how it went down, part 1

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Sunday, 9:30 am: I wake up. I have been having early labor contractions on and off since Friday. Our doula came over the previous night to check in with us and see how I was doing. She said that I will know without hesitation when the active labor contractions start. She said to page her anytime and that hopefully that will be soon. I had a good night sleep and I go to the bathroom. When I return, I feel a contraction. Compared to the past two days, this one feels more in my lower abdomen, but also still in my back and top of my thighs, more crampy. I wake Philip up and he writes down the time. I am so full of doubt that I go back to bed.

9:40 am: Another contraction. Much stronger this time. It lasts over a minute.

9:50 am: Another one. Even stronger. I think to myself, “this might actually be it.” We page our doula.

By 10:00 am, contractions are starting to kick my ass. Doula calls back, asks me to describe the pain. I ride one out with her on the phone, and she says to call the doctor.

10:20 am: We call our OB’s office and they page the doctor on call. With Swedish, OBs work as a team so on the day of delivery, you get the doc who is on call and not necessarily yours. The phone rings, Philip picks it up and it’s Dr. Lowdermilk, our OB. He happened to be on call and that is somehow reassuring. I get on the phone with him and he asks me a couple of questions then says “go ahead and come in.” By now, contractions are every 5 minutes lasting longer than a minute each time.

10:30-11:00 am: We get dressed. I try to eat some oatmeal but can only manage half. I drink some juice. Philip takes care of the dog, eats a quick breakfast, and calls Alissa, our doula. I have to get on all fours every time I have a contraction to ride it out. I manage to get dressed.

11:10 am: We call Jessica, the world’s greatest dog sitter and tell her it’s on. Trixie lies down on the couch as if this is any other day when we leave the house. We take one last good look at the house and we leave. I have a passing thought “I didn’t get to eat my high-carb meal …”

11:15 am: Sunday morning. No traffic. I hug a pillow and ride out two or three contractions. Deep breath. I ask Philip to turn on the radio. “Prairie Home Companion” is on.

11:30 am: We arrive at Swedish and pull in to the parking lot. We have to go up to 5th floor to triage. I have to stop twice to ride out contractions. We go up and Alissa is there. We walk in. The nurse tells us that they have to prep a room so to go to the waiting room for a couple of minutes. We go, and I have to get down on my knees and lean on the chair to ease the pain. Alissa quickly gets behind me to press on my tail bone, which relieves some pain. She tells me to take deep long breaths, which I do. The nurse comes to get us and we go into triage. They quickly go through admission process, verify that I want an epidural (people often think if you have a doula, you must be going all natural-my doula quickly pointed it out, right at the top of my birth plan, EPIDURAL! YES!) and two nurses who are assigned to me walk in to introduce themselves. Contractions are pretty strong now and they seem to come every 3 minutes. When I’m hit with one in triage, Alissa says, “that’s right. Deep breath. Climbing to the top—this is the big one-now coming down, and let it go.” It’s totally in sync with what is happening and I am amazed. I guess this is why she does what she does. They check me and I am 6 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Not bad.

ow

During the next hour, we settle into a birthing suite. The nurses (Pauletta and Joanna – everybody’s name ends with A today) settle me in, start an IV, and page the anesthesiologist. I ride out my pain with breathing and low moaning-which is surprisingly helpful. I hold onto Philip’s wrist when it comes and my doula gets behind me massaging my lower back, talking me through it, making the sound with me. Then the anesthesiologist arrives (cue choir of angels). He talks me through what he is going to do, while I’m thinking, “yeah, yeah, I took a class, don’t care about the risks. Just get on with it.” I don’t even feel much of what he was doing and it felt like within the next 15 minutes it took effect (cue slightly larger choir of angels). He asks me to call if I start to feel pain again and then he leaves. He is a superhero.

not pictured, enormous epidural needle going into Mimi's back

1:00 pm: Everything is back to normal for a while, except that I am bed ridden. My field of vision widens. I am able to chat away. Philip goes to the car to get the suitcase. I feel pressure on my tailbone every now and then, but the pain is totally gone. Epidural is good. Both Philip and Alissa are able to eat something, I get to know the nurses, sign some consent forms, listen to music. My OB checks in and I seem to remain at 6 cm, but he said that is common after an epidural, so we chat some more. A resident walks in an introduces himself. He is very Seattle-y with his curly hair and goatee. He also looks about 16. During one of his checks, he hears that “Always Look On the Bright Side of Life” from Spamalot (and/or Life of Brian) is playing and comments on how awesome that is. We collectively sing and whistle. Nurses turn me over from side to side to make sure I don’t get uncomfortable. If I stay on one side for too long, the epidural gets stronger on the side that’s down.

4:00 pm: Somewhere here, my OB comes in and breaks my water (today’s word, “amniotomy”). He says that it will help things progress. He does so and notices that there is some meconium (poop, basically) mixed in. He tells us that he will call “The Mec Team” to stand by to properly clean out the baby when it comes out. I want a T-shirt that says, “Mec Team.” I start to feel pain mixed with more pressure. I ride it out for a while but eventually ask the nurses for a higher dosage. Superhero (Anesthesia Man!) walks in and makes adjustments. I’m back to feeling better.

Mimi enjoys her epidural while Philip enjoys coffee that was brewed in 2006

6:00 pm: OB comes in to check. I am now 9 cm and completely effaced. He says in 30 minutes, I can start pushing. The mood in the room shifts. Both Philip and I are excited. The nurse gives me a tutorial on pushing. She tells me to take a deep breath in and pull my chin to my chest, while holding onto my legs. She tells me to try to relax my face and my legs while pushing so all the energy is put to the right place. She says that I will push three times during each contraction and the last one counts the most. Our OB also explains that with every push, the baby will go forward, but every time I stop, it slips back slightly. My doula and the nurse explain that it’s very important to bear down and push as if I’m pushing out the biggest poop ever.

ever?

And then, the real fun began …