My birth story

On Friday the 18th I went into the midwives’ office for an ultrasound and a non-stress test. I was 41 weeks that day. My amniotic fluid level was a little low, but other than that everything looked great. The midwife tried to check my cervix, but it was still too far back to reach. We talked about the various methods of induction in case any problems arose or I went past 42 weeks. I left the office very disappointed.

Later that day I inadvertently did a bunch of things that are said to bring on labor. We went for walk in the Kubota Gardens, my mom rubbed my feet, I ate spicy BBQ, and some other things too. My contractions started at about 11PM and were from the get go pretty intense and about 5 minutes apart. It wasn’t at all what I expected early labor to be like. In fact I thought I just had a very bad stomach ache. Because it was just at the start of the night I tried things to slow or stop the process. I tried a bath, I ate, I paced the house, and nothing seemed to be helping. My Dad was awake with a horrible tooth ache so at least my misery had some company.

Sometime around 2 or 3AM I called the midwife on duty to check in on situation. She told me it was likely I had a long way to go and recommended a warm shower and to stay in bed as long as possible. It was very difficult to sleep because the contractions were so close together, but I managed to get about 2 or 3 five minute segments of sleep before having to get up and move around. Around 7AM I decided that I needed some more support. I called my doula Jennifer, but told her not to come yet as I was still able to talk through my contractions and I woke up Stephen to help me cope a bit better.

Not long after I called the midwife again because I thought I might have been bleeding more than normal. My contractions were coming pretty close together, but weren’t very consistent so I feared I still had a long way to go. The midwife said I should just come in and get checked out just to be safe. We got a few last things together, I took a quick bath, and then Stephen, my dad, and I headed to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital at 10AM and met our midwife at triage. I was half expecting to be sent home after hearing similar stories from so many people. I could not believe when they told me I was 7 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced. They admitted me promptly and Stephen called my mom and Jennifer and told them to get there quick.

We got to the room and I immediately got in the jacuzzi tub. It helped a lot, but the contractions were moving from very intense to out of control painful and it took every fiber of my being (and Stephen and Jennifer) to remain relaxed. I hadn’t thought I would want my mom in the room for the birth, but it ended up that her added support was indispensable. After a couple of hours I started to have an uncontrollable urge to push. They checked my cervix again and after a few more contractions my water broke. I moved to the squat bar on the bed and started the ungodly painful process of trying to push the baby out.

Jennifer took pictures of the birth and the expression on my face is disturbing. After the longest thirty minutes of my life Peter was born. He came out with his fist to his head and my mom thought he had a huge head tumor. They put him right on my chest and we all thought he was the sweetest baby ever.

They left him on my chest and I started to nurse him while we finished the birthing process which included 45 minutes of painful stitching to repair tearing caused by Peter’s elbow. After that we had some visitors and then I got into the routine of nursing and Stephen got busy changing diapers and swaddling all night long. We were so happy with our amazing midwife, doula, nurses, and all the other hospital staff. It was an awesome experience and we are so happy to have our new little boy.

One of my funnier facial expressions: