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Most women I know seem to have a morbid fascination with the details of each other's labour and delivery. I know I do. So here's my story:
I suppose if I want to get really technical it began Sunday, the 21st. That night I experienced regular cramping but it turned out my body was just teasing me and to my disappointment the action ebbed by 4 A.M ish. I was than left me alone all day Monday. By Monday late afternoon they began again but nothing uncomfortable, just there. They continued into the evening in regular waves and I thought okay, maybe. During the night there were times when the cramps strengthened to the point of me needing to breath through them and I dared call them contractions in my mind a that point. They were rather erratic though, regular for awhile and then intermittent, stronger and then weaker. I was able to get some of what I'll call sleep in between and then by 4 A.M the pains again off died to the point where I fell asleep for real, vaguely aware of the occasional pain but nothing significant. When Trevor's alarm went off at 6:45 contractions kicked in with a vengeance and within a half and hour I knew this was it and that it was "time to go."
When I say kicked in with a vengeance I mean with a vengeance! They were hard and every three minutes and I was panting away like an overheated dog and gripping the quilt for all it was worth. They tell you to relax into your contractions and imagine them working for you....yeah right! With Sierra they worked their way up in intensity and I could get through them by the time they were bad but this didn't give me a fighting chance!
We arrived at the hospital by eight where I was assessed pretty promptly and told I was at a good 4 cm dilated. Phew! With Sierra we went to the hospital three times before there was any progress and they would admit me so I was praying this was the real deal this time. They barely uttered the words "prepping your room" and I was begging for an epidural. The pain of my contractions was unreal and like most women in labour I declared that I was not doing it again!
I envy those women who say labour wasn't really that bad. Both of mine were that bad and no way was I enduring them 'au natural.' Epidurals are wonderful things and I had mine by about 9:45A.M. They also gave me some morphine while waiting for the anesthetist to arrive for the epidural. I'd never had morphine - that's good stuff too but all it did was lessen the severity of the peaks of the contractions.
Epidural doing its magic I dozed and listen to music and let my body work. By just before noon I'd made it to 7cm and my OB/Gyn decided to quicken things a bit with some Oxytocin (sp?). By 12:30 I was ready to push. With Sierra the epidural froze me right down to my toes and although that was apparently too much I felt absolutely nothing. This time around I felt everything as I pushed Sawyer out. Well, it felt like everything, my senses may have been dulled somewhat but the whole "ring of fire" burn was definitely there. It's a great motivator to getting a baby out! After twenty minutes of pushing - I'd forgotten how much work that was - Sawyer Henry was born at 12:51 P.M.
We named him Sawyer simply because I saw the name in a baby book and we like it. We do watch the TV show Lost and I remember us commenting on how we liked the name Sawyer because of the character on the show but when it came to picking his name it came from a book. The name Henry is after my dad, both grandpas, my great grandpa, and Trevor's grandpa.
He's a great baby and my recovery is going well. I feel like I can't keep up with life most days but I know that will quickly change. We are content and complete and I'm glad it's all over with!
I suppose if I want to get really technical it began Sunday, the 21st. That night I experienced regular cramping but it turned out my body was just teasing me and to my disappointment the action ebbed by 4 A.M ish. I was than left me alone all day Monday. By Monday late afternoon they began again but nothing uncomfortable, just there. They continued into the evening in regular waves and I thought okay, maybe. During the night there were times when the cramps strengthened to the point of me needing to breath through them and I dared call them contractions in my mind a that point. They were rather erratic though, regular for awhile and then intermittent, stronger and then weaker. I was able to get some of what I'll call sleep in between and then by 4 A.M the pains again off died to the point where I fell asleep for real, vaguely aware of the occasional pain but nothing significant. When Trevor's alarm went off at 6:45 contractions kicked in with a vengeance and within a half and hour I knew this was it and that it was "time to go."
When I say kicked in with a vengeance I mean with a vengeance! They were hard and every three minutes and I was panting away like an overheated dog and gripping the quilt for all it was worth. They tell you to relax into your contractions and imagine them working for you....yeah right! With Sierra they worked their way up in intensity and I could get through them by the time they were bad but this didn't give me a fighting chance!
We arrived at the hospital by eight where I was assessed pretty promptly and told I was at a good 4 cm dilated. Phew! With Sierra we went to the hospital three times before there was any progress and they would admit me so I was praying this was the real deal this time. They barely uttered the words "prepping your room" and I was begging for an epidural. The pain of my contractions was unreal and like most women in labour I declared that I was not doing it again!
I envy those women who say labour wasn't really that bad. Both of mine were that bad and no way was I enduring them 'au natural.' Epidurals are wonderful things and I had mine by about 9:45A.M. They also gave me some morphine while waiting for the anesthetist to arrive for the epidural. I'd never had morphine - that's good stuff too but all it did was lessen the severity of the peaks of the contractions.
Epidural doing its magic I dozed and listen to music and let my body work. By just before noon I'd made it to 7cm and my OB/Gyn decided to quicken things a bit with some Oxytocin (sp?). By 12:30 I was ready to push. With Sierra the epidural froze me right down to my toes and although that was apparently too much I felt absolutely nothing. This time around I felt everything as I pushed Sawyer out. Well, it felt like everything, my senses may have been dulled somewhat but the whole "ring of fire" burn was definitely there. It's a great motivator to getting a baby out! After twenty minutes of pushing - I'd forgotten how much work that was - Sawyer Henry was born at 12:51 P.M.
We named him Sawyer simply because I saw the name in a baby book and we like it. We do watch the TV show Lost and I remember us commenting on how we liked the name Sawyer because of the character on the show but when it came to picking his name it came from a book. The name Henry is after my dad, both grandpas, my great grandpa, and Trevor's grandpa.
He's a great baby and my recovery is going well. I feel like I can't keep up with life most days but I know that will quickly change. We are content and complete and I'm glad it's all over with!
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