I'm starting at the beginning because I've had this written, but not posted since the day after we brought Riley home!
On Monday, July 28th , I woke up at 6:45am with cramps in my stomach – much like menstrual cramps but not that bad so I wasn’t sure if they were contractions or not immediately. But then I realized they were coming every 9 minutes EXACTLY like clockwork. I called my doula to check in with her at 7:30 so we could discuss our game plan. I have to say she’s a woman that’s never off work! She answered her phone in the shower!! I already had a dr’s appointment that morning at 945, so we decided I’d go to my dr’s appointment then we’d decide if I would come back home to labor before going to the hospital.
Kelly and I got ready and packed our last few remaining items then headed to my appointment. At my appointment, we learned I was already dilated to 4cm and my contractions were getting closer together so Dr. Fuller sent us to Labor & Delivery at Baylor. We were all checked in and in our labor and delivery room by 11am. At this point, my contractions were close to 5 minutes apart. Our labor and delivery nurse was Michelle. She was AWESOME!
My Mom & sister got there around noon. Melissa joined us after lunch around 2. At this point, I was still dilated at a 4 so my dr asked about breaking my water. I felt like I hadn’t been in labor that long, so we negotiated that she’d give me until my next checkpoint to progress on my own. By my next checkpoint at 5pm, I was at 5 cm (with a little help from Michelle).
At 6pm, we decided they would break my water to help progress things along. Unfortunately, Riley’s head was in a position that made breaking my water difficult. Or at least it was difficult for us to know if they had successfully broken my water. Let’s just say his noggin was acting like a cork, so not much water ever came out.
At 7pm, I was dilated at 7cm and the contractions were definitely getting stronger. Melissa and Kelly were awesome! They massaged my back during contractions and coached me through the really difficult ones. The 8-10cm dilation contractions were definitely the WORST!! I couldn’t have made it through them without Kelly assuring me I could do it and Melissa telling me that once I got to 10cm there would be relief when it was time to push. I must say I didn’t believe her at the time!!
Finally at 10:30pm, I was at 10cm and it was time to PUSH! Little did I know that pushing would prove to be such an art form that a 1st time Mom has to take time to figure out! I also didn’t realize it takes a village! My Mom had one leg, my night nurse – Jen – the other, Melissa counted on my right side and Kelly was my #1 cheerleader on the left side! My sister Amy was there cheering too, but I think she make be scarred for life due to her front row seat for the main event! They all deserve some credit for helping get this little man into the world too! We pushed and pushed and pushed every 3 minutes until Riley Braxton finally arrived at 12:14am on July 29th!
Melissa was totally right! After all, she does do this for a living!! There was relief from the pain during the push phase, but OMG! It was more difficult than any workout I have EVER done in my LIFE! Actually – I think having worked out made it more difficult b/c I kept blowing my breath out as I would push (like you’re supposed to when you workout)! And when you’re having a baby, you have to hold that breath in the entire push! Hard to rewire yourself right in the moment when you’ve been blowing out for YEARS!
Anyway, I’ve done some pretty difficult workouts, but this was by far the most difficult and the most rewarding! Riley and I both looked like PRIZED fighters after out 2 hour push battle though! My eyes were swollen and I had popped blood vessels in them. He had one of the biggest cone heads I’ve EVER seen and puffy eyes!
Unfortunately, when he was born the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck pretty tight which had also caused him to distress and release his first poop while still in the womb. That meant he had to go to the NICU to get suctioned out and make sure everything was okay. By the time they finished cleaning us both up, we were all reunited in our recovery room by 4am. Luckily, I didn’t know the cord had been wrapped around his neck until the following day – in some instances in life – ignorance is bliss!
And I did it! No pain medication!! My 1st gift to my son! A drug free entry into the world! Kelly told me I was a machine - a terminator! I'm not sure about that! I did accept the Motrin they offered me the next day! ;) However, I have to say I barely had any pain postpartum too so it was totally worth it!
