The Birth Story

I'm a mama now :)

Here's how it all went down:

On Wednesday, Louis spent the morning showing houses to his new clients.  They came back to our house at lunchtime with food from Los Pericos and plans to talk about the houses over lunch.  Louis picked up a bean and cheese burrito for me and I joined the group for lunch in our dining room.  After we finished eating, Louis and the clients headed back out to see a few more houses.  I stayed at the dining room table to post the blog entry about my froggy pants.  I finished the blog post, turned off the computer, stood up from the table, and felt a pop then a gush then a release of pressure.  My water broke!

For about a minute or so, I was so stunned I didn't know what to do.  I made it to the bathroom and called my midwife just to let her know.  Once I had cleaned myself up (amazingly, it all stayed in my pants) and made it out to the living room, the contractions started.  I still felt them as the strong cramps I had been having but they began immediately coming five minutes apart.  Still feeling a little stunned and caught off guard, I also started to feel really alone and a bit vulnerable.  I debated whether to call Louis back or try to get through the best I could so he could finish working.  For a moment I was super annoyed at the fact that he was supposed to have been off work and home with me.  I needed him.

Feeling the contractions pretty strongly, I called my mom who was in a conference but fortunately answered her phone.  I asked if she could come over while I figured out whether to call Louis and she said she was on her way.  I finally broke down and called Louis, who said he was coming home right away.  He was only a few blocks away and it took him maybe ten minutes to get here, but it felt like forever.  When he finally came home, I was on my hands and knees over the birth ball, trying not to freak out.  The contractions were super strong from the very beginning and it took me some time to learn how to cope.  Mostly I was still a bit freaked out that it was actually happening.  Louis helped calm me down and I was so grateful for his presence.  I knew there was no way I was gonna be able to get through labor without him.

A few minutes later, my mom arrived and I had calmed down enough that I was able to talk normally between contractions.  As we chatted, I think I mentioned that the house didn't feel right because it wasn't clean and I remember my mom going into action to clean up.  I'm not sure what all she did during that time, but after just about an hour or so, the house felt so much better.  I stayed on my hands and knees or rolled over the birth ball since I was feeling the contractions in my back.  Soon, I started heaving and threw up my burrito, which I think I swore I would never eat again.

The next bit is a blur to me.  At some point, Louis and the midwife spoke and she said she wanted to come.  Even though it was rush hour traffic from San Francisco, she arrived pretty quickly.  I remember Mom being here for awhile and all of us talking in between contractions.  There was more vomiting and at some point Mom left us to do our thing, saying she could be back whenever we wanted.

I wish I could still remember all the details.  I think for the next several hours I just tried a bunch of positions and labored all over the house.  Louis finished filling up the birth tub and I remember it felt heavenly once I got in.  The birth tub was awesome.  Mostly, the midwife stayed in the background while Louis and I did our thing.  He was right there with every contraction, helping me breathe and stay focused.  I can't remember what I said versus what I just thought, but I know I was so grateful I was at home.  Louis kept telling me how great I was doing.  He kept me encouraged the entire time.

It took me a long time to agree to be checked, since I was so convinced that it was still really early and I could not stand the idea of being checked only to find out that nothing much was happening.  I remember telling Louis I was done, I wanted to quit, and I wanted an epidural.  I started to convince myself that it wouldn't be such a bad thing, that women did it everyday.  I started slightly obsessing about what it would feel like to have relief from the pain.  I had this whole conversation in my head with two voices saying, "you know you want it" and "you can do this on your own."  This was when things started getting really, really hard.  The baby was still posterior and I was totally feeling it in my back.  The TENS unit was cranked up to the max, Louis was pressing on my back, and I was on my hands and knees, and STILL I couldn't get any relief.  I reached my first major "no puedo" moment.

Soon after, the midwife checked me and found that I was 5-6 centimeters.  I didn't believe her.  I thought I was still at the beginning and that I wouldn't be strong enough to get through.  I was relieved after being checked, because it meant that I could start to have hope again.  I remember praying to God for the strength to make it through.

To be continued...