Livin' With The Lehmans: November 2010

It's a long one folks, but I didn't want to leave anything out!

It all began at 4:30 am on November 10, 2010. Wednesday. I was 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant. My guess was that I would go into labor late Tuesday night. Not bad huh? So here is how the story goes…

As I was lying in bed, tossing and turning (from side to side since that is the only way you are allowed to sleep when pregnant), I started having sharp pains that resembled menstrual cramps. I thought to myself, “This is weird. The whole time I’ve been pregnant I have never felt these pains before.” I never really had Braxton Hicks contractions that I know of, so I automatically ruled this possibility out. Worried, I immediately picked up my Blackberry and googled stomach cramps at 39 weeks pregnant. Well to my surprise, all of the results mentioned early labor. That was it. No more sleep for me! As I sat on the side of the bed pondering what to do, many questions/concerns ran through my head. Was this the real deal?? Was I really in labor?? Were we going to meet our son today?? What happens next?? Was I prepared for this??

After an hour of trying to go back to sleep, I decided I should go rest on the couch. I had to be at work at 9:00 so I could sleep for about two more hours. Forget it. With each contraction came more anxiety, pain, and intensity. I timed them and wrote each one down. They were coming anywhere from five to two minutes apart. I decided to call our doula, Jacqueline, and let her know what was happening. She politely told me this could be it, or these pains could last for days. At 7:00 Pat came downstairs and suggested we go for a walk before I got ready for work. So we did. Needless to say, we only made it to the end of our street! I came home, took a shower, and decided work was not an option. I WAS IN LABOR! I called work and filled them in on what was happening.

At 10:15 I told Pat it was time to call the doctor. I couldn’t stand it any longer. He called the doctor and they said for me come on in to the office and I would be checked out before heading to the hospital. Thankfully, the bags were packed and in the car ready to go. I called my mom on the way to the doctor’s office and told her I was getting “checked out” but not to worry. Once we arrived at the doctor’s office, we had to wait for almost fifteen minutes. How ridiculous. I wasn’t about to go sit in the crowded waiting room so I chose to stand in the hall and continue to breathe through each contraction. Several nurses walked by and asked if I was ok. Did they think I was swaying back and forth and breathing heavily for the hell of it? Pat responded with, “I think she is in labor.”

FINALLY. They rushed me to a room and Dr. Neal hurried in. He looked at me and said, “You look like you want an epidural.” Seriously? I was in pain but didn’t think I looked that bad. Oh well. More motivation for me to do it NATURALLY. Yes, I said it. After the exam, he told me I was dilated 4 centimeters and I was in fact, in labor. This just confirmed everything I already knew (keep in mind at my 39 week appointment the day before I was only dilated 1 centimeter and had been that way for 2 ½ weeks). The doc suggested we head to the hospital and get checked in to labor and delivery.

Pit stop. We were hungry. Well, Pat was hungry and I figured I should eat a little something since I hadn’t eaten since 9:00. We went through the drive through at Hardee’s (I hate this place but it was the only fast food around) and I ordered a small fry. Even through the contractions, the fries were delicious! I never imagined myself inhaling french fries while in labor! Do what you have to do right?

At noon we got checked into our room and situated. The room was very spacious. I was impressed. Within minutes of our arrival, Jacqueline was there and ready to coach me along. Before I even got my hospital gown on, the nurses asked, “What would you like for pain?” I responded with, “Nothing. I will let you know if I think I need something.” Again, more motivation. I handed the nurses my birth plan and let them read for themselves how I intended for the labor and delivery to go. They agreed to try their best to stick to the plan. Even though I did not want an IV, my doc warned me a head of time that they would have to start a block in case of an emergency. Fine. I would suck it up…

Or so I thought. When the two nurses came in, one said to the other, “I will let you try this one.” My heart skipped a beat. You mean she was actually going to let a student/nurse-in-training stick a needle in my arm when I am highly TERRIFIED of needles? Great. What a way to start this whole process. Then the phone rang. Perfect-the student got a phone call! When she left, I politely informed the other nurse how scared I was of needles. She said, “Don’t worry. It won’t be that bad.” Yea right. She obviously didn’t know me. Of course, she waited for the student to come back to practice stabbing me. That’s what it felt like- a knife going in my arm. She inserted it with great difficulty into my forearm so it wouldn’t be in the way. It literally took at least five minutes for her to get it right. Ouch. I didn’t say them, but believe me, I was thinking a few choice words. When you can see blood squirting out of the corner of your eye it’s never a good thing. More motivation. NO MORE NEEDLES FOR THIS GIRL. Next, they strapped on the baby heart monitor and the contraction monitor to my stomach. The contraction monitor didn’t last long because it was uncomfortable and jabbed in my stomach. Plus it was pretty obvious I was in a nice, consistent contraction pattern.

For the next two hours I walked the halls, stopping to breathe through each contraction. You should have seen some of the looks I got. Are women in labor not allowed to move around anymore? That’s what it seemed like. When the pain intensified, I decided it was time to stay in the room and work it out. Pat plugged in the CD player, got the music going, turned down the lights, and I paced back and forth, leaning over the end of the bed during contractions. After pacing for a while I decided I needed to sit down and rest between contractions so I pulled a chair up to the end of the bed. I continued this for another two hours. I would go into my “zone” and pop right out between contractions. I commend Jacqueline for whispering words of encouragement through every single contraction. Because my contractions stayed in a wonderful pattern, I was completely on my own without augmentation.

As I was beginning to transition, I got more serious and shaky and began to feel pressure- a lot of pressure. I knew I had serious work ahead! Then out of nowhere, gush- warm water everywhere. What in the world? I was scared. I thought for sure I lost all control of my body and urinated everywhere. Gross. Nope- it was just my water breaking. Thank God this didn’t happen at home! I knew it would eventually happen, but I got so caught up in breathing that I completely forgot about it.

Around 5:00, after my water broke, the nurses checked my cervix to see how much I had progressed. I was 5 to 6 centimeters and a +2 station. Are you kidding me? So far I had been laboring for 12 ½ hours and I was only at 5 to 6 centimeters? Yikes. I was frustrated. After checking me, the nurses said the baby needed to turn (180 degrees) before delivery. In order to help Owen turn, the nurses suggested I get on the bed on my hands and knees to ramp things up. Thirty minutes later the nurses checked again and Owen had turned-AND I was at 9 ½ centimeters! Yay! Finally! Only one more to go. I lied on my side to rest in between contractions, and to help the cervix complete dilation. It was hard for me to stay on top of the contractions while lying down, but I held on to the side rails for dear life and managed to do it!

Our doctor had a scheduled c-section at 4:00 and would be tied up for an hour. At 5:00 he came by to check on me on his way to the c-section. Considering he wouldn’t be done until 6:00 or so, the nurses called to make sure there was another doctor available just in case Dr. Neal couldn’t make it in time.

Around 6:20 I was at 10 centimeters and ready to push. Time to celebrate!! Baby Owen was an arm’s length away!! Even though the doctor wasn’t there yet, the nurses told me to start pushing during the next contraction. The urge to push was painful, but not nearly as bad as the contractions that got me there. While zoning in and out of “labor land”, I heard the nurses telling Pat Dr. Neal was dressed in his scrubs and coming down the hall. Good thing he finished his c-section in time!

I never realized that in between contractions and pushing you have a few seconds (ok maybe a minute) to rest and regain your focus. During this time the doctor encouraged me to fight through it, and he also got a chance to talk with Pat. At one point during the resting state, I overheard my lovely husband say, “Anybody got any good jokes?” I wanted to kill him! Couldn’t he see this was NOT the time or the place for a joke?! Oh well, he kept it entertaining (as if my appearance/state of mind wasn’t entertaining enough!). Pat also slipped up and mentioned the french fries…oops...not a good idea when you aren’t supposed to eat while in labor! Good thing we never saw the fries for a second time.

As Baby Owen was descending down the birth canal, the doctor asked me the dreaded question: “Melissa, why are you against an episiotomy?” Well my automatic response was, “Because I don’t want it to hurt.” HAHA. Was I really concerned about pain at this point? I had been laboring for 14 hours with no medication or monitoring and I was worried about having more pain? I guess I had it in my head that if you choose to deliver naturally then that means you can feel everything- even the episiotomy. Luckily, the doctor told me he could give me a local anesthetic so I wouldn’t feel it. And, if he did this, then I would have Owen within the next few contractions. More motivation! Yes! Anything to get this baby out! After the next contraction, I vividly remember Dr. Neal saying, “Melissa look down at your baby!” I watched as he pulled the rest of Owen’s body out and placed him on my chest. After about forty five minutes of pushing, a perineum massage, and the episiotomy, (which was considered second degree) Owen Turner Lehman arrived into this world at 7:08 pm! He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 19 ¾ inches long. Owen’s Apgar scores were 8 and 9 (out of 10). How incredible it was to see something so beautiful, innocent, and perfect that we created!

People ask me, “How in the world did you do it naturally?” There are several different things that really influenced my decision: prenatal yoga, a very supportive husband, an awesome doula, curiosity of what childbirth really felt like, the importance of having a drug-free baby at birth, and let’s not forget…being terrified of needles. One might ask, “Would you do it again?” My response: “Of course. Especially since I know what to expect, and I know I can do it!”