On August 26th 2008 at 4am I awoke thinking my water had broken. I got up and started paying attention to contractions and getting ready to head to the birth center when it was time. I did a lot of pacing, squatting and swaying. At this point my contractions weren't too bad and I thought I might be able to at least rest a little more if not actually fall asleep for a bit. I was indeed able to sleep for about an hour. When I awoke again it was close to 7am and I knew there was no more sleeping for me. I got up and continued to monitor my contractions. When I felt like it wasn't a crazy time of morning, I woke Ken and told him the update and that I was pretty sure today was the day in case he didn't want to go into work just to return home right away. I called my Mom who came over to walk around the block with me and help time my contractions. I also called my sister and sent Stephanie a text to give them a heads up that today was probably going to be the day. When he got up, Ken called his Mom and we told her to be on the ready to head down to the birth center as well. I called my Dad to update him and Connie. The rest of the calling I left up to other folks but didn't make an official phone tree for this birth. Instead I decided to embrace today's technologies and posted an update on my blog, facebook page and my message boards that "I was going to have a baby today."
At 9:30am I called the birth center and gave them the update. At that time my contractions were ranging from 5-10 min apart. They told me to load up the car and come in. Thankfully for me, my dear friend Stephanie recorded all that happened for the rest of the day so I have an accurate account of what went on and what time it happened. "Thank you Stephanie!!!"
At 10:01am I sent Stephanie a text that said "they are 5 min apart now. Almost to BC...can't really talk anymore....best to call Ken or my Mom."
By 10:15 I was being examined by Roswitha, one of my midwives. She confirmed that I was indeed in labor but that my water was still intact. I was so relieved that my water hadn't broken. I really wanted it to stay intact until the very last moment. She said I should go get something to eat but not go home because we lived too far away and she wanted me closer than that. We waited outside the birth center for my Sister and Ken's folks to arrive. Then we drove over to Ihop. This was fitting since the last meal I ate before going to the hospital to have Gwendolyn was Ihop. I tried to eat a little bit off of Ken's and my Mom's plates but I really had no appetite and every bite was forced. I did however have no problem getting some Chocolate milk down, but seriously, when have I ever had trouble with that! ;o) While at Ihop, my contractions went to 2.5 min apart lasting 45 seconds. Also, Gwendolyn said the cutest thing....While going through the contractions, I would put my head into my hands, close my eyes and Ken would rub my back and arms to get through it. Apparently Gwendolyn thought this definitely meant something painful was happening and she put her hand on my arm and looked so sweetly and sympathetically into my eyes, cocked her head a little and asked so sweetly "mommy's poopoo hard?"
At 12:05pm Ken called the BC to update them on my progress. They told him we should stay out and about until the contractions were lasting 60 seconds so, we went to Costco to walk around and totally freak out all of the staff. In between contractions we managed to pick Ken up a new pair of pants to 2 new shirts. How's that for multi-tasking?! ;o) LOL
We arrived back at the birth center at 1:45 and I was set up in the "French Country" birthing suite. This is their smallest birthing suite and mostly used for overflow. It was indeed a busy day at the birth center. I was the 3rd Mom to come in so I was put in the last birthing suite available and waited for a bigger suite with a jacuzzi tub to open up. By 2:10 I was all settled into the French Country room and Grandma Susan brought Gwendolyn in to visit Mommy. She cuddled with me for a bit and then said "Mommy needs to take a nap, Mommy's tired." I'm glad I didn't know then that I wouldn't be sleeping until the next day.
For the next couple hours I labored away. I was pretty good about communitcating what I needed and changing positions to try and help get through the contractions. I used the birthing ball and sidelying mostly at this point. Ken did an excellent job reading my signs and listening to whatever I was mumbling and accomodating me beautifully. Gwendolyn was in and out of the room many times. She would lie with me, help Ken put counter pressure on my back and give me strength with her presence.
By 3:55 I started doubting myself. I was telling Ken I was very nervous about transition. Ken talked me through my concerns telling me to listen to my body and imagine myself somewhere else. I started to feel nausous at this point and Ken was using accupressure to alleviate that.
At just after 4pm, Roswitha came in to tell us that we could move in the "Windsor Birthing Suite" where there was a jacuzzi tub filled and ready for my use. WOOHOO!! Roswitha commented on how great both Ken and I were doing, which was great for both of us to hear. She said "I was exhibiting good control through the process". At this point I had been laboring for 12 hours and knew I hadn't made it to transition yet and my hard work was far from over. The professional encouragment was greatly appreciated. Ginger told me at this point that I was very strong and can do this. Positive encouragement from my sister always hits home for me. With all of this nice encouragement and the jacuzzi tub, I was renewed and ready for more work. We were all settled into the Windsor room by 4:30. It took a bit to get there since we had so much baggage and I was rocked by contractions every couple minutes.
At a quarter to 5 Roswitha checked my cervix and found I was 5-6cm, my blood pressure and temperature were great and the baby's heart rate was awesome. This gave me the all clear to get into the tub. YAY!! I practically ran to it and felt instant relief when I got in. I started laboring in the tub which was WAY easier for me than any other place so far. Roswitha came in to check the baby's heart beat and that my contractions weren't slowing down at all after entering the tub. They did slow a little when I would lie on my back. Naturally this was the most comfortable for me and I even drifted off a couple times between contractions. I didn't want to have to get out of the tub so I changed positions which made the contractions harder but still better to me than having to labor outside of the tub. I told Roswitha that I was really nauseas. She explained that it's called the "positive puke sign" and means that my cervix was dilating. This is the only time I can ever imagine having the feeling to puke mean something positive was going on. LOL
By 6pm my contractions were lasting 80-90 seconds. Roswitha checks me and says my water is still intact (YAY!!) and that it's not time to push even though it may feel that way. The bag of water was making it feel like his head was lower than it really was. In the next hour all continued the same. Laboring in the tub, my water stayed intact which made labor basically unphasing to Link. Every time his heart beat was checked, he was perfectly happy and steady.
At 7pm, Joan, one of my other midwives took over my care. Roswitha was doing a delivery in the next room. Thankfully, the jets of tub were louder than her screams. They weren't scaring me at all but, were distracting while I was trying to get through the contractions. Link was sidelying again in my uterus. He and Gwendolyn pretty much hung out there their whole gestational time. This however, wasn't so great for delivery. Joan strategically placed pool noodles at different points on my body which kept my belly below the water while I was lying on my right side and kept me in that position without any effort on my part. Totally cool to that!
I was feeling loads of pressure at 8:30 and Joan confirmed I was in transition. Joan wanted me to go to the bathroom because she says it'll be time to start pushing soon. When I get out of the tub I have a contraction, Ken and Joan help me down to squat. I didn't like it there very much. I was surprised by that really.
At 9:06pm Joan checked me and discovered my water was still intact but I had an anterior cervical lip to get passed. She could tell my water was clear (YAY again! I was very nervous about maconium so that was nothing to worry about now) and that I was dilated to 10. It was time to start pushing. We tried many differnt pushing positions. I still needed to get passed that cervical lip and we needed to find which position was the most effective. Joan was able to push the cervical lip away but sadly it came back. At this point Kat, the midwife assistant came in to assist. Joan explains it may be time to break my water. With every contraction, I push the bag and Link down but as soon as it ends, they both float back up. I didn't want to push for the rest of my life so we agreed to break the bag. Poor Joan ended up decently splashed on when she broke my bag of water with the next contraction. At this point, Joan pushed my cervical lip away again and held it back for another couple contractions until I was well passed it. Now we had to deal with the fact that Link was sideways. I was pushing as hard as I could and felt like I was making no progress contrary to what all my support was telling me. I pushed Gwendolyn out in 47 minutes with basically no trouble and couldn't understand why I was sucking so bad at it this time. Everyone kept reassuring me that I was making good progress in spite of his position and not to give up.
At 10:30 we got the first glimpse of his head and by 10:39 his head was out. Link had a nuchal cord (cord around the neck) 1 time. Ken was emotional saying "he's here" and I could hear the emotion in his voice. This warmed me all over and gave me renewed strength to get the job done. Now, for those broad shoulders....oy vey! At 10:45, I was told to open my eyes, I saw my son for the first time and grabbed his arm. At 10:46pm my baby boy had fully arrived and was on my belly. I was of course sobbing all over the place. By 10:50 Gwendolyn met her brother for the first time. She sat on Ken's lap and smiles at Link. At 10:53 my Mom cut the umbilical cord. Ken held his son for the first time at 11:05 and Link looks straight into his Dad's eyes. Link nurses for the first time after bonding with his Daddy.
Throughout labor I felt pretty much in control. I thought transition and the "ring of fire" would be the hardest and most painful part. For me though it was pushing. What I remember most about it now was not the pain of pushing but how hard it was. The whole process was the hardest work of my entire life and more worth it than I could ever explain. I couldn't have been happier at our choice to deliver our son at a birthing center. It was the perfect fit for me. I had exactly the kind of support and treatment I had hoped for. Like when I delivered Gwendolyn, as soon as Link was born, I was ready to go home. We of course had to stay for a certain number of hours to ensure Link and I were both stable. Typically they have you headed home 6 hours after you deliver. Considering the hour I delivered Link, how long my labor was and that I hadn't really eaten a thing, one might think it was time for us to pass out! Nope, not me, aside from my adrenaline going, we just don't sleep well when we're not home. We were all anxious to go home as soon as we were allowed so at 5.5 hours after Link was born, we were in the car and headed home. At 4:45am we pulled into our garage as a family of 4!
