Labor and Delivery

I wrote this shortly after Kaelyn was born on April 24th, 2009 so I could remember how it all happened later on. People always say you forget and it's true because as I go back and read this now I didn't remember many of the details!

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So here is the story of Kaelyn's labor and delivery. Read at your own risk! :) Not that it's that bad, but if you read something you don't like, don't say I didn't have a warning on it! ;)

Thursday April 23rd I just felt crampy all day. Kind of like I was going to get my period or something. Nothing terrible, but it's just not fair when you're THAT pregnant and still have period-like cramps. I also think I was experiencing what they call "the bloody show" which I read online is the mucus plug (what holds your water in) slowly releasing itself. It wasn't a big huge mess or any big deal at all. Just a huge increase in mucusy stuff and a tiny thread of blood on occasion. I really only noticed because it was different than anything I'd really had thus far in the pregnancy. So I wondered if something might be up.

I'd been having very minor contractions for a week. Mostly in the car, it seemed. Nothing that hurt, just a tightening around the middle for a few seconds and that was that. On Thursday I didn't really have any of that, just the cramps.

So I worked all day Thursday and then came home. I had a feeling something was up and I knew they don't let you eat or drink once you get to the hospital so I made supper (chicken breasts and baked potatoes!) I felt kind of sick like I had a touch of the flu or something so I really didn't want to eat it, but I did anyways. However, I couldn't sit down to eat. I felt much better if I was up and walking. Pretty much, again, like the beginning of bad cramps when you get your period. So I'm pacing around, taking a bite of supper on my way past. Sean went upstairs to shower or something so I called my sister. I was like, I'm really crampy, but no contractions, what do I do? SHe's like, uh, call your doctor!!! Oh yeah, good idea! :)

I called the doctor and described what I was feeling and she said yeah, it sounds like you should come in. So I started to pack up the few other things we wanted to take with us and off we went.

We got to the hospital right around 8:30pm. I didn't have to do much to check in because I pre-registered. I just gave them my insurance card and they took me to a labor and delivery room and told me to get naked. The nurse came in after awhile and "checked me." I told her the doctor on Tuesday had said I was about 5cm dialated. The nurse said she thought it was more like 4. I was like what?! No way! So I was starting to wonder if they were going to send me home or something.

They took my blood pressure which was 145 over something. She asked if I had problems with high blood pressure. I'm like, uh, no, it's usually like 90 over something. They hooked up the baby heart monitor and the contraction monitoring thingy, whatever it's called. She said I was definitely in active labor and she would call the doctor with her report.

She talked to the doctor and it sounded like I really was in labor but not REALLY hard active labor so they wanted to break my water. All I wanted to do was get up and move around and I was really annoyed that they made me lay there for that long!

They had me start signing a bunch of forms. I could have signed my whole life away or written them into my will for all I know. I just signed what they put in front of me. They asked what I thought about epidurals and showed me the list of possible complications for that. I said I wanted to wait and see so I didn't sign that at that point. Still all I wanted to do was get up and walk around. I knew if I could do that I'd feel just fine. They said they'd break my water and then monitor the baby for 20 minutes and then I could get up and walk if all was well.

They started an IV of fluids. I remember asking in our childbirth class if I'd feel the IV in my hand and the teacher said yes, but you won't care. She was right. I did feel it go in but once it was set up there were other things going on so I could have cared less.

So about 9:30 they brought in that crocheting looking hook. I said, what is this going to feel like?! They said it would just feel like a regular "womanly" exam. Though they didn't say womanly, those are my words. And really it did, it didn't hurt. Some people had said it hurt really bad and others said it didn't hurt at all. I side with those that say it really didn't hurt. And it wasn't even a huge gush or anything. I barely noticed. And at this time it's past my bedtime so I really just want to go to sleep. Or walk around, I guess.

They monitored the baby for 20 minutes. Again, I was just really menstrual like crampy and I just wanted to get up and walk already! Everything must have looked good because they finally said I could get up and walk. Sean helped me get up and drag the iv poll thingy into the bathroom. I thought I'll go to the bathroom quick and we'll go stroll the halls. Well, I got into the bathroom and felt SO sick. Like I had the flu really badly. So I just sat there for awhile. Then I got up and put my forehead on the cold sink and stood there for awhile. I didn't want to lay down but I couldn't move from the bathroom either. I never did get sick, but I sure felt like I could. Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that chicken breast after all?! :) Sean asked a few times if I wanted to go walk and I don't remember really answering him. At that point I just was beyond being polite and answering when I was spoken to. You don't feel like talking when you have the flu either, do you?! After maybe 20 minutes of standing around I made it out of the bathroom and back into bed. The last thing I wanted to do was lay there, but the last thing I COULD do was walk. The one thing I wanted to do. What do you do!!

From that time on things happened really fast. I remember Sean asking if he should call my mom back. We had called and told her we were going to the hospital but we didn't know if I was REALLY in labor or not so we'd call her back and let her know what was up when we knew more. He didn't call anyone because like I said, things started happening fast and he probably got distracted too! Again, I didn't care.

I don't know how to describe the feeling really, other than really bad menstrual cramps. And feeling really sick. I heard Sean ask the nurse how long it would take and she said generally 8-24 hours for a first baby. At that point I thought, if this is the beginning of labor, I can't do this for very long. I even said something to Sean about I didn't know if I could NOT have the drugs because I felt really horribly sick. And if that was just the beginning, I didn't know if I could handle that nasty feeling for 24 hours.

Then things intensified quite a bit, though, apparently. I had no idea what time it was or what was going on. I had heard contractions felt like getting your blood pressure taken. Your middle just gets tighter and tighter and tigheter and then lets up. That was what I had been experiencing the last week in the really painless contractions. I don't feel like that was the case during actual labor. I don't even know how to describe it, really. You hear about the urge women have to push. I never understood that either. But it was definitely there. It was like my whole belly had taken over everything. I suppose that was a contraction but I didn't feel like things got tighter. You know when you're going to be sick and you try to stop yourself but it comes up anyways. I didn't feel like I was going to be sick anymore, but my whole stomach area was convulsing somehow and I didn't feel like I could stop anything. I don't really feel like I was in pain, but I was definitely uncomfortable.

I must have grunted or groaned or something because when the nurse came in she said "Are you feeling pushy?" I whispered yes because I wasn't really into talking at the time. Sean was being really sweet and wiping my forehead with a cold wet cloth. I was sweaty and really hot. I had been since the bathroom incident so he had a job in trying to cool me off.

Anyways, the nurse checked me and I was at 8cm. I don't know what time it was, but it had probably only been an hour, maybe an hour and a half. I think she was really surprised. I was very pleased because that meant hopefully I wouldn't have to deal with that sick crampiness for 24 hours!!

At that point things get pretty hazy. I know Sean cracked a joke about the baby's heartbeat sounding like a goose. He also made an actually really funny joke but neither of us can remember what he said now. And it didn't matter how funny he was being, I pretty much ignored him. I think I said "ice" once and "chapstick" once and that was about it.

The nurse kept coming in and out and telling me to blow through the contractions. Because apparently you can't blow and push at the same time. I still don't know if I believe that because I feel like I could have pushed while doing about ANYTHING else. But I blew. Sean was helpful because he was watching the monitor and telling me as the contractions were coming back down. That was good to know. However, he also would tell me to get ready, one was coming. I didn't appreciate that because I KNEW when something was coming, I didn't need to anticipate it more. But once again, I wasn't in the most talkative of moods so I couldn't tell him to knock it off at that point. Sometimes he would blow with me as well and that was annoying because he had gum and that peppermint smell was getting to me.

The nurse checked me again and I was at 9 1/2. I Was like you have got to be KIDDING me. IT was happening fast, but at that point, not fast enough for me! I know I barely whispered something to Sean along the lines of I can't do this. I didn't mean that I couldn't have the baby. Obviously that wasn't a choice! :) I meant that I cannot just lay here and NOT push anymore. IT's the weirdest thing. You hear about the urge to push but until you're in that situation...it's almost IMPOSSIBLE not to do what your body is SCREAMING you HAVE to do! But I blew and blew. The nurse checked shortly after and I was at 10. She then called the doctor. I still don't think the nurse believed what was happening because hello...I went from 4-8 in no time flat and now 10 was here and no doctor? As she called the doctor she said "let's see how fast the doctor can run!" Once again, I didn't care, I just wanted to push. I didn't care if anyone caught the baby or they just put a basket under there.

The nurse finally let me start pushing. I really feel like the hardest part was NOT doing what my body was telling me to do and trying to hold back. Once I got to pushing, watch out! :) I had no idea what time it was and I didn't care. I keep saying I didn't care, I didn't care. But that's exactly what I felt.

I pushed maybe 3-4 times and the doctor FINALLY got there. EVeryone kept saying what a good job I was doing and I was like whatever, I Don't care! :) Just get this baby out of me! At one point they put an oxygen mask on me. I'm still not sure why I didn't feel like I needed a thing. I think I overheard something about it happening SO fast I needed the extra oxygen to take stress off the baby. The mask was annoying me more than anything. I asked Sean later if it scared him when they put that on me and he was like no, not really. Thanks, Sean! :) After a couple of more pushes I was able to ask Sean what time it was. HE said like 11:45pm. I knew it was getting close to birth time because they were talking about crowning.

Sean and I have a thing with 4s. I Was born on a 4, he was born on a 4, we got married on a 4. So I was curious about the time to see if the baby would be born on the 24th or the 23rd. At that point, I didn't care, can you believe it?! :) I just wanted her out.

According to Sean, we got up to 11:57pm and the contractions were coming really close together and really fast. They had me push 3 times for 10 seconds each each time a contraction came. That was awesome because that's all I wanted to do. But at 11:57 the contraction monitoring machine just flatlined. Everything just STOPPED completely. They had JUST said probably one or two more pushes and you're done. Well, everything STOPPED. I had no urge to push, no contractions were coming, nothing was happening. That made me rather angry but I still didn't feel like talking so I just laid there. The doctor said I must be working up to one last big one and I'm like oh great. Just bring it on already! At 12am here it came and the baby was officially born at 12:01am. She was just waiting out those last few minutes to get a 4 in her birthday. That's our theory. That made me pretty mad at the time, but I've since forgiven her. :) They put her on my chest and I think I Was mostly feeling a sense of disbelief. This living breathing thing really came out of my belly?! They took her to be weighed and measured and cleaned up a little and Sean went with her to watch and start taking pictures.

They had a little problem getting the placenta out of me. I probably wasn't helping much at that point. I was thinking, I already had a baby, leave me alone! But eventually it came out and it looked gross and all was well. The doctor said she'd done a small episiotomy on me. I never noticed, nor did I care. I also heard her as she was leaving tell the nurses there was a second degree tear. I don't know what that means. But honestly, I didn't feel any of that. Once I Was pushing what I Was feeling was a burning sensation "down there" I didn't feel a tear or a rip or a cut or stretching or any of the things you would THINK you would feel when you're trying to get an over 8 pound baby one of an area that just doesn't seem like things like that should fit!

The baby pretty much screamed through her whole bath. I guess I can't blame her, she was used to being in a warm safe tight environment and now she was naked and cold and getting water dumped on her! Strangely I had to go to the bathroom really soon after they were done with the stitches. They made me lay there for awhile and then took the IV out and helped me get up to go to the bathroom. I was moving pretty slow and was sore, but not unbearably so. They said they would bring me motrin but they must have forgotten because I didn't get any until I Was in the regular hospital room about 10 hours later. I never would have asked for it, though. Had they not said I really should take it I wouldn't have bothered.

As for the baby, it wasn't an instant burst into tears type of moment. I think I was more in a haze of disbelief. I've loved her since we first found out about her, but that intense motherly love feeling came later on. At first I was just glad she was out! As I've said a dozen times by now, I just didn't care about anything more! But I find now that each time I see her that love grows more and more. It's fascinating all of the details she has, I mean, eyelashes and fingernails and dark hair on her head. Just from hanging out in my belly for a few months? That's pretty amazing!

So, what's the verdict?! Will I have another baby? I can't say that I will. I can't say that I won't. I just know that this one is enough for now! But to get her, I would do it all over again. And from the horror stories others just LOVE to tell pregnant people, I had a really easy labor and delivery. I really never felt like I needed the drugs they offer. It was fast, to the point, no complications, straight forward. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had in my life but it wasn't horribly awful like I stayed awake some nights imagining. She went easy on me! Or perhaps as they always say, I have already started to forget it all. That's why I wanted to write down as much as I could remember now! People would ask, do you enjoy being pregnant? Um, no! I don't enjoy going to the bathroom every 30 minutes and having to rock myself in just the right way to try to get up from bed. I don't enjoy following my belly around and feeling very tired all the time. But I have to say, I pretty much enjoy everything about this baby! She sometimes eats EVERY hour. All through the night. My mom says you've got to be exhausted! Sometimes I am. But like in labor and delivery, I just don't care! I'll do this as long as she needs it to be done. Nothing else matters anymore.

Thus ends the story of Kaelyn's labor and delivery. I am happy to be able to tell a positive story. Like I Said, people tend to like telling their labor horror stories to pregnant ladies. That's not very nice. Save it for AFTER I have the baby, would you? They didn't! :) So if I can reassure someone sometime that the experience is different for everyone and it doesn't have to be a horrible awful ordeal, then I will!