Alright, so first contraction at 11:30. I didn't think much of it, but I had another one about 25 minutes after it...and another one about 25 minutes after it. I was trying to sleep, but that wasn't working. So I got up and shaved my legs just in case this was the real deal. The contractions continued at this rate until about 5 in the morning. Then they picked up speed and started happening about every 10-11 minutes. We figured it was probably real labor around 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. I called my midwife to tell her I thought I was in labor. Turns out that this particular weekend was her one weekend off for the month, and her daughter was graduating from college that day. Therefore, she would not be delivering my baby if it happened soon. Around noon the contractions had picked up and were coming every 5-6 minutes. She said I should lie down and try to slow them down. We did that for a while, and the contractions did space out to about 10 minutes apart again. Around this time I was getting in touch with the back up doctor and let her know what was going on. She told me I didn't need to come in until they were around 5 minutes apart again.
Will and I walked around the neighborhood some because by then we realized this was really happening and there was no reason to slow it down. Because of the walking, the contractions picked up to every 7-8 minutes around 2:00 p.m. Then around 3:00, they picked up again to every 5-6 minutes. At this point, I had technically been in labor for more than 15 hours. We called the doctor to tell her we were headed that way, and we left for Baylor at 4:00 p.m. We knew it would take about 40 minutes to get there.
For most of the day, I hadn't been talking much. I was super focused and trying to relax through the pain. I did the same thing on the car ride. By the time we got to the hospital, the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart. We got checked in at labor and delivery, and they took us to our room.
I changed into the hospital gowns and they strapped me to the monitors. While I was strapped to them, I had to answer a lot of medical questions. Liam was doing fine through the labor. Then the nurse checked my cervix. I was dilated 4-5 cm and 90% effaced, so I had gotten somewhere with all that labor. Then they had to put a heplock in and hook me up to an IV so I could get antibiotics since I was Group B Strep positive. Finally I was able to get up and walk around the room. From 6:00 - 7:00 p.m., the contractions were 2 minutes apart. Will was so wonderful throughout the entire day. I had back labor, so he massaged my back through the contractions and let me lean on him through them. He never once freaked out or lost his cool. At some point around this time, I decided I wanted to labor in the bathtub. I didn't stay in there too long, but it did make the contractions a little more bearable.
Soon after that (around 8:00 p.m.), I lost my mucous plug and my water broke on its own. It was then time for another cervix check. This time, I was dilated 8 cm and was 100% effaced.
Then transition happened.
It is by far the worst part of labor. The contractions became constant and more intense. My legs started shaking. All day long, I had been very quiet, but at this point I started vocalizing the pain. I didn't scream, but I definitely cried out in pain. About 8:30, I got the urge to push. I ran to the bathroom because it felt like I was about to make a mess everywhere. From the bathroom, I cried out that I had to push and the nurses told me to get out of there and into the bed then. The doctor wasn't there yet, but there were several other nurses and I think a resident. They were quickly trying to ready the bed and room for the delivery.
I got in the bed and the contractions slowed down just a little bit. But with every one of them, I had to push. I couldn't not push. I had to bear down, hold my breath, and count to ten through the pushing. I definitely started grunting and making strange noises at this point. They put up a mirror so I could see what I was doing. I got to see his head crowning. At some point in there, the doctor finally showed up. I was very focused on pushing Liam out. I could feel him moving down. Pushing is not the most painful part of labor, even when his head was crowning. Transition is far worse. Anyway, I knew I was so close to the end. I was just determined to get there. After about 15 minutes of pushing, I knew that one more good push would get the job done. So I bore down and pushed as hard as I could, for as long as I could.
And then Liam was born at 8:48 p.m. on a Saturday night.
I felt him come out, and it was instant pain relief. I started crying and Will started crying (from happiness!) Then Liam started crying too! They put him on my belly, wiggling all around and wailing loudly. Will wasn't too keen on cutting the cord, so I did it.
The next little bit is a blur, but I know they took Liam to the table to get checked out, and I had to get a few stitches (That last push did it). Then they brought him back to me and I got to nurse him for the first time. He knew just what to do. He was so alert.
That's the birth story of Liam Edward. I did achieve my goal of a non-medicated birth. The thought of getting an epidural never even crossed my mind. The pain of it all was actually not as bad as I thought it would be. My good coaching and focus, it can be done. Through the pain, I just kept telling myself over and over that "There will be relief." For some reason, the word "relief" actually brought it, even through transition.
It was truly an amazing and overwhelming experience. I could not have done it without Will. It was a wonderful bonding experience that definitely brought us closer to each other.
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