The Birth Story

I have had several friends ask why I haven't posted my birth story on the blog....and I don't know why I haven't. It could be that it's such a long story that finding the time to write it out wasn't something I had, or maybe I wasn't sure that anyone would want to read about it, or simply because it's taken me this long to process it all....whatever the reason, here it is for those of you that care to hear about it. I have spared you some details that nobody needs to know and that nobody wants to know:).....

On Monday November 2, 2009, I had my weekly OB appointment. I was almost 39 weeks pregnant and at that point 3 cm dilated and about 80% effaced. So I was making good progress and when I asked him, my doc said he estimated the baby to be around 7.2 pounds. I discussed with him what the plan of action was if I went past my due date, seeing as how she was a good size and we decided that if I hadn't had her by my next appointment (the following monday), and I had made even more significant progress towards labor (dilating more, totally effaced, etc) he would most likely break my water at that appointment and allow the process to begin. This was good news to me...I liked having an end in sight...I was uncomfortable and ready to meet my baby who was gaining about a half pound a week and getting bigger by the day. I proceeded to take the following Monday off work with the thought that would most likely begin my maternity leave.


Patrick and I spent the next few days commemorating our "lasts"...our last dinner out alone without having to find a sitter, our last Thursday night watching our favorite shows with only the dogs to tend to, those types of things that you enjoy when you're a couple...sans kids!:)


Friday at school was very busy with me making sure all things were ready for my sub and Patrick doing the same. Friday evening after dinner while we were cleaning up I began having a few contractions although they really were not painful, but did make me stop and take notice. I woke a few times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom (which at that stage of pregnancy is routine) and on my way back to bed each time, I noticed feeling very strange...not what I thought to be contractions, but just a noticeable difference in the way I felt.


By 8 am the following morning (Saturday, November 9) Patrick and I were having our coffee and I started having regular contractions about 20 minutes apart. They weren't painful but very uncomfortable. They grew closer together and more and more uncomfortable as the morning went on. I was in total denial that the baby was actually coming...that I was IN labor. I swore up and down that it was going to be at least as late as sunday before I was going to have her. Patrick had some things to get done and I insisted that he go and that I would call him. He made me promise to SIT with me feet up and rest, but I had different plans.


The minute he walked out the door I got started on my normal saturday routine of cleaning and catching up on laundry. I figured it was my last chance. I did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned the bathrooms and the hardwood floors. All the while the contractions moved to 15 minutes apart, then 10 minutes. Our dog, Molly, was with me every step of the way...following me from room to room finding a place to lay down close to me everywhere I went. It wasn't until I was bent over the dryer (in the middle hanging up khaki pants) with what I would call a painful contraction that I realized I needed my husband to come home. He got there rather quickly and insisted we leave immediately....I however was still not convinced. I didn't want to be walking the halls of the hospital and he didn't want to deliver our child at home!:)

Finally when my contractions were about 5 minutes apart, I no longer pushed aside my husbands plee to leave. We were in the car (where our bags and pillows had been since he got home) in a matter of seconds and were on our way. My contractions sped to 3 minutes apart while we were in the car.....I am convinced that is why they put those handles above the doors in vehicles! We made it to the hospital ER around 2:45 (where you have to go first when you're in labor) and from the lobby to the check in counter we stopped every 3 minutes for me to breathe through another contraction. In between we walked as fast as we could to patient check in. After that....things really went fast!!!...........

They immedialty wheeled me (hooray for wheel chairs) up to labor and delivery and straight into a room where I was in a gown and being checked in a matter of minutes. I was 7 cm! My Mom arrived soon after we did. My wonderful nurse (having a great nurse makes a huge difference if you have no epidural) asked me about pain management. I handed her my birth plan and told her I wanted to do it naturally...no drugs....if I could, but that if I asked for the epidural, I wanted it immediately! What I really wanted was the anesthesiologist to stand by my door with needle in hand, just in case!:) She was very supportive of this and suggested they put in a hep-block (i think this is what it's called). It's a port for the IV in case you decide you want drugs they can access this port, run IV fluids, etc. without having to stick you then...mid contraction. This was good b/c it allowed me to not have to be in the bed with an IV, but gave me the assurance that if I wanted the epidural, I could get it quick.

My water broke there at the hospital and I went into transition pretty quickly after that. What they tell you about transition phase in the birthing classes is true.....HOLY COW! I do believe I used several choice words and was a bit of a roller coaster for a period of time. At this point I decided I wanted the epidural....but I wanted to be checked first to see if I was close...I thought if I was nearly 10 cm, I might be able to do it. My nurse checked me and I was 8 cm. I told her to hold off on ordering the epidural for a few minutes.....I really wanted to do it myself, but was scared that my labor was going to go on for a long time and knew I couldn't take the pain for hours more. I made good use of the birthing ball and at some point my doctor came in to check me out. Well, I say my doctor, but he was in Las Vegas at a conference, but another doctor in the practice came.....he is great and I was glad to see him. The nurse checked me again soon after and announced that I was 10 cm and could start pushing at my next contraction! With my Husband on one side and my Mom on the other and my nurse busily doing "things" around me I pushed. This is not something that came naturally to me. It took me several contractions to figure out exactly how to do this and what push was productive and what wasn't. It was amazing to see her head crown in the mirror and I'm glad I asked for that, b/c it helped me remember what I was doing this for and to see that I was in fact making progress.

I ended up having to get some oxygen and they placed a small monitor on the top of the baby's head to monitor her heart rate more effectively.

I pushed for about 40 minutes, and suddenly my doctor was in my room gowning and gloving up. I saw nursery nurses in the corner of the room preparing things and it occurred to me that the baby must be coming much sooner than I thought. I pushed with my doctors assistance several more times and suddenly he looked me in the eyes and said "Ashley, stop pushing"....the baby's head was out and he was suctioning her little nose and mouth. Then he told me to give him one more little push and she was out, at 4:51 pm, she was there....on my now mostly deflated belly. She was just this perfect, swollen little miracle. Patrick cut her umbilical cord and I got to kiss her and touch her for a moment before they quickly whisked her off to the corner of the room to clean her up a bit with Patrick following quickly behind them with camera in hand. As my doctor finished up with me I asked questions across the room about her....checking to make sure she was in fact a girl, had all her fingers and toes and that she was breathing and doing ok. Before I knew it she was back in my arms all swaddled and clean...mostly. She was perfect! I just sat there holding her feeling relief that everything went ok and that she was here...in the flesh....a real, perfect, beautiful, healthy baby girl....whew! I have never felt such a huge sense of relief and just absolute speechlessness! She was here...I kept her safe inside me, successfully pushed her out of me, and we were both ok. We were better than ok, we were perfect. I held her, Patrick held her and then my mom held her. I've never seen people I love so happy or smiling so big. She nursed for the first time shortly after.

The whole process was amazing and life changing. I think having a child changes who you are...it changes you as a person. It couldn't have gone any more smoothly for me and I feel so blessed for that. We were released and went home on Monday morning....both happy and both healthy...what a blessing!