Ok, so I promised Chester's birth story and a birth story you will get. It took me about two weeks to get this written, cause well I've been a little busy, but hey I finally got it finished! So here ya go...
So back on October 3rd I posted our maternity pictures cause that was our due date and well there was no baby.
Every time I would visit the Doctor she would ask about contractions, I would tell her that there were maybe some small ones but really there weren't much of anything.
Well on the 3rd I went for a big walk in the morning around our pasture in hopes to get things going and well the only thing I got from that was finding and smelling a dead cow and discovering the neighbors cows were out in our bean field and no contractions. Later that day I went for my Doctors Appointment where I found out I was dilated to 2 cm. My options were to be induced or to wait for Stinker to come on his own.
I had already decided to that I wasn't going to have an epidural so I really didn't want to be induced, because I heard when you are given pitocin to induce contractions that the contractions are worse than normal...
And it's true cause I had to have pitocin for the last hour and half, but I will talk more about that when I get there.
Anyway, I decided to wait for him to come on his own. So my doctor stripped my membranes and I went home. Oh, by the way stripping the membranes really stinks!!
Side note: I chose a long time ago not to have an epidural. It was a personal choice. I don't think any less of a woman who has one or any more of one who doesn't. It each persons choice, just like if you bottle feed or breast feed, or if you use cloth or disposable diapers. It is each persons personal choice and personally I don't care what you do as long as you are happy with your choice.
Ok, now that I've said all that lets get back to the baby story.
After I went home nothing really happened. I felt pretty much the same as before. I went for another short walk later that evening. The only thing I did notice is that the baby dropped some more.
Well I went to bed and got up the next day (Tuesday, October 4th) and still no contractions...grrr!!
I don't really remember what all I did that day, I do know that I felt a few different pains, but still nothing I would call a contraction. That evening we were over at Caleb's folks house at a wiener roast and I remember thinking that we should go home relatively early cause I just had a feeling that some thing was going to happen. I didn't tell anybody, cause I was getting sick of everyone asking about how I was doing and if I was having contractions...
Seriously people I will tell you when it happens
So we went home and that's when I told Caleb that we will probably be going to the hospital sometime tomorrow.
So we shower and hop into bed at about 10:45...
Well I really didn't hop into bed, I kinda waddled and crawled but I got there just the same.
At 11 o-clock I wake up with my first real contraction. I stay in bed and try to get some sleep for as long as I can. That lasted till about 1 a.m...grr
So at about 1 a.m. I go ahead a get up. I piddle around the house getting the last few things packed up and ready. I had been timing my contractions and when they got to be 5 minutes apart I was told by my Doctor to head to the hospital. Well it didn't seem to take very long to get there, so I at about 2 o-clock I decided I had better wake up Caleb. So we pack everything up in the truck and head that way.
We get to the hospital at about 3 a.m. *yawn, stretch*
When we get back to the OB department they put me into my room and hook me up to the machines that check contractions and the babies heart rate. After about 30 min to an hour of being hooked up and them getting readings, I had them un-hook everything cause I needed to move around. I walked the halls some, and just got up and sat in different positions.
At this time Caleb was curled up in the recliner that was next to my bed with a warm blanket trying to sleep...Don't worry I told him he could do this cause I really didn't need him right then.
Every so often they would have to hook me back up to the machines to take readings and make sure everyone was doing alright then I would get un-hooked again so I could move.
Some where between 7 and 8 in the morning my Doctor came in to check on me and see how I was progressing. At this point I was still only dilated to about a 2 or 3, so we still had a ways to go. She went ahead a broke my water to help move things along. After this I remained hooked up to the machine for a while and then once again unhooked me so I could move around some.
It was after this that I got into the labor tub...it was great!! I wish I could have gotten into it sooner, but they were understaffed during the night shift so I had to wait till the day shift got there and someone could be there with me the entire time. It was pretty much this huge bathtub with jets...AWESOME!! I know some places will allow you to give birth in the tub, but they wouldn't at my hospital...and I didn't want to anyways.
I'm not sure how long I was in there but sometime later I finally got out and went back to my room. It was at this time that I did get some drugs in my IV to take the edge off...they were great. It helped me relax and get a little rest in between contractions. Sometime after this is when the also gave me a morphine button too, this also helped some too.
Some where around 11:30 a.m. - 12 my Doctor came in to check me and I was then dilated to 8 cm only 2 cm to go...this shouldn't take long to get to...
Yea Right. Let me remind you Chester wasn't born till 4:16. Those next hours seem to take forever.
I tried pushing a little when the Doc was there hoping to get things moving, but nothing happened. So it was back to laboring for a while. At one point they had me get on my hands and knees to labor for a while and that made some difference, but it was a pain getting into position.
Oh somewhere in this time period they took the morphine away from me cause it was effecting my breathing which was effecting my ability to relax as well.
I can't remember how often I could push the button, but Caleb was wanting me to push the button every chance I could, cause he didn't like seeing me in pain. But what would happen is I would pretty much fall asleep in between contractions and then I would wake up when they were terribly bad and would freak out and not be able to do my breathing techniques very well, so I am glad they finally took it way.
At about 2:30 my Doc was back and checked me do found that I was now dilated to a 9....grrr!!
She then told me that I had another 30 minutes and if I didn't get to a 10 then she was going to give me an epidural so I could relax fully and dilate. Well I done this much without one I really didn't want to have to get one when we were this close. So once again they put me back on my hands and knees and I think it was in less than those 30 minutes that I was ready...
I just needed threatened to make it happen...
Why didn't they threaten me sooner?!?!
Well the Doctor got over there somewhere around 3 p.m and I started pushing and continued for the next hour and 16 minutes. I think it would have been so long, but my nurse wasn't telling me when to push so I wasted a bunch of energy pushing when it wasn't needed. But once we got the pushing figured out he came out.
I just remember how strange it felt as I pushed him out and Caleb yelling "It's a BOY!!!" I was rather exhausted and they told me to look down at him and all I remember saying is "I can't see him because my belly was in the way" lol Like I said I was kinda out of it! The nurses helped me lean forward and I just remember thinking how big he looked.
They then clamped the umbilical cord and Caleb cut it. Then they took him over and weighed him. That's when he surprised the heck out of us weighing in at 10 lbs even....
I just remember thinking "HOLY CRAP" that's one big boy that I just popped out. After they weighed and measured him they gave him to me to nurse, while my Doctor sewed me up.
Caleb made some calls to tell everyone what we had and then had to go get the baby book so they could put his prints in it.
The nurses asked me if there was anything I needed and I said "FOOD" I haven't had anything to eat since 8 p.m. the night before, so I was ready to eat!
Once we got everything taken care of, I got to get up and walk to my room where my folks were there waiting to meet their new grandson.
Now I will say that things below the belt were sore, but it was nothing compared to what I had just experience, and once he was finally out I felt a million times better. My mind was drained and I had a hard time concentrating the rest of that day, but really I felt pretty good.
I have had people ask if I would do it again without an epidural and the answer is YES!! Yes there was lot of pain, but I felt so great when it was all said and done that I would do it the same way again!
Now I have had a lot of people tell me that I am an amazing woman for having a 10 lb baby without an epidural, but I'm really nothing special, I'm just a normal woman who did the same thing woman have been doing for years...
Had a baby.
Well here are some of the pics for those first few days...
Here I am right after we got back to the room attempting to send a text to everyone telling them we had the baby...
My mind was so drained that it took me about 2-3 hours to get it sent...it didn't help that I could only send it to 20 people at a time.
Here we are attempting to swaddle Chester...
I'm not very good at this!
The Proud Daddy and his little man.
I am Happy to say that Caleb made it though it all without fainting. He did great and there is no way I would have been able to make it thought it without him!!!
Our First family photo, right before we headed home.
Both sets of Grandparents were there to greet us that first night.
Getting our picture taken for the hospital sign
These were our two nurses who helped me when delivering Chester...
I couldn't have done it with out them!!!
Our first night at home.
Three days old and we were taking our first tractor ride with Daddy.
It's hard to believe that this coming Saturday Chester will already be a month old...WOW this month has just flown by!
Also don't for get to check out my giveaway.
Hopefully I will get to give ya'll a farm up-date soon, cause there has been tons of things going on around here!
Un-till then,
Janet
