Saturday, May 23, 2015

John Paul's Birth Story, Part 4

To read part 3 click here

9.5cm dilated with just a teeny tiny super flexible lip left in the way!!

SO CLOSE!

I wasn't quite allowed to push yet, but Dr. P, our NaPro OB, was on his way and pushing was most definitely going to happen soon.

When Dr. P arrived around 4:45am, I was mid-contraction and was SO exhausted from the intensity, I couldn't even lift my head off the birthing ball I was leaning on to say hi. Actually, it took me about 5 minutes to even process that I should say hi. A super muffled,"Hi, Dr. P," was all I could muster. I'm sure he understood, though.

At 5am, Dr. P gave me the go ahead to start pushing! Hallelujah!

From everything I had read, pushing is typically the favorite part for moms, since the contractions actually get a little easier and you actually feel like you're doing something productive finally. You can even watch your little one's head descend if you want. So I was ready. Exhausted, but ready.

In our birth preferences, we had written that I wanted to decide which position I pushed in. I figured I'd want to be squatting or kneeling on the bed, hanging over the back of it, something non-traditional like that. Especially because in those positions, you're less likely to tear. But when the time finally came, I was soooo exhausted, and still shaking uncontrollably from when transition started in the tub, that all I wanted to do was lie down. And so I did.

At this point I also decided I wanted to be completely naked. I wanted to be able to do skin-to-skin immediately and I thought complete nakedness would make that easiest. So off went the bikini top. And away went any shred of modesty I had left.

Before pushing started, I remember saying to Amy in a super wimpy, tired voice, "What if I'm bad at pushing?" I was so scared of getting stuck in the pushing phase, or needing assistance to pull baby out. She reassured me that I could do it and then the whole pushing ordeal started.

Turns out, I'm not like most moms. I hated pushing. It was way harder than I ever thought it'd be. First, contractions were still being mega felt in my bottom. So that didn't get any better. And on top of that, the pushing process is just complicated. You wait around for a contraction to start and then you hold your breath 'til you're bright red in the face and you PUSH with everything you've got, barely catching your breath between each push. And you've got to push to a very specific spot or else all your pushing energies are wasted. Of course, I kept pushing into the wrong spot. It wasn't 'til the end of the contraction that I'd figure out where to direct my pushing, and by then, I'd only get one short, perfect push in.

Finally, by around the 10th or so contraction of pushing, I had it figured out. I pretty much would push correctly the whole way through and we were making some serious progress. I was still hating every second of it, but I was doing it.

Soon, Dr. P and John and all the other spectators could see baby's head! I had told Dr. P at one of my prenatal appointments that I was pretty sure baby was going to be super baldy since both John and I were bald babes, so he decided that moment was the perfect time to make a joke. "This is the baldest baby I've ever delivered!" Totally funny to me now, not funny at all during delivery. I looked him dead in the eye and said, "Knock it off."

With the next contraction, baby was crowning! And WOW was that a special kind of pain. They call it the ring of fire and now I know why. It burrrrrrns! His head was half out and my contraction was over, so his head just sat there, burning my perineal tissue. Ouch! But letting him just sit there was also stretching it out, which I knew was good for avoiding a tear. So I just panted and whined through it... "Owww! It hurts SO much!"

Dr. P asked me if I wanted to reach down and feel the head during the next contraction and I just bluntly said, "NO." I mean, I could definitely feel it already, thank you very much, and something just weirded me out about touching a half-birthed head.

The next contraction came and with a push, his head was out!! Doc told me to stop pushing so he could check for a cord around baby's neck. No cord was there, so I pushed again to get baby's shoulders out and just like that, our baby was born!

They immediately put baby on my tummy and by the way they held baby up, I could easily tell we had a boy!! And our boy had a set of healthy lungs because he was crying up a storm already. Such a sweet, sweet cry!

I looked up at John and he was blubbering more than the baby. It was so beautiful to see him so emotional.

Meanwhile, I snuggled up with my newborn son and just quietly fell in love.


We were able to do the delayed cord clamping, then John cut the cord.

We cuddled skin-to-skin while Dr. P delivered the placenta and then stitched me up. I was still shaking uncontrollably at this point. Labor does some weird things to your body.

I ended up with a 2nd degree tear, close to a 3rd, which Dr. P thinks happened when John Paul's shoulders made their way out. He said I did a great job pushing slowly to avoid a tear, but those shoulders just caught me the wrong way, and so I tore. Ah well!

While he was stitching, I remember apologizing to Dr. P and the rest of the folks in the room for all the weird noises I made during labor. I was surprised when they said the noises weren't weird at all, but instead sounded like I was singing! I guess moaning isn't as embarrassing as I thought!



John Paul and I stayed skin-to-skin for a while and attempted a first breastfeed, but he wasn't maintaining his temperature, so they had to take him to the warmer for a little bit.


They weighed our big boy and he was 7lb 15oz!! He checked out perfectly in every way and soon he was warm enough to return to Mommy for more cuddles.








Our doula, Amy

We announced the good news by calling our parents and our siblings and texting pictures. It was so fun to tell folks, "You have a grandSON," or "You have a NEPHEW!"

It was also so fun to inspect all his little details. His soft skin, his fingers and toes, his fuzzy red hair. It was so easy to fall in love.

Soon enough, it was time to clean up and get wheeled down to the recovery room. John Paul still hadn't latched on or tried to feed and was honestly just more interested in crying and sleeping. It was easy to be ok with that though, since he was so dang cute.

And that's where this birth story ends and a lifetime of motherhood begins.

2 years of infertility, 1.5 years of NaPro treatment, 9 months of pregnancy, 12 hours of labor, and 40 minutes of pushing. So much heartache and sorrow and pain and joy in that time. But this little guy was worth it all. This little guy was worth the wait.

All praise be to God!


25 comments:

  1. Soo happy for you. Thanks for sharing John Paul's birth story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much for sharing so much of yourself, your family, and your journey with us. It's been an absolute treat being able to read all of it. God bless and thank you for keeping my own intentions with you in those difficult moments. Also - so happy to hear that your birth plan was honored all across the board. I've been thinking that a doula is a smart decision for us (if we ever get the chance to use one), and your story only further solidifies my resolve.

    Blessed to Be, indeed! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So happy to share it! And happy to pray for all of you. I feel bad I wasn't able to get through the whole list, but God knew. And I've continued praying for all of you while breastfeeding. I hope and pray you get to hire a doula some day! I highly recommend!!

      Delete
  3. Oh, I felt exactly the same way about touching her head! Or looking with a mirror. I think it just takes so.much. focus to push that I couldn't focus on anything else, even the actual head coming out, if that makes sense? I don't know, like you said, labor does some weird things to your body, and I would say, to your mental state.
    Thanks for sharing your story with us :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!! Ok, so I'm not the only one weirded out by that. I think Dr. P was just trying to encourage me because I was finally making good progress, but I really didn't need to feel with my hand or see in a mirror at that point to know what was going on. :P Thanks for reading along!

      Delete
  4. Aw Steph you had me crying when you texted me when he was here and now I am crying because your story was is so beautiful! He truly is a little gift! Beautiful pictures beautiful baby beautiful family you are amazing and (big) John is amazing and baby John is fantastic! Love you all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww!! <3 Thanks, Justine! He sure is a little gift. Love our little family. :) And love yours too!

      Delete
  5. Intensely beautiful! I'm sure Dr. P deserved that scolding! lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! He sure did. :P And thank you! Birth is really beautiful. Painful, but beautiful. :)

      Delete
  6. Such a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing it! Congratulations again! He is so precious!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats! I loved reading your birth story! He is precious!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wish more stories ended like yours!! congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Was so happy to use my 7 seconds of internet access on my phone in the middle of nowhere this weekend to get to read part 4. What a beautiful story--thank you for sharing! And--you look incredible!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow!! I'm honored you used your few precious seconds of internet to read the end of our story! Thanks for reading along! And thanks for the generous compliment!

      Delete
  10. Thank you for sharing so much honesty during your birth story!! Never giving birth, I always wonder, "could I do that?" Thank you for keeping it real (love the "butt labor"!).
    John Paul is just the cutest little guy!!! Congratulations a million times over!!! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! Glad to share my (butt) labor story with all of you. :D

      Delete
  11. Just now getting a chance to read this fabulous story. You are a tough cookie! Hope you are JP are finding your new groove. Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww, thank you! We're really starting to get into our groove now. :)

      Delete
  12. Okay, I wrote this big old comment and it got eaten... GAH!!

    Basically, what I tried to say was... 1. I can't believe you had the presence of mind to say "hi" to your OB at that late of a stage (I bet he was more surprised that you DID say "hi" than if you didn't!) and 2. I appreciated reading your experience of pushing. I have "felt" all of labor drug-free except pushing (epidurals for both)... thankfully, the epi does not hinder my ability to push, however, I DID reach down and feel my babies' heads precisely because I couldn't feel them at that stage otherwise. So interesting that you didn't want to (and kind of funny when you think about an OB asking a woman experiencing the "ring of fire" if you want to "feel your baby's" head.. ummm, yeah, totally already feelin' it buddy).

    Also, great line and very true line: "And that's where this birth story ends and a lifetime of motherhood begins." Thanks for sharing your birth story... it's such a special day, it deserves to be recorded!

    ReplyDelete
  13. p.s. Even with the epi, I got to choose my pushing position, and surprisingly, I chose to lie down on my back too. I honestly wanted nothing to do with any other position and had little trouble with it... it's just so interesting the choices you find yourself making in the moment, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely! After laboring for 12 hours, I wanted nothing more than to lie on my back and "relax." Ha! It turned out to be the least relaxing part of them all, but at least I didn't have to fight gravity at the same time as pushing. ;)

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...