My 2nd Birth Story
July 18, 2017
I woke up that morning, as usual. I think I had an appointment with our friend, Eliza, to discuss decorations in the new house, but after she left, I started moving around the kitchen as was my routine. Around mid-afternoon, I started feeling nauseated and lost my appetite. I went to the bathroom and noticed some bleeding. I think that was when my mucus plug was lost. A few hours later, my water broke. That was around 5pm (I think). We called the lady who came to stay with William, and then Dave took me to the hospital and I was admitted around 7pm or 8pm.
After getting checked in, I started having mild contractions, but my fluids were low, so they gave me an IV of saline. I remember it made me *sooo* cold, but that stalled out the labor. I tried to sleep some, as much as you can at a hospital when nurses come in every hour or so to check on you. The next morning when contractions still did not pick up, the decision was made to give me Pitocin. I was so worried about having a repeat of my first experience, that I argued with the nurse about how much they were going to give me. We settled on more than I wanted and less than the nurse initially proposed. It ended up being the perfect amount.
July 19, 2017
So, around 9am on July 19th, labor with my second son really began.
The contractions were bearable, predictable, and relatively short. I had contractions one-at-a-time, so I was able to use the training I had been practicing (Hypnobabies) to conserve energy. My doula was also a massage therapist, so when the contractions started to get intense, she rubbed my back while I laid sideways on the bed. When the contractions got closer together and I was really having to grit through them, I remember feeling like laying on my side was no longer working. It was like having my legs stacked was locking my hips in a closed position, so I moved to sitting upright. That was MUCH better, now my hips were free to open up!
Once I sat up, I don't remember a lot of details because the active labor started. Contractions were really close, and the urge to push came on strong. BUT the midwife was not in the room. The labor and delivery nurse basically told me not to push and held the baby inside me. I remember being extremely angry at her, but my doula got in my face and told me that my body was going to do what it needed to, but I didn't have to help it. So I breathed through every urge to push and didn't. And finally--FINALLY--the midwife came in! She got in position, and I pushed. Then, I pushed again. And the "FLTHWUMP!" happened. I heard the scream of my baby. The L&D nurse whispered to me, "You literally pushed for 2 minutes." Oliver Jacob was born at 12:50 p.m.
The midwife put him on my chest, and he began rooting around for the breast immediately. He latched as soon as he found it. My nipples were a little sensitive at that first latch, but from that moment, he stole my heart. He was perfect...and beautiful.
I woke up that morning, as usual. I think I had an appointment with our friend, Eliza, to discuss decorations in the new house, but after she left, I started moving around the kitchen as was my routine. Around mid-afternoon, I started feeling nauseated and lost my appetite. I went to the bathroom and noticed some bleeding. I think that was when my mucus plug was lost. A few hours later, my water broke. That was around 5pm (I think). We called the lady who came to stay with William, and then Dave took me to the hospital and I was admitted around 7pm or 8pm.
After getting checked in, I started having mild contractions, but my fluids were low, so they gave me an IV of saline. I remember it made me *sooo* cold, but that stalled out the labor. I tried to sleep some, as much as you can at a hospital when nurses come in every hour or so to check on you. The next morning when contractions still did not pick up, the decision was made to give me Pitocin. I was so worried about having a repeat of my first experience, that I argued with the nurse about how much they were going to give me. We settled on more than I wanted and less than the nurse initially proposed. It ended up being the perfect amount.
July 19, 2017
So, around 9am on July 19th, labor with my second son really began.
The contractions were bearable, predictable, and relatively short. I had contractions one-at-a-time, so I was able to use the training I had been practicing (Hypnobabies) to conserve energy. My doula was also a massage therapist, so when the contractions started to get intense, she rubbed my back while I laid sideways on the bed. When the contractions got closer together and I was really having to grit through them, I remember feeling like laying on my side was no longer working. It was like having my legs stacked was locking my hips in a closed position, so I moved to sitting upright. That was MUCH better, now my hips were free to open up!
Once I sat up, I don't remember a lot of details because the active labor started. Contractions were really close, and the urge to push came on strong. BUT the midwife was not in the room. The labor and delivery nurse basically told me not to push and held the baby inside me. I remember being extremely angry at her, but my doula got in my face and told me that my body was going to do what it needed to, but I didn't have to help it. So I breathed through every urge to push and didn't. And finally--FINALLY--the midwife came in! She got in position, and I pushed. Then, I pushed again. And the "FLTHWUMP!" happened. I heard the scream of my baby. The L&D nurse whispered to me, "You literally pushed for 2 minutes." Oliver Jacob was born at 12:50 p.m.
The midwife put him on my chest, and he began rooting around for the breast immediately. He latched as soon as he found it. My nipples were a little sensitive at that first latch, but from that moment, he stole my heart. He was perfect...and beautiful.
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