Alyssa Marie was born on October 27, 2004 at 8:06am. My labor with her was not the easiest, but it was well worth it, and I would do it again.
This birth story will unfold in chronological order.
October 23-24, 2004
I spent the weekend not doing much, as I was feeling rather fatigued, and achy and worn out from the contractions that were coming at random. By the evening of the 24th I began writing down the times I had contractions at. At this point they were coming every 15 to 60 minutes apart.
October 25, 2004
I did some light housekeeping and packed a hospital bag, as the contractions were becoming more consistent – every 45 minutes to an hour.
I spent part of the evening at my mother’s house, but headed home as the contractions started coming more. They tapered off for a bit, so Daniel and I settled down to watch The Punisher. But then they picked up again, so I once again began recording contractions. At this point they were coming every nine to 15 minutes.
October 26, 2004
Daniel went to bed around 2:30am, while I stayed up, unable to sleep because of the increasing pain with each contraction. By 4:00am they went from coming every ten to twelve minutes to coming every 6 to 10 minutes. I called my midwife, and she instructed me to come to the hospital.
At 5:00am I took a shower, finished packing my hospital bag and woke Daniel. We got the baby’s diaper bag together and headed to the hospital. They checked my progress, but after several hours of walking around and drinking juice, I hadn’t gotten very far – I was stuck at being 2cm dilated and 90% effaced. After a six and a half hour stay, they sent me home with percoset in the hopes that I would be able to relax and my body would then progress. We got home and settled by noon (and were also greeted by a gift package from Linda). At this point the contractions were coming every three to five minutes, each one being very, very painful. Daniel slept until 7:00pm; even drugged I was unable to sleep much – I woke with just about every contraction.
By 11:00pm Wednesday evening I was nearly hysterical with the pain of the contractions, which were coming every two to three minutes. I called my midwife back; she agreed to induce me if I came in. Daniel, for whatever reason, didn’t believe I was in “real” labor, and since I wasn’t in the frame of mind to argue or fight I simply called my mother. She made babysitting arrangements for my brothers, and agreed to take me back to the hospital.
October 27, 2004
We arrived at the hospital a little before 2:00am, complete with my hospital bag and Alyssa’s diaper bag. I told the nurses and midwife outright that I was not leaving without having the baby. I was cautioned of the risks of induction (and if it failed, the “consequence” being a c-section), but I simply nodded my head and signed the required paperwork. Within minutes I was gowned in hospital garb, hooked up to machines, and my water was manually broken. After that the contractions came much harder and much faster – every one to two minutes, with a lot of contractions coming on top of one another.
By 4:30am blessed relief came: the epidural. The last two hours had been spent panting and screaming through contractions as I waited anxiously for the required amount of fluids to come through my IV. Once the epidural was in, the pain relief was instant. Finally I was able to lay back and relax. In fact, I relaxed so quickly that I fell asleep almost immediately, but I was also forgetting to breathe. The epidural was turned down a bit, I was given more fluids, and I was put on oxygen.
Around 6:00am my mother decided to head home to take care of my brothers. I agreed, since we all assumed it would be several hours before I would be ready to deliver.
At 7:00am I suddenly started feeling very shaky, and I began feeling pressure-bordering-on-pain with every contraction. I gasped for the nurse to check; I was complete and Alyssa’s head had descended into my vagina! I panicked, since I was alone. I immediately called Daniel and told him to get to the hospital now, and spent the next thirty minutes waiting for him and doing my best not to push with every contraction.
Daniel arrived at 7:40am, the nurse turned down the epidural, another nurse grabbed one of my legs, instructed Daniel to grab the other, and I began to push… Twenty-six minutes and about 12 pushes later, Alyssa made her debut into the world – sunny side up (face up).
Page last updated on 01/15/2007.
