Baby LJ's Birth Story Part II

It's hard to believe it has been a whole week since Baby Graham was born!  I had better get this blog written before I forget the little details. 

Late on Sunday, Jan. 20th...

Once my contractions started they became pretty intense.  The best place to sit was on the peanut shaped birth ball with Matthew rubbing my back.  We sat there for quite a while then I tried getting into the shower, but at that point I was not enjoying the water. After all, I prefer taking baths over showers any day.  I remember at one point I just stood up and held onto Matthew.  That is, until I realized he was drinking coffee.  I already felt sick to my stomach and the smell of coffee was awful.  I told him to get rid of his coffee and he said he needed the caffeine, because he was falling asleep.  So our nice Doula Kathy sent someone to find him a Mountain Dew...just some kind of pop that I could not smell.   

Having our doula was great, because she reminded me to keep breathing and gave us lots of ideas of different things to try.  She also kept us talking and smiling despite our sleep deprivation.

The nurse came back into check to see how much progress we had made and I was 9.5 dilated and 100 percent effaced, so we just had a little bit more to go.  We labored a bit more before I tried laying down in the bed on my side.  That was just plain awful.  I did not get any relief and the contractions were coming fast.  The nurse told me to push when I felt like it....and pretty soon I did.

By this time it was about 2-2:30 a.m. and we were ready to get the show on the road.  I honestly had no idea what pushing would feel like, but I'd heard it was similar to feeling like you really have to go to the bathroom and it's so true.  I began to push and push and push....after about an hour our nurse pulled out a sheet and had me play tug of war to help pull me up into a better position to push and to give me some leverage.  That worked pretty well, but his little head just kept peaking out and going back in.

At 3 a.m. or so, our doctor came in and told me we were going to get this baby out.  He had me visualize the baby's head trying to get around my pelvic bone.  At this point I had my eyes closed to concentrate, because wow there is a lot going on in a delivery room.   And, it's so true that after a bit you do not care who is coming and going.  You just want to get the baby out.  So, I continued pushing until the doctor decided to use a catheter to empty my bladder.  He thought that could be holding the baby up.  

I remember asking Matthew "Is the baby out?" "Can you see the head?"  "Why didn't I want a c-section?" "Is it too late for an epidural?"  He just kept reassuring me that "No the head is not out, but it's closer" and "No you can't have an epidural or c-section."

The doctor decided we needed to get the baby out, but luckily the heartbeat had stayed good the entire time.  I had to have an epesiotomy, which is one thing I really did not want, but by that point I wanted to get my baby out and safely. Then the doctor reached in and began to try to turn the baby to get him/her to come out.  That must have helped, because I remember giving it a few more huge pushes and then his head came out.  The doctor pretty much reached in and pulled him out while I pushed. 

Matthew said his face was turned to the left side instead of face down and he came out looking quite interesting.  Someone announced "You guys were right...it's a boy!" and he began to cry right away.  Baby Graham was born at 5:24 a.m. weighing 8 lbs and measuring 21 inches long.

Because it took almost 3 hours of pushing to get him out, he had a little hematoma on his head from the constant in and out friction.  After he got checked out in the nursery he had to go down for an ultrasound of his head, but everything was fine and one week later his head is healing well and already scabbed over. 

I honestly had no idea of what to expect of labor and despite the long length, I did not think it was the worst thing.  My least favorite parts were getting my IV put in at the beginning (took five pokes) and having stitches after the labor was over.  Also, the nurse kept coming into push on my stomach to make sure my uterus was contracting back down to normal size.  That was not so fun, but by this point we had the baby and were really happy.

Matthew passed out right after Graham was born, but I was on such an adrenaline high that I started calling people to tell them the good news.  Then I realized how hungry I was so I ate breakfast.  And, since I had no labor drugs I was able to get up two hours after labor and take a shower before walking down the hallway to our postpartum room.

It was definitely an experience we will never forget and I am so thankful we have a healthy little boy.

Stay tuned for our first week at home recap and Graham's first doctor's appointment update.