My July 10th due date came and went. I tried raspberry leaf tea, walking, bouncing on an exercise ball and even this special Mexican hot chocolate. In my personal opinion the only thing that actually helped me was walking and the exercise ball.
Wednesday, July 12th at 12:30am I woke up to painful contractions. I immediately starting timing them to see if this was the real deal and it really seemed to be! After 4 hours my contractions were 1 minute long, and a little under 5 minutes apart. That was when I called labor and delivery and they determined I was probably ready to go in to be checked at triage. We took our time getting ready making sure we had everything ready for our little girls arrival. Tripper gave me the sweetest, most encouraging blessing and we headed off to Legacy Salmon Creek. When we got there they hooked me up to the monitors and by that time my contractions had slowed a bit. When they checked me I was only 2cm dilated. They asked me if I wanted to stay and be rechecked in an hour. We decided to stay and walk the sky bridge. When I went back in to be checked, I was still only a 2. I was SURE that my contractions had to start working with my body sooner or later so we stayed for another hour to be rechecked. During that time I started throwing up and felt so awful from the pain. When she came to recheck me, I was still only a 2!! I was supposed to have my 40 week OB appointment that day, so the on call doctor just came in and decided I could have a shot of morphine to see if I could get some sleep and said I didn't need to go to my appointment. They figured I would be back to deliver the baby within the next 12-24 hours. We went home and I was super discouraged. I got maybe 2 hours of sleep that day all thanks to the morphine! I labored all day with contractions ranging from 10 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart. I couldn't keep any food down and my water intake was minimal. I was just so uncomfortable. I bounced on the exercise ball through almost every contraction (honestly this is what got my through my labor). I tried to stay really focused on my breathing and that helped me a lot as well.
Thursday, July 13th at 5am we decided to go back to triage. I was "maybe a 3" and they asked if I wanted to be rechecked in an hour. I was soo discouraged that I had been through all that pain and my body had only responded with 1 tiny cm of a difference. We stayed for an hour and I still had not progressed. I was in tears by this point wondering why this was happening. The nurse advised that we not come back until my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and getting into the car sounded like the worst thing in the world. I kind of rolled my eyes thinking that could be another couple of DAYS for me! We went home and I still couldn't keep any food down. Tripper started talking me through each contraction while I bounced on the exercise ball. I was so exhausted from the pain and I hadn't slept but a wink in the last two days. Tripper will tell you that I didn't say much either. He tried to get me to eat but I would just throw it right back up. I was so worried that I would be too weak to deliver a baby at this point.
On Friday, July 14th at about 12:30am my contractions were still at an average of 3 1/2 minutes apart but I couldn't stand it any more. I was in so much pain and I couldn't even walk. I told Tripper we needed to go now. He was a little hesitant since the nurse said 2-3 minutes apart and I was still above that. I told him I would refuse to leave triage if I hadn't progressed since I was so miserable. Obviously I was hesitant to go back too, but I felt a little more confident going in this time. I used the bathroom right before we left and we now think that's when my water broke. The last two times we had gone in there was a wheelchair either at the beginning or the end of the skybridge so I knew I didn't have to walk far. This time there was no wheelchair in sight! Of course. So I walked all
the way to triage hunched over and moaning and groaning with each contraction. They could all tell I was miserable so they seemed to hurry when checking us in. They wheeled me back to triage to be checked and asked me if I could get out of the chair and walk into the room. I was so mad that they asked me that honestly. I got the wheelchair because I needed it! They hooked me up to the monitors and it seemed like forever until the lady came back in to check me. I think they could hear me writhing in pain with the contractions. She came back in and when she checked said "There's nothing left..." Tripper and I looked at each other so confused... We asked what that meant and she said "You're a 10! The baby is right here!" Next thing I know another nurse comes in to confirm I am a 10 and they squish the wheelchair through the door and wheel me off into a room! I could hear the nurses scrambling saying "Room 444?!" and Tripper said "Yeah!!" It was the coolest thing. My brother was number 44 for football all growing up and I was 44 while I could be growing up playing soccer, and in high school I was number 4 on the soccer field. Before my brother died he had "444" tattooed on his back which means "Angels are among you." There have been many other instances when the number 444 has had great significance since my brother's passing. Needless to say it was no small coincidence that we were put in room 444 to deliver our baby.
the way to triage hunched over and moaning and groaning with each contraction. They could all tell I was miserable so they seemed to hurry when checking us in. They wheeled me back to triage to be checked and asked me if I could get out of the chair and walk into the room. I was so mad that they asked me that honestly. I got the wheelchair because I needed it! They hooked me up to the monitors and it seemed like forever until the lady came back in to check me. I think they could hear me writhing in pain with the contractions. She came back in and when she checked said "There's nothing left..." Tripper and I looked at each other so confused... We asked what that meant and she said "You're a 10! The baby is right here!" Next thing I know another nurse comes in to confirm I am a 10 and they squish the wheelchair through the door and wheel me off into a room! I could hear the nurses scrambling saying "Room 444?!" and Tripper said "Yeah!!" It was the coolest thing. My brother was number 44 for football all growing up and I was 44 while I could be growing up playing soccer, and in high school I was number 4 on the soccer field. Before my brother died he had "444" tattooed on his back which means "Angels are among you." There have been many other instances when the number 444 has had great significance since my brother's passing. Needless to say it was no small coincidence that we were put in room 444 to deliver our baby.
There were nurses everywhere getting everything ready for delivery. I got into the bed and hooked up to the monitors again and closed my eyes. I was trying to process that fact that I had just labored for 51 hours at home and I was FINALLY a 10. At some point I mumbled that I didn't want to have a natural birth. The doctor said I had a very small window if I wanted to get the epidural but that it would take about 20 minutes to get. I said no thanks and asked if I could just have some laughing gas. If you're unfamiliar with laughing gas (Nitrous Oxide) while laboring, I suggest you read about it! It's really cool. You use it as needed on a contraction to contraction basis and it gives you relief during that time. I used the laughing gas for about 10 contractions. It worked great at first, but toward those last 10 only worked about half way through a contraction.
It was just Tripper and I in the room for a bit which was so nice. They said to come get them when I felt the urge to push. Tripper talked me through my breathing with each contraction since the laughing gas wasn't really cutting it toward the end. About an hour later I told them I was ready. I started pushing around 2:40am and didn't even realize I could have still been using the laughing gas. I'm glad I didn't though because it made me so sleepy and I wanted to be fully awake when we met our daughter. The pain of giving birth is no joke. I would tell the nurse & doctor when I felt like I could push and they would help me. It was just the nurse, doctor & Tripper in the room until the baby was almost out. Then one more nurse came in that was responsible for the baby when she was born. Everyone was so calm and I was screaming so loud with each push! I felt so obnoxious but it was the only way I was going to get this baby out after 51 hours of labor. I could get 3-4 good pushes in per contraction and after a while I started to think she would never make it out. I would push a certain way that made me feel like I was making progress and then I would try another way and I would hear the nurse & doctor say "Yes! That's it! Keep that up right there!" Then I would hear them count to 10. At one point I remember them telling me that she was right there and I needed to give everything I could to just get her out. I don't think I'll ever forget what it felt like trying to get her head and shoulders out. I had so much adrenaline at that point that I gave everything I could and she was finally born. At 3:28am our little girl was born and perfect as can be! They got her out and she immediately pooped. She was born with her hand on her face and a large sore on her pointer finger from sucking it in the womb. They wiped her off and layed her on my chest for skin to skin. Tripper was so happy and I was so relieved! I couldn't believe I had just given birth to a baby without an epidural. I always knew it was something I could potentially do, but I thought I would have more of a choice than I did. I was proud of myself! After about 15 minutes a nurse came by and baby was breastfed for the first time. I felt so much relief after the past 3 days that nothing really hurt because I could relax for more than 5 minutes at a time! They brought me a bagel with cream cheese and gave me a few stitches. This whole time Tripper and I are trying to decide what we wanted to name her! We had a list of a solid 4 names we liked for MONTHS! And then on Wednesday while walking the skybridge we added Kinsley to our list. We ruled out a couple names and then Tripper said "Kinsley Belle" and we both just loved it!
An hour after birth she was weighed, given her vaccinations, and had her footprints done. 7lbs 9oz, 20 inches long and 4 days late. We sure love our stubborn little late baby!
Advice I would give to other pregnant moms:
Sometimes no plan is the best plan, then you'll never be disappointed in what could have been and be much more open to what the nurses have to say. Every time someone at the hospital would ask me what my plan was and I would say I didn't have one they would reply "That's the best plan there is!" And I believe that. But props to you if you know exactly what you want in a birth experience! I had no idea so no plan was the best plan for me.
Listen to your body! If we had waited any longer to go to the hospital, we may not have made it and that would have been a disaster.
You are so much stronger than you know! You can do hard things! You can have a natural child birth (although not recommended by me...)! You can make it through your contractions! You can have this baby!
