LONG VERSION:
Colton David – EDD: Nov 29th 2012 – Actual
Gestation: 40 weeks + 4 days
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| This is what the FOURTH trimester looks like! |
On a sunny Sunday, December 2nd, Jese (husband) woke
me up around 7am (which he later felt horribly guilty for since we had quite a
long day that day haha) after he could not sleep (again) as he anxiously
thought of when our baby would finally make his arrival. He hadn’t slept past 3am for about a week as
we waited and wondered when “the big day” would be.
As we sat and chatted in bed I had a contraction. I had been having them on and off for the
past week or so, so I didn’t get too excited.
Jese and I decided to take Daphne and Drake for a walk to see if we
could keep the contractions going. We walked
around the neighborhood a few times and the contractions continued.
When we came back to the house I told both Grandma’s about
the contractions so we started to take mental notes of when they occurred to
see if they had a pattern. They were
coming about 8 minutes apart. We sat and
chatted for a bit and the contractions kept coming. I grabbed my birth ball and rolled on it
during the contractions to practice relaxing fully during. After an hour or so I decided to take a
shower and get ready. I wanted to look
pretty if this was the day my son would be born! HA! One
does not “look pretty” while in labor! (Well, at least not unmedicated labor!) ;)
In the shower I continued to practice my relaxation during
contractions. As I got my make up
on and dried my hair it became more and more obvious that the contractions were
not stopping. I started to time them
with my baby app. They were about 5
minutes apart. They came in a pattern of two easier contractions,
and one a bit stronger. This pattern
actually stayed consistent through the entire first stage.
Jese made a healthy lunch for us to make sure I had fuel in
my system (Grilled chicken, sweet potato fries, and avocado). At this point the contractions were strong
enough to make me focus inward and be silent during. After lunch I went into our bedroom and worked
through each contraction. My mom and
Jese went in and out of the room getting our things ready for the
hospital. I liked being on all fours and
rocking during the contractions (which felt like period type cramps). It felt good to move rhythmically forward and
back. When Jese and I were
alone I let myself cry a little bit. I
was scared. Ready, excited, but also
scared. I didn’t know if I was going to
be able to do this naturally OR medicated!
Jese said I was doing great and that I was totally and completely
prepared for this. He never left my side
from that moment on.
Mom brought my ball in and I used it to lean on during the
contractions. I think I began moaning
during contractions at this point. It
truly helped release the sensations I was feeling down there. I continued to moan throughout the entire
day. It hurt NOT to moan.
At this point I already felt physically tired which scared
me a bit knowing that this was only the beginning. This is when time started passing without me
knowing it. My focus turned almost
completely inward and I used my months of relaxation practice to help get me
through each contraction. I opened my
eye’s only a handful of times from this point on. I truly went “inside myself” as many of my
books talked about.
In what seemed to be a 20min period (which was actually
about a 2 hour period) my contractions were at 2 min apart. Jese called Uta (my doula) and she headed
over to the house. Quickly after he called
her though it was clear we had to get to the hospital. An hour drive was still ahead of us.
We all got into our cars.
My mom, Jese and I in the truck, Uta in her car, and Jese’s mom in my car. It was about 3pm. I had mapped out a special route through base
using back roads which were travelled lightly and had no traffic lights. It was the perfect route if we didn’t get
stuck behind any military caravans… of course, today we did! The military vehicles were going 35mph in a
55! Jese about had an aneurism! Finally they turned off the road and Jese
proceeded to do 80 the rest of the way to the hospital. We still made the trip in an hours time! :D The drive was not as bad as I thought it would
be comfort wise. My mom sat in the back
seat and helped support a bit of my weight from behind while I sat on the edge
of the front seat and continued to rock forward and back during contractions.
When we arrived at the Hospital we checked into the ER. They offered me a wheelchair to sit in
multiple times while waiting for our escort to Labor/Delivery. I remember getting irritated with them and
thinking if I wanted to sit down I would sit on the floor, stop asking me! Of course I didn’t say this because at this
point speaking was of little priority.
Peggy, my favorite midwife, was on duty! Yipee!
She had a calming and knowledgeable presence. She supported my birth plan and had delivered
all 7 of her children naturally. She was
the perfect person to help me achieve my goal of natural birth.
I got changed into my labor clothes and I agreed to have
Peggy check me. I was already at 6cm!! They used a portable, handheld fetal heart
monitor and found our sons heart rate was strong and staying strong during
contractions!! He’s a champ already!
I got into the tub and loved it. I tried a few positions and was able to work
with contractions well. It didn’t really
make the contractions any less painful but it allowed me to rest much more
completely between contractions, which helped me conserve my precious
energy. Apparently I was in there for
quite a while… Time was such an illusion. I started having the urge to push around 10pm I
got out of the tub and Peggy checked me again (my bag of waters hadn’t broken
so I didn’t see the harm in it)… I was 9 centimeters! Oh thank the heavens! 
So back to it… Peggy just checked me and I was at 9cm, my
sons heart rate was staying ridiculously regular during contractions (the
nurses even talked about how awesome he was doing) and it was around 10pm on
Dec 2nd….. At that
point I thought to myself “no way this boy is being born on the 3rd”
(Jese’s basketball number).
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| I wish I would've bought a prettier gown! lol |
I was unpleasantly surprised that when pushing became a
“need” over a “desire” it did not feel as “good” as what all my books told me it
would. Actually, I would say that it
was the hardest part. I was exhausted
and the added effort having to be put forth was very discouraging. I again thought to myself “I am not doing
very well”. I was still too focused to have thoughts of
getting medication though. I tried the all
fours position and hated it. I tried
squatting and it exhausted me without actually doing anything.
Peggy came in and had me lay on my back. I thought that it was a stupid idea based off
of all that I read (it limits your pelvis from opening fully, and you essentially have to push the baby "up hill") but was too exhausted to switch positions and if I was flat
on my back at least I could rest between contractions more fully. Once Peggy started to guide/direct my pushing
things started to actually happen. She
gave me great direction to make my efforts actually do something! Of course every time she said that I was pushing
correctly it was the time when it was the hardest. My upper abs were cramping making it hard to
take deep breaths and it felt like I was pushing against a brick wall. It was truly
“labor”. I remember saying that if I
could just take a nap and come back to this I could finish strong. Hahaha I wish! She also did not allow Jese or my mom to
support the weight of my legs during a push.
I had to do the work myself to push properly. God I was so tired! I wanted that nap!
At this point my water had yet to break. Peggy knew I wanted as little medical
intervention as possible so she asked if I wanted her to break it. There are a million reason to NOT have the water
broken manually at the beginning/middle of labor, but when I am already in the
pushing stage he’s almost out anyway.
You can say that it speeds up labor but who really knows. My concern was that Peggy said it may change
the way the contractions feel (they may feel stronger). I wasn’t too sure about that. I knew I could handle whatever was happening
up until this point. I didn’t want
things to change and me lose it. Of
course all of this is going on in my head but I can’t communicate it
whatsoever. I don’t recall what I actually got out of my mouth but it was
probably broken sentences containing only pertinent words. With Jese’s and Uta’s help we decided to have
her break the bag. It didn’t hurt when
she did it, and it didn’t change the feeling of the contractions at all. Yipee!
Towards the end of the pushing stage was the hardest because
he was now low enough that between contractions I was still feeling intense
period like cramps and was unable to relax/breath. I was holding my breath during a push and
having a hard time catching my breath between contractions because of the
pressure. At this point I just wanted it
to be over! I wasn’t fearing the pain, I wasn’t thinking about medication, I just wanted to be
done!!
Fricken FINALLY I’m told that he is crowning (I can’t tell…
whether he is an inch away from crowning or actually crowning… it all feels
like period cramps and pressure). When he crowned Peggy told me to stop pushing
and wait till the next contraction so I could stretch slowly. That sucked!
To not push when you want to push… blah! I “motor boated” my lips to get
through it and “Stevie Wonder’d” my head really fast. Haha Hey, whatever
man! I’m still here and I have a baby so
it must have worked! Lol
FINALLY, with the onset of the next contraction, and me yelling (because no freaking way am I going to have one more
contraction… this labor is over NOW) I was able to push his head out and
continue to push the rest of his body out.
BAM! I’m a Mom!
He didn’t start to breath/cry on his own right away. I wasn’t worried at all because his umbilical cord was going to stay intact until it stopped pulsating (about 3minutes for him) so I was still breathing for him. Peggy encouraged me to talk to him, and massage him to help wake him up. I could hear him trying to make little cries, and after a minute or two he let out the cutest high pitched wale I’d ever heard. He is perfect!
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| He already has longer hair than Dad! |
The best thing I did in preparing for Coltons birth was to
have a team that believed in what I was striving for and believed that I could
do it. I was completely unable to make
decisions during labor. “I don’t know”
was the only thing I could think when asked questions directly. Having not only my team but the staff on hand
know my birth plan, and support it was key.
The nurses quickly stopped asking me questions and started directing
them at Jese when we first arrived at the hospital because he knew everything I
wanted/needed. He was amazing throughout
the entire day. Not once did he freak
out. He knew what I wanted and made it
happen. Colton’s birth was absolutely
perfect. I wouldn’t have changed a
single thing… well maybe that military caravan could have at least gone the
speed limit!
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| Our ride home... 3 days old! |
FUNNY SIDE NOTE: While we sat there in the delivery room I eventually said "Umm Ya'll... I'm not forgetting like everyone said I would. I remember quite clearly how much that just sucked!" hahaha But eventually he was 4 hours old, and as he slept on my chest the details started to get fuzzy. The next day, even more so. Now (three months later) all I can remember is that it was the hardest work I'd ever done with the greatest reward I'd ever received.
I am so happy with how his birth went. So pleased that I was able to give Colton
what I believe to be the best start in life. And you know what… I am DAMN proud of
myself! I’m a freaking BAMF!!!! (Bad A$$
Mother F….)
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| 3 months old and loving life... and BOOBS! :D |
STATS:
Boy!
9# 10.5oz
22.5inches
18 hours of labor from the first contraction to the last
push
3 hours of pushing
On a sunny Sunday, December 2nd, Jese woke me up
around 7am (which he later felt horribly guilty for since we had quite a long
day that day haha) after he could not sleep (again) as he anxiously thought of
when our baby would finally make his arrival.
He hadn’t slept past 3am for about a week as we waited and wondered when
“the big day” would be. We sat there
chatting when very light contractions started.
They continued through the morning and by lunch time we knew that today
was the day!
After a healthy lunch I worked through my contractions on
all fours, leaning on my exercise ball.
It was most comfortable to rock forward and back and moan lightly to
relax. From this point on I went
completely “inside myself”. I barely
opened my eyes until my son was in my arms the next day. I truly went “inside myself” as many of my
books talked about. Time also became a
complete illusion. What I thought was 20
minutes was actually 2 hours!
After having my doula come to the house we were ready to
head to the hospital. It was an hour
drive to the hospital of my choosing.
The drive was not bad at all. We
got stuck behind some slow military caravan at one point but once past them we
were able to make up our time through speeding like crazy! Lol
My favorite midwife was on duty that day (yippee), Peggy,
who had delivered her 7 children naturally and completely supported my birth
plan. She checked me and I was 6cm
already! They used a hand held fetal
heart monitor and found my sons heart beat was strong and staying that way even
through contractions.
I chose to labor the remainder of the first stage in the
tub. I found a rhythm and stuck with
it. Once I started feeling the urge to
push my midwife offered to check me again.
My water had yet to break so I agreed.
I was 9cm with a cervical lip on one side.
When it was time to push I started on all fours… hated that
position. Tried squatting… hated it (I
was too exhausted to hold myself up and push).
Finally Peggy returned after caring for another mother and suggested I
lie flat on my back. I thought it was
stupid (and actually said so) because of all that I read on how it’s the worst
position to be in to push. I gave in
though and wouldn’t have gotten up if someone gave me a million dollars. I could lay back and completely rest between
contractions… I needed that. I remember
saying I wanted to a take a nap and start pushing again when I woke up. I was tired!
At some point Peggy did end up breaking the bag of waters
(after asking permission of course). I
was so far along I didn’t feel like it would hinder the process in any way.
Finally with the guidance of peggy I started to make some
progress with my pushes. Of course when
she told me I was pushing correctly it was when it was the hardest! My upper abs were cramping, making it hard to
breath, and she made me hold my own legs while pushing rather than letting my
husband and mom do that for me. It
sucked. Pushing did not “feel good” as
all my books told me it would. To me it
was the hardest, most exhausting part.
Towards the end it became very challenging. My son was low enough now that between
contractions I would still feel immense pressure down there (like period
cramps). There was no resting from the
pressure from here on out. Freaking
FINALLY Peggy told me she could see the head during contractions. When he was crowning she told me to stop
pushing to allow the stretch to occur slowly.
With the onset of the next contraction and with some grunting/yelling
(no way I was going to have one more contraction! This was over NOW!) his head
and then shoulders were delivered. BAM!
I’m a Mom!!!
Colton David was put to my chest immediately and he was
perfect. He didn’t breath very strongly
right away but that wasn’t an issue because the umbilical cord was staying
attached until it stopped pulsating (was around 3 minutes for him) so I was
still breathing for him. Within that 3
minutes, and after I massaged and talked to him, he let out the sweetest high
pitched wale I’d ever heard!
We bonded right there for over an hour before they
weighed/measured him in the room. I had
pushed for 3 hours and we finally knew why it took so long… he was 9pounds
10.5oz and 22.5inches long! He was
HUGE!
Not once did anyone offer me medication…. Not once did I
even think about getting it. With
relaxing completely between contractions, finding my rhythm in movement and
breathing during contractions, and a support team who knew exactly what I
wanted and believed I could do it, I was able to give my son what I felt was
the best start to his life. I’m so proud
of myself for achieving this goal. I
worked incredibly hard to get my son into the world and he is mine…. I earned
him… and he is perfect.
