One week ago, at this moment I was on my way to the hospital!
In the afternoon of July 22, I'd gone to a routine midwife visit in the city (Washington, D.C.) at 38 wks 5 days pregnant. A few days earlier, I'd had a late-term ultrasound that had estimated my baby might already be 9 lbs 9 oz. I was worried that this estimate might scare the care providers and make them encourage an induction. Imagine my surprise when not only did the OB say he wasn't worried and there was no need for induction, but also on Friday my midwife Ashlee even discouraged natural means of induction. She stressed that the most important thing was for me to relax and trust that my body would do what it needed to when it was the right time.
Ashlee also felt my baby from the outside and said that she didn't think this baby was over 9 lbs. She listened to me share how it could be tricky for me to be relaxed while also helping my teenager navigate her tumultuous feelings about the baby's coming. Ashlee recommended Naomi be at the birth, and said that it might be just the thing to form a strong bond with the baby. I left that appointment feeling encouraged, not only because I could now relax about the timing of this birth, but also because a care provider had taken the time to really listen to me and offer me hope.
I ran a few errands on my way home. Steve's birthday was the next day and I was buying groceries to host some friends coming over to celebrate. I remember going a little slower than I usually do in the stores, as I felt like I had pulled a muscle and it hurt to walk. But the pain was gone by the time I got home. Right before dinner I had one more store to stop in and I remember having a sensation while walking out, that felt like the baby was really pushing on my bladder. It wasn't so much pain as it was pressure.
Steve, Naomi and I sat down for dinner and "The Empire Strkes Back" at around 6:30. I felt more of the bladder pressure moments, and after maybe one or two of them, Steve looked at me and said he thought I was having contractions. "Contractions?!" I replied. "No way!" But sure enough, they kept coming about ten minutes apart, and I'd have to close my eyes and consciously relax during them. They didn't feel like cramps, but they definitely didn't feel normal.
I hadn't yet done my hour of exercise that day, so had been planning to go swimming after dinner. I still suited up and started walking to the pool. But in the less than five minutes that it took to walk halfway there and then turn around and come back home, I had another 3 contractions. I decided I need to call my midwives and see what they thought. (I still wasn't actually thinking of coming in to the hospital; I mostly wanted reassurance that I could indeed go swimming!) So I made the phone call around 8 PM. Nora was the midwife on call and at first she said that it didn't sound serious, but then when I had a contraction while on the phone and couldn't talk for a minute, she changed her mind. She said to come in to the hospital whenever we could.
Funny enough, my boys had had their 'emergency bags' packed for at least a week but they were currently away at camp. And those of us left at home? Neither Steve, Naomi nor I had actually fully packed. So we scrambled around for about 45 minutes and finally took off at 8:45. At least I'd spent the morning putting together the freshly-washed baby carseat! Thankfully the contractions were still bearable even on the 25 minute drive downtown and Steve did a great job navigating. And bonus: we were able to find street parking for free since it was a Friday night.
Since Nora was in the middle of helping another mom in labor, I was put in a triage room with a kind nurse named Marina. Steve and Naomi stayed with me, and we all watched the monitors track the baby's heart rate as well as my contractions for the next 30-40 minutes. At one point I started to lie down, thinking that it was necessary as they began to monitor me, but my contraction pain was so much worse when I was reclined compared to standing that I never did that again. I stood the whole time I labored, finding that the contractions were quite bearable that way.
Eventually a doctor gave me a brief exam to see what was happening, and it turned out I was 8 cm dilated and 100% effaced. That meant that everyone got hopping to get me into a labor and delivery room because things were moving FAST!
In the afternoon of July 22, I'd gone to a routine midwife visit in the city (Washington, D.C.) at 38 wks 5 days pregnant. A few days earlier, I'd had a late-term ultrasound that had estimated my baby might already be 9 lbs 9 oz. I was worried that this estimate might scare the care providers and make them encourage an induction. Imagine my surprise when not only did the OB say he wasn't worried and there was no need for induction, but also on Friday my midwife Ashlee even discouraged natural means of induction. She stressed that the most important thing was for me to relax and trust that my body would do what it needed to when it was the right time.
Ashlee also felt my baby from the outside and said that she didn't think this baby was over 9 lbs. She listened to me share how it could be tricky for me to be relaxed while also helping my teenager navigate her tumultuous feelings about the baby's coming. Ashlee recommended Naomi be at the birth, and said that it might be just the thing to form a strong bond with the baby. I left that appointment feeling encouraged, not only because I could now relax about the timing of this birth, but also because a care provider had taken the time to really listen to me and offer me hope.
I ran a few errands on my way home. Steve's birthday was the next day and I was buying groceries to host some friends coming over to celebrate. I remember going a little slower than I usually do in the stores, as I felt like I had pulled a muscle and it hurt to walk. But the pain was gone by the time I got home. Right before dinner I had one more store to stop in and I remember having a sensation while walking out, that felt like the baby was really pushing on my bladder. It wasn't so much pain as it was pressure.
Steve, Naomi and I sat down for dinner and "The Empire Strkes Back" at around 6:30. I felt more of the bladder pressure moments, and after maybe one or two of them, Steve looked at me and said he thought I was having contractions. "Contractions?!" I replied. "No way!" But sure enough, they kept coming about ten minutes apart, and I'd have to close my eyes and consciously relax during them. They didn't feel like cramps, but they definitely didn't feel normal.
I hadn't yet done my hour of exercise that day, so had been planning to go swimming after dinner. I still suited up and started walking to the pool. But in the less than five minutes that it took to walk halfway there and then turn around and come back home, I had another 3 contractions. I decided I need to call my midwives and see what they thought. (I still wasn't actually thinking of coming in to the hospital; I mostly wanted reassurance that I could indeed go swimming!) So I made the phone call around 8 PM. Nora was the midwife on call and at first she said that it didn't sound serious, but then when I had a contraction while on the phone and couldn't talk for a minute, she changed her mind. She said to come in to the hospital whenever we could.
Funny enough, my boys had had their 'emergency bags' packed for at least a week but they were currently away at camp. And those of us left at home? Neither Steve, Naomi nor I had actually fully packed. So we scrambled around for about 45 minutes and finally took off at 8:45. At least I'd spent the morning putting together the freshly-washed baby carseat! Thankfully the contractions were still bearable even on the 25 minute drive downtown and Steve did a great job navigating. And bonus: we were able to find street parking for free since it was a Friday night.
Since Nora was in the middle of helping another mom in labor, I was put in a triage room with a kind nurse named Marina. Steve and Naomi stayed with me, and we all watched the monitors track the baby's heart rate as well as my contractions for the next 30-40 minutes. At one point I started to lie down, thinking that it was necessary as they began to monitor me, but my contraction pain was so much worse when I was reclined compared to standing that I never did that again. I stood the whole time I labored, finding that the contractions were quite bearable that way.
Eventually a doctor gave me a brief exam to see what was happening, and it turned out I was 8 cm dilated and 100% effaced. That meant that everyone got hopping to get me into a labor and delivery room because things were moving FAST!
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