We were at the beach yesterday, which was needed, to get out of this house and the heat. I thought the events of that day would help the laboring progress to the next level. I woke up around 2-2:30am thinking if the contractions kept up we'd be heading to the hospital very soon, if not that night- but of course they stayed inconsistent and just annoyingly painful. I Woke up this morning exhausted with nothing more than more soreness and weariness. It is not desperation yet but nearing it. I've reread all my labor inducing rituals and some of them just wear me out thinking about them, so I'm sticking to the decision to let her come when she's ready and not fret to much on the expectations....
Tuesday September 7, 2010
Took my oldest to school, receiving many supportive comments from all the mom's and my friends that have watched this experience unfold for the last 10 months, did the grocery shopping with the 3 yr old, and came home ready to get the ball rolling. 1:00 pm: 2oz. of castor oil and a shot of coke, upside down pose to get the baby's head to drop into position and open up dilation, and to top It all off a nice long walk with my daughter. 1-2 hours later the castor oil seemed to help rid myself of all the unneeded baggage but as for contractions it did nothing to keep them consistent or progress.
4:00pm: the 39 week Dr. appointment with the intending mother, who has been in town for over 3 weeks now anticipating her arrival.
I rescheduled the appt. for today based on the need to have my husband present during labor and delivery. He was scheduled this week to be traveling heavily and I wanted to ground him home for selfish reasons! I was very sure of one thing, and that was not wanting to do this without him. Meanwhile. at the Dr. office, I was informed there had not been any progress from the previous 38 week appointment, so he politely stripped my membranes and sent me home in more discomfort with instructions to head into the hospital if contractions were 5 minutes apart or less.
At home that evening my mother in law came over to help with dinner while we were expecting my husband to arrive from his long day trip to LA any moment. We had some burgers and fries with the kids and no longer than my husband's foot steps through the door I knew the "right contractions" were starting to get very consistent. With pep in our step we sent Grandmother home to pack her overnight bags and we proceeded to time every contraction for another hour. The 3 minute apart contractions lasted through the long hot shower I took in preparation for the awaited evening. Grandmother came back with her bags packed and we were off. Knowing the hospital was only 10 minutes away we were afforded a few more minutes to do the last schedule changes and arrangements, then we said our goodbyes and eagerly proceeded to the next phase of this journey.
8:00pm arrival at the hospital.
I was having regular contractions that were still 3 minutes apart then they had me lie down to start the monitoring and do the initial exam. The not so friendly nurse examined me and in her most indelicate manner informed me I was ONLY dilated to a 2 and would probably be sent home. I was sure she had to be kidding, but laying down was really uncomfortable and wasn't doing much for moving the contractions along either. So the doula and I headed for the halls, and no longer than 30 minutes of walking later I was in such excruciating pain we decided to get back to the monitors for another examination. Sure enough, I was dilated to an 8. The not so friendly nurse looked a little panicky as she made the frantic calls to the doctor and staff to get the delivery room ready. I barely made it to the room, via wheelchair, before the first urge to push. 30 minutes of waiting for the doctor to arrive, no chance of epidural, and 10 minutes of pushing later, the lovely Mac was born. She was a beautiful sight to see and a healthy 6lbs and 5 oz. 18 inches long. What an end to such a long journey, but the best reward for me was to see her sweet face and hold her close. The end of this journey hit me the next day when I decided to venture out of my hospital room to visit the baby in the nursery. The staff would not let me in to hold her and then I realized my part of carrying this baby, was done. It was a harsh realization but it did help me move on, and back to the hospital bed to rest and focus on MY recovery.
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