Friday, October 7, 2011

Hannah's Birth Story: Part 2

By now, I hope you read the first part of my birth story here, so you know things were just about to get interesting!

At 6 AM, it finally hit me. I had no idea what to do next. Until that point, things had gone exactly as I expected and I really felt like I was handling the birth well. Sure it was painful, but it was a natural type of pain that I knew would have an amazing reward. Not only would I get to meet my daughter, but I would finally get to lose that belly! My problem was that I hadn't gotten a chance to really figure out how I wanted to deliver my baby. I didn't know what position to do, I had no clue how to effectively breathe through the pushes, and forget pushing in general- that was practically a mystery. When my Doctor explained that it was almost time for me to push I said, "I didn't get to that chapter in the book yet!" So she gave me a two minute crash course in what to do and we were off to the races in no time.

For as naturally as I sailed through the first stages of labor, you would have thought I was delivering a 12 pound bowling ball by the end of it. I also had the added bonus of experiencing a change-of-shift at 7 AM (mid contraction.) What's this like? Well, imagine the scariest party of "A Baby Story" and then double the number of onlookers. Oh, and add a NICU pediatrician on call. Of course, the two doctors don't have time to speak in the hallway about the patient status. Instead, one is at my side, the other pushing my leg up, and both are commanding me to push, Push, PUSH!! After another round of contractions that do not amount to a baby in my arms they begin debating:

D2 "Let me take over from here."
D1 "She's almost done I'll just stay."
D2 "Should we get the forceps."
D1 "NO... She's got so much hair, I should just grab it and pull."

I'm grateful that my first doctor decided to stay through to deliver Hannah. (A month later, I found out that she went to church in her scrubs *bless her heart.) All told, I pushed for an hour and a half. It was unquestionably the longest part of my labor. Yes, I was that woman, yelling in pain and feeling like I was sinking because I could not get that baby out! When I finally thought it wasn't going to happen, the team encouraged me through one last push (like you've never pushed before!!) and she was out. They immediately weighed her and I heard something about 5 pounds and some change. Then, the moment came when they handed me the squirming wonder. Of course she felt tiny, but I knew that if they were giving me time to hold her she would be just fine.

Hannah Marie, 5 pounds 13 ounces, born at 8:23AM

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