Baby Folger’s Birth
Tuesday June 17 I had a packed day
of running errands-groceries, getting a manicure and pedicure, and
straightening my hair (curly hair in pictures after labor is not a pretty
sight). Later that night Will and I went
to bed after dinner at the Oriental Buffet and a soothing cup of tea. Like usual I was up at midnight not able to
sleep. I started a new television show
One Born Every Minute (a show about labor and delivery). Around 1:30 I felt gassy and thought I just
need to use the bathroom. So I did and
was just gassy (thanks Oriental Buffet).
Then at 2:30 I still felt gassy and when to the bathroom and got rid of
the Oriental Buffet and my stomach felt better, but once I got back into bed my
stomach started to hurt, like light cramps.
I just played it as thinking I felt something since my due date was June
22 and I have been watching hours of a labor and delivery show. But then the pain was more constant and
really hurt, so I woke up will saying that my stomach hurt. As I am gripping the sheet in pain he
suggests that I am in labor. Ha. I said I will call the night nurse to see if I
could be in labor. At 3:11 I called the
night nurse explaining my symptoms. He
got my information and told me that the doctor at the hospital will call me
back shortly.
I was
timing the pains and they were all over the place lasting any where from 30
seconds to one minute and they would be coming between 3-7 minutes apart-so
clearly not labor since that is not what is portrayed in the movies. I decided that the best thing to do was to
fill out the preregistration papers for the hospital since that is what I was
going to do on Wednesday June 18. Will
could not go back to sleep and was worried about me so we decided that if I am
in labor we needed to clean the house so it would be clean for when we came
home from the hospital and plus my mom was coming on Saturday. So we cleaned the house, powering through the
cramping, as well as packing our hospital bags (something I was also going to
do on Wednesday). I also finalized our
call list for our friend Mike so he knew who to call and text when the time
came. Around 4:30 the house is clean the
bags are packed and Will decided to take a quick shower just in case, then we
went back to bed to relax and await the doctor’s phone call. By this time the cramping was really hurting
and Will used an app on my iPad to record the contractions (yes by this time it
felt like labor). By 5:11 AM still no
phone call so I called the nurses hotline and the same man was surprised to
hear me call him and beyond surprised that the doctor never called me. He patched me directly to the hospital to
talk to the doctor (in our birth class we were told that many doctors/midwives
are able to tell if you are in delivery and how much pain you are in just
through the phone). When the doctor came
on the line I told her what was happening and luckily had a contraction. She told me it sounds like I am in labor and
should already have been at the hospital.
In a chipper excited voice I told her we will be on our way. I went to tell Will that the doctor said to
go to the hospital. We change our
clothes and gathered our stuff. I had to
have Will take one last belly photo for week 39 before we left for the
hospital.
The “It’s
Time” conversations we had with our friends became real. We called our dear friend Mike at 6:00 when
we pull out of our driveway to tell him “it’s time” and if he could walk our
Wally dog and take care of him. Through
much pain and excitement he started driving to the hospital. We thought the sunrise was beautiful, talked
how this road could be the last time we will be in the car and driving just the
two of us. We get to the hospital park
the car and walk to the Child
Birth Center,
full of excitement and nerves. The nurse
takes us into one of the labor rooms tells us not to get to comfortable because
depending on how far I was dilated I might be going back home-especially since
this was my first birth. The nurse took
my vitals and we waited for the doctor (I know bummer one of the midwives was
not working) to come. The doctor came
and said we get to stay because I was 4 centimeters dilated, a number that
surprised everyone. I do not remember if
Will called our moms during the drive or once I was admitted to the
hospital. We meet our nurse (yes I
forgot her name) and she would be with us for the first 12 hours (nurses
schedules are from 6am-6pm). We talked
about our plan-what plan? We said we
were up for anything we would like to not have a c-section unless absolutely necessary
and I wanted to try an go as long as possible without an epidural, possible not
have one at all. We talked about
different positions I might find comfortable and about visitors- all of which
we said lets see when the time comes.
Will was amazing! He attended to my needs and was able to text Mike our
progress- come to find out he and Matt came to the hospital shortly after we
arrived. My fantastic nurse taught me
not to tense during contractions (it makes labor last longer and we did not
want that) and to make a deep long o sounds to help get through the
contractions. I started my labor on the
bed on my back, just like the movies, focusing on a knob on the cabinets in
front of me, but quickly learning that this position was awful and needed to
change. I knew I wanted to try sitting
on the birthing ball- which is just a yoga ball, so we did and if felt so much
better. The doctor had to check my
progress around 10:00 AM (I think) and said that I was a shocking 8 centimeters
dilated! I felt like a champ progressing
so fast.
 |
| Will is showing we are 8 centimeters dilated. |
The nurse suggested giving me some IV meds to help relax in
between the contractions. I had those
meds given I think two more times and it really helped. By now the birthing ball was not helping and
the nurse suggested going onto the bed on my hands and knees facing the
headboard so my hands could rest on the head board- um not a position I saw
myself even trying- but low and behold the best position! I did not want to leave this position but the
nurse did not want me to bruise my knees so we tried other positions but all I
wanted to do is go back to my hands and knees.
The other thing that was different is that I had to pee constantly and
the nurse said in 20 years I am the first person who had to pee as much as I
did (I think that is when worrying about being decent ended). The doctor came back around 12:00 PM to check
my progress and barley any change and my water did break yet. She said she
wanted to break my water and once she did in an hour it would be time to start
pushing. She broke my water and it felt
wonderful, like being in a warm Jacuzzi.
It was not until an hour and a half later did I feel the sign of being
time to push. The nurse had to get the
doctor and I had to go onto my back (not my favorite position). It is truly amazing how our bodies just know
what to do. I had my fantastic nurse on
my left, my amazing husband on my right, and Doctor Elis leading the way. What only felt like maybe 30 mintues turned
out to be an hour and a half of pushing labor.
When I started pushing I was just looking forward to hearing “just two
more pushes, two more pushes” but those words took a while to hear. Using all of my strength, the support of my
husband, and no epidural I gave birth to our little boy at 3:26 PM (just a
little over 12 hours of actual labor).
When our boy came into the world all I could say was that he was so
handsome. Will and I became parents at
3:26 PM on Wednesday June 18, 2014 to our son James Joseph.
 |
| James Joseph "Jimmy" |
 |
| Our first family photo (well minus Wally) |
Come to find out we had so many of our friends in the
waiting room, waiting for the arrival of our boy. I felt so loved and it meant the world to
Will and I to have our friends there since our families were not there (except
for one of Will’s sisters).
After the nurses cleaned and took care of James, “Jimmy,”
and I was ready for visitors almost all of our friends came to meet our little
man. I am so grateful to have such an
amazing husband who knew how to help me through this experience and create such
a wonderful memory. I loved the doctor
who was working that day she was wonderful and I owe my great birth experience
to my nurse, she made labor and delivery easier than I ever expected. I am thankful to Mike and our friends who
called and texted our friends and family who could not be there with us. I will remember the entire labor from
watching tv, to smiling in between contractions, to hearing our friends cheer
with happiness when Will walked out and told them that James “Jimmy” Joseph was
born.
Now onto the next adventure of our lives!
