The Labor Story

See the fun pictures below. Here is the labor story (lengthy) as told by the mommy for those who want to know what was taking so long. :) Maybe Daddy will post his version later as Mommy's perspective may have been distorted.

I woke up at 2:15 am Sunday morning with light contractions. After about an hour, and contractions 8-10 minutes apart, I rolled over and told Nathan and then called Kelly. At about 3:15am, I couldn't sleep and so I got up and did some dishes, cut some watermelon (to eat during the transition phase of labor), and did a final round of tidying up.

Kelly came at about 4am and tried to get me to rest. I was chatty and excited and wanted to tell her anything and everything I was thinking (classic phase 1 labor emotions). Contractions were about 6 minute apart lasting 30-45 seconds and were relatively easy. I didn't need any help getting through them. I ate some leftover chicken from the night before, some toast and watermelon to try to store up energy for laboring in case I got queasy later.

Contractions got progressively stronger throughout the morning. I mostly labored sitting on an exercise ball and with my head resting on a pillow on the top of our desk. Kelly coached me through the contractions and rubbed my back, shoulders, etc... to get me through. Nathan got up at 7am and began helping Kelly and giving me hugs. Nathan's parents came at 9am to help out also.

By noon, I was getting ready to go to the birth center. My contractions were 3-5 minutes apart lasting a minute and had been that way for an hour. I was beginning to struggle a bit and relied heavily on Kelly and Nathan to get me through each contractions. I heard myself making jokes in between contractions, probably as a coping mechanism and to help keep a good attitude.

We left for the midwifery at 1:30pm (almost 12 hours after the start of labor). During the 25 minute car ride I realized why people have home births. :) When we arrived at the midwifery, I began to stall. It was so hot outside and since it was a Sunday, there was no A/C on inside yet. The midwife checked me and I was only 3-4 cm dilated. That was very discouraging to me since to start, I had been 1-2cm dilated. The baby was not in a great position and she told me that I needed to lean back during my contractions. She said that I might need to go back home until I was further along. That made me mad, I had been at this for a long time. So we began walking around outside and up and down stairs to get the contractions going. This was very painful, but we had to do it.

After some very strong contractions and a couple of checks by the midwife, I was 6+ cm dilated. I was making progress, and was heading into transition. The tub was filled with water to help as the contractions got more difficult. It was about 5-6pm (I am not really sure) and we were all getting tired, but still in good spirits. The midwife put a belly band on me to help pull my belly up since the baby was still leaning too far forward. With a combination of the belly band and realizing that I could bring on contractions by leaning back and pulling up on my belly, we brought on some really difficult contractions. I was amazed that I could control (to some degree) when the contractions would come by how I was positioned. It is an interesting thing to know that you will bring pain to yourself by doing something, but doing it anyways- he had to come out.

I was starting to really struggle. I felt like I was barely hanging on and got a bit frantic during some contractions. The midwife checked me again and I was at 9+ cm. Good news! Almost done with transition and onto pushing! The midwife began getting supplies out to catch the baby and told me that the worst was over.

However, to everyone's surprise, the worst was not over. This part of the labor is why no one got calls Sunday night about a baby being born. I stalled at 9+ cm.

I can't even think about all of what happened. I just know that I have never felt so weak, so without faith or hope in my life before. The cervix would not get to 10cm because a lip of it was caught around the baby's head and it would not let up. The midwife tried to reach in and pull the cervix around the head, but after repeated tries, it didn't work. The contractions came quick and hard and I couldn't get a break. I said repeatedly that I couldn't do it. I cried, I yelled. I was completely out of control. I prayed, "Lord please help me finish," but I couldn't believe that He would. I had been so strong, but now was letting everyone down.

Everyone tried to get me to relax and be encouraged. I got some herbal supplements from the midwife to help calm down. Finally enough time went by and I was able to calm down enough to get through enough contractions that the lip made it around baby's head on its own. I began pushing with the midwife's guidance. It was about 11pm. They told me that this could take another two hours. I did not have two hours left of strength left so I shut everyone out and got into kind of a zone. I pushed and pushed, faster than I should have and ended up tearing a bit. It was kind of funny that they kept wanting to show me the head and I kept saying no! I wanted to keep going, no time to waste! :) But, kicking and screaming, Luke was out at 11:37 pm.

Luke cried and cried at first. He had a great pink, soft skin and a little face that looked like it had not endured any of the hardship of labor. Nathan cut the cord and I held him on my belly. I was very weak, so Nathan's parents held him and calmed him down while the midwives tended to me. After about 45 minutes, I held him again. He latched on quickly and began nursing right away. He was a great sucker and seemed to be a pro from the beginning.

I was able to stand up about an hour later and we all drove home exhausted at 2am. 24 hours after it all started, it was over. Little Luke was in our arms.

Thank you to Kelly, Nathan, Kathy, Rod, and the midwives. Everyone did their part. Luke came because of everyone's effort. I needed them to carry me through. Thank you.

Taking After Mommy

Well, I think that my son takes after his mom. He decided to wake me up a little after two to let me know that he wants out. This may be premature and end up as false labor, but so far contractions have been 6-8 minutes apart for the past hour and a half. I tried to sleep, eat, drink something, and walk around to see if they would go away (recommended in the Bradley birth method), but they have kept on coming so far.

Please pray for little Luke, that he makes a safe entrance into this world. Please also pray for me and for the birth team (Nathan, Kelly and Kathy) that our strength would hold up.

The Latest Stats

Almost 2cm dilated, 80% effaced, -1 station, soft cervix.

So in one week, there hasn't been a lot of changes if you look at it from the numbers. However, I will take every cm and part cm I can get before the full-force labor begins!

Today the midwife listened to the baby's heartbeat through one of my contractions to see how he would do. The heartbeat was strong all the way through and she seemed pleased with the result.

After the visit I met with Kelly. We went through several questions about the birth and several relaxation techniques. The experience was very good for me. I am learning a lot about my likes and dislikes and about certain opinions that I have about the birth that I did not realize existed. What tone of voice makes you relax? How do you like your shoulders messaged? Hard? Soft? With strokes or squeezes? Better to get these things on the table beforehand than during crunch time (haha a pun). Everything feels more organized now and my emotions are definitely changing- more focus on the birth that lies ahead.

Best Things to do While Waiting

1. Have friends over

Today I had a surprise visit from some good friends from church. We chatted over a light lunch and took a trip to Baby's R Us. It is such a treat to be able to spend time with friends. I am really enjoying this time off. Nathan is enjoying having me at home too. The house is much cleaner, laundry is done before it piles up, there is a nice dinner waiting for him, and he gets to come home to a happier, more relaxed wife.

There is no big news in baby progress today. I continue to feel more pressure as the baby moves down and more Braxton-Hicks at night. My next Dr's appointment is tomorrow at noon, so I am interested to see what, if any, progress has been made. I will give updates after I hear more.

Kelly is coming tomorrow at 1:30pm (providing I don't go into labor tonight), and we plan to practice some relaxation techniques and go over the plan for birth. I am looking forward to this. As someone else put it, Kelly is a birth-warrior. She has given birth to three beautiful children naturally and at home. That sounds like just what I need as I try to have a drug-free birth experience!