This birth rounds out the labors for me—in many ways
fulfilling things Id never experienced until this labor. Fast, furious, my water breaking before any
contractions begin, my final baby … But before I get ahead of myself, lets back up to being 35
weeks pregnant.
Near the end of my 35th week I started to
experience some worrying signs that labor was coming, spotting that got heavier
and continued for several days, lower energy and eventually losing what looked
like my mucus plug at 36 weeks… since
the latter happened at 36 weeks my ob office was not concerned and said it
could all be early labor signs. I was
feeling completely unprepared to meet my daughter that early, I worried about
having a preemie and asked lots of ladies to pray that baby would stay put and
healthy. It worked. All the pre-labor signs went away, I became
more emotionally ready and baby girl stayed put.
Since I had one son born at 41 weeks (after an induction)
and my second son born at 39 weeks, I was certain she’d arrive before her due
date! Especially with some cramping and
belly tightening starting around week 38.
At that point, I was sleeping pretty badly… not out of discomfort, but anticipation
of every feeling and movement… “could this be the start of something?” The
answer night after night, was “not yet…” as I’d make it through yet another day
and another night…
A couple days before I was 40 weeks pregnant, I asked my
doula Susan about options for inducing labor naturally. She reminded me that I could easily go
another couple weeks, but sent information about acupressure and acupuncture. I watched a few videos online but decided not
to do anything with the information until I truly reached 40 weeks and my sick husband
hopefully started to feel a little better.
I needed the other half of my labor team in full health!
When my 40 week OB appointment rolled around, I was a bit
disappointed to be heading in to see my doctor for another routine visit. At that appointment she gave me a rundown of
being “post-date” and while she was not pressuring in doing anything to start
labor then, she was telling me some scary things that can happen when babies
get to 41, 42 weeks and beyond. And we
set up an appointment for 41 weeks to do a non-stress test and ultrasound. I hoped not to need either as it all reminded
me of my first birth where the outcome of that ultrasound sent me to the
hospital for induction!
When I told my husband about my appointment, he agreed that
it was time to try the “next level” of options to get labor started. Aside from all the usual things we’d already
been doing – exercise, evening primrose, marital activities : ), chiropractic
adjustments … So on the afternoon of my due date (December 1st) I called and got an appointment for my first
ever acupuncture appointment (treatment?) for 4:30 that same evening. As soon as I walked in the girl at the desk
asked when I was due—I told her, “well, today…” and she laughed and asked if that’s
why I was there. I smiled and said that
it was.
After filling out paper work, I met my acupuncturist, Karen,
who was super chatty and kind and led me to a dim room with music playing
softly overhead. I started to relax as
we talked and she explained the process a little. She was causiously optimistic since I was
already 40 weeks but explained that the soonest she’d had a mom go into labor
after a treatment was 12 hours.
She had me lay back on pillows on the table and started treatment
on my front side by placing 10 tiny needles at various pressure points in my
arms and legs. I could not feel the
needles going in—I just felt really relaxed.
Then she warmed some kind of herb over a pressure point just above my
ankle on each leg. I wanted to fall
asleep. It was so quiet and relaxing. She left me for a while to left the needles
do their thing a while, where I closed my eyes and almost did fall asleep. When she returned she took them out and
prepped to do points on my back and shoulders.
As I straddled a chair, she inserted a couple needles in my shoulders,
then about 8 around the middle of my lower back. For maybe 10 minutes, she did what she called
“stimulating” the needles she’d inserted in my lower back. As she did, my belly would tighten. That’s the closest I came to feeling like
something was “working.”
Finally, she showed me how to stimulate my own pressure points if and when I felt contractions or baby movement.
Before my appointment, hubby (Mark) and I had briefly worked
out to have Mexican dinner together afterwards.
I felt in my gut like it was going to be our last meal as a family of
4. I pictured us enjoying our meal and
talking about my crazy appointment to induce labor. Due to a series of bad events and
miscommunication, they ate at a different Mexican restaurant than I intended
for us to meet and I proceeded to flip out as to where my family was after
calling many times and not finding them at home or at the restaurant.
Finally an hour after we were supposed to meet (and they had
eaten) Mark called me and asked where I was?
I went from relief that they were ok to raging mad, to sadness in the
course of a few minutes over missing the meal and time together. When they returned home, I was still a ball
of emotions. I eventually made myself
calm down to help put the boys to bed and we talked about all going to
breakfast the next morning instead.
Internally, I just knew, breakfast wasn’t going to happen.
After getting the boys to bed and making up with my husband
who apologized profusely for forgetting his phone and not going to the right restaurant,
I started to get ready for bed and laid out clothes to run early the next
morning. As I moved about I had some
belly tightening and I’d rub my back on the pressure point that the acupuncturist
had also stimulated. As soon as I got
into bed, I felt a tightening of my stomach and decided to stand to see if it
would change the contraction… as soon as I stood, I heard a soft pop and felt a
warm gush. I just stood in shock and calmly
yelled for Mark (who was downstairs) – “Mark, my water just broke!” and texted
a friend I’d just been texting with “Oh my gosh! My water just broke!” Then I called my mom to tell her the news and
to have her come over and stay with the boys.
We started buzzing around and prepping and packing as
*nothing was happening for me. We texted
family and friends and called the doula to warn her labor was ahead. Then we tried to wait and rest. (Ha!) While
knowing I had about a 24 clock that just started. So I didn’t want to rest too much!
My mom showed up, we talked a while and then we all went to
bed. I technically laid down too, but
crept back up to walk, pace and time contractions. They were around 6 minutes apart but not very
strong. Around 11 Mark got up with me
and he wanted us to leave for the hospital.
I wasn’t to that point yet and after watching me a while, he agreed.
We started watching the Tonight Show and my contractions
practically stopped. Then I went to the
bathroom and they started again. I
stayed upstairs on the birthing ball and leaning over the counter for
contractions as he timed them around 5 minutes apart. I went to the bathroom again and with more
pressure, I told Mark “it’s time to go!”
We got to the hospital around 1 am and met my doula Susan
there. I was mostly still having very
manageable contractions, I had to pause for them and not talk, but it was most
uncomfortable just due to the lower abdomen pressure. They got me set up in a triage room and
monitored me. When they checked me, I
was 4cm dilated, 80% effaced and baby girl was in the posterior position. Contractions weren’t feeling like they were
coming as often but were getting stronger when they did.
Around 2am, they moved us into Labor and Delivery Room 3. Once we were alone again, things really
started to kick up and I felt in full labor mode very quickly. I mostly stood and leaned over the rolling
cart and labored but moved to the toilet and bed for short spurts. The nurse came in a time or two to check on
me and reminded me that she could check me any time. As contractions kept up and got closer and
stronger, I thought that sounded awful and kept refusing.
The contractions started to be so intense and so pressured
that I remember saying—“I need a pep talk.”
Doula Susan firmly responded with “You can do this
Rachel. You want to do this!”
Internally, I wasn’t sure.
I wasn’t puking or having loose stools, so I was pretty sure I hadn’t
even reached transition which has been peak discomfort for me in the past
labors. If this wasn’t transition, I
wasn’t sure I could go on. I never puked
or had any sign that it was. I was getting
hot and increasingly uncomfortable in every position. I was moaning, praying and crying and trying
to think about meeting my sweet baby—all while wanting to crawl out of my skin
and feeling increasingly unpleasant.
About the time I was feeling like I couldn’t do it and the
pain was too intense… the nurse came in to monitor me. She hovered around my belly adjusting straps
and readjusting and moving them--- all while I was in the height of discomfort
(apparently the monitors were not working).
I kept asking between contractions—can you please stop and take them
off??!! Bless her heart, I wanted to
kick her! She sweetly answered that it
was important to monitor at that moment.
And then it happened. The
pressure was so much that I involuntarily pushed. Susan asked (to which she got no audible response
from me) “Are you pushing?!! Someone
needs to get Dr. Nett!” A minute and
next contraction later I had moved to the bed on my knees and laying over a
birthing ball and pushed again. I
started to feel the burn and knew she was close. It surprised me to feel that only a couple
pushes in.
I heard the room start to buzz and I pushed another minute
and the next contraction later, yelling-- “She’s here!” (I’m not sure how I
found a voice then, but I could feel her coming out and felt my gown still over
my legs and knew no one was seeing it or there to catch her yet.)
My doctor was apparently only half gowned up but lifted up
my hospital gown and a few people yelled, “You need to keep pushing, Rachel!” I
did and felt the burning and pressure continue.
The plea got a bit more urgent as it was repeated… “Keep pushing, we need
to get her shoulders out!”
My doctor yelled, get that ball out of here! It was moved off the bed and I was then on
all fours. I pushed anther time. Finally, my doctor said, we need to flip her
over! It felt like 5 people quickly
flipped me to my back (with a baby coming out, mind you!), my legs were held
back, I pushed once more and out came my baby girl and sweet, sweet relief! I
heard someone say—“3:27am!” Just a short
hour and a half after arriving in the Labor and Delivery room. It was the longest and shortest hour and a
half of my life!
They plopped her on my chest, right under my chin, in all
her slimy, bloody glory. I couldn’t see
her but just feeling her there was amazing.
I had a daughter and labor was over!
The room buzzed around me and I welcomed people cleaning us both
up! The cord pulsed out and Mark cut
it. I delivered the placenta and Mark
was excited he got to see it. The doctors checked on our daughter and noted
that her overall color was great but her face was pretty purple and bruised due
to the quick exit. (Later in recovery a
nurse would say she looked like a c-section baby because her head was still
perfectly round—also from the quick exit).
I couldn’t believe the immediate love I felt towards
her. I guessed her at around 8lbs and
was excited to hear that first newborn cry.
I asked Mark what she looked like since she was tucked under
my chin, and he said, “she looks like herself—her own person.” He took a picture and showed her to me and I
remember agreeing and also being shocked by how bruised and purple she looked. He congratulated me and I congratulated him
on his daughter. We had done it!
After getting cleaned up, my doctor checked me and said I
had not torn at all and required no repair work (praise God!).
We were moved into the post-partum floor (room 377) and after
all the nurses’ introductions, paperwork and checks, we were exhausted. We finally settled in to sleep and as soon as
the room was quiet we heard our sweet baby making odd noises when she
breathed. They wanted to monitor her in
the nursery. I let her go but paged the
nurse shortly after and proceeded to sit outside the nursery staring at her
through a window as she was monitored. I
received periodic updates and got more and more emotional so I called for Mark
(who was sleeping) and he joined me in waiting.
Finally they said she was ok and released her again and blamed the quick
delivery to her having trouble transitioning.
