A Labor Story

My due date came and went. I felt as though I would never go into labor.

Sunday morning came, and I was a little emotional. I was four days overdue. Our friends had expecting me to go into labor for at least a couple of weeks. Talking to one of my community group members, the stress began to show. As I voiced my frustration, I couldn't help but get choked up. She gave me a hug.

We went home, and Ava and I took naps. Ava woke early from hers, so I pulled her into bed with me for cuddles. As we lay there, I started to feel some light contractions. I had been having contractions for weeks, but they had been only a vague feeling of crampiness. These I could time, identify a peak. They were about 7 or 8 minutes apart, so I waited and snuggled, afraid to hope too much. After about an hour, I called Daniel from my cell phone and whispered for him to come upstairs. I let him know what was going on, and he diagnosed me as "putsy, putsy." After a little bit of complaining that I didn't go into labor in the morning as he requested, Daniel climbed into bed and snuggled with the two of us until Ava woke up.

"Putsy Putsy"

When she did, Daniel, his mom and I took Ava on a walk to see the ducks in our neighborhood. We stopped every few minutes to relax through a contractions. Ava, of course, wanted me to carry her.

By the time we got back from our walk, the contractions were consistently three to four minutes apart, lasting almost a minute. I was in active labor.

After an hour or so, Daniel and I decided to call the midwife to let her know what was happening. After talking for a few minutes, we decided to give it a little more time, maybe go for another walk, and see how things were progressing. Daniel and I got Ava ready for bed, read her a story and put her to sleep. I was thankful to be able to do this. I think it made the whole process easier on us both. It kept things as normal as possible--she didn't have to see us leave and I didn't worry so much about her.

When I got back downstairs, I saw that I had missed a call from my midwife. When I got back in touch with her, she said that after reconsidering, she thought that perhaps we should go ahead and head toward the hospital. I was Group B Strep positive, which meant that I would need two doses of antibiotics four hours apart through an IV. I told her Daniel and I would most likely take another short walk then head that direction.

We pulled out of our driveway about 9:45 p.m. As we made the 40 minute drive to the hospital, my contractions slowed a bit. Daniel still felt the occasion warranted a little bit of speeding. I think he was hoping for a police escort. No such luck.

When we arrived at the hospital, I was wheeled upstairs to Labor and Delivery. They took me into Triage to monitor my contractions and check my progress. My midwife, Juliette, informed me that I was dilated to 7 cm and was 100% effaced, Meanwhile, the nurse on duty tried twice to start my IV, but couldn't. She decided to let another nurse try when I got to the birthing room.

After my initial monitoring, I was taken to the alternative birthing room. The room itself was amazing--it had a queen size bed, a large rocking chair, microwave, refrigerator, full bathroom, and a birthing tub. I changed out of the hospital gown and into my own clothes (which was really so nice) and lay down on the bed as another nurse tried to start my IV. She hit a valve (still no idea what that means) and called another nurse to help her. After digging around for a while, they decided that vein was a lost cause. The other nurse was finally able to start the IV. Fourth time's a charm.

My midwife was eager to get me up and walking around, because my contractions had slowed during the trip to the hospital and the admitting process. Daniel and I walked up and down the hall of the labor and delivery floor for a while, pausing to breathe through contractions. Daniel was so good at comforting me, encouraging me, and helping me relax. If he was the least bit stressed out, it didn't show. His strength got me through.

I spent the next three or four hours trying different things. We mostly kept moving, which kept labor moving and kept us awake. About 3, my midwife told me that we would start the IV again in another hour, at which point she would check my progress and most likely break my water. Daniel and I stretched out on the bed for the next hour or so, trying to get some rest before the last push. I was able to sleep in between contractions (Daniel informed me that I was even snoring). About 4 a.m. they started my IV. When she checked me, I was at 9 cm, so she went ahead and broke my bag of waters. Not long after that, I went into transition, with overlapping, painful contractions. I climbed in the shower--the water running on my back helped to soothe some of the pain. Just as I was feeling unsure of how long I could endure this stage, I began to feel the urge to push. I asked the midwife if I could try to get in the tub. She had the nurse fill it for me.

The birthing tub wasn't magic for me, but it did soothe the pain. Daniel and Juliette were there next to me, encouraging me to keep pushing. It wasn't long before Daniel informed me he could see our little boy's head. I could hear the excitement in his voice: "You're almost there! Keep pushing! You can do it!" I was in disbelief--I had only really been pushing for 15 or 20 minutes. It was at least 2 hours before Ava was visible. I kept on pushing--not the most comfortable part of labor for sure. A couple more contractions, and he came out. At 5:36 a.m., after 14 hours of labor, Timmy was born. They immediately put him on my chest and let me cuddle him while they suctioned out his mouth and Daniel cut the cord.

Both of us were in tears. Our son had arrived.

Timmy.

Daddy bringing him to me

Me and my baby boy
Wiped out.