After several days of false labor, my water broke at home on
Sunday, September 15 around 9:15 pm. It was the typical Hollywood movie water
break-- a huge gush all over our couch, floor and bathroom. Then, once it was
over, I felt normal, other than the rush of adrenaline that came over me as I
realized this was it.
My husband, Martin, suggested that we get some rest since we
could be in for a long night so after calling the midwife on call at Methodist
to let her know my water had broken but we’d be staying home for a while, I
laid down. This was about 45 minutes after my water broke and I was still
feeling pretty normal. Almost the instant we got in bed, contractions started
and were coming about 4-5 minutes apart and were fairly strong. I knew I
wouldn’t be able to sleep so I took a shower to see if it would relax me.
By the time I was out of the shower, the contractions were
stronger and closer to 4 minutes apart, so we went to our basement so I could
use the yoga ball to get through them and Martin could track them on his phone.
I told him to get some rest around midnight, as I was handling the contractions
pretty well and thought I’d be able to do so for a while. He went to sleep in
the basement bedroom while I rolled on the ball in a variety of positions for
the next 30 minutes.
When the pain was getting more intense, I decided to go back
upstairs and take another shower, after which the contractions were so strong I
was on my knees next to the bed trying to breathe through them. I was becoming
vocal at this point and knew that it was time to go. I hadn’t brought my phone
upstairs with me and was seriously wondering how I’d get down to the basement
to tell Martin to get the car ready.
I draped a towel over myself and slowly crawled my way down to the
basement after a particularly bad contraction. I kneeled next to the bed
soaking wet, moaning in pain and a bewildered Martin was wondering what the
heck was going on!
I let him know that I thought it was time to go (this was
about 1:30 am) and he raced around the house getting all of our things
together, throwing our dog into my sister’s room and calling the hospital to
tell them we were on the way. Somehow I managed to get some clothes on and get
into the car. We live close to the hospital so it was only about a 10-minute
car ride, but it was the worst car ride of my life. I was literally biting the
seat belt and screaming into it during my contractions. Martin ran about 4 red
lights, parked in the ramp and ran to get a wheelchair. I really couldn’t bear
to sit down, but it would have taken us an hour to get up to the labor and
delivery ward if I tried to walk.
When we arrived around 2:15 am, we were brought to triage
and I was 7 centimeters dilated! I was so glad because I wanted a natural childbirth
and thought if I was anything less than a 5 or 6 I wouldn’t be able to get
through it. I was quickly brought over to the water birth room and was
monitored while the tub was being filled. During this time I stood in the
middle of the room with my head on Martin’s chest and my hands gripping his
jean pockets to death. After what seemed like eternity due to monitors not
working properly, I was able to get into the tub around 3:00 am. My pain didn’t
go away in the tub, but I felt more weightless and calm once I got into the
water. With Martin holding one
hand and our back-up doula holding the other, I labored for about 20 minutes in
the tub. My body was involuntarily pushing during my contractions so the
midwife checked me for only the second time and I was ready to push!
I did not get the urge to push like so many other women
describe, so I had a hard time determining when I should be pushing, but in the
end I pushed for about 30 minutes and at 3:55 am, only about 7 hours after my
water broke, our sweet baby was born. We didn’t know the gender so I was
thrilled to be able to announce that it was a girl! Violet was 8 pounds, 3
ounces, 21.5” long and perfect!
My birth experience was everything that I wanted, albeit a
little fast!
Grandma Kathy meeting Violet for the first time.
Proud grandpa Tim. He didn't know it was a girl until he got to the hospital!
Ready to go home!
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