I think birth stories are fun. Before I had James I read lots and lots of birth stories on the internet to help me prepare. I want to include Jameson's birth story to the blog.
My due date was August 19th. I planned on working up until the day before my due date. However a couple of days before August 13th I worked 4 days in a row. It was really exhausting and I lost my mucous plug over those days. I came home from work and felt super hungry all night. We ate dinner and then I had 2 bowls of cereal later that night. Then we went to bed.
Wednesday, August 13th: At 4:30 am I woke up to a "Pop." I thought it maybe was my water breaking but I never got a big gush of water coming out. Instead it was just a trickle-still not normal. I decided to wait to see if the contractions started to know for sure that it was real labor. I tried to fall back asleep but the contractions started and it was uncomfortable enough that I couldn't sleep. I decided to shower and pack a hospital bag. I just kind of teetered around for a few hours, checking my email, eating a bowl of cereal (who knows when I would get to eat again), watching the news but meanwhile my contractions were getting stronger and closer together.
By 8:30 am we decided to go to the hospital. We checked in and the nurse checked to see if the water I was leaking was amniotic fluid and sure enough it was. I was only dilated to a 2 but the contractions were already really painful. Since I was trying to go natural I was able to take a hot bath but that didn't distract me from the contractions. I tried everything to help move labor along and get my mind off the pain. I walked around, sat on the medicine ball, and listened to my hypnobirthing tracks on my iPod. I had to stay really focused because I was in so much pain. Only Marshall and the birthing coach were in the room because I couldn't concentrate with anyone else in the room. The pain got so intense I began throwing up (so much for the bowl of cereal). I lasted until 2:00 pm. At that point I broke down and asked for an epidural. I was so exhausted and so uncomfortable and so I was glad I got it. It seemed like the epidural didn't hurt like I thought it would because I was in so much pain. The craziest part is that I was only dilated to a 3 maybe a 4!!!
I felt much better after the epidural was done. The nurse anesthetist who put it in did a great job. I couldn't feel pain but I could still move my legs and move around in bed. My family and in-laws came to visit and the afternoon was so much more enjoyable. They started pitocin after awhile because I wasn't progressing. Finally at 8:00 that night I felt like I needed to push. I pushed for 2 hours!!! James just didn't want to come out. After an episiotomy and using the vacuum, James was born at 10:19 pm. Unfortunately the epidural had worn off by the time I was in the last pushes. I felt the episiotomy and all that was to follow. So I guess in a way I got what I wanted because I felt some of the pain you experience by going natural.
James weighed 8 lbs 9 oz. I guess a lot of the pain was back labor because of his position in the uterus. I definitely plan to get an epidural with the next baby.
