Carter is here!
He was born on Saturday March 9th, 2013 at 10:42 AM. He was 7 pounds 3 ounces and 19 inches long. He arrived after almost 9 hours of natural, unmedicated labor. Here is his birth story:
On Friday, March 8th, I had my 40 week OB appointment. I was 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant and when I was checked, I was dilated to 2cm. I was so excited because I had been stuck at 1cm since I was checked at 36 weeks and 5 days. I felt like I had progressed and that at least my body was working towards getting this baby out. Dr. Altman then stretched my cervix to 3cm and stripped my membranes. He told us that we could very well be having a baby this weekend but I really didn't believe that labor would be starting that soon. I felt like my body was slowly working towards labor but that I could have a little while longer to go. After the appointment, we went with Shawn's mom, Cindy, to Costco to buy some diapers since they were on sale. Walking around Costco, I started feeling cramps but pushed my mind off of them. I really didn't want to get my hopes up so I kept telling myself that I was not going to go into labor anytime soon. We got home from Costco and put Liam down for a nap. At around 3:00 PM, after Liam's nap, we took him for a walk around the block. I figured since I had my membranes stripped, I might as well capitalize on the chance of pushing myself into labor. I walked quicker than normal around the block with Shawn pushing Liam in his tricycle. When we got back, I took some time to straighten my hair, just in case. That way I would look a little more presentable in photos.
At around 5:00 PM, I started timing my contractions because I realized they were coming a little more regularly. They were ranging from coming every 7 minutes to spacing out to 15 minutes then back to 7 minutes. I had also been having some bloody show. I was excited for something to be happening but I thought it was probably just false labor that would go away. At 9:00 PM, I went to sleep still contracting and uncomfortable. I woke up at 11:30 PM and timed some more and they were now between 5-6 minutes. I laid in bed and tried to sleep between the contractions until 2:30 AM. I couldn't take being in bed anymore and decided to go to the living room and try to watch some TV. Shawn had been in and out of sleep too and kept reminding me to wake him up so he could take a shower if we needed to go. I really thought it all would stop soon so I kept telling him to just go back to sleep. Moaning quickly became my coping technique. It allowed me to loosen my face muscles and relax all my muscles in my body so I was working with the contraction rather than against it. The hilarious part is I sounded like Dory, from Finding Nemo, trying to speak whale. At 3:00 AM, I realized that this was probably it. My contractions were now coming every 4 minutes and I was having to lean over my yoga ball and I was moaning to help me get through them. I went and woke up Shawn and told him he needed to take a shower now if he wanted one and we should take Liam to his parents. By 3:30 AM, we had Liam and our bags in the car. We dropped Liam off with Shawn's parents and headed over to the hospital. The car ride was excruciating because all I could do was sit there, strapped in, during each contraction.
We arrived at the hospital and when I got out of the truck, I had another strong contraction and had to lean over, holding onto the bed and moan through it. There was a security truck stopped with someone talking to the driver through the window a little way away. I kept thinking that if they noticed me, I probably looked like an absolute crazy person. We walked up to the call box at Labor and Delivery, Shawn pressed the button and said, "Um, I think she's in labor." I couldn't help but giggle at the awkwardness. We got in and they put us in a triage room to check if I was truly in labor. I changed into the hospital gown and got strapped up to the contraction and heart rate monitor. The nurse asked me some questions to get me checked in and asked if I would be wanting an epidural at some point. I told her that I did not and she asked if I was going to want any other type of medication. I told her "No." and she asked me one last time if I wanted an epidural. I still told her "No." Looking back, I feel like she was asking just to be clear with what my wishes were but I felt like I had epidural etched into my brain after that. My contractions were still coming every 4 minutes and when she checked me I was dilated to 4cm. We decided to give it an hour and see what happens then she would call Dr. Altman to let him know I was here. I asked for a birth ball but ended up laboring in bed on my hands and knees for the next hour. The contractions had really started hurting and my resolve to have an unmedicated birth was wavering. At this point, I kept telling Shawn that I really wanted an epidural. In my head I kept thinking, "Why am I doing this without an epidural again?" and "What am I trying to prove. I'll still get the same end result either way." I started really fighting myself to not use the 'code word' Shawn and I had established for an epidural. This way I could tell him all I wanted but until I said "Popsicle" he knew to keep encouraging me towards my goal of having Carter without medication. I told myself that when the nurse came back to check me, as long as I made some progress dilating, I could hold out longer without an epidural.
The nurse came back a little after 5:00 AM and checked me and I was at 5cm. I was so excited that I had dilated another centimeter and it gave me a new resolve to keep to my goal of unmedicated childbirth. The nurse let me know that she would go call Dr.Altman, let him know I was here and progressing and she recommended I get into the shower to help with the labor pains. I took her advice and spent the next hour in the shower, leaning on the shower chair and letting the scalding hot water hit my back to help with the pain. I started getting light headed being in the shower so I decided to move to the rocking chair which I thought I was going to absolutely hate. When I sat down I found it to be one of the most comfortable chairs I have ever sat in and it made it easier to cope through the pain. I sat there for the next hour and rocked, breathed and moaned through my contractions. A little after 7:00 AM the nurse came back in because it was her time to leave and another nurse was taking over. She found me sitting in the chair, smiled and said "How long have you been sitting here?" We told her an hour and she said "Hey, you were supposed to call me when you got out of the shower so we could start your IV." I'm pretty sure that was what I was supposed to do but in the moment I had completely forgotten. The new nurse was told all about our current progress and she went to go get the IV. She came back and offered me just the heplock but I was having a really hard time drinking water at that point so we decided to do saline but with the option to cap it back off at any point to allow me to get back in the shower if I wanted to. She decided to check me since I told her I started felling more pressure and to my surprise, I was now 7cm. After that check, I really felt more confident that I was going to have the unmedicated birth I wanted. She asked that I lay in bed for a little while so that she could monitor some contractions and watch Carter's heart rate. I wasn't too thrilled about having to stay in bed because it was harder to get comfortable through the contractions but I went with it.
Around 7:30 AM, Andrea showed up and started snapping pictures for us and being labor support for Shawn and I. The nurse came back around 8:00 AM and checked me during a contraction so she could get a better picture of how dilated I was. She told me I was dilated to 8cm and my bag of water was still bulging but not broken. She said when my water breaks I would probably progress pretty quickly and that she would call Dr. Altman to come check me. Dr. Altman came in and broke my water and checked me. Having my water broken for me was the weirdest sensation! First there was the pop and then it felt like I was continuously peeing myself while laying there in bed. With Liam it broke on its own while I was sleeping so I didn't feel the pop. This is also the point in my labor where I really hit a wall mentally and physically. When he checked me he said I was 6.5cm and he told me we still have a little while to go and left. To me, this meant I had gone backwards. Shawn and I had joked during my weekly checks that what if I was less dilated then the week before. We laughed and joked that it could never happen but then it did. I was so shocked and discouraged. In hindsight, I sahould have realized it was going a little too smoothly and easy. I was talking and laughing with everyone, would stop mid sentence to breath through a contraction but would be talking and laughing as soon as it was over. Once my water was broken the talking and laughing ended rather quickly. Andrea asked the nurse about the difference in dilation and she said it was probably because she checked me during a contraction and he hadn't so she would check me during the next one. She checked me and I could see it on her face before she said anything. She told me he was right and that I was at 6.5cm. She said I could get back in the shower or chair but all I could do is sit there feeling absolutely crushed. Andrea asked me if I wanted to get up and get in the shower or the chair but I was still throwing myself a pity party and didn't want to move. The contractions had really started to intensify after my water was broken and it felt like Carter had slammed into my pelvis and was burrowing down during each contraction. Andrea asked again if I wanted to get up and I realized I couldn't just lay here any longer. I got all unhooked and got into the shower.
The contractions, at this point, were so intense I ended up on my hands and knees in the shower, moaning through each contraction and letting the water hit my back. As I practically laid there, I realized my hair was getting wet which made me even more upset. I felt so stupid getting upset about my hair when I was in so much pain but I knew it meant I was going to look like a train wreck. I whined to Andrea and Shawn that my hair is wet and they tried to lie to me and say it was only wet at the tips. I knew better! Andrea then gave me a towel to cover the back of my neck in an attempt to salvage my wet mop. I think back and laugh about how even in the midst of this intense pain, I still was being pretty vain. I was in the shower for about an hour when I started to feel gross from the heat. I decided to get out and go to the chair. This is also the point where I lost all modesty.
I knew I didn't want to be standing during a contraction because it was more painful so I had a very short window of time to get from the shower to the chair in the room. I got out of the shower and walked stark naked toward the chair and I'm pretty sure shocked everyone in the room. I only made it half way before I started to have another contraction and had to lean on Shawn. This one was so painful I actually didn't even make a sound. I made it to the chair and Andrea asked if I wanted to get up because it seemed like I did better with that last contraction. I told her that I wanted to stay in the chair because standing made them feel a lot worse. I sat in the chair for around 30-45 minutes. I had a hospital gown laid on top of me and it kept sliding down. Shawn kept trying to pull it up to cover me but I could care less at that moment and didn't want him messing with me. I kept telling him "I don't even care right now. I don't even care." I could see that he was torn between covering up his wife or listening to me. I think he could see the crazy in my eyes because he finally stopped. The nurse kept popping in asking if I wanted her to check me again. I was so scared to be checked at this point because I was afraid she was going to tell me I was only 7cm and I knew that would crush me even more. I kept telling her I wasn't sure but finally asked what do you think I should do. She said she could do it then or come back in 20 minutes and I knew I couldn't wait any longer so I got back in bed for her to check me. She said that she was pretty sure I had progressed pretty far because I had a lot of bloody show in the chair. She hooked me back up to the monitors and checked me and I was at 9cm! I was excited that I was so close but was hoping this last centimeter would go quick! She left to notify Dr. Altman and start setting up the room for delivery.
I decided to get back in the chair while hooked up to the monitors. We moved the chair up next to the monitor and the bed. I sat there working through contractions until a respiratory therapist came in to set up and told me I had to move since I had the chair in the way. At first we tried to explain that I was sitting there because I needed to stay connected to the monitors. She argued back that I had to move immediately because I was in the way and they had a job to do. I was a little annoyed but decided I wasn't going to let it get to me and I was going to kill her with kindness. I moved the chair out of the way and continued working through the contractions. After a short while, Dr. Altman came in the room and helped me back into the bed so he could check me. I was at 9.5cm and all I could think was "Come On!! Why couldn't I be 10! I'm so ready to start pushing and have this pain end." He then had me do some pushes to help me dilate the rest of the way. I pushed about 2 or 3 times. At the end of one contraction he was telling me to stop and relax but I just kept pushing because I was so focused. Shawn had to get my attention to get me to stop. Dr. Altman checked me again and said there was still a lip so I wasn't quite there. At that point I threw a little fit. I whined like a child because I couldn't believe how close I was yet not quite there. He told me that we would go through a couple contractions and then he would check me again. When he said a couple, I thought "Okay, I just have to get through two more. A couple just means two more. I can do two." He sat there with me and helped me breath through one contraction and talked me through relaxing all the way to my fingers and dropping my shoulders after. He was so calming and definitely helped me during them and after. The second one started and I thought "Okay, this is it." He then had me relax and I could tell we were going on to the next one. The third one started and I thought "Oh No! You said a couple. This has to be the last one." He helped me relax again and I realized we were doing a fourth and I wanted to cry. He then checked me and told me I was at 10cm and it was time to start pushing. All I could think was how happy I was but I knew pushing was going to be a challenge.
At this point, I had Shawn holding one leg and the nurse holding the other and I pushed through two contractions before it was time to put my feet on the foot rests. Shawn helped me put one leg down but the nurse wasn't paying attention and kept holding my other leg. Dr. Altman kept trying to get her attention and all I could think was "Come on, lady!" My brain wouldn't work to actually say something though so I just stared at her until she finally realized and let go. I then pushed through a few more contractions and Carter was here at 10:42 AM! They immediately placed him on my belly and the first thing I noticed was his red hair. I was so excited to see his little face and in shock of the fact that it was all over now. Shawn got to cut the umbillical cord while I held him for a little while. Then they took him to get his weight and finish their check. He scored a 8 then a 9 on his Apgar and was given back to me after being wiped off a little. All I could do was stare at him in wonder of how I had been holding him inside me for 9 months and now I was able to hold him in my arms. I felt so great after delivery and was able to get right out of bed. I'm so happy that I was able to have that experience but it was definitely the most challenging moments of my life, both physically and mentally. I really wouldn't have had it any other way!
Here are some pictures from my labor and delivery!
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One of the final pictures of me still pregnant.
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| My Bed and Carter's in the background |
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| Belly with contraction and heart rate monitor |
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| Labor and Delivery |
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| Top graph in yellow is Carter's heart rate. Bottom graph are my contractions. |
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| Carter's heart rate |
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| Contractions |
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| Shawn helping me through a contraction |
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| 10:42 AM |
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| Happy Birthday Carter! |
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| 7 pounds 3 ounces and 19 inches long |
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| Mom, Dad, Carter and Dr. Altman |
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| Andrea and Carter |
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| Grandma Joyce, Grandpa Bob and Uncle Matt |
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| Papa Ervin |
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| Big Brother Liam |
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| Grandma Cindy |
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| Our family of Four |
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Going Home!
At Carter's doctor appointment at 4 days old he weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces, 19 1/2 inches long and his head circumference was 13 1/2 inches. Babies can lose up to 10% of their weight so the fact that he only lost 4 ounces was awesome. I think his length at birth was wrong because there is no way he grew 1/2 inch in four days! We are so in love with this little man. |
