Usually, I’m not much for the writing of 'birth stories', but this one went so well I wanted to write it up to remember.
Dh and I walked the halls for a while, as the contractions started up. They were completely manageable—I was talking right through them. My nurse, Karen, kept coming by to up the pit. One of the sweetest moments was running into Michelle, the nurse who took care of us during our first delivery, the stillbirth of our oldest child. She remembered me and said she had thought about being our nurse herself but didn’t want to bring up bad memories, and I was able to tell her what I’ve been thinking for five years—that it was largely due to her that my memories of that day are treasured and cherished—and to thank her for that. <>
Around 10:30 I started to feel uncomfortable. I lay down for a while, flat on my back. I know that’s not supposed to be a good position, but it felt right at the time! Then I sat up on the edge of the bed, chatting with Karen, dh, and Ruth, a student nurse sitting in. Both of us were glad to have Ruth there—it gave the delivery, our fourth, a sense of newness, as we had the opportunity to both learn with and teach her. At 11:45, the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural. I had never been so lucid during that procedure before. Usually, I’d had the epi when I was pretty far gone in pain. This time, the contractions were still very handleable. Ironically, this made getting the epi a much less comfortable experience, as I was aware of each sensation and “with it” enough to be nervous! <>
Once the epi was in, my ob broke my water, about 12:30, and I took a nice nap. At 1:30 I was 5 cm. I could still feel pressure and some heat where the contractions were occurring, but no pain. I lay there for another couple of hours, chatting comfortably. Around 3:00 I could feel the pressure begin to get lower. I tried to stay relaxed and let the baby move down as much as possible on her own, hoping to avoid too much pushing (and the resulting swelling). Around 3:30, my nurse was called out to answer the phone just as a strong contraction made it clear baby had moved down quite a bit. I called out to Karen not to be gone too long, and she apparently relayed the message to my ob, who showed up a couple of minutes later. <>
He started to check me, and then told me not to cough, since the baby was about that close to being born. They quickly got ready for the delivery, and I gave a brief push. Then they asked me to hold off so they could help get the head out with minimal tearing—a request I was happy to agree to! My dh is under strict instructions not to talk while I’m pushing, and we were joking about that while I waited for the okay to push again. Another gentle nudge, and our baby girl was born! <> Immediately, ob, nurse, student, and dh hover around her, exclaiming how sweet, beautiful, and perfect she is. Meanwhile, there’s a large sheet on my belly, so I can’t see a thing! Finally, they lifted her into my arms. Such a small face, with well-defined nose and large mouth, and a good half-inch of dark hair all over. <> We named her Veronica Belinda, and she was born weighing 7 lbs., 7 oz., and 20” long.
Her birth was a really nice experience for dh and me, so peaceful and painless. A lovely way to have our last baby!
