Darcey's Birth Story #2

*if you haven't read the first part of the story yet then click here*

I obviously still wasn't able to get comfortable enough to sleep since the contractions were harder than ever(which by the way the midwife told me were probably not real and just a product of an over-stimulated uterus)and made even more so by me trying to go to bed. I ended up deciding to try a warm bath around 11 and Blake was up with me so we could talk about things and try to decide what to do. He was timing the contractions and they were still just all over the place, but really starting to hurt even more. I was still second guessing it so much though because of all the midwife had told me that I hadn't even called her back again yet because I just didn't want to be told that it didn't sound serious or she didn't think it was the real thing until I was totally convinced it was. As I was getting out of the bathtub I ended up having a couple of contractions about 7 minutes apart that just felt different than before and was actually a stranger and worse pain in some ways than what I rememberd with my last birth. I suddenly got this feeling like I wanted to be seen now and not wait to call the midwife, try to talk her into coming, and then wait at least another hour and a half for her to make the drive. At this point, I was also so tired and hurting so badly that I wasn't sure if I could make it much longer if this was going to keep on like that indefinitely. As determined as I was to not use any medicines because of how badly I reacted before I was willing to try something if I thought it would be best for the baby and help me relax enough for her to come sooner if need be.

So Blake and I talked about it a couple of minutes and checked in with the hospital and decided that it was probably best just to go there and find out what was going on rather than dealing with the midwife again at this point. I woke up mom and let her know what we were doing and then started getting a few things together. I knew I was hurting pretty badly at this point, but just wasn't saying much about it or timing the contractions anymore. Mom came into the bedroom to see if we needed her to do anything and to discuss what they were going to do about coming to the hospital if I ended up staying, etc. She had only been in there a few minutes before she asked was I not having several close together and I realized that I hadn't really thought about it! She said we could just go ahead and she would bring whatever else we needed later so we kinda just dropped everything and headed out. I think we made the drive in a little over 15 minutes and I ended up counting 4 contractions during that time so they were definitely closer and more regular now!

We got there and had to go through the crazy process of trying to get someone to listen to us and then actually do something about getting me into labor and delivery. Then we get upstairs and the nurse makes me lay flat down on my back so she can hook me up to a moniter and sits down at a computer where she proceeds to ask me a million crazy questions that honestly had nothing to do with me giving birth that I could tell. I kept trying to ask about getting checked, getting up and then finally said that if they weren't going to do any of that then just GET ME SOME PAIN MEDICATION!! Unfortunately for me they didn't take me seriously either and thought I was probably just in the early stages of labor, although they should have known something was going on from the way I started acting.....I mean, who would be that upset unless they were close to giving birth??!!  They tried calling the anethesiologist and couldn't get him. They also tried calling the doctor and didn't get her either, but they weren't seeming all that worried about it because they thought we had plenty of time. You know since they weren't bothering to check me and make sure!

Finally she finished up asking me everything and said she would see how things were going. At which point she looked very stunned and said that we probably weren't going to need the anethesilogist anyway since I was already a 10. Her next words of course were that I couldn't push because the doctor hadn't gotten there yet, to which I replied, "That's not my problem!" Let's just say that I was not my normal nice speaking self at the moment. In fact, I'm pretty sure at some point that I slapped the nurses hand away from my stomach and told her not to touch me again.....and that is so unlike my usual behaviour! lol That could have also been partly due to the fact that she was the one who had the moniter straps done around me too tightly and wouldn't take them off and it was pure torture to have them on during a contraction. I wasn't entirely happy with the whole situation at the moment and was just ready for somebody to do something to help me! The doctor made it about that time and another nurse(who happened to be a man which was a little strange at first)and everything was ready to go. I was still horribly uncomfortable being on my back and was practically begging to just be able to do something different. The male nurse asked me what I wanted to do(yes, he was actually the only one who listened and tried to help me!)and I replied that I wanted to try squatting on the bed while pushing so it wouldn't hurt as much. To my utter amazement he was totally fine with the idea and the doctor didn't seem to have any objections either! Unfortunately that only lasted for about 2 pushes and they had to lay me back down because the moniters were messing up and the baby's heartrate seemed to be dropping. Thankfully I only had to push through a couple more contractions while laying down though and she was there!! My water actually broke while pushing right before she came out which was kinda neat since I wasn't sure if it had yet or not. I think if I'd had to push a little longer I would have perfected the whole grunting type scream that helps you push better as opposed to the shrill, bloody murder type screaming that doesn't really do anything except make you hoarse afterwards kind. (I wish I was kidding, but I really am not.....besides, that kind of pain really isn't anything to joke about! At least until several years after the fact.;)  

To sum it all up, it was a crazy day/night and more than a little stressful but we're just thankful that Darcey was born safely and that things went as well as what they did. She actually did have the cord around her neck,which is what I figure kept the contractions so sporadic and her movement and my pain so odd for that long but of course don't know that for sure. They had to give her a little oxygen right after birth but it was nothing serious and she was otherwise perfect! I was a little dissapointed to not have another home birth since we loved the experience of that with Delancey, but I think after the way things went we ended up in the best place we could have been. Especially seeing how she was born in a little over an hour from when we decided to go to the hospital and the midwives probably wouldn't have made it! I can only imagine how stressful that would have been. All in all, the hospital experience ended up being okay too I guess even if it wasn't what we expected. So there it is finally....the wonderful, unforgettable story of how Darcey Ella came into the world! Hope you enjoyed reading about it. I'll try to share some of what's been going on since then soon. :-)