Lily’s Birth Story

28 Dec 2010 1 Comment

by greenmamadrama in Uncategorized

Lily turned 3 months old yesterday, so I figured it was time to actually write down her birth story.  And even though it’s been 2 years, I plan to write Ty’s down soon!

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Woke up that morning at 5:30 with contractions.  I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks, so I figured it wasn’t real.  After all, I had a full day planned– I had to get groceries, do diaper laundry, and pick up the house.  I didn’t have time to have a baby!  But the contractions didn’t stop, so I got up to time them.

I sat on my “birth ball” (really a workout ball) and turned on Contraction Master.  I watched “Desperate Housewives” that I had recorded, and timed my contractions at 7-8 minutes for about 2 hours.  I told Steve that he should probably call off of work, but that he could stay asleep, because I was going to shower.  As soon as I decided to take a shower, they began coming every 4-5 minutes, then every 2-3.  I was still timing them while in the shower– I would look at my watch and write the time down on a piece of paper.

Steve got up while I was trying to blow dry my hair– I kept dropping the dryer and moaning.   We called my midwife around 8:30, and were advised to head to the hospital.  Ty woke up while I was finishing packing the (useless) hospital bag– I was moaning really loudly.  Steve got him up, changed and eating breakfast.

The contractions were very low in my abdomen, wrapping around from my back.  I would vocalize during them, grab onto something, and breathe deeply.  Steve would rub my lower back, which helped a lot.  My son thought it was just hilarious– luckily I didn’t scare him!  I started crying and telling DH “I can’t do this without drugs!” (my plan was to go med-free).  Turns out, I was in transition.

The ride to the hospital was AWFUL!  I consistently had contractions.  We met my friend Cathy at the hospital and she took Ty with her to her house.  I was in so much pain I could barely walk through the walkway to the hospital.  Luckily, a nurse was leaving her shift and helped Steve walk me to L&D.  The admitting nurse kept trying to ask me questions, but I was having so many contractions that they finally just brought me to the room.  My midwife, Jan, met us there, and checked me– I was at 9 cm!  By this time it was 10 am.  Jan and Steve were amazing.  They reminded me to breathe (I had a hard time staying on top of the pain, and tended to freeze up during contractions).  Jan would remind me that my body was working the way it should.  She broke my water when I hit 10 cm, and I started pushing.  It was such a relief to push, because it took away from the pain of the contractions.  I’m not sure how long I pushed for, but Lillian Ivey was born at 11:38 am– less than 2 hours after we got to the hospital, and 6 hours from my first contraction.

I was able to go without meds, which I was very proud of!  I do not judge anyone who chooses an epidural– I had one last time, and it was awesome.  I wanted to see if I could do it med-free, for myself.  I’m glad I did, and if we ever have a third, I plan to do the same!

Lily and Jan

One day old

The whole family

First Christmas

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