Addalynn's Natural Birth Part 1

This is the story of our first natural birth. When I say natural I mean no drugs except for the antibiotics. Just to clarify, no pain meds or epidural, I say this because my grandmother asked if they gave me "twilight." How long has it been since they have done that?!? We attended Bradley classes this pregnancy, and they were so helpful! In the past we have had problems with my blood pressure and for the first time we didn't this pregnancy. The Bradley method suggests the Brewer diet which consists of eating 80-100 grams of protein daily during pregnancy. At first I was a little skeptical, until we hit 37 weeks, then my blood pressure went up.... I had slacked off eating my protein. So Jake and I went to the grocery store and bought all the right things. By my next appointment, my blood pressure was back to normal! I am glad we chose this method and would not change anything that happened during our labor/immediate delivery :)

At my last appointment, Dr. S told me we wouldn't make it to the next appointment. I didn't believe him, but he was right! Addy was born 12 hours before my appointment. He barely escaped an earful from me! I had prepared to tell him he absolutely should NOT tell a mom she was going to have a baby unless she was headed to the hospital! ;]

We had a very busy week from the 16th to the 23rd. My Aunt passed away unexpectedly on Thursday the 17th. This was hard for all of us. I just kept telling myself, we can't have the baby now! Well, Addy was patient and waited until Mommy was ready. Tuesday the 22nd, was the funeral. We spent the day with family and our church provided lunch. Everyone kept asking when the baby was due. When I would tell them we were due last Saturday, they would step back a few feet, like I might explode at any moment! We ate lunch, took a walk, then Jake took the kids home. I stayed to help my Nanny and Mom clean up. Around 4:00, we loaded up in the van to take the dishes back to the church. As we were leaving the parking lot, Jake asked if I wanted to go for a drive.... sure, nothing else to do. We drove until 5:30, then Aiden said he was hungry. He suggested Mexican food. We ate, then Jake dropped me off at the funeral home for visitation for another relative. After we were done at visitation, my Mom took me to Tractor Supply, (the boy's favorite hang-out) and left me with them. I told Jake I was really tired and ready for bed. This was around 8:00 p.m. We came home, did our normal routine and went to bed.

At 11:30 that night I woke up feeling a little sick, I blamed it on the Mexican food and went back to bed. At 1:00 a.m., I woke up with a contraction, (I had been having contractions at night for weeks) I looked at the clock and closed my eyes. At 1:05, I had the second contraction, it didn't feel different, but I did. I woke Jake and told him, "I think this is it." He immediately got up and started getting ready. I told him we would time them for a while, then I would call Mom to come and sit with the kids. By the third contraction, I was on the phone, something just told me it was different. When Mom arrived, we were almost dressed, she helped me put on my socks and shoes while Jake gathered up a few more items to take with us. We got in the van and headed out, I didn't even tell the kids "good-bye". I was already in the zone. My back was hurting and I felt like the baby was probably posterior, so I rode in the van facing backwards, leaned over the seat. When we arrived at the hospital it was around 2:00 a.m. The walk to L&D was the longest I have ever made! When we walked in, they wanted to get my weight! I was shocked at this, but I complied. The nurse walked us to our room, I changed into a gown, and she said she would go ahead and check me. I was already dilated to 7 cm, 100% effaced, but the baby was at -2 station. They drew my lab and started my hep lock. I needed antibiotics this time because I was GBS positive. (I was initially very upset about this, but now very thankful!) She called the Doc, I told her we went pretty fast with our last baby, and she looked a little nervous. She hooked me up to the monitor, saying she needed to get an initial strip for 30 minutes. I looked at Jake, and he wanted to tell her "no way," but I told him it was okay. I laid in the bed for just a few minutes then it was completely unbearable. I got on my knees in the bed and was leaning over the back of the bed. The nurse came in because it messed up her strip, but after I stayed in that position for a few minutes, the monitor actually picked up pretty well. I stayed in that position and it helped so much with the pain. We learned how to breathe with our abdomen in class and this worked wonders. I felt completely on top of the pain, it really was not bad. I am not sure what time the doctor arrived, but he was absolutely wonderful! He also felt the baby was posterior and asked if he could pray with us. He said the most precious prayer and and all my anxiety and worry went away.

The antibiotics finished quickly and the nurse unhooked my IV. I asked her to check me because I was feeling more pressure. This was our first natural birth and in the past I have always been told when to push. I was so afraid I wouldn't know what to do. I shouldn't have second guessed myself, but now I know. She said I was about 8-9cm but the baby's head was still high. She unhooked me from the monitor at this point and quickly left the room. She came back with another nurse, I asked if I could get in the tub, nurse 1 said "yes", nurse 2 looked at her like she was crazy and said "I don't think that's a good idea." Then I asked for the shower, no comment from either. Then my water broke, that was the weirdest feeling ever, a release of pressure only to cause more pressure. In class we learned how your water acts as a cushion, so TRUE! The next contraction after my water broke was intense. I think this is when I lost control. Things like "I CAN'T DO THIS!" "THIS WAS A DUMB IDEA!" "YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND!" and "STUPID, STUPID, STUPID IDEA!" came out of my mouth. Jake knew from class that this must be transition, and he just laughed it off, to which I responded, "JAKE ALAN, THIS IS NOT FUNNY!"

I asked them to check me again because I was ready to push. She checked me and said I was at a 9, but I didn't feel like it. I wanted to PUSH! They told me not to, but I couldn't help it, my awesome coach was telling me, "Honey, if you want to push, just do it!" Apparently the nurses were stalling, waiting for the doctor! I pushed anyways, to which the nurses responded, "DON'T!" I reached down and felt the baby's head, but I didn't think it was a head, I thought I had pushed to early and it was my cervix that was swollen. (I know, dumb idea, but they were so adament about not pushing.) The Dr. came in and finally I couldn't hold back any longer. I pushed and nurse 1 said, "This is not a small baby!" I heard someone else comment on her hair, then they told me to get my legs back and push harder. Prior to this point, this is what I was most scared of, pushing! But when it happened it was not bad at all! In fact, I wanted to push and it actually felt good to push. I had read about women who would grunt during pushing, I didn't think I would ever do that. But I did, and it was helpful. Isn't it amazing what your body is made to do? I think I pushed four times, Addalynn Kay was born at 3:37 a.m. About 1.5 hours after arriving at the hospital. Wow! Picture perfect delivery! Jake announced we had an Abigail, but it was more like a question instead of a statement. We were so convinced it was a boy we hadn't put that much thought into a girl name. They put her on my chest just like we had asked. She looked perfect, but she sounded really wet, they took her to the warmer to suction her. Then I realized the doctor was rubbing pretty hard on my abdomen. The birth plan I had worked so hard on was about to change....