Just a heads up, this is a long post :)
So as most of you know I was getting pretty miserable near the end of my pregnancy and the thought of going over or having to be induced really didn't sound fun to me. So Nick and I decided that she was going to be born on her due date (May 21st). I had been seeing my chiropractor throughout my pregnancy in an attempt to keep my body ready for labor. The week before I was due I started having him do some acupuncture on me to help induce labor, and Nick and I started going on walks every night. I was feeling minor contractions but nothing serious or consistent. I was dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced at my 39 week appointment. At about 2:30 am on the 21st I started having stronger contractions and they were coming about 10 mins apart. I tried to sleep but every time I would start to dose off a contraction would start. I called the doctor at about 4 and she said to wait until the contractions were 3-5 mins apart before coming in. I wanted to try to sleep some more because I knew I was in for a long and tiring experience. Sleeping didn't happen, so Nick and I decided to go walk in an attempt to get the contractions coming closer together. By this time it was about 6:30 in the morning, and the kids in our neighborhood were lining up to catch the school bus. I'm sure I gave them quite the laugh seeing this pregnant woman walk for about 3 mins, then bend over and breath heavy while her husband rubbed her back. We did this for about an hour and a half and I was starting to feel contractions about every 3-4 mins. We decided to go back to the house and call the doc again. They said to go ahead and come straight in to labor and delivery. We grabbed our bags and headed out to the hospital. On the drive there the contractions seemed to start to slow down a bit and I was getting nervous that it was going to be a long day. We got checked into our delivery room and the nurse came in and to our surprise the nurse was the mother of a friend of Nicks that he has know for about 13 years. She got me all hooked up to the monitors and me and the baby were doing well. The doctor came in to check me and I was dilated to a 6. She told me that everything looked good and that by the time most women were at a 6 they were begging for an epidural. This sort of surprised me because I really wasn't in that much pain at this point. In the next couple hours the contractions started coming on faster and stronger, and I was starting to feel the urge to push. I asked the nurse to check me again and I was at an 8. I started getting impatient and said I wanted to push but they said I couldn't yet which was really frustrating, a few minutes later my water broke. I told the nurse that I wanted to use the squat bar in hopes that gravity would start working in my favor. I labored there for about 17 mins and the urge to push was getting really strong, they checked me again and in the 17 mins I made it to a 9 1/2 and they said that I could go ahead and start pushing. It took me a few tries to get the pushing right and the contractions were starting to come right on top of each other and were really painful. I sort of had to hyperventilate through them. Nick and my mom were in the room with me and I couldn't have made it through transition without them. Poor Nick had tears in his eyes seeing me go through the contractions, and I don't think it helped that I looked at him a couple times and said "I can't do this". My mom kept getting cold wash clothes and wiping my face and my neck for me, while Nick held my hand and breathed through the contractions with me. He kept telling me that I was amazing and I could do it. After about an hour and a half of transition, I was adamant that I needed to push, I knew this baby was coming soon. The nurse came and they got me in position and I started pushing. After about 30 mins the nurse called the doctor and said that the baby was crowning and she needed to get in there soon. I pushed a few more times and they told me they could see her head, I pushed one more time and her entire body just slipped on out. She came out so fast that she swallowed a little bit of amniotic fluid. They put her on my chest for a few minutes but then needed to take her to make sure she was breathing okay. They took her over to the warmer and Nick went with her while she was having all her checks done and everything looked great. I had a second degree tear, while the doctor was stitching me up she was telling me how great I did and that she was really proud of me (for not having an epidural). All the nurses told me that they love seeing natural births because it makes such a difference in how alert the baby is after birth. I was really happy with my decision to go natural, and even with how hard it was, there was no point were I regretted the decision.
Leah Nicole Franke was born at 3:07 pm on May 21st (her due date) after about 5 1/2 hours of labor. The doctor told us that only about 5% of babies are born on their due date. She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20in long. We were moved into our recovery room and the doctor came to check on me and the pediatrician to check on Leah. I had lost a lot of blood and they said that my iron count was low and I was a little anemic, so I was pretty tired and dizzy for the next few days. Leah had a little bit of Jaundice so she had to stay in the hospital an extra day (3 days total) and have light therapy to try to lower her billiruben levels. The last day there they came back to check her levels and said that they wanted us to bring her in the next morning just to be sure. They came back with the results and said that they had dropped and she didn't need to come back in the next morning which was a relief.
Our overall experience was really good. The doctor and nurses were all really helpful and nice. Leah and I are having a difficult time with nursing, apparently it doesn't come "naturally" to every one. We are having a meeting with a private lactation consultant tomorrow so hopefully that will help, but if not, we might just have a bottle baby.
Leah had her first doctors appointment yesterday and everything looks great. She is gaining weight and her coloring looked great too (from the jaundice).
Nick and I are exhausted and not getting much sleep. She seems to have her days and nights switched around. My mom has been a huge help with coming over and sitting with her while we try to catch up on sleep, and helping with cleaning.
My recovery is going well, I still have to take my iron and because of the anemia (and lack of sleep) I find myself with very low energy. Nick is great, he is the best dad and a huge help to me. He has changed the majority of the diapers, and had some pretty hilarious "exploding" incidents.
All in all we're doing well, just taking it day by day and enjoying our beautiful little miracle.
9 comments:
I like how casually you say that you are a little anemic. Ashleigh lost so much blood, they nearly did a transfusion. She is VERY anemic and will be tired for a long time :( Ashleigh was amazing through the whole process. I think there might have been times when Nick was close to hyperventilating too because he was breathing right along with Ashleigh. He was a great coach.
WOW - nice job! I must confess I had an epidural before they wheeled me in for a c-section. I had had labor for 15 hours, but still....props to you.
I want to come help, but since your mom is there I'm not sure what would be the best? I'd also like to bring you a meal, but the compassionate service leader has sent out nothing about any of the babies being born, so ....you might just get something some random day. :)
And I LOVE the name Leah. I think I even told you one time I liked it - props for keeping a straight face!
Oh! And she has a darling face. Not like an alien at all. :)
Leah looks so cute! Your story brought back a lot of memories. I'm impressed that you were able to handle things without an epidural. Also, its normal to feel exhausted after giving birth without being anemic. I can't imagine the combination. Good luck recovering. We're living here in Louisville now. Let me know when you're up for visitors!
Ashleigh, you are amazing! I am so impressed with how you were able to deliver naturally. That's something I don't think I will ever be able to do. I hope you gain your energy back soon! Oh, and nursing didn't come naturally for me with Becca. No one tells you that many women (well their babies really) have to work hard at nursing for a while. That can be so hard and emotionally draining! I hope things get better and whether you nurse her, or bottle feed her you are a wonderful mom!
Congrats, Ash! I am so impressed that you did it without an epidural! You are super hardcore! While Leah won't nurse, Sam won't sleep, so hopefully we'll both get things straightened out for our little ones. :) I can't wait to meet her! Get some rest!
Ashleigh--Yay for not epidural--It's always neat to try it out. You sound like you just did excellent--you did aton better than me without an epidural--I hope you can keep doing it natural. You've inspired me to "maybe" try again next time...maybe. Can't wait to see you and the princess.
Ashleigh, congratulations. Thanks for sharing your experience- I loved reading about it. Even though I wasn't there, (and from the sounds of it) you did amazingly! I also had a very very hard time trying to nurse Cameron and worked with the lactation consultants at Foothills for a long time. They saved me, really. Make sure you tell them what you want. (Some women want more "hands on" help and some are rather offended by it, so say something!) I hope the nursing gets better and the lac consultants were able to help. Take care and we'll see you soon!
Thanks for sharing your story! Congratulations! How are you feeling now? How great to have your mom and Nick as such great support! Such a blessing! How is breast feeding going? Did the lactation consultant help? I hope so! You're in our thoughts and prayers!
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