Sunday, January 6, 2013

The Worst Weekend. And the Best Christmas.

What follows here is a *hopefully* non-graphic labor story. I am a nurse, however, and as my idea of non-graphic may be different than yours, I'm including the short version at the beginning for the squeamish. For those that just came for the pictures, scroll down to the bottom.

The Short Version

On natural childbirth:

OW!

On baby Mary:

Perfect.

The Long Version

It all started Friday night (the 21st). Contractions started coming on shortly after I went to bed, every 10-15 minutes. Then they stopped. And I slept for an hour and a half or so. Then they started again, and by 3 AM were getting closer and more intense, around 7 minutes apart. I knew not to call until they'd been 5 minutes apart for about an hour, so I decided to wait to wake up Isaac until they were a little closer together.

By 4 they were petering out again, and by 6 when Isaac randomly woke up and asked how I was doing, they were back to 10-15 minutes apart. But I told him I'd been having contractions all night and suddenly he was WIDE awake. This was Saturday, our 6th anniversary, and the baby's official due date. "We're going to have a baby today!" We told each other. We opened anniversary presents. We timed contractions. 7 minutes. 15 minutes. 20 minutes. 12 minutes. We watched Ratatouille with my mom. 10 minutes. 30 minutes. 15 minutes. We went to the mall to walk around and distract me a little. No change.

By afternoon I was frustrated and called the OB office and found, to my dismay, that the midwives I knew and loved were short-staffed and a doctor I didn't know at all was on-call. "Is this your first child?" Yes. "Call me back when your contractions are 5 minutes apart," was his incredibly helpful response. 

We went out to dinner for our anniversary (with my mom--why not? It was hardly a romantic anniversary). We went to bed. And the contractions still came every 10-15 minutes. I didn't sleep Saturday night. I woke Isaac up around 2:30 because the contractions were starting to hurt enough that I needed him to coach me through them and help me time them. 8 minutes. 6 minutes. 12 minutes. Grrrrr. 

Sunday morning I had a meltdown. I'd had very little sleep, and the contractions just didn't change, and I didn't want to talk to Mr. Grumpy-pants doctor again. Isaac called for me (I was a basket-case anyway) and--hallelujah!--a midwife I knew was on call. "Oh, you guys must be exhausted!" She had us come to the hospital to get checked. Bless her. 

At the hospital I was dilated to a 4 (I'd been a 3 at my last appointment) and given the choice of having my water broken or going home with a shot guaranteed to knock me out for awhile and hopefully reset my uterus--so the contractions would either stop or progress into active labor. 

I chose the shot (Phenergan and Demerol, in case you're wondering). All I really wanted was sleep. I went home and slept for 5 hours. It was delicious. 

When I woke up, the contractions were--you guessed it--about 10 minutes apart. 

I didn't sleep Sunday night. Isaac slept very little.

Monday morning (Christmas Eve) I was back in the hospital begging to have my water broken.

I got admitted (now dilated to a 5) and the midwife stripped my membranes. We walked around, hoping to kickstart labor. The contractions started coming a little closer together. The midwife gave me the choice of breaking my water or starting Pitocin. Since I wanted to go natural, she warned that breaking my water would hurt a little more--loss of cushioning and all that--but Pitocin would make the contractions a little stronger and closer together. Neither choice sounded very pleasant, but I went with breaking my water. I reasoned it would have to break eventually anyway. 

I was at 6 cm by the time she broke my water, and things started picking up after that. The rest of the day--about 7 hours until delivery--is kind of a blur. I'd prepared for natural childbirth with the Bradley method, which is all about having the husband coach you through relaxation techniques to cope with the pain and allow the body to do its thing. This worked really well until about 7 cm, and then it was a slow decline after that. Honestly, I don't think there's anything you can do to make transition (the final, most painful stage of labor) better--I relaxed, I deep breathed, and sometimes I got on my hands and knees to help me progress, but any movement hurt. Additionally, I went into all this with very few reserves--I'd been eating little and barely slept over the past 3 nights. Isaac did what he could, and the nurse and my midwife were awesome as well, but all anyone could do really was remind me to stay in control when I'd start to lose it. 

Towards the end, the baby was super low (I carried her really low all through the end of my pregnancy--part of the reason why I never got super huge) and I started feeling like I needed to push when I was only 8 cm. You have to get to 10 cm before you can push. I wanted to die. I thought the baby would never, ever come. The hardest part was very close to 10 cm, when my body started trying to push almost involuntarily. At that point it's hard not to push, and hurts a lot if you can't. The midwife was helping bring my cervix around the baby's head so I could start pushing, and that combined with the contractions was the most difficult, painful part of it all. I had moments of control and moments where I'd break down, saying I couldn't do it. 

Childbirth is not glamorous.

At last I got to push, and pushed for maybe 30 minutes. One advantage to going natural is that the pushing stage goes much more quickly and efficiently. They offered me the mirror, and offered to let me touch the baby's head when she was almost out. I didn't really want any of it. I couldn't handle a single other thing at that moment. 

And then, suddenly there was a crying baby on my chest. Isaac's first words were, "She's perfect." She really was. I'd spent a long time trying to prepare him for how babies look when they are first born--puffy, purple, covered with blood and white cheesy stuff, cone-headed, etc. She was none of that somehow. She had this adorable head of hair and was pink and absolutely beautiful. They let me hold her there on my chest for a long time, while I got stitched and cleaned up, and I just kept thanking the midwife and my nurse and Isaac profusely for their help. And the relief was profound and complete. I wasn't in pain anymore, and here was this beautiful, perfect baby in my arms.

I once heard someone say that "delivery" is a very apt term for childbirth. It is a delivery from the discomforts of pregnancy. It is a delivery from the overwhelming pain of labor. And it is a special delivery from heaven you could say (with 9 1/2 month shipping) as a precious new spirit meets her parents. 

It was a tender mercy that Mary came when she did, before my mom had to go back to AZ. Not only did she get to meet her grandma, but grandma also saved us all by cleaning the apartment, going grocery shopping, and cooking meals when we got back from the hospital. Thanks, Mom!

Thus ended one of the most miserable weekends of my life, and thus began the strangest and yet the best Christmas of my life, spent in the hospital with my new family of 3. (And my awesome mom.)  

In triage, waiting to get admitted

My "total relaxation" pose. I spent the majority of labor like this.

Our first family picture


Best Christmas present ever.
The adorable hat was compliments of a hospital volunteer.
Chilling with Grandma
Our beautiful Mary, just before we left the hospital

21 comments:

  1. Camber, you are amazing! I loved reading this (And you reminded me I never posted my story of Sarah's birth 4 months ago, whoops!). What a Mary Christmas present! :) She is beautiful and you and Isaac are champions.

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  2. Thanks for sharing your story. I'm so glad that Mary made it here safely. The relief right after the baby arrives really is almost a euphoria, huh? It's amazing. Love you guys!

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  3. Yay! I've been dying for the story! After my unplanned natural birth with Porter, I can say that I know how you feel with the natural birth thing. OUCH! Way to go Camber! You're a champion. And Mary is a lucky, lucky girl to have you and Isaac as her parents.

    p.s. I liked the short version. Haha.

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  4. Wow, you are awesome! Congratulations, you did it. Doesn't it feel unbelievable when it is finally over? and there is such a cute miracle at the end of all the pain. We are so happy for you guys!

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  5. Do you hate in movies when their water breaks out of the blue and then they go to the hospital and have the baby? That NEVER happens! I guess movies aren't real, but still... Sounds like an awful weekend, I'm glad it ended well. She's so beautiful. Cole was truly hideous when he came out, it was quite a shock :) But he turned out pretty cute. Also, you've convinced me to never do natural childbirth! I hope you're catching up on all your missed sleep.

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  6. What an amazing story. I just ate it all up....the long version! And it was a good reminder for me of what childbirth is like since I'll be doing it again in 8 weeks or so! Oh man...it hurts so bad....but is so incredible when you get your baby! Congratulations to you mama, for doing it!! And Mary is so beautiful, I'm so happy for you and Isaac!!

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  7. So adorable Camber. You are brave!

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  8. Yay! I've been looking forward to reading this. I am so glad precious little Mary is here! You are a super mama for going natural, eeesh. I hope your blog will soon be plastered with updates on you and your babe - cant wait!

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  9. Congratulations you guys! wow camber you are a super trooper i dont know if i could have been in labor for three days! I can't wait to meet her!

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  10. :Oh my gosh! First, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Second, I may just adopt. :)

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  11. She is beautiful! Congratulations! I love the full story :) You are Hard Core!

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  12. Yay!! She is a little angel and looks just perfect--- and a huge congrats to you both. So many great times to look forward to.

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  13. Glad she finally came safe and sound. And I agree, there really is nothing to make transition easier or better...except maybe groaning or yelling. :) She is beautiful. Congrats on becoming a family of three!

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  14. Hannah was perfect too (the real perfect -- no cone head, weird/funny looking child, etc). She was perfect!

    Props on natural birth. Enjoy your new little one and congrats. :)

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  16. Camber, you are a rock star!! Congratulations!! Your baby is absolutely gorgeous!!

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  17. Congratulations! I love her. You made me cry. I can't explain how happy I am for the two of you! Congratulations doesn't seem adequate but it's the best I've got. What a perfect Christmas present!

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  18. Congratulations! We are so happy that Mary is here! What a special day! We sure love and miss you!

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  19. Amazing birth story! You rock, Camber! And I'm sure Isaac rocked the labor coach position too. I know I would have gotten my epidural HOURS earlier if it hadn't been for Dave's support.

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  20. Camber you're a CHAMP! Little Mary was just so comfy in your belly she just didn't want to come out! I think that says a lot about you and your health. That's what I like to think because your birth story sounds an awful lot like someone else I know. Oh wait. It's me. Mary is beautiful and I'm so happy she's finally here! You guys are parents! woot woot!

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  21. Yay Camber! I'm so sorry I've been slacker reading your blog and didn't even know you were expecting! I remember my first birth with Jeffrey--labor all night for four nights before it turned into something real. That's awful. It is such a relief to have the baby! And you ROCK for going natural! Mary is absolutely beautiful!

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