Re: Birth Stories
Wonderful stories. I am glad someone started this thread!
At my 39 week appt, the midwife checked me and was surprised to learn that i was 3.5 cms dilated already. She asked me if i was feeling any contractions and i said no. She hooked me up for a non stress test and i think we only saw one BH contraction in 25 mins. The midwife asked me to come back and see if there was any changes. I went home and came back around 4:30. I was still the same but had been having some lower back ache and mild cramps since the last check.
From the clinic we went shopping for a housewarming gift for a friend ofmine i was to visit the next day. I had made the plans myself. We spent a lot of time at Pier 1 where i didnt like anything and then went off to a couple of other stores. Meanwhile i had feelings of intense pressure and strong cramps at times but very sporadically.
We got home and while eating dinner, i realised i was having "pains" every 7 mins. I tried sleeping but laying down made the pain more worse. So i stayed in the rocking chair all night while hubs and ammi slept. At around 4ish i got a little break and took a nap. Took a shower later on and that also made me feel better. Meanwhile hubs was starting to get ready for work and i wanted to scream, what are you thinking? Since i didnt want an epidural, we had decided to stay home for as long as possible. Thats why hubs thought he could go in to work and come back when needed. But for some reason i just couldnt let him go. My contractions were now also 2-6 mins apart and getting pretty intense.
We got to the hospital around 9 am(contractions stopped during the car ride, mercifully). The nurse checked me and i was 5 cms dilated. I was given a room. The midwife on call was one taht i hadnt met more than once before. But she proved to be the best ever. I walked the hallways for a bit and around noon got into the whirlpool tub. It felt like heaven! I got out after about 30 mins and was checked and found to be at 6-7 cms. After a while my contractions became really really intense, they felt like extreme pressure combined with strong cramps. I was really restless. The m/w talked about breaking my waters but i was afraid of the pain that would come after that. Got into the tub again but this time it didnt do anything. I got out and asked for a dose of IV pain medication. At this point (8 cms) it didnt do anything other than relaxing me. Ammi and hubs got worried as to why i was so quiet all of a sudden and i kept thinking i can hear you, i just dont want to respond! My water was broken and i was at 9 cms and totally wild. I wanted to get out of bed but had to stay in because of the IV now hooked to me. This was teh hardest time i think, i had to stand and hold onto hubs during contractions, was screaming and just totally lost control.
When i was fully dilated, the midwife said we should start pushing. I had initially wanted to wait till i wanted to push but never got the urge to do so. So we used different positions to push and by then i was so out of it (thanks to the pain medication) and so loopy that i jsut went with what they said. Hubs said that when i finally listened to the m/w and did what she asked me to do, i was much better. She had me push with each contraction (and yes a bit of poop did come out). At first i was afraid of soiling myself but she said thats exactly how she wanted me to push, like i was pooping. I think i pushed for an hour.
Meanwhile, she kept sayig you are doing great, i can see her hair. And i kept thinking she is lying. I even told hubs to double check. At some point i even felt her head with my own hands. After what felt like an eternity, our daughter was born and immediately put on me. But i was still loopy :D
Anyhow my total labor since the pains started to delivery was 20 hours long. I had a 3rd degree tear which had to be stitched up but the pain was no where as bad as labor/pushing. And yep i was given plenty of numbing stuff before the stitches came. At almost 2 weeks post partum, Alhamdulillah i am healing fine so far.
Btw hubs says i said some pretty mean things to the nurses and the midwife during delivery :D I vaguely remember but he says i was telling them to shush, they dont know anything, i hate them etc. Thankfully the midwife had seen it all adn was smiling on the side, he says. The nurse i was assigned i think didnt understand why i wanted to go epidural free.
Whew, that was long. Kudos to those who will read it all.
Afro: Its totally possible to have a VBAC so you may luck out this time! Good luck!