On a cool summer morning in June of 2012, I became a mother for the first time to a beautiful 8 pound, 5 ounce baby girl. It was love at first sight. While pregnant with her, and especially as a first time mom to be, I could not get enough of reading other women’s birth stories, so it only makes sense to share my birth story with you!
Last days of pregnancy
The last weeks of pregnancy had me feeling excited, anxious and not patient. When it’s your first baby you can hardly wait for labor to start!
At my 36 week appointment I was checked and told there were no changes yet. I was a little sad, but also didn’t want to have a baby before full term at 37 weeks. (Now 39 weeks.)
My 37 week appointment came and I for sure thought I would be dilated. so when the doctor said, “no changes,” you can imagine how I felt- disappointment. I left the appointment with deflated excitement.
I went to my 38-week appointment with no hopes of being dilated, I assumed the doctor would say no changes. To my surprise she informed me that I was 3cm and baby was low. I was not expecting that and to my other surprise, instead of only feeling excited, I suddenly felt not ready. Things were getting real and I wasn’t sure I was prepared! That week was full of emotions. One minute excited and feeling ready, the next, second guessing my ability to have the natural labor and delivery I wanted. Aside from emotions, I was also cramping a little that week.
I made it to my 39-week appointment, still 3cm dilated and I could go into labor that day or not for another 2 weeks. Awesome. At this point I felt like a ticking time bomb- it’s going to go off, you just don’t know when. So add that to the emotional rollercoaster and you kind of have a mess on your hands haha! It’s impossible, for especially a first time mom, to think about anything other than labor starting. So I made a list of distractions- reading, watching movies, going for walks- I could do this!
Early Labor
The next day I started having consistent cramps. I didn’t think much of it because it wasn’t painful and only just mild cramping. This being my first labor experience I did not realize that those were contractions. I didn’t even think about calling my husband because I thought they were just cramps. I decided to take a nap and figured they would be gone when I woke up.
At 4:30 pm, I woke up, sat up in bed and felt a small gush of fluid. I went to the bathroom and there was a significant amount of fluid coming out. I didn’t know what to think. Was my water breaking? Did I just pee? With doubt, I called my doctor’s office and they told me to come to labor and delivery to get checked. I called my husband this time! The entire time I’m thinking could this be labor? I didn’t think it was because I wasn’t feeling anything painful, I wasn’t feeling anything at all!
I got to the hospital at 5PM and it was confirmed that my water had broken. The nurse told me I was being admitted to labor and delivery. I didn’t believe her but then she told me I was also having contractions every 7 minutes. Even though I wasn’t feeling them I could see on the monitor that I indeed was having contractions. I called my husband again to tell him that I would be staying and was in labor. He was definitely in a little bit of excited shock!
Labor
The staff settled me in a labor and delivery room and I was starting to feel the contractions now. It was a pain like I had never felt before. Not super painful yet, but not like anything I had ever felt. I was checked at this point and I was 5cm dilated. At one point I noticed just how low my belly was getting and thinking how cool that was. Even though I was definitely in pain now I thought it was so awesome how my body was working! The doctor came in shortly after this around 12:30AM and checked me. I was 8cm (starting transition labor) and he said to the nurse that my water was not broken. What?!?!??! How could the strip test confirm that my water had broken, but now it’s not?
It was determined that I had 2 amniotic bags and the smaller of the two is what broke at home. He broke the main bag of water, the one the baby was in and with that came the intense contractions. I had definitely never experienced anything like that before. I remember hanging onto my husbands hand and laying on my side and then going on my hands and knees. At a little after 1AM, I felt tremendous pressure, burning in my legs and the urge to push.
Delivery
The nurse checked me and I was 9 ½ cm dilated, to which she said, “do not push yet.” All I could do was lay on my side and pull my hand up the side of my leg because the pressure was so great. My husband was coaching me on my breathing and it was helping for the most part, but after a few minutes my body started pushing all on its own.
The nurse and doctor quickly came back in, checked me again and said I was 10cm dilated. Over the next hour I worked harder than I ever had to push her out. At one point in the pushing her heartrate started to drop so I needed oxygen. When I finally delivered her head the doctor very seriously told me to stop pushing. The umbilical cord was around her neck three times and it was very tight. This took every shred of strength I had to not push when the urge to push was so powerful, but I listened and managed to not push. The doctor acted quickly and clamped the cord and cut it off her neck. I was then able to keep pushing and get her body out.
First moments of motherhood
I will never forget first off, the burning that comes with pushing, but then the most awesome feeling of her body and feet coming out. At 2:41AM our daughter was born and put on my chest. All I could say was I can’t believe I just did that! I kept thinking I can’t believe there is a baby here and she is so beautiful. Her fingernails, her nose, her eyelashes- I was in awe of every little detail about her. I understood now what it meant to be completely in love with someone you just met. It’s hard to explain everything you feel after you have a baby. It’s a combination of being so relieved that the labor and delivery is over, being so full of joy, like pure joy, the unexplainable until you experience it for yourself kind of joy, and exhaustion- mentally, emotionally and physically.
Postpartum
The next hour or so was a complete blur. The placenta was delivered and I needed quite a few stitches, but all I could do was look at my beautiful baby and be in complete awe that she was here. After I nursed her and then I got cleaned up they wheeled us to the postpartum/nursery unit. The first thing I saw in the room was a sign that said welcome to your mother/newborn room. I started crying when I read that sign. All those weeks prior with the rollercoaster of emotions and then the marathon of labor and delivery were behind me and I was finally here with my newborn. It was all so worth it and I knew I would do this again. And I did… three more times.
Read my other birth stories!
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