Birth Story and Pics

Here is the birth story - some of it is gruesome, so read ahead at your own risk! I woke up at 5:15am on Saturday, June 19th with painful, menstrual-like cramping in my lower abdomen. It definitely felt different than the Braxton Hicks contractions I've been having. I had a few more before Lawrence woke up at 7:30, so I told him I thought this might be the day! I went for a walk around 9am and was having contractions about every 15 minutes, but they weren't too painful. Then around 1pm they were coming every 10 minutes and felt like they were getting stronger. I continued doing light housework around the house to keep myself up and moving. By 3pm the contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes and were so painful I couldn't talk or walk through them very easily, so we called the hospital. I talked to the nurse and had a contraction while I was talking to her. She said I was probably ready to come in, but I could take my time, so we finished packing everything in the car and left for the hospital at about 3:45.

When I got to the triage area, they had a bunch of forms for me to sign. I could barely stand there to sign them, the contractions were so painful and about 3 minutes apart. They also had me give a urine sample which was nearly impossible! I had 2 more contractions before they finally got me into the triage room. They hooked me up to external monitors and a midwife came in to do an exam. He said since the contractions were coming so quickly, he didn't have time to do a visual exam so he felt the cervix and said I was 100% effaced and ~4-5cm dilated. My waters hadn't broken yet and were being pressed into a tight balloon. It was hard for him to feel the top of the baby's head with all the waters in the way, but he finally did, and said it was pretty low (no station given). The midwife asked if I was wanting any pain medications, and I told him I was going to try without it. He said there were 3 anesthesiologists on duty and not a lot of patients, so if I changed my mind it shouldn't be a problem. Then they admitted me and sent me to my labor and delivery room.

I think it was almost 5pm before I finally got to the labor and delivery room where a nurse hooked me up to external monitors again and attempted to place a saline lock in my hand in case I needed fluids or pain relief. She tried for what seemed like forever in 3 different places until she finally got a vein in my wrist. By 5:30 I was having contractions that felt so painful I could barely see and they were making me feel like I wanted to bear down. They called in the midwife and did an exam. I was 7cm dilated. I wanted to get up and move around, so I asked if I could take a shower. They still didn't have me all hooked up, and I think they were concerned I was moving too quickly, so they said no. I rolled over onto my knees to see if a squatting position would help the pain at all - it made it worse, but it did break my waters! My mom was hanging out at the end of the bed rubbing my feet and the nurse told her she might want to be somewhere else in case my water burst and sure enough they did! They burst with an audible gush!

By 6pm, I was fully dilated and they said it was time to start pushing. I was so relieved. Each time I could feel the contractions coming, they had Lawrence hold my left foot back and the nurse held my right and I would push for 10 seconds 3 times through each contraction. 20 minutes later her head crowned (serious pain!) and they brought the mirror over so I could see. She was covered in lanugo (white creamy stuff). After her head came through, there was a panic in the room - I couldn't really tell what was going on, but I heard the midwife ask for a doctor. Apparently the baby's shoulder had gotten caught on the pubic bone and pinched the umbilical cord. She was turning blue and in distress. The midwife didn't wait for the doctor, she just reached in and pulled the baby out. This action saved the baby's life, I'm sure of that, but it also unfortunately cause a fairly large tear in my perineum :( The baby was placed on my stomach for about a minute and let out a cry which brought cheers out from everyone in the room. Then she was whisked away to get suctioned out and tested. Her first apgar was an 8 and then 10 minutes later she scored a 9! Yay, her first A :)

All in all it was a tremendous experience and I am so grateful I had such an easy pregnancy and delivery. Now Samantha is home with us and still figuring out the whole sleep at night, not during the day thing. The lack of sleep is hard, but Lawrence and my mom are really helping. Well, I guess it's time to get in a quick nap before she wakes up again! Here are some of the pics we've taken so far.

Morning after Samantha is born

Homecoming Day
Calvin meets her for the first time
Face shot, isn't she precious?!