Excuse the lack of paragraphs and odd flow :)... his birthing story really began before halfway through my pregnancy when my old doctor pissed me off enough, that I walked out halfway through the appointment and ended up jumping through hoops to get a new doctor. She is amazing, actually takes the time to talk to you and explain things to you. She treats you like a person and is open to new things... like me birthing using the squat bar :) Anyways, here it is:
Just like my daughter's birth, my contractions began early in the morning ( This time at 4 am) and were ten minutes apart. Not being being able to sleep through them, I tossed around until a semi sensible hour, got out of bed quietly and made banana muffins. Elijah came running downstairs around six, half asleep, when he realized I wasn't in bed. He asked if it was time, and I said no, but asked him to stay home from hockey and work just in case. I had been expecting them to stop, like they did with Katie, and start up again the next day. instead they grew closer together, occurring every4-6 minutes. Normally with your second, you would o to the hospital at this point, but they weren't very strong, so I called my doula and told her that we were going for a walk and i would let her know if anything changed. Instead of intensifying, they spaced out and became sporadic again. They stayed like that all day...which was really annoying. With my daughter, I hadn't been feeling half of the contractions and was 4 centimeters when I went in to my appointment that day. So, just before Katie's bedtime, we decided to go the hospital to get checked out. At this point, they were back to 10 minutes apart, and i was only 3 cm. We went and picked Katie up, went home and i dozed on and off from around 930-1230 as my contractions intensified and got closer together. At 1230 they were to uncomfortable to keep lying down, and my pants felt a little damp. I stood up and felt a gush, went to the bathroom and felt another gush. The contractions got worse right away, so I called my doula to meet us at the hospital.We dropped Katie off at Justin and Brandy's and made our way there. Once there, registered and hooked up to the machine, I was checked and had already made it to 7 cm. AND apparently my water hadn't broken?? Since I am super woman and was mentally prepared this time around, I was able to walk through most of the contractions, staying calm the whole time. We had one nurse come in near the end, saying how quiet I was, that she couldn't believe I was in labor and that she wished everyone labored like that. I was starting to feel a little pukey, so I didn't eat, assuming the baby would be here soon, and that I would probably puke it up anyways. The hours crept by slowly, and I was so exhausted come early morning, having hardly slept in two nights, that my body decided to rest. The contractions eased up and spaced out, allowing the three of us to doze for a few hours. somewhere between 8 and 9 am, my doctor told me to eat and drink something, so that the baby and I would have energy and wouldn't have low blood sugar. Having slept, eaten and drank a little, my body decided it was time to pick it up again. I went for a pee, and felt alot more comfortable there, so hung out in the bathroom for a few more contractions. I had been having the weirdest contractions that night, some feeling like my body was slowly pushing the baby out on it's own. Still, i didn't feel the urge to push. i flt a little pushy though, and we decided to put the squat bar on the bed so i could give it a try. I may have tried two little practice pushes when my doctor came in. We had agreed earlier that i could do whatever i wanted for the first half hour, unless it didn't work, in which case i would push how she told me to. I pushed for 9 minutes with my daughter, felt like i had no control over what was happening and walked out with stitches. This time my water was broken when I was ready to push, and as soon as she broke my water, the urge to push was there and my body took over completely. I pushed when it told me to, and held my breath for as long and as often as it needed. such a difference from being yelled at to push and being told your not pushing hard enough or holding your breath long enough. Including the two practice pushes, having my water broken and actually pushing, DJ came out in 11 minutes. I even got to feel the head crown a little bit before he came flying out with the cord around his neck three times. i learned later that my doctor tried telling me to stop pushing once his head was out, but there was no stopping me at that point. She clamped the cord and cut it right away, appologizing the whole time. We had agreed to leave it attached for a little while, but i guess the way he came out, she needed to cut it.What a high you body gets when you actually experience what your body is capable of during childbirth. My doula was great company, telling us about her birthing stories and keeping the atmosphere clan. I labored so well that there wasn't much for her to do, but just hearing her say that this was the birth she had been waiting for to restore her faith in women, was very cool to hear. DJ was given to me right away and nursed for an hour (on the same side...which ended up being very painful for the next week) before being weighed at 7 lbs 14 oz. He passed all the meconium at the hospital, loosing a pound in the first 24 hours of his life. He didn't sleep very well, and still hasn't figured out that night time means sleep time not scream time. He now weight 11 pounds at four weeks. He drives me almost to insanity when he screams and I don't know what's causing it, especially at 1 am . But i love my little man to pieces and am falling more and more in love with him every day.
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