I was 10 days "overdue" and sure that I would not have another doctor's appointment when Monday, October 10th arrived and I found myself in the waiting room once again. I was disappointed to find out I was still not dilated. I was not looking for an induction because we were planning a drug free, natural childbirth, but Dr. O'Neill suggested we at least set a tentative date before the hospital was booked up. I was not willing to schedule before 42 weeks, so we settled on Sunday evening when I would be 42 weeks and 2 days. Thank goodness it did not come to that.
Tuesday I felt irregular contractions all day long, no matter what my activity. I did not want to get my hopes up, but I felt like labor might get serious at any time. I went to bed at 8 pm thinking I might not get very much sleep later on. At 10 pm I woke up and called Jeff to come home from a friend's house. I was sure that this was going to be it. Contractions were beginning to become a little painful. I tried to sleep more, but around 1 am, I started walking through the house and pausing to deal with the contractions. At 3 am I called Amy, my doula, and told her they were getting pretty painful, lasting over a minute and coming anywhere from 4 to 8 minutes apart. She came over and helped me deal with the pain. Her presence was calming and she did a wonderful job massaging my back throughout every contraction. When the contractions failed to progress closer together, she suggested we walk. Jeff and I walked for hours in the middle of the night around the neighborhood. At 8 am I sent Amy home and we agreed to call when the contractions came closer together.
I spent the entire day, Wednesday, at home, or walking through the neighborhood, having rather painful contractions every 8 to 10 minutes. By that evening I was exhausted. Amy suggested I try the following "concoction", and get some sleep: Liquid calcium, a few drops skullcap, a Tylenol PM, and a glass of wine. I was able to sleep for two hours, 8 to 10 pm. I got up and walked to see if the rest would bring on more regular contractions. It did not. At 11 pm I took the sleeping remedy again, minus the glass of wine. I was able to nap for another 2 hours, waking every 30 minutes for a very severe contraction. I woke Jeff at 1 am and told him I needed his help. We timed the contractions and he helped me through a couple of hours, including some more walking. When we took our final walk, we didn't get very far from home because we were stopping every couple of steps for strong contractions. We decided it was time for Amy to come back. I think she arrived around 5 am. I was very glad to see her. Before she arrived, I was vomiting every thirty minutes or so, right after super strong contractions. I was thinking and asking Jeff, "If it is this painful now, how am I going to make it all the way through?" I was really starting to doubt myself. When Amy arrived, however, the doubts disappeared and we managed the pain (no more vomiting!). I never did find a position in which I felt good, so I spent most of the time on the floor leaning on the birth ball or a chair.
At 7 am Thursday morning we discussed when to go to the hospital. We decided to get our things together and go, because I didn't want to wait until the car ride would be unbearable. Around 8 am we were settled into the hospital room [at St. Joseph East]. When the nurse, also named Amy, was going to check my progress, I was wishing for 5 cm. I told myself that if I had come that far, I would be able to make it. It was a gigantic relief; I think I even laughed with joy, when she told me I was 8 cm! The laughing did not last, however, because I could not find a position to deal with the pain, especially in that hospital bed. I asked to get into the Jacuzzi, and Amy filled it up for me. The hot water wrapping around me felt even better than the news of 8 cm, and the relief lasted longer too. I had not been this comfortable for hours. For a short while I even thought it had made all the pain disappear, but then the contractions returned.... They were certainly more bearable in the tub.
Dr. O'Neill arrived after I had been soaking in the tub for a while and asked me to get out so he could check my progress. When he did, I was 10 cm! My water had not broken yet, so he offered to break it saying I would progress to pushing faster than waiting for it to break. I gave myself a chance to think about it for a few minutes and contractions, and decided to go ahead and have him break it. It brought on a very powerful contraction and the fluid was clear. I was told to push whenever I felt like it, but honestly I was scared to get started. I rested on my knees with my elbows up on the back of the bed and let nature take its course without doing anything myself. The squatting bar was attached per my request and I tried that. I found it a little awkward, but tried it anyway. The doctor came in and said I wasn't making much progress with the pushing, which didn't look good to him. That's what I needed to hear in order to get myself into pushing mode, and to show them I could do it. The thought of possible interventions was enough to overcome my fear of pushing. I think that I was afraid of tearing before the baby even crowned (it certainly felt like I might). With the mirror in place to show me my progress I slowly pushed the baby out. It seemed like it took forever, but they did not rush me. At some point there were comments made about the amount of hair the baby had, and should it be a girl we would be able to use bows. I think I pushed for about an hour total. I ended up in a semi reclined position, which was the most comfortable for me. I was not lying flat on the bed, nor was I up squatting. I kind of leaned back from the squatting position and put my feet on the squatting bar. At the very end, I must have known it was about to be over because I yelled for someone to take the baby out of me, and then there she was. We knew it was a girl when Doctor O'Neill said, "A bow would be appropriate!"
They placed her directly on my stomach where they checked her out as we got to meet Hanna for the first time. Jeff cut the umbilical cord. After some time they took her to the warmer and finished cleaning her up while the doctor sewed up two small tears. Hanna weighed 9 pounds and 3 ounces and was 22 inches long. Here it was Thursday morning and I had not slept more than a few hours since Monday night, but I was not about to sleep now. Jeff and I spent a wonderful time with her right there in the delivery room counting her fingers and toes and falling in love. We then moved to a recovery room and spent one night in the hospital before taking Hanna home Friday evening. I do not regret for one moment the decision to have a natural childbirth without drugs or many interventions. What I recommend most from my experience is getting a doula, and staying at home as long as you are able. Once we got to the hospital, we all looked around the room and couldn't imagine how we would labor there besides on the bed, where I did not want to be. The most redeeming factor of the hospital birth was the excellent Jacuzzi. No matter where any future births I might have take place, I will make sure there will be a tub!
