TMI Warning: I'm writing my birth story with very little censoring. I'm going to try and be as honest as possible, so it may not always be pretty! If you have zero interest in learning anything about my lady parts, I would recommend skipping the next two blogs!
At my first overdue doctor's appointment I agreed to my first internal examination to see if there was any progress. I was 3 days overdue at the time and discovered that I was 0% effaced and there was 0 diliation. Boy, was that hard to hear. I knew we could be in for at most another 2 weeks.
I started having my first contactions late in the evening on December 2, 2010, I was now 5 days overdue. Dave and I were on a double date with Mike and Jeani at the Alamo Drafthouse in North Austin to see Unstoppable. The contractions were very mild and I really did not want to make a big deal about it, but Dave was getting pretty excited and was wanting to time the contractions.
December 3, 2010 : I continued to have contractions throughout the night and into the morning, they were ranging anywhere from 10-12 minutes apart, and were still very mild. However, we had a feeling that "this was it."
I knew that because my labor was beginning rather slow we had time to get things done. So, since it was Friday we both went into work to take care of some things before maternity/paternity leave. Dave picked me up early and we were going to go home to lay low and see if I was really in labor. We made a couple of stops along the way to pick of some stuff and the contractions were still going. At this point, none of them were taking my breath away nor were they making me stop to work through them.
In the early afternoon, things really started to slow down, hardly any contractions. If any existed, maybe one an hour. We settled in for the night, watched movies, and just spent time together. We went to bed rather dissapointed that I may have been in a state of false labor all day.
One of the ways I passed the time was by making this "birthday" cake.
December 4, 2010: Then 2am rolled around, and I began having contractions that were so strong that I could not sleep through them. Dave got up with me, started timing the contractions, and got some of our things together in case we needed to leave for the hospital. We were told to leave for the hospital when the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, lasting at least 60 seconds, and continueing this way for 2 hours. They were consistently about 5-6 minutes apart and after about 5 hours or so, they slowed down, again. We were able to make it through the rest of our day although I would continue to have contractions anywhere from 4-15 minutes apart. This exact pattern continued for the next 3 days.
December 5, 2010: Each day we were doing everything we could to keep our minds busy, and moving around as much as we could to encourage my labor to progress. This included a trip to Marble Falls for lunch on Sunday, and a visit from Dave's family on Sunday evening.
We thought for sure that we would have had our baby by the end of that weekend, but no luck. Dave and I were both absolutely exhausted. I was so incredibly tired, but I could not sleep long enough to get any real rest. I was getting about 1-3 hours of sleep a night before the most intense early morning contractions would hit.
Dave was as equally exhausted because he was staying up with me, coaching me through most of the contractions. I truly needed him. He was timing the contractions when we thought we needed to. He would apply counter-pressure on my lower back, I was having a lot of back labor, and we would later find out that it was because of the position that Olivia was in. He would sit in the bathroom with me when I wanted to labor in the bathtub. He would go on walks with me when that's what I felt I needed, even when it was 3am in the morning. He was the DJ the entire time, and would play the Pandora station I wanted to here when I wanted to hear it. And he was encouraging me to continue to move around through the contractions and use all of the positions that we learned in our classes.
Something else that kept me going and helped to motivate me were physical signs that I truly was in the early stages of labor. It was on Sunday that I finally lost my mucous plug and had started to have my bloody show.
December 6, 2010: Monday morning, we thought FOR SURE this was it. Contractions started really picking up at around 1am, and we timed them for a couple of hours. At points they were as close as 2-3 minutes apart, but really ranging anywhere from 2-6 mintues. They were lasting at least a minute and were this way for more than 2 hours. We went for a walk at about 3am to see if they would continue. The intensity of the contractions had finally reached a point that I would have to stop during our walk to work through them.
On our walk I had a bit of a breakdown. I was so afraid of going to the hospital too early and getting sent home. But at the same time, I knew that physically I could not continue to keep this pattern of laboring at home with what felt like zero progress. I was crying my eyes out, then Dave would talk me down and tell me that I was making progress from the beginning, etc. Then, I would be okay about that but I would start worrying about something else, and it would start all over. Finally, Dave said, "we are going to the hospital."
Once we got there, we were put into a triage room so that a nurse could check my progress to determine if I was, in fact, in labor. My contractions had slowed down considerably and were not as intense. I thought for sure we would be "sent home." The nurse checked my cervix and found that I was now 3 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced. I was considered in active labor at this point, but because there had been such little progress in 5 days, I was very discouraged.
We were told that they were going to admit us and I could continue to labor there at the hospital. The thought of that was a nightmare to me. I was already so uncomfortable that the last place I wanted to be was in the hospital. I asked the nurse if we would be allowed to go home to continue to labor there. She had to speak with my doctor, who was not currently there, and get the okay. Once Dr. Chapman gave us the okay to go home and told us to come right back should the contractions get closer together or should my waterbag break.
People were curious as to why we would leave to go back home if we were allowed to stay and get admited into Labor and Delivery. I was still sold on trying to have a med-free and intervention free labor and birth. Being at the hospital any longer than necessary, makes it a lot less likely of achieving that for a multitude of reasons. Being at home is ideal because you are on your turf, and you set the rules. Plus, there is a level of comfort at home that cannot be duplicated in the hospital.
At this point, Dave really needed a break, but said he could not sleep if I were staying up to labor alone. So we called in the reserves! Annette came over and met us at the house as soon as we got home from the hospital. She stayed with me in the family room and kept me company. She was wonderful and applied counterpressure on my lower back during the nasty contractions. Dave was able to get a good 4 hour nap in.
Just as he was getting up, Jeani, was a saint and brought us over lunch. She stayed and visited with us for an hour or so. It was another wonderful way that helped keep our minds busy.
Shortly after Jeani left, my mom got to our house which allowed for Dave to have another nap. One nap per mom. Mom and I actually went out and did some shopping. I desperately needed a change of scenery and the walking would be good for me. The contractions were finally starting to really pick up again while Mom and I were out, but they continued to plateau at about 5-6 minutes apart.
Labor is not pretty.
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