Labor Part 2--Lana's Birth Story

After 36 hours of early labor and the nesting done, we laid down for another nap around 4pm. I woke up earlier than Chris and then finally woke him up around 6:30pm because Dr. Yoon was coming back by to check on me. She did some more acupuncture and as she was leaving, my water broke around 7-7:30pm. We called Michelle, our midwife, back and she was on her way over. Making it through each contraction was priority #1 as the intensity rose significantly after the water broke. Lana had engaged down and it was so painful to lay down so I paced the house and as each contraction came, new coping skills had to be developed so we tried a lot of things. I sat on the exercise ball, I leaned on it on top of the bed, I got in the shower many times and let the hot water fall on my lower back, and I leaned on Chris. I really enjoyed getting in the shower. My friend, Andy arrived around 8pm to bring me an oreo milkshake which I was not in the mood for any longer (although it would come in handy the next day). Michelle arrived around 9pm due to a traffic accident on I-75. Things were pretty serious as far as my mood, and Michelle got her gear ready and what seemed like a million other things, including the birthing pool, which I never ended up using. The other midwives, Debi and Melissa, coming from a late conference in Knoxville arrived just in time around midnight.

By this time, the only position that was bearable to me was standing up. It was painful to sit down when she wanted to check my vitals and I sure as heck was NOT going to lay down. Hot compresses on my lower back and cold compresses on my neck were constant by this point. Somewhere in here, I puked up my dinner which thankfully made it into the trash can. I didn't falter from the standing position and would either lean on Chris who was an excellent coach, or I would lean on the exercise ball on top of end the bed. As the intensity of each contraction came, I breathed deep through it and tried to keep my body relaxed. Chris did a good job of reminding me and as I would cooperate, the contraction wave passed over me much more easily when I relaxed every muscle and breathed deeply. There were a few times during some contractions towards the end that seemed unbearable where I remember calling out, "Please God help me." And He did. At some point, it got so hot, I lost the last thing I was wearing. Michelle said, "It's almost time." Transition had begun.

Then suddenly, a huge gush of amniotic fluid passed onto my feet, legs and pillows that were below me and I could feel Lana immediate drop even lower. Suddenly, I had to push. Never once did anyone tell me to push, but my body just seemed to take over and as I had each new contraction, I just obeyed the urge to push. I can't help but marvel at how womens' bodies are wonderfully and fearfully made for pregnancy, labor and delivery. I wondered how will I know what to do, will I know when to do it...but my body just took over and did it without any extra instruction. I never screamed or yelled, just a low grunt with each push and I'm happy that I never snapped at Chris like I read about in many stories or see on TV. I really think the upright position helped tremendously with labor because it allowed gravity to do a lot of work.

I grunted through each push and even now, I vividly remember the burning sear of the stretching. It was  all I could focus on at the time. Chris thinks I pushed for about an hour but it didn't feel like that long. Time seemed to fly by. I can't possibly describe the rush, the burn, and adrenaline that took over knowing that I was gonna hold my baby soon. I stood through each contraction and my legs and arms were starting to get weary. Michelle told me to reach inside to feel her head. Feeling her gave me another bout of energy. The head emerged and they suggested I get on all fours on top of the bed and as I did, Lana seemed to flopped out below me. Her cord was wrapped around her neck but Debi quickly removed it. I immediately flopped down myself and just marveled at this amazing miracle laying next to me as we stared at each other.

 After about 30 mins of laying on my chest, she naturally made her way down and latched on to nurse and demonstrated strong jaws. Ouch! She's already eaten and pooped 3 times the first morning so nursing is not a problem for her. I have tons of photos of us immediately after birth but none of them are appropriate for public display since I had lost all my clothes during labor. I held Lana on my chest, skin to skin, for about 2 hours as they rubbed her down and inspected the both of us and prepared the sitz bath. I did hemorrhage but Debi and Michelle jumped into action. They gave me pitocin and I remember them coaxing me to drink a concoction of passion fruit/mango juice with sprite. I remember when Debi pushed on my stomach and that was the first time I screamed all night. They were trying to push any blood clots out.  I lost a lot of blood but in a short time, all was remedied.  They hooked up an IV to me. After a while, I tried to get up and almost passed out so I had to wait longer to get in my sitz bath.  Before the bath, I tried to pee and that was near impossible.  They said they would not leave until I peed and if necessary they would catether me.  I got in the bath and tried peeing in there but something in me just couldn't relax enough to do it. I enjoyed a warm bath for about 2 hours. Then Debi came to check on me. I still couldn't pee. It sounds silly but I asked her to pray with me that I would pee. She did and then she suggested that I try to get back on the toilet. Woohoo! Lo and behold a stream of warmth that felt like a million bucks. I was so glad. Now I could go back to my bed and baby. I did have a tear that needed to be sutured but I didn't poop. Lol! I was thankful for that. They were with me for quite a while after the birth. Lana was born at 1:30a and Michelle was still there at 9am. I was in and out of sleep coma at this point.  It was such an amazing feeling to have her so close to me. She only left my sight to get her first bath but then quickly returned. While I was getting my sitz bath, Chris got to bond with her.

After 6-7 hours of active labor, Lana Michele arrived at 7lbs 12 oz and 20.5 inches. She's an absolute angel and the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on.

This is no way includes all the amazing details. All I can say it was the most amazing and intense experience of my life but I loved every raw minute of it. I definitely couldn't have done it without my birth team. They were absolutely amazing and I'm grateful Chris and those ladies were there with me.