| Griffin's Birth Story |
| 7/8/02 ~ 1:30p After a promising doctor appt that revealed I was 3+ cm dilated, 80% effaced, and baby was low in pelvis I went home and continued to experience mild to moderate cx�s every 12-15 minutes. This continued all afternoon and evening. Chris and I went to bed at 10p and I woke up at 11:30p with a painful cx. I timed the next one and it was 5 minutes�then another 7 minutes, then 5 minutes, etc. I knew they were getting closer and started to really believe that this could actually be IT. I woke Chris up and we lay in bed holding hands facing each other as I breathed through the cx�s. They were requiring some effort to get through but because I had 5-7 minutes in between them I could handle it. We were fairly excited also and I suggested we put on some cd�s to �set the mood�. For some reason I just HAD to hear The Eagles, Hotel California so Chris put on the music and we chilled. �On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, warm smell of colitis, rising up through the air�� We continued for a couple hours and the cx�s seemed to be slowly getting closer and I was getting nervous thinking that I might be going fast and approaching transition. I called my doula and she thought that we still had a ways to go and suggested that we try and rest as much as we could. She told us to turn off the lights and try to sleep in between cx�s. HA! Easier said than done. I did as she suggested but could not sleep at all. After a few minutes I noticed Chris�s breathing had steadied and he had fallen asleep. I thought, �this is SO not fair..I don�t want to be alone during this� so after about 30 minutes I woke him up and we continued to hold hands in the dark and get thru the pain together. Chris suggested I take a shower around 4am and I did. I washed my hair and shaved my legs�I had two cx�s in the shower and they really hurt badly. I noticed that standing up during a cx was much more painful than lying down. After the shower they started coming fast and furious�about every 3 minutes and I was getting very anxious and wanted to go to the hospital. I knew Sawyer would be up around 6am and I didn�t want to have to deal with seeing him during this much pain. I called my Dr. who was waiting for my call. She said to come right in. We called the doula and told her to meet us at the hospital. |
| As we walked out the door I knew that things would never be the same again. I became emotional and knew that we were literally hours away from meeting our second child. I was about to become a Mom of two. I felt strong and ready for this challenge. The car ride was awful! It was so painful having cx�s while the car was moving and sitting in the front seat. We came to two red lights that Chris stopped at and both times I looked around, saw there were no cars in sight and said, �Blow the light, HURRY!!!� I figured if we got pulled over, the cop would understand. This was a movie moment for sure! We arrived at the hospital and they were waiting for us. My Dr. checked me and confirmed that I was at 6 cm. I was hoping to be 7 or 8 but I was happy with 6. She offered to break my water bag but I refused. I still wanted to avoid any unnecessary interventions. I also refused the IV and asked not to be offered any drugs of any kind. Chris handed out my birth plan and we settled in for the long haul. The doula (I�ll call her �D�) arrived a few minutes later and it was so wonderful to see her! She had the portable stereo with her and we put in a Joni Mitchell cd which was soothing to me. We started out in good spirits and were practicing taking a deep cleansing breath at the beginning of each contraction and slowly breathing, relaxing every part of my body during it. We talked and joked in between cx�s and were still excited that this was finally IT. Things got more serious as time wore on and the cx�s were getting stronger. I had all the classic cx�s that I had read about�the echo, the piggy-back, the double peak�I wanted them to be consistent and became upset when they did weird things like that..I would say after it was over, �What WAS that. Why did it do that?� It was really comforting to have D explaining everything as if it was completely normal, expected and a good thing because in fact, it was! It was just scary, also. I agreed to EFM (electronic fetal monitoring) for 15 minutes every hour or so but hated having those belts around my belly. They were uncomfortable and kept me tethered to the bed area�I knew they would want to do that and it was reassuring to know that the baby�s heart rate kept steady during all the cx�s. I was checked again at 8am and was 8 cm. Yay! I was making good progress. Enya played in the background and was appropriately soothing. This is where things got intense. The cx�s were almost too much for me to bear and they were very frightening to me. I was very in tune with Chris and HAD to hold his hand and look into his eyes for every one. We were an incredible team and although there were other people around and small amounts of activity in the room, it was as if it were just he and I riding through each wave together. D was also there and I would often reach for her hand also to hold onto during the cx�s. I needed my support people immensely and could never have been doing this alone. |
| We tried different positions but the birthing ball was my favorite. I felt I could stand the cx�s while on the ball but could not in any other position. If I used the bathroom and had one it was excruciating. If I was on the bed on hands and knees position it was awful, too. Thank goodness for that ball! We got into the shower with the ball a few times and the hot water on my back felt really good. I wished there were tubs in my hospital, though, I bet that would have been really wonderful.Two hours later I asked to be checked again and found I was still at 8 cm. My world came crashing down around me and I began to cry and feel desperate. How could I not have made progress in the past two hours?? I just endured the most horrific pain I�ve ever known and it was for nothing?? This was a dark moment in my labor. My OB suggested again breaking the water bag and this time I said Yes. At this point, I was willing to do a little something to help move things along as I felt at the end of my rope. My water broke (it was really warm) and it was confirmed no meconium. |
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