It all started with the exam

As I mentioned in my other post, I am quite small, about 5 feet 1 inch. Before this pregnancy, I weighed about 132, and was about 165 at the end. Katherine was born May 19, 2006, 6 days before she was due. I was 27 at the time. She weighed 7 lbs., 2 oz. and was 19 inches long. The picture was taken about 20 minutes after delivery.

On Thursday, I went to my 39 week OB/GYN appointment. The doctor asked me if I was ready to have this baby. When I said that I was, she gave me a "stimulating" examination. For the rest of the day, I felt a little strange. My husband and I stopped at the grocery store later on that day, and I just remember a funny, unreal sensation, as if I was watching myself shop. We came home, had dinner, and I turned on the TV while he worked on his thesis.

My strange feeling increased, and started to centralize in my lower stomach. Then it regularized, and by early evening I realized I was having contractions. They weren't painful, and were still somewhat far apart. At about 11:00 I called the nurse, who told me to wait until they were 5 minutes apart and so painful that I couldn't talk through them. At this point, I notified my husband that tonight would probably be the night.

We both went back to what we had been doing. My contractions never got to the point the nurse had specified, but about 2:30 I decided that I should probably go the hospital. I felt that things were progressing, even though the contractions weren't following the pattern. My husband was very close to being finished with his thesis, so he took care of the final details, sending it to the appropriate parties, and we were on our way about 3:30.

At this point, the contractions were painful, but not so bad that I couldn't joke around. They would hit for about 90 seconds, then I had quite a few minutes to do what I needed to do. I walked to the registration, and took care of the details. By the time I was examined, I was 6 cm dialated. I asked for the Epidural right away, since I knew I wanted one.

Getting the Epidural was one of the worst parts. It took about 45 minutes to put it in, and it seemed that the Anesthesiologist was not very experienced. She kept sending the medicine unevenly. So those 45 minutes were pretty bad. But after that was over, there was blessed loss of feeling from the waist down, and I went to sleep.

About 6:00 my water still hadn't broken, so the doctor came in and broke it manually. It felt funny, but was not at all painful.

At 8:00, it was time to push. My husband held one foot, and the nurse held the other. She coached me through the pushing. The doctor was in and out, but when she was in she did some "perineal massage." This is not to be confused with a massage. Now, since I did not want to even think about the concept of a perineal, much less practice massaging it, this one was a bit of a shocker. This - the perineal massage and the pushing, was also pretty bad. But it lasted less than 20 minutes. That's only 1200 seconds! That's countable!

I got three stitches and was free to enjoy my baby. Was it painful? At some points. Was it unbearable? No. And you will make it through your labor and delivery as well.

Water broke in the middle of the night

Though both my labors were relatively easy, my second labor was easier than the first. So I will begin there.

I am quite small, at 5 feet 1 inch on a good day. My weight before the pregnancy was 117, and at the end I was around 150. My daughter Eleanor was born 3 1/2 weeks early (36 1/2 weeks into the pregnancy), at 6 lbs., 1.5 oz and 19 3/4 inches on Feb. 6th of this year, 15 days before my 29th birthday. The picture was taken about an hour after delivery.

The day before the birth was a difficult one. It was the first day in the pregnancy where I had left the house without blow-drying my hair, because I was too tired to get out of bed. Blow-drying makes a huge difference in how my hair looks, so this is a big deal to me. That night, I cooked the most difficult meal I had cooked in months, and was completely exhausted by the end of the day. Looking back, I can say that I was probably being driven by the "nesting instinct" that everyone talks about.

I went to bed early, but at 12:30 I felt a funny sensation. It felt like I was going to wet the bed. Alarmed and instantly awake, I rushed to the bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time. I hadn’t put protective plastic coating on the bed yet, but somehow I managed to avoid any leakage outside of the bathroom. Even though I felt fully awake, it took me a few minutes to realize that my water had broken. We were not at all prepared, since it was so much earlier than expected. I called out to my husband. Since I wasn't having contractions, I wasn't sure what to do. I called my OB/GYN, and the nurse told me to go to the hospital. My husband began to prepare a suitcase and called my brother-in-law to come stay with my older daughter.

When we got to the hospital, I sill was not experiencing anything that could be called contractions. Walking after my water had broken felt strange but wasn't painful. Joking around with the nurses, I was sure they would send me back home. Apparently that doesn't happen any more; when the water breaks, the baby comes. So they set me up in a room, gave me an IV, and told me to rest, hoping the contractions would start on their own. During the night there were a few contractions, but nothing painful. In the morning, I was 4 cm dilated. An hour later, no more progress had been made, so my doctor decided to give me Pitocin to get the labor started. I knew its reputation, so I asked for and received an Epidural before they gave me the Pitocin. It was started around 11:00 am.

Watching the contractions begin on the monitor was interesting. Sometimes I could feel a little bit, but usually nothing. About 11:45, I felt a very strong contraction, and yes, it was painful. I grabbed for the epidural button (that I could push to administer more painkiller) and pushed it twice. Then I called for the nurse. I realized it was time. The nurse got the doctor. She came right away and set up. This was the worst part. They told me not to push until the doctor was ready. I'm sure it only took a few minutes, but it felt longer. Finally the doctor was ready. One nurse held one leg, and my husband held my other leg. I could feel when to push, but the nurse walked me through anyway. Two contractions were all it took, a total of four pushes. I could feel the baby moving down the birth canal and out of the opening. I embraced the feeling, since I knew it had to happen. It is a very strange feeling, but with the Epidural it was not painful. It is the kind of feeling that made me cringe just thinking about it, and I’d always tried to stay as far away from thinking about it as possible. But when I embraced it, it was not nearly what I feared. It was freeing - that was how my body became free of the baby inside.

Soon the baby was out. One little stitch, and I was done. It took an hour or so for the Epidural to wear off, and then I was able to get up by myself. I was shaky, and very hungry, but not any more tired than after a moderate Aerobics session.

That is my birth story. I share it not to brag or to belittle those with other experiences, but to give hope to you who are scared. It may be that you, too, can have an Easy Labor Story!

Want your story included?

I would love to add your story to my blog. If you have had an easy labor, please email me the details. The best stories include these details: your age, height, weight (before and after), the weight and length of the baby, the week of pregnancy that the baby was born, and the date of labor.

Read Me First

This blog was created as a result of numerous conversations I've had with soon-to-be moms. Many people faced with a first labor are terrified! Often it is the labor horror stories that are retold time and time again. A hard labor is worth retelling, and those who go through them deserve all the sympathy and honor that they receive. I admire the courage of those who have faced hard labors! However, I want to provide a little balance to the 'net and encourage those people who are facing this monumental experience for the first time. Sometimes labor really isn't that bad! I'll start with my own story, and then compile others as we go. If you would like your story added here, please see this post.

THIS BLOG IS NOT FOR YOU IF YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH A HORRIBLE LABOR! It is not intended to make anyone feel bad if your labor experience was difficult. This is for those facing labor to give you courage! These are stories of what is possible; there is no need to fear.