Natural Birth Story

I tried to work full time all the way till I went into labor. I am a manager of a bakery at a specialty grocery store, and the job if very labor intensive. Before I got pregnant my days consisted of unloading pallets of heavy boxes of dough and desserts into a freezer, lifting and organizing supplies, making cupcakes and other desserts, baking in an industrial oven, and strenuous cleaning tasks. Needless to say, I could hardly do any of this the last couple of months I was pregnant. It was so frustrating being at work and not really being able to do anything. Not to mention having to be in a hot bakery at the hottest time of the year. Luckily my employers and coworkers were really good about it, letting me take naps and not seeming to notice that most of the day I would just walk around trying to look busy. I ended up finally taking my maternity leave on a Monday; my baby boy would be 39 weeks that Thursday. I was so afraid he would come 2 weeks late, at the last minute, and that I would be wasting three weeks of my leave still pregnant.

The first few days of my leave I went running errands, picking up last minute stuff I would need in the hospital, and some fabrics and patterns to make baby stuff with my sewing machine to keep myself busy while I wasn’t working. The day before I went into labor, I didn’t wake up until noon, which was not at all the norm for me, and was feeling very fatigued the entire day. I pretty much slept till the next morning, and when I woke and went to the bathroom I noticed that I’d lost my mucous plug. I was excited but I didn’t get my hopes up, since I knew that didn’t necessarily mean that I would be going into labor soon. That afternoon I decided I better finally pack my hospital bag. I am a huge procrastinator. I finished packing the bag just as my boyfriend got home from work. We decided to take a walk up to a restaurant to get some dinner. Halfway down the first block I felt a cramp. It was a different pain than I’d ever felt before. I thought maybe it was some kind of cramp from getting up to fast and walking or something. No big deal. 20 minutes later I felt the same pain, a little stronger and longer this time. We ate dinner and walked back home and all the while I was getting these pains every 15-20 minutes or so. I still wasn’t getting my hopes up!

We got home just in time for one of my favorite shows, Project Runway. I was hoping that I was in labor but also hoping that if I was, the contractions wouldn’t interfere with me watching my show. My boyfriend and I lay in the bed to watch while he rubbed my back. About halfway into the show my contractions were now getting a little stronger and pretty uncomfortable. By the time a designer was “out” at the end of the show I could no longer pay attention to it. The contractions were getting closer together and making me moan in pain. We decided to start timing the contractions, and within the next couple of hours they were still a little irregular but about every 7-10 minutes. I used the bathroom and felt a little fluid coming out which I thought was not urine. I decided to go ahead and call my midwife to see what she thought. She said that my water probably had not broken because it would continue to trickle and that if my contractions get to 4-5 minutes apart to head to the hospital. At about 2am my contractions were extremely painful and coming about every 5-6 min so we decided to go ahead and go to the hospital. I was still worried that my water was leaking and paranoid that I if I waited any longer I might get an infection or something. I wanted to labor as long as I could at home but it was making me too nervous.

When we got to the hospital the nurse checked my cervix to see if I was dilated. I was only 1 cm dilated and 90% effaced, pretty much the same as my last checkup the previous week. She checked to see if I was leaking fluid and I was not. I guess I had just peed on myself again! She suggested I walk around the triage for an hour and then check again to see if I’d opened up any more, if not, we were going back home.

After walking around for an hour, the nurse checked me and I was 3 cm. I was going to be admitted! I was the only one there so they let me pick which room I wanted. I picked the biggest one with the Jacuzzi tub! I changed into my jammies and sat on the bed, and started to call my family to tell them it was time!! It was 5 in the morning at this point and I was afraid my Mom wouldn’t hear my call, but she answered as if she had been waiting by the phone! She was so excited and said she’s be right over. My twin sister/best friend who lives 11 hours away had her plane ticket booked for the following Sunday. I called her to tell her she was going to have to get the next flight she could but her phone went straight to voicemail. Once my Mom got there she remembered she had my sister’s neighbor’s phone number, so my Mom called her and told her to please go pound on her door and tell her that I was in labor! I was really bummed out to think that maybe my sister wouldn’t make it in time to see my son delivered.

By the time the sun came up my contractions were excruciating. I kept walking around as much as possible to try and speed things up. I walked around the room and every contraction I would hang on my boyfriend and we would sway together. I was trying to keep my breathing in check but I couldn’t help but to just moan and scream like a wild banshee. He started breathing with me, and my nurse suggested some breathing techniques that worked better. My nurse was amazing. When I first met her and told her I was planning on having a natural birth she said, “no problem, I just delivered a baby naturally last night! You are going to do this!”. She ended up staying by my side almost the entire time, giving me helpful suggestions on breathing and positioning, and words of encouragement. Glad I didn’t buy a Doula! I got one for free (or, well, included in the hospital costs). That morning my midwife came in to check on me. The first thing she asked me is if I felt like I was truly in labor. I said, “If this isn’t labor than I don’t want to know what true labor is!!”. She went ahead and checked my cervix, and while feeling inside me and telling me I was only about 4-5 cm, my water broke….all over her. She was shocked and said “Woooaaah, WOAAHHHH!!!! I guess you are in labor!!!” my water was just gushing everywhere…all over the bed, all over the floor, all over her. That was the moment it really hit me, I was going to meet my son, finally, very very soon!! I was going to be a Mommy!!

After my water broke my contractions were out. of. This. World. I never imagined I could feel this intense of pain. At this point I could feel the contractions like climbing a mountain of pain but there was no relief whatsoever in between them. I was trying everything to help, sitting on the birthing ball, taking a bath, but nothing seemed to help the pain at all. At one point I looked at my boyfriend and cried, “I really don’t know if I can do this! I don’t think I can do this!”. I had been in labor for almost 20 hours and I was exhausted. My boyfriend and my nurse just kept telling me I could do it. I told myself I had to do it. I had read so many books, looked at so many websites…I had educated myself so well on the benefits of natural birth and I wanted it so badly…I just couldn’t turn back now.

It was about 3 pm and my nurse checked my cervix again. I was about a 7-8. She told me that I was going to hate it and it was going to be even more painful, but that I needed to lay in the bed on my side because my baby was sunny side up. She said that positioning would maybe get him to turn over and help him come down. I did as I was told, and as soon as I laid on my side I was screaming bloody murder in pain. I tried to turn over but my nurse told me I really needed to stay that way, that the reason I was having no relief of pain in between contractions was because my baby’s back was rubbing on my back. I thought, well no wonder I am in so much pain!! I’m having back labor!I have a pretty bad back to begin with after years of lifting too many heavy things at jobs I’ve had. After a while of screaming my head of in this position my nurse said I could lay on my back again and that she’s check me. I was fully dilated and ready to push!!

For some reason, I’m not sure why, I was lead to believe that the pushing was the fastest and easiest part of labor, so I was relieved. I also have pretty wide hips and I was kind of hoping that my child would just pop out. Everyone says you’ll have the urge to push but honestly that’s the last thing I wanted to do. I felt like I was going to break in half or explode if I pushed. But I knew that was the only way I could see my son and end all this pain, so I started pushing. I was laying down with one nurse holding each leg up. My boyfriend was over my head helping me hold my head up and putting cold wash cloths on my forehead. After a handful of pushes I was hoping my son was almost out. I kept asking the nurses if his head was out yet, and every time they just said, “another push”…

I was pushing for a little over two hours. Towards the end I felt like I had absolutely no energy left for another push. My boyfriend held my phone up to my face at one point to hear my sister say she had just landed and that she was on her way to the hospital! I was very happy about that but all I could do is scream. The last few pushes I made sounds I didn’t even think were possible to make. Everyone on the floor was probably scared. The poor nurses were probably scared at the wrath of me. I was completely naked on the bed, screaming over and over. Finally my midwife told me he was almost out…one more push….and there he was!!! Handed to me on my belly!

He was slimy but he felt like silk in my hands. I looked at his face and felt the most intense feeling of love , joy, and happiness I had ever felt. Here was my son, who had been inside of me for so long….the one I worried about so much…here he was, on top of me, PERFECT!

My son, Darin Sebastian, was born at 6:05 pm on Friday August 26th 2011, after 23 hours of unmedicated labor. He was 7 pounds and 11 ounces, 20 inches long.

We waited a little while to cut the umbilical cord, but as soon as my boyfriend cut it I put my son up on my chest and put a blanket over us. He was sucking on his hands. After about a half an hour a nurse helped me put him on my breast to see if he would latch on. He did immediately! He nursed for about a half hour and then they had to take him to the nursery. I didn’t want to let him go! My boyfriend went with him and promised he wouldn’t leave his side. It was time to move into a recovery room, so I got up and a nurse helped me clean up. I felt amazing! I had so much energy and I felt no pain! I felt like I could do anything…

I waited in the new room for my precious son to return from the nursery. The nurses told me to lay and rest, and wait for him in the room. I waited about five minutes and got up and found the nursery, I just had to see my son again! I went in and he was laying in a bassinette with my boyfriend’s finger in his mouth. The nurses said he was perfectly healthy. I felt so thankful for that. We got to take him back to the room, where our families were waiting to meet him!

Priscilla