Sunday, March 4th,
2012
4:30 AM
I wasn’t expecting to go into labor at 38 weeks and 6 days
pregnant. I had just finished my clinical hours on Thursday and had my first
prenatal massage on Friday. I figured I had at least a week, if not two, to
finish up some schoolwork and relax before Annabelle made her debut. I woke up to mild cramps around 4:30 in the morning while Kyle was getting ready for
work. I immediately felt uncomfortable lying in bed and knew I wanted to move,
but I wasn’t quite ready to get out of bed yet (I was still planning on going
back to sleep because I never thought this would turn into labor!). I got on my hands and knees in bed and leaned
over a tower of Kyle’s pillows, breathing through the contractions. They were
happening about every 3-5 minutes and felt
little different than my usual Braxton Hicks, but I figured they would
go away. Kyle came out of the bathroom and asked what I was doing in that odd
position. I told him I was having contractions, but waved him off to work
anyway (we wanted to save his days off for when labor started, ha!). He left a
little after 5:00am and I finally gave up on falling back asleep, thinking I’d
catch a nap when the contractions stopped.
6:30 AM
These contractions were feeling different than my Braxton
Hicks; they weren’t painful but were uncomfortable enough that I decided to get
in the shower to relieve some of the pressure in my back. They picked up in
intensity and came every 3 minutes while I was in the shower. I was starting to
get excited thinking that maybe this
was it, but also nervous. When would be the right time to call Kyle and have
him come home from work? Would Bethany still be able to come after being in
clinical all night? When should I call my mom so she had to come from Florida?
I started feeling anxious and really wanted to go for a walk outside to clear
my head and see what the contractions would do.
7:00 AM
I got dressed and walked outside only to realize that it was
raining! I was stuck inside my dark, quiet, house with nobody around. I decided
to call Bethany to get a second opinion. I wasn’t even sure if this was labor,
but if it wasn’t I didn’t know how I was going to handle doing this for the
next two weeks! As soon as Bethany picked up the phone she asked “Are you in
labor???” She knew I wouldn’t be up so early otherwise! I told her I didn’t
know and she let me whine about how lonely and nervous I was. We decided that
she would come over and check my cervix if this was still happening when she
got home from her clinical site, which was four hours away. I hung up feeling
tearful and wishing it were 11 already! I drank a huge glass of water and decided
to get in the bath and try to relax. After an hour in the tub, I was cold and
still contracting. I moved to the shower and starting moaning through some
contractions, but more out of nerves than pain. I spent the next four hours changing
between the shower, tub, and pacing my hallway. At one point I decided to
listen to my Hypnobabies “Easy First Stage” track. About 45 seconds in a contraction
hit. I threw the earbuds across the room and yelled “Screw you, hypnob*tch!”
Not one of my finer moments, but definitely a sign of things to come.
11:30 AM
Contractions had been steadily 3-5 minutes apart for 7 hours
now, but were not getting stronger. They were just uncomfortable enough that
sitting or lying down through them was quite unpleasant, not making sleep a
viable option. Bethany came straight to
our house and hung out and chatted with me. I felt so much better just having
someone else to distract me! I sat on an exercise ball and bounced between
contractions, but I HAD to stand when one started! I would get up from the
table and either sway, squat, or lean on the counter. Anything to get the
pressure off my back and hips! Some contractions were strong and some very
mild, but they were no longer in a pattern. I figured that meant that things
were slowing down, so we decided not to check my cervix. It was fingertip and
barely 50% effaced at my prenatal visit the week before, and we figured it
wouldn’t be much different now. I could tell Annabelle hadn’t dropped, either.
At one point I called Kyle to tell him that Bethany was here but we didn’t
think this was it yet. He said “It? What? Like labor?” as though he had
forgotten that that was going to happen in the near future! We decided it would
be best to keep him at work and not waste his time off.
2:30 PM
Kyle got home from work and Bethany left to catch a nap in
case things picked up again. We milled around the house trying to relax and see
what would happen. We watched TV for a couple hours with me sitting on the ball
and pacing through contractions. I started feeling antsy and really wanted to
get out of the house. I figured a walk around the block would tell me what I
needed to know.
4:00 PM
We went for a walk down the street behind our complex. A
grandmother pushing a stroller with triplets(!) passed us with a knowing smile,
because every few feet I would have to stop and “slow dance” with Kyle through
the contractions. We walked for about 15 minutes before I started moaning
through the contractions again. This time it was because they were starting to
hurt! We decided to turn around and head home to make sure everything was ready
to go to the birth center when it was time. I gave Bethany a heads up that things
were looking and feeling like labor.
5:00 PM
I’d already been awake and contracting for over 12 hours,
and while it hadn’t been too painful up this point, it was physically and
mentally tiring. Maybe it was the walk or maybe it was just time, but the
contractions switched gears from very bearable latent labor to OMG MY HIPS ARE
RIPPING IN HALF active labor very suddenly. I really wanted to go to the birth
center, but I knew it wasn’t time. I told myself what I would tell a patient-
wait until the contractions are regular AND painful for at least two hours
before calling. So I told Kyle I would hold out until 7pm. If they were still
this painful and regular then, we’d call Leigh. In the mean time, I decided to
try the bath tub again. Kyle filled it for me while I continued to pace and
moan.
6:00 PM
After an hour HOWLING in the bath tub with
intense back and hip pain, I gave in. Kyle was trying to give me counter
pressure, but t wasn’t helping. I knew I wasn’t going to be very dilated, but
all I could think about was getting sterile water injections to alleviate some
of the back pain. Kyle reminded me that I had wanted to wait two hours, and
that I should be breathing through the contractions instead of yelling. I
kindly demanded that he call Leigh and reminded him that yelling did, in fact,
require breathing. Leigh called back and I made Kyle answer the phone, because
I didn’t want to howl at her. He started answering her questions but as soon as
she heard me have a contraction, she told him to just pack up and bring me in.
I knew she thought by my noises that I was 7-8cm, but I felt like I was probably
only 2-3. Kyle began loading up the car while I continued to pace and howl with
increasing anxiety. I wasn’t sure 1) how I could possibly sit in the car for 25
minutes and 2) how I could get through God-only-knows how many more hours of
this.Part II | Part III
No comments:
Post a Comment