Small recap of the last few weeks of the pregnancy:
Like any other woman , the last few weeks before his arrival were very taxing. You are not sleeping well, you feel huge , etc. Even though you KNOW it will all be worth it...it becomes hard to remind yourself of that. Having some trouble with groin and hip pain , on top of knowing what natural child birth involves/feels like. I went natural with Kade(#2) and had an epidural with Pierce(#1). I was not quite as 'Gung Ho' about Hyde's natural delivery. But I did know it was what I wanted again. And that like everything else surrounding welcoming your child...it will all be worth it in the end. So, I was nervous the last few weeks about the labor and delivery.
Saturday 9/1/12: 38.5 weeks
Woke up trained personal client, taught Fusion, taught Core. Felt pretty good! He of course felt very low during Fusion but I still was moving pretty good and worked up a tremendous sweat! The rest of the day was Kade's 5th birthday celebration with our family and I really felt like I had another week or so left before Hyde came. Went to bed with a disaster of a house from the party...thinking, oh we will clean in the morning...
Sunday 9/2/12
I woke up at 6:20, feeling what I thought for about 15 minutes were my strong Braxton Hicks that I had been having for months. About 20 minutes into it, I started thinking they felt really low and a little more "pain " than "discomfort". So at 6:40 I woke Mike up and said I was about 70% sure this was it. He was like,"what the heck does 70% mean?" ;)
We decided to start cleaning and showering and all just in case they got stronger and it was the day. As I was in the middle of changing my clothes, my water broke in our bedroom right in front of Mike at 7:00AM on the dot. We were both so shocked we laughed and freaked out all at once. "Guess this IS it!". We quickly showered, and got Mike's Mom to head over to the house for Pierce and Kade. On the way to hospital my contractions were 4-5 min. apart but VERY bearable. I was putting on my makeup in the car on the way ;)
When we arrived at the hospital around 8:45AM, and got checked in, I was 4 cm dilated, confirmed bag of water broken and good patterned contractions. I was immediately relieved that my nurse, April, seemed great! For the next couple hours, I was chatting on the phone, and walking laps around the L and D halls to try to get things going and pass time. The nurses were all smiles each time I passed them and they told Mike I "walked strangely fast" " is she really in labor" My friends and family that I talked to on the phone were surprised of my joking and laughing too.
My Dr. was not on call that day. So again, I was worried but then quickly relieved to find out the Dr. who would be delivering was awesome too, just like my nurse. Things looked good!
When the Dr. checked around 11AM, I was 5cm. Only 1cm progression in 2 hrs. I was surprised. But as soon as that dilation check happen, the pain grew quickly. I no longer was cheery, and was having to start my mental challenge of figuring out how to deal with the pain. Things that had provided some coping with Kade's labor were not working and I quickly became scared of the pain and pretty much just miserable. Mike of course was being awesome and trying to help as much as he could. By 12, I knew this was going to be extremely difficult and I wanted just Mike and I in the room . Our plan was both Grandmas and Aunt T, just like with the other two. But my mental place was different this time...very all of the sudden. Around 12:15, I still had not been checked again but the nurse was now in there trying to help Mike and I find where I was somewhat comfortable. Sitting, lying, squatting, standing, etc.- nothing was working.
At this point, the pain was so excruciating that my will power was gone. I wanted to be out of pain. NOW. In child birth, the unbearable pain...the pain your literally do not think you can live through is at 8-10 cm mark. And the last time I was checked, I was only 5-6cm. So, in my head, I was thinking this is only the half way point, there in no way I can keep on! With Pierce and Kade, delivery was about another 4 hours after the 5cm mark and the pain progressed slowly but surely over those 4 hrs. I told Mike I didn't think I could do it this time.'It' being not get the epidural. He initially encouraged me that I could but then got scared with me and didn't like seeing me that way. When I told my nurse I was wanting to call the anesthesiologist, she said she would if I wanted. But, she that really thinks that by the time I got it and it kicked in, I would have already delivered. She encouraged me that I was close and that we should check one more time before I made that big decision. ( at this point checking was very painful so that's why they had not been). And...she was right. She checked and I was at 7-8cm. I owe my nurse ,April, a lot. Things could have been a lot different if I had had a different nurse.
It was about 12:30 now. Encouraged, remembering that I CAN do this, and knowing I was close, I found my "zone". I sat down on the birthing ball ( exercise ball) leaned back into my husband's arms and prayed and cursed through every contraction. This time unlike with Kade, every contraction, I squeezed on Mike's fingers. After the fact, he told me he thinks a few are broken. And just now he told me he still, can't even hold his dumbbells today ;) In between the contractions, I tried my best to relax and take several deep breaths. The nurse let us be for few during that time and said to push the call button when I felt the pressure change.. At about 12:55, the pain was scream worthy, and that I did. I couldn't even tell Mike to push the call button. I popped up and pushed it myself. The nurse could tell by my body language when she came in and immediately called for the Dr. and 'the team'. They all rushed in as I climbed up on to the bed. Before the Dr. even said I could, I pushed as I was climbing up there; I had to! Dr. said, "Breathe , let's make sure you are fully dilated to 10cm." She checked- I was- so she said, "go for it, push again" I did. Then did again, as I was pretty much half trying to stand up in the bed because I didn't want to lie down. On my 3rd push, Hyde's head was out. On my 4th push at 1:00 sharp, my little miracle ( who certainly did not feel so little) was all the way out and I was holding him. There are no words for that emotion(s). At that very moment is when the "IT IS ALL WORTH IT" part sets in . The relief is immediate and the definition of true, unconditional love at first site is there all at once. I watched my husband fall in love immediately with his third son as he tried to see past his tears to cut the umbilical cord. God shows you the purpose of life. And the postpartum euphoria that comes with natural child birth was there. I was ready to walk right out of there with my new love! WE DID IT!!!
This is absolutely beautiful! Tears in my eyes
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