Lucas's Birth Story
The day Lucas finally chose to make his big entrance, I was bound and determined not to be pregnant anymore. I had spent the day trying a bunch of different natural induction techniques: squats, galloping, walking, spicy food, a swim, acupressure. In the process I had neglected to take my daily nap. So of course, my water broke about ten minutes after I got I to bed.
They tell you only 10-15% of pregnant ladies have their water break before contractions begin. They also tell you that it's much more likely to be a trickle than the sitcom-style flood. But apparently Lucas has his mama's dramatic streak, because as I told Brandon after coming out of our bedroom, "My water just broke . . . Everywhere." Contractions began immediately after, and we made it to the hospital right around 11:30pm.
Because my water had broken but I was only 2cm dilated, the doctor wanted to start me on Pitocin right away, but offered to give me two hours to see if I would start to dilate on my own. I took her up on it, and they took me up to my labor and delivery room. It was about 1:30am when my two-hour countdown started. Contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart at this point. As it turns out, they hurt a lot! Brandon was already doing a good job coaching me as we moved around the room and bounced on the birthing ball. Towards the end of the two hours, I started to feel myself getting exhausted to the point of shaking. After they checked me (4 cm), I made the decision to get the epidural so I could conserve some strength for pushing after a night without sleep. This was absolutely the best decision I made during the entire labor experience! Getting the epidural was not scary, and it left me with some feeling in my legs so I didn't feel totally paralyzed. Just calm and pain-free.
After getting the epidural, I was able to doze for about 4 hours and Brandon slept in a chair in my room. I was worried that an epidural would slow down my dilation, but luckily that turned out not to be the case. When they checked me again at about 8:30am, I was fully dilated and ready to push!
The first hour of pushing went great, and the nurse told us that I was progressing quickly. This is where things started getting more difficult. My progress slowed and while Lucas was doing just fine, the nurse started worrying that it was taking so long. Around hour three, I started feeling really tired and hopeless. Brandon was a fantastic coach throughout, and the nurse that came in to cover for our original nurse on her break did a much better job encouraging me. Finally, the doctor came in and we decided that she could use the vacuum to help me a bit since we were well into hour four of pushing at this point. I managed to get baby's head to crowning on my own and then, with two more pushes assisted by the doctor and vacuum, Lucas arrived in the world to a chorus of four nurses and a doctor exclaiming "oh my God! He must be at least ten pounds!" He was 11 pounds 1 oz and 21 inches long.
They put him on my chest right after he came out. He was all squirmy and bigger than I thought he would be - I remember thinking about how fat he seemed. They cleaned him all up and Brandon cut the cord and we just marveled at him for a bit until they took him to get cleaned up and checked out. He hardly cried at all when he was with me, but piped up a bit with the nurses. They brought him back to nurse and he latched on like a champ right away.
We stayed in the delivery room for a couple hours. I got all stitched up and they brought me some food and sparkling cider. And then we were parents. Forever.
More later on our magnificent, adorable, remarkably chill son.
They tell you only 10-15% of pregnant ladies have their water break before contractions begin. They also tell you that it's much more likely to be a trickle than the sitcom-style flood. But apparently Lucas has his mama's dramatic streak, because as I told Brandon after coming out of our bedroom, "My water just broke . . . Everywhere." Contractions began immediately after, and we made it to the hospital right around 11:30pm.
Because my water had broken but I was only 2cm dilated, the doctor wanted to start me on Pitocin right away, but offered to give me two hours to see if I would start to dilate on my own. I took her up on it, and they took me up to my labor and delivery room. It was about 1:30am when my two-hour countdown started. Contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart at this point. As it turns out, they hurt a lot! Brandon was already doing a good job coaching me as we moved around the room and bounced on the birthing ball. Towards the end of the two hours, I started to feel myself getting exhausted to the point of shaking. After they checked me (4 cm), I made the decision to get the epidural so I could conserve some strength for pushing after a night without sleep. This was absolutely the best decision I made during the entire labor experience! Getting the epidural was not scary, and it left me with some feeling in my legs so I didn't feel totally paralyzed. Just calm and pain-free.
After getting the epidural, I was able to doze for about 4 hours and Brandon slept in a chair in my room. I was worried that an epidural would slow down my dilation, but luckily that turned out not to be the case. When they checked me again at about 8:30am, I was fully dilated and ready to push!
The first hour of pushing went great, and the nurse told us that I was progressing quickly. This is where things started getting more difficult. My progress slowed and while Lucas was doing just fine, the nurse started worrying that it was taking so long. Around hour three, I started feeling really tired and hopeless. Brandon was a fantastic coach throughout, and the nurse that came in to cover for our original nurse on her break did a much better job encouraging me. Finally, the doctor came in and we decided that she could use the vacuum to help me a bit since we were well into hour four of pushing at this point. I managed to get baby's head to crowning on my own and then, with two more pushes assisted by the doctor and vacuum, Lucas arrived in the world to a chorus of four nurses and a doctor exclaiming "oh my God! He must be at least ten pounds!" He was 11 pounds 1 oz and 21 inches long.
They put him on my chest right after he came out. He was all squirmy and bigger than I thought he would be - I remember thinking about how fat he seemed. They cleaned him all up and Brandon cut the cord and we just marveled at him for a bit until they took him to get cleaned up and checked out. He hardly cried at all when he was with me, but piped up a bit with the nurses. They brought him back to nurse and he latched on like a champ right away.
We stayed in the delivery room for a couple hours. I got all stitched up and they brought me some food and sparkling cider. And then we were parents. Forever.
More later on our magnificent, adorable, remarkably chill son.