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Eliana -> RE: Eliana's baby cheering/stalking thread (4/19/2008 4:44:39 AM)
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Hello, all! GOD IS GOOD!!!! [sm=funny.gif]
We are still at the hospital's patient hotel and I'm shaky and tired, but I just had to get onto a computer and give God the glory for Hjalmar's birth. I was a bit uneasy about posting his name online, but I finally okayed it with my husband before he PMed Donna earlier today. So I'm totally OK with having his name online. Thanks for the sensitivity!
Hjalmar (pronounced YAHL-mar) means "helmeted warrior". We are believing that he will wear the helmet of salvation and be a mighty warrior for the Lord.
So...here's the birth story!!! [:)]
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I began feeling contractions at 5-ish in the afternoon. I had been having gas-related pain for many weeks, so at first I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was contractions or just the "usual". But after about 15 minutes, I felt that these were different and I decided that I ought to start timing them.
Between the first two I timed, there were 10 minutes, then 12, then 8, 7, 6, 4 and 3. By this time things were feeling serious and I was trying to practice my Bradley relaxing and breathing. I had to really resist panic, because my first instinct was to fight against the pain by tensing up all my muscles. But, thank God, He reminded me of some key thoughts which I kept repeating over and over: "God has designed my body to do this," "This pain does not signal danger, sickness or death, but progress, health and life" and "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but He has given unto us the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind." I wasn't always able to keep these kinds of thoughts going, and didn't cope well with every single contraction, but I was able to do it enough times to hold out.
I took a shower and lay down again for a few minutes, then went into the living room, which is where my water broke and I knew for absolutely sure that this must be labour. I still could not make sense of the time between the contractions, though, because I *knew* according to all the books, that it "just doesn't happen" that fast. [;)] I thought that, even though I had a stopwatch, I must either be mistiming, or misinterpreting the number of contractions that were coming. I couldn't believe that it was all happening so quickly. I stopped timing when there was less than three minutes between contractions, and just concentrated on coping until my husband got home from work.
When he came, I felt a huge sense of relief because I could finally just lean on him and not have to be so strong on my own. He was such a rock! He massaged my back constantly, which gave ENORMOUS relief. The counter-pressure was very effective, and I needed his help for each contraction. We had written a list of things to pack "last minute", but never got round to putting them in the suitcase because I needed my husband's constant attention, and the poor guy never got to grab anything beyond my contact lens cleaner and our toothbrushes. [:D]
A friend of his came to take us to the hospital at about 7.00pm. Because our home is positioned in a bit of a weird spot, he parked a bit of a way off -- about 100 metres away from our front door. By this time the contractions were coming every 90 seconds or so, and I was only able to take a few steps towards the car, then have to bend over and get my back massaged. I've no idea what the neighbours must have been thinking!
We got to the hospital at around 8pm, mainly because it took me so long to walk to the car. I did not know what I would do if I was told that there was still a long way to go with the labour. I was thinking that if they told me to go back home and wait, I would just set up a rebel camp in the hospital and refuse to move unless bodily evicted.
Two midwives checked me. The first one was a student and seemed very uncertain about what she had felt -- NOT encouraging! The professional one checked, turned to me with a shocked look on her face and said: "YOU ARE 9 CENTIMETRES DILATED! You've done most of the work at home, and now we just have to wait a little while before you can start pushing."
That was just music to my ears! We had been decided on a natural birth from the beginning, but I had already decided on the way to the hospital that if I wasn't far along, I was going to ask for something to help me cope. I do not question the decisions of women who choose to take painkillers, because it really is a challenge, especially when you're exhausted.
Anyway, since I was already well into the transition phase, we felt that we should try to go the whole way naturally.
I laboured for another 45 minutes or so on my side, after which the midwife said I could try to push if I felt like it. I started trying to push while sitting up, then on my knees, leaning on a beanbag. It just wasn't working for me on my knees, because I was tensing up my bottom too much. So I sat upright again. The midwife checked and said that Hjalmar still needed to turn so he could come down properly. She said I should lie on my side. With each contraction, I was telling myself over and over, "This is helping Hjalmar to turn around so he can come down", and that helped me to focus and cope.
I did that, then started to try to push again, but wasn't trying all that hard. First of all, I didn't really know how (I totally forgot what the books said) and secondly, it was just more comfortable to deal with the contraction and not have to try and push as well. My husband, bless him, was massaging me constantly although his arms felt like they were about to fall off. I could not have made it without his help.
The midwife then said that she thought maybe my contractions weren't strong enough, and that they wanted to give me something to augment them. That shocked me into action. I was thinking, NO WAY am I going to let them give me something to make these contractions even stronger! I knew that I wasn't giving it my all and could try harder.
She told me to put my chin to my chest, cross my arms across my chest and push down. I knew I was finally pushing right when I had a bowel movement on the table. [:'(] It took four pushes before Hjalmar's head came out, followed immediately by his body. He cried as soon as he was out, and I cannot describe how beautiful it was to hear.
My husband cut the cord and they gave him to me after wiping him down. I had quite a big tear so they called in the obstetrician to stitch me up. I didn't even feel the tearing though, because I was concentrating so hard on pushing.
The whole labour took about 5 and a half hours. We are still overwhelmed at how God was with us through it all. He answered every prayer we had concerning a safe delivery, healthy baby effective contractions and no complications.
There are so many lessons I've taken out of this, but the biggest encouragement I want to pass on is that it really does help to have positive self-talk while in labour. The way you view the contractions and how your body is working makes an incredible difference.
We had the most incredible labour experience and ALL the glory goes to God. I don't think I was brave or strong at all -- the only thing I was good at was clinging desperately to truthful thoughts.
Our son is in wonderful condition and took to my breast immediately. He loves to suckle and has been feeding all night. I'm very grateful that it's possible to feed him while I'm lying in bed. We had not intended to co-sleep but that's what we're doing, for all practical purposes.
Thanks once again for all the thoughts and prayers. I'll post pictures when we get home.
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