Leah,
I have been meaning to write you with my birth story, well now for over 3 months. I actually am glad I waited because it is so nice to remember it now and marvel in the wonder of becoming a parent. I often look at little Jude and it seems so surreal that he came out of my baby. Anyway, on to the details. I went into labor at about 3 a.m. the morning of my due date. It was so exciting but I wanted to be sure before waking up my husband. After a second contraction at about 4:30 a.m. I woke him up (I know cold hearted) because I was so excited. They kept coming throughout the morning irregularly. It wasn't too painful so I just relaxed and dreamt about Jude. My husband went into work for the morning since I had a 2 p.m. OB appt. that day (lucky that!). We went to to see Dr. Crookes and she told me I was 2 cm dilated. Well, I will probably see you tonight she said, but it could taper off and be nothing. Ok, I was a bit bummed thinking this wasn't it, but it turns out, it definitely was. We stopped by In-and-Out on the way home and I had a protein pack (I am sure you are groaning here, but I was starving and thinking this might be over at the time - and damn it was good). We got back home and my husband worked in the office for a bit. I sat on the ball and rocked, watched some TV, wandered around the house. By about 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. I started to feel a bit overwhelmed by the pain, this is not going away and seems to be coming on pretty strong. I called in my husband (ok, I burst into tears and told him I needed him now) and we started to time the contractions. I don't remember the next several hours very well, we just talked and he held me and I rocked. The timing still seemed a bit irregular, but they were sometimes coming within 6 minutes of each other. By about 11 p.m. we decided to go to the hospital mainly not to be going at 3 a.m. when we were even more exhausted. By the time we got to the hospital (30 min away), the contractions were seriously 3 minutes apart. It was surprising and very painful to be cramped in the car for this but we got there and made it to a room. They checked me and said the contractions were between 2 and 3 minutes apart but I was only 3 centimeters dilated. That was not exactly what I had in mind. My mother and sister arrived which felt good, a few other people to coach me through the pain. After about 3 hours of these contractions they came back in to check me and I was totally exhausted. I was freezing and having a hard time with the breathing patterns. They told me I was 4 centimeters and that my OB (Crookes) would be in "in the morning around 7 or 8 to check me". Woah, I couldn't bear the thought of doing this for several more hours. That's when I asked for the anesthesiologist. He was very nice and willing to give me a very low dose. I just wanted to sleep for a few hours to get my strength back. He accommodated. After he administered the epidural, it was like a dream. I fell asleep almost immediately. A few hours later, around 6 in the morning I woke up and my husband put on some music for me to listen to. Tea for the Tillerman. A beautiful album and it will forever be associated with the birth of beautiful Jude. We whispered to each other, dreaming about what Jude would look like. It was a very special time for us. Crookes came in later than I anticipated, maybe 9?, and said that she was going to break my water. Oh that, I had completely forgotten about that part. But my sister had three kids and her water had to be broken with all of them so maybe it's in the family. Anyway, Crookes told me she would come back in a few hours but that she thought I would be pushing by lunch. At that point I was 6-7 centimeters dilated by the way. The epidural started to wear off sometime after she left. I could completely feel my legs and the cramping was getting more and more intense. It seemed pretty soon that Crookes returned and told me that it was pushing time. This period was so intense and amazing. Crookes brought over the mirror and I could see myself (not something I would have thought I would want but it was a major motivating factor). It took maybe an hour of pushing the little crop of black hair out. Then, magically, there he was on my stomach, gorgeous little man. They left him with me and only wiped him off with a blanket. My husband cut the cord (I think? I was so mesmerized) and Crookes sewed up my tear; again, I hardly noticed ( I am sure the epidural is to thank but baby too). Incidentally, I asked Crookes how many stitches and she said only one. I thought, fantastic! The next day in recovery I thought it had to be more than one since I was so uncomfortable. I asked her again and she said, "well, one long one." :) Thanks Crookes, I think she just wanted me to feel good after the birth.
Not really anything more to report, other than that I never knew love could be like this. It is so amazing and I am so thankful and awed by the experience.
[A big congratulations and good luck to you Leah! - you can delete this part!]
Many thanks for the great pre and post natal yoga. It has been a huge help and something I always look forward to.
Best, Tiffany--
