Birth Story!

Hello Ladies,

Alright...this is long overdue...but I finally had a quiet moment this morning and decided that I better get this down or else it's just never going to happen!

As you all know, my January 8th due date came and went, leaving me anxiously wondering if Matthew was ever going to be born. The Doctors spoke with me about the possibility of an induced labor...meaning they would give me some pitocin, an artificial form of the hormone oxytocin, to stimulate uterine contractions. In general, artificially induced labor can take up to three times as long as a natural labor, with the contractions being much more intense. So, I was going to do everything I could to avoid this. The Doctors measured the baby at my January 10th appointment and determined that they could let me go up until January 20th, but if there was no sign of labor by then they would have to induce me. So I spent a lot of time exercising, stretching (lunges!...don't ever do this while pregnant unless your husband is there to help you up...I got stuck a couple times), drinking raspberry leaf tea, and issuing verbal commands to my unborn child ("You will obey your mother and leave your watery little fortress!").

Nothing worked. I started to get depressed, angry, and very very grumpy. On the morning of January 17th, I was in a particularly bad mood. I was feeling incredibly uncomfortable and was alarmed to discover that morning that I had a very tiny stretch mark on my lower abdomen. In an effort to lighten my mood, Paul slipped a wonderful surprise into my morning latte. As most of you know, the FDA highly discourages pregnant women from imbibing during the entire 9 months of pregnancy and I had adhered rigorously to this rule...until Paul decided to spike my latte with some Bailey's. It was the most wonderful drink I had ever had in my life...probably because I had not experienced alcohol for so long. I began to instantly relax...my mood improved...and suddenly I began to experience regular contractions. Early labor had finally begun!

Unfortunately, that very evening Paul had arranged for several of his buddies from work to come over to watch the season premiere of "24." By 6pm, right before everyone was supposed to show up, my contractions had started to become more painful and I was feeling really nauseous. I tried to rest in bed while Paul's friends were over, but the contractions were really uncomfortable and made it difficult to sleep. At this point, they were very similar to really bad menstruel cramps...so nothing too terrible yet. By 2 a.m., the contractions were 10 minutes apart and picking up in intensity. At our lamaze class, Paul and I learned how to cope with the contractions by breathing through them properly. The whole point of the breathing exercise is to get your body to relax so that the contractions can do their job. The more you tense up during the contractions, the less progress your body will make towards actually getting the baby out. Let me tell you...it is really difficult to focus on relaxing your body when you are extremely tired and the dang contractions keep waking you up from a potentially restful sleep. Anyway, the contractions remained at 10 minutes apart the whole night and into the morning. I was getting really annoyed that no further progress was being made...so I forced Paul to take me on a long walk to see if we could push my body further into labor. We spent the majority of the day walking and stopping every time a bad contraction hit. By the mid afternoon, the contractions were 7 minutes apart and picking up in intensity.

Around 3pm, we made the big mistake of giving Paul's Mom a call. She was eager to hear about how everything was progressing, so we filled her in. She then proceeded to ask us about how the baby was moving after each contraction. I told her that the baby seemed to be disturbed by the contractions because he would kick violently after each one passed. She seemed upset by this answer and urged us to call the Doctor because she had heard that if the baby reacted this way that there could be a problem with the umbilical cord. Naturally freaked out, we called the Doctor who urged us to come into her office. Upon our arrival, they strapped me down to a chair to monitor the baby's heartbeat and conduct an ultrasound. Sometime during our visit to the Doctor's office, my contractions suddenly stopped. That really pissed me off.

As you can probably guess, nothing was wrong with the baby. Apparently, you actually WANT the baby to respond to the contractions. At this point, I was pretty upset at both Paul's Mom (for freaking us out) and my body (for apparently being broken). Paul and I picked up a pizza and some ice cream on our way home...I'm all about drowning my frustration in calories. Before we got home, the contractions suddenly returned....once again 7 minutes apart but MUCH more painful.

I managed to pack away 3 pieces of pizza...but I never got to the ice cream. The contractions were so painful that I could not talk, walk, sit, stand, whatever....hard to describe but I was so desperately uncomfortable! Paul called the Doctor to describe the contractions, but she told us not to come to the hospital until they were at least 5 minutes apart. However, the pain was picking up so much that we decided to just go to the hospital anyway (at this point, they were still 7 minutes apart).

We arrived at the hospital around 10:30 p.m. where they agreed to check to see how progressed the labor was. Just as a reference: you need to be dilated 9-10 cm before you can even start pushing the baby out. Beginning around 37 weeks, I was 2 cm dilated. When they checked me at the hospital, I was barely 3 cm dilated...which really confused me because the contractions were very painful and apparently NOT DOING ANYTHING! The doctor told us to go home and come back in the morning so she could administer some pitocin to hasten the labor (which at this point had lasted almost 30 hours). Paul did NOT want to take me home and asked the doctor to allow us to stay the night. The doctor finally agreed.

Now here is the really funny part...I had not slept well the night before and by this time was so exhausted from coping with the contractions. I asked the Doctor if there was something I could take that would allow me to sleep through the contractions. She immediately prescribed a sleeping pill for me to take...and I swallowed it around 12:30 AM. Worst idea EVER! The sleeping pill immediately knocked me out...but it did not prevent me from waking with every single contraction. Instead, it pretty much erased my memory so that each time I awoke to the pain of the contractions, I had completely forgotten:
1) Where I was
2) Where Paul was
3) That I was pregnant

Naturally, this was not an ideal scenario for dealing with contractions.

Paul told me that every 5 minutes, I would wake up screaming for him...and then about 60 seconds later I would pass back out...only to awaken in another 5 minutes....etc. He still talks about how that was the worst night of his life. Apparently, at one point he asked God: "Will this never end?!?!?"

At 3:30 a.m., I woke up frantically to the most intense pain I have ever experienced in my life. I really do not know how to describe it...but it was strong enough to completely snap me out of my sleeping pill-induced stupor. I was suddenly experiencing the intense urge to push that baby out. I grabbed Paul's collar and told him to run and get the nurse. She came flying into the room and immediately checked me. I was fully dilated and ready for the "pushing phase of labor." Apparently, she had last checked me at 2:50 a.m. only to find that I was still only 3 cm dilated, meaning that I had dilated 7 cm in 40 minutes...a ridiculously short amount of time. If we had been at home, the baby may very well have been born either on the kitchen floor or in the car on the way to the hospital.

I was eager to begin pushing (because that means that there is an end in sight!!!). However, I was informed that I had to wait for the Doctor. I do not know how to describe the urge to push...but it is so incredibly intense that trying to prevent your body from pushing actually hurts so much more than any other labor pain. I had to wait over 1 hour for the doctor to finally show up. However, I found it much more satisfying to cope with these pains than any of the other previous pains I had been experiencing. I kept thinking about the baby, listening to Paul tell me how much he loved me and what a great job I was doing (ha!), and imagining holding the baby for the first time. All those thoughts reminded me that the pain had a purpose and suddenly it did not hurt as bad as it had before.

The Doctor finally arrived and the nurses set me up for the pushing phase of labor. I did not actually see any of the commotion that was going on around me. I found it much easier to focus on coping with the pain with my eyes closed...I did not actually open them until Matthew was finally born. Anyway...we commenced the pushing and this phase quickly became my favorite part of the whole labor. With each push, I could feel the progress of the baby being born and it was really satisfying to know that he was on his way out. I pushed in sets...one set consisted of three pushes...and then about a 5-7 minute rest before beginning the next set. Between sets, I could not wait to begin the next set...and I remember thinking while pushing "Thank God I love pilates so much...because you really need to work those abdominal muscles!" At one point, the nurse told me they could see the baby's head arriving and asked if I wanted to feel the top of his head. I immediately told her: "Hell no! Let's get him out...then I'll feel his head!" She then asked if I wanted a mirror so I could see the progress we were making....and again I told her no, I would just take her word for it! Anyway, as he officially began to "crown," the Doctor told me that I would be feeling a really intense burning sensation, often described as a "ring of fire." I actually felt no such thing....as soon as I heard that he was officially crowning, I pushed one final time with all my might and suddenly felt his little, chubby body slip out (along with a whole lot of other stuff...eww). They immediately flopped him onto my stomach and I opened my eyes for the first time since taking that sleeping pill to see my gorgeous, plump little boy. I looked up to see that Paul had tears in his eyes as he joyously proclaimed: "You are my hero!" As I looked at Matthew and held him for the first time, I remember saying over and over again: "You are so perfect! I love you so much!"

Now in all honesty, after going through labor and birth without drugs....I can say that the absolute euphoria experienced immediately after the birth is the most amazing thing in the world. It is the ultimate high....you are just so filled with love for EVERYONE (Paul tells me that I kept thanking everyone in the room for all that they did to assist me through the birth). That entire day, I felt suspended in a state of ultimate bliss. And instantly dropping about 20 pounds was the weirdest/most delightful feeling in the world as well...I actually weighed less immediately after birth than I had before I became pregnant. And being able to look/hold/touch your baby for the first time makes every pain of the pregnancy and labor completely worthwhile. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Only, let's wait a couple years.

Anyway...I know this was really quickly jotted down and kind of a ramble. If there is anything else you guys would like to know that I did not talk about or address, please do not hesitate to ask! I cannot wait for everyone to meet Matthew...I will be home from April 1st-11th.

I love you all!

Love,

Monica