Proverbs31student
11-09-2008, 07:05 PM
Good evening ladies,
I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to post Rebekah's birth story. She slept most of the afternoon, so I was finally able to do it. I hope you enjoy!
Rebekah Faith
Friday, October 10, 2008
Labor and delivery was not what I expected at all! I woke up a little after 12:00 am on Friday with a real contraction. It was very different than the ones that I’d had the previous 3 weeks. Not only could I feel them in my belly, but I could feel them in my back as well. Between 12:00 am and 3:00 am, I probably had 4 or 5 of them. By 3:00 am, they began to increase in frequency. I woke Chris up and told him that I was having real contractions. I was having a difficult time determining when they were beginning, so I couldn’t tell him how far apart they were. I did tell him, though, that they weren’t close enough together to go to the hospital yet. Not long after that, they began to increase in intensity as well. The only way that I could tolerate them was to kneel next to the bed. Around this time, I also noticed “bloody show” (this was a good sign that it was real labor-it probably wouldn’t be too long). By 5:00 am, I gave up on resting and decided to take a shower. I had heard that warm water could take the edge off of contractions. I got in and quickly realized that it did NOT feel good at all. I cleaned up and got out. While trying to dry my hair, the contractions increased in both frequency and intensity yet again. I could only use the blow dryer for a few minutes before I’d have to stop and lean over the exercise ball on the bed. By 6:30 am, I finally had dry hair. I made my way downstairs to eat some breakfast that Chris had prepared. I didn’t eat much since I had to take bites between the now frequent contractions. By 7:00 am, Chris called the hospital to find out if we should go to the hospital or if we should go to my 9:30 am doctor’s appointment. The nurse told him that a warm bath would determine where we should go. If my contractions slowed down in the bath, I should continue to labor at home and go to my appointment. If my contractions continued or picked up in the bath, I should be brought to the hospital. I got in the warm water and felt great for 10 minutes or so. Then the contractions started back up, fast and furious. By then, it was 8:30 am. Since we didn’t want to go to the hospital unnecessarily, we decided to go to my appointment early. The 10 minute ride in the VW Beetle was awful. I could hardly sit with the contractions coming right on top of each other. When we walked into the doctor’s office, I was checked right away. I was 9½” centimeters with a bulging bag of water! As the doctor was checking me with 1 hand, he pulled out his cell phone with the other one. He told the hospital that we were on the way there and that someone should meet us at the door. He advised Chris to drive quickly and carefully-the baby PROBABLY wouldn’t be born in the car. Chris drove quickly, treating red lights as 4 way stops (a county sheriff was sitting at one of them-Chris just waved at him and was not bothered). This 5 minute drive took an eternity. We pulled up at the emergency entrance, and I was taken to a birthing room in a wheelchair while Chris parked the car. As I was wheeled in, there were 4 or 5 nurses preparing everything. I changed into a hospital gown, got hooked up to a monitor, received an IV, and signed the necessary paperwork. After all of the check-in procedures had been completed, I was offered a narcotic pain reliever (by this time, it was too late for an epidural). I declined it; the nurses assured me that I had already experienced the worst of the pain. By this point, it was around 10:00 am. Chris had arrived at the birthing room by this time. I only labored for 15 more minutes before I was 10 centimeters. Up until this point, the pain had been tolerable. Now, as I began to push, the discomfort from the increasing pressure was horrible. With Chris holding 1 leg and the nurse holding the other one, I pushed for nearly 2½ hours. Between Rebekah being slightly misaligned and me figuring out how to push, this stage took quite awhile. Just before she made her grand entrance, the doctor reminded us that a special pediatric team would be taking her away as soon as she was born. In my exam at the doctor’s office, it was discovered that there was meconium in the amniotic fluid. As her head emerged, she was suctioned out. Then, as soon as her body emerged, she began crying loudly. It was convincing enough that the special pediatric team wasn’t needed. Rebekah Faith was born at 1:16 pm. She weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and measured 19¾” long. I proceeded to deliver the placenta before the doctor stitched up 2 small tears. Afterwards, all of the doctors and nurses told me not to tell too many people my story because they didn’t want too many people thinking that my experience was normal (as in, I walked into the hospital at 9½” centimeters and proceeded to deliver my first baby with no pain medication). Again, it was an absolutely incredible experience. Thank you God for watching over us that day and for giving us a precious baby girl!
This is a link to Rebekah's hospital pictures:
http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=0b7a6403-fdc6-485e-82d9-3b6a3e3653fd
Megan
03/06/98 - Married DH
10/10/08 - Welcomed Rebekah Faith
I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to post Rebekah's birth story. She slept most of the afternoon, so I was finally able to do it. I hope you enjoy!
Rebekah Faith
Friday, October 10, 2008
Labor and delivery was not what I expected at all! I woke up a little after 12:00 am on Friday with a real contraction. It was very different than the ones that I’d had the previous 3 weeks. Not only could I feel them in my belly, but I could feel them in my back as well. Between 12:00 am and 3:00 am, I probably had 4 or 5 of them. By 3:00 am, they began to increase in frequency. I woke Chris up and told him that I was having real contractions. I was having a difficult time determining when they were beginning, so I couldn’t tell him how far apart they were. I did tell him, though, that they weren’t close enough together to go to the hospital yet. Not long after that, they began to increase in intensity as well. The only way that I could tolerate them was to kneel next to the bed. Around this time, I also noticed “bloody show” (this was a good sign that it was real labor-it probably wouldn’t be too long). By 5:00 am, I gave up on resting and decided to take a shower. I had heard that warm water could take the edge off of contractions. I got in and quickly realized that it did NOT feel good at all. I cleaned up and got out. While trying to dry my hair, the contractions increased in both frequency and intensity yet again. I could only use the blow dryer for a few minutes before I’d have to stop and lean over the exercise ball on the bed. By 6:30 am, I finally had dry hair. I made my way downstairs to eat some breakfast that Chris had prepared. I didn’t eat much since I had to take bites between the now frequent contractions. By 7:00 am, Chris called the hospital to find out if we should go to the hospital or if we should go to my 9:30 am doctor’s appointment. The nurse told him that a warm bath would determine where we should go. If my contractions slowed down in the bath, I should continue to labor at home and go to my appointment. If my contractions continued or picked up in the bath, I should be brought to the hospital. I got in the warm water and felt great for 10 minutes or so. Then the contractions started back up, fast and furious. By then, it was 8:30 am. Since we didn’t want to go to the hospital unnecessarily, we decided to go to my appointment early. The 10 minute ride in the VW Beetle was awful. I could hardly sit with the contractions coming right on top of each other. When we walked into the doctor’s office, I was checked right away. I was 9½” centimeters with a bulging bag of water! As the doctor was checking me with 1 hand, he pulled out his cell phone with the other one. He told the hospital that we were on the way there and that someone should meet us at the door. He advised Chris to drive quickly and carefully-the baby PROBABLY wouldn’t be born in the car. Chris drove quickly, treating red lights as 4 way stops (a county sheriff was sitting at one of them-Chris just waved at him and was not bothered). This 5 minute drive took an eternity. We pulled up at the emergency entrance, and I was taken to a birthing room in a wheelchair while Chris parked the car. As I was wheeled in, there were 4 or 5 nurses preparing everything. I changed into a hospital gown, got hooked up to a monitor, received an IV, and signed the necessary paperwork. After all of the check-in procedures had been completed, I was offered a narcotic pain reliever (by this time, it was too late for an epidural). I declined it; the nurses assured me that I had already experienced the worst of the pain. By this point, it was around 10:00 am. Chris had arrived at the birthing room by this time. I only labored for 15 more minutes before I was 10 centimeters. Up until this point, the pain had been tolerable. Now, as I began to push, the discomfort from the increasing pressure was horrible. With Chris holding 1 leg and the nurse holding the other one, I pushed for nearly 2½ hours. Between Rebekah being slightly misaligned and me figuring out how to push, this stage took quite awhile. Just before she made her grand entrance, the doctor reminded us that a special pediatric team would be taking her away as soon as she was born. In my exam at the doctor’s office, it was discovered that there was meconium in the amniotic fluid. As her head emerged, she was suctioned out. Then, as soon as her body emerged, she began crying loudly. It was convincing enough that the special pediatric team wasn’t needed. Rebekah Faith was born at 1:16 pm. She weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and measured 19¾” long. I proceeded to deliver the placenta before the doctor stitched up 2 small tears. Afterwards, all of the doctors and nurses told me not to tell too many people my story because they didn’t want too many people thinking that my experience was normal (as in, I walked into the hospital at 9½” centimeters and proceeded to deliver my first baby with no pain medication). Again, it was an absolutely incredible experience. Thank you God for watching over us that day and for giving us a precious baby girl!
This is a link to Rebekah's hospital pictures:
http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=0b7a6403-fdc6-485e-82d9-3b6a3e3653fd
Megan
03/06/98 - Married DH
10/10/08 - Welcomed Rebekah Faith