I had induction acupuncture done 3 times prior to me going into labor and the final round though it was a doozy it was a gooder! So good that it actually did progress me into the start of the birth story you are about to read below!
On the Sunday I had, had my final acupuncture treatment and by Monday at about 5 pm I was staring to feel contractions. Though this would result in me experiencing false labor, it did direct me toward real labor the following day. False labor lasted for about 12 hours, and we did go to the hospital due to my contractions being so close together (2-3 minutes apart) but then it all just stopped to our disappointment. I was only 1 cm dilated during it all too, so they sent us back home.
When we got home I had one contraction that would come every 20 or so minutes so I just laid down to rest since we didn’t sleep much the previous night. Well that one contraction gained momentum and over the next few hours it began to intensify and got closer together – this time consistent in time and not false labor. When I was 2-3 minutes apart (again) we went to the hospital for the second time and my contractions were becoming so intense I was starting to not think I could handle them. Sitting in a seat of a vehicle with back labor is so incredibly painful – actually sitting in any seat is so painful with back labor period. Also I realized that I am not a quite laborer. I am loud and definitely let the entire hospital know I had arrived. My water had also broke a little on the way there so things were moving along finally, so win! The first words out of my mouth as soon as I was admitted was “please give me an epidural”. Which they so graciously provided me with right away.
Now my original birth plan was to go medication free because I technically had a medication free delivery with my daughter (my epidural wore off fully when I began to push) however non-labor me says a lot of things that pain-feeling me never listens to. We are two different people and I never listen to pain-free me and I didn’t listen to myself in this moment, and I am not even upset about it to be honest.
Once my epidural was working, I was finally able to breathe and calm down however I still wasn’t dilated very much. They tried to give me oxytocin to progress things, however his heart rate would slow down when they did so they held off on it and let my body dilate naturally.
During that time my husband and I had a wonderful time together. We napped, laughed together and just enjoyed the process. The nurse we had was amazing too! So amazing that I cried and hugged her so tightly when her shift ended, and she had to leave. But thankfully the two nurses that followed her were also amazing too!
There were lots of laughs and it was a very positive and happy atmosphere. The only times things got serious was when his heart rate dropped due to the oxytocin and at one point about 6 doctors all came in to monitor us and the odd time I needed to change positions to help get his heart rate better.
I also threw up blood again however this time a doctor actually came to check me out and is pretty sure I have a stomach ulcer which I am now going to be seeing a specialist for. I threw up blood with my daughter too, but no one seemed to care so it was nice to have a possible answer this time. I think since I hadn’t eaten much in the past 48 hours my stomach was empty and the ulcer was more ulcer-y?? I don’t know much about ulcers so I can’t advise yet on why this happened – hence my great terminology!
Oh! I almost forgot – at one point, they had to manually turn him inside of me since he was “sunny side up” and without going into too much detail – holy mother effer was that the opposite of a fun experience!! Even with an epidural… I legit was not prepared for that (mentally or physically) but I now have a new perspective on the matter and may share that in a separate post with a TMI disclaimer!
Finally, at about 1:30 am the following morning (we are on Wednesday now) I made 10 cm and it was time to push! This is when I learnt that I was pushing wrong the entire time when birthing my daughter and now I can’t help but wonder if that’s why I pushed for so long (3 hrs and 45 mins)? Anyways, we were off to the races and I was determined to get this little dude out.
At about 2 am the nurse said she felt like if we kept up with the pace, we would be done by 3 am, but I was having none of that and began to push like my life depended on it. Which worked because 20 mins later he was born! So huge difference in time being our little dude only took 45 mins!
The happiness and euphoria I felt in that moment was so beautiful too! I burst into tears, and it was a moment and feeling I will never forget. Relief I was done, happiness he was here and so much love. And then I cried more knowing I got to experience a different labor and delivery – one that I had hoped to experience too. So yes, so many emotions and so many tears!
Speaking of tears… I tore again this time. Worse? I honestly don’t know since with my daughter I tore upwards and now with my son I tore downwards. I got a 3rd degree tear this time though. Which is you’re not familiar with the degrees – I tore right to my bum hole. Yes ouch indeed! Thankfully these levels of tears are given free physiotherapy to aid in recovery, so I should be able to get my lady parts back to a happy place… eventually! I will probably have lots of more posts and information on this matter in the future!
So there is my birthing story! Round two! 2.0! 12 hours of active labor, 45 minutes of pushing, a third degree tear to my butthole and our little man is earthside! It has been 6 weeks and we are all so in love! I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am that this time went so much more smoother. There was less confusion, more confidence and overall a lot more happier feelings in general!
To date I can so far confidently say that I have mostly been happy too! I did experience the baby blues for a few days and was overly emotional during that time, but no sign of any depression so far! My husband has been home this whole time too so the extra help and sleep has been a huge saving grace!
Also I am fully healed and finally starting to feel like myself once more. Mentally I kept thinking I could do more the past 6 weeks and was constantly reminded physically to calm my tatas, but each day I feel stronger and more like myself again which has been amazing!
So there you have it! Until my next post.
Love & Light
xo
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