Lydia's Birth Day

Also known as the day that Mother Nature knocked me to my knees and humbled me.

On Monday, May 10th, at 39 weeks and 1 day pregnant, I woke up around 5:30 a.m. at the peak of a contraction. I remember thinking to myself that this was different than other contractions I had been having over the previous weeks; that it felt a little more intense. A few minutes later, I had another one so I began timing them just in case this was the real deal. I realized that they were coming every 6 or 7 minutes and woke Mike up to discuss what was happening. By this point, it was around 6:30 a.m. and we decided to send Mike's mom a text to give his parents a heads up that I might be in labor. We still weren't 100% sure that it was go-time, but since they would be coming from out of town, we wanted them to know.

We decided then to get up and move into the living room, make some breakfast, and start listening to my Hypnobabies CD. Within half an hour, I was in a lot of pain, the contractions were coming every 4 or 5 minutes, and I was positive that I was in labor. Mike had made egg and cheese bagels for breakfast and the smell of them was making me sick. Rosey was running around, probably feeding off of our nervous energy, and I asked that she be put upstairs. And, most notably to me, I was becoming irate with the Hypnobabies scripts. Each time I heard the words,"easy, comfortable, beautiful childbirth," I kept thinking that I was in big trouble. That was NOT the experience I was having and it really freaked me out that this was our birth plan. We had practiced everyday. We had done the work. Why was I in so much pain? Why the hell couldn't I pull it together for the big event?

I realized very quickly that I would be left to my own devices. An epidural was already sounding pretty damn good. I remember looking at Mike and saying, "it's time to call the Birth Center but what I really want to do is go straight to the hospital." But, we decided to call over to Women's Birth and Wellness and page the midwife on duty around 7:45. Leigh Ann called us back a few minutes later and Mike told her what was going on. She asked to speak to me, at which time she told me to just keep doing what we were doing and to call them back around lunch time.

LUNCH TIME?

I think this was the moment that our original birth plan officially went flying out the window. I knew that we didn't have that much time. I needed antibiotics for group B Strep and this baby was on her way and fast! Lunch time? I started freaking out.

During the next 45 minutes, things continued to pick up. I started throwing some last minute things into my bag and Mike started packing up the car. The contractions were literally bringing me to my knees and they were coming every 3 or 4 minutes. Mike called the Birth Center back around 8:45 and told them we were on our way for a labor check.

As we planned for our birthing time, I pictured us calmly packing things up, feeling very sentimental about leaving Rosey to go have a baby, calling our in-town friends and family on the car ride and arriving with a huge smile on my face. In reality, we threw things into the car, I was hyperventilating and doubled over on the stairs until I basically ran to the car, I had forgotten that we had a dog or that there was anyone else in the universe, let alone anyone that I needed to CALL at that moment. Labor had come on fast and furiously for me and it was so much stronger than I had given it credit for.

We arrived at the Birth Center around 9 a.m. and I all but crawled into a Birthing Room where Alison checked me for the first time. I was 4 cm dilated so she suggested I take a walk until I was 5 cm and could officially check-in. This was another moment I remember freaking out because there was no way in hell I was going for a walk in my condition. This labor did not need to be expedited. I knew it was moving along just fine by itself, thankyouverymuch. Because there were several empty rooms, Alison let us stay, thank goodness, after I told her that I couldn't possibly move. Debbie had arrived by this point and I was relieved that she was there to support us, but all I wanted was to go to the hospital and get an epidural. It was all I could think about.

At 10 or 10:30, Alison rechecked me and I was a stretchy 5 cm. Yep, things were moving fast! I told her that I definitely wanted to go to the hospital and she tried to talk me into staying at the Birth Center a little longer and suggested I get into the tub. I agreed, she started running the bath water and walked out of the room to get something. Mike looked at me and said, God bless him, “if you want to go, we can just go. You don’t have to get into the tub if you don’t want to.” That was all I needed to hear…

So Mike went to tell Alison that I wanted to go to the hospital immediately. She said that she would have to call over and that we could leave in about 20 or 30 minutes. When he came back into the room with that report I was already mentally at the hospital and I replied, “I am leaving RIGHT NOW and if she can’t come with us, that’s her problem.” I got off the bed and walked out into the reception area. I had to sign some piece of paper before we left (I had no idea what it said and couldn’t have cared less if I was selling my soul at that moment) so I grabbed the clipboard, drew a straight line across the signature line and walked right out the door into the parking lot where I promptly threw up. A lot.

Mike, Deb and I got into one car and headed to the hospital. I was groaning through contractions by this point and was sincerely pissed off that Mike wouldn’t run red lights.

We arrived around 11 a.m. and it took forever to get a wheelchair for some reason. Finally, we got one and Mike wheeled me up to Labor and Delivery. Again, I signed a bunch of papers without a clue of what they said and finally made it into my room. I remember sitting on the bed and thinking it was WAY softer than the bed at the Birth Center.

Because I had thrown up, I was very dehydrated at this point and it took 45 minutes, at least 5 pokes and 2 nurses to get a good IV line in me. Eventually, fluids were started, my antibiotics were going and Anesthesia was paged to come to my room. For someone who didn’t think that they originally wanted any kind of intervention, I sure was begging for them to hurry up.

And FINALLY they arrived and I was hooked up by noonish. The way an epidural works, I learned, is that you are given a dose of medicine into your spine that numbs you fast and lasts about 45 minutes until the epidural begins to fully kick in. I felt great, totally relaxed, remembered everyone else that I had intended to call hours earlier and got on the horn. I was in great spirits, SO happy I was at the hospital. And just for the record, I never even felt the epidural go in. (I’ve had several people ask me if it hurt…)

My people started arriving and I was having a jolly time greeting everyone and starting to celebrate that we were about to meet our baby. For the first time all day, it occurred to me that the BABY was coming. I hadn’t even really thought about that! HOORAY!

Well, that 45 minutes was really, really nice.

Then the original dose of medicine wore off and it became obvious very quickly that the epidural wasn’t working. At All.

Oh shit.

I went from having to breathe through contractions again to thrashing around in the bed screaming obscenities within a twenty minute time span. I was again begging for Anesthesia to come back and HELP ME.

Around this time, Alison checked me to see how far along I was: 8 cm and transitioning. I kept thinking I was going to throw up, which I never really did, and I seriously, truly thought I was going to lose consciousness at any minute. I have never ever experienced anything so powerful in my life.

I had about an hour of complete and utter, IthinkIamgoingtodie pain. My sister, Katherine, saved my life by coaching me through it and Debbie, Kelly and Mike were taking turns fanning me, wiping me down with washcloths, and holding or supporting various body parts.

Then around 2:15 I said, “I think I can push,” which prompted Alison to check me again. I was fully dilated, so she broke my water and I remember Kat looking at me and saying, “you can push now if you want.” Hallelujah! A little control. I held on to the top of the bed with my left hand and to a sheet for pulling with my right hand and I bared down with everything I had. I was ready for it to be over and I knew that getting her out was the only way to stop the pain. Thankfully she wanted to come quickly and we were a good team. She was born after 20 minutes of pushing at 2:43 p.m. and I have never felt joy and relief like I did in the moment that I grabbed her and pulled her up to my chest.

She weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. She came out and had a few soft cries and was a beautiful pink color right from the start.

The next hour or so is a blur that involved delivering the placenta, getting one stitch put in, snuggling the baby and eating a cheeseburger.

Since that moment, things have been crazy wonderful. We are so in love with Lydia and incredibly thankful that she arrived safely.