The Big Day, November 5, 2008

On Tuesday I went to bed and couldn't believe I was still pregnant. That day, I went to the Chiropractor and he adjusted certain parts of my back that he said would put me in labor. At midnight, I was doubting him. I also had a friend that is a massage therapist and she said if I rubbed my ankles, that would stimulate labor. I wasn't in a huge hurry to have the baby, I just didn't want to be induced on Thursday. I went to bed and then woke up at 1:50 am with some contractions. For 10 minutes I was in and out of sleep until I decided to start timing them. I didn't want to call someone to come over and watch the kids, in the middle of the night if it wasn't for real. I waited 15 minutes and had 7 contractions so I woke up Ryan and we got ready. I started using my hypnobirthing techniques through the contractions and it kept me calm and relaxed. We got to the hospital at about 2:45. I was still dilated to 4.5 and they started to monitor me. This part was kind of annoying because I couldn't find "the right" position. They finally moved me to my room and my contractions continued to increase. When we got to the room I was at a 6. Then they got even more intense and I just needed to push. At this point, an epidural was very tempting. The anesthesiologist wasn't at the hospital and wouldn't be there for at least 20 minutes so they checked me to see if it would be worth it to call him. At that point, I was completely dilated, no wonder I wanted an epidural. The midwife wasn't there yet so I couldn't start pushing yet. It became more and more difficult to relax through the contractions because I was trying to avoid pushing while relaxing at the same time. And the nurses I had were so nice and supportive of me going unmediated but it was getting annoying that they kept telling me how good I was doing. I just wanted some quiet. When the midwife got there, my water hadn't broke yet. She was going to break my water and I asked, "okay, after you break my water, if I need to push, can I push?" and she gave me the okay. She broke my water and I couldn't help but just push as a release. Oh, and yell. oops. At that point, her head came out. And apparently they were telling me to slow down, but like I could hear them, I was too determined. Then I pushed again and it was such a relief when I felt her come out. She was born at 4:49 am. I didn't notice her too much when she was first born because my body was calming down. I couldn't believe I had just done that. She cried quite a bit and apparently because she came out too fast. The actual delivery is what caught me by surprise the most. I wasn't expecting that much pain. But I don't know how I could have prepared better for it. It would have been better if the midwife briefed me a little before she gave me the "okay" to push. Like told me not to push too fast, etc. Looking back, it wasn't bad and i"m glad i did it. But I'm not letting myself forget how I felt after she was born. I've had an epidural for my first 3 kids and after this one I told Ryan "that is not worth it, why would anyone do that when you can get an epidural?" So I have to remember those thoughts so I don't attempt it again if I ever get pregnant again. I also think the hypno birthing classes gave me the wrong idea what it would be like. They show videos of these woman in a deep relaxation and are feeling no pain. These woman must be rare! So before I went into labor, I was expecting to not feel the contractions so much and not be in much pain. ha! But it was SOO nice to be able to get right out of bed after she was born. I always hate that you have to wait a few hours with an epidural until you can get out of bed.
Knock on wood, but she has been a good little baby. Last night she slept for 6 hours straight! It is taking some getting used to, to have a newborn and to be recovering from child birth. I can't do as much as I used to. Especially after being pampered by nurses for 2 days. The kids love having her around and always want to hold her or change her wet diapers.
And I have to thank my mother-in-law, who came down early Wednesday morning and stayed until Friday evening! Your help was GREATLY appreciated!!!
The baby is still nameless. Now we are debating between Sara and Charlie. I've actually called her Abbey a few times. I hate the pressure of naming a new baby!