Well, at about 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 1, 2009, Sydney Ann was getting ready to make her grand entrance exactly one week early. I had been having contractions for the past couple of months, but these ones were actually progressing and we knew from our appointment that morning with our midwife that I was already fully efaced and dilated 4 cm. We were planning to do a home water birth, so at this point we started to get things in place.
At about 5:45 p.m. the decision was made to break my water and really get the show on the road. Our midwife warned me that once my water broke, the contractions would get much stronger. I silently thought to myself, "Okay, whatever you say."...thinking they couldn't get much stronger than what they already were. Boy was I wrong. The first contraction that came after that brought me up out of my chair and made me burst into tears. Geez, stronger was right.
I made my way out to the living room where the pool was and got in. As I sat in water that was a little over 100 degrees in temperature and continued to have these contractions, a little thought kept creeping up in my head, "What the heck was I thinking not wanting drugs???" Once I actually started to push, no longer was that thought creeping anywhere, it was right in the forefront of my mind, "WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING???" I have never been in so much pain. The scary part was that I started to think I couldn't do it and the very next realization was that I didn't have a choice, I HAD to do it.
I recall asking at one point if she was even coming out. I felt like I was just pushing and pushing and nothing was happening. I don't remember much of what was said during this time, but I do recall the assistant saying, "Stephanie, it's like taking two steps forward and one step back each time you push." Uh, WHAT? Note to anyone out there who may be with a laboring woman at some point in your life...don't ever say that to a woman who is clearly in more pain than she even thought possible and in a situation where she needs to know that it will all be over with just 'one more push.' All I was looking for was a big fat lie. Really.
Anyway, about 45 minutes into this, I was told that Sydney was stuck and we couldn't get enough leverage in the pool so we had to move to the floor. So, not only could I feel this little person stuck, but now I have to actually stand up and move to the floor...owwwie. After more pushing, and some pulling on the midwife's end, and according to Brian a lot of lubrication...Sydney actually graced us with her presence at 7:13 p.m. All I kept hearing was how big she was. They put her on my chest and when I looked down I just saw a head full of thick blonde hair. Blonde hair?? That was a surprise! Anyway, they turned her over and that was the first time I caught a glimpse of her body and holy moly, she was huge! No wonder it hurt like hec pushing her out! 9 pounds 10 ounces...such a big girl!
By the time Sydney had her first feeding, and I had a shower, the living room was put back to normal and everyone was on their way. Brian and I were left with this baby and no clue of what to do with her! I would go on to tell you how that first night went, but I honestly don't remember!
Anyway, we couldn't have been happier with our decision to see a midwife this go around and to have a home birth. Everything worked out perfectly and was exactly what we wanted. The hot water was amazing in the sense that it really worked to soften things up and prevented me from tearing at all! What a shocker there...seeing as how big she was...and the fact that she was stuck! I also felt fantastic when it was all said and done; I was up showering by myself and walking around like nothing happened. I was sore for a very short period of time, but honestly that was it. I just think back to after we had Samuel and how long it took for my body to feel even half as good as it did this time (and he was less than 3 pounds!). I am positive it is because we didn't use any drugs for this birth. My body is just so sensitive to anything like that and to not have to come off anything this time was great.
I made my way out to the living room where the pool was and got in. As I sat in water that was a little over 100 degrees in temperature and continued to have these contractions, a little thought kept creeping up in my head, "What the heck was I thinking not wanting drugs???" Once I actually started to push, no longer was that thought creeping anywhere, it was right in the forefront of my mind, "WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING???" I have never been in so much pain. The scary part was that I started to think I couldn't do it and the very next realization was that I didn't have a choice, I HAD to do it.
I recall asking at one point if she was even coming out. I felt like I was just pushing and pushing and nothing was happening. I don't remember much of what was said during this time, but I do recall the assistant saying, "Stephanie, it's like taking two steps forward and one step back each time you push." Uh, WHAT? Note to anyone out there who may be with a laboring woman at some point in your life...don't ever say that to a woman who is clearly in more pain than she even thought possible and in a situation where she needs to know that it will all be over with just 'one more push.' All I was looking for was a big fat lie. Really.
Anyway, about 45 minutes into this, I was told that Sydney was stuck and we couldn't get enough leverage in the pool so we had to move to the floor. So, not only could I feel this little person stuck, but now I have to actually stand up and move to the floor...owwwie. After more pushing, and some pulling on the midwife's end, and according to Brian a lot of lubrication...Sydney actually graced us with her presence at 7:13 p.m. All I kept hearing was how big she was. They put her on my chest and when I looked down I just saw a head full of thick blonde hair. Blonde hair?? That was a surprise! Anyway, they turned her over and that was the first time I caught a glimpse of her body and holy moly, she was huge! No wonder it hurt like hec pushing her out! 9 pounds 10 ounces...such a big girl!
By the time Sydney had her first feeding, and I had a shower, the living room was put back to normal and everyone was on their way. Brian and I were left with this baby and no clue of what to do with her! I would go on to tell you how that first night went, but I honestly don't remember!
Anyway, we couldn't have been happier with our decision to see a midwife this go around and to have a home birth. Everything worked out perfectly and was exactly what we wanted. The hot water was amazing in the sense that it really worked to soften things up and prevented me from tearing at all! What a shocker there...seeing as how big she was...and the fact that she was stuck! I also felt fantastic when it was all said and done; I was up showering by myself and walking around like nothing happened. I was sore for a very short period of time, but honestly that was it. I just think back to after we had Samuel and how long it took for my body to feel even half as good as it did this time (and he was less than 3 pounds!). I am positive it is because we didn't use any drugs for this birth. My body is just so sensitive to anything like that and to not have to come off anything this time was great.
No comments:
Post a Comment