Random Thoughts of Reba: October 2013

I woke around 4am on Thursday, September 26th, 2013, having dreamed I was having contractions. As I lay in bed, I realized it had not been a dream. I watched the clock for about an hour; the contractions were steadily ten minutes apart. At 5am, I had some show. I went back to bed but got up again a half hour later to use the bathroom. After that, the contractions abruptly changed to four minutes apart. I told Edward, who got up and began making arrangements. He showered, put the plastic and birthing sheets on the bed, and put the dog cage outside. All I wanted to do was lie down, so Edward called the midwife to tell her my status, Steve Ball to ask him to cover Ed's classes, and the Cunhas to ask them to take Milli for the day. He also called our mothers to tell them I was in labor.

Everything went smoothly for a while. Milli was out the door right after breakfast. I showered around 8:15 and laid down again. The contractions slowed, so I got up to walk but my hip hurt really badly. I sat in the rocker for a bit and then went back to bed. Jerri, the midwife, arrived around 9:15 and Melena the assistant, came a little after that. She checked me and I was dilated to 3cm. To me, this was fantastic news because with my firstborn, I had contractions for 2 full days and nights before I began to dilate. I anticipated this time to be much faster! Never count your chickens...

There was one complications: Molly was no longer engaged! She had been riding my pelvis for about a month. But because my hip had been bothering me so much over the last week, I had been sitting on an exercise ball and rotating it for comfort. This extreme squatting position pushed Baby's head out of its spot and because she is long, she made herself comfortable by pushing forward, ahead of my pubic bone. This meant that her head was not pressing against my cervix to help it dilate. She was also still posterior. Jerri suggested that during contractions I lift my belly up and pull back while leaning slightly on a wall. Melena also suggested that I do a few contractions inverted- with my hands on the floor and my knees on the bed. They left some herbal supplement that I could take if the contractions slowed any further and said to call when things got going a little more. I had a small glass of wine and rested for a little while. Ed did a little work outside and had some lunch. He checked in on me and brought me some left-over roast and vegetables. In the early afternoon, we began doing some inverted contractions. I did half a dozen until my hands went numb. Then I did the lift and pull. It was uncomfortable and difficult to do alone, so Edward stood behind me and helped. I really couldn't tell if it was working or not until later when I tried to pee and only got a trickle.

We called the midwife back at 2:30 and Diane said she would be over in an hour. The contractions began to get more intense. Diane arrived around 3:45, which meant that Edward worried about her being late for a few minutes. We had our file with us, which had the maps to our house, so we thought she may have gotten lost. She hadn't. When she arrived, she quietly entered the room and kneeled next to the bed to watch me for a bit. She spoke quietly to Edward about how I was doing and after a few contractions asked to check me. I was still at 3cm, which surprised me, but I know that labor is not a steady slope so I was not bothered. However, the contractions did not feel like 3cm contractions. Diane asked me how far I had been dilated with Milli when the contractions were this bad- I said, 7cm at least. With Milli I didn't have to groan through the early stage of labor, but I was already groaning now. I tried walking for a little while and then decided that I wanted to take a shower. I wasn't sure about that because I thought it might slow things down as the bath had done during my first labor. But I also wanted a longer break between contractions.

The shower had the opposite affect! The contractions got stronger and closer together! I stayed in only ten minutes or so, having had 5 contractions! Edward helped me dry off and walk to the bedroom. Melena arrived and entered as quietly as Diane had. Edward led me back to bed, where I sat for a bit. I wanted to lie down but I also wanted to get this over with. Ed told me later that he could already see signposts of transition and was surprised by it. (ELH: I had already told Diane when she arrived that "my wife is in transition" based on her level of concentration, and was really surprised that she was only at 3 cm!)

That was the point where I lost track of time. The contractions were not fun- much more fierce than they had been with Milli. I wanted longer breaks. I wanted more rest. I felt like I was not handling things as well as I had with Milli. During my first labor, I felt like a warrior- I could handle all that was going on. I felt secure and nothing that happened bothered me emotionally. It was hard work to get Milli out- 9 1/2 hours of pushing is no joke! But I never said, or even thought, "I don't want to do this any more" or "I can't do this." This time around, I kept reminding myself to let go. I'm not sure I was really fighting my body, but I kept saying it over in my head and sometimes aloud because I felt like I must not be doing something right. I felt like a wimp! Why was I moaning at 3cm? Why did it hurt so much more? Was I not relaxed? I was lying down and being held by my husband- how much more relaxed could I get? I didn't want to keep going. I just wanted a break!

I began feeling by body push. At first, I thought it was Baby pushing with her feet. I was lying on my side, with Ed behind me and Diane kneeling near my head. She watched for a couple of contractions and then asked me what I was feeling. I told her that I felt like Baby was pushing her way our, even though after I said it I noticed it was me pushing, not her. Melena was ready to catch. Both of them told me to trust my body and to get into whatever position I wanted. I stayed there for a few more contractions and then moved onto my hands and knees. I did not begin to actively push right away but told them I had had a cervical lip during the last labor and wanted to be checked. Melena tried, but said that at the angle I was, she couldn't tell if I had one. This was not encouraging, but she also said that Baby's head was very low and it was unlikely I had a lip. They had been checking her heart rate off and on and checked one last time now. She was doing beautifully and didn't seem to mind that my contractions were wicked!

I then began to push. I groaned through every one and felt crowning after only a few minutes! Melena said that my water had not yet broken, so I sent Edward to look. He said, "That is so cool! I'm sorry, I'm a scientist." Melena agreed with him and I told him to get a picture. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out, not that I would have posted it here- a little too graphic! You can check out photos by Googling "en-caul birth" images. Anyway, Ed came back up to hold my hand. He had originally wanted to catch, but because my pain was so much more intense, he decided to stay near my head. While he had been away, I clawed at the sheets during contractions- but he let me crush his hand instead.

A half hour after I began actively pushing, Mary Olivia "Molly" Hamilton was born completely in her bag of waters! She had the cord wrapped around her neck three times but it was so long that it wasn't tight. They broke the bag, unwrapped her neck, and suctioned her nose and mouth, which she didn't seem to mind at all. She made a small cry and was instantly pink. I could feel every inch of her slip out, unlike with Milli when I wasn't even sure when the head was out! At that very moment I felt relief and almost cried! Diane helped me roll onto my back and they placed Molly on my belly. Well, I was sort of on my side, so she was against me in my arms. She only cried for a second and then looked into my eyes just as her sister had done less than two years before.

Edward had been sniffling off and on throughout the second half of my labor, every time he thought of the fact that his daughter would soon be here. He was now sniffing behind the camera, taking video of his second-born minutes after her arrival. Mary Olivia Hamilton was born at 7:44pm on Thursday, September 26, 2013. She weighed 8lb 8oz and was 22 1/4 in long! Her head was 37cm (14.5 in). She was born completely in her bag of waters.

Molly nursed very soon after birth and we cut the cord after it stopped pulsing. I had a lot of cramping after this labor and actually had to push during stage 3 (with Milli, it came flying out in a huge gush of blood that sent Edward flying from the room). This time there was very little blood. Ed called the mothers and the Cunhas. Then I passed Molly off to Daddy and went to shower off. The Cunhas arrived with Milli just as I was stepping out of the shower, so I missed the first meeting of the sisters. I did, however, get to help Milli hold Molly for the first time (pictured above) and I got to see the newborn exams. Edward made a few videos and took some photos. Then I called Keoina and my mom before nursing Molly again. The midwives had cleaned the bed while I was showering and cleaned everything else up afterward for us. Edward ordered some pizza and by 10pm we were alone with our new daughter and eating.

Below are some pics you might enjoy.