I went into labor on my Dad's birthday. That whole day, I had been super sleepy and hung out on the couch mostly. Taking naps. Then my ride came to pick me up just before 11:00 that night, and we stopped at walmart to get groceries before going back to our trailer.
I started feeling very odd while I was walking around walmart and recognized it as contractions, which I began to time, and figured it was fake because sometimes it was 9 minutes apart, sometimes 2, and sometimes 5. And the intensity of it was always different--sometimes it hurt, but mostly it was just uncomfortable and weird.
I mentioned it to the girl I was with, and she offered to take me back to my parents' house since we hadn't left town yet.
I said no, it seems fake, and anyway, Anton can take me back if it turns out to be real...
Well, I got home and tried to sleep, but I kept feeling the contractions, so I got in a hot bath, which didn't do much. I kept getting in an out and trying to sleep, and hoping it would go away because it was really starting to hurt.
By around 5 in the morning, I called my midwife and told her that I had been timing it for over an hour and they were all under 6 minutes... but I still wasn't sure if it was real, and I didn't want to drag her out of bed if it wasn't. She advised me to take a bath and call her in a couple hours if it didn't go away.
I don't know why I failed to mention that by that point, I had been experiencing labor pains for the past 6 hours, 4 of which I spent mostly in a hot bath already...
I don't know why I failed to mention that by that point, I had been experiencing labor pains for the past 6 hours, 4 of which I spent mostly in a hot bath already...
It's kinda funny-- the whole third trimester, I kept saying how ready I was for this baby to come out, and Anton and I were both feeling impatient about it... but then that night, I was praying that the pain would go away because I decided I wasn't ready anymore and I didn't want to have a baby yet.
I waited for Anton to get home from work, which he does around 7 a.m., and when I heard him on the porch, I called him and told him to put his boots back on and start the jeep, because our baby was coming, whether I was ready or not.
He was so excited!
So, I show up at Mom and Dad's, can't hadle the pain, get in the bath, my midwife comes, about an hour later, she checks me and I'm dilated to a 7.
A little while later (by this point I have no concept of time), my water brakes... and then the real pain hits.
Oh, man, I thought I couldn't handle it before, but after that, I really started to hate life, and decided that maybe I don't want kids anymore.
Then I found myself wrenching free of my midwife's and Anton's hands, crying, "I can't do it," which... kind of freaked Anton out because I was totally hysterical, but I'm pretty sure the midwife told me to get a hold of myself.
Then the baby really started to come out. That part took forever (an hour and a half, my Mom said, but it felt more like 10 hours at the time), and then when I could feel his head actually coming out, I was slightly relieved. Only slightly, though, because it still really hurt. I was just relieved to see that I was actually making progress.
Once his head was all the way out, the rest of him follwed instantly. There was a true double knot in his cord, which was also wrapped around his neck. My midwife totally handled it, Anton cut the cord (which was impressively thick--even the midwife was surprised), and I held him... all slimey and everything. It was gross, but I was already in a bathtub full of blood, so... whatever, I guess.
He was so perfect, I said to Anton, "Look what we made," and as he cuddled with our baby, a couple hours later, he said, "We need more of these!" Of course, I felt like jello, so I said, "Ha!" as in, "yeah, right!" at the thought of doing that again.
But I'm already forgetting the pain. I know it hurt... but it's getting harder to remember the actual pain. Weird.
I waited for Anton to get home from work, which he does around 7 a.m., and when I heard him on the porch, I called him and told him to put his boots back on and start the jeep, because our baby was coming, whether I was ready or not.
He was so excited!
So, I show up at Mom and Dad's, can't hadle the pain, get in the bath, my midwife comes, about an hour later, she checks me and I'm dilated to a 7.
A little while later (by this point I have no concept of time), my water brakes... and then the real pain hits.
Oh, man, I thought I couldn't handle it before, but after that, I really started to hate life, and decided that maybe I don't want kids anymore.
Then I found myself wrenching free of my midwife's and Anton's hands, crying, "I can't do it," which... kind of freaked Anton out because I was totally hysterical, but I'm pretty sure the midwife told me to get a hold of myself.
Then the baby really started to come out. That part took forever (an hour and a half, my Mom said, but it felt more like 10 hours at the time), and then when I could feel his head actually coming out, I was slightly relieved. Only slightly, though, because it still really hurt. I was just relieved to see that I was actually making progress.
Once his head was all the way out, the rest of him follwed instantly. There was a true double knot in his cord, which was also wrapped around his neck. My midwife totally handled it, Anton cut the cord (which was impressively thick--even the midwife was surprised), and I held him... all slimey and everything. It was gross, but I was already in a bathtub full of blood, so... whatever, I guess.
He was so perfect, I said to Anton, "Look what we made," and as he cuddled with our baby, a couple hours later, he said, "We need more of these!" Of course, I felt like jello, so I said, "Ha!" as in, "yeah, right!" at the thought of doing that again.
But I'm already forgetting the pain. I know it hurt... but it's getting harder to remember the actual pain. Weird.
Yay! Congratulations!! He is definitely a Ringen (especially in that last picture)!
ReplyDeleteOh he's so cute I want to cry! Because I can't be there to hold him. Thanks for sharing your birth story :). I love to read birth stories. I know it hurts. Every single time I tell Shawn I'm going to a hospital to have an epidural if I ever have another one. He always laughs. You did a great job! Did you take those pics?
ReplyDeleteI did tell Anton I'm going to a hospital next time, where I can get an epidurral. He says it went great the way we did it, and that's what we're doing next time, too. We'll see, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI took some of the pictures, and Anton took some. His are better than mine. :-)