I guess for dramatic purposes our story properly begins on Friday, March 11th, when we went into the hospital for a "non-stress test". Isaac was already 4 days late at this point, so my Dr. had suggested we go and do the non-stress test just to make sure everything was still ok with the baby and with the amount of amniotic fluid. The main test involved hooking me up to 2 fetal monitors, one of which measured the baby's heartbeat, and the other which measured uterine contractions. I was supposed to be hooked up for only 30 minutes or so, but given the hospital's obsession with "perfect" test results, they wound up hooking me up for around 2 hours. Everything turned out fine with the non-stress test and the ultrasound, but the germane part for this story is that it was while I was hooked up to the monitors that we noticed that I was having pretty regular contractions--every 7-8 minutes or so. I had thought these were just the typical Braxton-Hicks kind that I'd been having before, but these were regular enough to make us go "hmmm...could this be the beginning of labor?"
Anyway, after we got home from the hospital, I talked to our doula, Zoe, about the results of the test and my anxieties and frustrations with being overdue. She suggested that if I wanted to, I could try taking some castor oil, which might induce labor. I thought this sounded attractive and by the end of the day, I was telling everybody that we were going to try it. Zoe had recommended that we wait until the next morning though, after I'd had a good night's sleep and a good healthy breakfast.
Well...as we were soon to learn, you don't threaten Isaac. The next morning (Saturday) I woke up around 7am with regular (8-10 mins apart) contractions that were stronger and definitely starting to feel like "real" labor contractions (kind of painful, like period cramps, as opposed to just tight, like Braxton-Hicks ones). So I decided to forgo the castor oil and wait and see what happened. Unfortunately, just like with Eli's labor, these early contractions waxed and waned (the technical term is prodromal labor)--where they had once been regular, they became inconsistent, and eventually faded away, only to start up again later (especially with activity like walking or standing a lot). So by the end of the day, disappointingly, I hadn't progressed any further towards labor than I'd been when I'd woken up that morning. On the bright side though, since the contractions weren't so intense or regular that I couldn't sleep through them, I decided to turn in early and get a good night's sleep just in case things changed (we'd learned our lesson last time, when we were so excited that we didn't sleep when we could have, and boy did I regret that later on).
Sunday turned out to be just a repeat of Saturday: I woke up in the morning with fairly regular, mildly more intense contractions, which waxed and waned throughout the day. I finally went to bed around 10:30, deciding that if nothing had changed by the next morning, I was damn well going to try that castor oil. I was sick of waiting around, and feeling anxious about a repeat of Eli's 58 hour labor--I wanted to speed things along.
Well, you don't threaten Isaac, remember? About 11:30pm, an hour after I went to bed, I woke up suddenly with the realization that my water had just broken. I leapt out of bed with an exclamation and ran for the bathroom (nearly causing Josh, who was asleep next to me, to have a heart attack in the process), where I stayed for the next half hour or so getting amniotic fluid all over everything. I was really excited though, because clearly, things were going to start speeding up...and whew, did they.
Around midnight, we called my parents and Zoe and put them on alert, then waited for the inevitable stronger contractions to start. My parents called back again about half an hour later to check in, and we decided to just have them come over immediately, since it was likely that my dad was going to have to be there in the morning to take Eli to school and we wanted him to get some sleep. Right around 1am, the contractions did in fact get stronger and started to be regular, every 5 minutes or so, and progressed like that for an hour or so before moving to every 3 minutes. We could have gone to the hospital at any point after that, but I wanted to stay at home as long as the contractions were bearable, which they were until around 3:30am. At that point, I said "ok let's go" and we paged Dr. Flores and called Zoe and got ourselves ready to go.
We arrived at the hospital around 4am. The contractions were definitely getting more intense at this point, and I was having trouble staying focused as we tromped through the hospital trying to find our way to the maternity ward (we'd had to go in through the emergency room entrance since it was after hours and had gotten turned around). We got admitted pretty quickly to a labor and delivery room (I think it was around 4:15), and I changed into my nightgown and robe and answered questions for the nurse between contractions. Zoe arrived not long after we did, and we quickly set up the room.
After that it became a real rollercoaster. The nurse checked me fairly soon after I got there, and said I was probably around 2-3cm dilated at that point. The contractions continued to get more intense and painful and were still pretty close together. Zoe suggested trying the shower, which I did for a time. The hot water really helped and felt good for awhile, but I was feeling a lot of pressure in my lower pelvic floor so I had a hard time sitting on the shower bench, and I was getting tired of standing. Zoe then suggested we move to the toilet (sitting backwards, facing the wall with a pillow under my arms and head), which I did. This position really was helpful because it allowed me to sit and somewhat rest, but also relieved the pressure somewhat. After a long time there, during which things became really painful and I really lost track of time and moved into completely focused labor-zone, I asked if they could check me again, so we moved back to the main room and I laid on the bed (which did not feel too good, but you do what you gotta). At that point the nurse checked me and told me I was 8cm dilated, and everyone went "wow" because it was only around 6:30am (so I'd gone from 3cm to 8cm in about 2 hours).
I labored on the bed on my hands and knees for awhile (with the head of the bed raised and sometimes my arms draped over a pillow at the top of the bed). Dr. Flores came in at some point during this phase, and although I wasn't really completely tuned in to what was going on, there was apparently some concern about the baby's heartbeat decelerating during contractions (I'd been wearing the portable monitors this whole time, which was irritating to me but in the larger scheme of things, SO much better than being all "borged" up with all the things I was attached to last time with Eli's birth, so I guess I can't complain). So at this point, they put an oxygen mask on me and tried to get me to try different position variations. What I remember most about this phase is that my lower back, which had been hurting ever since the shower, was in excruciating pain, especially on the left hand side. Zoe was massaging my hips and back and applying counter-pressure on both hips, which really helped, but it was still just really painful. (As we discovered later, Isaac was transverse and coming through sort of sideways instead of face down, so this was what they call "back labor".) This was the point where I really started to feel like I was just barely making it through each contraction, and couldn't possibly do another one (although of course I did). Zoe, my mom, Josh, the nurse (Louise), and Dr. Flores were all incredibly supportive and helpful at this point though, talking me through each contraction, touching me, and just being there with me, encouraging me. I kept my eyes closed and was really internally focused, but the interesting thing I remember is that even though I was turned inward, I didn't feel as "primal" or removed from my usual self as I did with Eli's birth. There was still a part of me, a little voice in the back of my own head, that was able to think, to remember, to process, even to comment sarcastically on what was going on (remember, this was inside my own head). That reassured me.
Around 8:30am or so, Dr. Flores checked me again and I still hadn't progressed past 8cm, and the baby was still having issues, so Dr. Flores began to "think out loud" about what the options were: either push that baby out soon, or perhaps start a "walking epidural" to allow both me and the baby to get some rest and slow things down a little (which would help with the heartbeat deceleration), or else possibly a c-section if things didn't improve. Well...you don't threaten Isaac. Pretty much immediately after hearing that I began to have the urge to push at the end of a contraction, and the first time I did, apparently I moved the baby down a couple stations. Everyone was amazed and relieved there was much relieved joking about how you don't threaten Isaac. (In fact, I think I might have even surfaced for a moment and said that myself.) I still hadn't dilated all the way to 10cm, but apparently that didn't matter, because after about 4 more pushing sessions (maybe about 15 minutes), I'd already pushed Isaac past what was left of the cervix and his head crowned. No one was more surprised than me--I thought that all that pushing I'd been doing was just forcing the cervix out of the way so I could begin the "real" pushing!
Dr. Flores coached me through one more pushing session (which was actually a series of short little pushes with breaths in between), which resulted in me pushing his head out (which, I have to say, was outstandingly painful...now I know why they call it the "ring of fire"). Then after a quick suction and unwrapping of the cord that had been around his neck (now we knew why the heartbeat had kept decelerating), another couple little pushes resulted in his shoulders and the rest of him all slithering out. Hooray!
This time I got to fulfill my fantasy of having Isaac immediately placed right up on my chest, slippery, gooey, and all. The nurse was wiping him off as they brought him up to me and then they put warm towels over both of us. Oh, that sweet moment--I'll never forget it. Isaac was still all curled up and I had one hand cupping his bottom and little curled up legs and one hand stroking his back and head, snuggling him up close to me. I couldn't really see him clearly but the warmth and the weight and the feel of him was so great. After a few minutes, during which a general euphoria (and relief) swept over everyone in the room, Josh cut the umbilical cord, the nurse managed to wipe Isaac off a little more, and Dr. Flores helped me deliver the placenta. I finally opened my eyes and reconnected with everyone in the room and got a good look at Isaac (gorgeous, of course--especially since he hadn't spent too long in the birth canal, so he didn't have a cone head or anything). He was alert and beautiful and we all got to spend a little time "introducing" ourselves. I even got to nurse him right away--and he took to it like a champ. Even though I was shaking and cold and exhausted, I was also full of joy and pride in myself and what I'd accomplished--I seriously felt like some sort of superhero or rockstar (which, in my humble opinion, I was).
I really did have the kind of birth I wanted, and I feel grateful to both the Universe and my whole birth team for helping me to have this experience. Since I don't plan on ever doing this again, I'm glad I went out on a good note (so to speak). And as for Isaac, the result of all that pain and intensity, well, he's just about exactly 3 days old as I type this, and let me tell you--what a reward he is. He's been nothing but joy so far, and I am really looking forward to getting to know him.