Aleigha's birth story (Part 2 of 3)

And now, for part 2 of 3...

Trying to Sleep

Saturday, 5 am – 8:30 am

After 27- 30.5 hours in labor

Our room had a king size bed so Jason and I could sleep in the same room…in the same bed! Under other circumstances that would have been romantic, but I was too busy trying to trick my body into sleeping.

My contractions were about 10 minutes apart and losing a bit of their intensity, but resting was not easy. With each contraction I felt pressure on my bladder. Contraction. Pressure. Bathroom. After each bathroom trip, I hoisted my pregnant self back onto the bed, propped the pillows up behind me and tried to nod off to sleep. Sleep. Contraction. Pressure. Bathroom. I would think that after a couple hours my bladder would finally empty. Nope.

Around 8:30 am or so the contractions resumed their intensity and I got out of bed to pelvic rock on the floor.

Rockin' the Labor
Saturday, 8:30 am – 11 am

After 30.5 – 32 hours in labor

When the midwives entered the room, I was crawling on the floor trying to manage the pain without waking Jason up. The midwives checked me again...and I had not progressed since my last cervix check; I was still at 5 cm. Even though I didn't know my progress at the time, I knew my labor was stalling because the midwives' suggested I use natural remedies to intensify contractions. And...I think they worked! My labor became strong again, so strong that I cried and cried and told Jason I "couldn't do it." We sat on the floor and he prayed with me.

I realized that this moment was one of the first times I actually prayed during labor. I felt remorse  for thinking that I could bring a baby into the world without His help. I'm convinced that God was allowing me to be in prolonged labor until I learned to rely on His strength.

An Afternoon Stroll with Jason
Saturday, 11 am- 12:30 pm

After 32-33.5 hours in labor

Since I was getting a little restless in the room, Jason and I (with the approval of the midwives) took a lovely walk around the Birthing Center. My labor began to intensify again as Jason and I walked around the building and down a little footpath. I don't remember what we talked about but I remember enjoying the walk. I needed to stop every few minutes to breath through a contraction, but the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze was a pleasant distraction.

When we returned from our walk I was checked again-- I was still at 5 cm maybe 6 cm. (Note to reader: if you lost track, this is the third check where I was at 5 cm. The first one was 8 hours prior to this one.) While I still didn't know my progress, I could guess from my midwives' reactions; they suggested more natural remedies.

Another Afternoon Stroll with Jason ...and Dad
Saturday, 12:30-2:45 pm
After 33.5-35.75 hours in labor

I am not sure when my dad arrived at the Birthing Center. In God's Providence he was in town on business around my due date. I was hoping that he could meet our baby girl, but instead he came to visit while I labored. Jason and I took another walk...this time with my dad. He and Jason conversed while I lunged through each contraction in an attempt to increase the productivity of each one. From that walk on, I squatted through almost every contraction and tried to "imagine myself opening like a flower." Yes, that sounds a bit nutty, but after 44 hours of labor, I was pretty much willing to try anything! 

Rebozo and other Techniques
Saturday, 2:45 pm - 7:30 pm
After 35.75-39.5 hours in labor

When we returned from our walk, one of the birth assistants came to me with a rebozo (long scarf) and told me that if she could turn the baby labor might progress faster. Aleigha's head was not quite centered over my cervix, which was probably why labor kept stalling.

I got on my hands and knees and she wrapped the scarf around my abdomen. Using the "sifting" technique, she gently but firmly pulled on each side of the scarf. The pressure felt wonderful and helped relive back labor.

During Saturday afternoon and evening, I think I used just about every laboring position available to women. I leaned over the birth ball, sat backwards over the toilet, leaned against the wall, sat on two different kinds of birth stools, pelvic rocked, laid on my side, walked around, squatted, sat upright and cross-legged, leaned against the bed, and crawled around. And, Jason did everything a wonderful birth coach could do. Her rubbed my lower back, warmed my hot pack, brought me water, and held my hands. To help relieve the back labor he use the pelvic squeeze method and applied strong counter pressure (both with his hands and with the rebozo).  He also made sure my rice heat pack was warmed and ready for my lower back.

 Finally at 7 cm!
Saturday, 7:30 pm- 8:30 pm
After about 40 hours in labor

 Our midwife wanted to check my cervix again to see if I was progressing. I don't remember the exact order of events, but I think she pulled Jason aside privately to speak with him about our "options." When she and Jason returned, they told me I was finally dilated to 7cm! But, our midwife told us that with the "prolonged" labor, we needed to make some informed decisions about whether or not we should continue to stay at the Birth Center or transfer to the hospital. We opted to stay-- I was excited to finally be at 7 cm and was confident that dilation would progress quickly!

After 40 hours, I finally resigned myself to each contraction. I labored confidently and didn't allow myself to think "I wish this would end soon" thoughts. I thought of Aleigha....of the meal I would eat when I felt like eating again...of napping with my baby...of having fun with my family after the birth.

Water finally breaks!
Saturday, 8:30-10:30 pm
After 44.5 hours in labor

My labor stalled again and I started talking to my mom about the stages of labor and asking her what she thought would happened next. Then I asked what having my water break was like. While I was talking with her I felt a contraction and, with Jason's help, squatted. As I squatted, I heard a "pop," like a water balloon tossed onto a cement driveway. Fluid gushed out of me...my water broke-- finally! If I wasn't 9 months pregnant I would have run circles like an excited puppy. The midwives checked my cervix again and this time I was close to 8 cm. Perhaps now our baby would be born soon!

Laboring and Time
10:30 pm - 2 am
After 44.5 - 48 hours in labor

Time in labor is unlike time during normal day-to-day activities. Sometimes each minute felt like the longest minute of my life. Sometimes hours would pass by before I even thought or cared about the time. But, the last 3.5 hours I labored at the birth center felt like 6 hours. Labor was intense and I was exhausted.

Around midnight, I managed labor pains by slowly dancing through each contraction with Jason. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend were were at a dance, like so many dances we'd experienced together. If I could pretend I was having a lovely evening with my husband, I thought, perhaps labor would pass quickly. With each contraction he would gently help me squat, and then support me as I stood up. While I didn't enjoy the discomfort and fatigue of labor, I felt peaceful and content in Jason's arms.

We weren't dancing for very long, but time stood still in those moments and I felt like I danced with him for hours. When the back labor grew too intense, we used other laboring positions.
The next 2 hours of labor was difficult. Since my water had broken, everyone assumed that I was going through transition. I thought so too. I prepared myself to have the baby soon. When I wasn't feeling the urge to push, I felt like I was losing my resolve.

Labor began to slow down again, and I felt so tired I didn't even care that I was not pushing yet. I wanted to sleep. Since each contraction slowed to around 5-10 minutes between each contraction, I sat on the birthing stool and slept, leaning against Jason for support.  I stopped thinking clearly here; exhaustion took over.

My memory is cloudy, but I think I remember waking up to a contraction, breathing through it, and then trying to sleep. Contraction. Sleep. Contraction. When I woke-up, I saw everyone-- midwife, birthing assistants, and my mother-- staring at me. The room was quiet and everyone looked a little concerned.

Our midwife broke the silence-- "Can I check your cervix again"? I agreed. After poking around a bit, she drew back and softly said, "There is no change."

More to come...