It was the Best of Times (Labor Story)...

Wow! Howdy strangers! It feels good to have some time online again. The past two weeks have been a complete blur and I have been itching to write about it. Here is the story of how little Miss Adelaide came into our world...

Snicks and I chose to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day by ourselves. Going home to Minnesota wasn't really an option given my fast approaching due date and we figured it would be the last quiet Christmas we would ever have. So, on Christmas Eve we had a date night (Applebee's - ick, but we had a gift card and a movie "Little Fo.ckers") and just enjoyed being together. On Christmas morning Snicks agreed to attend Mass with me (AMEN - I later told him that Addie decided to make her move because God was so happy - LOL) and we had plans to do absolutely nothing all day. We napped, did laundry, and opened our gifts. Snicks was packing for his weeklong trip to Rhode Island with the basketball team. He had picked up some movies from the library and, after dinner (steak, sweet potato fries, and sparking grape juice) we settled in to watch "Chaos Theory" (which is highly ironic if you know me at all).

I had been having some stronger Braxton-Hicks contractions for the past few days and SP was definitely settled into my pelvis. I chose to watch the movie sitting on the exercise ball and rocking to relieve some of the pressure. About ten minutes into the movie I felt a strange "pop" inside my belly. I looked at Snicks and said "Whoa, that was either a crazy kick from SP or my water just broke." (7:45pm) I was a bit in denial so it took me a few seconds to get the courage to stand up (plus I needed to hurry off of our oriental rug) but when I did, it was like Niagara between my legs. No joke. It was warm and wet and all over the floor. I started to laugh (I really did not want to go into labor until after my mom visited and helped me finish nesting) and Snicks' expression was priceless.

We called the doula and she convinced us not to call the midwife yet (she is required to make us go into the hospital) but rather try to rest. She told Snicks that it would likely be 12-18 hours before SP was born, so not to worry. Well, there was no opportunity to rest at that point. First, we called my mom since she was planning to drive out to Ohio the next day. We told her to just wait until after SP is born and then have my dad join her. Then, we realized that the carseat wasn't installed, so we called our friends/neighbors; M met Snicks at the car to help with the seat and his wife, C, came up and made some sandwiches/snacks for us to bring to the hospital. The next hour was basically made up of me taking two showers, sitting on the toilet, and trying to give Snicks some direction in gathering the final items for the hospital bag. I was in a fine mood and only needed to focus during a contraction. Then, it changed. (9:15pm)

I was suddenly much more serious and no longer had the energy for small talk. Our friends had already gone home and it seemed that Snicks had things under control. I kept staggering to the bathroom to make sure my bladder was empty (contractions were more painful with a full bladder) and trying to find ways to be comfortable. The exercise ball and toilet were my favorite places to be. Laying down was awfully uncomfortable, but then again, so was standing, walking, really, anything. Snicks tried to help me, but there wasn't much for him to do. I finally decided that laying in bed, no matter how uncomfortable, was the only option I had if I was going to rest. I pulled from our Bradley research and Hypnobirthing practice and managed to make it through each contraction. I also remembered the advice of my cousin's wife, "one contraction at a time". The contractions were about three to four minutes apart and lasting at least a minute. Snicks was still convinced that we had tons of time to go, though, so he wasn't freaking out. He called the midwife around 10pm to let her know what was happening - she was surprised but also reassured him that it would probably be awhile.

Well, SP clearly wanted to get outta my womb and around 11:15pm things started to get serious. Really serious. I kicked Snicks out of the bedroom (he chose to lay on the hallway floor so that he'd be close to me) and went into a place I never knew I could access. I was definitely focused and nothing else could have shaken me from the concentration. I was definitely uncomfortable and eventually began begging Snicks to take me in so that I could get an epidural. He reassured me that I was doing great. Somewhere in my subconscious I thought, "oh, so this is transition" and just kept on laboring.

Finally, at 1:00am on the 26th I told Snicks that it was time to go in to the hospital. He had the car ready to go outside. I wrapped up in a blanket and shuffled out to the car - it was a cold and snowy night. Little did I know, the carseat placement meant that the front passenger seat was up at 90 degrees and rather close to the dashboard. Not so comfy for a laboring mom. He was not sure about where I was in labor and, given the advice from the doula and midwife, drove under the speed limit the whole way to the hospital. I was seething, but couldn't find the energy to even say anything because I knew that all of my focus needed to be on labor. I opened the window a few times for fresh air and Snicks thought I was going to get frostbite. I barely remember that the air was cold.

We arrived at the hospital/ER at 1:45am. We had to do some quick registration (not everything could be done beforehand) and the security guard offered me a wheelchair. I just about bit his head off and said no as I had a "cannonball stuck in my a$$." The registration desk worker called the holistic birth center nurse down and told her to rush. Robyn, the nurse, appeared in the lobby and I knew we were on the home stretch. It took us a few minutes to get upstairs (I needed to stop every minute or so for a contraction) and when we finally got to the triage room I was feeling like I wanted to push. Snicks and the doula came in just as she was about to examine me (Snicks had given the doula the update on the way up in the elevator - she suddenly understood that this wasn't going to be a 12-18 hour labor!). Well, the exam didn't take long as I was already 10cm dilated and at zero station. I had labored to 10cm at home!

We walked to the holistic center and they started to fill the birthing tub (a 40 minute process). In the meantime, I chose to labor on the toilet. The doula probably still has bruises on her legs from me grabbing her so hard during the contractions. I said that I really wanted to push and she asked me if I wanted to wait for the midwife or if I would be fine with the doctor on call. My reply "I don't give a $hit" was all she needed to give me the green light to push. Within five minutes the midwife arrived and the tub was full. The midwife wanted to do an exam and I asked if she could do it while I stood up because laying down was so uncomfortable. She said, "honey, I am good, but not that good." So, I went to the bed, had the exam, but refused to have the fetal monitor. I didn't mean to be difficult, but I really couldn't handle all of the pressure I felt while on the bed.

Finally, I was able to move into what can only be described as labor heaven. The birthing tub really was labor heaven. Once I got into the warm water I felt like I could relatively comfortably move into whatever position I needed to be in to help move the baby down. I moved from seated with my feet up (which would end up being my pushing position), to squatting, and on all fours with no real problem. My contractions actually slowed down a bit at this point and I had a moment of lucidity. It was just a moment, however, and I returned to my quiet place inside. It took about an hour of pushing, 15 minutes of which was "good" pushing, to finally greet SP/Adelaide Grace at 3:55am.

I was able to just hold her in the tub for about twenty minutes (Snicks actually ran down to the car to get our other bags at this time and we had to wait for him so that he could cut the cord) and enjoy her sweet face. She was covered in vernix but she was beautiful. Snicks finally returned, cut the cord (it was very thick, per the midwife), and they cleaned her up a bit. She scored a 9 on the apgar! I then had to move out of the tub to deliver the placenta (uncomfortable, but quick). Nursing was next - it didn't come easily but she did get a few sucks in before falling asleep. Snicks and I were exhausted but too blissed out to sleep. We marveled over every little detail. Finally, a nurse came in and put her under the heater. We settled into a light slumber (the heater kept beeping) and have yet to get a solid eight hours of sleep since then.

Just over eight hours from water breaking to birth. It truly was wonderful and I told Snicks I would do it all over again less than an hour after it was over. The rest of the story will be another post...

I am thankful for the birthing tub.