NOTE:  I’m fully aware that not everyone cares about the gory details of my baby’s birth (especially you guys out there).  But…well..since this is a baby blog, childbirth is a huge part of life and thus deserves a special post all its own.  If you like these kinda things, keep reading.  If not…well…run!

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Trying to think of a way to capture Jack’s birth story is hard.  Going through labor was like living a dual existance - the physical, which hurt…badly…and then the mental / spiritual, where I couldn’t believe that a new life was about to emerge from none other than my own body.  In the words of my cousin - I had 2 souls in me.  That alone was a hard concept to grasp.  To think that soon that new soul would be living independantly outside of my comfy tummy was astounding.

In today’s world, homebirths, water births, midwives, and non-medicated laboring is a growing trend.  Let me say resoundly that for my first baby I was not and had no intention of being part of this trend.  I’m a wuss when it comes to pain!  Truly.  So while I admire those women who have the gumption to go through birth au’ natural - I was not one of them.

My pregnancy and entire labor was pretty text-bookish.  A group practice OBGYN with a hospital birth - along with pain meds (nubain and epidural) was my route of choice.  While I have some doubts in my mind as to whether I want to go with a regular OBGYN again, I do not regret my choice to use an epidural.  I think I may have just completely died without it!  But more on the horrible pain later…

My long awaited due date was May 6.  On Sunday, April 27, I felt the big IT for the first time.  The IT, of course, being those long awaited contractions.  They were 5 minutes apart and continued through Wednesday.  Thankfully they were in no way painful during those days.  If they would have been I might have asked for a rain check to continue this process next year! 

At my final prenatal appointment, on Wed. April 30, Dr. Nancy said I was a full 3 cm’s dialated and could go at any time. “Whoohoo!” I thought, excitedly.  Maybe I would get out of this without pain!

No such luck.

The contractions halted on Thursday and Friday - and then Saturday, at noon, they appeared back at my belly’s doorstep….ringing the bell loudly and (this time) knocking HARD.

So.  Noon it was.  I felt that instinctual “hey, this is it!” as the pain started to grow bit by bit.  After a bit of final packing (and a wee bit of happy dancing), Kevin and I loaded up and headed to my parents house where I got to take the imfamous final bath & shave before heading to the hospital.  After the bath, an hour was spent timing contractions (shortest was 1.5 mins apart and longest was 3.5 mins apart) - and then the call to the doctor was made to let him know we were on our way to the hospital.

After arriving at 4 pm, check-in on the 2nd floor maternity ward went really smoothly (thanks to pre-registration and a previous early labor scare).

And there I lay.  In the labor room of the hospital.  In pain.  And in the middle of the most miraculous moment in my life.

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(((((Ladies and gentlemen, this post has been inturrupted by a hungry lttle miracle. 
We will return to your regularly scheduled postings later))))

Tagged: giving birth, labor

What Next?

• A Baby Story: Labor Day (Part 2) (Viewed 0 times)
• My 4 Day Non-Stress Test: Preventing Pre-Term Labor (Viewed 0 times)
• Bleh. Ouch. and Owwwey. (Viewed 0 times)

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