i started having pains around 5am
it wasn’t too bad but i knew today was the day
i told darien when he came to kiss me goodbye (he has to be to work at 6am) that i was pretty certain that i was having real contractions
…we’ve had a false alarm before : /
dj woke up around 6:30 and i took him to school immediately
as i waddled into the school, i told the director that uncle krys will be picking dj up
that the holloways will be in the hospital
by 7:30 the contractions had become painful and were coming every 5 minutes
darien isn’t due back home until 9am
so i am practicing my lamaze breathing and pacing around the apartment
by the time darien gets home i am at a level 6 in pain and am sorta in shock that i am really in labor
this is it!!
i sit in the tub and try to keep breathing
darien is helping me time the contractions, which are now 4 minutes apart
it’s time to go to the hospital!
i am now at pain level 8 and shaking uncontrollably
i’m breathing pretty erratically but maintaining
when i get to the hospital the nurses rush because “i appear to be in a lot of pain”
i have progressed to 5 centimeters and my contractions are coming every 3 minutes
i’m still shaking pretty badly and trying like hell to hold on to my “no interventions” vow
my labor is progressing so fastly they quickly move me to a birthing room
i’m sweating and everyone is telling me to try to relax
REALLY??!
i have changed my mind and beg the nurse for pain meds
she informs me it is too late…i will be delivering in the next couple of hours and pain meds will make the baby loopy
OOOOH NOOOOOO!!!!
i feel like i am literally splitting in two!
…but there’s hope, dear friends
it is not too late for an epidural
so i give in
yeah, yeah, i initially wanted an intervention free labor but hell, i’ve changed my mind!
after the spinal tap i am a completely different person
:)
darien goes downstairs to grab a snack and the nurse and doctor leave for a moment
i have the incredibly urge to push
the feeling is very similar to feeling like you have to poop and the poop is right at the cusp
…sorry for the gwoss example but that’s the only way to describe it
i roll over to my side and try to hold off
after 5 minutes i buzz the nurse and tell them its time
darien walks in a second later
the doctor follows, checks me and says, “yep..she’s ready”
this is it y’all
i’m about to meet my baby
my deranged self wants to see everything so they pull out a mirror and i can already see the top of the head
i’m sorta tripping because i can feel a lot of pressure whereas with dj after the spinal tap i felt nothing at all
darien is recording everything and i’m pushing
i see the head push out and go back in
o_O
i push some more and the head is out!
i pause and push again and BOOM he’s out!!!
it wasn’t painful but i felt A LOT of pressure
delivering the placenta was the best part
now that felt as if i had been holding out pooping for months and then finally “let go”
the relief was beyond blissful
joseph had a bowel movement during delivery so they had to immediately suction him out thoroughly
i didn’t get to hold him right away
in fact, darien got to hold him first
when i do finally get him we stare at each other and i swear he actually hums at me
i am in love!!
he, of course, looks as if he’s been through some major trauma with the swollen eyes, flushed complexion but to me he is beautiful…perfect in every way
unlike with dj i am successful with breastfeeding and joseph latches on beautifully
dj and uncle krys visit that evening and dj, though quite cautious, seems to be genuine excited about his “brudder jo jo”
lol
i dub joseph my chunky monkey because he is literally all cheeks
i stare at him while he sleeps
life has been quite different since 8/18/11
i still can’t get over the fact that i have children….CHILDREN
nearly a month later, life has settled some
joe is quite the greedy one and has already gained over 2 pounds
i am breastfeeding solely and on demand so it feels like joe is literally latched on to me 24/7
i am exhausted and look a mess
…but wouldn’t change a thing!
