Hey Everyone!
Because I'm so far behind on posts, I'll probably break everything up into several posts. The rest of this post is for all of my pregnant and non-pregnant friends who are curious about the labor and delivery process so I will share my experience and thoughts/feelings about it all. I know before I was pregnant and while I was pregnant, I was pretty curious about what was fact/fiction on all of the baby shows I was watching and had wished that someone would tell it like it is. I found that whenever I would ask people about it, I would get polar opposite responses - women would either say "oh my gosh, it was horrible unbearable pain, etc, etc." or they would just say "oh it didn't hurt at all". So, here is my frank account of what it was like to have a baby to anyone who is curious. I'll try to share enough details without grossing everyone out!
Our precious little baby was welcomed into the world on Thursday, October 7th at 3:53 pm. She weighed 8 pounds, 2.5 ounces and was 21.5 inches long :) She has deep bluish gray eyes and a head full of dark brown hair. She couldn't be any sweeter :)
Because I'm so far behind on posts, I'll probably break everything up into several posts. The rest of this post is for all of my pregnant and non-pregnant friends who are curious about the labor and delivery process so I will share my experience and thoughts/feelings about it all. I know before I was pregnant and while I was pregnant, I was pretty curious about what was fact/fiction on all of the baby shows I was watching and had wished that someone would tell it like it is. I found that whenever I would ask people about it, I would get polar opposite responses - women would either say "oh my gosh, it was horrible unbearable pain, etc, etc." or they would just say "oh it didn't hurt at all". So, here is my frank account of what it was like to have a baby to anyone who is curious. I'll try to share enough details without grossing everyone out!
I went into labor shortly after 9pm on Wednesday night. I had noticed a little stronger twinges of pain but I couldn't tell if my stomach was balling up or not to merit calling what I was experiencing "contractions". My stomach was pulled so taught from Lauren being in there I couldn't really tell a noticeable muscle contraction - my whole belly felt hard to the touch because I had such a tall and big girl in there! I had been having intermittent "contractions"/episodes of menstrual like pain for two weeks prior to that so I just ignored them and thought "well I'm just getting my hopes up, with my luck she is going to be in there for another two weeks and make me miserable!" and I tried to go to sleep.
I woke up my normal 1-2x per hour to use the bathroom and I noticed that I was still having pain/pressure but it wasn't unbearable so I still didn't really think much of it. By about 2am it was starting to hurt quite a bit more to where I couldn't really sleep. Again, the pain was not unbearable. Uncomfortable but definitely not what all of these birthing tv shows portray. I soaked in the bathtub for a little bit and then laid back down next to sleeping Sterling :)
I had talked with my dad a few days before that and told him I couldn't tell if my belly was tightening up or not, that I was scared that I would be like one of these tv shows and not know when I was going into labor and he had told me just to measure it by my "pain intervals". So after I got out of the bathtub and didn't feel any better, it dawned on me to time when my pain started and stopped. Sterling downloaded a free contraction timer on his iphone and they were about 5 minutes apart. We called the on call doctor and she asked me to rate my pain on a scale of 1 to 10 and I said "umm like a 4 or 5 maybe?" and her reply was "you don't sound like a 4 or 5...you sound like a 8 or 9. Why don't you go ahead and come on in and we'll check you out." So, we both took showers and packed the rest of the stuff in our overnight bags for the hospital and I made myself a fruit smoothie and made Sterling some breakfast and coffee to go. Sterling dressed himself to go to work just in case it was a false alarm. The whole time I was getting ready I was just thinking "ughhhhh another stupid hospital trip. It hurts but it doesn't feel like labor, I don't think I'm in labor, we are going to drive all the way out there only to be charged a thousand dollars for them to send us home and tell me 'oh honey you'll KNOW when you are in labor. you'll just KNOW'". I knew it was better to be safe than sorry and get this new pain checked out but I was just really cranky from getting no sleep and being so large and sore. Even as I was making breakfast and I could feel the pain getting stronger (to the point where I had to stop and take breaks to catch my breath) I was still in denial that I was in labor. About half way through the car ride, I started getting the sense of "ok, yeah....we are going to have a baby today. This hurts too much for a baby not to be coming".
We got to the hospital and they measured my contractions and checked my cervix to see how dilated I was and they decided to admit me to the hospital. When they told us they were going to formally admit me, I could tell Sterling was a mixed bag of really nervous but really excited at the same time.
I was about 3cm dilated and 100% effaced when I came in around 6am at the hospital. Shortly after I changed into a hospital gown, I started throwing up with contractions. Not fun :( When I laid down in the hospital bed my contractions were slowing a little bit so they decided to go ahead and break my water to see how labor progressed naturally without pitocin. The pain was pretty bad after they broke my water but it was about what I had mentally prepared myself for. The only thing I hadn't expected was that it was more constant than in intervals like it said in the baby books and on the tv shows. I was thinking alright it will be like 45 seconds to a minute of intense pain and then 30 seconds rest - just like interval training for swimming! Haha WRONG! :) It felt pretty constant - I could still feel "waves" of pain but it was more like my pain level would fluctuate between 90% and then peak at 100% and go back to 90%. It wasn't like 30 seconds at 100% and 30 seconds of "rest". I decided to get an epidural at around 6cm - not because the pain was unbearable or that I didn't think I could handle it but because I've kind of been of the mind set from the beginning that modern medicine has made childbirth a lot safer and more pleasant experience for all involved so I would much rather be able to rest and really be able to take in the whole experience and enjoy the time with my child and husband afterwards. I didn't want to be rude/mean to Sterling (which, let me tell you, at 6cm before that epidural, I was getting very annoyed and kind of snappy with the nurses who kept asking me questions! When you are in pain like that, you just don't want to be messed with at all!) and I also didn't want to be so tired after giving birth that I wouldn't be able to spend time with the baby and all of that since our plan included having the baby "room in" with us at the hospital. We wanted to have that bonding time with her and be able to see her first bath etc. which normally takes place in the nursery about an hour after birth - dads normally follow the baby to the nursery and moms can't attend for obvious reasons. We just liked the idea of staying all together after the birth - I didn't want to be left alone and we both wanted for her to be able to smell me and breastfeed and we both wanted to be able to witness her footprints and first bath up close and personal and not behind a glass window (or not at all which would have been my case).
I was about 3cm dilated and 100% effaced when I came in around 6am at the hospital. Shortly after I changed into a hospital gown, I started throwing up with contractions. Not fun :( When I laid down in the hospital bed my contractions were slowing a little bit so they decided to go ahead and break my water to see how labor progressed naturally without pitocin. The pain was pretty bad after they broke my water but it was about what I had mentally prepared myself for. The only thing I hadn't expected was that it was more constant than in intervals like it said in the baby books and on the tv shows. I was thinking alright it will be like 45 seconds to a minute of intense pain and then 30 seconds rest - just like interval training for swimming! Haha WRONG! :) It felt pretty constant - I could still feel "waves" of pain but it was more like my pain level would fluctuate between 90% and then peak at 100% and go back to 90%. It wasn't like 30 seconds at 100% and 30 seconds of "rest". I decided to get an epidural at around 6cm - not because the pain was unbearable or that I didn't think I could handle it but because I've kind of been of the mind set from the beginning that modern medicine has made childbirth a lot safer and more pleasant experience for all involved so I would much rather be able to rest and really be able to take in the whole experience and enjoy the time with my child and husband afterwards. I didn't want to be rude/mean to Sterling (which, let me tell you, at 6cm before that epidural, I was getting very annoyed and kind of snappy with the nurses who kept asking me questions! When you are in pain like that, you just don't want to be messed with at all!) and I also didn't want to be so tired after giving birth that I wouldn't be able to spend time with the baby and all of that since our plan included having the baby "room in" with us at the hospital. We wanted to have that bonding time with her and be able to see her first bath etc. which normally takes place in the nursery about an hour after birth - dads normally follow the baby to the nursery and moms can't attend for obvious reasons. We just liked the idea of staying all together after the birth - I didn't want to be left alone and we both wanted for her to be able to smell me and breastfeed and we both wanted to be able to witness her footprints and first bath up close and personal and not behind a glass window (or not at all which would have been my case).
After that epidural, I was an infinitely nicer pregnant lady :) I talked with my parents on the phone some as they were driving to Nashville to fly down to Houston to see us, Sterling talked with his parents some who were driving down from Waxahachie, TX. We both talked for a little while and snuck in a much needed hour long nap.
Giving birth was kind of a surreal experience. After they broke my water, I dilated very quickly from 4 to 8 cm and then it took another hour or so for me to reach 10 cm. The nurses had me do some "practice" pushing just to see if we could get her further down. They initially told me to bear down as if I was trying to go to the bathroom but then we quickly figured out that I was a more effective pusher by using my abs and flexing them as if I was doing a sit-up. The nurses brought a mirror in so that I could monitor my own pushing progress while we were practicing and also so that I could see little Lauren's full head of hair. TALK ABOUT CRAZY! There is nothing like witnessing that for the first time. I had watched tons of birthing shows and we had taken our baby class and saw a childbirth video in that but it is like an out of body experience when it is YOU with a little baby getting ready to make her debut out of YOUR body. Some people might get squeamish over stuff like that but for me, being raised in a medical household, I don't see anything gross about it at all. In fact, I find it pretty amazing that God designed women's bodies to be capable of growing and birthing a precious little life.
We did three rounds of practice pushes before Dr. Swaim came in and then after 40 minutes of pushing, baby Lauren was born :) They had me sit up to watch her come out and it is just the most surreal thing to watch this little person coming out of you. They immediately put her up on my chest and started stimulating her to cry by rubbing her with towels and she had the sweetest/saddest little cry I've ever heard. She opened her little eyes when I started talking to her and acted pretty content to be up next to me.
They gave her over to Sterling shortly after because I had a pretty bad internal tear from Lauren coming out too quickly and they thought they might have to take me to the OR if the bleeding didn't subside...so Sterling held Lauren for a little bit while Dr. Swaim sewed me up. Luckily the bleeding subsided and I didn't have to go to the OR. :) I had two other small external tears, one of which required stitches and the other did not. Because of the large internal tear, they kept my epidural going for an additional 6 hours after I gave birth and they ended up keeping me in the hospital a little longer than a typical vaginal delivery to monitor my swelling and pain.
Postpartum recovery, once the adrenaline and my epidural wore off, was a bit of a shock. The pain was pretty unreal. I couldn't get out of bed or walk for what seemed like the longest time, let alone use the bathroom. (Couldn't sit down fully on the toilet or otherwise for about 3 weeks). I had to go to see Dr. Swaim a week after delivery to get my stitches and everything looked at and everything was healing as it should so that was good. I was so glad to have my mom stay with me for a week and my mother and grandmother in law stay with us for several additional days after that. It was a handful trying to adjust to taking care of Lauren while still struggling to take care of myself. Thank God for family - it seriously does take an army to raise a child.
I've lost 29 pounds so far and have 13 left to go (and a whole lotta toning to do for sure!). I made it the whole pregnancy without having my skin get all marked up, only to get some stretch marks from the pushing process of labor. NO BUENO. It was really depressing to me those first few weeks. My belly, while a lot smaller sans baby, was kind of mushy looking and I still had a little bit of a pooch for a while (it takes a while for your uterus to return back to its normal size). The stretch marks aren't huge but when they were "fresh" they were bright red and all I could think was "oh my gosh, I'm never going to be able to wear a bikini again". Kind of shallow/vain of me I guess, but I like to look good for Sterling and like feeling and looking physically fit so when I was looking in the mirror, it felt like I was in someone else's body. Now that I'm 9 weeks postpartum, I'm starting to be a little more forgiving of myself. Pregnancy and postpartum hormonal changes made me so incredibly emotional and it was really easy to get really overwhelmed/down about all of the new changes that come with a baby, not only to your body but time management and trying to find time together, etc. I'll share some pictures of my weight loss/getting my prebaby body back progress sometime on a later post!
No comments:
Post a Comment