Thursday, October 11, 2012

a birth story, part 3

To read part 1 and part 2 go here and here.


Alright so after 4 hours in the hospital and 6 hours since my water broke,
I couldn't breathe.  The contractions themselves were painful (VERY),
but what was scaring me was my inability to catch my breath between them.  
I felt like I was transitioning between contraction pain and asthma-like attacks.
My poor hubby didn't know what to do.  
He told me later it was one of the worst things having to see me in so much pain.  
Well, it wasn't very fun from my standpoint either.


So after 6 hours of no medication and not feeling like I was breathing properly,
I caved.
I asked for an epidural.  
I initially wanted a natural birth, but if my labor was going to be this long (remember I was still just at a 4), and my contractions were going to be this close together (1 min long at 1.5 mins apart), I knew I wasn't going to be able to do it.
I was bawling at some points.
And obviously that wasn't helping my ability to breathe any better.  

Anesthesiology came and got me all hooked up to the epidural. 
It unfortunately took 25 minutes for it to take effect, and being confined to the bed during that time was pretty rough.
After about 15 minutes, the pain started easing on my right side, but the pain was just as intense as ever on my left side.
The technicians came back in and did some tweaking, and within 25 minutes I was feeling relief.
Sweet, SWEET relief.
I could breathe again at last.  It was seriously wonderful.
About an hour and a half after getting the epidural, the midwife checked my progress again.
I was at a 6!  Yes, I still had a ways to go, but progress was progress at that point.

The rest of labor wasn't too eventful.
I spiked a 101.1 fever during labor and so the nurse and midwife (both of who I LOVED by the way)
kept a close eye on me, monitoring me and pumping antibiotics in me to make sure the fever didn't affect baby's heart rate.
After a couple more hours (maybe 2? It's hard to remember), I was at 8cm.
Getting closer, getting closer!!

And finally, by 12:50am, Sunday the 23rd I was dilated to a 10 and ready to push.
I pushed for 2 hours.
For the last half hour, the epidural wore off on my left side again and so I could feel the contractions as they built up and peaked each time.
It was such a wonderful support having my hubby, the midwife, and my labor nurse there.
They made the whole labor experience so much better for me.

I was offered a mirror, to see what what going on, but as excited as I was to meet my little guy, I decided I would much rather just wait til he was fully out.
At one point I did reach down and feel his head though.
And honestly, it was the craziest feeling ever.
I think I actually exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, there's a baby coming out of me!!"
And despite our fears, hubby didn't even come close to fainting.

And finally, 15 hours after my water had broke, at 2:53am, September 23rd, little Oliver Kaimana was born.
He was placed on my chest and I was immediately overcome with love.
After months of waiting and wondering, this beautiful little baby was here and I was holding him.
I was so overcome with love for this tiny little person.
He was all balled up on my bare skin, and he was the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen.
I looked at my hubby and saw tears in his eyes too.
This was the first time I'd ever seen my husband cry.  It only made me cry more.


Our baby was finally here.
He was so new and fresh.
He was absolutely perfect.
He weighed in at 8lb 3oz and measured 20.5 inches long.
He had a head full of dark hair and these beautiful big, bright eyes.

I always imagined birth as being such a surreal experience.
And in a way it was, but it was also the most real thing I've ever had happen.
I was holding my baby boy and though hubby and I were both exhausted, and our little guy was nameless at this point, it didn't matter.  We were parents now.
Just like that, my and hubby's love for each other grew exponentially,
and the love and amazement we had for our little wonder was permanently formed.


And now, two and a half weeks later, the three of us are still so incredibly in love.


2 comments:

BenjaminRachel said... Best Blogger Tips

He is perfect. So handsome.
This post is beautiful, it gave me goosebumps!

Leah said... Best Blogger Tips

I just read all the parts to your birth story - wow, what memories! Congratulations to you three! :)