While I was pregnant my husband, Judd, had suggested I look into having an unmedicated birth. I was never something I had considered before and wasn’t sure how I felt about it but thought “What the heck”. I read a few books and thought, if I can do it cool, if not oh well. Four days before my due date I started to get regular contractions. It was a Wednesday and I was supposed to be working. Contractions were far apart and not painful so I decided to go in and get my last day done. I cleaned out my desk and did some busy work to keep my mind occupied.
I went home like regular at 5:00 and was surprised that I had made it through the day. This labor thing was no big deal. HA! We had some soup for dinner and contractions were still coming, closer to 10 minutes apart now. I called the hospital about 9:00 that night and talked to the nurse. She said unless my water broke or my contractions were closer to 5-7 minutes apart I should stay home, rest, and try to relax. I was tired so I went to bed. I woke up about midnight with a really strong contraction. I woke Judd up and we headed to the hospital. It was about a 30-minute drive so I was getting a little anxious. I did NOT want to have a baby in the car. There really was no reason to worry about that but I still did (all moms do if they have to drive to somewhere.. right?)
We got checked into the hospital about 2:00 am, they checked and I was dilated to about 4cm. The nurse asked if I wanted an epidural and I told her no. We had planned on a non-medicated birth. She looked at me like “uh-huh, sure lady!” She told me we were free to wander the halls or that I could take a bath if I wanted to. She told me walking around would help keep things moving. We walked around in the halls for an hour or two then I took a nice warm bath. It felt SO nice. At about 7:00 am my doctor was making rounds and came to see me. My water hadn’t broken yet so he broke my water. That was probably my biggest regret. My contractions started coming hard and fast. I had a hard time catching my breath. The nurse checked me again about 8:00 and I was dilated to 8cm.
Not long after that I felt like I needed to push. My nurse told me to push through a contraction to see how things looked. I went from 8cm-10cm right away. She called the doctor to head in and helped me breath through a couple REALLY strong contractions. I think waiting for the doctor was the hardest part of this labor. I just wanted to let my body do its thing! The doctor came in about 10 minutes later. After only pushing 4 times my sweet little boy was born! 8lb 8oz of perfection. I don’t think I had ever been happier in my life. I was so grateful for my husband suggesting an un-medicated birth and I was so grateful for an amazing nurse that helped us through. Without those two I’m not sure we would have succeeded in our birth plan.
Right after Lincoln was born I started to hemorrhage. The nurses were bustling around, I got a shot in my leg, and the doctor kept asking for things from the nurses. I started to fade a bit. The doctor got everything taken care of quickly but I sure felt weak. That first day at the hospital was not the greatest. I delivered at 9am but because I had lost so much blood I struggled to get out of bed. I didn’t successfully make it out of bed until 9pm that night. The rest of our hospital stay was pretty typical. Lots of checks from the nurses. Snuggling with my sweet new baby. A few visitors. Finally we went home!
I had some great friends and family help with meals for the first week and it was so very appreciated. I was on a super duper emotional roller coaster. I cried or laughed a lot those first couple weeks. We had some family come visit a few days after we were home. They asked how I was and I just had a breakdown. They were holding the baby and I just wanted him back. They apologized and I felt silly but I felt like something was just missing when my baby wasn’t in my arms. I apologized for having a melt down but they understood. They left us with some dinner and headed home. I started to feel like I had more energy at about two weeks so I thought I’d try going to the grocery store. While I was checking out I realized that I hadn’t made the best decision. I was exhausted! I went home and rested another week before I tried to leave the house again. I enjoyed all the love and support I had from friends and family. I was so happy to be a mother! It was a dream come true.