Lily225: Allison's Birth Story

Posted Wednesday, June 11, 2008 5:19 PM

"Both my husband and I are in love with Allison, and thankfully, her birth has only brought Andrew and I closer together..."

Right on schedule... 

Allison Marie decided to show up on her due date -- Saturday, August 5, 2006! I woke up very early Saturday morning with cramping on and off in the midst of sleep, but I didn't think anything of them. Then my contractions started at about 4:30 a.m. I laid in bed for awhile before getting up to walk around. I eventually got in the shower and that felt awesome. Andrew came out in at that time and asked if I was okay and I said I thought I was having contractions. He said, "Really?"

I called the doctor at about 8 a.m. when they were about five or six minutes apart, but not that strong. She said to call back when they were a little closer together and a little stronger. No sooner did I hang up the phone that they started coming every two minutes! We started to get stuff packed up and went for a short walk. I did not want to be at the hospital longer than I needed to be and knew that I would rather walk around outside than in the hospital. While on our walk, Andrew's brother actually called to see what we were up to. I yelled at Andrew, thinking he had called him earlier and I was upset, because I didn't want to call people until we were actually checked into the hospital and staying for good!

Heading to the hospital

We only made it about a block and back on our walk because Andrew was getting nervous that we would have the baby in the living room, since my contractions were still two minutes apart. We got back and I called at about 9 a.m.; they said to come on in! We checked in at about 9:30 and got settled in and hooked up to everything. I was checked and was about 4 cm, which was up from my 3 cm that Tuesday. They hooked me up to fluids for about an hour, in hopes of spreading my contractions out. They said dehydration can cause contractions to speed up. The fluids didn't slow them down so they let me out of bed. I walked the halls, rocked in a rocking chair, and even made a few phone calls right away.

At about 1:30, the doctor on call came to check me (almost 5 cm) and broke my water -- this made everything feel about five times worse instantly. After that, things were pretty hard. The contractions were still every two minutes apart and before I was even 7 cm dilated I wanted to push. I tried different positions to help relieve the pressure -- I used a birthing ball, straddled a chair, and even got into the bath tub; but at that point it was pretty much just going to hurt no matter what. I also tried taking a bath, anxious that the warm water would relieve some pain, but the water wasn't warm enough or deep enough and I only got more uncomfortable in the small tub.

Skipping the epidural

I think it was about 2:30 or 3 p.m. when I said I wanted out of the tub (a lot of pain had set in), and took the nurse up on her offer of some drugs through my IV. I was given Nubane, which did absolutely nothing! The nurse said it was because most of what I was feeling was the pressure of the baby, since she was so low down (at almost +2 station), and that nothing would really take the pain away. So I finished without trying any more drugs -- I went into labor knowing I wanted to try to make it without an epidural. The thought of having to sit through several contractions without moving while they inserted the epidural seemed worse than just finishing without one -- so that's what I did!

My DH was so amazing the last two hours of labor. I was in so much pain, and had wanted to push so badly for awhile, but he kept me breathing (so I wouldn't hyperventilate) and focused. I would never have been able to go "drug free" had he not been such a great coach.

Mastering the push! 

Around 4 p.m. I was really feeling some intense pressure, and another doctor came in to check me. He was a different doctor than the first (the first had went to the other hospital campus for a delivery and couldn't make it back in time). After checking me, he told me I was 9 cm with a little lip still. This was the really bad part: during contractions he would try to push the lip aside, with me not pushing. It was so incredibly painful that I was literally trying to push his hand away because it hurt so bad. Finally at 4:30 p.m. he told me it was gone and that I could push. It felt so good to finally be able to do that! My contractions were still two minutes apart and I only ended up pushing for 20 minutes. The first couple of pushes I was consciously trying to push out from my crotch, but soon discovered that this does nothing. You really have to push like you are going to the bathroom!

The doctor did have have to cut me, since things were moving so fast and he wanted to avoid a treat. Then finally, at 4:50 p.m., Allison made her grand entrance! My entire labor was only about 12 hours from start to finish, which was much shorter than I expected. She scored nines on her Apgar's and has done excellent ever since! She has been sleeping great through the night (with only one or two nursings), so that's been nice.

Breastfeeding baby 

Nursing has had its ups and downs, though. For a few days she decided that she liked the right side better than the left, so when it came time for that left boob, it was all very difficult. One night I ended up pumping a bottle for her after she violently screamed for about 30 minutes. I felt like if I gave her a bottle, it would sabotage any future attempts to breastfeed. I sobbed the whole time I was pumping, and giving her a bottle (which she gulped down). That ended up being the only bottle we had to give her as we "figured out" the left boob strike issue. It has definitely gotten a lot better since then, and there are no other problems. I absolutely love nursing her -- it really is a great bonding experience. Both my husband and I are in love with Allison, and thankfully, her birth has only brought Andrew and I closer together.

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