MissLMS: Kennedy's Birth Story
Posted
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 5:04 PM
"I wanted to go natural, ideally. But, I also was okay going unmedicated for as long as I could, and then deciding for myself..."
The beginning
It was a Monday when I went for my weekly checkup and was already 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. At that point my OB said that it could happen any day. The next day, I started having contractions and went back in to the doctor, but I was still 3 cm.
Then on Wednesday morning, I woke up and noticed I was still having contractions, so I started timing them. (Btw, there is a contraction master application on the iPhone that I used to time the contractions on Wednesday and I don't think I would have realized how much in labor I was without it! I highly recommend it!)
I went to work on Wednesday morning but noticed that the contractions were between 5 and 15 minutes apart and getting more regular, so at lunch I told my boss I was going home. I then cleaned up the house, did the laundry and took my dog on a two-mile walk! (I wanted to progress as fast as possible.)
Getting ready for delivery
By the time DH got home from work the contractions were getting more painful and were 3.5 to 5 minutes apart. I ate dinner, took a shower and did my hair before we left. This later proved to be one of the best decisions I made. (I know it sounds vain, but I'm so glad my hair looked nice in the photos after the birth!)
We got to the hospital at 7:30 p.m. and by that point I was 6 cm dilated. I labored unmedicated until 2 a.m. on a birthing ball, visiting with family and friends, and even while posting on The Bump! (My mom has a picture of me on the laptop while on the birthing ball!) But by 2 a.m. the doctor told me he needed to break my water. At this point the contractions were nearing my threshold of pain. I was 8 cm dilated and knew that this was pretty much the "do or die" moment as far as an epidural was concerned.
Time for baby!
I wanted to go natural, ideally. But, I also was okay going unmedicated for as long as I could, and then deciding to get an epidural, which is what I ended up doing. And I'm so glad that I did; I'm also glad that I felt like I was "in control" of the situation -- even though I know nobody really is and that the decision about the epidural and delaying breaking the water and all that was left up to me. My doctor was super laid back the entire time.
After the epidural they broke my water and I hit 10 cm at 5:15 a.m. I pushed for 30 minutes and Kennedy was born! It was 5:43 a.m. and she came in weighing 7 lbs, 14 oz and was 22 inches long.The actual birth/labor was not nearly as bad or painful as I thought it would be and I'm so happy it happened the way it happened.
> Read more about MissLMS!> Want to share your birth story? Email it to kstanford@theknot.com.