Unmedicated Hospital Birth After Getting Sent Home

My labor went so well! I labored for about 7 hours including just over 20 minutes of pushing. Mr. G was phenomenal - I couldn't have gotten through without him. Warning: lots of humor to follow...I had to make it fun for all involved...

For the month and a half prior to E's birth, I had had several incidents of Braxton Hicks contractions accompanied by a pretty intense feeling of her head moving down. I kept telling Mr. G I wasn't sure how much lower the head could be before I went into actual labor! I felt so much pressure! He is convinced I had such a quick labor because her head was so low prior to the start of regular contractions and attributes this to the pelvic rocks I did religiously. On the 9th (Sunday) at 11:30pm, I was woken up by a really good contraction. I laid in bed for a while only to find they kept coming and were four minutes apart. So I got up and did everything Rachel had said to stop them if they were BH (ate, drank, walked and did another set of pelvic rocks!). 

After they didn't ease up for a while, I decided to wake Mr. G. We timed them for an hour and half with them not easing up. Mr. G then decided to take me on what he referred to as a "hospital test drive." This was the only way he could get me in the car because I was not convinced I was in labor. He assured me we would just "slowly" make our way to the hospital and "maybe" get me checked. Turns out I was only 3 but 80% effaced. I was not disappointed because I had told myself this wasn't it from the start. Mr. G felt it would still be soon with me being 80% effaced already so we went to a well lit parking lot nearby and walked for a while rather than drive back home to Navasota. Contractions got more intense and there were a couple that were down to two minutes. I also had lots that double peaked! We drove back to St. Joseph's and got admitted with me being 4 but still 80% effaced. My water broke at 5 cm. After it broke, with her head being SO low, I was convinced I needed to push already. I got checked again and was only 6 but was reminded her head was extremely low. This was frustrating for me from a physical standpoint...my body wanted to push with everything I had but I wasn't ready. 

Dr. Rice suggested I get in the tub at this point to relax and take the weight off a bit so I wouldn't want to push. (*side note - we didn't know at the time, but Rachel was right next door in the other low intervention room! Her client ended up having a water birth in her tub. Both of us had the same nurse. After her water birth happened, the nurse came running in to inform Mr. G that if I really needed to push and couldn't stop, he was to get me out of said tub immediately!) Sure enough, I suddenly couldn't stop myself from pushing anymore.  Mr. G calmly suggested I needed to get in the bed so we started making our way over there. Contractions were coming fast now and it took me three of them to get from the tub to the bed! I got checked and had gone from a 6 to a 9 with 100% effacement in 50 minutes. Dr. Rice came running in, checked me, and told me the most beautiful words I had ever heard: "You can push now!" I looked up, paused and said "Really? You promise??? Dr. Rice, I love you. I always knew I liked you but now I love you!"  (Cue Mr. G's silent laughter behind his hand...). Pushing felt amazing and I even gave myself a pep talk through most of it that Dr. Rice, the nurse and Mr. G found quite amusing. I was pushing and pushing, then Dr. Rice said "Feel the head! It's right there!" When I felt that, I went into what Mr. G later described as a zoned in, dedicated, down to business attitude and pushed like it was going out of style! Things got a little intense at the crowning, but then the head was out, then shoulders, then there was a beautiful screaming baby girl!! She is adored by her daddy and is doing so well! She was a little jaundiced and breast feeding got off to a slow start, but we are moving forward with great strides! Mr. G claims he loves changing her diapers and I have plans to encourage that attitude for the foreseeable future (wink.)