Dante's Birth Story and First Week

I've been pretty explicit about my excitement and anticipation of meeting the little creature that has been growing in my body for the past 9 months. It is still completely crazy to look at him and think that he came from me.  The second night we were home, reality set in at about 2AM. After doing everything I could do to help my sad little guy, I decided to play Talking Heads' "This Must be the Place" to see if that would do anything to help him calm down enough to sleep. I was impressed that it did, and from 2-4:30 that morning, the music played while we slept.  

On Friday the 6th around 10:30AM, I started having contractions that were coming every 10 minutes and lasting about a minute. I worked through my work day because they weren't uncomfortable and they didn't seem to change. We went to dinner that night and walked around hoping that it would make them more intense. I don't really remember what I did Saturday, except for mope in disappointment about the fact that the contractions I was having Friday stopped when I woke up that morning. I think I just vegged around, folded some laundry and cleaned up the house- I spent a lot of time on my hands and knees cleaning the floors in my bathrooms (base moldings too!) hoping that would put me into labor. It didn't. 

Sunday, we woke up and because I was having contractions Friday, I had already arranged to have a substitute teach my class and we didn't go to church. (I'm a slacker, I know...that's a post for another time!) Instead, I cleaned some more and relaxed hoping something would happen soon. One of my friends mentioned that it was 5 hours of walking around downtown that put her into labor. I decided that walking around outside was too uncomfortable (because of the heat) and it probably wouldn't be enough to start contractions, so I decided that I wanted to take a hike up to Doughnut Falls. Mike has been very tolerant of my antics up to this point, and he was just as anxious as I was to get this started, so we went. It took us less than an hour to get up there and I felt really good about making it the whole way despite the heat and my feet being way swollen. There was this guy that approached us while we were up there and asked "so are you going to venture to the top?" Mike replied no, pointing to my belly. The guy thought it was pretty cool that I hiked up there after finding out that I was due Wednesday. He was nice enough to take our picture!

That night, we visited family like we normally do. We had a nice dinner with my Mahm, Scott, and the sibs and then we went to my Dad's where I climbed the stairs to and from the basement probably 7 or 8 times because we were working on a little project. When I came home that night, I was planning to be really tired on Monday because I was up so late. My mom and I were text messaging back and forth talking about possible signs of impending labor. Her last text message was around 10:45 which said, "Send him a 24 hour notice to vacate. Get some rest, you don't know what tomorrow will bring. :D"

We got home, went to bed and a few hours later I started having pains that were enough to wake me up. I've had these pains before- It's usually from turning over, but this just kept coming. I thought to myself, "I'm probably being too hopeful", because I was told that the whole belly would get tight. The contractions I had were only on the top right mixed with pressure on my back and what felt like a menstrual cramp. I started timing them at 4:15AM. They kept coming and around 5, so I decided to get up into the tub to see if they would go away. When I got into the tub initially, the contractions became irregular, but then quickly kicked back up. While I was sitting in the tub, I started looking things up on my iPhone. I am a "googler".  I will look up everything I am curious about, so I sat there for an hour looking up possible signs of labor, what "real" contractions felt like, etc. At 6, I woke up Mike and told him that I wasn't going to work. I relaxed on the couch until 7, gave my call and explained that I was pretty sure I was going to have a baby that day. It's really weird to call into work and be really excited about not feeling 100%. Normally, I call in because I'm ill or have a migraine. 

The contractions weren't changing, so I told Mike it was okay for him to go to work, and suggested that we play it by ear. I spent the morning laying on the couch, text messaging parents and trying to sleep. By Noon, the contractions were a little bit more intense, but my plan was to labor at home for as long as I could, so we decided to go into my nurse midwife's office to have her check everything. (Didn't want to have a baby en route to the hospital later on) We decided to pack everything up so that if she felt like I should stay, I would at least be prepared. As I was packing up final things, my water broke. It was just a couple of drops, and I initially thought I peed my pants. My only clue was that urine is not typically pink. We were going to grab lunch on the way over, but as we drove, contractions became more intense. We decided I should go get checked out and then we could go walk around and eat. Mike took this picture on the way in. I was annoyed because I was pretty sure they would send me home.

I didn't think my belly was that big. Looking at this picture now, it's funny to see how big my belly really was. 

The office was closed for lunch when we arrived, so they told us to go to Labor and Delivery to get checked. We got to the front desk, I explained the situation and they had me start signing paperwork. The lady at the front desk was kind of rude, but all of the other staff that we worked with were amazing. They took me back to a room and had me strip down to a hospital gown. At this point, I wasn't thinking clearly. I kept thinking "What if this is it?" and how I needed to make sure I was in a room with a jetted tub if I was going to stay. I even told Mike in a threatening voice "I'm not staying in this hospital gown!" (It was a mental strategy for me- I didn't want to do certain things like wear a hospital gown or get an IV because I was just having a baby. Millions of women have done it, and for me it didn't need to turn into this big hospital experience.)

The nurse came in and got samples to determine if my water had broken. They weren't going to check for dilation and effacement until that had been determined. Around 2PM, the nurse determined that my water did in fact break. It was only a small rupture, so to help things progress, the nurse midwife, A used a hook to rupture the bag completely. Talk about an awkward feeling.  She then checked my progress and we were told I was 3 cm dilated and about 70% effaced. The nurse informed us that she could tell Dante had lots of hair and that we were going to be staying. I was pretty excited that we were in business! We decided that it was probably a good idea to get some lunch. The nurse said "be sure to eat something light", which we were already planning. I had a turkey sandwich which ended up making a recurrence around 8:00 that night. 

My moms (yes, plural) showed up after we settled into the room. I was of course back in the clothes that I arrived in, with the exception of the huge pad and nice meshy undies they set me up with. Contractions steadily got more intense, but I breathed through them. We listened to some music and watched some TV, as I sat on my exercise ball. Mike massaged my back and used lotion to rub my arms and hands. We had a shift change, so a new nurse came in. I really liked this nurse. She reviewed my birth plan with me and we talked specifically about pain management. I explained my reasons for wanting an unmedicated birth and my plans for pain management, and she assured me that she would stick with it and encourage me to go forward unless she felt like it was something that I could not do.  

When I got to about 5 cm, after saying "I don't want to do this anymore" (the only time I said it), I decided that I wanted to get into a tub. They offered to set up a big inflatable tub so that I could move into different positions, but that ended up not happening because I didn't want to stop the jets and running water that I had access to only in the jetted tub. 

My nurse midwife came in around 7 and I was in the jetted tub at this point. (It's funny how you just stop caring about the fact that you're naked and people are walking in an out of the room talking to you) She came in and I actually felt my face blow up with excitement. I was really glad she was there, because we weren't sure that she would be. (The nurse midwives work on a rotation) Shortly after she got there, I started feeling nauseous. As I mentioned, the sandwich came back up, but that was the only time I lost my cookies my entire pregnancy! During all of this, the contractions became increasingly worse. To cope, I began making low humming noises that probably sounded like a "moo" that would get louder as the contraction peaked. I felt really weird the first time I did it, but it helped for some reason. Around 8, I was dilated to a 7 and had the urge to push. My back hurt and it felt like I really, really needed to go to the bathroom accompanied with a monster charlie horse in my belly. To help with the urge to push, the nurse midwife had me move into a position on my hands and knees while still in the tub. This was intended to help get the pressure off my back, but shortly after I moved, I decided to move out onto the bed to try other positions. I planned to put on the hospital gown at this point because my moms were in the room and I was worried about being modest. That didn't happen though. The nurse gave me a thin blanket that offered better coverage than the towels. My perceived temperature kept changing. First it was too cold and then I was too hot. Looking back on it now, I don't know where the blanket ended up because shortly after I moved from the tub, I "checked out".  I remember dealing with the contractions and how intense it was to get through them, but I don't remember the pain itself. I continued to make the humming noises and as the contractions got harder, the noises became higher and louder. Mike told me that this was really hard for him to watch. He said that he had to take a break, but he came back and helped the nurse midwife use counter pressure to help take the edge off the contractions. I don't remember him leaving my side until Dante was born. 

I was told by others that your body will know when and how to "push". For me, that was so true. My nurse midwife explained the urge felt like a sneeze. To me, it felt more like the urge to throw up. Your muscles just all engage and you can't really stop it until it passes. After a few minutes of listening to some music and moving around to try to get more comfortable, I ended up on my left side feeling completely exhausted. I don't remember saying anything about being tired at this point, but my nurse midwife caught on really quick. They gave me an IV that had sugar in it to help get my energy up, and then decided to help things along by stretching my cervix the last little bit so that I could start pushing. This hurt pretty bad, but it wasn't the worst part...we're getting there. 

There are only two things that I would have liked differently with my delivery. I should have said "yes" when they asked me if I wanted to a mirror so that I could see what was going on, and I would have liked to deliver in any other position than laying on my back. In all of the research that I did before my delivery, they say that laying on your back is the worst position because it works against gravity, making it harder to push. Luckily, I pushed for what felt like 40 minutes maximum, so it wasn't bad. I remember being upset that I was on my back, but I was exhausted and hurt so much that I didn't care enough about it to try to move. 

It was such a relief to get to bear down. Pushing down actually took the pain out of the contractions, which was nice even though it was still hard work. This is where the worst part comes in...As Dante's head came down, I started feeling the burning sensation infamously known as the "ring of fire". My nurse midwife did a great job trying to keep this area numbed using an oil, but the pain was still pretty bad. I felt the first tear and it scared me. I think I actually got upset because our preparation through a technique learned in hypnobirthing was supposed to prevent this. (I later found out that my perineum didn't tear, the tears were in other places.) I would say for me, this was by far the worst part. Luckily, it was over soon after and at 10:23PM I had this warm, gooey baby on my chest. And of course, we all cried. Even Mike. =)

I mentioned that I wish that I would have had them put the mirror down. This is because I haven't ever witnessed the birth of a baby in "real life" (I watched a TON of YouTube videos), with the exception of my own baby. With every other baby, you get word that they've been born and you go to the hospital and "ta da" they are there. The only way I can describe it is "storky". Even though I felt him moving around in my belly for several weeks and went through the pain of getting him here, it's still hard for me to believe that Dante actually came out of my body. 

Mike cut the umbilical cord and the nurses took Dante over to get cleaned up. I laid there with the umbilical cord hanging out, which was the weirdest sensation ever. The nurse midwife helped deliver the placenta, which came right out. She showed it to me, and I have to admit that I was really impressed by it. She showed me the side where the cord is attached, and then showed the other side, which looked all gory. She then gave the "no cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. for two weeks" order and then started stitching me up. When I was a kid, I got stitches twice. The last time I had stitches, I was 14 and I was able to watch them numb the site and stitch it up and feel perfectly content. This was completely different. My legs shook as I pushed my feet down into the bed, flinching every time she moved her hands. It felt like it took forever for her to finish, despite my efforts to stay distracted by what was going on with Dante and everyone around him. 

After she was done, I got to say "hello" to my little guy. I loved how he smelled and couldn't get over the lanugo hairs on his back. He was pretty much everything I imagined he would be. Shortly after we were all cleaned up, people started coming into the room to see him. It was really awesome to see everyone's reaction. By 1AM, I was moved up into our recovery room, where the nurse talked to me for what felt like forever. There was so much information that I was trying to take in, it was kind of overwhelming. I nursed Dante for the first time and was somewhat successful. (Nursing is way harder than I ever expected it to be, BTW. I can see why so many moms give up and go to formula) My mom, Danna stayed with me while Mike went home to check on the pugs. Around 1:30, Mike got back and we ate Wendy's. It wasn't great, but it was good enough to take care of my salt craving. After that, we went to bed. The nurses were in pretty much every hour until about 5AM taking my vitals or Dante's. Our CNA came in at 4AM to give Dante his first bath. We tried nursing again, but he wasn't really interested. He finally ate again around 9AM. 

I just have to brag really quick about my birth team. My nurse, nurse midwife, moms and Mike were amazing through this whole process.  My nurse stayed positive and kept encouraging me the entire time. She would ask me before offering any kind of intervention, even checking my progress- rather than saying "let's check you", she would say "would you like me to check?" Mike was amazing too, pressing on my back and opening up the Hypnobirthing book to scripts that I felt were empowering and wanted to read when things got hard. My moms were an awesome support. I was nervous about having anyone else in the room initially because I was worried about being naked or how I would react to labor. I was so glad they were there though. They were right where I needed them at all times and never got in the way. 

The morning after.
(The bear is named Theodore. You've probably seen him in previous blog posts and pictures.
He goes with us to big events and vacations)

We got home on Wednesday afternoon and it was such a relief to sleep in my own bed and walk around in my own house. 

Coming home on Wednesday

Thursday, we spent the day at home catching up on rest and relaxing. We had family stop by to visit, but other than that, we just hung out and got to know Dante better. 

I love his expression here!

By Friday, I was stir-crazy and needed to get out so we visited Mike's office and went grocery shopping. 

He loves being naked!

Getting ready to go out!

Remember the Vans?
They don't fit yet, but they still look way cool!

Saturday, we went shopping and vistied family.  

Showing off his handsome face. =)

Milk Coma!

And Sunday, we were with family pretty much the entire day. 

Dante's figuring out his sleep schedule. I've learned that it works around how he eats. He really doesn't nurse long. He will nurse for 7-8 minutes and fall asleep. I usually have to stop in the middle to burp him (and wake him up) and then he'll finish. We have other techniques that we have to use too, such as changing his diaper or stripping him down to help keep him awake. The last feeding before bed, I will usually try to bug him a little bit more, and sometimes he will nurse longer. The past 2 nights have been pretty successful. He sleeps in blocks of 2 to 3 hours, wakes up and eats and then falls back to sleep. 

We had his 1 week old pictures taken yesterday at FotoFly. I must say, they are pretty adorable. They definitely show off his personality and how we know him so far. 

Enjoy: