On Saturday, September 4th, at 40 weeks 5 days, I woke up at 4am from my third night of barely any sleep with steady, painful contractions 5-6 minutes apart. I labored at home all day with the contractions getting further apart but more intense. By dinnertime they'd picked up again to 6-8 minutes apart and I was having trouble talking, walking or focusing on anything so I sent the kids to my mom's. My midwife had me wait until the contractions were 5 minutes apart for an hour so we finally left for the hospital around 11pm.
I checked in at 6cm and losing bloody mucus. I got a hep-lock and wireless monitors and started walking around my room and leaning on DH during contractions which were 4-6 minutes apart and so intensely painful that I was already getting very vocal through them. Then I labored for an hour in a hot shower. I was so exhausted and sleepy being upright at that point that I got into bed. My legs were so shaky I was afraid I was going to fall over. I labored in bed until 4am, my 24 hours of labor mark, when my midwife checked me at 8cm. My water never wants to break on its own so she broke it. I continued to contract at 3-4 minutes apart and was actually fighting to stay awake between them. I just felt like I'd been drugged and had difficulty feeling any control over what was happening during contractions. I was still constantly shaking.
My nurse midwife in training checked me and informed me that I was still 8cm because my cervix had stopped dilating. She offered to try to push it back and I checked with my midwife. She wanted to give me a low dose of pitocin to get me open but I was afraid of what one intervention would lead to. So I tried her alternate suggestions, which were labor on all fours and push(didn't work)and labor in the tub and push(didn't work). While in the tub I felt my tailbone pop. It still hurts like crazy so I think I broke it this time around too.
Anyway, I took the pitocin. It didn't make my contractions worse like I thought it would but it did get me to 10cm. I was pushing during every contraction as my midwife instructed. I was yelling myself hoarse by this point. I was much more focused during my other two labors and didn't have to get that loud. This time felt harder and more intense and draining than my other experiences. I labored on my knees(sort of squatting on the bed, gripping the back of the upright bed)for almost an hour while my midwife tried to stretch my perineum to get the baby's head to descend. Her head was sort of stuck there and burning for almost 20 pushes. Finally, on a big contraction, with 5 long pushes, the baby came out. The baby came out so slowly and wriggling that I could feel every part:head, shoulders, elbows, tushy, knees, feet and cord. It burned like crazy because of a 3rd degree tear. So my labor with baby #3 ended at 6:59am after 27 hours.
I turned around to see what my surprise baby was and we were able to announce "It's a girl" ourselves! She was immediately placed on my chest and I cleaned her up a bit. She got perfect Apgars. I started to sob but I was too spent to produce any tears. I nursed her immediately, both sides and she is a champ! DH cut the cord which was a first for him.
An OB was brought in to stitch me up and it took over 12 pokes to get me numb enough. The OB said my cervix was badly bruised. I don't know if I did that pushing too early or it was from the baby's general womb aerobics.
Anyway, I handed her off to be weighed and was absolutely floored when my DH said 9lbs1oz. Yikes! No wonder she was measuring 3 weeks ahead and was hard to get out! She was 21 inches long. She has dark brown hair, not dirty blond like my other kids, and had blue eyes that are now turning gray, like my other kids eyes did. Her neck control and interest in everything is amazing. She doesn't really look like a newborn at all!
The baby was taken to the nursery for warming and I was given a meal. Then I tried to get a shower. But I was so weak that I started losing it and ended up on the floor. My nurse immediately called in a team of other nurses and the smelling salts were broken out and I was taken back to bed. We ran fluids for an hour and that perked me back up enough to get to my maternity room.
DH started making all the calls and I tried to rest. We were both like Zombies from sleep deprivation. He is such a proud daddy again! He rushes to change the dipes and cuddle her and kiss me and tell us both how beautiful we are. He's quite impressed with how huge she is!
She nursed well all day, although not long sessions, and was so quiet and sweet. By 11pm though she was gassy and hungry and I had to keep her on the breast or burping for almost a 5 hour stretch because she was crying so loudly. She loves food just as much as her behavior in the womb led me to believe she would!
We were able to get released early, just 31 hours after birth. My older kids visited us briefly in the hospital to see the baby and my mom will be bringing them home tomorrow.
I'm excited to see how our family dynamic will change with #3 and really thankful that, although I would call this my worst labor, we both came through it with no real complications.
So finally, presenting....
Fairfax Michaela
How close was I to my guesses?
I guessed: September 5th, 7:12 am, 7lbs 14 oz, 21.5 inches, dirty blond hair and gray eyes. I didn't guess gender but I did lean boy a few times because we've had a boy name picked for 6 years. It just felt like I was expecting a boy.
The facts: September 5th, 6:59am, 9lbs1oz, 21 inches, dark brown hair, blue/gray eyes, girl.
I should have bet money on my birthday guess!
She shares a b-day with my grandmother, who is absolutely thrilled by that!
