My Birthing Story

Friday, March 29
I woke up like every other day thinking, "Today is THE day!" and tried to convince myself that I was already in the early stages of labor - basically so that I wouldn't have to go to work. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job more than anything, but when you're 9 months pregnant, huge, swollen, uncomfortable, gassy, and fighting heartburn at every stinkin' breath, there's not much you really feel like doing except birthing a baby.

But today was different. Instead of thinking that my water might have broken or that the contractions that I'd been feeling were getting more intense, it really did happen! Now, I didn't realize this at the time, but my water did indeed break. Well, there was a slow leak. I announced to my dear husband who was still laying in the bed. His response? "No, it didn't. Get ready for school."

Well, so I did. And in the process, I'm still really thinking that my water had broken. And I was so nervous. This was totally different than the other times that I wanted to be in labor - I began to panic a little because I really thought I was going into labor! I ended up breaking one of my glass makeup containers and one of the shards of glass got wedged into my hand. I was a mess!

But alas, the day continued and the trickle that I had felt dissipated and I was again left with a feeling of disappointment. Ugh. I was still prego. Went home, ate dinner, watched TV, went to bed. No more trickle, no more labor signs.

Saturday, March 30, 2013
So I decided that I would wallow around and feel sorry for my poor, miserable, babyless self all day the next day. And that's exactly what I did. I laid in bed and slept until 5:15 Saturday night. It was heaven and I don't feel a bit guilty about it at all.

And it's a good thing I got my rest. At 11:15, I was once again laying in bed when that same trickle feeling was back. But this time, it wasn't a trickle. It was a gush. I was wearing Glenn's boxers and the inside of them were soaked. However, I didn't get my hopes up. I told Glenn and he called the doctor for me. I figured they would tell me to go back to sleep and wait until contractions started, so I drew myself a nice bath. Annnnd, I was wrong. "Come on in," they said! Dang. I really wanted a bath!!

So here we go. I was half-way packed for the hospital, but I still needed a few things. I gathered some silly things, thinking the entire time that we'd be back home before the night was over. Wrong-o! We got to the hospital and midnight, maybe a little after and they got us all settled in and before I knew it, they were checking to make sure my water had indeed broken. You can imagine my horror when they told me that it HADN'T!! What?! But, another check a half an hour later finally confirmed it and it was official: we were in labor.

Now, the whole time I was pregnant, I was really pushing for a natural birth. I read some books, attended a few birthing classes and tried to prepare myself the best way that I could. But to be honest, the whole breathing and imagining my vagina was a flower ready to spill its contents was a bit ridiculous. Still, I was optimistic.

Until I reached 4cm. That was it. I couldn't do it. I admire the women that can, but it wasn't for me. I wanted to be comfortable and actually enjoy the best day of my life. So, I put my big girl panties on and got the epidural. I was so scared that it would make me feel weird or out of control or just "not right", but it was fine. I felt no pain, just pressure and awareness and we got the job done. I was in labor for 12 hours. Miss Olivia was welcomed into the world at 12:41pm on Easter Sunday. It was truly the best experience of my entire life and I will never, ever forget it. And I have zero regrets.

 

Pre-epidural. It hurt to smile! And look how big my belly was!

Post-epidural. Now we're talkin'!

My first word of mommy advice is to listen to your body. Don't make a birth plan. Go with whatever happens. If you want to have a natural birth, try it! Everyone is different and just because some women {like me} can't handle the pain, it doesn't mean you can't. And you can always opt for the meds. That's the beauty of modern medicine.

Welcome to the world, Olivia Reese! It's going to be an awesome adventure!