Broxon John Smith

June 6, 2010

9:25 pm
7 lbs. 4 oz
20 inches long

Finally--The Story- it's VERY long, and probably too much info, but aren't they always?

This time, I decided to deliver at The Baby Place, which is a birthing center run by midwives. It was the best decision and we loved it. We wish all our kids could have been born there, it was perfect. I also bought a contraction timer for my iPod that made it so I could email the data to myself, so I have a record of this crazy labor and can actually document my contractions, kind of a fun thing.

I started having strong contractions Friday at 3am. They were about 10-15 minutes apart and varied in intensity. They were getting a lot stronger and "bitier" than the ones I had been having previously so I knew something was happening. They didn't stop all day, and were getting more intense, not neccessarily closer together, but stronger. We had John's family take the kids Saturday afternoon around 4. We figured after 12 hours of steady contractions 10-15 minutes apart, something was bound to happen in the middle of the night.

To get my contractions going in the past, I've always had to walk and when I do they instantly get regular (3-5 minutes apart). I wasn't willing to do that with the kids around, so after they were gone we went to Ann Morrison Park. We walked around trying to see if we could kick my labor into full force. After 1 1/2 hours of walking, my contractions had still been irregular, but stronger longer and closer together. But I would have them every 3-7 minutes and they would last for 1-2 minutes, I just couldn't get them regular. They were really painful and I had a hard time walking through them so I was thinking that was a good sign.

We went home and I was still having strong contractions so we decided to go to bed and rest because it was bound to be a long night. Around 1 am they were 3 minutes apart for an hour, so we decided to call my midwife and go in. When we got there my contractions had slowed down. she said I was a 3, and that my cervix was still posterier but that she wanted us to stay so she could keep an eye on us. My contractions slowed down to 10 minutes apart for the rest of the night. At 7 am, she checked me again, and nothing had changed. I was pretty upset. 27 hours of nonstop contractions, and I wasn't progressing very quickly. (on a side note, they never checked me before I was in labor and in the past, I never dilate past a 2 unless I'm in labor for about 8 hours). The frustrating part at this point was that my contractions were very strong and intense, and far apart. They were also not regular, They would be anywhere from 7-15 minutes apart. But they would last between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. So frustrating. I'd had braxton hicks in the past, but never for days without a break, and they were never this intense.

We went home discouraged, but determined to progress the labor. We were pretty exhausted so we went home and tried to walk around the neighborhood, it didn't matter what I did, I could not get the contractions regular. They also wouldn't get closer than about 8 minutes apart. They weren't showing any signs of patterns of anything, I'd have a super intense one, followed by a soft one. I'd have one 8 minutes, then 12 minutes, then 9 minutes than 15 minutes, then 8 minutes, then 9, then 10, then 15, then 7.... Just REALLY random. But overall, the intensity was strong, I couldn't do anything other than focus through them. Based on my previous labors, if it wasn't for the timing issue, it felt like I was in labor. I always have at least 12 hours of regular 3 minute apart steady and intense contractions. Icouldn't get these contractions regular or 3-5 minutes apart for the life of me. It wasn't like I was having braxton hicks that kind of hurt, I hadn't been able to do anything through my contractions all day. Every time one would come on I would stop what I was doing and relax. We were trying to keep my mind off of it by beating Super Mario Bros on the wii ;)

Around 5 o'clock on Sunday night I was SO discouraged. I was in tears at this point. I would have one so strong that I could barely relax followed by one that was still intense, but not very had to relax through. The fact that they averaged about 8 minutes apart wasn't helping either. I felt like I was in labor and progressing, but all the signs were not pointing in that direction. The rule is that they have to be stronger, longer, closer together. When they get 3-5 minutes apart for 1 hour, go in. So we were playing the waiting game.

I called my mother in law to ask her to call her friend who is training to be a midwife and ask her if there was any way I could be in labor. The call back was not what I wanted to hear, they said there was no way I was in labor and that they had to be regular. So, I broke down and lost it. I was done, I couldn't do 12 more hours of this, let alone 12 hours of 3 minute apart contractions. I decided this was the worst labor ever, I was exhausted and I was throwing in the towel.

I know about the emotional map of going natural, and that when you are in active labor, you can really tell because you don't talk and you don't get distracted. The problem is that I was perfectly fine in between contractions, it was weird because they were 8-12 minutes apart, so I had plenty of time to talk with John in between and tell him how discouraged I was. He's seen me have all our other kids, and never once have I spoken to him while in labor. I took a bath to try to slow things down, but my contractions only felt more intense, but still totally irregular, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, 12 minutes, 8 minutes, 5 minutes, 9 minutes... really random. No patterns, nothing. so I got out. They just kept coming really intense, to the point that I could barely stand through them, but still completely random and far apart. I was not okay. They felt like transition contractions, but none of the other signs made sense or added up.

Around 7:30, John decided we should walk around the house. He was trying to get me confident. Every time I'd have a contraction I'd look at him, hoping they were getting closer or regular or something. But they weren't. We got them between 6- 7 1/2 minutes apart for 45 minutes. By this point I was so exhausted, I had hardly eaten anything in the last two days and my energy was low. Not to mention, they were so intense. So I sat down through my next contraction hoping that my walking had kicked my contractions into being regular. Instantly they went irregular, my next contraction was 9 minutes. I was so discouraged! If I wasn't walking, they weren't regular, so I wasn't in labor. Not to mention, I was exhausted and they were getting so intense couldn't relax through them. John gave me a blessing and we said a prayer asking for a quick delivery. All I could do was cry. He called my midwife and told her they had been 6 minutes apart for an hour (exaggeration, seeing as how it was between 6-7 1/2 minutes, and they had stopped being regular when I stopped walking after 45 minutes). She told us to come in in an hour (This was at 8:30.) I was devastated.

I told John, there is no way I can last an hour. He tried to get me to get up and walk again, and I did for a few contractions, but I could barely breathe through them, they felt like transition contractions and I couldn't relax or breathe, just wait until it was over. By this time, they had lost all consistency, they would be 5 minutes, 9 minutes, 7 minutes, 5 minutes, 2 minutes, 6 minutes...just REALLY random again, and SO discouraging. Around 8:50 I just laid down on the couch, defeated, exhausted and discouraged. They were SO intense, how was I going to do 12 more hours of this?? John kept asking if I wanted to get checked all day, but I just knew that if I had barely progressed, or not at all, that I would be SO discouraged, it was better not to know. It really takes me forever to get to a 5, so I was concerned that if I got checked I would only be a 4 (or STILL a 3) and just give up completely. Not to mention, they still were so irregular, I just didn't want to get more discouraged.

Around 9 o'clock, I told John I kind of felt like I needed to push, just a little pressure. So he immediately grabbed our bags and put me in the car. We had removed a seat in the back and set the exercise ball in the middle so I could kneel on the floor and drape over the ball. Just before in the car, I had another contraction that really had a lot of pressure. So John and I took off and before we knew it I was having another contraction and trying SO hard not to push. We live 20 minutes from The Baby Place, so John was freaking out. He called my midwife and she said she would meet us right there and told him to tell me not to push no matter what. The good news was that my contractions weren't super close together so I was thinking I would only have two in the car. Wow, what a time to get closer together, well I had one while turning onto the freeway on ramp, another on the freeway by eagle road, and the last one on franklin while turning right before The Baby Place. I was trying so hard to relax and not push, I just crossed my legs and held on. That was the longest ride of my life. John had called his mom as we were getting on the freeway and told her to meet us there. She lives about 15 minutes from The Baby Place.

We got there in record time, and they met us outside, walked me into the room, sat me down, and checked me, and she said " you're an 8, hold on, now you're a 10, let's get that baby out." (literally in one sentence, that fast). So I started pushing and within a few minutes, I had a baby. I had him exactly 17 minutes from the time we had left our house. Now I should remind you that I didn't know know what I was having. I really thought it was a girl, right after he came out, he was upside down and I saw a little what looked like boy parts in between his legs,. I immediately said "That's a boy." John was like, "What, I totally forgot to look." So then he called his mom on the phone and said "It's a boy!" She was like "What? I'm not even there yet?" We then called my mom who said "I didn't even know you were in labor!" (apparently, neither did we.) I was pretty unprepared for a boy and totally shocked!

At the time, my labor seemed so discouraging and horrible, my last ten contractions, were actually this: 9, 5, 4, 1, 5, 2, 7, 7, 5, 2. (this includes the last ones in the car). In retrospect, it was actually probably one of the best. Having so much time in between contractions was overall a lot easier. It's like I had my typical 12 hours of 3 minute apart contractions spread out over 42 hours. The car part was insane, and as hard as it was for me, John was thinking about how we were going to have to deliver on the side of the road, and all these crazy thoughts were running through his head.

The Baby Place was AMAZING and worth it! It was such a calm birth, and recovery. They really let us get to know Broxon without pulling him away to do science experiments. It was so peaceful and having a king size bed was wonderful for recovery. It's hard to describe, just that rather than treating Broxon and me like sick people, they did check us to make sure we were okay, but they treated us like what we went through was normal and healthy and natural. Broxon didn't even cry until they poked his toe the next morning for the PKU. It was so great and peaceful, and we got to leave in the morning and relax at home. My in laws kept the kids one more night so we could recover at home with just us. It was perfect, and so great to be able to do what we wanted. He's here, and he is so great!

1 week old