Labor Day

Back to my story telling. I was due March 11, 2006, but the day passed and nothing. But at about 3:15 am, March 12, I felt what I thought was my water breaking. It wasn't a gush that the movies tend to portray but a trickle, and according to my birth class, it could be just that.

I was sleeping in the other room on the futon because it was where I was most comfortable at that point in my pregnancy so I went in to see Dave. Since I had no other labor symptons, we decided to wait a little while to see what happened.

I couldn't sleep as I anticipated what was to come so I finished reading a breast feeding book I had taken out from the library. At about 5:30 am, I felt my first labor pain. I had been experiencing Braxton Hicks for the last six weeks or so and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between one of those and a 'real' contraction. But as soon as the first one hit, I knew the difference. It wasn't really painful, just uncomfortable. It felt like a cramp that started at the top of my belly and worked its way down. I started timing the contractions and took my temperature so I could report the news to the doctor.

Later that morning we called the doctor. Unfortunately he wasn't on-call so I had to speak to the on-call doctor. She said that if my water had broken that I needed to come in so Dave and I packed up and headed in. Once I settled in, the doctor came and said that even though I was having contractions, my water had not broken and suggested we go home.

We headed home and waited. I puttered around continuing to time my contractions. They were pretty irregular and although uncomfortable not unbearable. The doctor said not to come back until they were 5-7 minutes apart for about two hours so I continued to log them as the day ticked by.

As the day wore on, they became more frequent and more intense but still not regular. It was difficult to sit still at this point so I wandered around the house longing for a little rest.

My mom called at 8 pm and suggested I call the doctor. So I called, but she said that based on what I said I wasn't dialating and that the contractions needed to be more intense in order for me to dialate. More intense, what?!?!?!?!

So I continued to wander around the house every few minutes until the contractions passed. I finally took a shower for awhile, and although it provided some relief, there's only so long you can stand in the shower! It was around midnight at this point and we were both exhausted. Since I couldn't rest easily, we went upstairs to the guest room where we have a small tv and watched reruns. Dave suggested I lie next to him on the bed and squeeze his hand every time I had a contraction. But they were coming so fast that they didn't allow me enough time to get comfortable and rest briefly. Instead I continued to wander around the upstairs, briefly finding a comfortable position on the futon for a quick rest.

I finally called the hospital around 2 am and reached a nurse who worked with my doctor. She suggested I come in so they could check me since, by my report, I'd been in labor for 21 hours. So we headed to the hospital and settled in. The nurse came and reported that I was 8 cm! Dave and I high fived and quickly answered 'yes' when she asked me if I wanted an epidural. It had been close to 24 hours and I had barely sat, let alone rested, for the last 12 hours.

They sent Dave out of the room and the doctor came in to administer the epidural. They instructed me that I had to sit absolutely still while they gave me the needle. I asked how long it would take to start working, and they told me about 5 minutes. So I beared down on the pillow they gave me to hug and made like a statue!

I couldn't believe how quickly and well it worked. After the pain I experienced, I couldn't imagine that I wouldn't feel anything. I can't say I got much sleep, but it was nice to be able to finally lie comfortably in the bed while the contractions continued without notice for a few hours.

My doctor came in around 7 am to check me and I had only dialated about 1 more cm so I still had one more to go. My water broke when they examined me last, and by 11am I was ready to push, finally! Luckily the epidural hadn't completely worn off so although I felt pressure, it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. Of course, that could also be due to the fact that Anna never dropped. She was at -2 six weeks earlier and she was still there. After two hours, she was still at -2 and just wouldn't budge. Dr. Miller came in around 1 pm and said, 'what do you say we get her out of there?!' I quickly agreed.

They prepped me for a c-section while Dave went to call my parents. They rolled me into the operating room and told me I had to help them get me onto the operating table. I was so anxious for all of this to be over, I pushed myself onto the table with little effort. It all happened pretty quickly from this point on. Anna finally arrived at 1:49 pm.

They cleaned her up and brought her over to me, but frankly I was so exhausted at this point that I can't say I had that movie moment I was waiting for! I nodded and smiled with a small tear in my eye as they swept her away to the nursery with Dave following behind. They still had to deliver the after birth and stitch me up.

They brought me to recovery afterwards although I have no memory of this and I slept for awhile. I really have no idea to this day how long I was in there. I just remember shaking a lot and then finally hearing my mom and the nurse talking about knitting or something. When I heard this, I said, 'Have you ever been to the knitting store on Glen Ridge Avenue in Montclair?' From there, they took me to my room. Again they were very impressed with my ability to push myself onto the bed in the room after the long day and a half I had.

The nurses probably thought it was strange that I hadn't asked to see Anna, but I was so happy to not be in labor anymore that I trusted she was in good care and I enjoyed the relaxation of my room and the pampering of the nurses and my mom. Besides, I knew Dave was with her, and I knew they'd bring her to me when they finished all of their tests and routines.

Finally, I met my daughter. She was so beautiful! And I'm not just saying that! It was so amazing to finally see who I'd been taking care of for the last 40 weeks! She had lots of dark hair with a tiny little patch of blond that everyone thought was a bald spot. Everyone agreed she looked a lot like me as an infant.

Admittedly, I definitely felt some diappointment that after such a long labor I wound up having a c-section and a lot of the 'magic' that I had envisioned was probably just that, a dream. But now that it was all over, all that mattered was that she was here, she was healthy and it was over!

So there you have it. Anna Withington was born Monday, March 13, 2006, at 1:49 pm, weighing in at 8 lbs 4 oz, 20.5 inches. Welcome Anna! We love you!