Lydia's Birth Story

Happy 7th week birthday, Lala!!!

Holy crap, it's been 7 weeks already? ::gulp:: Time has gone by so quickly, much of it in a fog of fatigue, but still, 7 weeks?!

Anyways, here is the Lala's story:

I woke up on Tuesday 12/07/10 feeling uncomfortable and kind of grumpy. I was due to go to work from 10:30am to 6:30pm, and decided by 8am that I had no desire to work that day. I was spending quite a bit of time in the bathroom, I had a sore back and sore pelvis, and I simply did not feel like working. So, I called my boss and said I wasn't coming in.

I spent the morning surfing the internet and trying to get some chores done, all with increasing lower back soreness/stiffness and an achy pelvis. I did my best to eat some lunch, then I took a shower and a two-hour nap. I was wondering if I was in labor, but wasn't feeling anything I would label as contractions. I had been having irregular contractions for at least a week, and Braxton-Hicks for several months, so I wasn't really convinced that I was in labor. I was 38w1d at this point, and anticipating going past my due date.

My husband got home from work around 5 pm, we ate dinner, and then I decided to clean the kitchen, move our pantry shelves, and rearrange. Ben was more interested in relaxing with some video games after a long day at work, and for some reason I got so mad at him that he wouldn't read my mind and help me. I finally said something (a rather bitchy something) to him, and he got up to help me clean and rearrange. I was standing in the kitchen, surveying the mess left after the moving the shelving, and I felt this gush of fluid between my legs. I immediately went to the bathroom to inspect my underwear and go pee. I didn't see any blood, and there wasn't more fluid, so I figured I had just peed myself. I couldn't be sure, though, because the clear fluid that had soaked my undies didn't smell like pee, even the diluted stuff I was making thanks to my water intake and frequent pees that day. So, I called the on-call, and he said to come it just in case. He also said we could take our time, so we did, leaving an hour after the first gush of fluid.

We were not prepared, and had to rush around throwing together the hospital bags. At that point I was still thinking this was a false alarm, but we needed our stuff just in case. As we were packing, I was still leaking this fluid, but also still peeing if I sat down to go. At 9:30pm, we were finally in the car and headed out for the 45 minute drive to the hospital. 5 miles down the road, we started getting more snow and reduced visibility. I pulled out my phone to check the weather, and sure enough, we were headed into some lake effect snow bands. Ben was driving, just in case I was in labor, so we just kept on slowly, talking to each other and laughing about how this would be "just our luck" to go into labor in bad weather.

We were halfway to the hospital when we hit the lake effect blizzard band, and had to slow down to 20MPH on the freeway. We could barely see the edges of the road, and were creeping along following the blurry tail lights in front of us. I realized at this point that I was having actual contractions, and I was leaking fluid with every twisty cramping sensation. I began to worry that I was in labor and here we were on the freeway in the middle of a snow storm. Luckily, the roads and visibility were much better once we got beyond the lake effect band, and we arrived at the hospital around 11pm. Our original 45min trip took us an hour and a half, but we were there.

We checked into the L&D unit, and were taken to triage. The nurses said they thought we weren't coming since I had called at 8:30 and it was now 11:00, and we all chuckled about the timing of all of this. I changed into the gown, and the triage nurse was just getting the strip out to check me for amniotic fluid vs. pee when I had this huge gush of fluid flood the bed. She looked at me and said, "I don't need this anymore, that was definitely your waters. You're not leaving tonight! Congratulations!" She then got me hooked up for monitoring, got an IV in, and we did all the paperwork. She checked me for progress, and I was 2cm dilated, 80% effaced, and the baby was at +2 station.

The nurse took us in to our room, and Ben went out to get all our stuff. Meanwhile I'm still having irregular contractions that were progressively more painful. I found that the best way for me to handle them was to stand up and do pelvic rocks, so that's what I did. We saw the NP, and she told me that since my water broke at 8:30pm, they would let me labor until 5:30am, but if I hadn't progressed or started having regular contractions then I would get the pitocin. I decided to start walking laps around the unit to help my labor along, and so I walked. And walked. And walked. Ben laid down to rest around 1am, and I just kept going. I would stop for the contractions every 5-7 minutes, but they really weren't regular, and didn't get any worse. I got in a hot shower for about 15 minutes somewhere between 1 and 2am, which felt great, but I ended up getting out to do more walking.

The NP and nurse got in to check me late, around 6:30am, and I had not progressed. At all. I was so disappointed. I had really wanted to avoid the pitocin, I wanted to have the birth as natural as possible, and I really, really wanted to be able to walk in between contractions. But that was not in the plan now, so I would just have to deal. The nurses were great, bringing in the labor ball and a rocking chair for me to try after hooking up the pit drip and the monitors. The contractions immediately picked up in frequency and intensity, and I found that the only way I could tolerate the pain was to stand and rock. Whenever I sat during a contraction I had terrible pelvic pain.

Somewhere around 8:30/9:00am I decided I needed something for pain. I really didn't want an epidural, so I got some IV Nubain and promptly zonked out. The next thing I remember was breathing through contractions in my sleep, surfacing just long enough for the contraction, and then passing out again. Gradually the contractions were closer together, and I was unable to sleep in between them. I was still out of it thanks to the Nubain, and I remember having a very strange conversation with my husband. I was talking about the snow on a street in our town, and apparently making no sense what so ever. My OB came in and checked me, and told me I had progressed to 8cm and 90%, but the baby was still at +2 station.

By noon, I was having contractions very close together, and incredibly intense. My body wanted to push so badly, and would practically seize up on me, and as before, I could only stand during the contraction. Sitting or lying down increased the agony exponentially, so I would stand while the force of the contraction took over my body. Ben was a great support, doing whatever he could to help me. Sometimes I wanted him to rub my back, other times I just wanted to hold his hand. Just knowing I could hold out my hand at the start of a contraction and he'd be there was such a comfort.

By 12:30pm the contractions were so intense that I was nearly screaming my way through them, and I was begging the nurse to have my OB come check me. I had decided that if I hadn't progressed that I was getting an epidural as I could. not. stand anymore of this pain. When she told me I was 10cm and 100% I could have kissed her. She said I could push with the contractions if I felt like it (Umm, Yeah) and they would start to get ready for delivery.

I started out on my knees leaning up against the back of the bed, and stayed in that position for about 20 mins. It felt fine to me, but my OB didn't think I was pushing effectively in that position, so she had me move to my right side, then to my back with my feet up on these supports. Before labor, I had decided that pushing on my back was the last position I wanted to do, knowing I'd be working against gravity and thus making things harder for myself. Naturally, that position is what worked best for me.

At about 1pm, my OB told me that the baby had started to have heart rate decelerations with the contractions, and she was still barely descended into the birth canal. She was willing to let me keep laboring at that point because Lala's heart rate was bouncing back nicely, but she looked at me and told me point blank that if I didn't make progress soon I was headed for a C-section.

I love my OB for many reasons, and her straight forwardness is one of her best qualities, imo. Her plain and forthright explanation of what was going to happen really motivated me, and I really, really didn't want a c-section. So with the next contraction, I reached down, grabbed a hold of my lower calves, and pushed with all my might. The nurse was on my right side supporting my leg, and Ben was on my left, and I just pushed with everything I had. My OB was cheering me on, and she kept saying "Wow! You're doing great!" "What a good pusher!" "Keep it up!" I know I surprised her with my progress, but I was on a mission to avoid a c-section, and I was not giving up.

A few more pushes, and the OB and the nurses had everything ready to catch Lala. I was so intent on getting the baby out that I practically bent myself in half while pushing, grabbing my ankles and pulling my legs up to my torso while I strained with the contraction. I remember hearing the OB ask my husband if he wanted to see Lala crowning, and surprisingly he did look (and didn't pass out). Another push that seemed to last forever, and Lydia was born.

The OB cut her cord, and the nurses took her immediately to the warmer to do what they needed to. I remember Ben kissing me and shaking, and I was asking about the baby and was she okay. Ben went over to the warmer, and I heard Lydia cry for the first time. I cried, and I started thanking God out loud for our baby. It was amazing, and I barely noticed delivering the placenta because I was praying and talking across the room to Ben as he stood over the nurses tending to Lydia.

I ended up with a second degree tear, and the OB and I had a moment of hilarity during the stitching process. She was asking me if I was feeling any pain, pulling, or anything and where was it. So Joy the nurse tells her that I could only feel some pain lower down, in my perineum, and she started cracking up. Apparently the majority of her patients don't describe themselves clinically in these situations. The laughter felt good, though, and my OB congratulated me again on pushing Lydia out so well. And so quickly!

The next thing I remember is the nurse bringing Lydia to me, unwrapping her and putting her on my chest. I was just consumed with awe and love for this little being who minutes before had drawn her first breath. I couldn't help but thank God again, and I looked up at Ben with tears in my eyes. He leaned down to kiss me, and he kissed Lydia's head. What an amazing moment that was, one that I will never forget.

Although the experience didn't go as I imagined it, Lydia is well worth all the pain and work of labor, the 14 hours of contractions and 45 minutes of pushing. I am so thankful for this little person, and grateful for new depth to the relationship with my husband that sharing her birth has brought.