We are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
Melina Isabel came out in three contractions (about 12
pushes) at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, February 16, 2013. She was 8 lbs. 10 oz. and 20 3/4 in. long. The entire non-medicated labor
lasted about 13 hours. This second birth experience was completely different
than my first.
I was induced with my first—twice—and had him vaginally (12
days after his estimated due date) after a grueling 6 hours of pushing. I
remember the pain being so intense after they broke my water (10 hours into active
labor) that I produced no change after an additional 2 hours of laboring and
ended up getting an epidural. Thank goodness for my very patient doctor who
respected my birth plan because I’m sure any other doctor would have called a
c-section long before my son was born. After that experience, I knew I would
never induce (unless medically necessary) again.
I went through my entire second pregnancy with the same
doctor, reiterating my wishes that I did not want to induce again and again.
When my due date (Feb. 10) came and went, I had my 40-week appointment and half
expected I would need to have a non-stress test at 41 weeks the following
Monday. But my little girl had other plans.
On Friday the 15th, after putting my son to bed,
I went to the gym to work out. I work full-time as a writer/office manager—a very
sedentary job—and I thought perhaps getting my hips moving would help the baby
get into a good position for birth. I worked out pretty hard on the elliptical
machine for 30 minutes, finishing up just before the gym closed, then came home
and got on my laptop to tie up a few loose ends for work. I just had a “feeling”
that was something I should do.
Throughout this pregnancy (unlike my first), I had felt many
Braxton hicks contractions along the way, but when I got up from the computer
that night, I felt a tightening followed by pain. “Was that a contraction—a real contraction?” I thought. I quickly
dismissed the idea and took a soothing bath, then prepared for bed. Clearly, I
was in denial because I gave my husband Ambien (it helps him sleep—but I wouldn’t
have given it to him had I thought we’d be heading to the hospital that night).
I tossed and turned for a few hours, feeling twinges here and there. At around 1:30 a.m., the twinges became more painful and rhythmic and I noticed they were coming about every 5 minutes. I waited almost two hours before waking my very groggy husband to tell him I thought I might be in labor.
We called his mom (who was coming to watch our son) and my parents to tell them what was happening. By 4:30, my contractions were about 4 minutes apart and increasingly painful, so we left for the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital around 5 a.m. and it took what
seemed like forever for them to monitor the baby and get the resident in to “check”
me. Finally, my husband had the nurse check me because I was in so much
discomfort lying on my back. I wanted to move! I was at 5 c.m. and 80% effaced—in
active labor, so they admitted me.
We got settled in our birthing suite and I alternated
between resting, walking around and sitting on the birthing ball. Let me tell
you, being able to move freely (as opposed to lying on your back with constant
monitoring due to Pitocin induction or an epidural) helped a lot with the
contractions. I found that pelvic rocks made my contractions more intense,
while walking didn’t really do much.
At some point in the early morning, my mom came to help coach me through labor. She also brought coffee for my exhausted husband, who was going on about 2 hours of sleep and was incredibly groggy from his sleeping pill. My husband and my mom alternated walking me around the childbirth unit and soothing me through contractions. I had a lot of back labor, so pressure and a heating pad helped, plus soothing touch and light conversation between contractions.
My nurse was great and very encouraging. She checked the
baby’s heart rate about every half hour for a few minutes, but other than that,
she let me labor quietly. Mid-morning, she checked my cervix (per the on-call
doctor’s request) and found that I was only to 6, but about 90% effaced. She thought
that the baby had moved down, but said the doctor would probably want to break
my water to “speed things up” when she came to do rounds.
The idea of breaking my water terrified me. With my first
delivery, breaking my water is what sealed the deal for the epidural. I couldn’t
handle the pain. How would this time be different?
When the doctor came in at 11:30, I was prepared to discuss
breaking my water with her, but I wasn’t sure I’d consent to it. Well, it turns
out she didn’t care what I thought. She checked me, then stuck a hook in and
broke my water, without so much as mentioning what she was going to do. This
infuriated my husband and my mom, who were both astonished at what had just
happened. I just sat there, dumbfounded as the next contraction came over me.
Tears streamed down my cheeks. I really wanted to have this baby without
medication, but I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to handle the pain.
My husband and my mom prayed over me and offered support. My
husband assured me that many were praying and read encouraging facebook posts
as they came through. But I was weary and exhausted.
The nurse suggested I go into the tub to rest for a while,
so that’s just what I did. And not only did my contractions NOT increase in intensity,
they seemed to space out and slow down altogether. I rested in the warm water
and allowed myself to get lost in the feeling of weightlessness for I don’t
know how long. It was almost like sleeping—almost—but then another contraction
would hit and I would have to concentrate on relaxing.
At some point, I decided it was time to get out and get
things moving along. I got back on the birthing ball—a position I would stay in
for most of the remainder of my labor. Because my water trickled out very
slowly with each contraction, the pain was bearable. My husband pressed a
heating pad to my back while my mom breathed through contractions with me and
helped me relax.
The nurse checked me again. I was at a stretchy 7-8 and 100%
effaced. She called the doctor to update her and came back to say the doctor
recommended Pitocin if things didn’t progress quickly. I immediately rejected the
idea and my support team backed me. Things were happening quickly.
The rest is kind-of a blur. I remember feeling an intense amount of pressure and wanting/needing to push. The nurse checked me again and said I was at 9 ½, but a lip of cervix wasn’t going away on the right side. I got in bed and began bearing down lightly with each contraction.
It wasn’t long—though it seemed like eons to me—before I was
ready to push. The doctor almost didn’t make it, my daughter came so fast. I
remember the excruciating pain and intense pressure as I pushed, and nearly hyperventilating
because I was pushing so hard (4 pushes per contraction). I didn’t believe my
mom when she said, “The baby is coming – NOW” because it took so long to have
my son. I stared in disbelief when, with a final push, the doctor was holding my
squirmy, hot little girl.
Seeing her was overwhelming. I held her for a few moments on
my chest, before passing her off for skin-to-skin with daddy while the doctor
fixed me up. I had sustained a second degree tear—something I also had with my
son, and the doctor thought it looked like I tore in the same place.
For the rest of the day, I was completely exhausted and
drained, but filled with joy. She was so beautiful, a wonderful nurser and a
great sleeper. Throughout our hospital stay, the nurses commented on what a
peaceful baby she was. That’s probably because I kept her in bed with me most
of the time and let her nurse as often as she liked. I figured she’d been inside
for 9 months, so right next to mama was right where she belonged.
Looking back at the experience 11 days later, yes, there are
things (such as the water breaking without my consent) that I wish had gone
differently. But I am so thankful that I got to experience natural labor and
delivery. It was an amazing, empowering experience.
I am still somewhat sore and still healing, but I am truly
amazed at how quickly my body has bounced back. God created women to be able to
do this. We are truly fearfully and wonderfully made.
