Kevin's birth story
Friday, June 23, my husband had a horrible day at work and was totally exhausted when he came home. Murphey's Law that that was the night my water broke.
We had gone to bed early. Like 7ish. I woke up about 9 pm to go pee,
and there was a lot of extra leaking. There was no gush,
just a lot of liquid. "Yippee!" I thought.
"Maybe it's finally time!"
(I was so ready to have this baby! I may have only been 38 weeks,
but I'd been ready since the doctor told me I could safely
have this child at 36 weeks.) I called my sister in law and
she also thought it may be my water breaking.
I went in and tried to tell my husband that we should
go to the hospital. In his deep sleep, he asked if
I had the binky packed yet.
I laughed and told him I'd let him sleep a little longer. So, I stepped out of my apartment and asked my neighbors. I really had no clue. Everyone said I needed to wake up my husband and go to the hospital. So, I tried again with my husband. Again he asks about the binky. (What the HELL was he dreaming??) Finally, I managed to get him out of bed at 10:30. I called the hospital and they said they would be waiting. I think we finally got to the hospital at 11:30. (The hospital is ONLY 15 minutes away…)
At the hospital, I was checked, and my water had definitely broken. My husband got to fill out some forms while they hooked me to the baby monitor. No contractions. Figures.
They took my blood and left the IV cathedor in my arm,
just prepared in case I needed one. Then, they got me a room.
And my husband went home. I was soooo pissed. I know he was tired, etc., and it was possible that it would take a long time, but I couldn't believe he could just leave. He could have crawled into my bed or the bed next to me. It may not have been totally comfortable, but I would have had him there.. and it is not like *I* was totally comfortable myself! (Sorry, this is a sore spot with me.) Anyway, I cried myself into a light sleep, but I really didn't sleep much at all that night. I ended up walking the halls most of the night. Round and round in circles. (The gyn/maternity ward is one big square, so I guess it wasn't exactly circles, but you get the idea.)
The next morning, when my husband returned, I still wasn't having regular contractions and I hadn't even started dilating yet. First they tried putting this pill on my cervix. Not really sure what this was, the doctor just told me it was supposed to start contractions. When this didn't work, they moved to the gel. No luck with that either. Nothing was getting my contractions going. (The doctor told me that with my history of losses, my body was so used to trying to hang ON to this baby, that it was uncertain how to let go enough for me to give birth! Interesting theory.)
They decided to send me down to the birthing room around 1 pm on Saturday. It was a nice, friendly area. There was one room with a big bath tub and a shower. Another room had a big king sized bed, comfy chairs, mats on the floor, a birthing ball with a rope hung from the ceiling, poles, bars on the walls, plus the normal stuff (equipment) you would find in a birthing center.
When I reached the birthing room, I met my midwife. She was a wonderful lady. Very supportive and helpful, and could speak great English (since this is important being in Germany and all). As a midwife, she had herbal medications that could strengthen contractions, so I thought I might as well give them a try. She was also a strong supporter of acupuncture. I've always been curious about that, so I decided that this would be a great time to see what it was really like. My husband thought I was crazy! Anyway, while I was hooked up to the baby monitor, she explained pressure points as she deftly inserted these pins into various places on my body. My favorite spot was on my head. It really did send a relaxing, comforting thrill through my body.
After my time on the machine, (still nothing regular, contraction wise) I took a nice warm bath, and finally, my contractions started to get more regular and harder. I stayed in the tub until the water got cold. While I was in the tub, the midwife lit some candles and burned some calming incense. It was very relaxing and beautiful. I am very fond of candles. During my time in the tub, I chatted with the midwife. She was a fascinating lady who had traveled quite a bit before settling in this small town in Germany. We talked about a good many things. (My husband always said I talk too much, but then, it was really nice getting to know the lady who was going to help me give birth to my son!)
After the bath, I tried walking a bit. Another check on the
baby monitor showed regular contractions, about 10 minutes apart.
I was finally dilated to a 2-3, but still moving rather slow.
The escape from pain was wonderful. They told me to sleep briefly, and when I awoke, I should be fully dilated and ready for labor. At this hospital, they let the epidural wear off so that I would be aware of when to push. I didn't really sleep, but I tried to. I was totally awake by the time the epidural wore off. The pain was horrendous. I was fully dilated but my baby wasn't descending. I tried rocking with the pains, maneuvering in such a way to move the baby to the canal. I'm sure I looked weird, with each contraction, I was to raise my back into the air and rotate my uterus trying to get baby to move down into position. It didn't seem to be working, though, and soon, I was begging for drugs, some end to the pain. By this time it was 2:30 am. My midwife called in the doctors on call, and we kept trying. I wanted a natural birth but it was starting to look like I was going to have to have a c-section. When the doctors finally arrived, they positioned themselves around my body after checking again to see that there was still no progress down the canal. I had my midwife on one side, a doctor on the other, and one trying to reach the baby. When it came time to push, the midwife and the doctors on either side pushed down HARD on my stomach, trying to move the baby into the canal. Nothing worked. By this time I was screaming and we decided that a c-section was the only way to go. I just could not take the pain any more.
So, the old man (and quite handsome I thought - I even told my midwife this later - she was amused) who did the epidurals came back and shot me up again.. (ah relief). Then began the process of having a c-section.
Don't ask me why, but I opted NOT to have my husband with me. Only the midwife came in with me. As it was, there was an entire staff of people in the operating room. They put up the cloth to block my vision and started the procedure after double checking that I could feel no pain. It was a very weird experience, hearing and feeling tugs but feeling nothing else.
Soon, the midwife was holding my son next to me, and I was kissing him all over his precious body, well, where ever I could reach since the only thing I could move was my head! He was so adorable. Total love at first sight. Then, they took him away to meet his daddy and to be weighed, etc. His birth time was recorded at 5:14 am on June 25.
(The next 20 minutes seemed to last forever.. I kept asking if they were done yet. I'm quite surprised they didn't knock me out for that!!)
Then I was reunited with my son and my husband.
I found out my son, Kevin, weighed 8 pounds and was 20 inches long.
(Talk about your nice round figures!)
The three of us cuddled together waiting
for me to be taken back to my room.
The midwife took some nice pictures.
(well, as I look at them now, my memory comes out nicer than the pictures, but then, I couldn't see MYSELF!!)
My husband and I took turns
taking picures,
too.
I was so glad that I was awake and able to share these first moments with my son and my husband. It was such a special time. The midwife and the doctors left us alone and we just oohed and ahhed our son, Kevin Loric. Kissing and hugging him and each other. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. What a wonderful miracle life is. What a perfect miracle our son is.
Here's a picture page
I'll add to it as I get pictures developed...
:)
