My due date came and went. It was a Friday and I knew the
baby was not coming that day, or over the weekend. He seemed pretty content inside. It seemed to me that he was going to be about a week late, and I was completely okay with that. On Monday, my
mom arrived and was scheduled to stay for two weeks. She had flown a red eye from
Alberta the night before so our first day together consisted of a three-hour
power nap and just lounging around. Little did I know how important that nap
was for me. I had been going non-stop all weekend getting things done around
the house and I needed the rest.
When I saw Megan, my midwife later that afternoon, we set up
an induction date for a week later. I did not want to be induced, but I also
did not want my mom to miss the birth or just be here for a few days after he
was born. Megan checked to see if I was dilated and we found out that I was
almost 3 centimeters! She told me not to get excited though, I could still not
go into labor for another week, but it was a good sign that things were
progressing.
That night when I went to bed, the thought of being induced
was looming over me. I prayed that I would not have to be induced and that
things would progress naturally.I woke up around 8 am the next morning. Uriah was working
the evening shift that day so he was at home. I was feeling a little weird, but
I couldn’t pinpoint it. I felt like I was nauseous or having very subtle gas pains
but I wasn’t sure. For the next hour I noticed them coming and going. I could
tell when they started but couldn’t tell when they ended. I had never
experienced Braxton hicks throughout my pregnancy so I really had no idea what
to expect. I used an app on my phone to time them every time I felt something.
It was happening sporadically, but frequently. I still wasn’t sure. I didn’t
want to get my hopes up.
Around 11 am it was becoming obvious to me that these were
contractions. They became stronger and more frequent. I could tell they were
not gas pains. I finally told Mom and Uriah that I was pretty sure I was in
labor but I was still not 100% convinced.
I started cleaning and tidying to keep myself distracted. I
was told by my midwife to try and stay home as long as possible so that’s what
I was going to do. I would clean in between contractions and then hug a pillow
or rock back and forth on the bed when a contraction came. They were painful,
but not unbearable.
Around 1pm it was obvious to me that this was the real deal.
The contractions were between 2-6 minutes apart, getting stronger as the hours
passed. I told Uriah that he should maybe call out of work that evening. I
called Ramona and told her that the baby was on his way.
I continued to distract myself by watching YouTube music
videos with the lyrics so I could sing along. A few hours later, I decided that it was time
to go. Mom was getting uneasy. I was
unsure how the baby was doing inside and felt that it was a good idea to have
him monitored. The contractions were painful and still bearable, but I wanted
to make sure the baby was okay. We left our house in the middle of rush hour so
it took a little over half an hour to get to Boston.
When I got into Triage at around 5:30 pm, they were able to
monitor the baby and see that he was doing just fine. The midwife checked to
see how far I was dilated and she was excited to let me know that I was almost
6 cm! Not too far to go! I was happy that I was that far along and still able
to withstand the pain. My sister Ramona arrived while I was still in Triage.
Now my birth support team was in place, I was ready to go.
They moved me into the delivery room where I met Nora, my
nurse for the next 1.5 hours. She was AWESOME. She was so sweet and physically
helpful as well. The entire time she was massaging my hands and back and offered
encouraging verbal support.
7 pm brought the shift change and a new midwife and nurse
were assigned to me. At this point Mom and Ramona took over Nora’s job and were
on either side of me constantly massaging my arms and back, playing with my
hair and just offering support. Uriah played songs for me and I tried to sing
along and distract myself. The contractions were very painful at this point and
I was having a hard time getting comfortable. They weren’t able to get a room
with a bathtub in it so I decided to try the shower. I hated it. I had to get
out immediately, which was odd because usually the shower helps me relax.
However, I was just about at a turning point in my labor. I sat on the toilet
and a few moments later my water broke. It was 8:15 pm. The nurse came and took
a look and saw that there was meconium in the fluid, which could mean the baby was
in distress. Now the baby’s heart rate had to be monitored continually until he
was delivered. Within a half hour of my water breaking, I started having very,
very painful and agonizing contractions.
After several super painful contractions, I told everyone
that I didn’t think I could continue without the epidural. I didn’t want to
feel anything anymore if the pain was going to get worse than this. Mom and
Ramona told me to do what I wanted to do. Uriah assured me that I could do it
without. He had heard me the last nine
months go on about how I didn’t want to get one. He said if I do get it, He didn’t
want the resident out in the hallway giving it to me because he recognized him
from the OR and didn’t trust him. Another resident came in to talk to me and said
I would have to stay still for ten minutes while they administered the epidural.
I didn’t think I would be able to stay still for that long. Also, the thought
of having a needle in my back was disturbing to me.
The midwife was called to come and check how much I was dilated
and then we would make the decision about the epidural. In the meantime I
worked through each painful contraction asking God for help and strength to get
through them.
Finally, at 9:30 pm and what seemed like an eternity later,
the midwife arrived and was pleased to tell me that I was almost ten
centimeters! There was just a tiny bit left to dilate and then the baby would
be coming! They told me that I could definitely do it without the epidural. Shortly
after that I began feeling the urge to push. Amazingly it was a bit of a relief
to push and it wasn’t as bad as the horrible contractions I experienced for a
little while.
I was positioned on my back, which was not the most
comfortable position to be in. I wanted to be able to move around. However, my nurse said that the baby calls
the shots from now on and it was the best way for her to monitor him. I was
okay with that. She gave me her hand and said I could squeeze it as hard as I
wanted.
The midwife sat sidesaddle below me. She was very calm and collected
and made me feel at ease. When I first began pushing, I would make a sound like
someone normally would when they were in pain. She told me to not make any
sounds and hold my breath each time I pushed. When I would start to push, she
would tell me to “keep going, keep going, keep going” way past the point where
I would have stopped on my own. I thought my head was going to explode every
time.
At my side, Mom, Uriah and Ramona were offering their
emotional support. Every couple of minutes the nurse gave me ice chips for
refreshment. Everyone was encouraging and told me that I was doing amazing and
that I was awesome. It’s those little things that helped me go on and get
through it.
As the delivery progressed, the top of his head was showing
more and more with each push. I was able to rest and regain my strength in
between contractions. Each break was probably about 30 seconds, which was just
what I needed. The midwife was massaging the area and helping it stretch for
his head to come through.
Finally, the dreaded “Ring of Fire” came. It’s one of those
things you can’t understand until you experience it yourself. Let’s just say it
lives up to its name. Thankfully it didn’t last long, but it was definitely the
most pain I have ever been in. That pain was worth it because right then was
when my sweet little Breton made his appearance at 10:15 pm. I could see his
sweet little body on the bed below me. His cord was wrapped around his leg,
chest and under his arm. The midwife handed him to the pediatric team that had been
waiting outside the curtain for the past few minutes because of the meconium
(he pooped while still in the womb) He started to cry right away but did not
inhale any meconium into his lungs. After suctioning all the meconium out of
his mouth and nose, they cleaned him off and handed him to me. We
couldn’t believe how cute he was. We were crazy about him right from the
beginning.
I couldn’t have asked for a better birth experience. Everyone was wonderful from the moment I
walked through the doors at MGH. My birth team was incredibly supportive and
played a key role in helping me achieve my natural birth. I am so grateful to
have my husband, mom and sister at my side offering much needed emotional and
physical support. It was the hardest thing I have ever done but definitely the
most rewarding.
8 am: Contractions started
5:30 pm: Admitted to hospital, 6 cm
8:15 pm: Water broke
9:30 pm: Full dilation
10:15 pm: Born
