Several of you have asked about how this labor and delivery compared to my first, since I did it naturally without any pain meds this time. So I decided to just write out exactly what happened this time, and then tomorrow, I will give my thoughts on the two births. Just a warning: this is a birth story and not for the faint-hearted. And its pretty long. If you are a guy, just skip this post and scroll down to the pics.
On Friday, January 16th, I woke up feeling completely normal. I walked into the kitchen to get breakfast, and I immediately started feeling sick to my stomach. I tried to continue on with my day, taking Karis to soccer. While there, my nausea continued and my Braxton Hicks contractions (which I had been having for the past 3 weeks) seemed stronger. But I started feeling achy and having chills like I had a flu virus or something, so I really thought I was just getting sick. (Keep in mind that with Karis’ birth, my labor began with my water breaking rather than normal signs of labor, so I really didn’t know what my body’s signs of labor were). Karis was 5 days overdue and I was still a week before my due date, so I really didn't think that I would go into labor soon. By lunchtime, I realized that I simply could not take care of Karis by myself -- I just felt so achy and nauseous. I got her down for a nap and called Mark to come home early from work because I just couldn't keep up with her. He called his parents to come down to help me with Karis the next day because on the weekends he works all night long and has to sleep all day Saturday.
That afternoon, I only felt worse and my contractions seemed to grow much stronger, but they weren't consistent enough to make me think it was labor. It crossed my mind, but I was actually praying that it wasn't time yet because I didn't want to go into labor all weak and sick, especially since I was determined to do it without the epidural! I really thought I was coming down with the flu because I couldn't even walk around without feeling light-headed.
I went to bed about 8:00 and actually slept a little, but soon the contractions started waking me up. I finally just gave up and got out of bed at 10 pm when Mark's folks got here. I knew the contractions were definitely stronger and hurt my back way more than the Braxton hicks, but I was still afraid to tell Mark to stay home from work. (So silly!) So he left at 10:30 pm and I tried to get some sleep. Impossible! These contractions were getting stronger and closer together. I was kicking myself for telling Mark to go onto work.
I gave up on sleep, and just tried to distract myself by fooling around on the computer and gathering everything on my list for the hospital. And the weird thing was, all my flu-like symptoms had magically disappeared. I had the energy to walk around and bounce around on my birthing ball! Around 2:00 am the contractions were so close and strong that I knew we would be going to hospital soon. I had really wanted to labor as long as possible at home, but Mark was working about 30 minutes away, right near the hospital. I wanted so badly to be with him, but it would be silly for him to drive back to the house since I would be leaving for the hospital so soon. Luckily, Mark's Mom woke up and kept me company and timed my contractions for me. Around 3:30, Mark's Mom started getting worried that if I waited any longer, I would be having the baby in the car (ha, ha, I wish it had happened that fast! :), so we decided that Mark's Dad would take me on to the hospital and Mark and my doula would meet us there.
When I got to the hospital, I was having a contraction when the nurse came to take me to triage. She took one look at me and decided to go ahead and put me in a birthing room instead. I was disappointed, though, to find that I was only at 4 cm. I wanted to get up and walk, but they wanted me hooked up to everything initially to make sure everything was fine. This is where I got frustrated. I had given them my birth plan which clearly stated how I wanted to move freely about, but every time I asked to be unhooked, they had some excuse for needing to continue to monitor me. Plus, I was GBS positive, so I had to have that antibiotic IV for an hour. So things were not quite what I had hoped, but I knew God was in control and it would all work out.
For whatever (I think ridiculous) reasons, it was at least 2 hours before the nurses finally unhooked me and I could walk around to try to speed things up. They warned me to stay within sight of them because the baby was so low that they were afraid she would just come right out while walking. I wish it had been that easy, ha, ha! I speed walked in between contractions and Mark held me up while I endured the contractions. My doula helped a great deal throughout my labor, but I’ll write more about that in my post tomorrow.
On Friday, January 16th, I woke up feeling completely normal. I walked into the kitchen to get breakfast, and I immediately started feeling sick to my stomach. I tried to continue on with my day, taking Karis to soccer. While there, my nausea continued and my Braxton Hicks contractions (which I had been having for the past 3 weeks) seemed stronger. But I started feeling achy and having chills like I had a flu virus or something, so I really thought I was just getting sick. (Keep in mind that with Karis’ birth, my labor began with my water breaking rather than normal signs of labor, so I really didn’t know what my body’s signs of labor were). Karis was 5 days overdue and I was still a week before my due date, so I really didn't think that I would go into labor soon. By lunchtime, I realized that I simply could not take care of Karis by myself -- I just felt so achy and nauseous. I got her down for a nap and called Mark to come home early from work because I just couldn't keep up with her. He called his parents to come down to help me with Karis the next day because on the weekends he works all night long and has to sleep all day Saturday.
That afternoon, I only felt worse and my contractions seemed to grow much stronger, but they weren't consistent enough to make me think it was labor. It crossed my mind, but I was actually praying that it wasn't time yet because I didn't want to go into labor all weak and sick, especially since I was determined to do it without the epidural! I really thought I was coming down with the flu because I couldn't even walk around without feeling light-headed.
I went to bed about 8:00 and actually slept a little, but soon the contractions started waking me up. I finally just gave up and got out of bed at 10 pm when Mark's folks got here. I knew the contractions were definitely stronger and hurt my back way more than the Braxton hicks, but I was still afraid to tell Mark to stay home from work. (So silly!) So he left at 10:30 pm and I tried to get some sleep. Impossible! These contractions were getting stronger and closer together. I was kicking myself for telling Mark to go onto work.
I gave up on sleep, and just tried to distract myself by fooling around on the computer and gathering everything on my list for the hospital. And the weird thing was, all my flu-like symptoms had magically disappeared. I had the energy to walk around and bounce around on my birthing ball! Around 2:00 am the contractions were so close and strong that I knew we would be going to hospital soon. I had really wanted to labor as long as possible at home, but Mark was working about 30 minutes away, right near the hospital. I wanted so badly to be with him, but it would be silly for him to drive back to the house since I would be leaving for the hospital so soon. Luckily, Mark's Mom woke up and kept me company and timed my contractions for me. Around 3:30, Mark's Mom started getting worried that if I waited any longer, I would be having the baby in the car (ha, ha, I wish it had happened that fast! :), so we decided that Mark's Dad would take me on to the hospital and Mark and my doula would meet us there.
When I got to the hospital, I was having a contraction when the nurse came to take me to triage. She took one look at me and decided to go ahead and put me in a birthing room instead. I was disappointed, though, to find that I was only at 4 cm. I wanted to get up and walk, but they wanted me hooked up to everything initially to make sure everything was fine. This is where I got frustrated. I had given them my birth plan which clearly stated how I wanted to move freely about, but every time I asked to be unhooked, they had some excuse for needing to continue to monitor me. Plus, I was GBS positive, so I had to have that antibiotic IV for an hour. So things were not quite what I had hoped, but I knew God was in control and it would all work out.
For whatever (I think ridiculous) reasons, it was at least 2 hours before the nurses finally unhooked me and I could walk around to try to speed things up. They warned me to stay within sight of them because the baby was so low that they were afraid she would just come right out while walking. I wish it had been that easy, ha, ha! I speed walked in between contractions and Mark held me up while I endured the contractions. My doula helped a great deal throughout my labor, but I’ll write more about that in my post tomorrow.
After about 45 minutes of walking, the nurses wanted to check me again and I was 8 cm!They were excited, but I was utterly exhausted and had hoped it was time to push. The doctor came in and said that I was so close and if she broke my water, she was sure I would go to 10 immediately. I thought about it for a couple of minutes because originally I had not wanted them to break my water. But the main reason for that was because once my water breaks, the hospital staff usually only gives you 12 hours before demanding to give you pitocin, which I did not want! (With Karis, they told me I had one more hour to progress or they would give me the pitocin. We all prayed and when they came back to give it to me, I was at 10!) But it didn’t sound like there was any chance of me being in labor that long this time, so I agreed to let her break my water.
Immediately, I hit the transition phase and I cannot describe to you the intense power of the contractions at that point. Definitely pain, but even more so, power. It was unbelievable. I remember thinking that next time we should definitely just adopt and moaning, “I have to push! I have to push!” The nurses told me not to, but the urge to push was overwhelming.They checked me and I was at 9. The nurse said she felt Karlie’s ear and she was turned slightly wrong so I needed to change positions to make her turn. Somehow we managed to move me around and immediately she turned and it was time to push!
Karlie Sue DeLong finally arrived at 8:04 am and as soon as she was in my arms I knew I wanted to do this again. And again. And perhaps and again and again! Even though I was in serious pain as the doc was stitching me up, holding her in my arms made it all worthwhile!Its amazing how much a person can love a tiny little baby at first sight!
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