Around 4 A.M. Thursday the 29th of September, at 37 weeks 4 days gestation. I woke up with horrible back, hip, pelvic & upper thigh pain. The back pain is normal for me, but this morning it was very intense and had spread to the other areas. I can normally deal with the pain using a heating pad, warm bath, change of positions, but this time I couldn't get the pain to let up at all. Laying in any position was awful, & sitting or walking weren't that great either.
6:14 A.M. the pain started to break up. I started timing it & it seemed like these were just going to be what my contractions felt like this time round. They were about 4-5 minutes apart & 40-60 seconds long. After an hour of timing them I decided to call my midwife Susan to let her access the situation (I was afraid of waiting too long & her not making it here in time!) She let me know she would eat breakfast & head on over. I went & woke up Tucker, let him know it was show time. My maternity photos were supposed to be this coming weekend, disappointed that I didn't get to do them again I took one final belly shot between contractions.
I bounced around & rocked on the birth ball in between contractions, leaning over it & having Tuck apply pressure to my back during the contractions. Unfortunately it was back labor...again. Susan arrived & asked if I wanted to be checked, sure why not. 100% effaced & 5 cm dilated. She also checked on baby, 144 heart rate. Annie woke up & Tucker got her dressed & occupied her in her room with some toys & a movie. Susan put pressure on the back of my hips for my contractions until Tucker could come back. I had been throwing up, pounding water, throwing it back up again so Susan suggested a tablespoon of honey. I hate honey. I wanted to stop throwing up so I gagged down a tablespoon, it was awful but I stopped throwing up for a little while. Susans assistant Shonda was on her way over with the birth pool. When Shonda arrived they wanted to check me again to see if we had time for the birth pool to be set up. 8 cm. Maybe if we hurry.
They were able to get the pool set up in our living room (of our upstairs apartment) & I climbed in. It wasn't the comfort I was hoping for but it did help some. Annie came & peeked in every once in a while, she really thought that my bath needed some toys so she threw in a tugboat, a duck & a couple of balls. When I insisted I didn't want them she gave up & went back to her bedroom. I tried laying back & relaxing in the pool but it seemed the best way to deal with the contractions was hands & knees with someone putting the pressure on my back &/or hips. I threw up, pounded ice water, & threw up again. I don't remember how many times I repeated the process. Someone was also always wetting a cold rag for my forehead & back of my neck, I felt like I was overheating.
Finally at 11:50 A.M. during a contraction I felt my water pop in the tub and I knew the baby was right there, ready to come out. Susan checked me one last time to make sure I could push, I rolled over & let her check, a bit of a lip of cervix but she said she would hold it back & I could push. So push I did. 1 minute & 4 pushes later (2 for the head, 1 for the shoulders & 1 for the body she came out left occiput anterior) I pulled my baby up to me. No tearing! She cried as soon as she left the water. I couldn't get her to my chest because of a short cord, which also prevented me from being able to see the sex so I just asked & Susan told me we had another baby girl! She had generous amounts of vernix covering her body, some dark fuzz for hair, and she was beautiful & plump. We threw a few towels around her & I asked Tucker if we had a Sophelia. He confirmed. Annie came out & met her new sister for the first time. She wasn't very interested.
I sat on the birthing stool & held her low on my abdomen wrapped in towels. When her cord stopped pulsing Susan clamped it & Tucker cut it. I offered her the breast & she took to it right away, as if she had known what it was for. 9 minutes after she had been birthed the placenta came & I moved to the couch to relax & continue skin to skin breastfeeding.
After Susan & Shonda had cleaned things up they checked Sophie out. She had received 10s on all apgars. Weight was 8 pounds even, length 20 3/4", head circumference 34cm, chest 33.5cm. Her heart rate was 144, which was also what it had been at my last couple appointments & all through labor. Respiratory rate was a 48. For being such an early gal she was a wonderful size, she was stealing all the good stuff from me!
We are both doing great. I'm feeling super, I feel like my recovery this time has been so much smoother & quicker (even though last time wasn't that bad either), not to mention it's awesome to just be able to crawl into my own bed! Sophie is a breastfeeding pro & has the chubby cheeks to prove it! She sleeps wonderfully & we've gone on a few walks around the neighborhood with her in the moby wrap. Her older sister Annie has finally warmed up and now loves to stroke her hair, arms & belly and seems to always want to hold her. We have been blessed!
