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I was SO disappointed.
I went about this pregnancy differently. I was not sick the way I was with Reagan, and now I had some experience under my belt. I new what I wanted, which was little to NO hospital intervention.
My due date was April 8th, 2005....and I am 100% sure of my dates for a variety of reasons. Of course, April 8th came and went. I told the midwives that I was NOT in ANY WAY interested in an induction. Pitocin was not my friend.
One week goes by. At this point my midwife tells me that I have been walking around at 3cm and 70% effaced for A MONTH. She was sure I would have this baby EARLY, and here I am one week late. She is POSITIVE that I am all geared up for labor, and that I would surely be seeing her in L&D before the week was over.
TWO weeks go by. Now she's talking induction. I pass my BPP, and the non-stress tests...and I beg hard enough to give me a few more days. I go home....AGAIN. The midwife "stripped" my membranes, and says she CAN NOT BELIEVE that I have not gone into labor....and that Ethan was "right there".
Four more days pass. On April 26th I notice that I have not felt him move in over an hour, so I go into the office. I fail a NST. During the Bio-Physical Profile (BPP) the ultrasound tech calls in a resident and my midwife. I knew he was alive, because his heart was beating....but I was scared at this point. They tell me that his placenta is starting to fall apart, and he was doing OK, BUT he was not giving them gross movements that they need to see.
He NEEDED to come out.
I was sent straight to labor and delivery to spend the night, and I was to be induced in the morning.
I was *devistated*.
At 7:00am one of the doctors broke my water, and started a pit drip. My "water" was green. Meuconium. Pitocin sends me straight into labor, but it was not an "out of control" labor like I had with Reagan...and I am doing OK.
The staff had orders to leave me alone as much as possible. I labored in the dark (my preference), and changed positions often. This labor never seemed out of control, or too hard to handle....though I won't lie, it was painful. By 1:35pm I had had enough labor. I ask for the midwife to come in, and I tell her that even though I did not have the pushing sensation yet...I felt like it was time.
Sure enough, I was 9.5cm, and Ethan's head was right there. She told me that I could push whenever I wanted. I started pushing, and at 1:59pm Ethan was born. At nearly 10 pounds, he looked HUGE compared to my little 7 pound Reagan. He was completely green, with super long finger and toe nails. My little Shrek baby. :) Instead of being handed to the NICU nurses, he was put directly on my chest. He was nursing within 10 minutes of birth.
I had a tiny tear in the perineum, which they did not stitch together. Compared to 6+ weeks of healing from my episiotomy the first time, the tear healed within a week.
Lessons from Ethan's birth:
- #1. Do not be SO afraid of intervention that you refuse sound medical judgement.
- #2. You CAN have pitocin and STILL have a narcotic/anestesia free labor.
- #3. You CAN have a 10 pound baby vaginally under the right conditions.
- #4. Lay down the law!!! Let the staff in labor and delivery know your wishes, and just as importantly MAKE SURE they pass along the information during shift changes. This is something I have had difficulty with during all 3 births.
- #5. Honestly, episiotmy's are awful....in my expierience.
- #6. Nurse as soon as humanly possible. Within the first minutes if possible! Ethan was the best nurser ever!
