Blydan was due on September 29. My pregnancy was very normal with no complications. I began getting a little anxious once I reached 37 weeks. I was very ready to meet my little man! I started walking a mile each day and having sex each night. I also spent the last trimester, from 28 weeks on, doing stretches and exercises on a birthing ball. I had heard that most first time mothers go overdue and I was not happy at the thought. But I was going to let nature take its course beyond the sex, walking, and exercises.
On Thursday, September 18th, I had my 38 week appointment with my doctor at 10am. I had my first internal check! I was 1cm dilated, cervix was soft, and he was engaged in my pelvis. I left there very excited! I walked 2 miles that afternoon, bounced on the birthing ball that evening, and had sex before I went to sleep.
On Friday, September 19th, I woke up with irregular contractions at 6am. I went on a mile long walk at the park and had lunch. The contractions continued all day long and never became consistent. I got about 6 hours of sleep that night and woke up on Saturday with the same situation. I was beginning to get very discouraged and irritated. So I decided that night I'd go to Labor and Delivery and see if there was anything going on. I was checked and still only 1cm dilated. So we headed back home and decided to try to get some sleep.
On Sunday, September 21, I finally woke up with real contractions! I woke up at 7am and things were much stronger and more consistent. I took a long hot shower and lost my mucous plug. My doula came over around 11am and by then, I couldn't talk through contractions. She was there for about an hour when I went to the bathroom and there was bloody show. I also started feeling pressure. So at about 12:30pm we headed to the hospital, which was 30 minutes away.
We got to the hospital at about 1pm or 1:15pm and I was immediately whisked away to labor and delivery. It was very apparent I was having a baby soon. They checked me in the triage room and I was already dilated to an 8! So I was moved into a room right away. I was having a waterbirth, so I just got into the tub as soon as I was put in the room. It was just me, hubby, my doula, and my mom. The lights were low. The nurses only came in once an hour to check his heart rate and to see if I was progressing. When I was dilated to a 9 1/2, a lip of my cervix wasn't dilating, so I had to turn on that side. By this time, the contractions were unbearable and there was little to no break in between them. I started begging for the epidural, but I was in the tub and too close to delivery. They did give me some fetanyl to "take the edge off" and looking back, it did absolutely nothing for my pain and made me very dizzy. My doctor came in and broke my water because it still hadn't happened on it's own. And I writhed in agony and begged for it to stop. It got almost unbearable right before it was over.
I began feeling the urge to push and making these animal like grunting noises that were totally involuntary and I guess the nurses recognized this, because they got my doctor and set up for delivery. I pushed during 4 or 5 contractions and he finally came out. He was turned slightly and that's why a lip of my cervix had a hard time dilating, that's also why I had a 2nd degree tear. It was all worth it though. And as soon as he came out, the pain disappeared. Thank God!
Blydan Joseph was born at 5:45pm weighing 8 pounds and 2 ounces. He was 21.5 inches long. He was 8 days early and the most beautiful creature on earth! He had some breathing problems when he was first born, probably due to the dose of fetanyl that I was given, but was perfectly fine after they got him suctioned out. I got the waterbirth that I wanted and couldn't have been happier with the whole experience!
