Levi's Birth Story

I have to write this down before I forget it, the details are already getting fuzzy.... Sunday night after putting the kiddos down to bed Joe asked if I wanted him to push on some pressure points we had learned about in birthing class to get labor started. We had been trying them half heartedly for about a week but I decided to look them up in more detail online, I told Joe he could try them but I never expected it to do anything. Well, he pushed on the pressure point on my shoulder area for about 20 minutes and then I was sore so I told him to stop and we watched some TV and went to bed. I didn't have a single contraction that whole time so I assumed it would be a boring evening. Well, I woke up at 3.00am for no apparent reason and moved my leg only to feel a warm gush of fluid. I went to the bathroom and it was clear but not a lot. I got back in bed and told Joe he wasn't going to work but to get some sleep. About a half hour later I had my 1st contraction, and then another one about 10 minutes later followed by another one. They weren't painful but I knew that they were labor. I told Joe to hop in the shower and wake up my mom and when everyone was ready we left for the hospital. We arrived at about 5.00am and checked in. The nurse was kind of obnoxious and after seeing my birthing plan she said she would probably send me home to come back when the contractions were more like 4 minutes apart. I told her I lived about 45 minutes away and that I would like to stay for an hour and then be checked again. She reluctantly agreed and so we walked the halls for an hour. At 6.00am she checked me again and said she was seeing a change but just a small one. I said I would like to stay for another hour and then have the doctor check me, luckily her shift was ending at 7.00am so she said she would call the doctor for me and then I got a new nurse. I was officially admitted at 7.20am after my doctor checked me and I was at 5.5cm dilated and 100% effaced. I opted to not have the rest of my water broken until I was dilated to 8cm and I am so glad I did. I labored by mostly walking around the room and just pausing for contractions, I didn't want to sit or lay down until I got to what must have been transition and then I laid down and took a nap for 20 minutes, I think that was around 10.30am. I could still feel the contractions (getting much stronger) but I felt like sleeping (escaping really) so I did. When my doctor came in and checked me she was amazed that I was sleeping, I was at 8cm. She broke my water and from then until Levi was born was a whirlwind. My contractions became much stronger and they were right on top of each other with lots of back pain. I had a great nurse who helped me focus on the hypno-birthing breathing and I sat straight up while I breathed Levi down. At this point I was really uncomfortable and my nurse asked if I wanted to change positions, I said yes and she helped me and right after I switched positions I felt this really strong urge to push. My poor doctor wasn't quite ready for this but when she checked me she said, "oh never mind, you're ready, go ahead and push." It was super intense, not something I would wish on anyone but in 3 pushes he was out. Levi Willem was born at 11:25am. For me the best part about natural childbirth is 1st how aware you are of what is happening to your body and 2nd, once the baby is out you feel like yourself again in a matter of minutes. In the past when I have had an epidural I felt like my brain couldn't get what my body had just been through and therefore it took a lot longer to feel like myself again. My babies were more lethargic too. Levi nursed like a champ pretty much right away and I felt like my other two were too sleepy to get it right away, it was a lot more work to get them awake to eat. Overall, the experience was one that I am so glad I was able to achieve and even though it was different than I expected at the end, I did feel much more prepared for the experience this time around. A lot of that had to do with the birthing class that we took and the awesome nurse that God put in our room, she loves her job and did a perfect job of encouraging me through the process, thanks Jenn!