My Labor Story - Part 1

Written in real time on Saturday, September 5th.
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As I write this, I am in labor. I am 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant, though we all know due dates aren't an exact science. I'm going to try and keep a log of what happens before we leave for the birthing center (hence the 'Part 1' of the title) and will hopefully be able to post 'Part 2' sometime in the next couple of days. No promises though, I hope to be staring in the beautiful eyes of a brand new baby girl. :)

Last night (Friday), Bruce and I went to a new restaurant and I hoped to try some spicy foods to encourage Babin to leave her comfy nest. I ate N'Awlins style red beans and rice with extra hot sauce. I'd say we went for a walk after dinner, but really it was just the hike up to the car in the parking garage. More activity than I'd had in 2 days since I was resting a lot to be ready and fueled with energy.

We came home and had a light snack before going to bed at 10 pm. I think I fell asleep almost instantly.

Around 1 am I woke up to the first contraction of the night. After breathing through it and trying to visualize a flower opening its buds, I think I fell back asleep. But just a light sleep. For the next hour, I tried to time my contractions on my own, in my head. This was a bad idea. I am no good at remembering important numbers at 1 am. So I woke Bruce up, told him what had been happening, and came down stairs.

***
It is now 2:12 am and the contractions continue. I am tracking them with a website called Contraction Master. Very cool. Now if only I had an iPhone to use the portable app. I am sitting on an exercise ball, with a towel over it since my bag of waters is still intact. Figured I could use this time to write some blog posts for the next few days so you all have something to read when you come looking for the 2nd half of this story and pictures of the newest addition to the Sabin Family.

***
3:22 am - My contractions have been pretty consistent for the past hour or so. They are about 1 minute long, every 4 minutes. I just spoke with Melissa the midwife on call this weekend and the plan is for me to stay home for now, keep hydrated, and call her when the sun comes up (or sooner if there is any major change). Laboring at home is more comfortable for me now than trying to go some where. No need to call anyone just yet though, let them rest so they have energy to follow Charlotte around later today!

***
5:15 am - I decided to lay down on my left side around 4 am to get some rest and it definitely slowed the contractions down. But, by 4:45 am I felt they were stronger than before. I was dozing off in between since they had become more spaced out. Since Charlotte will be up in less than 2 hours, I called my mom and asked her to head down. I want to make sure there is someone here that can help distract Charlotte until it is time for us to head to the birthing center. I haven't been drinking fluids though because I was resting, but now I am up and will try to drink a glass of red raspberry leaf tea.

***
9:20 am - I am still contracting and they are coming in ebbs and flows. Bruce and I just took a 20 minute walk and the contraction were more bearable when I was standing up as opposed to sitting. Melissa just called to check on me and she recommended some calcium magnesium and a warm bath so I can get some rest. We expect to talk again in 2-3 hours depending on how I am feeling.

***
12:54 pm - I took a long soak in warm water then laid in bed until about 12:15. I still had contractions, but they were much easier to manage in the tub. Resting felt good. I finally got up when I had a few very uncomfortable contractions that were hard to manage laying down. But things are kind of sporadic now. Ugh! I just wish this thing would stop or move forward. Bruce and I took another walk and then I ate a Healthy Choice turkey meal.

***
2:00 pm - I decided to was time to see the midwife so I called to have her check my progress. We met her at the birthing center and I was 5 cm dilated and about 90% effaced. This was good news to me. I was still exhausted, so she said to go home, take a Benadryl, and lay down so I would have energy for the hard work still to come.

***
5:00 pm - I've napped and taken another walk outside. And the contractions are about 2-3 minutes apart. It i now time to go to the birth center. I call Melissa and she says she will meet us there.

I'll share the rest of the story soon...

Comments

  1. YEAH!!! Can't wait to hear the happy ending!!

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  2. I'll be waiting to hear about the arrival of baby girl Sabin. Best wishes for an easy delivery.

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  3. Waiting with eager anticipation for the rest of the story!

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  4. I am in awe that you're calmly typing away while giving birth :)

    The epitome of the modern, techy woman you are amazing!

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  5. thanks for sharing this wonderful story. I used your advice and got addicted to testing the contraction timer app on the net, but then decided to get one for the blackberry phone itself. bought for a few dollars from www.contractioncalc.com

    ReplyDelete

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