Disclosure: I went into this whole experience being prepared for anything in my mind. I fully intended to look half decent for photos and I hoped to have a fast and easy delivery. Well, as we all know things don't always work out how we want them to. I had a very rough delivery and don't even remember a lot of the details because I was in so much pain. I was lucky to have my very supportive husband and Mom there who was also my birth photographer. When she text me to tell me the birth story photos were almost edited I asked her how they turned out and she said this... "They turned out, well, real life. You can see a woman who is going through a horrible birth experience, who is frazzled and in pain. You can see a baby that is covered from head to toe in blood. You can see night gowns falling off and bra straps falling down. It's not graceful, but it's real life! It makes me cry when I see my daughter sacrificing herself, her body, and her dignity for her soon to be daughter. It's a real life birth story, it's her birth story, and I love it!" So grateful for my Mom and her support and that she was able to be there with me!
So here are my real birth story photos (the appropriate ones to show) and the story below...
So here are my real birth story photos (the appropriate ones to show) and the story below...
December 20th we had a little scare and went to the hospital to make sure the baby was okay. I wasn't feeling her move, I was having mild contractions, but I was not dilated AT ALL. My Mom drove 4 hours to get here because we thought we were in labor, so I felt a little defeated when we got sent home from the hospital. The next day we had a family Christmas party and after the party I decided to try a few more things before my Mom had to drive all the way back home. This is not recommended I know, but I did it anyways. After curb walking outside in the 30 degree weather, my hubby juiced a pineapple for me and I mixed it with about a half tablespoon of castor oil. I was told not to do this, but I figured I would do a small amount just to see what happened. A few hours later on December 21st at 12:15am I noticed I lost my mucus plug. I didn't think much of it and went back to the couch, watching Netflix and timing my contractions. They were about 4-5 min apart. At this point I didn't want to go in just to be sent home again, so I waited it out.
I fell asleep for about an hour and woke up when my water broke! It scared the crap out of me! Once it broke my contractions were very strong and painful (about 3 minutes apart) so I went and woke up my husband and we left to the hospital. This was about 315am. Contractions were getting so intense and I swear it took hours for the epidural dude to get to the hospital. Once I had the epidural life was good for a little while. I tried to sleep and get rest but I couldn't. Running on one hour of sleep I was past the tired point and couldn't sleep to save my life.
I fell asleep for about an hour and woke up when my water broke! It scared the crap out of me! Once it broke my contractions were very strong and painful (about 3 minutes apart) so I went and woke up my husband and we left to the hospital. This was about 315am. Contractions were getting so intense and I swear it took hours for the epidural dude to get to the hospital. Once I had the epidural life was good for a little while. I tried to sleep and get rest but I couldn't. Running on one hour of sleep I was past the tired point and couldn't sleep to save my life.
The nurse would come in every hour/hour and a half to check to see if I was dilated more. I was progressing, but very slowly. Since my water had broke already there was concern of infection for the baby. To help speed things up they put me on pitocin. Fast forward, we started officially pushing at 4:15pm.
After pushing for a little bit the doctor told us little miss Charly was sideways. At that time we had to take a break and use the "peanut" to try and help position her correctly. Once we felt she had moved a little we started pushing again for the next 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Pushing was hard. She was still side ways and the doctor was trying to turn her as we went along. Now here is the fun part. My epidural started wearing off and they wanted me to hold off on pushing the button (getting more of the drugs) so I could feel my legs to push. The problem is the more time that went by the more the epidural wore off. Considering I had a baby coming out of me sideways and it was taking longer than it should have, the epidural wore off much more than I wanted. I could fully feel my feet, my legs, my girl area, and some of the contractions. I now wish I would have said screw you guys (not really), I want more drugs (yes really on this part). ;) Since this was my first baby I was nervous and wanted it to go smoothly so I listened to what the doctor/nurses said. Next time I will be pushing the button as often as allowed. :) I wanted to enjoy my birth experience a little more than I did so now that I know how it goes, I will be much more prepared next time around!
In between pushing I literally fell asleep (even though in between was only minutes) because I was so tired and soooo out of it. Contractions were coming very frequently so we would push really hard 3-4 times and then I will fall asleep. haha The doctor had his hands inside me stretching me out as much as possible (TMI SORRY) and also trying to turn her as she was coming out.
At this point the doctor gave us the option of a c-section or the vacuum method since it was taking so long, and to keep her safe, she needed to come soon. We never wanted to have a c-section and I didn't feel comfortable with the vacuum method. Me and my husband decided we would push for 15 more minutes and then we would resort to one of those methods. I had already experienced so much pain at this point, I just wanted to get her out.
Once her head was crowning I thought I was going to pass out (hellloooo ring of fire.. ouch). I was shaking, and I have never experienced any pain like I did in that moment. If I was more prepared to feel everything and she was coming out not sideways, I assume it might have been a little smoother, but that was not the case. I gave 199% and pushed as hard as I could. The doctor had his hands all up in my business and continues to help pull her out. I don't remember how long it took from that point on, but she finally arrived at 9:44pm. 8 lbs 14oz and 20" long! 19 hours of labor and she was FINALLY here!
They took her as soon as she was born to get her stomach pumped (she stayed in the room with us still) so although I was out of it, we watched as they cleaned her and did all the measuring. I couldn't believe how big she was (but it all made sense considering how big my belly got) or how much hair she had. She was perfect. In that moment I felt so close to my husband and so grateful that she was healthy. I felt very strong and proud of my body for just doing what it did. I can't believe how much we put our bodies through, but our bodies were made to do this. It truly is amazing!
Thank you all for the love and support through my pregnancy and her arrival. <3
XO
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