I thought for sure that Nora would arrive two weeks before her due date. I was certain of it... At Thanksgiving I thought I would go into labor any day and was confident that I had progressed. I was SO wrong! I was not even dilated at that point.
Given my history with my first pregnancy and pre-term labor (dilation) I could not believe that the doctor told me at 35 weeks that NOTHING was happening... And again, at 37 weeks... nothing. I became nervous and anxious as I reached the full term date. I was concerned about Wilson's care and who would be with him if I went into labor and no family was here. Wilson's delivery was fast so I was also concerned that if I waited too long (until I was in pain) to call Chris I would end up delivering at the house. I feared that Chris would be stuck at the border and I would be pushing out a baby with my almost three year old son watching...
With out family near and feeling completely isolated the thought of labor made me a wreck. I was terrified that something would happen to me during delivery and that I would not make it. Seriously. I feared death and the thought of who would mother my children. I was a hormonal catastrophe... When I look back on my emotions and the experience, one thing that I believe contributed to the freak show I had become was the fear of the unknown. I forgot to have faith. I forgot that God has his hands around me and my family. I know I am not alone in my fear. No one really knows what to expect with labor. We just have to have faith in our bodies and our God.
With my first pregnancy I walked into the hospital (5 cm dilated and free of pain) at 39 weeks for a scheduled induction. I experienced no pattern contractions and began dilating at 32 weeks. When I reached 39 weeks the doctor was in shock that Wilson was still inside so with out hesitation she scheduled the induction. The induction made planning easier and made me relax. However, I did not want to be hooked up to machines and given drugs (pitocin/oxytocin) to deliver the second time around. I knew that my body progressed well on its own and I felt confident that if I let it do its job active labor would be easier.
My mom arrived on December 16th (nine days before my due date). Her arrival made me relax instantly. I was no longer concerned about what we would do with Wilson but I was still a little concerned about Chris working in Canada and our hospital being 35 minutes away.
On Friday, December 18th, I went to the doctor and had progressed to 3 cm. She stripped my membranes and said to come back on Tuesday if I had not delivered. The next 24 hours I experienced some contractions and spotting but nothing that made me think I would go into labor. Early morning on the 20th ( 1 am) I began to experience some contractions that felt like cramps. The cramps would come and go every 3-11 minutes and lasted through out the night. Nothing that was painful. Just cramps. I asked Chris to wait to go into work. We went on a walk around the neighborhood. Then everyone encouraged me to sleep. I tried but had no success. After breakfast my mom encouraged me to go to the hospital (okay, she flat out told me to go). I didn't want to go because I was not hurting but thought that a check might not be a bad idea...
We arrived at the hospital just after 11 am. We walked into the hospital laughing and joking. The nurse even commented that I was too calm and happy to be in labor. I was soon hooked up to a monitor and found out that my contraction were more regular than I thought. I was labeled, by the nurse, "silent but deadly laborer" because I was having contractions every 3-6 minutes and was not feeling them. Even though I was having regular contractions I had not progressed (still only 3cm) so the nurse encouraged me to walk around the wing for the next hour and if I dilated more she wanted to admit me. So Chris and I walked the halls. We even took turns doing jumping jacks and lunges. (It was not pretty. I am sure of that.)
One hour later, I had progressed to 4cm and was admitted into the last open delivery room in the hospital (apparently the night before was crazy. the labor and delivery was completely full and they had to refer women to another hospital 30 minutes south). After I was admitted into the room the doctor came in and asked if I wanted to be induced or wait things out. I chose the later.
Chris and I talked. We relaxed. He ate lunch. It was really wonderful. With his long hours at work we hadn't talked (I mean really talked) in weeks. We caught up and reconnected. I was in minimal pain. I walked around the room and decided to take a bath. At around 6 pm I started to become uncomfortable. I needed Chris to count for me during the contractions. Each one began to get harder and harder. Finally, at 6:45 pm I asked for some medicine. They checked me and found that I was 9 cm. The nurse gave me some pain medicine through my IV and the doctor came in to check on my progress and break my bag of water. It was 7 pm.
The doctor left the room. I immediately told them I wanted to push. They asked me to hold on. The doctor rushed back in and at 7:07 pm Eleanor Lynn was born...
My labor experience was wonderful. I was in control and my body did what it was supposed to do...
However, the delivery was so fast that my uterine contractions were terrible. TERRIBLE. They made labor and delivery feel like a paper cut. I was in so much pain that nursing and holding Nora was impossible. I asked Chris to give her some supplemental formula. She chugged the bottle down. The nurses and Chris bathed, weighed and dressed Nora while I was given warm blankets, water, and more pain medication. After about 45 minutes I was back in control of my body and calling family and friends to tell them our news.
We were transferred to another room and ordered pizza. Nora slept. Chris slept and then went home the next morning. I choose to stay in the hospital 2 nights to get some rest. My mom came to visit. Wilson had to stay home because the hospital would not let children visit due to the H1N1 scare.
The 20th of December 2009 was a day I will never forget. I thank God for this day and every day after...
2 comments:
Great story! And everything worked out so well:-)
I will say that the best part of having a planned c-section with Christopher was knowing my parents would be there to take care of Ashlyn. Of course, I had a back-up plan if he came early, too.
I wish that I had written Christopher's birth story. I thought about it, but just didn't. I think I will probably write down the story for both of the kids, just so they know, and I don't forget :)
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