was no way I was going to have the strength and energy to deliver if I didn't rest. So at 12:30 AM, I asked for the epidural. I was ultimately comfortable with the decision, since I knew it would help me rest and gather strength for the delivery. Medical intervention #2 was completed by the anesthesiologist, who shall also be named "Favorite-Doctor-Ever!" :)  Watching the contractions on the monitor peak, but not being able to feel them was so nice. I slept until 3:40 when the nurse came in. I still wasn't progressing well - Charlie just did not want to move down! So next came medical intervention #3 - Pitocin. At this point, my dreams of a med-free birth were long gone, and I just wanted to deliver our baby safely. He was doing well and his heart rate was good, so I wanted that to continue. They started Pitocin a little before four and my contractions became much more regular. They were coming about every minute and were very strong (based on what I could see on the monitor). I slept a little bit more and when I was next checked (about an hour later) I was 8-9 centimeters and baby was lower. Yay - almost there! John called our parents, who had gone home around 11 the night before. I couldn't believe we would be meeting our son soon. Unfortunately, I also started to feel contractions again. I debated even saying anything, since we were so close, but it was pretty hard to hide the fact that I was feeling them again. They were indescribable now, probably because of the Pitocin. Favorite-Doctor-Ever came back in and gave me a bolus, which was great because it took the edge off, but I still felt the pressure in my bottom to push. A little after seven, my OB came in and we did a few "practice pushes." They were fun. :) I still could not believe we were at this stage. Dr. G continued to work with me and we got ready for the real thing. (As I type this, I'm starting to tear up, which is probably a combination of these crazy hormones and getting ready to relive the most amazing moment of my life.)

For the next hour, the nurse and my OB helped me push. JA was right there at my side and was incredible. He was so worried about not being able to handle the delivery, but he was outstanding. Best labor coach ever! I pushed for a little over an hour. I don't remember how many pushes we needed, but I do remember they came in sets of three. Every so often the nurse would throw a fourth one in there and I would think, "I may be in labor lady, but I can still count!" Pushing was hard work. In fact, my arms were sore the next day from pulling my legs back. My legs had remained in tip-top shape with all my walking workouts, but I kind of forgot to work out my arms. As we continued pushing, there were a lot of mentions of Charlie's big head. JA and I both sport significantly-sized noggins, so this was not surprising to me. :) Medical intervention #4 - the episiotomy. Dr. G asked if he could make a few little cuts since I was starting to tear and not in an effective way. Sure thing Doc - you do what you gotta do! I felt the cuts, but they weren't too bad. I continued to push, and was totally exhausted. I remember saying, "I can't do this anymore!" but everyone assured me that I was doing it. My eyes were closed during each push and I suddenly heard Dr. G say "Open your eyes! He's here!" And there in front of me was the most amazing sight ever. I will never be able to describe the feeling so I'm not going to even try. If you are a mom, then you know. If you aren't yet, but will be some day, I hope you experience the same overwhelming joy. They placed him on my chest and we bonded instantly. He was perfect!

I delivered the placenta very easily after a few minutes. I don't remember having to really push... kind of felt it just slide right out. Dr. G used a few stitches to put me back together while JA went over with Charlie to get weighed and toweled off a bit. He was back quickly and we bonded again, this time as a family of three. I felt like my life was complete. We hung out in the labor and delivery room for a couple of hours. The grandparents came in and got to meet their grandson. They held him and fell in love. We were all pretty blissed out. After a little while, they had to leave until visiting hours started at noon. John and I headed over to the recovery room around 11ish with Charlie. He stopped in the nursery to get his bath and a few tests while the mom nurse tended to me. She showed me how to clean up with the peri-bottle (love this thing!) and introduced me to these very interesting looking white pantyhose underwear. Thankfully, my bleeding has been pretty minimal, so I am wearing regular old cotton undergarments and only one normal sized pad. I fell asleep for a little bit and then Charlie came back. We started trying to nurse and we were somewhat successful I think. I have a hard time remembering these moments... I think I was out of it from the whole experience. Over the next day, we did have some trouble latching and there were about five different nurses who gave me all sorts of different advice. On Monday, I finally met the lactation consultant, who worked some sort of voodoo magic and he latched in a second - literally! I offered her lots of money to come home with me, which she said happens all the time. :)  I am happy to report that we are getting better and better at each feeding and he is becoming a nursing pro.

So that's our story... I could continue to write for a long, long time about everything that's happened since we got home, but someone is going to need to eat soon and I have to be ready! Until next time... thanks for reading!