Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 06:55:59 -0500
From: DebnDan <gijoe@pop3.spacestar.com>
Subject: june: I'm BAAAACK! and Birth Tale :) LONG!

Hi Ladies!

Well here is the scoop...

We had a lovely weekend at the lake, daddy and the big kids took good care of me and the baby, letting us nap when we needed and doing all of the cooking and dishes, except the grilling...thats MY job! Sammy went on his first ride on the lawn tractor on Sunday afternoon- we werent mowing, just joyriding-Paddy on one knee and Sammy in the other arm.

Sammy is doing great, getting wide eyed and less wrinkley, my milk came in BIG TIME on Saturday, partially thanks to the tandem nursing of Sammy and Patrick. Engorgement is a big issue and I seem to nurse one or the other constantly...it is VERY demanding.

My hips are still a bit sore, but things are feeling pretty good :)

Well, I will get on to all of the juicy details- I will try to do a timeline effect to make it easier to understand.

Noon-- 19 May- Had my appt at the OB at noon when he told me I was at 4 cm. After leaving the Drs office DH and I cruised the car lots looking for a deal on a mini-van. I have never endured so many bumps, but i am sure that the walking did me good. We got home about 2:30 so that DH could get ready for work.

7 PM--19 May- I realised that while my contractions were not regular, and went away when I laid down, my discharge had changed from egg-white in consistency to much more liquid, and I began to suspect that I was leaking fluid. I was leaving little wet spots on the furniture, so I donned a pad and called my sister- who announced at that time that she wanted to attend the birth. Since I have has company at my previous births, I said sure :) I told her that the kids would be home at 8:30PM and after that we would come to her house for a bite of supper, and then she and I would go to the hospital to get checked out.

8:45 PM--19 May- Got the kids in the car after hastily packing a bag (hehehe I am SUCH a Procrastinator) and drove to sisters house- got a call from DH just as I arrived. I told him that I suspected I was leaking and asked him to meet us at the hospital after his layover at 11 PM. No Problem he says. So most everything is set to go. Had a bite of spaghetti for supper and called my Dad and Step-mom to come and watch the older kids and we left for the hospital.

10:30 PM--19 may- We arrived at the hospital at about 10:30 and were immediately sent to triage and hooked to the fetal monitor for about 20 minutes. It was very obvious from the tracings that I was only contracting when I stood up. Bassed on the tracing they said normally we would send you home- lets do an internal. I was dialated to 6 and my water was bulging out...guess I have to stay. They didnt even check for a leak- I wasnt going to be allowed to leave.

11:15 PM--19 May- Moved me to an L&D room and hooked me up there, I chose to stay in bed until my DH arrived, as I was worried that once my water went- all hell would break loose. The nurse called the DR and explained that I was contracting, but not regularly, and that my water was bulging. My DH Arrived just as the nurse came back and told me that the DR wanted to start Pitocin to get my labor more regular. I wanted to cry :( I told the nurse -Please..if my water breaks this baby will drop and things will get better, I can't stand the thought of a Pit drip at this stage of the game. Theresa (my nurse, and my hero :) )told me that "technically" only a DR could rupture membranes, but she agreed that if the bag was broken my labor would progress. So she pulled a sneaky- and she nicked my bag of waters, which promptly broke.

12:00 AM-- 20 MAY- Had an internal, was dialated to 8 cm, and I wanted to get up and walk. With Theresa's permission we started to do laps of the hallway from my room to the nursery to look at the babies. Things were getting kind of painful and I was leaning on the wall, or DH or whatever was handy to get thru contractions. My Dad and Step mom arrived with Maggie (10 yo) and Patrick and joined us in the paceing. Things were looking good and progressing well. I could feel the baby move down into my pelvis and asked to go back to my room.

1 AM--20 May- Checked one more time- only a lip of cervix left and still no miserable transition but getting REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE. Therese called the Dr and told him to get on over- that things wouldn't be long and I was ready. I had myself all turned around in my bed, hanging onto the upper part of the bed with it raised to the max, in a semi squat, as this was the most comfortable, while DH rubbed my back. Suddenly transition hit- 1:15 and Theresa said "Go Deb, that baby will be here in 30 minutes or less"- So began my chant-- I can do ANYTHING for half an hour, I can do ANYTHING for half an hour,and so on. The contractions were really strong, although not real close together, and I was starting to feel worn down.

1:20 AM 20 May- Dr arrived and made me TURN OVER. I would have been content to stay the way I was, but ... they set the bed up and got my feet positioned so I had some support and he announced that it was time. I kept telling him I wasn't ready yet and was feeling frustrated because I didn't yet have the urge to push, but he wanted me to try. So I tried... and I let out one hell of a scream of frustration. I scared my poor family to Death. But it was from the frustration I was feeling. I felt a bit cleansed after yelling, and tried to concentrate on the Drs voice as he coached me into pushing- god it was HARD- but then I felt the baby hit bottom and that urge to push was RIGHT NOW. I felt so much better having something to work with. It must have been only a couple pushes more and Sammy's head was born.

1:34 AM--20 May- Dr gave me a shot in the Perineum for nubmness- just in case, but with very controlled pushing- lots of blowing to control how strong I pushed- Sammy was born. No epesiotomy necessary. Sammy was placed on my chestwhere where DH and I gently stroked him and encouraged him to pink up a bit. He was VERY purple, but breathing strongly. When the cord stopped pulsing Dr clamped the cord and DH did the honor of separating us. I brought Sammy to my breast and he nursed as he grew more and more pink. His APGAR scores were 8 and 9. My placenta delivered as Sammy suckled at my breast.

2:15 AM--20 May- After wrapping baby in a blanket he was passed to each of the family members present so we could welcome him. I spent some time cuddling Patrick and hugging Maggie, who was a little upset, because of my scream earlier. Everyone said their goodbyes and DH gathered the kids to go home. I spent a bit of time with Sammy and then put him in the little box and walked him to the nursery, where just a bit ago we had been admiring the babies. I left Sammy with the nurses about 2:45 and returned to my room for a nap.

5:30 AM--20 May- After a refreshing nap I woke at my normal time (ahhhh insomnia) and went to the nursery and picked up Sammy. We have been together ever since. I really was not planning on rooming in, but I had such a Rush of energy that I didn't want to send him back.

My Hospital chart reflects the following breakdown of my labor:

6 hrs 30 min - 1st stage active labor 4 minutes - 2nd stage transition 5 minutes - 3rd stage delivery of the placenta

All of that is in truth really meaningless, in my opinion, but thats how they broke it down. :)

Conversations I heard about later -

The DR asked Theresa (the nurse) 3 TIMES what medications I had been given and appeared rather shocked when she repeatedly told him NOTHING. Apparently an unmedicated delivery is the exception to the rule, at least so it seemed. After hearing this and thinking about it, I realised that I had never refused medication, because Theresa had never mentioned it. I'm glad she didn't as there was a 15 minute window where I would have gladly been OUT COLD!

My sister Jenny has decided to buy stock in TROJAN and delay her childbearing for a LONG time :) My sister is 23 and says she was scared by watching the birth. Admittedly she was not prepared, but at least she knows now what it looks like. Probably the best safe sex education she ever got.

My step mom, who never had children of her own, feels very close to Sammy having seen him being born, and this makes me very happy. I am very glad I was able to share this experience with her. We have never been real close, and I think this will help forge a bond between us. My step mom is a real special lady, and I am glad she was there.

So there it is :) for the most part I was lucky and I got what I wanted--

No Meds No epesiotomy NO PITOCIN !!!!!

Yay! I feel like I climbed a mountain!

Deb S and Sammy 05/20/98
Wife to Daniel since 11/22/97
Mom to: Michael John 09/15/84
Justin Allan 06/06/86 (AIH)
Margaret Catherine 04/20/88
Patrick Sterling 10/26/96