Mia's birth story

I feel it is only right to start this blog from the beginning; my daughter’s beginning at least.  So here is her birth story. 

I went for my routine OB visit on a Wednesday and did not have any changes in dilation or effacement from the previous week.  My doctor suggested I start taking my evening primrose oil vaginally instead of orally, so I started that night.  The next morning, I lost my mucous plug.  I worked my last 12-hour shift at the hospital the following night, where I was extremely uncomfortable the entire time.  Luckily, I had a new graduate nurse with me that was taking care of the patients while I resourced for her.  I went home Saturday morning after work and slept until the afternoon. 

When I woke up, my husband and I took a walk around the neighborhood.  When we returned home, we finished hanging the rest of the decorations in the nursery.  We felt like we needed to squeeze one more date night in, so we went to the movies that night to watch The Wolf of Wall Street.  I started having contractions during the longest movie EVER; it is a 3.5-hour long movie!  At first, I thought it was false labor since my bladder was full and ignored the contractions.  After I got home, I emptied my bladder, but the contractions did not stop.  I fell asleep timing them at 15-20 minutes apart.

On the morning of Super bowl Sunday, I started timing the contractions again and they were now 10-12 minutes apart.  At this time, I notified my husband and my doula* that I was in labor.  My husband started freaking out in a cute way and told me to “sit down and stay still,” HA!  I informed him that is not how labor works and started taking laps around the house.

My doula and I kept in close contact all day as my labor progressed.  As my contractions got closer together, I was able to manage them really well.  My husband even told me that he did not think I was really in labor, because I was not acting like the women on TV.  I told him that I have a high pain tolerance and that I would surprise him until the end.  

Around 8 pm, the contractions were all over the place (timing wise) and I decided to take a shower to help ease the pain.  When I got out, I tried to rest and started crying, so we started getting ready to go to the hospital.  My doula wanted to meet us at our house, but I knew I would not make it, so we decided to meet at the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital around 10:30 pm; the contractions were really close together and intense.  The doctor on call checked me and I was 8 cm!  I think I shocked everyone in the room.  My doula later told me that the nurse thought I was going to be sent home for not being in active labor, HA!  Although I was 8 cm, the baby had not dropped.  That is when my doula really helped things move along, she put me in different positions to help the baby descend down the birth canal.  I ended up on the toilet to labor with my husband by my side and felt the urge to push; as I did, my water broke.  That is when it got scary for me, since there was meconium in the fluid.  As a respiratory nurse, I know what can happen with meconium aspiration.  I started crying, but quickly grabbed a hold of myself and refocused my attention on getting her out safely and quickly. 

The doctor checked me; I was fully dilated and ready to start pushing.  Pushing did not take long, but was by far the most painful part.  My husband said that I scared him when I screamed as she was crowning and coming out.  The part of Knocked Up when she screams, “I feel everything!” is SO TRUE!  I did feel everything, but shortly after I had my beautiful baby girl in my arms and nothing else mattered.  She arrived at 1:41 am.  The NICU team was present and took her immediately after she was born to suction her and check her out.  Thankfully, she did not aspirate any of the meconium!  They gave her to me after they were done, and I was in complete awe and in love with my tiny little baby.  She was so awake and alert.  My husband was such a proud daddy and I had a new-found love for him as he held her for the first time.  Such precious moments!  My daughter’s birth was everything I wanted in a birth!     

*A doula is a birth assistant who helps the mother have the birth she desires by providing emotional, physical, and spiritual help while in labor.  A doula also advocates for the mother’s wishes and helps the mother understand the medical terms/options that are being presented to her.  Our doula also helped my husband by supporting him to support me.  Our doula, Kiesha, was priceless and had a hand in me having a quick, medication free birth.  The positions she put me in and the emotional support she provided kept me going and helped the baby descend the birth canal without interventions.  Kiesha is part of a group of doulas and I highly recommend them if you are interested in doula services.  

**I also attribute the book, Mindful Birthing, and the coping strategies in it to how well I handled labor.  I would highly recommend this book and the strategies it discusses.