So, here is the natural (partially water) birth story of Killian Frederick, part I!
The days leading up to the birth:
The Thursday before i was due I had my 40w checkup at my Midwife practice. They are through the hospital I birthed at & they had 4 MWs working there. I absolutely adored 3 of them, but wasn't overly fond of the fourth, for various reasons, mostly telling me my weight gain needed to be reigned in for the health of my baby (bull) and when she didn't believe me when i told her my family averages labors of 1-1 1/2 hours, and she told me i needed to go to a branch when i felt like going to the hospital so they could "check me" (she assumed i'd go in at 1cm and they could send me home.)Which insulted me, she acted like i was stupid for assuming my body would be like my family's instead of like "average," and suggested i go a half hour AWAY from the hospital with my family history, as if to prove a point. Of course, she's the one I had for the last checkup.
It was time for a cervical check. I'd only had 1 before, and i barely felt it then, so when it started to hurt, i thought she was just rougher than my last MW. Then it got more painful and I thought she was having trouble finding the cervix (i tried to check my own a few days before and couldn't find it). Then it hurt even more and as i started screaming ow, my brain shut off from confusion- was i really so weak? How could I have a baby naturally if i couldn't handle a finger on my cervix? And at the very same time I felt INTENSE pain, i realized what happened. Sure enough, it was just then she pulled her hand, which was completely covered in blood, out, she said "You're about 3cm, but stretchy & I got you to 4, so some would consider you 4. Beautifully ready for labor, so I helped you along a little bit & stripped your membranes! Yay! Now, let's talk about induction.
She went on to say that she didn’t expect me to make it through the weekend, but if i did, did I want an induction or an ultrasound to make sure everything was okay in order to push off an induction? I was still in shock, so i just said ultrasound (ridiculous for offering induction BEFORE my due date (especially since most 1st pregnancies go til 41w3d!!) she obviously is not very knowledgeable in her field... like most practicing OBs/Midwives, it seems from speaking with their patients..), made the appointment, and went out to my car in a daze of pain, embarrassment (I couldn't believe i didn't realize what she was doing) and fury. NO ONE has the right to do ANYTHING to someone's body without their permission. I personally think that the practice of stripping membranes is unnecessary/stupid as it is painful, often very much so (like in my case, HOT DAMN,) and doesn't actually make you go into labor quicker. So, WTF MIDWIFE? Don't do things just because other doctors do things, do things because it is useful and a good idea.
So, that was Thursday. On Saturday (my due date) I lost my mucous plug (it was a small amount, but gross) and there was a tiny bit of red on it, so we were excited. Made sure all the bags were packed and everything, but nothing happened. No contractions or sensations at all. We had been trying all the walking and spicy food (though i knew that wouldn't work since I always eat spicy food and my body is immune) stuff, with no success, and so Monday, exhausted, we just didn't do anything. At all, really.
Labor Day!
Tuesday morning, November 17th 2009, three days after my due date, I woke up at 3am and stood up to feel a bit of fluid. I leaked disgusting amounts of other lovely stuff the whole pregnancy, but this felt different. I hobbled over to the bathroom & heard it dripping & my liner was soaked. I started stripping and woke my husband up and told him the good news. We jumped into the shower & then i had some breakfast & my husband played some video games.. and we waited for contractions to start. Except, I didn't have any (which didn't surprise me at all, my body is difficult like this), and I ended up just going back to sleep.
I woke up that morning and called the midwife to ask what i should do about my scheduled ultrasound that morning. THANK GOODNESS my absolute favorite one was on call that day & she told me to forget about it, hang out, eat, walk around & then come into the hospital at about 3pm, which was 12 hours since my water broke. I initially had NO intention of going in just because my water broke, I researched the reasoning behind that, and considered that most women in the world have nothing done when their water breaks, and decided that the risks of being "on the clock" (and having everyone wanting me to go faster/at their pace) far outweighed me not being on antibiotics because my water broke naturally. However, though I had no contractions, my intuition took over and I just said okay and told J we'd be going to the hospital by 3, unless my intuition changed it's mind.
I called my mom and asked her to come over around noon after work to help me clean up the apartment, as i had been SO EXHAUSTED the past few days (one night i slept 14 hours!) the apartment turned into a sty. Funnily enough, the first thing she said when she picked up the phone was "I dreamed you had him today!!" So she agreed to come over & she said "If you're not there, i'll know where you are!" But i assured her we'd still be there as i felt absolutely nothing. This was at about 9:30am
At about 11am, I went to the bathroom (i was going #2 a million times that day, though it wasn't "loose" like i was expecting), and there was blood. I was feeling crampy in the normal sort of way so I just hopped in the shower to relieve it. I had to get out of the shower to go to the bathroom again and then when i was going I felt like the baby was pushing down on my cervix too hard, and besides almost hurting (definitely very uncomfortable!) it scared me and i didn't feel comfortable “going,” so I surprised even myself and told my husband it was time to go to the hospital. I just wanted to use their toilet so i wouldn't be too afraid of pushing out a kid while I went because i HAD TO GO and I was so frustrated that I was having trouble with it (mostly, I figured, because i was afraid of pushing in the wrong "place" so I was blocking myself) I remember doing child's pose (yoga) on the floor at that point to try to relieve some of that super discomfort while my husband gathered our things and packed them away in the car.
2 days before (my) Labor Day!
Part II, Labor & Birth
1 comments:
I'm exhausted just reading this and it's only part 1! @_@
Post a Comment
Comments are good practice on civility. =)