{"id":24,"date":"2006-07-21T12:53:26","date_gmt":"2006-07-21T12:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blackbeltmama.net\/birthstory\/2006\/07\/21\/the_birth_of_p\/"},"modified":"2011-01-19T02:19:22","modified_gmt":"2011-01-19T02:19:22","slug":"the_birth_of_p","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltmama.com\/birthstory\/2006\/07\/21\/the_birth_of_p\/","title":{"rendered":"The Birth of “P”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"Collage2_1\" <\/em><\/p>\n

I wrote this for posterity, in honor of my son\u2019s birthday. I\u2019ll warn you now that it\u2019s long. I purposely didn\u2019t whittle it down because I want to remember it as it really was, long or not. If you choose to read it, I hope you enjoy it.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>Tomorrow (Saturday) my baby boy will be one year old. I can\u2019t even believe it. This time last year, I was in labor & delivery waiting for him to be born. It was an experience I\u2019d not had before because my first pregnancy came to fruition with a planned c-section; something I had sworn to never participate in again. Suffice it to say, my first delivery was a wholly unpleasant experience that I will probably never write about because other than the moment my newborn daughter was put before my eyes, there\u2019s not much about it I want to remember.<\/p>\n

But the birth of my second child was completely different and something I want to savor forever. Sadly, I waited a whole year to write this story and my memory is already failing. Thankfully my husband, who can\u2019t remember some of the simplest day-to-day things, has a pretty good recollection of it. Between the two of us, I\u2019m pretty sure I got all the high points. So without further ado, I give you one of my fondest memories ever\u2026the story of my son, P.<\/p>\n

When we decided we wanted to have another baby, I was a little afraid. I\u2019d had an inexplicable estrogen deficiency since the birth of my first child five years prior and had worn a small patch for hormone replacement ever since. I feared that maybe I wouldn\u2019t be able to conceive because something in my body had clearly gone awry.<\/p>\n

As it happens, my fears were unfounded. After the first month of trying, I invested in an ovulation scope and conceived the following month.<\/p>\n

Because of my previous unpleasant experiences with obstetric practices and because I wanted a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), I opted for an OB group that had a number of midwives on staff that was also one of the only practices in my city that would even allow a VBAC. The midwives were kind and caring and empathetic and best of all, they totally supported my wish to have a VBAC without an episiotomy. They totally GOT me. I was elated. I thought I\u2019d died and gone to pregnancy heaven.<\/p>\n

Being over 35, unaffectionately known as \u201cadvanced maternal age\u201d I had to take all sorts of tests and screens and the results were very favorable so I declined having an amniocentesis. We found out we were having a boy and though I\u2019d never imagined myself as the mother of a boy, we were very excited.<\/p>\n

My 40 weeks of gestation flew by and other than leg aches and major carpal tunnel syndrome that impaired my already fractured sleep, I\u2019d had an ideal pregnancy. As I neared my due date, I had to go every week to see my midwife and then, as my due date came and went, I saw them every few days. Every time, I was only dilated one freaking centimeter! I was getting nervous because if I were more than a week past my due date, the obstetricians would not allow a VBAC as the risks of a dangerous uterine rupture were increased.<\/p>\n

On the morning of Wednesday, June 15, I woke up feeling crampy. It wasn\u2019t all that unusual as I\u2019d had cramps a few days before but today I felt different. And when I went pee, I noticed a very slight pink tinge when I wiped. Not wanting to be an alarmist, I decided to ignore it. I had a million things to do that day so I got dressed, got my daughter in gear and headed out.<\/p>\n

I went to the grocery store, the post office and a few more places, still refusing to take the cramps seriously. As they became a little stronger, I started to wonder if this was labor. It didn\u2019t feel like much more than a mild period cramp accompanied by a sort of heavy feeling in my lower abdomen so I decided not to call my midwives just yet.<\/p>\n

By that night, the cramps were coming and going and I started to think maybe it was, in fact, labor. When I wiped after peeing and saw \u201cbloody show\u201d I knew for sure. At one point, between 10 and midnight they were coming every 40 minutes. Though I was getting excited, Hubz and I figured that nothing major would happen before morning so we went to bed around 1am.<\/p>\n

At 2:30 am I woke up with what I believed were definitely contractions because they hurt. A lot.<\/p>\n

I woke my husband up and he was really groggy and irritated. He didn\u2019t understand why I didn\u2019t just go back to sleep. I tried to calmly explain that the contractions hurt really bad, to no avail. His preference for sleep was really starting to piss me off. (To be fair, he claims he couldn\u2019t<\/em> get up because he was so tired).<\/p>\n

I could feel myself becoming anxious and adrenalin was starting to kick in. I couldn\u2019t sit still.<\/p>\n

As the contractions got stronger, I became more agitated and couldn\u2019t stop pacing around, talking and bugging my husband every 2 minutes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m all \u201cHey! I\u2019m gonna have a baby. Get your ASS UP!\u201d and he was all \u201cIt\u2019s not coming right now. Let me sleep\u201d<\/p>\n

I was so pissed. How could he even consider letting me hang out and have painful contractions ALONE???  We still bicker about that to this day.<\/p>\n

Finally, he got up and accepted that I wasn\u2019t going to leave him alone. We started to pack stuff up for the hospital and get my daughter\u2019s things together so she could go stay with her grandparents.<\/p>\n

At 5am, I called the hospital and told the midwife on call that my contractions were about 15 minutes apart and she was basically like \u201cYou\u2019re a VBAC? Get here right away! You can\u2019t wait!!!\u201d Hah. Right. The baby would beg to differ.<\/p>\n

So we dropped my daughter off at my in-laws house and arrived at the hospital around 6am. After the initial intake, I was taken to a small triage room where I changed into the gown that I would be wearing for the next 24 hours and proceeded to be poked, prodded, questioned and monitored while my contractions became stronger and closer together.<\/p>\n

I was SO excited. I\u2019ll never forget that feeling of anticipation; a feeling that something really special was about to take place. From my room, I could look out the window and see the sun rising over the water and reflecting off the buildings downtown. It was a fresh new day, so full of promise, and I was having a baby. Yay!<\/p>\n

I finally wimped out and asked for my epidural because even though I was only 3 cm by about 7:30am, the pain was getting unbearable. Much to my irritation, I had to wait for an anesthesiologist to become available. If I\u2019d known he would take so damn long, I would have asked a lot sooner, like five minutes after I arrived.<\/p>\n

So while I was waiting, I got moved to my first labor & delivery room and some nurse came in and brusquely asked if I would mind having a military doctor training to be an OB observe.<\/p>\n

WTF?<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t go to a practice full of nice, kind, mother-like midwives so some random guy I\u2019ve never seen before could hang around and look up my dress.<\/p>\n

So I said no and she got all snitty with me. \u201cThis IS a teaching hospital, you know\u201d Uh no, actually I didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

And I replied, \u201cWell, that\u2019s the first I\u2019ve heard of any of this and I really don\u2019t want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turns out they were hanging all their hopes on me because the other women in L & D at that moment didn\u2019t speak English and couldn\u2019t give permission. Oh, well.<\/p>\n

I eventually got my epidural and was able to relax. Ahhhhh. Much better. An hour or so passed and ouch! I started feeling pain again. On ONE side. My epidural had become lopsided.<\/p>\n

Another big long wait while I writhed in lopsided pain and finally, the anesthesiologist came back and tinkered with it and left. No change. I was BEGGING at that point for them to just do it again but they were really afraid to because of potential complications. I could have cared less. I pleaded and they said they would get another guy to re-do the epidural because the first anesthesiologist didn\u2019t want to do it.<\/p>\n

To chill me out while I waited, they gave me some Fentanyl. Why do people like that stuff so much? Seriously, it was awful. I itched from head to toe for thirty solid minutes.<\/p>\n

After a while, I finally got a new anesthesiologist and another epidural. It worked and life was good again. Except that I was still 3cm dilated.<\/p>\n

At about 1pm (I\u2019ve now been there for 5 hours<\/em>) the midwife broke my water with a thing that looked like a plastic knitting needle in hopes of moving things along.<\/p>\n

The rest of the day was a blur of me looking at the monitor and watching the contractions of my uterus as well as the contractions of all the other women in Labor & Delivery and getting my cervix checked. Nurses went off shift and new ones came and I never got past 7cm. I stayed there all evening.<\/p>\n

Finally, at about midnight (I\u2019ve now been there for 18 hours<\/em>) the midwife said they were going to give me a tiny bit of Pitocin because my labor had stalled and the baby had been without amniotic fluid for almost 12 hours. They typically don\u2019t give Pitocin to VBAC candidates because it can be dangerous but because a C-section was starting to look like a real possibility and I was so vehemently against having one, she decided a small amount of Pitocin was warranted.<\/p>\n

I fell asleep for the first time in 24 hours (remember, I had only slept about an hour the night before when the huz wouldn\u2019t get out of bed<\/em>) and when I woke up an hour or so later, I had the worst friggin\u2019 back labor.<\/p>\n

The feeling was indescribable and clearly something that the epidural wasn\u2019t going to alleviate. The pressure was so intense, I almost felt like I couldn\u2019t breathe. I asked for heat packs, which helped some, and realized that this baby would be here soon..but not as soon as I\u2019d imagined.<\/p>\n

More cervix checks and ice chips and monitor watching until about 4:15am (I\u2019ve now been there for 22 hours<\/em>). Then the midwife announced that I was finally 10cm and it was time to push!<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to set the stage for you\u2026<\/p>\n

I was in my third room and second L&D suite at this point. This one had two beds, a TV and a ton of medical equipment. But the whole time I\u2019d been in this room, they\u2019d never turned on the ugly, bright fluorescent lights. They used these soft, warm, cozy overhead lights above my bed and it was so nice, like being at someone\u2019s kitchen table.<\/p>\n

There were only four people in the room; Jan, the awesome midwife, a very awesome, young-ish OB nurse, Hubz and me. It was mostly quiet and not at all like the births I\u2019d grown up watching on TV where the light is all bright and glaring and there are like 8 people in the room yelling at the woman to push. It was so mellow and low key.<\/p>\n

The nurse and Hubz held my legs and every time a contraction started to come, I was to put my chin to my chest and push while Jan counted to 10 and then I rested until the next one. I stopped waiting for Jan to tell me when to push. I would feel the contractions, get in position and start pushing. This went on FOREVER!<\/p>\n

They had put a mirror at the foot of the bed so I could see the baby\u2019s head. He had a ton of dark hair and it was really cool to see but after an eternity of being told to push because \u201chis head is RIGHT THERE. He\u2019s almost out!! Just a little more\u201d<\/em> by the three of them , I just couldn\u2019t do it anymore.<\/p>\n

I was exhausted. I told them, implored them, to use the forceps or vacuum but Jan said it was too late, whatever that means. I told them they\u2019d been saying his head is \u201cright there\u201d for so long. Why was he not coming out already?<\/p>\n

I begged for them to just let me rest because I couldn\u2019t do anymore and Jan said something along the lines of \u201cYes you can! You\u2019re having this baby!\u201d<\/p>\n

I swear, the whole exchange was right out of a movie.<\/p>\n

They let me rest for about about 30 seconds and then it was back to pushing for all eternity.<\/p>\n

Tra la la\u2026<\/p>\n

And then suddenly things became urgent. I was being asked to push harder and harder; harder than I ever have. I would find out later that the baby was in serious distress and needed to come out right away.<\/p>\n

Jan told me she needed to do an episiotomy and I was like \u201cNooooooooo!\u201d but I felt the sting and she told me it was already done.<\/p>\n

Again, I was told to push harder, harder, harder. \u201cThe baby has to come out RIGHT NOW!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

And then FLOOOOOP!<\/p>\n

Like a big wet noodle, he was out!<\/p>\n

I forgot all about the episiotomy and everything else and marveled at this gigantic baby I\u2019d just delivered. The room was suddenly full of people and everyone was talking about how big he was. I heard someone say, \u201cNo wonder he wouldn\u2019t come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

They weighed & measured him with more exclaiming from the nurses. He was 9lbs 6.5 oz. and 21.75 in. And his head was some number that apparently isn\u2019t even on the chart, but most importantly, he was healthy. (And poopy. He\u2019d pooped right after delivery. And in case you\u2019re wondering, I pooped during <\/em>the delivery. Yep.)<\/p>\n

I looked over at him while they were doing <\/a>whatever it is that they do to new babies and was awestruck, as all mothers are, at this little creature I\u2019d grown inside me for nearly a year. Though newborns are naturally kind of funny looking, I thought he was a work of art, the most beautiful thing I\u2019d seen since my daughter was born. And considering that I pushed for 2.5 hours, his head wasn\u2019t even all that pointy.<\/p>\n

I was smitten then and I\u2019m smitten now. P started out as a grumpy baby with a scream that could shatter glass, who had trouble pooping and wouldn\u2019t sleep unless he was being moved rhythmically while tightly swaddled and grew into a mischievous, curious, playful, friendly little guy that I love more than words can say. I am truly head over heels in love with him. We are so tightly bonded that honestly, I really miss and crave him when he\u2019s not with me.<\/p>\n

And as a disclaimer, in case my daughter ever reads this, saying how much I love P in no way diminishes the love I have for her. She is my <\/a>firstborn and I love and adore her with an intensity that cannot be described.<\/p>\n

While I may grouse about the dullness and lack of spontaneity and fun in my life, I would not change a thing. My kids mean everything to me.<\/p>\n

In closing, I was technically in labor for 48 hours, from Wednesday morning when I awoke with mild contractions (that I called cramps\u2026lol) until I gave birth almost exactly 2 days later after pushing non-stop for two and a half ass-kickingly hard hours. P was a week late and actually born on the day that I would have had a c-section if I hadn\u2019t gone into labor. Holy crap!!!!<\/p>\n

\"P3_1\"  <\/p>\n

Happy first birthday, big guy!<\/p>\n

Izzy is a mom of two kids aged 1 and almost 6 years. She is a WAHM graphic designer and creates aesthetically pleasing blogs for fun and profit!  She can be found blogging during naptimes and late into the night at Izzymom<\/a> (where this birth story originally appeared<\/em> here<\/a>.)<\/em><\/div>\n
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I wrote this for posterity, in honor of my son\u2019s birthday. I\u2019ll warn you now that it\u2019s long. I purposely didn\u2019t whittle it down because I want to remember it as it really was, long or not. If you choose to read it, I hope you enjoy it. Tomorrow (Saturday) my baby boy will be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gimme-the-drugs","category-vbac"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t