I was born on May 22nd, my due date.
My mom had planned on going to yoga that morning and working on her long "pre-baby" to do list. My dad had planned on sleeping in for the first time in weeks. But I had other plans.
So at 6:30 am my aqua environment sprang a leak and I started on my path to delivery. When mom realized that her water was breaking, she became really upset. This was not how she envisioned labor starting. In fact, this was what all the websites and books said was the worst (and least likely) thing to happen. When one's water breaks before contractions begin, then you could have a situation where the baby ends up in distress and labor has to start artificially. Mom called the hospital and was told to go to the nearest OTHER hospital because mom's hospital was full. But that's also not what mom planned. This made her more anxious. She knew many of the doctors at her hospital and she had gone over the birth plan with them. They had labor, deliver, and recuperation in the same room. They had 24 visitation policy and a bed for Dad. At a military hospital she was already set in the system for her insurance and the pediatrcian was already on call.
Anyways, after a quick deliberation, mom and adad went to Inova Fairfax. When she arrived at labor and delivery she was told to go back to the front desk and check in. Ugh! Then back up to labor and delivery (leaking, I might add) and eventually she was put in a triage room. Later a doctor confirmed that mom's water had broke and that there was not much left (I could have told them that). They monitored my heart rate for a while. The doctor checked and mom was 0 centimeters dilated and only 50% effaced at 10 am. Not good. Mom said, " You're going to give me Pitocin and then that's going to make my contractions horrible and then I'll get an epidural and then I'll have ineffective pushing and then the baby's rate rate will drop and then I'll have an emergency C-section!" Doctor told mom to calm down and that they wouldn't give her pitocin yet. But they did plan on giving mom Cervidil (cream that helps "ripein the Cervix). Mom checked in to her room with her birth plan, birth ball, rice socks, labor music, all of these items to help her get through the contractions but she had none. After hours of no pain and only an occasional contraction, the doctor returned to the room (around 2pm or so) and they checked mom again. This time she was only 1 centimeter dilated.
Doctor's said, "Mom wasn't going to have me until the next day." So mom watched "Baby Mama" (one of the movies she brought to watch at the hospital to distract her), kept walking up and down the steps (which she later learned was against hospital rules), taking showers, and did some yoga (mostly squats). Eventually contractions started to kick in and went from 12 to 9 to 3 minutes apart. When they were 3 minutes apart, Mom was in pain but hoping by the time the doctor's came back at 8:30 pm she would be dilated to 5 or 6 centimeters, helping reduce the chance of a non-natural birth. Suddenly the pain went from 3 minutes apart to one minute to 30 seconds. Mom says it was the worst pain she has ever experienced in life. She was screaming uncontrollably. Half kneeling and half laying on the floor in the bathroom. She tried getting back in the shower with dad (he bought his swimsuit) but the pain was so unbearable Mom said she couldn't stand. The worst part was she couldn't believe she was going to feel this kind of pain all night long. Doctor's said she would not have the baby until the next morning. So that would mean almost 8 hours of this kind of pain. How is that possible? Mom tried searching her memory of all the books she read and the doula she met with. Wasn't 30 seconds apart the last stage? Mom told Dad to tell the nurses the baby is coming. I would like to add here that this was no walk in the park for me. I was quite comfortable and then all of a sudden there were all these waves pushing me around forcing me through tight spaces.
She felt down below and felt what she thought was the head. One nurse came in and was on the phone with someone and we could hear the sarcasm in her voice when she said, "Yes, she thinks she feels the head." A resident came by and took a look and said, "She's Crowning!!!" Then there was a flurry of people about ...trying to get Mom to lay down and push. Mom said, "I can't push yet, I'm not dilated." LOL! Then she realized, "no wait this is really happening, Right now."
I was born 15 mins before the doctor arrived to check to see if mom was dilated and probably to let her know that they would have to introduce some medical interventions.
