Some of you may or may not know that we had done a lot to prepare for labor and birth. Did it turn out like I had hoped? Yes. And no. I'm no story-teller, so just know that I am fighting the urge to give you a chart detailing the events that took place the weekend of April 17th.
April 15th marked the end of tax season. It was also my due date. For some reason, I knew that I would see that day come and go before Zac would enter the world. I was prepared to wait as long as it took, but was dreading a conversation about induction with my midwife. Our goal was to have an unmedicated, intervention-free, spontaneous birth and we had spent nine months preparing for that athletic event.
I had been having inconsistent contractions for several weeks. My real labor contractions started around 7pm on Saturday April 17th. Brad and I were on the way to Beaufort to eat dinner with some friends. I had a little silent cue to let Brad know when another contraction would start so he could time them. We were very calm and enjoyed a nice dinner with our friends. I think it was about half way through dinner that they realized we had been timing contractions. It was fun to see their reactions. (Hope we didn't freak you out too much Ali and Phillip). At that point, I was starting to get a little uncomfortable, but could still function through the contractions. However, sitting in the car on the ride home was not so much fun. I just wanted to be home and get more comfortable. We called our midwife, Carolyn when we got home just to let her know what was going on. I took a shower and tried to get some sleep, but was struggling to relax. Looking back now, I think it was because I knew this was finally it and was too excited to let my body do it's work. By 12:30am the contractions were only three minutes apart. We weren't sure if we should leave or not. I just didn't feel like I was really working hard yet, but we decided to leave so we could get the drive to Greenville behind us. My contractions had slowed a lot during the car ride, but were still fairly strong. It was 2am by the time we got to Greenville and checked in to the hospital where we had to go through triage. They hooked me up to the monitors and did all their medical things. I was only 2cm dilated. I remember feeling kind of disappointed. They had called Carolyn to let her know. She asked what we were going to do and without hesitation, I said we would check into the hotel across the street. She agreed that was a good idea. She was fully aware of our birth plan and was 100% supportive.
Brad and I were able to get a few hours of sleep by the time we checked in to the hotel around 3am. I was so tired that I was able to relax enough to fall asleep. But by 6 or 7am, I could not stand to lay down any longer. I got in a warm bath which helped to melt away the tightness in my lower back. We ate breakfast and continued to time contractions only to find that they were still not super consistent. They were, however, longer and stronger. I was frustrated and felt like giving up. I tried to lay down again, but didn't last too long. Tried another warm bath, but couldn't get in a comfortable position. It must have been around 10:30am when I decided to do my hair and freshen up while Brad took a shower. I was so confused as to what was going on with the contractions. I knew I was in labor, but couldn't tell where I was at as far as progress. I finally began to pray that if there were any mental barriers, that I would just let them go. As I began to get ready, the contractions got much stronger, longer and closer together. They were about two minutes apart and 1 minute long. We timed them for a good hour before calling Carolyn. She met us at her office to check on the progress. I was 5cm dilated. Oh how I wished I was farther along. But something amazing happened in that hour. Brad and I got into this wonderful pattern of relaxing with the contractions. It required no words. Somehow, we both just knew what to do. When a contraction would begin, I would turn toward him and lean into him, letting all of my weight fall on him. Finally, relief from the tightness. I remember how impressed Carolyn was when she saw how we were laboring. She was so encouraging.
We went back to the hotel with the plan to call Carolyn at 2pm unless something changed before then. Brad and I really started to get into a great pattern. I was now confident that we were well on our way to meeting Zac. We met Carolyn at her office again around 1:30 because I was feeling a lot of pressure down low. I even had a slight urge to push. But, alas, I was only 6cm. I guess I just was not patient enough. Carolyn said the pressure was from Zac's head getting into the correct alignment. We decided to head to the hospital at this point. I felt like I would be able to relax even more if I knew we wouldn't have to get back in the car again (which, by this point was very uncomfortable). Carolyn was there to protect some of our requests and all of the admittance stuff was done in our room. Brad and I labored for two and a half more hours before I was fully dilated. All the while, Carolyn and the nurse sat on the bed encouraging us with how well we were doing. There was one point that I was sitting on the birthing chair and I could have fallen asleep I was so relaxed. But it seemed to slow progress by sitting, so again I was up and pacing. Leaning on Brad during the contractions. They were really coming fast now. No time for rest in between. Ah, transition. I couldn't wait until this part was over. "Not much longer now" I kept telling myself. "Let go and sink into me" Brad kept saying. The more he said it, the more I could feel my body lean into him.
Finally, it was time to push. I was excited to get down to business and get that baby out. Little did I know the hard work that was still ahead of us. The contractions had spaced back out. I got a little more rest. The contractions were also not quite as strong, and the urge to push was weak. But, I began to push anyway. It was difficult to figure out the most effective way to push and we tried every position we could think of. After about two and a half hours, Carolyn suggested pitocin strengthen the contractions. I know she hesitated to even ask, knowing that really wasn't part of our plan. She seemed to stall as long as she could. But, Zac just wasn't moving real fast down the birth canal. We agreed with no hesitation to the pitocin and IV. We knew it would help and the fact that we hadn't been on it the entire labor made it much easier to agree to it at that point. It was around the same time that Carolyn mentioned calling in Dr. Gay for a consult on the use of the vacuum extractor. She expressed her concern that she didn't think Zac's head was far enough down to use the vacuum, but she wanted to see what Dr. Gay thought. Again, she was hesitant to even suggest this and continued to stall to see if the pitocin worked. At this point, I was so exhausted. I even feared that I would pass out and they would have to perform and emergency c-section. They were keeping an eye on Zac's hearbeat and they didn't seem to be worried about distress. I began to pray that the pitocin would help and that my pushing would be effective enough to get Zac's head down far enough to at least use the vacuum if necessary.
Finally, Zac started to move! Dr. Gay gave us our options to continue pushing, use the vacuum, or have a c-section. We chose the vacuum as a necessary intervention because we knew there would have been a lot more work if I kept pushing and there was less risks involved than a c-section. Our decision was easy and we knew we were making the best choice for myself and Zac.
What an experience it was! Some people have expressed their condolences for how hard our labor was. It was hard. But, it was the most rewarding work I've ever done. Brad and I are so thankful that we decided to take ownership of our birth rather than watching in passively float by. In the end, we have gained so much confidence in our parenting abilities because of our birth experience.
The Bradley Method Website
Books that I've found helpful:
Husband Coached Childbirth
Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way
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