tennyson's birth story: Chapter 2
Seriously, I shouldn't even be giving you this, since nobody commented on chapter 1, but I'm just so nice. Sometimes.
I woke up at about 1:45am. I was having a contraction. I'd had some Braxton Hicks contractions for a couple of weeks already, but this was not one of them. I went to the washroom and discovered that my water was leaking. I was determined not to freak out and wake my midwife just yet, because women can labour forever before it gets really serious. I shut off the light and went back to the bed to use the stopwatch on my cell-phone to time a few contractions. It's recommended that women wait until contractions are about a minute long and 3 - 5 minutes apart (from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next) before calling a doctor or midwife. My next contraction was big, painful, and lasted well over a minute. Less than a minute later the next big hairy contraction started. I flipped the lamp back on and shook Steven. I have never seen Steven wake up and move so fast!
In the next moment our room became a flurry of activity. I called my midwife, Steven called his dad to come and pick up Jordan, and then he started filling the pool. I remember going to the basement to see if I could find an extra pail, and it took me three stops to hang onto furniture while breathing through contractions to do it, all the while thinking that it had taken much longer to get to this point with Jordan.
By 2:15 my midwives had arrived, Steven's dad had come and gone, and I was lowering myself painfully into the pool. I was already 5 cm's dilated, and I had only been up for half an hour! I thought my contractions had been painful 30 minutes ago, and it was only getting more intense. I breathed, and cried, and liquefied Stevens hands for the next little while. My midwives, having checked me over, were in the hall filling out paperwork, giving me space to do my thing. I remember desperately saying to Steven "I'm so stupid, why am I home, I can't do this..." He just held me tighter, rubbed my back and assured me that I'd be fine (easy for him to say).
As any mommy knows, there's this point where you almost kind of start pushing before you even really start to bear down - your body just steps in and decides it's time. It's like you're not really pushing, but you're not really not-pushing either. Natalie (one of the midwives) asked "Tiffany, are you starting to push?" I answered "I don't know, I think so." She checked again to discover that I was fully dilated and she could feel his head "right there." She also noticed that the water had cooled off. "Do you think you can make it to the bed?" she asked. "I don't think so," I said. At her and Steven's gentle urging, and with Steven's help I got out of the pool and onto the bed. I was pretty amazed, I honestly thought there was no way I'd be able to stand up and walk around. This was around 3 o'clock. I now started pushing in earnest. It was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. There was one moment, when I could feel him right close but not moving that I said in frustration (or anguish) "Why won't he come out!!" But he did with the next push. the midwives were a little amused afterwards, because my entire labour and delivery had been only two hours, and I had pushed for only about 15 minutes.
At 3:45 he was here! He was here, and he was big and squishy and had a head full of actual hair and blue eyes and fat legs and chubby arms and the most perfect little face you'd ever seen. I was in love all over again for the third time in my life. He was cuddly and grunty and instantly hungry. I'm sure I nursed him within the first 10 or 15 minutes of his being born - at his insistence.
He weighed in at 8 pounds 15 ounces
and 21.5 inches.
He was big and beautiful and all ours.
*****
I woke up at about 1:45am. I was having a contraction. I'd had some Braxton Hicks contractions for a couple of weeks already, but this was not one of them. I went to the washroom and discovered that my water was leaking. I was determined not to freak out and wake my midwife just yet, because women can labour forever before it gets really serious. I shut off the light and went back to the bed to use the stopwatch on my cell-phone to time a few contractions. It's recommended that women wait until contractions are about a minute long and 3 - 5 minutes apart (from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next) before calling a doctor or midwife. My next contraction was big, painful, and lasted well over a minute. Less than a minute later the next big hairy contraction started. I flipped the lamp back on and shook Steven. I have never seen Steven wake up and move so fast!
In the next moment our room became a flurry of activity. I called my midwife, Steven called his dad to come and pick up Jordan, and then he started filling the pool. I remember going to the basement to see if I could find an extra pail, and it took me three stops to hang onto furniture while breathing through contractions to do it, all the while thinking that it had taken much longer to get to this point with Jordan.
By 2:15 my midwives had arrived, Steven's dad had come and gone, and I was lowering myself painfully into the pool. I was already 5 cm's dilated, and I had only been up for half an hour! I thought my contractions had been painful 30 minutes ago, and it was only getting more intense. I breathed, and cried, and liquefied Stevens hands for the next little while. My midwives, having checked me over, were in the hall filling out paperwork, giving me space to do my thing. I remember desperately saying to Steven "I'm so stupid, why am I home, I can't do this..." He just held me tighter, rubbed my back and assured me that I'd be fine (easy for him to say).
As any mommy knows, there's this point where you almost kind of start pushing before you even really start to bear down - your body just steps in and decides it's time. It's like you're not really pushing, but you're not really not-pushing either. Natalie (one of the midwives) asked "Tiffany, are you starting to push?" I answered "I don't know, I think so." She checked again to discover that I was fully dilated and she could feel his head "right there." She also noticed that the water had cooled off. "Do you think you can make it to the bed?" she asked. "I don't think so," I said. At her and Steven's gentle urging, and with Steven's help I got out of the pool and onto the bed. I was pretty amazed, I honestly thought there was no way I'd be able to stand up and walk around. This was around 3 o'clock. I now started pushing in earnest. It was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. There was one moment, when I could feel him right close but not moving that I said in frustration (or anguish) "Why won't he come out!!" But he did with the next push. the midwives were a little amused afterwards, because my entire labour and delivery had been only two hours, and I had pushed for only about 15 minutes.
At 3:45 he was here! He was here, and he was big and squishy and had a head full of actual hair and blue eyes and fat legs and chubby arms and the most perfect little face you'd ever seen. I was in love all over again for the third time in my life. He was cuddly and grunty and instantly hungry. I'm sure I nursed him within the first 10 or 15 minutes of his being born - at his insistence.
He weighed in at 8 pounds 15 ounces
and 21.5 inches.
He was big and beautiful and all ours.
(ps - I'm posting this picture
even though I'm all naked
and chubby and puffy
because it's his first one.
Please just focus on the baby!)
But the story doesn't end here...
even though I'm all naked
and chubby and puffy
because it's his first one.
Please just focus on the baby!)
Comments
Now where's chapter 3???