From 3am until 7am, they kept increasing my dosage of Pitocin. My contractions were pretty consistently 2 minutes apart, but after a while they would space out and the Pitocin would be increased. The strength of the contractions increased as well, but they were very tolerable. At 7am I was still 7cm. I walked the halls, and my contractions got pretty strong. Throughout the morning, my pitocin was increased by small amounts until I was at 18ml/hr.
The question as to why I was able to walk around at 7cm dilated (I carried my bags into L&D this morning, and no doubt could have gone on my merry way instead of going to the hospital right then) were answered by my cervix. Usually, the cervix moves from a posterior position to an anterior position as it thins and opens. Mine did not. It stayed posterior all the way up to 7cm. Olive's head was anterior, pushing down on the part of the uterus in front of the cervix. As I contracted, Olive's head didn't push down on the cervix. If it had, I would have dilated quickly and went into active labor. Instead, I continued this slow progression, with a baby held in by a small area of tissue. We knew that as soon as that cervix moved to an anterior position, the game would be on.
The nurse was in the room with me through some contractions, and kept reporting back to the midwife that they were still tolerable. Obviously, I wasn't getting close yet. However, she came back into the room, talked to me through one contraction and then when the next one came it was completely different. It instantly went from manageable to intolerable... I was in transition for sure.
Thankfully, Toni (my midwife) felt that there was no reason to check me. She and her student midwife sat in the room with me and the two helped me through each contraction. Julie (the midwife in training), pushed on my low back during each contraction, which did an amazing job of taking the edge off during the first 20 minutes or so of transition. The intensity increased, and I moved from sitting on the birthing ball (where Julie was pushing on my back) to the bed. I meant to turn around backwards and hang over the back of the bed, but I only made it to a sitting position. I was having all of the typical transition reactions. The pain was so bad, I kept saying that I couldn't do it... and I was feeling very panicky. I second guessed my decision to avoid the epidural... I was in so much pain I was sure I wouldn't be able to do it. It's funny, I know all of these things mean that everything is progressing... I know all of my reactions were completely typical and I know that transition is the shortest stage of labor... but when you are in it, you cannot see past the fact that the pain is more than you can bear.
After about 45 minutes of transition, I started feeling the urge to push. Julie checked me and I was 9.5cm. I could push whenever I felt ready. Over the next couple contractions, the urge became strong. At noon, I started out pushing on my side. As Olive moved, she hit my sciatic nerve, which I have problems with anyways. The pain was so excruciating that instead of resting in between pushes, I was crying out about my legs, hips and low back. The back pain was so much worse than the contractions and pushing that it felt as if the "rest" was the pushing itself. After a while on my side, I moved to my back. I could feel her moving down... but she was still on my nerve the entire time. I was one of those women that you can hear screaming down the halls. It was the most intense things I have ever gone through in my life.
After pushing for an hour and thirteen minutes (and busting about a billion capillaries in my face in the process), she was ready to be born, still safe and secure inside her sac of fluid. Once her head was being delivered, Toni popped the sac. Actually, there was no "popping" the sac. Instead, it took two different tries with different instruments. They said it was tougher than a ziploc bag! The sac was broken a minute or less before her full birth. It felt like she came out as the water did. I think the fact that she was able to go through childbirth in her amniotic sac, called "baby in caul", is awesome. Most cultures celebrate babies born this was and revere them as special, destined for greatness, and good luck. Olive is what they call a "caulbearer". It occurs in less than 1 in 1000 births.
Olive was lifted up and started crying a loud, healthy cry. They put her squirmy wet little body immediately onto my chest, where she stayed for the next few minutes. I was not rushed and was able to talk to her and calm her cries, umbilical cord still attached. As rough as it was and as immensely painful as it was, I am very thankful for such a natural experience. Would I do it again? Probably not! But, I am thankful and proud that I did. The nurses cleaned Olive a bit in the room and weighed her at 6lbs 7oz. As they took her from me, she let out a loud cry. I told Toni that she was cursing that amnio and its results! She was definitely no preemie!
After I was all stitched up (I tore a little bit, but not too badly. I will not go into the stitching, but the fact that I had no epidural meant that this was much more of a big deal than I imagined. I had teeth marks in my arms for over 24 hours after having this done, from where I bit myself to get through the pain.), Olive came back to me and nursed. I didn't expect anything, but she knew what to do. Much to my surprise, Olive did not have to wait any time at all for my milk to come in. Because I just weaned Ivey four months prior, I was already primed and ready to go. Olive needs to thank her sister for being able to have as much as she wanted right from the start!
Asa, Addison and Ivey came to meet their new sister a few hours later. The boys were amazed, Asa was particularly enamored, and Ivey was fascinated over the tiny creature. Asa held her for a while and Ivey touched her very gently with a big smile on her face. Of course, after a few minutes Ivey decided hiding in the closet and playing peek-a-boo behind the curtain was much more fun!
Due to my great milk supply (thanks again, Ivey!), Olive has been able to nurse very well from the start. She is able to fill up her tummy to the point that she can sleep contently. Last night, our first night together, I had to actually wake her up after 4 hours and then after 5 hours. I enjoyed the unexpected sleep! I am not expecting that to be the norm, but I will take it when I can get it. I love the fact that Olive nurses well and has a great alert-eat-sleep-repeat pattern.
Olive looks like Addison did when he was a baby. They both have Jeff's mouth and a very round head, and the same nose. The resemblance is so strong, that everyone has been talking about it a lot. We didn't realize until today how this is bothering Asa. He seemed down in the dumps since last night. Jeff went home and picked up Asa and Addison to take them to a movie and was able to get to the bottom of his glum mood. I think with a little TLC and a whole lot of Asa, Olive, mommy time together, he will feel a lot better. When they came to visit me today, Asa couldn't keep his hands off of her sleeping little body. He lifted up her hands and moved her hat to stroke her hair... he is such a sweetie when it comes to itty bitty babies. Addison isn't as interested in the tiny babies, but shines with older babies. Ivey will need Mr. Addison's unwavering affection, and Olive will need her big brother Asa's protective and nurturing nature.
Today, I rest with my new bundle. Tomorrow, we go home. I'd better rest up all I can. Tomorrow, I get a glimpse into my new life as a mommy of four!
1 comment:
What a great story, Holly! She is beautiful! I hope you will enjoy every second as a mommy of four...I know you will!
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