Story of Robin's birth

Today's cereal: Golden Grahams
Current mood: So tired I can't sleep

First of all, thanks to my Big Bro for posting to my blog for me. How big of a geek does it make you if you are in the frikkin' hospital, and you are wishing for a laptop so you can blog something?

So, I had an interesting day Thursday. Certainly not the day I was planning on; or even expecting. I spent the morning frantically cleaning the house before the Visiting Teachers arrived, and promptly overdid it and got sick. After they left, I got a phone call from my midwife’s office. I was supposed to go in for an appointment at 11:30, but something had been messed up and they were calling to confirm my appointment at 4:30. No problem, I told them—-I can make 4:30 work. My mom was already on her way to my house to watch The Boy while I went to my appointment, so it was too late to ask if she could come later instead, but she was okay staying with him while I had some fun. My best friend is in town from Georgia, and she wanted to take me to get a pedicure for my upcoming stay in the hospital. My first pedicure ever! It was so nice, especially since I haven’t been able to see my toes for a couple of months, let alone take care of them. They’re a lovely wine color now. See?


Our outing took a little longer than expected, so I raced home to pick up The Boy from my mom (she had something else going on that night) and head to my appointment. The Hubby was meeting me there from work, and was just going to watch Aiden in the waiting room while I ran in for my quick pee-in-a-cup-listen-to-the-heartbeat-see-you-next-week appointment. Since I had been walking around dilated to a 4 for three weeks and I hadn’t been feeling any contractions for several days, so I figured nothing would have happened. I didn’t even put my hospital bag in the car “just in case” like I had for my last two appointments because it would have been, yet again, a waste of time. I still had two weeks ‘til my due date anyways.

Imagine my surprise (I think you see where this is going) when my midwife tells me, “You are at a good 5, I can even stretch you to a 6… it’s too dangerous to send you home. You won’t make it back in time. Go across the street to the hospital and we’ll admit you. If we break your water, things will start up within 3 hours.” She swept my membranes, showed me her bloody fingers (I know you wanted to know that!), and said, “Off you go! I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

Of course I panicked a little, because we had The Boy with us, I didn’t have my bag (or my Hypnobabies CD’s!), and was I really ready for this? I had to call several people to find someone who was available to run to the hospital to pick up Aiden, and I had to call my mom (who lives a half-hour away and had just arrived home after leaving my house) and tell her to turn around and come back, and could you please pick up my bag from my house? (And my CD’s, and my toothbrush, and feed the cats, and…)

So then we went over to the hospital and checked in. It was a little surreal, I tell you what. We stood at the admission desk for a little bit before the nurses there stopped chatting and asked if we needed help. “Um, I guess I need to be admitted”, I said, not really believing it myself. I think had I been breathing heavy or moaning or other things women in labor are supposed to do, they would have jumped right up to help us. I think they were a little surprised. I was able to ask if there were a nurse on staff who was more familiar with unmedicated births, and we got a great nurse. She was very respectful of my use of hypnosis, and was just plain nice. I told her that my plans had been ruined—I had stuff to make brownies for my nurses, just waiting on my kitchen counter for my labor to begin so I could make them. She laughed, and said that I would only get sub-par care now. (I really WAS disappointed that I didn’t get to do this! Kitt thought I was insane that I planned to make brownies while I was in labor, and then take them to the hospital and say, “Hi, I’m in labor and need to be checked in now; and by the way I made you these brownies…”)

Here's me in labor... not looking as hot as I thought I was, but I am smiling. How many women in labor (*ahem* unmedicated labor) do you know who smiled through most of it? The best part of my story-- they hooked me up to the monitors, and kept asking me whether I was even feeling the contractions they were recording because I didn’t seem to be reacting to them. Well, I WASN’T feeling any contractions! After a while I started feeling pressure, but it was no more than the fake contractions I’d been having for WEEKS. My midwife commented that it was a good thing I was there at the hospital, because if I wasn’t even feeling them, I probably wouldn’t have thought to leave the house until I was nearly ready to push! Yeah, that SO would have happened. (What a mess it would have been, too… I never really realized how much goo is involved in giving birth.)

The midwife broke my water (which she had a difficult time doing because the baby was SO far down in my pelvis—in fact, Little Robin has some big scratches on her head from the hook-thingy they use to do that). After that I started feeling some more pressure. Nothing I couldn’t easily handle, though. And then pretty soon they started to be a little more intense, and I had to start using my hypnosis training for them. It worked beautifully! I would imagine my grandmother, my great grandmother, my gr-gr-grandmother, and my gr-gr-gr grandmother (all now deceased) there in the room with me and putting their hands on my belly; and the angelic light that surrounded them would surround me—that was my anesthesia. I would also "go to my special place” (St. Croix, USVI). It was so nice to be there, talking to my baby, and when the contraction ended I would promise her that I would be back there with her in just a minute when the next one started.

After a little while longer, the contractions started becoming very intense. I remember saying aloud, “Something is different”, and the nurse left to get my midwife. The contractions seemed to be focused more downwards. It was through these contractions that I lost my focus and didn’t feel like I was using my hypnosis. I wouldn’t call it painful—-more of a super intense spasm that seemed to envelop my whole body. I couldn’t seem to relax. All I wanted to do was writhe around until it stopped. I didn’t writhe around, but I was definitely tensing up. Kitt was SO wonderful during this part, trying to get me to relax, and telling how great I was doing. OMG, I love him SO MUCH!

I remember thinking that I didn’t want to do this anymore; but I recognized these contractions as the start of the pushing phase. So I knew they would soon be over and I was very close to having my baby. These contractions didn’t last more than 15 or 20 minutes before I started pushing. And once I started pushing, I honestly don’t remember feeling any contractions at all-—I was just pushing whenever fancy dictated. It only took 15 minutes of this, and I heard my midwife say, “Look down now!”

Before I could even look down, she was putting my little girl into my arms. Robin didn’t even cry, she just looked at me. It was so sweet, and I will never forget that moment. She started nursing right away, and my nurse was able to get me more time than usual before they sent her up to the nursery so I could do that. The other awesome part was that since I was unmedicated, they let me go with Kitt to the nursery to see her first bath! No one else I know has been able to do that. A little bit of bragging rights for me, I think.

So they broke my water around 5-ish, and little Robin Rae was born at 8:14 p.m. It only took 3 hours start to finish! All went well, and it was overall a very good experience. Definitely intense. Now I am exhausted and my nipples are VERY sore (you wanted to know that, too—-I know, don’t thank me), but happy to have my little girl, and happy not to be pregnant anymore (I was so excited to sleep on my back again!). I truthfully was expecting to go into labor on Saturday, so I have been in somewhat of a state of shock that she is already here. And my husband has been bragging about me and Hypnobabies to anyone that asks about the birth. He is so proud of me! Heck, I’m so proud of me!

Here are some cute pictures:




And as promised, here is the Pink Room, all done now. It is nice to sit in there and nurse my new baby.

I guess I don't need to tell you that I may be a little slow in posting to my blog. I will try to post about more interesting things than baby poop when I do post; but forgive me as I don't get out much anymore. I'm tired now... I think I will wash the baby barf off of me and take a nap.