Today the theme for MamaM's Mother's Day Mania is "Birth Stories." I have three kids & thus three birth stories. Rather than choose one, I'll try to give a short version for my two older children...you can click HERE to read Acacia's birth story.Eden's Birth:
Five years ago I was awaiting the arrival of my first little girl. My contractions started after midnight in the wee hours on a Monday morning. When we got up I was convinced that this was gonna be the day but knowing it would still be awhile I sent Russ off to work thinking I'd call him in a few hours. He got to work the full day. I was still having contractions but nothing serious...Russ let in a Kirby salesman and we bought a vacuum amidst the pain! Finally, at about 3am on Tuesday morning we drove to the birth center. I was checked (3cm, 100% effaced) & was told to walk the halls a bit while they determined whether or not to admit me. I threw up, was admitted & then threw up again! I labored for several hours with minimal progress, they gave me some pain meds---I felt the effects almost immediately & not in a good way. They took me outside of myself...I had a hard time focusing, I started giggling a lot but wondering inside my head what I was giggling for (couldn't control it!) I ended up falling asleep for about an hour. When I woke again, the nurses told me that my labor had slowed down and that they were going to give me some Pitocin to speed it up again. When my doctor checked me I was still only at a 4 so my doctor broke my water to help speed the process up. That is when the contractions started to become unbearable! I asked for an epidural. When the anesthesiologist hooked me up I told the nurse that that man was my hero! The relief was unexplainable.
It wasn't long and I was at a ten and the doctor asked me to try pushing. I wasn't really working so she told me to lay on my side for an hour and then she'd come back & we'd try again. She told me she'd be back at 1:30. By 1:15 I really felt like pushing. Russ went to find the nurse but she was on her lunch break! When she did get back at nearly 1:30, I asked her if I was gonna get to push soon. Her response was, "Dr R will be back shortly." That response really ticked me off. When she left the room for a minute, I told Russ that regardless her answer should have been “Yes.” Even if I don’t get to push for twenty more minutes she should say “yes you’ll get to push soon.” Her response wasn’t even an answer to my question! Finally my doctor arrived, just a few minutes after 1:30. I immediately got into position and began pushing again. It became clear that there wasn’t going to be quite enough room for the baby to get out so she cut me open a bit more. Russ said that that was the worst part for him: watching her snip me open. They decided also for several reasons to use the vacuum to assist the delivery and speed it up a bit. The umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck so as soon as she was out far enough, the doctor cut the cord and got her out. Obviously the pushing stage was a very short one, the second time around because Dr. R got there a little after 1:30 and Eden was born at 1:40pm. After that last big push and I could feel her come out, I just started bawling. I was exhausted and overwhelmed. I remember feeling the warm weight of my baby girl on my stomach in those first moments but I barely saw her through my tears or thought much about what was going on. I was just lost in my physical and emotional drainage. Those are the moments when the connection between the physical and the spiritual is obvious...what a miracle!
Jasmine's Birth:
While Eden took all day getting here (she is the family molasses!) once Jasmine made up her mind she was here. I had a Monday morning appointment with my midwife...I was at 4 cm. That night at about 10 I started having twinges. By midnight I began to think that maybe this was really labor but I wasn't sure. I called the hospital and they were going to have my midwife call me. I waited for awhile--no call. I decided that this was probably the real thing and so I called my parents to drive up (a 1-1/2 hr drive) to stay with Eden. They were on their way...still no call. By the time they got to my house at 3:15ish I was in pretty serious labor. Russ drove me to the hospital (which was only a couple blocks away!) Since it was after hours we had to enter through the emergency room door & walk across the entire building to get to the birth center. I was offered a wheel chair but didn't take it...wanting to walk instead. Dude..that was a mistake. I had to stop every minute for a contraction. When we made it to the birth center I found out that I had given the nurse that I called the wrong phone number (leave it to me to forget my own phone number while in labor!) They hurriedly prepared me for labor. I asked about an epidural and they told me it was too late...At hearing this (remembering the HOURS of labor with Eden) I started having a panic attack & began crying that I couldn't do it! The nurses were super nice & reassuring. They told me that I was ready to push & that I just needed to wait a couple minutes for my midwife to arrive.
As soon as she was in the room, I was pushing before I had a chance to understand that I was really in that stage of labor. I remember Russ telling me that he could see the head and I thought to myself, how quickly this was all happening. I was in a lot of pain and reacted in a way I hadn’t expected from myself…by crying & screaming. They kept trying to get me to calm down and focus on breathing. I kept saying…”I can’t do this” & “It hurts.” A few minutes later, at 3:59 am…it was over and baby Jasmine was born. I didn’t get to hold her right away like I had Eden
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