Monday 4/16/12 11:30am​

Today I had a fetal non-stress test at the OB’s office. The baby is perfectly normal and healthy of course, as confirmed again by the test, but they are still pushing for an induction on Friday night. I am only 2 cm dilated still and the doctor does not think I will progress on my own by Friday. I don’t really like the whole idea of chemically inducing the baby to come. I want a natural birth, which includes the baby coming on his own. We decided to go see my acupuncturist at 5:15p and see if he could help move things along in a more natural way.

4/16/12 5:15pm

We arrived at the acupuncture office and I asked Dr. Neff if he could assist me in inducing labor so that I could avoid a medical induction. He started by inserting some needles in my lumbar spine and I felt the baby move immediately. After a few minutes he put some more needles in my legs/feet and hands and I sat there for about 30 minutes. Fluids started to flow into my feet and they became swollen, which he reassured me is quite normal because the focus is on moving things down and opening up. He also showed us the acupressure points to use and advised me to use visualization of a rose bud opening up to get my cervix to open more. I scheduled another session for Thursday just in case and headed home to finish my last final exam.

4/16/12 10:30pm

Shortly after I finished my test and started to settle down for the night, I started getting crampy feelings, like bad menstrual cramps. They progressively worsened and I attempted to lie down with my fiance and get some sleep at 11:30p, but the pain became much more intense and we started timing the contractions with an iPhone app we had downloaded. I was shocked that they were already 5 mins apart and they lasted for about a minute. I hopped in the shower since I couldn’t sleep with the pain and my fiance started loading the car up with our bags. It was finally time to meet our little boy!

Tuesday 4/17/12 1:11am

I finished my shower (The quickest shower I’ve taken in my whole life) and called the OB to let him know I was in labor while my fiance finished his shower. I told him that the contractions were strong and close together now, and that I noticed some bleeding while I was in the shower. I was instructed to head to the ER of the hospital we were going to deliver at. We left the house at 1:30am. The pain was pretty intense, but I was still able to breathe through it at that point. We sort of sped a little on the way since I was so nervous about making sure we made it there in time.

4/17/12 2:00am

I was admitted to labor and delivery from the ER. They handed me consent forms to fill out while I was in the middle of having contractions. Then I was wheeled to the delivery room, we put down our bags, and I hurried to change into my pretty pushers gown. I laid down in the bed; the nurse took our information and hooked me up to a fetal monitor. The baby’s heart rate was a little fast on the monitor so I was given the choice to drink a lot of water or have an IV. I chose the water. I made sure to drink the Bodyarmor that we had grabbed from the fridge on our way out the door(I knew I’d need the electrolytes). My fiancé was trying to make sure that I drank plenty of water in-between contractions because I was so exhausted from being up since 9am that morning I was dozing off in-between contractions.

4/17/12 2:40am

The baby’s heart rate was back to normal after rehydrating myself. The nurse checked my dilation and I was still at 2 cm. She said that I’d probably be in labor for a while, which didn’t make me happy because I was so tired and had hoped that with such strong contractions I’d be dilated further.

4/17/12 3:00am

I was so exhausted that the nurse suggested a morphine shot to quell the pains so I could rest a little bit. I was willing to try it if it meant I could get a little bit of sleep(As much as I didn’t want any medication in my birth plan, I hadn’t planned on being up all night either). I had no idea how long I would be in labor for and I hadn’t progressed any further than I had that morning at the OB’s office. After the nurse gave me the injection though, I didn’t really feel any relief. I still felt the contractions as strongly as ever and they seemed to be getting worse.

4/17/12 3:30am

Suddenly my water broke, it gushed out with each powerful contraction. It was so painful, I was gripping my fiance’s forearm and begging him to massage my lower back. After my water broke I started to feel a strong urge to push; I asked my fiance to go get the nurse and hurry! The nurse came back in and checked my dilation, it was now at 9 cm. She was very shocked that I dilated so quickly because she said, ‘If I hadn’t checked it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it.’ She hurried to call the OB in to deliver the baby, and told me to try not to bear down. (Easy for her to say!) I couldn’t really help the pushing urge, the contractions were so strong I just tried my best to hold the baby off.

4/17/12 5:00am

The doctor arrived and by this point I was so tired I just wanted to push the baby out already. I asked for a squatting bar; I tried to squat and push but it was hard to hold myself up. I was willing to try it anyway since I had read how well it works. The OB persuaded me to lie down in the traditional lithotomy position. I gave in and went with it. My fiance held one leg and the nurse had the other. I gave a few good pushes and the baby’s head crowned. The doctor asked me if I wanted to feel his head. I replied sure, and reached down to caress his little head full of gooey hair. It was pretty amazing to experience.

4/17/12 5:32am

A few more pushes and he was out, crying and healthy. My little Rafe, all 7 pounds 4 ounces of squishy love. The doctor said I had a small tear and he proceeded to stitch me up. They had Narcan ready just in case the morphine had crossed the placenta, but it wasn’t needed, he was very alert and crying. The nurse handed Rafe to me, all covered in fluids and vernix, and I hugged him tightly to me. It didn’t even faze me that he left a smear of bloody fluid on my upper arm, I was so enraptured by this little boy I had carried inside of me for 40 weeks. We finally get to meet, my little love. ❤