The rest of the labor went by so fast that I still try to replay it these 15 weeks later because I want to really remember it.
My mom was driving down from NY to come meet Abby and help us out. Right after I got the epidural, Mary had placed my legs up on a bed table in a very odd, side/spread eagle/crossed-legged type position that she said would hopefully help get Abby to turn so she was looking down when she came out, which is the optimal head position for babies. Mary had just left the room after getting me in position and turning out the lights so I could rest a little bit before the main event, when she returned and told me my mom had just arrived. I told her to let her in and my mom came up and gave me a kiss and told me she had driven down right after work and came straight to the hospital. She hadn’t eaten so she just wanted to say hello and see how I was before she went and got food. I told her Mary had told me that first time deliveries can take a while so she had plenty of time to go get some food, eat it and then be back here to meet Miss Abigail.
Right after my mom left, Mary came in to check me and announced “Looks like you are ready to have this baby!” I was shocked! She said the baby’s head was crowning and that it felt like it had rotated to the proper position and so she was just going to grab the doctor and then it was “Go Time!”
Dr. Natalie Colon came in and checked me too and agreed with Mary’s assessment and decided that they’d get everything set up and ready, they’d break my water and I could start pushing.
When Dr. Colon broke my water it just felt like a big splash and Mary was so quick at removing the soaked pads, that I don’t really remember anything else.
I had told Mary that I did not want to deliver supine (i.e., on my back) as this was the least anatomically efficient way to deliver a baby. Having had an epidural, however, really limited my options, but Mary told me that I could delivery in a side-lying, froggy style position to help keep my pelvis and consequently my birth canal open. This leads me to my fourth piece of advice (which really stresses the importance of the first piece of advice): be VERY adamant about what you want. Mary was such a good nurse that I only had to tell her once what I wanted. The doctor (and probably most doctors) was thinking about what is easiest for her (the patient in a supine position), and not necessarily what I wanted, what I asked for or how nature intended delivery to happen. I told Dr. Colon I didn’t want to labor on my back about three times and as she was preparing me to push, yet she positioned me on my back just as many times. Mary was such a good nurse and was such a champion for my desires that she (sternly) reminded my doctor each time that I wanted to deliver on my side. The last time she looked the doctor square in the eyes and said “Mrs. Stevens will be delivering on her side today.” J She was so great!
Anyway, Mary showed Rock how he could hold my left leg and help pull it back while I pushed and she showed me how to grab onto my right leg to aid in the pushing. And then Dr. Colon told me whenever I was ready I could push and with the next contraction (which felt like a tightening of the stomach) I pushed for the first time. Each time Rock, Mary and Dr. Colon very quietly cheered me on BUT did not count for me. They let me push for however long I felt was good and when I needed to breathe I would release, take a deep breath and push again until I felt the contraction release. I did this for about nine minutes and then Dr. Colon told me that Abby’s head was out and this next contraction was the only time that she would coach me when to push because she wanted to make sure the head was clear and lubricate the “area.” So, I had one contraction while the doctor was doing her job where I didn’t push and then, when she was done, she told me that I could push with the next contraction if I was ready. With one deep breath and a big push, I delivered my little Abigail Grace.
My fifth piece of advice (that again stresses the importance of first piece of advice): if you want to (and pending any medical emergencies), ask if you can hold your baby right after she/he comes out for a while so that you can immediately bond and help calm your baby down. When Abby came out, Mary made sure that she was placed, skin-to-skin, on my chest as I had requested. Abby cried for a few seconds but then started to calm down and just look around and take in her new surroundings. I am sure she started to calm down because she could hear my heartbeat again, something she heard continually for nine months, and I imagine it was comforting for her. It was so amazing to have her resting on my chest as I just got to look at her and give her kisses. The doctor delivered the placenta and did everything else down there quickly and to be honest, without much of my attention because I was so transfixed by my new little baby.
I held Abby for a full 30 minutes before I allowed Mary to take her to be weighed, measured and given her look-over. Rock was with her the whole time she was apart from me and when Mary was done (about 10 minutes later), they gave Abby back to me and I “fed” her for the first time. (I say “fed” because she was sucking for first time it wasn’t exactly efficient and I had only a few drops of colostrum, but it was a great bonding experience).
The whole delivery was so amazing that it totally made up for EVERYTHING before that. I think nature does that on purpose so that you forget the bad things and are more willing to do it again, despite it all!
As I was holding her and feeding her for the first time, my mom came back because Rock had called her. The delivery happened so quickly (all-and-all about 10 minutes) that she had only had time to leave the hospital, go about five blocks down to restaurant, and sit down and order, before Rock called her to tell her that Abby had been born. She was so surprised she had her meal boxed and got back over to the hospital toute suite.
She came in all discombobulated because she just couldn’t get over that when she had left about 20 minutes prior I was in a quiet room and pregnant and now that she was back the room was bustling and I was feeding my baby! She immediately took her camera out and got some shots of Miss Abby G and gave us both lots of kisses!
After feeding Abby for about ten minutes, Mary told me the nursery was expecting her and that the faster she went there the faster I could get her back in my arms. So I very reluctantly gave her to the nursery nurse.
Then a nurse got me all buttoned up and Rock helped her get me in a wheelchair for the ride to the recovery unit. He then left to go get me some Olive Garden for my post labor meal and my mom just sat with our new Abby!
That is it for my labor story but I do want to brag on Mary just ONE more time. She actually thanked US for letting her attend the birth because she said as a director of a unit in the hospital, she rarely gets to be an active part of labor and delivery and it is like a drug to her. She was so happy that she came in the next day to say hello and see Abby before she left for the day. Did I mention we loved her and were so glad she was our nurse? J
Have any questions about our birth story or labor and delivery in general? Ask me and I will answer! Have a great weekend!
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