Birth and Delivery (Part III)

Okay, so I'm obviously a horrible, horrible blogger. On the plus side, I haven't failed as a parent (yet).

So where was I...Oh, yeah.

From the beginning and even after I got the the hospital, I was 'planning' on a natural birth. Not because I actually thought it was better or a greater experience, but because when it came to weighing my fear of needles against an unknown amount of pain. Needles lose. (Please note that just because I was 'planning' a natural birth meant in no way that I believed I would make it through with one. I figured one of two things would happen. A) I'd be so far along I'd have no choice but to go about it naturally. B) I'd give in to the epidural.)

Anyhow, I made it for quite some time (9cm, not that you care, but maybe) until the red patterns I initially waded through (I drew swirls in my mind or went through Kung Fu forms.) became a giant mass of red that swallowed me whole. I think the last straw for Fielding was when I climbed on the bed and he thought I was going to fall off. It was at that point in time that he broached me getting the epidural. And since I really wasn't inclined to giving birth naturally and the reality of the pain for now front and center, what was a little (big) needle in the long run?

The anesthesiologist came in and yes, spewed all of the legal/medical ramifications he was required to and asked me to sign the medical waiver. WHAT!?! That is really something I figured only happened in movies, but apparently it happens in real life too. Well...what do you know another contraction so I couldn't sign. I couldn't even imagine what my signature would look like on that piece of paper. So through the contraction I gave him (the doctor) permission to have Fielding sign for the epidural. From there (and let's face it from the beginning), the doctor was extremely efficient and got right to work.

He asked me to move to the edge of the bed. Which is tricky when you're big and round and twice as tricky when you are in the midst of labor. So He took matters into his own hands, figuratively and literally. He told me he was going to give me a giant hug and that is was okay because my husband was there. (I remember that because it made me laugh and still does.) He pulled me to the edge of the bed, cleaned my back, stuck a sticky strip on my back, and stuck the needle in. I'm sure that if I'd actually seen any of it it would have freaked the bejeebbers out of me, but I didn't so it was all good. Some people say it's blissful, but it was honestly one of the oddest sensations of my life. It wasn't that it was horrible, but it was just so unexplainably bizarre as to feel unpleasant. Bam! Done. I don't think I was yet in a place to actually pay any attention to what he was saying when he left.

In came the L&D nurse to check my progress and go over how the epidural works. A) The nurse was not very courteous in my opinion and it hurt when she checked me. I just wanted her to leave the room. I did learn one really interesting fact though when she went over how an epidural works. It's gravity based. That means if your right side hurts you should roll more to your right. If it is numb to far up sit up more. Does that make sense? Because of that knowledge, I knew how to move to get the most out of the epidural.

She came in about five or ten minutes later to check me again (since she'd hurt me the first time). 9cm and she said she'd call the doc for me to start pushing. I don't know how much time went by until my doc stopped in to check on my progress. (Time really has no relevance in the delivery room. I don't know that your mind would even know how to pay attention to it.) He had me push some and then left to check on other patients. I continued to push with the L&D nurse and Fielding. Deep breath, focus, push 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. This happened with every contraction (that you can't feel). You figure out a way to tell when you're having one. For me, I figured out that I could tell when my stomach was 'flexing' (contracting). I did that was a few times and she paged the doctor again. It was either during this time or when my doc was there that my thigh started to cramp up. So I lifted my leg to stretch it out and almost kicked Fielding in the head. (He was standing near my head. I remember the doc/nurse were pretty impressed that I could do that with the epidural.

The doc broke down the bed. Yes the lower part you'd been laying on comes completely off so they can efficiently deliver the baby and deal with all of the rest.

After that I gave birth. Okay, so it was more dramatic than that, but far less than what I would have expected. Not emotionally, but mostly different than what I had expected from everything I'd read.

THIS IS WHERE IT GETS DETAILED SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW STOP!

I read that even with an epidural you'd feel 'pressure' when the baby was crowning. Nope. Instead it was more like you could feel there was something there. ie if you held an egg in your hand. It's not pushing against you and you're not pushing against it. You can just feel it there. And you can definitely (or at least I could) feel when the doctor is assisting in creating space for the baby to get through. (Again not pain, just sensation.) I pushed a couple more time (or at least that's how I remember it) and she slid right out. I have no idea how all of that worked, but she cried for the first time and it just hits you. You just brought a child into the world. (I think I started to shake again after that, like after my water broke.)

The nurses then usher the spouse over to the baby so they don't have to see all of the cleanup. You pass the placenta which is just oozy and stitch you up if necessary. I mean let's face it. That part in and of itself probably made it worth it to have the epidural. I remember my doc taking care of everything and Fielding calling out that she was actually a cute baby. Not at all weird like some babies. (Again, I'm sure the nurses thought we were an odd couple.)

And since it's now been 4.5 months since I gave birth to her, I can't quite remember how the rest of it went. She stayed with me for a while and then went to the nursery while I rested and they got a room ready. I remember the nurse coming in with a wheelchair into the room and asking me if I would be okay getting into the chair or if I needed help. I told her I could walk to the room which surprised her.

From there it was all just history or more posts for the future. I mean it's not like she's really going anywhere and I'm sure there will certainly be more stories to tell.