So...two weeks ago I had a baby.
This is the labour birth story, for those who (including you Jake, aka the father) who missed the whole labour/delivery thing and just came for the after party of "meeting the baby".
I was talking to a friend of mine on July 13 and she asked me how I was doing and she told me the exciting news that they are pregnant. I said I was doing fine and that I hadn't got any of the warning signs that I can now depict from when I was pregnant with DJ like backache, mucus plug coming out, bowel changes (my intestines were making weird noises, very loudly I might add and it was embarrassing since I was still at work), menstrual like cramping - aka the early contractions. The mucus plug thing was the only thing that I knew meant that labour was around the corner but when I looked that up it varies from person to person of how soon labour would come. It ranged from three days to two weeks - depending on how fast or slow the mucus plug would come out.
Anyways, this is Conans birth story...
Since I hadn't got any of the "warning signs" I told her that it definitely wouldn't be this week. I still had tons of energy and was feeling great. Just after the phone call I started getting slight backache.
The next morning, July 14 I woke up at 3am and couldn't fall asleep and went upstairs to my sewing room and worked on a project for an hour and a half - I still had some backache and remember thinking that I should go to sleep cause what if I went into labour - I should get all the sleep I could get. I went back to bed around 4:30. I woke up at 7:30 from DJ and we had breakfast - the backache was still there. After breakfast I started making a batch of zucchini chocolate chip muffins and started doing dishes, since DJ wanted to. Around 8:30 the backache was accompanied with slight menstrual-like cramping. By the time the muffins were ready it was 8:45 and the cramping started to be stronger, yeah, like contractions coming and going slightly. My thought then was, "I might have a baby today...or tomorrow." But the contractions were about every two minutes, but were not too terribly painful. So I put the muffins in the oven and told DJ that Mommy wanted a shower. Because, IF I was going to go into labour I want to have showered and have make-up on so that I can look my best instead of my worst going to the hospital. Labour and the pain that accompanies it tends to make you tired and look a little drained so if you start out looking your worst you'll just look even worse after the labour for the post labour mommy-baby photos. While putting on my make-up I was walking around to walk-off the contractions. I also started making another batch of muffins - carrot. I phoned the hospital at around 9:30 and spoke to a nurse on the maternity ward. I told her that my water hadn't broken yet, my mucus plug had come out yet but that I was getting contractions every 2 minutes. She told me that the mucus plug thing had nothing to do with labour. She asked me when I was due. I told her in two weeks. Then she asked me if this was my first baby. No, my second. She then said hold on I'll get your chart. I could see where she was getting at. Pregnant woman, feels some cramping, calls hospital, due in two weeks her immediate conclusion: false labour. DJ was crying and I went to go see what he was into. (I kept pacing in the kitchen/dining room since there was no rug, just in case my water were to break.) DJ had his hand in the door of the laundry room and it was stuck just above the hinges. At that moment it took me a minute to remember what way to open the door to release his hand. The nurse was back on the phone and told me to lie on my left side and in half an hour if I could feel the baby move three times then all was good with baby and that I should stay home as long as I can because it's "more comfortable" dealing with contractions in the comfort of your home. BUT if I couldn't feel the baby move three times in half an hour, to come in for that reason because I seemed to be handling the pain pretty good and I was not doubled over in pain yet.
I tried a over and over again to lie down and feel the baby move. Every time, not a minute would go by and I would have to get up because another contraction was coming on and I couldn't lie down during it. I kept trying this but couldn't last longer than a couple seconds. As I was walking the contractions off I was getting things somewhat organized to what I needed to bring to the hospital and what I could clean up inside so that if Mom or Dad had to take care of DJ that things were somewhat put away - yes, this is what I thought of, that and me having make-up on. Yes, I am a little vain.
DJ kept getting into all kinds of mischief. He was creating a mess with the water in the sink from the dishes. Then he found the batter bowl from the carrot muffins and ended up with batter on his forehead. Time kind of eludes me from exactly what happened and in what order. I was getting increasingly annoyed with having to deal with DJ and walking off the contractions. I called Jake's parents place first, since they live practically down the street - but there was no answer. According to my mom I phoned her at 10:50. I told her I think I'm in labour and I can't handle the contractions and DJ. He is getting into things and I can't deal with both. She said they would be right over. She told me later that it wouldn't have helped if I had called earlier since she had just barely stepped in the door from the garden and Dad was just arriving home from the field for lunch. I changed DJ's diaper because he was wet but couldn't finish so he was running around with his diaper somewhat on no pants. The contractions where now starting to get worse and I wondered why did I want to got through this again and I don't think that I can do this and of course the never again will I do this. I phoned the hospital again and asked for Jakes department. They transferred me to his boss and his boss didn't answer so I called back and asked again for his department but more specifically the general number. I talked to one of his co-workers and asked for Jake's cell number. I called Jake's cell and said again that I think I'm in labour, my parents are on there way to pick me up to take me to the hospital. He was about an hour and a half away when I called. He does deliveries in the morning and was at his second last stop. DJ was yanking at his diaper since I improperly put it on and I fixed it but still left him without any pants.
It seemed to take forever till my parents arrived. I unlocked the front door (we dead bolt it now since DJ can reach the handle) and forgot to close the gate and not a minute later DJ had the front door open. Panic stricken, thinking of how much faster he could out run me at this point I got down the steps and closed the door - good thing he was just standing there in awe over the fact that the door actually opened. I continued pacing and yearning to see my parents pick-up truck coming down the street. DJ was at the cutlery drawer and found himself a butter knife. I didn't care. He was running around with it poking things or whatever - still didn't care. I cleaned up the kitchen the best I could - drained the remaining water from the sink, put the left over carrot batter in the fridge and then DJ was crying from one of the back rooms. I went to see what now had he gotten into. He had thrown the butter knife in his crib and couldn't reach it and also couldn't get down from climbing the side of the crib.
Finally I saw my parents truck and relief washed over me. My mom got some of DJ's diapers and clothes and my Dad got my hospital bag from our vehicle in our garage. We headed to the hospital and hit one red light driving through town and also the red light right by the hospital. All the way there I was holding onto the door with one hand and the arm rest with the other because I couldn't sit down all the way. It felt like the baby's head was right there. I was breathing through the contractions and could feel my Dad tense every time one would come on and could almost hear his thoughts of telling the traffic to move out of the way. He was the one driving, my Mom and DJ were in the back. When we reached the intersection at the hospital and came to the red light, once the traffic cleared I told Dad just to go and at that exact moment the light turned green for us to turn.
At the hospital emerg drop-off I was out of the truck and I think I even thanked Dad for the ride, but I'm not sure. Mom got my bag and she followed me inside. I found the first wheelchair and tried to sit in while bracing my hands on the sides. The registration desk was right there and I recognized one of my former co-workers (I used to work at that desk) stand up upon seeing us but we didn't stop in, there were some other people waiting and me and my Mom didn't hesitate to head upstairs. My mom wheeled me to the elevators and we headed to the maternity ward. At the maternity ward we found one nurse at the desk and she was on the phone, she looked up at us but continued to talk on the phone. My mom (she used to work at the hospital too) went to the nurses break room across the hall and said my name (although she used my maiden name) and said we needed a room. My Mom told me later on that none of the nurses wanted to get up as they had just sat down for break. Thankfully one did get up and she slaughtered over to direct us to a room, meanwhile asking the routine questions of "when did the contractions start", "How long are they apart" etc. She found us a room, the same room I had with DJ and my Mom disappeared. I breathed a sigh of relief now that I was at the hospital and in a room.
I could hear two nurses outside my room talking and they were looking for my chart and since my Mom said my maiden name they couldn't find it right away. As loudly as I wanted I said "It's (enter married name) not (maiden name). One of the nurses was the one I had spoken on the phone earlier and she recognized my first name and said "Oh, I just spoke to her. She's here? I just had her chart." One of the nurses checked to see how far along I was. She said that I was ready to go. Yes, that's right. Fully dilated and ready to push. She later told me that the water bag was all the way down and she was afraid of breaking it during the check. One nurse was prepping the room, another was putting the baby monitor on my belly and another nurse by my side telling me to breath through my contractions and what a good job I'm doing. They got 8 minutes of the babies heart rate which was 130. I asked how the baby was doing and the nurse said great - that's all I wanted to know...that and when my doctor was going to get there. Yeah, that's right. I wanted my doctor. Jake arriving would have been an added bonus.
While breathing through one of the contractions, the nurse asked me if I felt like I should push. I did but didn't. I could literally see the baby move in my belly with a big lurch and then my water broke. Wow, did that feel good. The pressure that I had been feeling down hither lessened significantly. The nurse later told me that she thought the baby would have come right after the water. In between contractions the curtain parted and my doctor came in with a big smile with his hands apart greeting me, kinda like someone would do on stage. I love my doctor for that reason - he is not uptight, but relaxed and jokes around and that puts me at ease right away. I told him I was so glad to see him and then said no offence to one of the nurses. As the nurses were briefing him a little with how far I was, meanwhile I going through another contraction and was feeling the urge to push. I remember hearing my doctor say, I don't have gloves on yet and one of the nurses saying to another nurse get a size 8. Now with everyone in position with gloves on, they were ready and just in time too.
In comparison with DJ who came out OP (meaning he came out head up instead of down) pushing a baby that is the right way is a lot easier. And that, I was told by one of the nurses while in hospital with DJ. She said that if it only took me an hour and 20 minutes to push out a baby OP, that the next time if the baby came out the right way it wouldn't take nearly as long. It also wasn't nearly as painful. With DJ I had the "burning pain" that I had read about in the prenatal books and yes, it definitely was burning pain down hither, and it really, really, really, really, really hurt. With Conan, it didn't hurt that much. I had second degree tearing compared to third degree with DJ. They used a little bit of suction with Conan but he, Conan, worked just as hard as I did to come out. On a scale of painfulness (with only labour pains in mind) I would say DJ's deliver was about a 6/7 (I'll say 6/7 because I honestly don't know what other people have to deal with, I didn't have back labour and I've heard that is much worse). I'd say Conans was a 3 in the labour pain scale.
So baby out and the nurse was about to say what "it" was but the doctor stopped her and said let her see (or something like that) and lifted him up and I then declared "A boy!". While one of the nurses was wiping him off, my doctor grabbed my hand and shoved scissors in my index finger and thumb and made me cut the umbilical cord - I'll say made me because I had no idea what he was doing and things were happening too fast for my mind to catch up with what was going on. I would have gladly done it but he didn't explain what he was doing but just did it this way. So, cool - I cut the umbilical cord - weird, but cool at the same time.
The nurse wrapped Conan up a little bit and but him on my chest. They rubbed his back a little and I asked why and they wanted him to cry more. I said I needed to take a picture and the nurse got the camera from my bag.
This is the first picture of baby Conan, a little purple and goopy.
Jake arrived at about 12 noon, half an hour after Conan was born. He came into the room, saw me and went to my side. I told him he missed it. He looked at me, wondering whether I was joking or not. I pointed across the room to where Conan was with a nurse doing the assessment on him. I think he said something like "Are you serious?"
All in all, everything went well. I'm so glad that I didn't phone my parents earlier, because if I had and not gotten a hold of them I think then I would have started panicking. I arrived at the hospital at 11:15, doctor arrived at 11:27 and baby Conan was born at 11:30. Three minutes of pushing and baby was out - thank-you God!
Conan is a pretty content baby. Breastfeeding is going super well, better than it did with DJ...but then again, I know what I'm doing now and that really helps. I weighed Conan today with me, then me by myself and he is approximately 9 pounds. He was 8 lb 1 oz when he was born. With how much he feds during the day and especially at night, I'm not at all surprised that he has gained that much. He sleeps very well during the day, usually 2 hour stretches and at night, well, that is a different story. He does a lot of power, cluster feeding at night and I would welcome 2 hour stretches of sleep at night. That'll come, I know. I just have to wait.
