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Nael Sex: boy Born: 06 July, 2008 Age: 0 years & 20 days Birthday in: 345 days Starsign: Cancer Development: See the 0 months page. Biggest achievement so far: -

Birth details

Original due date: 07/11/08
Type of delivery: Cesarean section
Duration of labor:
Weight @ birth: 8lbs4oz
Length @ birth: 20 1/4\

Nael-`s birthstory

Up until July 3rd, I had no BH contractions (that I was aware of, at least), had not dilated or effaced at all, had no discharge, and was told to not be surprised if he`s a week late. After a two hour afternoon road trip on the third I felt mild lower back pains, similar to menstrual cramps, but they passed in a couple of hours. July 4th, felt nothing. I went for a long walk with my mom (visiting from Canada) and at night she gently massaged my ankles and calves as we watched a movie with my husband. July 5th, early afternoon, my husband requested we put together a dinner party for that same evening for his various family members coming in from out of town. My mom did most of the cooking but I made a few items and was quickly sorting and cleaning the house. As always, I like to do a little extra when entertaining so I did get a bit worked up during preparations. Two minutes before the door bell rings, I noticed a reddish pink discharge in my undergarments. Being more red than pink, I was a little panicked so i threw a couple questions on this forum and received quick answers (thanks guys!!) which alleviated me for a bit. Two hours into the dinner party, I felt ready to bid my guests farewell as I began to worry as I realized I hadn`t felt any movements all day. After everyone left, my husband cleared the dishes and everything while I called my OB as I noticed more bloody discharge. He said, it is the bloody show but it`s not a real predictor as to when I`ll go in and I may still have several days. As I lied down with my husband and my mom both massaging me I finally felt some small nudges. That put me at ease. Come 11:30PM, I began to feel mild contractions and was really excited but assumed they were braxton hicks - we loosely monitored them. My husband dozed off and I didn`t mind as I really didn`t think they were the real thing. I, too, went in out of sleep for the next hour or two. By 1:30AM they intensified and I decided to take my laptop downstairs to the den and use an on-line contraction calculator (which I totally recommend). I had also begun wearing large overnight pads as my bloody show was getting heavier and more frequent. At 3:45AM I felt what seemed to be about 1/3 cup of fluid gush out and I immediately went for the bathroom. My pad overflowed somewhat but since I was wearing one, i could not tell if it was my water breaking or my mucus plug all coming at once. For the next hour, my contractions were consistently b/w four and seven minutes apart and about 45 seconds long. I paged my OB and upon his call return my husband awoke from the ring and came downstairs surprised to see how fast everything was progressing. The OB said, I sounded ready and should come to the hospital. My husband and mother obediently took all of my orders and jumped back during contractions as I turned rather hostile during them. I don`t remember the pain, at all, but I do remember my thoughts and behaviors during the contractions. I didn`t want anyone speaking to me, looking at me, and definitely not touching me. All I did was arch my spine, grip my abdomen, and take long hard breaths. We reached the hospital at around 5:45AM and my husband wheeled me up to labor and delivery. Once I changed into the robe I notice greenish discharge in my pad. It was a liquidy meconium but they assured me it was common even though that usually signals the baby is in distress. They checked me and saw that I was two centimeters dilated. To my pleasant surprise, I was administered the epidural right away, and within the next two hours I was ten centimeters dilated and fully effaced which surprised them as they said my contractions were rather inconsistent. The mid-wife from my OB`s office was there which I was happy about and a hospital RN named Patty who was fantastic. So, we began labor. To my surprise, there were no stirrups and my husband held one leg and Patty held the other in mid air during contractions as I gave three pushes during each contraction, with the mid-wife monitoring progress. After two hours of straining, heaving, pushing, my epidural gave out! Yes, it gave out. I gradually started to feel everything and it was not pleasant. So, we stopped pushing and the anesthesiologist re-administered the epidural while I was in mid-contraction. They let me relax for several minutes and we resumed pushing for another hour or so, until they gave up for two reasons: 1) my pelvis wasn`t big enough to accommodate the baby (or, conversely, my baby was too big for my pelvis); and 2) the baby was facing upwards when it`s supposed to be face down. Soooooo, after going through the vaginal delivery process with the mid-wife I now had to switch gears and go under the knife and have a c-section performed by my OB! My mom`s reading every prayer imaginable and my husband`s frantic once again and getting scrubbed in for the OR. I`m keeping my thoughts positive and in hindsight am impressed by how composed I was (I remember having a knot in my throat and a tear trickle down my cheek but remaining confident). Once in the OR, I`m reinserted with more anesthesia and my husband is on the other side of the screen with me holding my hand. You have to see these OR beds, it was like a cross, You lye on this long narrow bed with a bar extending from either side for your arms to be strapped down to! They strapped my arms down! I mean it`s standard procedure, it just seemed weird. Anyway, my husband wanted to see the whole thing but they made him sit while they made the initial incision, he watched all of the rest of it. Within minutes, at exactly 6:00PM on Sunday the 6th, I heard him! I heard my babies first sounds! It was surreal and strange. I couldn`t see him for a while but my husband was ecstatic, giddy, and just overcome with emotion. When they brought him over to me, they released one of my arms, he was all goopy, wide eyed, and staring at me or towards me. Again, I just had a tear trickle down and an exhausted smile. Within an hour or so, I finally got to have him for a feeding. I was so groggy from all the drugs that at this point I can`t recall the details of the first feeding other than I don`t think I was successful. Since then, I have been successful with the help of shells and shields. Breastfeeding is an amazing bonding experience. I fall in love with him more and more when he`s nestled into me. Anyway, wow, I`ll be impressed if you guys read all the way to the end of this very long story of my very long day!

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