(This birth story was sent to me in October, 2012 on Facebook but I'm just getting around to posting it)
Fletchers Birth story
It's rather a long read , Ill preface this with saying that this is not the way that
Ii wanted things to go, but the end result was still the same. : ) Healthy baby, healthy
Mama.
Isaac and I had been planning a natural water birth at a local hospital who offered that
option and had a great success rate with natural birth. The week prior to D day I had been
exhausted. I ate, slept, and rested for most of the week. Saturday morning I made myself get
up and do something, I walked 3 miles hoping that it would spike my energy levels. Not
really, the rest of the day I laid around, went to church that evening and left early
because I wasn't feeling well. Went home and couldn't sleep the entire night. Around 5am I
wanted to get in the shower to see if I could relax enough to sleep. While in there I
suddenly felt like I had peed myself. I got out, dried off and then saw a puddle on the
floor. At first I wasn't sure my water had broken, but then I laid down for 30 min, got up
and there was a puddle in my bed. We called are midwife who said to eat and rest, that
usually active labor starts between 4 and 8 hours after water breaks. Isaac and I ran some
errands, put the hospital bag together, cleaned up the house, set up the pac and play, etc.
Midwife called 4 hours later and nothing had picked up, so we did some things to stimulate
labor, walking, nipple stimulation, enema, pelvic rocking etc. Around 4pm she said to head to the
hospital so I could get tested to see if my waters had actually broken. Sure enough they
were. By then my waters had been broken 12 hours. Hospital policy gives you 24 hours to have
the baby and then the risk of infection increases. The only option we had was to start
pitocin. Which I was adamantly against in planning my birth. But since we wanted to deliver
vaginally, it was the better option to start it. They hooked me up, and about 30 min later
contractions started, catching me off guard with how intense they were. They were about 4 min
apart at first. I was strapped to the bed with the fetal monitor on, I wanted to get up and
so the nurse helped me. My husband and I held each other while the contractions got closer
together and more intense. They were were getting closer and mega stronger. Then the monitor
failed to get consistent readings on Fletcher, they put me back in bed much to my protest.
I felt a click of bone on my pubic bone, that's when hell broke loose. I had to get up if I
was going to be able to do this, I told the nurse that i couldn't do it on my back, they tried
again to get a reading which failed. That's when I started to panic. My husband was so good all
through this, he kept encouraging me, I didn't not expect to have such strong contractions so
fast and so strong. They were coming between 2 and 4 min each. My husband told me I could do this
and that he was here to help me, after 10 min I broke down, I started shaking, screaming,
crying. The nurse checked me and I was only a 4. I begged to have the pit turned off butthey said it
hadn't been on long enough. After begging my husband for 10 min we decided to get the epidural
(He only did what I asked him to). My midwife came in and asked if that's what I really wanted,
I said yes, and I couldnt think past the pain. I was dropping the F bomb and saying Jesus is King all in the
same sentence.
They Anesthesiologist ran in and did his thing, the needle wasn't bad it was the
contractions during him working, the staff saying don't move! don't move! I just felt 3 more
contractions after the drugs. Then the guilt came in, I felt like a failure, that I couldn't
do what millions of women had done before and most of all let my husband down. He reasurred
me that of course I didn't disappoint him. I got checked 10 min after the epidural, I was a 7
which was shocking since I was a 4 just a bit ago. The nurse said to rest, that I needed to
save my energy for pushing. Of course I couldn't rest, all I could do was cry to my husband but I
was content not to be feeling anymore. My midwife came in to check me about an hour and a
half later and said it was time to push. They inclined my bed to almost a sitting position,
brought the mirror, one look and I told them to put it away, I did not want to see myself
stretch!! I pushed through 4 contractions then she said to cough twice and she plopped
Fletcher on my chest! My husband said I kept crying and saying It's my baby! it's my baby! It is a
indescribable emotion to hold and see your baby that you have carried and talked to for 9
months! As soon as they had repaired my lady parts they left my husband, Fletcher and I to
ourselves to bond for one hour before they did there whole checks. That was the best part,
to start our family of three undisturbed. That was beautiful.
My labor went differently than planned, but i am not one bit sad that hes here. As much as i
dislike pitocin it brought Fletcher into my arms and as much as I dislike Epidurals it
provided relief to my pit pains.
I didn't get the birth I wanted, but I got the baby that I did.
3. 5 hours of labor, including 7 min of pushing
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