My Birth Story

This was originally written on Thursday, April 10, 2008:

I think my days of having a good third trimester are over. I spent more time sleeping today than doing anything else. I haven't felt this fatigued since the first trimester. I read that my body could be trying to conserve energy, as is common right before labor. Or, it could be because I had a horrible night last night! I didn't sleep well at all because I was so uncomfortable. This evening I was on the couch complaining about how stretched to the max my stomach feels these days. Imagine wearing the tightest clothes possible--that's how my skin feels. Not fun. Anyway, the TLC show, John & Kate Plus 8 was starting. I've seen parts before, but never an entire episode. In the opening they showed Kate pregnant with six babies and suddenly my abdomen felt better, lol. Talk about stretched to the max. To be pregnant with six babies would be HORRIBLE!!!!

Speaking of which, my contraction-like-thingies have gotten even stronger. Now many times they're not just uncomfortable but painful. Earlier today I was so caught off guard I yelled, "That freaking hurt." Joe laughed at me.

Next weekend there is a full moon and doctors swear that more babies are born during full moons than on other days, so I'm hopeful. (By then I'll be thirty-seven weeks.)

In other news, Melissa (who is in Arizona now) learned that a couple is about to put an offer on their house!

I will conclude this blog with the birth story that my mom wrote right after I was born.

Andrea's Birth

About nine days before I delivered Andrea I developed a terrible backache. The pain was so severe I had to stay in bed nearly all day. On December 20 the pain seemed worse and by evening I felt I would go crazy if I didn’t get some relief. I tried hot baths, a heating pad, aspirin, and back exercises -- yet the backache remained unbearable. Since I was only seven months pregnant, it never occurred to me that I was in labor.

After midnight, I started having hot flashes and cold chills. The back pains were so bad I couldn’t lay still. I paced up and down the hallway almost all night long to take my mind off the discomfort.

About 8:00 am on Friday morning (December 21) I saw a pinkish discharge and realized I might be in labor. I told Joe, who was still in bed. I called my doctor, Dr. Mintzer -- but he was in Mexico on vacation. So, I showered and then called the obstetrician-on-call, Dr. Naanep, whom I had never met. (I had heard he was good and was recommended by my doctor.) He said to meet him at his office in an hour.

We arrived to his office at 10:00 am. He checked me, said I was in labor, dilated to 4 cm., the baby was 3 lbs., and it would be a breech birth. He called Joe into the exam room to tell him to take me over to the hospital, and that he would come over at noon.

We checked into the hospital at 10:30 am and I was admitted immediately. The admit clerk asked Joe when my birthdate was and he said, “Sometime the end of February.” (He thought she said when was my due date.) Joe also left the car parked at the front door of the hospital until that evening after 5:00 pm. Then he remembered he had never moved it to the parking lot.

After I changed into a hospital gown the labor nurse checked me and said the cervix was dilated to 5 cm. She hooked me up to the fetal monitor while Joe put on the labor/delivery room clothes.

At noon the cervix was dilated to 6 cm. The nurse suggested a warm shower to relieve the back labor pains. At 2 pm, Dr. Naanep checked me and I was still at 6 cm. He broke my water and the cervix immediately dilated to 8 cm. Moments later I felt the urge to push and said, “It feels like the feet are coming out.”

Dr. Naanep said he would meet me in the delivery room in two minutes. The nurse unstrapped the monitor and wheeled me down the hall. On the way to delivery, I kept saying, “I feel the feet coming out.”

It was on my record that I wanted Dr. Bilgi to be the pediatrician, so the hospital called him in Ankeny. (I had never met him either, but he was recommended by my doctor.) Joe left to put on some paper covers over his boots.

I moved over to the delivery room table. The contractions were continuous. I started to hyperventilate and feel out of control. My skin was stinging. I was hot and then cold. I wanted to see the birth in the delivery room mirror, but I didn’t have my glasses. I soon learned there was too much going on around me to watch anyway.

The nurse put the slant board up against my back so I was sitting up straight. I remember having my knee socks on because my feet were cold. I tried to breathe like I was supposed to, but we had only been to the first four (out of eight) childbirth classes and I couldn’t think or concentrate.

With every contraction I felt more of the legs hanging down. I was nervous. The doctor and Joe weren’t in the delivery room yet. I could see them scrubbing up through the window in front of me.

Finally, they came in. The nurse helped hold my knees back. Dr. Naanep gave me a local anesthesia and made the incision for the episiotomy. By this time I felt as if the baby’s body must be out. It was such hard work. The pushing was draining me. I didn’t have any energy left to push anymore. I heard someone screaming and wondered who it was. When I stopped for a moment, I realized it was me.

The shoulders came out. The nurse said, “Stop screaming and start pushing.” Joe and the nurse looked worried and serious. They both said, “You have got to push more.” (They were concerned that the delivery was starting to put stress on the baby.)

I saw Dr. Bilgi come in with more nurses and he gave me an “annoyed” look for screaming so loud. I thought the screaming would help me push harder. And shouldn’t the delivery be over by now? But the head wasn’t out yet. I felt as if I was going to die from the excruciating pain of being ripped in two. But, no one could help me do this. I thought, before I die I am going to have to push this baby out!

I was wondering why so many people were walking in and out of the delivery room while I was trying to give birth. The doctor said, “I have to cut the toenails.” I heard him clipping. Later, I found out he was cutting me.

I heard the doctor say, “It’s a girl.” (I thought the doctor must have made a mistake, because everyone had been telling me I was going to have a boy.) I couldn’t believe I was still alive after all that pushing. My backache was gone! I thought, “A girl...that’s even better.”

I noticed she had vernix (a white coating premature babies have) on her. They wiped her off, cut the cord, and held her up for us to see before they gave her to Dr. Bilgi and the other nurses. Her eyes were open, but she was blue because she wasn’t breathing. However, the doctors made her cry -- so we knew she was going to be alright. Joe counted her toes. She looked at us and we thought she looked great! Then they took her to the “premie” unit to check her. The placenta took another twenty minutes to come out. Andrea was born!