The First Five Days: Labor & Delivery

*Some of you will not care about labor stories…if that’s you feel free to skip this one.  Some of us strange girls love them.

Well I am breaking my own rule, just this once, of sleeping when Dutch & Heidi are sleeping.  It’s been a week and I’m missing you!  I cannot believe it’s only been five days that dear Heidi has been with us.  How can you be so in love with someone you’ve only known 5 days!  I know it’s futile to try to convey to you how utterly captivated I am by my daughter.  I just sound like another gushing mom. But really, this little wee fairy of ours has stolen our hearts…even though she pooped on me three times today! 🙂

Speaking of, I had to post just an overview of the last five days.  No spiritual significance here, it just seems that after giving birth I have this strange desire to tell everyone about it.  And, life with a newborn, recovering from childbirth, a sick toddler, a busy pastor husband, and a house that’s for sale, there’s never a dull moment! 

First, labor.  Oh my goodness.  Every rule of how it’s supposed to be went out the window. Dutch’s labor was early, super fast, and super easy.  I still looked good afterwards!  And everyone and their mother (including my midwife) that this one would be even earlier, faster, and easier.  Sweet!  I was all set for her to arrive at least a week early and be quick and easy.  So, the night before my due date, I had contractions, painful but irregular, all night. By early Sunday morning they were 5 min. apart and consistent. Sweet! They say 2nd moms should go the hospital when they are 5 min. apart.  We get Dutch up and discover he’s come down with a horrible cold.  Are you kidding me? Not today.  Ok, that’s ok.  We call and tell my parents to stay posted, and wait.  And then…the contractions stop.  Stop.  What?!  Then all day Sunday they are off and on, 20 min apart, 30 min apart, 10 min apart.  No rhyme or reason. I go for two long walks (4.5 miles!), waddling my miserable self along the sidewalk, stopping to try to breathe through the contractions, probably looking like a crazy woman.  We wait.  And wait.  We eat an entire large pepperoni pizza and let Dutch watch Cars all day long.  And wait. 

Slowly they get stronger. By 9:30 that night they are way stronger than before, and regular, 5 min. apart. But who knows.  at 10:30 we call my parents and ask them to come.  By 11pm they are insanely strong and 2 minutes apart, excruciating.  They were ten times worse than any contractions I ever had with Dutch, and way closer, lasting a minute each and coming every 2 minutes. By the time my parents get there I am in a zone and can’t even think, trying to breathe through these.  I’m thinking, “Yes! This is going to be FAST! These are insane contractions!”  We get to the hospital, they check me.  1 cm.  ONE STINKING CENTIMETER!! You are kidding me? I was 1 cm. at my last doctor’s appointment! NO progress?  None?!  They say to walk around for an hour and they’ll check me again.  Walk??  Walk??  I try to stumble through the hospital halls, a few steps then moaning and breathing through these crazy things. After an hour, which felt like an eternity, they come back at 1am and check me.  By then I have chills and am shaky–I’ve got to be in transition by now!  Nightmare of all nightmares, she checks me…I’m STILL at 1 cm. NO PROGRESS whatsoever. Are you kidding me?  “I’m so sorry honey but you have to go back home.”  Ok, I respond, no big thing. They give me a small dose of morphine to help me relax and try to slow the contractions a bit so I can at least catch my breath in between.  Then I change back into my clothes, delirious, and stumble back outside to our car.  As soon as I sit down I begin bawling.  “I’m gonna die.  I can’t do this for 10 hours.”  I can laugh about it now.  I was just crying Jesus help me Jesus help me all the way home. 

Once home the morphine helps take the edge off and helps me relax enough so the contractions space to 5 min. apart.  So for three hours at least I can rest a little in between and text message a dear friend who stayed up that night praying for me.  By 5am the morphine is long gone and they are picking up speed and intensity again.  I figure what the heck they can send us home again but at least we have to get back to the hospital because they are worse than ever and I will get more morphine or strangle the nurses to death and get some myself.  We arrive at 5:30am, at 6am she comes to check me and says, “You’re staying!” and I thought she meant “You’re staying at 1cm” and I just about pass out…then she continues, “You’re staying, you’re 5 cm, do you want an epidural?”  And I begin weeping and crying out loud, “Thank you Jesus! Thank you Jesus! Thank you Jesus!” She seriously must have thought I was a religious nut. ALl I could do was cry and tell Jesus how much I loved Him. (I’m laughing right now remembering).  At 7am I got an epidural and at 8am I started pushing–so that part went fast.  But little Miss Heidi still didn’t want to come! With Dutch it was like 3 hard pushes, 9 minutes, and he jumped out.  No such deal with this girl. ALmost 1.5 HOURS of intense pushing, with the cord wrapped around this little angel’s neck, and finally she was born at 9:28am.  Broken blood vessels in my eye and the next day I felt like someone had taken me out back and beat me with baseball bat.  Goodness sakes.  Talk about not what I expected. Easier labor the 2nd time, eh?  🙂  Not me.  But oh so worth it! She came out beautiful, of course.  Our little wee fairy.

And speaking of our wee fairy, time to feed her.  More adventures to come… 🙂