Members

As a member you'll be able to receive and send messages, keep your own photobook, agenda, ask questions, participate in the chat, and make new friends. All is free and you don't need email.
Sign up (free & anonymous)

Name: Password:

---

Activity
• Now online | Member search | New members | Comment Spy
• New blogs & Questions | Recently updated profiles
• New photos: Pregnancy | Babies | Bellies | Ultrasound | Member pages
• Latest comments: Forums | Week by week | Baby development

Write a new blog

---

01-3-2010 - Michaels Birth Story

My mood while writing this blog: Ok

---

Michael’s Birth Story

**WARNING…THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG!**

Well…according to me, I labored for 47 hrs. If you ask the nurse, I only labored for about 36. Either way…it was long and hard! I originally planned on going all natural with no epidural. I wanted a calm and relaxing birth with no interventions. Read on to hear about how all of that went out the window once things got super tough….

Michael was due Feb 11^th. I had some labor contractions on the 9^th, but I think I got too excited and unfortunately they stopped. I again had some mild contractions on the 13^th for about 5 hrs, but again, they stopped. Finally on the 16^th at about 5pm, I had 3 moderate labor contractions in a row! I was very excited, but tried to stay calm and just keep an eye on it. I refused to time them, because I had found that to put pressure on me last time. If they weren’t close together I got frustrated. By midnight I decided that it might be a good idea to time them, because I was having them fairly frequently and they were getting strong enough that breathing through them made it easier. At this time I could feel all of the discomfort in my back, but it was certainly manageable.

At around 3am on Feb 17^th, I was pretty darn sure it was labor, but I was afraid to fall asleep because I didn’t want it to stop. The contractions were 4-7 mins apart and I definitely had to breathe through them. Yet I would still just call them uncomfortable and not necessarily painful.

At 5am on Feb 17^th, I KNEW I was in labor. I decided to get some rest so that I’d be ready for when and if the contractions actually became painful. That desire was short lived. At 6am a REALLY strong contraction woke me up. Darn. By this point I had been awake for almost 24hrs already (Feb 16^th at 11am) and in labor (for sure) since about midnight. So 6 hrs of labor, 19 hrs of no sleep.

I began to labor in the bath tub, which helped a lot. I would get out about once an hour and take a walk around the block with my husband and my dog. I called my doula and let her know that today was the day! (Little did I know how wrong I was). When I was sitting the contractions were 5 mins apart (on the dot!) and were lasting a little over a minute. While walking they were only 2 mins apart and again lasting a little over a minute. I thought for SURE I’d be having my son by that evening.

My doula arrived around noon (now 12 hrs of labor, 25 hrs no sleep). She was extremely helpful in relieving some of the discomfort during each contraction. They got to two minutes apart on a consistent basis, but part of me KNEW this couldn’t be what might usually be transition (when contractions are 2 mins apart). My assumption was that by the time they were 2 mins apart, I’d secretly be wishing for an epidural. These contractions definitely weren’t epidural worthy.

At around 4 pm, I decided to go to the hospital to be checked for progress. If I wasn’t really progressing I thought I should let my doula go home and come back when things were more intense. We got to the hospital with the contractions still 2 mins apart (the car ride over was NOT pleasant). They got me into a room and hooked me up. At this point my contractions were registering as 80 on the pressure scale. Not comfortable, but definitely doable. I think the pain in my back was what really started draining me. (now 16 hr of labor, 29 hrs no sleep). To my disappointment, I was only 1 cm dilated?!?! What??? Seriously?? Well they had me lay in bed and monitored me until about 5:30pm and then told Scott (my husband) and I to take an hour walk to see if there were any changes. I had let my doula go home because it seemed like it might be a while before I would really need her (little did I know HOW long). So Scott and I went for a walk and got checked again. No change. Bummer. We decided to go home.

We were hungry so we decided to go to Denny’s. In the car ride there I had a couple contractions that I just LOST it. These were WAY stronger than the ones I had just had the hospital. My husband was a little nervous. I said it was ok and we can just go to Denny’s. I’d be fine. Well once the food got there, I had three contractions back to back that were so strong I started crying. I only had about a 30 second break between them. I said we had to leave. I wanted to be in the bathtub.

We got home around 9pm (still Feb 17^th, 21 hrs labor, 34 hrs no sleep) and I jumped directly into the tub to try and get some relief. The nurse had told me not to come back until the contractions were 3 minutes apart for an hour and until the pain registered as an 8 out of 10 in my brain. So there I sat in the tub. The contractions started spreading out, but were getting stronger and stronger every time. They were definitely an 8 out of 10, but they weren’t 3 mins apart. I was getting really discouraged.

At midnight I was jumping out of my skin. I was in so much pain! I got out of the tub and layed down on the couch. Every time I had a contraction my husband would press on my lower back and talk me through it. I was in a delirium at this point. Between no sleep and the pain, I was having an outer body experience. I didn’t know it, but he called my doula and had her come back to the house because he didn’t know how to comfort me. She arrived around 2am (26 hrs labor, 39 hrs no sleep).

We all decided that we should go to a hotel near the hospital because the car ride was just HORRIBLE for me. So we left for the hotel around 3am and let me tell you….that car ride was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. I’m not sure why it’s so much worse in the car. Once we got to the hotel I got in the tub and Scott and Angie (my doula) decided to take a nap. I was in the tub for about an hour before I got out to lay in the bed with my husband. At this point I would cry with each contraction and they were spreading even further apart. They were now 10 mins apart. At this rate I figured I would NEVER be having my child and I’d be in terrible, painful, back labor for the rest of my life! So at 5am I woke up my support people and said I couldn’t do it anymore. I needed pitocin to get this going faster and I needed an epidural because I just couldn’t take the pain anymore. I needed sleep!

We got to the hospital at 6am (30 hrs labor, 43 hrs no sleep) and they told me I was 2cm. ?!?!?! 2cm??!?!? Only ONE stinkin cm in 12 hrs????? Are you SERIOUS?!?! Ya I was more than angry. They put me on the monitors again and each contraction went off the chart for a good 30 seconds before it came back down. The nurse said they couldn’t give me pitocin unless I had an epidural (which they couldn’t give me until I was 4cm) because my contractions were already 2 to 2 ½ mins long and that was highly unusual. She didn’t want to stress my body. So she told my doula and I to take a walk for an hour and see if there was any change. My husband decided to take an hour nap at this time the lucky dog. So we took a walk and my contractions started getting closer together. By the time we were done with the walk they were about 4-5 mins apart. Two of the contractions literally had me almost dropped to the floor!

So at 7am we went back in to get me checked. I WAS 4CM!!! OMG! I was SO excited I can’t even describe my joy. At that point I thought MAYBE I could do it without the epidural still. So they gave me Nubaine so I could sleep between contractions. It was pretty nice, but it didn’t help the pain of the contractions at all. At around 8am I had 4 contractions in about 10 mins. I thought I was gunna LOSE it. Keep in mind they were about 2 mins long typically. So I told my husband I HAD to have the epi NOW! They anesthesiologist came in about 10 mins later to administer it and he was trying to do it while I was having one. Are you CRAZY?!?! He was telling me to lean over more. Ummm….can you wait until it’s done? It’s kind of hard to lean more over a ROCK. So I told him he better hurry. My contractions were about 2 mins apart. He started and while he was doing it I could feel a contraction coming. I was so scared I was going to mess everything up. My husband was holding me really tightly and telling me not to paralyze myself. That contraction was really difficult to get through. I think moving really helps when you’re having one.

So when the epidural finally kicked in, I was in HEAVEN!! It was the best thing ever, but my blood pressure dropped dramatically so they had to turn it down. I didn’t feel a single thing from 4cm to 6cm. They broke my water at 5cm and gave me pitocin, but they turned it off at 6cm because I developed a pattern finally and my contractions were already super strong and long.

That’s when things started to go downhill. I’m assuming I must’ve been in transition and I woke up feeling EVERYTHING! The nurse said, “Well is it pain, or just pressure?” Lady! It’s pain! Do you see my legs doing the chicken dance??? I can feel everything! So the anesthesiologist came and had to give me 3 boosters in an hour and turn the drip back up. I still could feel a lot of pain, but at least it wasn’t in my back anymore. So from 7cm to pushing and delivery, I could feel everything. I guess I got my natural birth in a way. When I started pushing his heart rate couldn’t take it. I only went through 2 contractions and they had me lay on my side and put an oxygen mask on me. I was TERRIFIED that my son was going to die. I started cussing and screaming at the staff to give me a c-section and get my son out. I always assumed that if I had an epidural and I was a first time mom that I’d be pushing for hours. It had only been about 5 mins. Scott was screaming in my face that I was NOT getting a c-section. They told me I couldn’t push for two contractions and I thought I was going to die. It was soooo hard to not push! I was crying. I really thought he was going to die. So they had me push again on my side and they were all saying I was doing great, but I thought they were full of it. I assumed they were just telling me that so I wouldn’t give up. Then I pushed through another contraction and my doula said “Heather he has brown hair!” What the hell? You can see his hair already?!?! So they put me on my back and I pushed through one more contraction and he crowned and then they told me to push him out and I said, “Without a contraction?” and they said Yup! I pushed again and screamed at the top of my lungs. That feels like pushing out a bowling ball!!! It was crazy. One more push for the body and my son was born! Feb 18, 2010 @ 3:42pm weighing 8lbs and 20.25 inches long. I couldn’t believe it was over.

So there you go! Sorry so long J

---

12 Comments on Michaels Birth Story


lindasaylou - Thursday, 4 Mar
Gosh that is one crazy long labor. Your a trooper.

Cheeky Dee (Davina) - Wednesday, 3 Mar
yup ur right that was long! haha well done tho huni, i feel your pain my labour was pretty much long n hard, in my back and painful as hell too but i was pushing for an hour n a half before having forceps :( Stitches were horrid! U did really well huni, big pat on the back...hope u and Michael r doin well xx

baby[bump]mama - Tuesday, 2 Mar
woooweeee! i had a long labor too! but yours was pretty eventful! lol glad you had ur natural/medicated birth!

R-N-E-Bump - Tuesday, 2 Mar
Oh my goodness!!!! What a labor! I'm soooo sorry it was that hard for you! But thank God you and Michael are ok and in the end everything went the way it should. Sounds like pushing was a breeze as compared to the rest. I bet that was a HUGE blessing after no sleep for more than 2 solid days. You must have been exhausted!!!

ari08(ariana) - Tuesday, 2 Mar
wow- thats intense, I oly pushed for a half hour but i had pitocin too which really tires your body out! In a few weeks u won't even remember the horrible moments because now ou have little michael!! yay.. congrats!

mmyof3angels - Tuesday, 2 Mar
OMG....What a experience! At least Michael is here and that is all over with! I felt everything on my right side during labor as my right side never seems to take to the epidural....I had a 1/2 and 1/2 birth! LOL. Congrats Momma!! I am so happy for you!!

jane81 - Tuesday, 2 Mar
Oh, I cried reading your birth story! I pushed for 3.5 hours... :-( But I was induced and didn't go through the long dilation process... My doctor stripped my membranes the day before (I had no idea she did - she didn't really tell me)... Congratulations! How are you doing? Are you getting any sleep?

mamajessn - Tuesday, 2 Mar
Lessons I've learned: At the first signs of labor, go to SLEEP! So glad for you that baby is here!

RNMom2010 - Tuesday, 2 Mar
Phew girl that is quite the adventure! I could not imagine laboring that long WITH sleep deprivation!!!

firsttimeround - Tuesday, 2 Mar
Wow what a story. At least you got a beautiful baby boy at the end that made it all worth it. Just think in about a month you will not remember the pain at all. I thought for sure I would remember all the pain that I went through but my little girl is almost 4 months old now and I hardly remember any of the pain that I went through. Congrats again on you baby boy he is a cutie.

twomarchbebes - Monday, 1 Mar
I had a similar experience. I went in there with my son, intending to do it all natural but they put me on pitocin and broke my waters and it took eighteen hours of off the chart contractions, an epidural after fifteen hours of pain right before they said my son would need a c-section because his heart rate kept dropping. Argh! Sorry it was such a long painful experience but he's a beautiful boy you must be so proud. Get as much rest as you can the next five or six weeks are the hardest!

Nikki Lee - Monday, 1 Mar
OMG you poor poor thing!! Man now im freaking out! Glad everythings ok tho. So how come he had to stay in hospital?