eileen_ca

Here’s our birth story. This story is longer than the actual labor and delivery itself!

My last OB appointment was on 4/21 where we discovered that I was now walking around at 4cm dilated. (Much to the dismay of my dear friend who

never progressed past 3 cm for either of her pg). Bear in mind that at this point, I still hadn’t had any contrax. My mom and I went to the mall to pick up a

few things and I laughed and said, "maybe I should have asked for my epidural, since they usually wait until 4 cm to do one!" Little did I know that would be

prophetic!

I woke up with a start at 12:10 am on 4/22 and wasn’t sure why. I had been waking up at that time for the past three nights, so I thought – more of the

same. I was really restless, so I got up and went to the couch and noticed that I was indeed having ctx. about 10-15 min apart. I called my OB around 1 am

(after 3 ctx) , he asked if the ctx were comfortable or uncomfortable but not about timing. I said "uncomfortable" and he said to go on in! So I wake DH, he

takes a shower, I wake my mom to tell her we’re going to the hospital.

The hospital is literally 5-7 minutes away and by the time we got to the hospital I had at least 3-4 ctx. OMG I only had 3 at 15 minutes apart and with the 4th

ctx they were almost on top of each other. Since it was after-hours, we had to walk to the maternity ward from the ER. I must have had to stop at least 2

times on the way to the ward. In the meantime, my DH is literally pushing me down the hall. I finally looked at him and said, "it feels like you’re pushing me"

and he said, "I am." I told him to stop in that "polite" transition voice you might remember! It’s probably close to 1:30 am by now. I don’t exactly remember

it was all a blur at that point.

Soooo, I get to my room and they start their usual routine, gown, cup, forms and monitor hook-up. It’s a great LDRP hospital – you never leave your room

unless you have a C-sect. I got undressed, couldn’t pee and let me tell you I don’t think my signature is considered "legal" when in the midst of the killer

double peak contrax the monitor was picking up! It sure didn’t look like my writing! I was already up to 7 cm on arrival. I asked about the epi but we

decided the drug dr. wouldn’t get there in time at the rate I was progressing. Katie’s BP dropped a bit during the initial monitoring and they asked me roll to

the left side. Hello! I immediately told the nurse I felt "pushy," the precursor in my mind to "I have no control, I must push." Sure enough, rolling over put me

from 7 to 10 cm, just like that. OK. So chaos ensues. My DH keeps telling me to "breathe" not which one, just "breathe." Not a problem, I think breathing

is a primary reflex, but thanks for the reminder LOL! (Mental note: DH not good under severe stress!) Thank goodness for the nurses who prompted me.

They’re jamming IV’s in me and moving equipment around and…. Hmmm, where’s the Dr.? Hmmm, I really want to push, Hmmm, these candle-blowing

breaths are making me lightheaded. I’ve never been so happy to see someone in my life than when my OB came in the room. He broke my water and in two

pushes, Katie was born!! 2:16 am – exactly 2 hours from the start of labor.

The anesthesiologist poked his head in 30 minutes after Katie was born –THANKS ANYWAY!!! I told my OB that for our next baby, I’m moving in with

him right before my due date! Seriously, how much faster can the next one come?!

With apgars at 9/10, Kathryn Frances (Katie) weighed 6.2 and 19 inches long with a nice average sized head. Since she was small and the labor fast, her

head almost looked like a C-section baby, almost perfectly round. It was the best day of our lives and I can’t wait to do it again!

Thanks for sticking with my long rambling note. It was fun to "re-live" the moment.

Eileen