The Post In Which I Share My First Birth Story

Am I the only one who loves reading other moms birth stories? I love comparing, ooohing, gasping in shock, and cooing over pictures of the newborn. Oh and thinking, Wow, she looks as worn out as I did after or Oh my word, how does she look so good after just having had a baby?. lol

Well, I didnt blog my first birth story because I didnt have a blog when Emma was born. I only discovered the joys of blogging and reading mom blogs after. And since I have all this on my mind anyway knowing that its going to happen again (at least some of it), I may as well share it with you. 🙂

The Story

(Its a birth story, but not too graphic I dont think itll gross you out. lol)

Emma was kind of a miracle baby. I had had one ovary removed and found out that I had endometriosis, and it was eight months before I got pregnant with her. I was so happy to be pregnant, and wanted to know at the first possible moment whether we were having a boy or a girl. And I was delighted to discover I was having a girl! I had a healthy pregnancy with only one scare in which Im pretty sure the ultrasound tech, who was newly out of college, mismeasured Emmas head. I just remember her having some difficulty with the measurements and later I got a call from my doctor saying there might be something wrong and I needed to go get a 3D/4D ultrasound.

Tears, fear, and all this was a big God-trusting moment in my life for me. We went to the appointment, got our ultrasound, and all was normal. Now I dont know if there had been something wrong and my baby was healed (which I completely believe could have happened) or if it really was a mismeasurement I was just relieved Emma was fine.

And it was cool that I got a 3D ultrasound picture out of it. 🙂

After that, everything went normally. My due date came and went, much to my consternation. What do they give you a due DATE for, anyway? I thought that meant something was supposed to happen that day. But it didnt. And it was a totally miserable ten days after that I spent waiting for Emma to be ready to come. I felt like she was going to fall out but nothing was happening. It just hurt.

I hadnt wanted to induce, but finally, since my doctor was an hour away anyway (we moved in the last trimester due to my husbands getting a new job) and I didnt think I could wait any longer, I scheduled the induction. And guess what? I went into labor the night before I was scheduled to be induced. Awesome!

What happened was I was getting ready for bed and suddenly felt my water break. Its weird, its like a pop inside and pressure is relieved. They say its like a balloon filled with water popping and that is how it feels. Somehow I managed to make it to the toilet and let it all leak there (gross, I know I cant help it!). I immediately started having contractions. The real kind the kind that you cant walk, talk, or breathe through. I dont remember how far apart they were, but I was scared to death I wouldnt make it to the hospital an hour away. I told my husband to get back up and take me to the hospital by that time you know I was completely ready to go with everything by the door so getting ready and leaving was a cinch.

I made it the hour-long drive to the hospital without freaking out too much. I think once I sat down and started breathing deeply the contractions eased up a bit. When checking in, I remember being SO annoyed at the guy at the desk because it took him forever to get me checked in and here I am obviously in pain I had to wait for them to find someone who could check me in and just wanted to get somewhere where I could have the baby in peace.

Finally I made it up to the birthing center and was given a bed. It was about midnight and I was already tired, but feeling too wound up to sleep. And the contractions were getting more intense. I was scared, didnt know what to expect, and nervous. And man, I had had all of these plans packed in my hospital bag was a ball to sit on while I was having contractions, I had focal points and even I Love Lucy DVDs. I had planned on sitting in their jacuzzi which I was disappointed to find was just a really deep tub. Now I just felt tired and was hurting and wanted to get out of pain. I accepted some pain medication through an IV but that did pretty much nothing. So when they offered me the epidural, I took it. It helped that my husband wanted me to take it, too lol. He doesnt like seeing me in pain.

I dont remember the epidural hurting at all, though Im sure it did. I was already in pain so a little more didnt phase me. My husband, however, almost passed out watching. Thats the only time he did, though. He was a trooper through the rest of it.

What followed was hours of bliss. I watched the contractions on the monitor, pain-free, and felt strangely happy and giddy. The nurses kept coming in and saying I should sleep but I couldnt. I forgot to mention that my best friend had come, too. She stayed with me all night and was there for the birth, too. Shes amazing if it hadnt been for her I wouldnt have the amazing pictures of Emma that I do. Anyway, I chatted with her for hours.

My labor lasted a long time. I didnt actually give birth to Emma until 2:30 in the afternoon, and I didnt sleep at all that whole time. I was so exhausted. In the morning, my doctor came and checked on me and found that my water hadnt broken all the way. So he broke it, and we waited. Unfortunately I remember nothing of how dilated I was at what time. I should have written this stuff down. I wasnt progressing fast enough apparently, and because my water hadnt broken all the way they needed to give me Pitocin, so I unhappily accepted.

And that is when the real pain started. My epidural was wearing off and I was practically writhing, the pain in my back hurt so much. The anesthesiologist came back in to give me another dose. Unfortunately it didnt really work this second time (Note to self: Wait awhile before getting an epidural next time) so at this point it was just a wait and suffer time. I could feel everything in my back (back labor is so not fun) and strangely enough I was just as frustrated by the pain in my rib from Emmas kicking me I think it was bruised and she was kicking at it while we were in labor.

I want to say here that I hate Pitocin. I was fine before he gave me that ugh! Although I think they really did need to speed things along because of my water breaking only partly. So it did help us, but I still hate it. I hope I dont need it with this second birth.

The rest of the story is just a blur of pain I remember my in-laws coming in and leaving immediately when they saw I was hardly able to take visitors. I will tell you that my husband was amazing as a birthing coach and Im so glad to know hell be there again. He reminded me to breathe when I didnt realize I wasnt (as annoying as that was), gave me ice chips, and basically was everything I needed. I dont know how anyone can give birth without having someone extra there to help. I also had awesome nurses that I loved and helped me so much. Finally Emma was born (such a surreal experience all that pain and then its OVER!). And I could breathe again. They did take her away immediately to clean her nose and mouth out, then gave her to me.

Having a baby is really a miracle. I personally saw the wonder of my Creator in that whole experience, its so amazing! And now I have this perfect (well, to me) little person in my life it just puts me in awe. 🙂

Wow, I finally did it finally shared my birth story! Did I leave anything important out?