A Piece of Me, a Birth Story

Admin
Mar 6, 2017
7 min read

Sunday, May 24th at 9pm contractions began. By 1pm, they were every 6 minutes and Adam began to get nervous. He said he would rather drive to the hospital (1hour and 20mins one way) and be turned away than be rushing down the interstate in a panic because we waited too long. So he loaded the truck and off we went. The ride was not overly painful but I would definitely not say enjoyable. The contractions stayed at 5-6 minutes apart until we reached the hospital parking lot. By the time we parked, walked to labor and delivery the contractions had slowed and were very mild. They checked me and I was at 2cm and 50% effaced. After monitoring me for two and half hours an older OBGYN came in to the triage room to tell me I was in early labor and to go home. Do not come back until they are 3-5 minutes apart and I cannot talk through them. I expressed my concerns with living so far away from the hospital and he stated, “I have done this for 30 years, you will be fine.”

We got home around 7am on Monday, Memorial day. We spent the day sleeping and the contractions slowed to every 10-20 minutes and stayed mild enough for me to get some rest. Most of the day was spent sitting in my driveway wondering if Ben would make his grand entrance before I was set to be induced on Wednesday morning (40 weeks + 6 days). See, I was discouraged that day. I wanted a natural child birth, no medications, no alterations, just my body doing the work. And I was concerned whether I would be able to do natural after being “induced.” But at this point I had decided to go through with it because I had pelvic pressure and pain since 38weeks and it became extremely tiresome and uncomfortable on his due date, May 21st. I do not know whether it was truly physically exhausting as much as it was mentally.

So back to Memorial Day. That night at exactly 9pm, it started up again, “here we go again….” Earlier in the day Adam had been encouraging me to talk through each contractions and you can imagine how this frustrated me to be told to speak during every contractions. So he came up with a brilliant idea! Say your ABC’s with every contraction, when you can no longer do that we will go to the hospital. It was great because mentally it helped me. By “O” the contractions was on its way out, really helped me to relax and make it through. So 9pm, no problem with ABC’s… annoying… another night of no rest with this early labor junk…. Or maybe not. By midnight contractions much more intense and were every 6 minutes. Hmmmm…. Adam slept in the recliner as I sat Indian style on the couch, singing to myself through every contraction and timing them on my phone. By 3am… woah. OK, having some troubles with saying ABC’s to myself but that doctor gave me a goal and I will not move from my house until I cannot talk through the contractions by golly! By 5am I could barely squeak through the contractions. I decided to wake Adam up because it was “getting there.” He started to load the truck and I could not decide whether to go or not… “well if we go now we will be stuck in morning rush hour traffic, let’s just wait, I am ok.” About 6am I stood up. A contraction hit. After my husband witnessing me punch the counter and say in a very stern voice “it is time to go!” he was in a hop to it, come on honey kinda mode. He ushered me quickly to the truck and helped me in. This was it. I knew it deep down. That ride, one I did not care for. Contractions did not waiver, every six minutes and very intense. Now the “O” in the ABC’s looked more like “O,O, oooooooo” as I tried to talk through each one. We ended up getting stuck in rush hour traffic. Adam had to slam his breaks at one point and that was the only time I was sassy with him. “Must you slam on your breaks like that?!” His calm response makes me laugh to this day, “If you do not want me to hit them, then yes.” Love that man. So calm, collected, and wonderful. As I am over in the passenger seat telling him, “Adam, if I haven’t made progress I am done, induce me, epidural, you name it, I can’t keep this up. I am exhausted, it has been two days. Let’s not let them send us home let’s do this today, no matter what it takes.” He agreed, he was tired of seeing me be exhausted and work so hard. My mind was beating me up. “How could you think you could handle natural. This is terrible. Oh please God let me have made SOME progress.”

We finally make it to the hospital at 830-845am. Baptist childbirth classes told us we could park on the second floor of the parking deck and just walk across the sky bridge right to OB triage (just like we did the night before, easy peasy). Well… no parking on the 2nd, 3rd, or front of 4th floor. We parked in the very back of the top floor. I told Adam to go ahead and park and I would walk, I do not want to be dropped off and be alone. Man, when I stood up out of that truck… I could barely breathe, let alone walk. “Mind over matter Lydia, come on. Almost there.” Three contractions later I made it to the elevator. Two more, midway on sky bridge… At that point we ran into a pastor who worked there and he quickly ran to get a wheelchair. Three more, finally to the next set of elevators, where he met us with wheelchair. Two more and oh no! I have to pee. Pit stop at bathroom before checking in. When I went to the bathroom… I knew I had to have made some progress because the amount of pressure was almost unbearable. Three more finally checked in to OB and being weighed. Lady at the desk said, “oh honey, you having a baby today, I will go ahead and get you a room on OB floor.” My doctor happens to be at the front desk where I was checking in and follows me to the OB triage room. “What you doing? We have an appointment today.” “Well, I think I am in labor.” I proceed to tell her the chain of events from the previous days and nights. As she is checking me she asks, “what were you last time you were here?” I tell her and beg her to tell me I have at least made progress. She calmly responds, “well you have made progress, you are definitely going to have a baby today. You are at an 8 and 90% effaced.”

I could not help my excitement, I threw my hands in the air and shouted “praise Jesus I made progress.” She asks whether I want an epidural because I need it now if I am going to have one. I said, “I have made it this far let’s do this.”

By 930, I was on OB floor getting checked in. Within 2 hours I was at a 9 and my doctor asked if it was ok to break my water. She did so and man I hated that feeling. UGH. I felt like I was constantly peeing on myself over and over again. The nursed warned me that the contraction right after the water breaks is the worst. Well, my water was leaking out instead of gushing so it was not that bad! Not any worse than previous contractions and hey, ABC’s still getting me through! My nurse and my doctor were amazed at the coping technique, “first time I have ever heard anyone say their ABC’s to get through contractions.” After I was at a 9 and the water had mostly leaked out, I waivered. I looked at my husband and told him I just do not know if I can keep doing this. He looked me in the eyes and said “Lydia, you have come this far, you can do it.” That was all I needed. In the next 30 minutes (after having the nurse check me twice, not knowing what “bearing down” meant) I hit a 10 and could tell it was starting to happen. The nurses rushed around and got me ready while the doctor was called. Once doctor was there she told Adam to hold my right leg and nurse to hold left. Poor Adam was front row to his son being born, whether he wanted to be or not! He continue to encourage me in between every contraction, “you are doing so good baby.” I began pushing at 1230pm and after 38 minutes of intense pushing (holding my breath and pushing three ten counts) and needing oxygen between contractions Ben arrived at 1:08pm. They laid my sweet son on my chest immediately and I saw not one but three! Haha. I was so dizzy from pushing (what I consider to be the hardest part), that I could not focus on my son well. I continue to ask over and over while trying to focus on him, “is he ok, why is he not crying, is he ok?!” Adam cut the cord and Ben remained slightly blue and not crying at all. Just making small squeaks and grunts. They tickled his foot and he cried, peed & pooped on me, and stuck his thumb in his mouth. By this time I could focus. Oh my. He was here! The next hour consisted of lying there with him on my chest and not a care in the world. My little family. After about an hour, they weighed and bathed my baby boy. 8#13oz, 21 inches. 15 inch chest. Baby boy tore me, but it wasn’t his head, he greeted this world with his hand on his chest! The next hour after that consisted of Adam holding Ben and mommy getting cleaned up. I had to take my time because I lost all the feeling in my legs, my muscles were at complete fatigue. I could barely tell them to move. But it was worth it and I count myself blessed to say “my God and my body allowed me to do it natural.” I could not have done that without God. He guided that process step by step and I know he was there. Thank you Lord for allowing my body to experience such a beautiful thing. Doing it “natural” is not something to brag about. It is something to count yourself blessed about. Not all women are able to do that for some reason or another. And that is just fine. But if you are able, it is not technique or know how. It is trusting, believing, praying, and knowing it was not you or anything you did right or wrong. It is the miracle of the woman body that God designed.