I went to sleep Thursday night feeling really restless. I had a bit of cramping and uncomfortableness but ended up finally falling asleep around 3am. My husband got up to leave for work around 6 am, shortly after he left I decided I get up to use the washroom. As I was crawling back to bed I felt a little trickle of fluid down my leg, thinking maybe I just didn’t sit long enough on the toilet I went back to the bathroom to only have the trickling continue and get heavier and heavier. I realized that my water had broken. It wasn’t a gush but enough to let me know that something was taking place.
I called my husband to let him know that “something” was happening but told him not to rush as I hadn’t experienced a surge yet. Well no sooner than five minutes after I got off the phone with him the surges started. He ended up coming home from the field and by the time he got home my surges were already 8 minutes apart. I decided to have a shower and try to relax but ended up getting a bit excited. This was my first baby and not knowing what to expect I got a tad excited when my surges quickly went from 8 min apart down to about 5 min apart. And we live about 45 minutes from the hospital. We decided we best get going.
The whole drive I practiced my breathing and visualization techniques. I was feeling very calm and in control, plus very excited. We arrived to the hospital around 8:30am. My doctor was in clinic and wasn’t able to see me until noon but by 10am my surges were coming every two minutes lasting 50-60 seconds long. They were pretty intense so I asked for another doctor to come and check me. Again being a first time mom I was convinced that since my surges were so close together that this baby must be right around the corner. Boy was I wrong. The doctor checked me and confirmed that I was only 1.5-2cm.
So I decided I would do whatever I could to speed this process along. I used my birth ball and found that sitting on it and leaning over the bed helped a lot while my husband did some light touch massage and some pressure point on my sacrum. We continued to do this all day plus I listened to the spa channel on my iPhone which really helped me zone out and relax. The doctor came in at noon (2cm) at 4pm (3cm) at 8pm (3.5cm) and then once more at midnight where I had only progressed to 4 cm. I was feeling very tired and played out.
I found the best way to cope with the surges was to have all the lights out and to just focus on my breathing. I found it difficult to relax if people were talking around me so I had asked my family who was there with my husband and I to just keep things light and quiet. They took turns sitting in the room in the dark with me so that my husband could get a couple hours of shut eye.
I had my mother, mother in law and sister all along with us. It was super helpful having them there as a support system.
By 2 am I felt like I didn’t have a lot left in me and started to feel a bit defeated. I had walked, breathed, listened to music, light touch massage, pressure points on my wrist and ankles… Everything I could think of. I had intended to have this baby naturally but I found myself pondering some medication options as I just felt completely drained.
I had a fantastic nurse who explained to me some less invasive pain management options. At about 2:15 I decided to try some laughing gas or whatever you call it. Well that only lasted about ten minutes. I found having the mask on my face made it really hard to breathe properly and I found that it didn’t make a difference. I then opted for a small does of morphine given to me in the hip. That was enough to help me sleep through about 5 surges at a time. And then I would wake for a few and then have another mini nap.
I kept my eyes closed for almost the whole labour and tried to avoid looking at the clock. But when I opened my eyes to see the sun coming up I got very excited. I had either dilated over night or I was afraid my doctor was going to suggest we visit other options although she was very supportive of my wanting a natural delivery.
My doctor soon came to check on me and I almost squealed with excitement when she told me I was 9.5-10 cm! I could barely believe it. She told me at 7am I’d start pushing and that I should start my hypnobirthing techniques and focus on moving that baby down over the next hour.
I honestly can say that the “pushing” phase was my favourite part. I didn’t feel any pain except for maybe some stretching-like discomfort right when her head was almost out. It was such a beautiful experience.
Harper Anne was born at 7:37am weighing in at 5lbs 14 oz and 19.5 inches long. She’s perfect and we love her to bits!!
I don’t regret having the shot of morphine as I felt its what I needed to do at the time to get through it all. Hypnobirthing certainly helped alot and I would recommend the class to everyone I meet!! Thanks again Marie!!
Written by Ebony K.
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