Charlotte Katherine
December 28th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
9 lbs, 15 oz and 22 inches
For some reason I had been feeling like the 28th was going to be The Day for a while. I woke up in the morning looking forward to my midwife appointment and hoping to find out if my cervix had made any further change from the week before. There was some kind of scheduling mixup at my midwife office and I ended up seeing an OB I'd never met before and she wasn't the nicest. I was only 40w1d and she was reeeeally pushing me to setup an induction which I did not want to do. I told her I was game for an ultrasound and/or NST but didn't feel there was any reason to be talking induction. We settled on a membrane sweep, an ultrasound and NST scheduled for the next morning, and scheduling an induction the next week at 41w5d. The membrane sweep was pointless, she couldn't reach far enough back to effectively sweep me. I was 4cm and I forgot to ask her how effaced I was.
I drove home and ate lunch but really didn't feel like doing much. My sister was in town to watch the girls when Lee and I went to the hospital so she and I vegged on the couch and watched chick flicks. I was having strong BHs all throughout the afternoon but they weren't regular or consistent and were mostly just annoying. At 4:30 I called my doula to let her know I was having a lot more BHs than usual and maybe it might be the start of something. As soon as I made that phone call and hung up, all of my contractions stopped, haha. I called her back at 5:45 to let her know things had quit and she suggested I get in the tub and try some nipple stimulation.
Let me tell you, nipple stimulation is serious stuff! I got in the tub at 6, started nipple stims, and five minutes later my water had broken and my contractions were a minute long every three minutes! I called for Lee and when I told him my water had broken, he literally jumped, clapped his hands, and said, "Yes! We're having a baby tonight!!" It was seriously cute.
Lee helped me out of the tub and I got dressed in between contractions while he finished making dinner for the girls and then loaded the car. I was NOT looking forward to the car ride - we live 30-35 minutes from the hospital and contractions in the car SUCK. I remembered from Violet's birth that my doula recommended taking 3,000mg of calcium magnesium to help take the edge of the contractions during the car ride so I popped some of those and tried to mentally prepare myself for the car ride. Contractions were REALLY intense at this point and I was having a really hard time focusing and staying on top of them.
We got in the car at 7 and the first ten minutes were awful. Contractions were intense and I was now only getting about a 30 second break in between them. About ten minutes into the ride, the calcium magnesium kicked in and I was able to gain control back over the contractions. I was finally able to put my head down, close my eyes, and use my Hypnobabies. Right as we turned into the hospital parking lot I had a contraction that made me feel a little pushy and I told Lee to let the admin chick know we didn't have time for paperwork. Our doula happened to be walking through the doors right as we pulled up so she whisked me away in a wheelchair to L&D while Lee parked the car and brought up all of our stuff.
Of course I had to do triage first and it was hard to be poked and prodded and still keep my focus on meditating. My doula was awesome and did a lot of massaging and breathing with me to help me stay on top of the contractions. She was able to slip away for a few minutes to start filling the tub while the nurse checked me and told me I was 6cm. I was surprised I was only that far dilated but still felt I didn't have long until baby arrived. When I asked if they had called my midwife yet (she wasn't on call but said she would come in to deliver me anyway), the nurse actually said, "Oh, don't worry, you have plenty of time." I ended up paging her myself because I knew we didn't have time.
I was finally able to get in the tub and ladies, the water is where it is AT. I felt pressure and some contractions were more intense than others, but it was waaaay easier to stay focused and not let the contractions run away from me. I know a lab tech came in and drew blood at some point, I signed some admission paperwork, and Lee got there and put his bathing suit on and got in the tub with me, but I was really focused on my meditation and everything around me was just really fuzzy and not registering much for me at all.
We had been there thirty minutes when my midwife Peg showed up. She walked in and my very next contraction I started pushing. She shut off all the lights except for one low one, re-filled my tub with warm water, and asked if she could check me. I had a tiny bit of rim left and she said it would be fine for me to push against it, it would move to the side no problem. Lee readjusted our position so I was better angled for pushing and with the next contraction I started working with my body to bring baby down. It took four pushes to bring her head and first shoulder out but her second shoulder was stuck. Not only was her shoulder stuck, but my contractions had completely stopped. I was trying to push with no urge which was bizarre and Peg was doing everything she could to gently pull the second shoulder out. After a very long minute or so, Charlotte was finally freed and Peg and I brought her up on my belly. She was HUGE!
And gorgeous.
Peg opened her legs and Lee said, "It's a GIRL!!" I cried, we all did. Peg immediately started covering Charlotte and I with warm, moist towels and together we rubbed her vernix in as we waited for the cord to stop pulsing. Ten minutes later, Lee was able to clamp and cut the cord and he and Charlotte left to get her weighed, etc while Peg stood me up and showered me. It was really sweet, actually. She told me just to stand there and she washed me down and massaged me. It felt so good to be pampered like that!
After drying off and getting a gown on, I checked in on Charlotte and Lee and that's when I found out I'd just had a 9 lb, 15 oz baby!
Peg had me lay down on the bed so she could check me and I'd only had a teeny, superficial tear. The top layer of skin had just split a little, no muscle was involved. She recommended two stitches just because of the location so she did that while I started nursing Miss Charlotte.
Everyone was pretty much standing around going, "Holy crap! You just had a ten pound baby in two hours!" It didn't really hit me until later, I was too elated with my new baby. But yeah, thinking about it now that seems like utter insanity.
We were able to go home after 24 hours and things have been great. Charlotte is a very sweet baby and she's sleeping and nursing so well. Lily is totally in love with her new baby sister but Violet is a little more confused by it all. Things at home are going pretty ok, just trying to adjust the big girls to life with a new baby.
I'm feeling awesome, so awesome that I have to remind myself to slow down so I don't overdo it. Lee has been so amazing, making sure I'm keeping up with my Motrin, keeping me hydrated, and pretty much taking care of all of Miss Charlotte's needs aside from actually nursing her. Evidently he's a pro the third time around.
I'll update with pics soon, I need to get them off my camera first!
--
Just born!
Proud Daddy:
Mommy takes a good look:
Going home:
Lily's first snuggle:
First cloth diaper - Clover fitted and Thirsties cover:
Just 'cause it's cute - bunny ears!!
JustMommies Message Boards
» Trying to Conceive and Family Planning
» Waiting to Try to Conceive
» WTTC Graduates
»
Charlotte Katherine's Water Birth - Added photos!
Linear Mode
