Happy
Birthday! Here you are with us after 39 weeks and 6 days. Amazing. Yesterday I went to see my OB, Dr. Jay Goldberg, and was dilated 2-3 cm, 50 percent effaced. I had some mild cramping all afternoon. Last night about 9 p.m. mild contractions started. It was the American Idol finals on TV. We started timing the contractions and they were regular, but not close together. At 11:30 p.m. I took a nice long bath which helped a lot. Tried to go to bed after that, dozed a little. Gilles got some sleep from 1-3 a.m. At 3 a.m. the mucous plug expelled and the contractions started coming closer together and more steadily--and stronger! They were coming 4 minutes apart, lasting a minute. We had 3 more hours of this before we would go to the hospital. Because I was aiming for a natural birth, my OB advised me to stay at home as long as possible. When I started feeling the stronger contractions, I wanted to go immediately to the hospital, but Gilles was tough in keeping me on track and at home. This is where the yoga breathing and the Jessica move of swaying back and forth helped me get through each contraction. For the entire duration of the contraction, I would sway from side to side and mumble "open-open-open". At 6 a.m. we (Gilles, Clare--who arrived at 5 a.m., and I) got in the car and raced to Cedars. Our goal was to have only one contraction in the car, so as soon as the contraction came and went, we jumped in the car. Indeed I only had one contraction in the car--whew! The contractions were coming pretty strong at this point. I couldn't really fathom them being any stronger. Once we got to Cedars, we spent an hour in Triage, which was horrible--it felt like forever before someone came and gave me an exam. Finally a doc came and said I was at 10 cm! Boy did everyone start moving pretty quickly around me. Then another doc came in to check again, and she said I was only at 7 cm. Argh! But they immediately moved me into the delivery room. I was asked if I was having the urge to push, which I didn't really comprehend what that would feel like, so I said no. At this point I had a couple monitors on my belly, an IV inserted for saline (although I tried to talk them out of it for the longest time), and a blood pressure cuff on me the entire time (I had high blood pressure during my last trimester, but nothing worrisome). It was very uncomfortable to have all these contraptions on me, very immobile feeling, even though I was able to move about if I wanted to. The labor nurse, Star, was great. I told her I wanted no drugs, and she never asked me again. At about 8:15 a.m., the pressure and urge to push arrived. Now I understood what that feels like. Argh. My OB did another internal exam and said I was at 9 cm, and my water broke simultaneously. He said he would return in 20 minutes and that I could start pushing. The next 5 or so contractions without being able to push was the most excruciating of the entire birthing process for me. Staring into the eyes of Gilles and Clare while trying to breath deeply through is the only thing that got me through that phase. My OB returned and prepped me to start the delivery. Boy was it hard, somehow I felt relief at the same time, and not as painful as the previous contractions. I pushed through 3 contractions, each contraction I pushed 3 times for counts of 10 and the last one for 5 counts. On the second contraction, the baby's head came out, then the next, zoom she was here. Lana is beautiful She's sleeping next to me now. I couldn't have done it without Gilles and Clare as my birthing coaches. They kept me on track, focused, and breathing. I'm proud of myself for doing it without the epidural. It was intense and painful, but all worth it and surreal to see Lana here now. I stay in the hospital for a couple more days. I'll take advantage of resting and relaxing in bed. Mika P.S.
Jessica--the yoga helped me keep limber and loose (as much as can be during the
labor) and definitely helped me get "through" the pain. As silly as
I felt doing it in class, the swaying saved me! Thanks for your enthusiasm!
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