My due date was June 13, I had an appointment with the doctor and was dilated to 3. Every night for weeks, Simon would ask, "so are you going to have that baby tonight?" But even on June 13, I still answered "nope!"
Josh and Ericka and Malachi had arrived Tuesday night and so I really wanted the baby to be born while they were here. My parents also wanted to come visit while Josh and Ericka were here so they decided to come on Thursday night, June 14th. We decided to have Christians birthday party too (yes, it was 2 weeks late, but this was the first time my parents would be with him to give him a gift).
6:00pm I started having some regular contractions so I started writing them down, rather, I told Josh to write them. They felt like braxton hicks: hard tummy but no pain. They were around 10 minutes apart for a while then they started getting a little stronger and closer so we got our bags ready. I had tested positive for beta strep (GB) so I needed to have an antibiotic IV before she was born, we needed to get to the hospital to have enough time for that.
I was meandering around, observing Christian opening his new bike, and slowly getting ready to go.
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| Christian about to open his bike. Notice my big belly in the top right. Notice our wreck of a living room, boxes still packed. Notice the paint trays in the background: I was totally painting that room that very morning. |
I watered my vegetable plants and when I came in the house and was chatting I felt that little (very little, in my case) gush. "I think my water just broke!"
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| Getting ready to head out. Notice the towels in my arm to sit on in the car (just in case!). Notice the guys in the background putting together a bike for Christian. |
9:00pm Simon and I loaded up and went to the hospital.
Once there the contractions started feeling worse. We got to meet the doctor on call, whom we knew would be delivering our baby. He, on the other hand, was not so convinced that we should be there. He was not very understanding to the fact that I have fast labors, and he even talked about sending us back home or giving me pitocin... I was only dialated 4 cm after all. But when the nurse came back she said my water had broken a little bit so I was going to stay. Thanks a lot.
10:30pm Ericka came (she was there as a support and to take pictures and just because that's what sisters are for). My contractions suddenly got VERY painful. We moved from triage to the delivery room, thankfully only a few doors down because I was hurtin'!
Contractions got bad. I did not want anyone to touch me. No chapstick. No music. No birthing ball. I laid on my side pushed on Simon's hand and rocked back and forth. Baby it hurt! But Simon was awesome. Poor guy, I think I confused him. I was holding his hand tight, telling him not to move, but to get me water, so he started letting go and I got mad and let him know someone ELSE was supposed to get the water and he should just hold my hand tight.
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| Love his "what's she gonna want next" face... |
"The next contraction we are gonna push."
I'm so scared!
11:25pm Three pushing breaths per contraction. Three or four rounds of pushing and... she was out. Praise the Lord!
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| (apparently they don't waste any time putting arm bands on...) |
The nurse's name what Charlotte. They tried not to act like it was a big deal that she came super fast and probably surprised them. I mean honestly...the doctor was talking about pitocin to speed up the contractions. Hah hah. Imagine that. She might have a shot to the moon.
While they cleaned her up, the doctor pulled out the rest of my innards. Then we tried breastfeeding. She had a tight jaw and was a bit chompy. Ouch. By the time we left the hospital, it was going a lot better. The time in the hospital was well spent resting. We had a few visitors and some nice time together with our families as well.
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| It's a good thing there were big rooms! |
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| Glad to share this experience with a sister |
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| Look at that, she can already wink! ;-) |
One of the most amazing things to me is how fast my recovery was this time around. Previously, I felt like I walked around for a few days like I still had a baby between my legs. Yikes. But this time, it was 2 days later and I had a hard time believing I just gave birth. During this pregnancy I took 2 herbs to help soften the cervix during labor: Red raspberry leaf and evening primrose. Unlike my previous pregnancies, I did NOT do yoga or exercise on a regular basis (besides taking care of my three children). So I guess I have to attribute my recovery success (and the fact that I didn't tear) to the herbs and the possibility that it was my third delivery, so I'm just getting more stretchy. TMI maybe. :)
My belly, on the other hand, seems like it will take a much much longer to recover than it did previously. I think I will look pregnant forever.
Oh the joys of the mommy life. :)
