Many of you know our birth story, but a lot of you don't know details so, I thought I would share!
Little Malia was due to be induced at the hospital Friday, June 3rd at 7:30 am - a few days before our official due date, June 8, 2011. At our Wednesday, May 25th doctor's appointment, we discovered we were between 3 and 4 cm. dilated and 80% effaced. The doctor was impressed and said it wouldn't take much in the way of medication to get us going on induction day. I was impressed too...I hadn't had any painful contractions...some Braxton Hicks and cramps maybe.
Fast forward to Tuesday, May 31st - Tyler said our evening family prayer and expressed his desire that Malia would come when she was supposed to come, not necessarily when it was convenient for us. I thought his wording was interesting since induction day would be the first day he was home for summer vacation (he's a second grade teacher) and I was fine scheduling my daughter's due date rather than being surprised by it. There was comfort in knowing when she was coming.
Apparently our prayer was heard because at 2:30 AM I woke up to contraction pain and fluid. My water had broke! I woke up Tyler and said I thought it was time to head to the hospital. Meanwhile, I hopped into the shower quickly because I wanted to be "fresh and clean" for delivery. I took a super quick shower and hopped out. It was then that I started shaking uncontrollably and could not stop shaking for about a minute or so. Was it nerves or some kind of reaction to the labor, maybe a combination of both? - I don't know, but looking back on it, my body knew more than my mind did. I was able to pull myself together, stop shaking and finish getting ready. Meanwhile Tyler was running around grabbing the last few items we needed for our hospital bag. I could tell he was as anxious as I was...we weren't following the plan, but it was happening!
For the first time in my pregnancy, I could tell I was having genuine, painful contractions. They were coming maybe 5 minutes apart so, by my estimate we had time to head to the hospital and after we were checked in, call our parents and have them start driving down (both sets live about 15 minutes away).
During the 10 minute drive to the hospital, I had 3 contractions. Things were picking up. Official hospital check in time was 2:50 AM. Once we got into triage, I was instructed to change and give a urine sample. By this time, I knew a urine sample was impossible - there was just so much pressure down there and I was in pain. I also discovered that I was bleeding pretty good. I screamed from inside the bathroom, Tyler ran and got the nurse and they told me to unlock the door. The nurse checked me, said she could feel the baby's head and that we needed to get me to the delivery room. I got on the bed, they pulled a sheet over me and we headed for the delivery room.
I asked them if there was time for an epidural and they told me that there wasn't time for any drugs. I was completely intimidated. The plan always involved drugs - I've "seen" births on TV and knew I couldn't do it naturally. It would just be too painful, but I had no choice. We got to the delivery room, they hooked me up to an IV (I was supposed to get antibiotics during delivery) and started measuring my contractions. I don't remember if the doctor was in the room when we got there - if not she must have ran from wherever she was at because things happened quickly. I was instructed to push as soon as a contraction began. The pushing eased all of the pain - all I remember feeling as I was pushing was intense, consuming pressure. After maybe two contractions, the doctor asked me if I wanted a cut or tear. I wasn't thrilled. I asked her how I was supposed to make that decision without being on any drugs. She said she could give me a local anaesthetic during a contraction (and thus distracted) and I decided I was fine with that. A cut seemed cleaner and less painful to heal from than a tear. One or two more pushes later and Malia was out. Her head was by far the most painful thing to push out - there was a lot of burning, but I pushed through it - I just wanted her out. During the first few contractions, I screamed, but a nurse said it was wasted energy and to put it all into the pushes so, I clenched my teeth and eyes and pushed, pushed, pushed.
Malia was born at 3:18 am - 28 minutes after our initial check in time. She weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 19 1/2" in length. Tyler cut the umbilical cord and I was able to hold my daughter before they cleaned her up.
I was still in my ASU shirt when she was born. After the delivery, I was asked all those preliminary questions they normally ask you ahead of time. Are you currently on any medications? Are you allergic to anything? The questions distracted me from the doctor sewing me up, but not totally.
45 minutes later and with a clean, fresh, sweet new baby, I walked to the recovery room with Tyler and finally was able to change into a robe and bond with my new daughter.
Our labor story is still a little surreal - as a first time mom I never thought I would have such a quick labor and be faced with a natural birth, but I'm glad things happened the way they did. I discovered that I'm stronger than I think and that labor without drugs is very much bearable. I'm grateful that Tyler worded our prayer the way he did. Looking back on it, if the baby had come when Tyler was at work and I was home alone, I don't know if I would have been able to get to the hospital in time and that's genuinely scary.
We love our little girl and are so thankful things went smoothly! Tyler called our parents while I was in the delivery room and they arrived soon after the birth. Looking back on it, we probably should have called them sooner, but I had no idea how things would turn out.
Malia is now 5 days old and doing great. She's starting to get settled into a routine and so are we.
We love her and are enjoying every moment with her. I'll be posting some pics here later so, be on the lookout!
