Birth Story #2: Jane

A few days ago, my newest little cuddle bug was born! She was a healthy 9.2 pounds, and 21 inches long. She has a full head of downy-soft black hair and dark eyes. She is a sweet, cuddly baby who loves to eat!! There are a lot of people who have asked me about her birth story, so here it comes!

I started having contractions every ten to fifteen minutes daily around the end of February, about a month before my due date. When I went in for my weekly appointment I was already 2cm and about 80-90% effaced, and the doctor said she should come any day! Each week I would go in, and find out I was another cm dilated, still having cntractions, and no baby! So, I started to get very tired and very discouraged.

A few days before my due date the contractions stopped. It was a relief to be able to rest, but only made me feel that much farther from my goal. My due date came and went. I was still pregnant.

Then on March 27th I started to have contractions every 6-7 minutes. They were intense, but not awful, so I let my midwife know and sat tight. Another day passed. Around 7:30pm on March 28th I felt and heard a POP while sitting on the couch. I hopped up, expecting a gush of fluid from my water breaking,  but none came. I texted my midwife, who said it probably was my water breaking, but that the baby´s head was so low she was blocking the leak. She said to get ready and go to the hospital to get examined, and if it was labor she would be right in. She was only 20 minutes from the hospital. I started having contractions every five minutes, and these ones were keepers!

We got to the hospital around 8:15pm. The car ride was pretty calm. The contractions were strong, but I was ok. As I got out of the car another contraction hit me and it was clear that I would not be getting sent home today! Jairo and I just stood there, breathing through the contraction. A lady saw us and asked if we needed a wheelchair. We both yelled ¨Yes!¨

The guy from the lobby wheeled us up to labor and delivery. They took me right to an exam room and had me change into a gown. By the time I got changed and sat back on the bed, the contractions were unbearable, and were coming about every minute. The nurse said I was 6-7cm, and they almost had my delivery room ready. I remember thinking that if I was 6-7 then I still had a few hours, so I might die before then just from the contractions. Luckily, that wasn´t exactly the case.

About 5 or 10 minutes later someone came in with a wheelchair, while the nurses kept telling me emphatically, ¨Stop pushing! Don´t push!¨ That made as much sense to me as saying, ¨Don´t breathe¨ or ¨Stop existing¨. What do you mean don´t push??? I couldn´t stop if I knew how to try!

They told me to get into the wheelchair. I said, ¨No, no, no, no, no.¨

After seeing they were not getting me in the chair, the nurse insisted I let her check me for dilation again. (Remember, it has been, at most, 10 minutes since she checked me.) At first I said no, but I gave in because I did not want to have to get into that wheelchair and I could not stop pushing. She checked me and said, ¨She´s complete! We´re not going anywhere.¨

The room was filling with people. They kept telling me not to push. I kept pushing. I tried to breathe. Sometimes I breathed. Sometimes I screamed. I wondered how much longer I was going to last. I figured not too long. The pain was horrific.

The resident arrived. ¨How far out is the midwife?¨ someone asks. ¨20 minutes,¨ someone answers. ¨She´s not going to make it!¨ comes the reply. That made me feel better (emotionally, anyway). They think the baby will be here soon.

They get my legs in stirrups (not at all what I wanted, but who has the extra energy to fight about it?). They explain how they want me to push. Here we go! I pushed on average about twice per contraction. They wanted three pushes, but I said no. They wanted me to hold my breath for ten seconds. I usually lasted 4-6. But the minute or so between pushing was amazing. I could almost breathe again. In between contractions I was explaining what I wanted to the doctor. ¨Jairo wants to cut the cord.¨ ¨Wait to cut the cord until it is done pulsing.¨ ¨I want to hold her while you clean her off.¨ I pushed through maybe 6 or 7 contractions. Then I felt it, she was crowning. I pushed all three times. I held it all ten seconds. She was almost out. I kept pushing after they said to rest. And then her head was out. I heard Jairo telling me he saw her. (I couldn´t yet.) She was face-up, like Bella, they told me later. (¨Good thing,¨ said the nurse, ¨otherwise the resident probably wouldn´t have made it either!¨) The doctor was telling me to push out the shoulder, then the other shoulder. They gave her to me. I was so relieved. And in so much pain.

She looked so tiny. I thought, maybe 7 pounds?? They laid her skin to skin with me. She lifted her head right up and looked at me. I told her, ¨Look how strong you are! You shouldn´t be able to do that!¨ We cuddled forever and ever. The cord stopped pulsing and Jairo cut it. I delivered the placenta and they went to town trying to sew me up. They ended up moving us to a different room, because apparently triage rooms are not the best-lit places. They took a good 45 minutes to sew me up. They asked if they could take the baby to weigh her. I said yes, although I didn´t want to give her up. The nurse called out, ¨9 pounds, 2 ounces¨ and Jairo and I both said, ¨What???¨

I was trying to decide if she was Jane or Charlotte. I decided that Jane was a better fit for her first name. It means ¨God is gracious¨, which I felt was a good reflection of my birth experience. I called to Jairo, who was over with the baby while she got weighed, ¨Jairo, I think she is Jane.¨ He said, ¨I was just going to tell you the same thing.¨

During labor I was so hot and thirsty, but once I delivered I was shaking uncontrollably and so cold. I had absolutely no strength left in my body. Recovery has been much harder this time. But Jane is a constant comfort to me. She is barely four days old and this morning she woke up laughing. She smiles at me all the time. She loves to sleep in my arms and nurses like a champ. She absolutely hates getting her diaper changed and getting a bath, but she must love the way she feels after a bath because she gets super awake and content. I remember, as she was lying there with me on the delivery bed, cuddling with me, we were both so calm, and I thought this just felt so natural, so right. She always belonged with us. She was always a part of our family. And God really is gracious.