Lately it seems like I have been on a lot of blogs where women do a post giving their recent birth stories. Since this is our last child I decided I wanted to document mine as well. Since I gave birth I have had my mom visiting. I have asked her all kinds of questions about her previous deliveries and the early days she spent with her newborns. It seems like most of her answers were usually, "I can't remember". Anyway, if Daphne decides she has questions when she is an adult I will promptly direct her here to this post. Hopefully it will give her enough info.
So, I decided that I wanted to wait and go into labor on my own this time around. With Tate I was induced and had an epidural. I remember the relief I felt from the epidural but then after delivery was riddled with side effects from it also. With Heidi I was also induced but decided to forgo the epidural. It was so tough to labor without the epidural and have pitocin. It seriously sucked, but what I found was that I felt amazing after and had such a short recovery from her delivery. That is why I had set in my mind that this time I wanted to labor without pitocin and also without an epidural. Unfortunately life sometimes gets in the way. After toiling over the decision I conceded and agreed to another induction. It just made sense to schedule the delivery since I had three little kids to consider, my husbands hectic work schedule, and wanting my mom here also. I really did not want to shuffle my kidlets off to my sister's house at 3 in the morning and pray that my mom would make the 4 hour drive in time for the delivery. Alas, we scheduled the induction.
Our date was set for March 1st, 2012. At 7 am I received a call from Labor & Delivery asking me to be there by 8am. We hurried our kids off to Mindy's house and my mom had come into town the night before. I was really anxious about this delivery. I just wanted everything to go perfect. I could not get the feeling of great dread to leave me. I knew exactly what was coming and I wished I could skip it all together. What I am referring to is the terrible terrible Transition Phase of labor. The memory of it never left me after delivering Heidi. I just kept telling myself that it would be worth skipping the epidural and enduring transition to have the quick recovery after.
When I arrived Robbie took one last picture of me as a pregnant person. This would be it for me and I wanted it documented. I quickly slipped into my lovely gown and got settled with an IV. The pitocin was started at 9am. I remember telling the nurse that I was going to use the "Secret" to have a quick delivery and I was shooting for 2pm. I realize now that that was a little lofty, but hey you gotta shoot high. Just after nine my doctor came in and checked me. He said I was more than 3cm dilated and not quite a four. I felt good about this and just knew it was going to cruise by. I was using the "Secret" after all. The pitocin was started low and the contractions began. They really were nothing and hardly even bothered me. This is how labor always goes for me.... no big deal until my water breaks, then things always get intense. Anyway, I chit chatted with my mom and Robbie. We laughed and joked with the nurses. Every half hour or so the nurse would come in and up the pitocin. Still, no big deal.
At 12:00 my doctor returned to check me and said I was a good solid 4cm dialted & 75% effaced. I was a little disappointed because I had a deadline to meet. 2pm was only a couple hours away and I needed things to get a move on. My doctor told me he would be back around 3pm to check on me and I told him that would not work because I had a deadline to meet. He chuckled at me and said "See you at 3."
Here is where I have to interject a little extra information. You see, I have a tendency to say the most ridiculous things when I am in labor. I really have no filter at all. It is hard enough for me to watch my tongue in everyday life but in labor all bets are off. Needless to say I replay the stupid things that came out of my mouth during labor for weeks after I deliver.
Another two hours of contractions and increases to my pitocin and I hit the 2pm mark. Shoot... no baby! I was confident though that I had made great progress and that as soon as my doctor came in to break my water I would have a baby. I asked the nurse to check me again. So at 2pm she checked. My assigned nurse had left me for a little bit to help in the delivery of one of her other patients so this nurse was just a short fill-in. When she checked she looked at me and smiled and said, "You're a solid 4 cm." WHAT? I had labored now for 5 hours and I was still just a four. I was so mad! As soon as she left the room I looked at Robbie and my mom and said, "That's a bunch of crap! She does not know what she is talking about!" I wanted to cry, but decided it was time to get my fanny out of bed and get this baby to shuffle lower. Just 30 minutes later my water broke and soaked my socks! I now knew it was time to get serious. The dread grew deep in my soul and I knew just what was coming, hard contractions, shaking knees, and beads of sweat. It was labor time!
30 minutes later it was 3pm. I was feeling it. It was getting really rough. My doctor came in and immediately wheeled out the cart with all of the delivery tools. He knew it was coming and soon. This was another one of my finer filter-free moments when I looked up at him and said, "Dr. Ott, please tell me you know how to do vasectomies! We need one done today!" Again a funny look and a chuckle as he left the room and promised to return soon. About this time I was beginning to feel a little pressure. It was 3:15pm and I looked at Robbie and my mom and said, "By 3:30 this baby will be here." I was not using the Secret this time; it was just pure desperation speaking now.
I decided that it was time to crawl back into bed and the nurse agreed. She broke down my bed while I continued through a few more contractions. During this time my mom wiped my face with a cool washcloth and Robbie applied pressure to my knees. I cannot explain why the knee pressure thing helps, but it really does! Robbie kept saying the same thing over and over.... "Relax Susanna, Breathe Susanna." This is when Robbie got a little lashing from me. Anyone who has been through natural childbirth knows how hard it is to relax during transition. That is why I told Robbie , "QUIT TELLING ME TO RELAX AND JUST SAY YOU CAN DO THIS SUSANNA!" Everyone got right on board and even the nurse began repeating the mantra, "You can do this." A contraction or two later I was ready to push. The nurse said I needed to wait to push until my doctor arrived but my thoughts to her were, "To hell with you! I'm pushing!" Luckily my fabulous doctor walked right in and was ready to catch the new little babe.
This part of the delivery was so chaotic to me. One nurse pushed my leg up and said to push while other nurses were trying to get Robbie's attention so he could grab my other leg. I was pushing and moaning and then more pushing. At some point I was told to pant in there and I imagine it was at this point that I looked like a total moron. Panting, crying, gasping; I was seriously out of control. Luckily it was just that one contraction with two pushes and at 3:25pm our little caboose joined the world.
Daphne cried immediately and I felt so much relief. It was all over. The worry, the dread and the pain were all gone and we finally had the last little one in our family. Everything with Daphne was perfect from conception to delivery. I could not help but feel overwhelmingly blessed. We had forged through some struggles to get her but we knew she needed to be here and finally she was. The doctor laid her on my chest. I immediately exclaimed, "Oh baby, you got the butt chin too." You see, Robbie and I both have clefts in our chins and so do all of our biological children. She seemed so tiny and purple, but sweet. She weighed in at a whopping 6lbs, 6oz and was 20 inches long.
Since her delivery she has been such a dream. She nurses amazingly well, rarely cries and began sleeping seven to 8 hour stretches through the night at only four days old. I could not have asked for a better baby. The best part after the delivery is how great I have felt. I recovered the fastest of all of my children this time. Going without an epidural was absolutely worth it for me.
So that is it. Six and a half hours of labor and a very long story to explain it all.
Just before I put on my gown.
This was during the laughing and chit chatting stage
My first moments with Daphne.
Look at that little butt chin!
The next day. I really felt so great.
Dad and baby with matching chins.
This is just before my mom left. She was such an amazing help to me!
