Charlie's Birth Story

On Tuesday June 3rd I was sent home with instructions to return that Friday for another NST. It would have been my 7th.  Through the beginning half of the pregnancy my mom and I had planned to start making trips to the maternity ward via both the main entrance and the ER entrance after each OB appointment so that we had a fairly good idea of where to go.  That planning was carried out just not in the way we thought.  With so many NST under our belts we felt like a couple of regulars and go to know the nurses in Triage pretty well.

Tuesday night was spent at home, relaxing with my husband as best as we could.  I decided for the first time in weeks I was going to sleep in the bed.  I wasn't as swelled as I had been and that had been my main reason for sleeping on the couch, in order to keep my feet propped. I didn't have my normal period like contractions.  There was nothing out of the ordinary.  The next morning I got up with the husband at 6 and went to pee.  I did my business and as I was walking back out of the bathroom suddenly felt wet again.  Like I had peed myself.  Back to the bathroom I go, feeling less than awesome at the prospect of peeing myself.  Again, after finishing up, I go to stand up and it happened again.  I sent my husband to work regardless because I honestly didn't think it was my water breaking.  It was such small amounts.  There was no big gush, no continuous flow.  I continued to leak for another hour.  At 7 I decided I better get a shower because if this was indeed my water I wanted my hair to be washed.  I showered, called my mom and told her to get her shower.  This was at 7:35.  At this point I was starting to cramp.  Similar to the cramping I had been having for the past two weeks.  They continued to intensify.  I paced in my bathroom and counted when the worst ones hit.  At 7:46 I called my husband and told him he better head home. I called my mom back at 8 and told her what was going on.  She mentioned she needed to dry her hair and I told her to do what she needed to do.   At this point I'm still in denial.  The contractions are coming pretty close together.  It felt like one had just mellowed out when it would start to rise and peak again. By 8:35 I was downstairs with my bag and Charlie's.  I called my mom repeatedly to get her to hurry and made the call to my husband that he needed to meet us at the hospital.  Contractions were intense.  So incredibly painful.  But still period type cramping.  It was all very low type pain.  My belly didn't get rock hard like I was told to look for.  I had no pain going along the top of my belly and seizing up my entire belly.  Rather it was all really low, low pain.  I put the dogs in their cages and stood in our downstairs bathroom and ran cold water over my hands.  Bending over with the high peaks of each contraction seemed the best option.  I screamed and was completely vocal.  I figured what the hell, I'm home alone anyways.  My poor dogs were traumatized by the experience and I feel so bad.  Also at this point I am having the incredible urge to poop.  Note to all those - DO NOT TRY TO POOP.  Thankfully I was pretty aware that this was bad considering I was still in my house and a 40 minute drive away from my hospital.  My mom got there I would guess around 8:40ish.  It took us a little while to get me in the car because I was contracting about every 2 minutes.  I didn't realize this until I was in the car and able to just stare at the clock as the waves of pain hit.  I can remember that I couldn't sit back and I couldn't sit on my butt at all.  I turned my body to the side and held on to the "oh shit" handle at the roof above the door.  Ya know that breathing technique that everyone in the movies uses when in labor?  Do it.  No joke.  For whatever reason it helped immensely to focus on puffing out air when those high peaks hit.  My mom drove 85 mph down the highway to get us to our destination.  With each low point I was tell her to watch her speed and that everything was fine.  When the high peaks hit I was begging her to let me poop and I swear I'd clean it up when this was all over.  I knew I couldn't poop or push but I will secretly admit there may have been a time or two my body just did it without my control.   We arrived at the hospital at 9:29 according to my mom's car clock.  She pulled into the valet parking, jumped out of the car, leaving it still running and her door hanging open, yelling at the attendants that we were in labor.  Lucky for us, I was at a high peak as we came rushing into the valet and one of the attendants had already rushed inside to get me a wheelchair.  An adorable older and very scrawny looking older woman came over to assist us getting up to maternity.  She was rushing with all her little body had.  I was at a low here and told her it was all going to be fine, she didn't have to over tax herself.  I apologized for being too heavy.  She was incredibly sweet and she went flying up the hallway towards maternity and rushed me through.  As we wheeled up to the nurses station they all seemed to be standing around very calm.  I could feel another contraction rising up and quickly mentioned that I had been 4 cm dilated on Monday and I was in intense pain.  My mom tells me I apologized several times here too.  I distinctly remember seeing a girl I went to school with and tried to have small talk but another contraction hit and I was wheeled in a labor and delivery room.

Things begin to get blurry here.  I remember several nurses.  I know that there was a nice, petite woman who introduced herself as Patty and my mom and I were so excited to actually meet her.  Her name had been mentioned several times over my NST trips but we had never met.  She was the Midwife that worked the maternity ward Monday through Friday.  She was the midwife who delivered my little girl and God bless that woman.  Another contraction hit as we were trying to get me undressed.  I vaguely remember asking for my epidural and Patty said she'd like to check me and see where I'm at first.  Fine, no problem, I was helped out of my shorts and underwear and told to lie back on the bed.  I did the best I could but quite frankly that position sucked and I really didn't want to.  When Patty checked me, I remember looking at her face as her eyes got serious and she nodded to the nurses.  A secret code I guess.  Her words to me were "when you feel that urge to poop again, you go ahead and push."  I hadn't remembered telling her that I wanted to poop, but I must have.  Quickly I was pushed back to lay down on the bed and stir ups were brought out.  I asked about any type of pain medication and I was informed that the baby was right there.  I wouldn't be getting anything.  Another contraction hit and I feebly pushed.  I know I slacked on that first one.  I was terrified.  No pain meds? Nothing??? I know I had said if I could I would try to but damnit at this point I couldn't.  I was in immense pain and I did NOT want to do this natural.  I also noticed the mirror that folds out from the ceiling.  I asked that it be put away and everyone questioned if I was sure to which I became adamant that the mirror needed to GO.  With the next contraction Patty encouraged me and said it would be over so quickly if I just gave it my best.  So I pushed.  The nurses kept trying to get me to hold my own legs up to my chest and that wasn't what I wanted to do at all.  At some point when Charlie was crowning when my husband got there and walked into the room.  He got to see that.  The man who didn't want to be in the room at all got to see all the glory.  But he did so good.  He came up by my head and I held his index finger, squeezing with everything I had as I pushed.  Patty at some point gave me two numbing shots.  She apologized for the pinch I would feel and I think I may have laughed at her or said she was crazy if she thought I cared about any pinch at this point.  The nurse to my left tried to put an IV in my hand to get me some fluids but that was forgotten.  Patty also was awesome and continued to use something that was really cold feeling as Charlie crowned to help with any tearing.  There was definitely the ring of fire as they call it.  In some ways, it was better because I knew if I could get past that ring, push through that pain, the rest was way easier.  And its so true.  Once you push out the head, the rest of the body seems to just gush out.  I felt so dirty to be honest because it was a big gush.  Ew.  They put her up on my chest and I remember stating, my gosh there's really a baby.  I think in some ways I have been distant during the pregnancy.  I wasn't able to totally emotionally connect to Charlie because that just isn't the type of person I am.  But there she was, squishy and screaming on my chest.  Patty asked Steve to cut the cord and he refused, telling her to let Grandma get that option.  He kept kissing my head and telling me how awesome I did.  They took her away to get weighed and checked out.  At this point Steve went with her while Patty continued to help me birth the placenta.  The pain does not stop when the baby exits.  The placenta wasn't brutal but it was definitely uncomfortable.   As was when Patty was cleaning me up and checking for any tears.  I didn't need any stitches.  Thanks to that wonder woman of a midwife.

Things are blurry and my sense of time is completely out of whack.  I know that they brought her back over to do skin to skin and thats' when I went through the registration process.  Steve signed a bunch of papers etc.  Odd.  Doing it all AFTER the baby has arrived but the little lady was not waiting.  They asked if I wanted to breastfeed and if I had taken any classes.  They all got a chuckle when I mentioned I had intended to go to the class being offered the following night.  The nurse, Amy I think was her name helped me get a latch and how to hold the breast etc.  She has 4 kids herself and breastfed all 4.  She was the nurse that stayed with me for the duration and I absolutely loved her.

Steve had called his mom and she arrived not long after Charlie was born.  In fact she was walking into the maternity ward when the nursery rhyme went off which indicates a birth.  So after I was cleaned up, everyone got to pass her around while the staff got a room ready for me.  I had sent the entire system into backward motion.  I was honestly so relaxed and content at that point.  There was relief that it was over and it hadn't taken several hours.  Joy that she was here.  Pure amazement and gratitude for my mom and for my husband.  Even then though I don't think it completely hit me how close we had been to having a baby on a main highway.  I mean.. one traffic light too many and I'm not sure how this story would have gone.

Patty mentioned that if there is a next pregnancy I will need to have my cervix length measured at 20 weeks and up to ensure that isn't the reason I delivered so fast.  A shortened cervix can cause preterm labor.  Oh and I also had to provide a pee sample to ensure that I wasn't on drugs.  Everyone was apologetic about it but I could've cared less.

So in conclusion, Charlotte Lynn was born June 4th at 9:40 am after mom pushed for a measly, excruciating 10 minutes.  She weighed in at 6lbs and 7 oz and was 19inches long.  And my gosh are we so very blessed to have her in our lives.