I would like to thank my doula, Katrina, for the wonderful job she did recording my labor experience. Her work is the basis upon which much of this post is based. Sections in italics are direct quotes from her documentation. For the purposes of this story I referred to myself as Mommy and my Husband as Daddy. In the italic sections, I refers to Katrina.
My son is now four months old and I’m just finally beginning to catch my breath long enough to finally post my birth story, for those of you who have been wondering.
I began having contractions on February 25. We really thought the baby was coming that day or the next. But the contractions subsided after a few hours and we went back to everyday life. Except we didn’t. We were now constantly on high alert. Every day and every night we wondered when this child of ours was going to appear. I became tired and irritable. I had several hours of contractions every day, often in the evenings and then everything would stop and I would go to bed. I’d have a few more every morning, leaving my husband to wonder if he should even bother to go to work. This went on and on for weeks, including several evening visits from our doula and one night of my daughter being sent to her grandparent’s overnight. This is where I will pick up with Katrina’s documented version of events, which is probably more clearheaded than mine would have been at the time.
March 12, 2012
The first “false alarm” came on the evening of March 12, 2012 (3 days after due date). Dad called to say Mommy had been experiencing contractions every 5 minutes for more than 2 hours. They weren’t terribly painful, but they were uncomfortable. She was also experiencing a lot of lower back pain. We planned to talk in one hour- about 10pm. When that time came, the contractions had tapered off, and they were going to bed, hopeful the next day would be delivery day.
March 13, 2012
Mommy experienced intermittent contractions throughout the day. She called me at 8:30pm with severe groin pain/pelvic pain/cramping/and back pain. She seemed to be feeling quite uneasy and unsettled at the nature of this new pain, so I went over to see if I could help. She was contracting every 4-6 minutes. We did some side lunges and yoga ball positioning to try to turn the baby into a more comfortable position. It seemed to help. However, the contractions also slowed, so I left her house around and nearly stopped by midnight.
March 14, 2012
Mommy called at 7:10am. She had been experiencing contractions every 5 minutes for one hour. I arrived at her house around 9:15am. It was absolutely beautiful outside, so we went for an hour long walk. She was contracting every 7-10 minutes. She had a scheduled doctor appointment at 11am. She called me at noon, after her exam. She was 1cm, 70% effaced. She continued to have random contractions throughout the day. Around 7:30 I spoke with Daddy again. Mommy was still contracting about every 5 minutes, but by 9pm- dejectedly- she went to bed.
March 18, 2012
Sunday- 2:15am- I spring to life at the sound of the phone ringing. Adrenaline pumping, I answer the phone. Daddy sounds intense, and informs me that Mommy is bleeding, passing clots, and they are leaving for the hospital. I tell him to call me with info once they’re there. . . . . . Who am I kidding? There is NO WAY I can fall back asleep. I call him back and say I’m on my way as well.
Stay tuned for Part II.
