False Labor and Real labor

It's been a long time since I've posted and I've been real busy, but I really want to chronicle some of these wonderful events of the last two months.

The last time I posted was July 2nd and that was a great time to post as the next night I had contractions. They started at around 11pm as just a dull ache in my back. They got increasingly stronger and I was unable to sleep. I was ready for the real thing. I decided to take a nice hot bath to help relax before waking Luke up to head to the hospital. I wasn't in the tub for more than 5 minutes when the contractions stopped. I couldn't believe it. I was so excited to finally have my little girl and I was sure it was going to happen that night. I went to sleep and hoped that the contractions would start up again. They didn't.

The day after that was the 4th which is when I was hoping to have my baby. Again I had contractions that afternoon but they never progressed more than moderate cramping. I prayed all day that something would progress and that she'd come that day. But as I sat watching fireworks with Josiah (who loved them but exclaimed that they were "too loud") I knew it wasn't going to happen.

The next couple of days I tried to relax, spend time with Josiah and occasionally do something to make labor start. We walked a lot! My anniversary was the 10th and we sent Josiah to his aunt and uncles with a bag packed just in case we didn't come back. We went out and ate very very spicy thai food and then went bowling, but nothing happened.

On Monday the 12th I was determined to have that baby. I put a roast in the crock pot thinking that it would be just my bad luck to have it cook all day and then not be able to eat it. We then went to the consignment shop to buy baby girl clothes thinking that looking at all those pretty little dresses would inspire something to happen. Josiah had been asking to go to the mall to 'drive cars' so we went to the mall and had a snack of coffee and apple fritters. And as we were walking to the play place where the cars were located I felt a small gush of liquid. I knew instantly that my water had broken. I looked at my clock and the time said 12:00. No contractions yet so I decided to take Josiah to the cars because I knew that if we left then I would have to endure a tantrum as well. As Josiah climbed in and out of the play cars I called my husband to tell him the good news and to tell him my plans. I told him that we'd play for about 10 minutes and then I'd take Josiah and make him lunch and put him down for a nap. After that I'd call Luke and we'd head to the hospital.

So that's what I did. As Josiah was in his room trying to fall asleep I called Luke who called his brother to come watch Josiah. They both showed up at about the same time. At around 2, just before they got to the house my contractions began, very mild. We got to the hospital at 2:30.

This labor went great! I was lucky enough that my midwife who'd been seeing me my entire pregnancy was the one on call. I think this is a huge factor in how well things went. She knew me, she knew my unborn baby so there was nothing she was worried about and therefore she pretty much let me do what I wanted. Immediately when I got there I had to be hooked up to an iv since I was strep B positive. But after that was in me I was free to move as I pleased. Things progressed gradually enough, but quickly enough so that no one was worried. The midwife never once checked my dilation since she knew I was 2cm at my last appt. and things seemed to be progressing. I called all my family, had a sandwich at about 5pm for supper and took a hot bath.
At 7pm I needed another dose of antibiotic and my midwife was scheduled to leave. This is when things got real tough. I was hooked up to the iv so I couldn't move as much and I could tell things were getting close. I was also worried that my midwife was going to leave right at the end. She never left, even though she was off duty. I wanted to push and was trying real hard not to. My midwife said that it was ok to push gently during contractions if it made me feel better. It did. All we had to do is wait for the iv to finish. Once it did I got on bed to have my dilation checked. My midwife said that I was ready to have the baby.

I couldn't believe it. As painful as it was (as labor is always painful) it was NOTHING like when I was in labor with Josiah. I began to push and could actually feel something happening, unlike with Josiah when it felt like endless pushing and no movement. I instantly felt her head pushing on me and Luke said he saw it there right away. Again I had a hard time finding a comfortable position to push in and moved around a lot before I found a way that worked. But this time my midwife let me do it however I wanted. I ended up on my side with my head up against the side bed rail. I pushed for only 30-45 minutes which is nothing compared to the 3 hours I pushed with Josiah. This time I felt the burn. I was shocked. I never felt the burn with Josiah, probably because they cut me before it got to that point. I kept telling my midwife "it burns! I don't remember it burning with Josiah!" She told me I was stretched to the max and asked if I wanted a little cut. I said "please." She cut me a tiny bit and then I felt nothing. I said "Oh no, she slipped back in!" since that's what kept happening with Josiah. But Luke said, "no, Grace, she's out." I gave one more push and her body came out. It was amazing! So wonderful!

She didn't cry at all. I was worried that something was wrong, but they said she was breathing just fine. I got to hold her instantly and was still amazed at how easy it was. They had a hard time getting the placenta out. It was not detatching and my midwife was worried about my uterus prolapsing. She had an OB come in to look at it and finally with some pitocin and massage it came out. Again they commented on how large it was. I then had to be stitched up and was given some drugs that made me dizzy and tired. However, this time I held my baby the entire time. She wouldn't nurse which made me nervous, but I know Josiah who was held by Luke while I was being stitched didn't get to nurse for a couple house after he was born.

Sophia was born at 9:13pm and my midwife left once she stitched me up. I'm still amazed that she stayed till the end to do the delivery. Things were so relaxed the rest of the night. With Josiah it seemed like things were more rushed or more panicked. Here they didn't even weigh her or measure her until an hour later.

That night I couldn't sleep. She slept great, 4 hour chunks at a time. Luke was exhausted (I don't know why) so he was out cold the second we got to our room. And I was excited and couldn't sleep a wink. Overall it was a great experience and I'm glad I did it naturally again.