Short version:
On Monday, April 3, at 6:01a.m., I delivered our son Jett Harrison (AKA RuffLlama) into this world, sans any and all pain medication (believe it or not, it really wasn’t that bad). Despite being 2 1/2 weeks early, Jett was a solid 7lbs 11oz and 19 1/4 inches long. I had a very (days) long early labor, and very short hard labor–from water breaking to delivery was 2 1/2 hours; I only pushed for about 25 minutes. Jett is healthy, bright, adorable, and brilliant. I am tired (sleepless nights and all), still a bit sore, and ecstatic. DeathLlama is a very proud (and very good) papa.
The long version (if you’re interested in more of the birth story details):
I started true labor, apparently, on Monday March 27. The contractions were on and off Monday, Wednesday, Friday (nearly all day), and then kicked in for good on Saturday night. A call to my doula and my OB suggested I check myself in to labor and delivery.
The doc suggested maybe adding pitocin to augment my contractions. I really wanted a natural birth, but my body’s natural approach was taking days and exhausting me (physically, mentally, and emotionally), so I agreed to start to pit. He said it would dilate me about 1cm per hour and that I’d deliver in 6-8 hours. YEAH RIGHT. They kept upping the pit, and upping the pit, and asking me over and over if the contractions were bad and if I was in pain. To tell you the truth, not really. I felt them, certainly, but they were no worse than what I’d felt earlier in the week. I completely stunned the nurse and my doula when I fell asleep around midnight in the middle of the contractions and the pit dosage about triple what it had been when we’d started. I totally slept through most of it, though I was dilated to at least 6cm when they checked. (For the record, both my doula–who’s assisted 150+ births–and the veteran nurse said I was a first for them: a woman sleeping through pit contractions. Well, cool!)
3:30am I was in the middle of a dream about my grandmother and sister (who were both eager to meet my son and asking about my labor’s progress in the dream) when my water broke. It was soon followed by strong contractions–and within a half hour, OH DEAR God contractions.
I started trying to labor on my birth ball, but that was NOT happening. I was going to start stripping the wallpaper with my fingernails. I didn’t want pain meds and especially not an epidural, but at that point I started considering the IV pain med because I couldn’t imagine dealing with this for hours. I first decided to try a different laboring position–and that made all the difference.
I decided to try lying on my side in bed, and just breathe when the contractions hit. It was extremely painful, but I kept thinking–it’ll be over soon, the contractions will pass soon, it’s just a few seconds of this. As soon as I stopped fighting them and just let my body melt into the bed, I relaxed…and again, the weird thing, I slept inbetween contractions; little 2-minute naps dreaming very odd things.
I grew concerned about the pain of the actual delivery and again asked about the IV pain med. The nurse said that I was already 9cm, though, and that it probably wouldn’t help–and that I was about ready to push, which would be much easier, and you know it was.
I started pushing, and the nurse saw right away I was going to be fast–she predicted a 6am birth (it was 5:30am–just 2 hours after the water broke). She said I was a “very good pusher.” I pushed maybe 5-6 times, but the WORST was when he was starting to crown and they told me to STOP PUSHING because they needed the OB there to deliver the baby. Um…NO. It was almost* IMPOSSIBLE* to not push, and a few times I’d start off not pushing, then give in (and apologize). I heard the nurse calling for an ER doctor “stat” a few times, but they didn’t make it in time…
**Jett Harrison ** was delivered 1 minute after the nurse’s prediction: 6:01am on Monday, April 3rd, 2006.
And fun for all–the PICTURES!
DeathLlama and I in labor and delivery, before the real fun began
A tired but proud Ruffian and her RuffLlama just minutes after delivery
The “Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!” pic of an adorable newborn face
DeathLlama immediately began the imprinting of things important…
Finally…
Jett’s first day home with mama
