Linnea's Birth Story

Monday morning I woke up to some intense contractions around 4AM or so. After showering and things were still going strong I called the midwife and she said to go ahead and get checked at the hospital before going to our 8 AM bio-physical profile appointment. It was still dark outside and I actually stood on the front porch while talking because there was a huge HEPA air cleaner blowing in the front room so I couldn't hear on the phone. While waiting for the page to go through I stood gazing at the early morning stars, Saturn was rising and Orion and Sagittarius were hanging in the eastern sky. I marked that moment in my mind: this is the day our daughter would be born.

We drove east along Route 50 to Annapolis and Anne Arundel Medical Center as they sky was lightening. My contractions slowed down a bit, but were still strong. When they checked me around 7:30, I was still 2cm but 80% effaced. So not exactly active labor. We went across the complex to the OB's office and did the non-stress test first. Matt read and I knitted while we waited out the 20-30 minutes of heart rate and contraction readings. The ultrasound looked good too, we could even see some wisps of hair in the images! The doctor measured her at 10lbs 11 oz, but acknowledged that that was probably way off since it's so hard to get an accurate reading late in pregnancy. Little did we realize that it wasn't that far off!

We went across the hall to consult with the midwives and come up with an induction plan. Shortly after that the hospital called and said they'd be ready at 10:30 for us. So Matt and I walked around a bit, grabbed a bite of food and sat in the sunlit patio area before heading upstairs. It all seemed so surreal to me that we'd actually have our baby that day even though my labor wasn't very active at that moment.

Finally around noon we were checked in (hospitals are so slow!!), my antibiotic IV was going and Dona our midwife had arrived. We decided to simply start with breaking my water and see how that went before trying pitocin. Contractions had stayed constant, but they were still 10 minutes apart!

At 2:15PM they broke my water, and boy was there alot of it! We all laughed at how much there was. No wonder it was hard to find her heartbeat! After about 20-30 minutes some pretty strong contractions started and we were in business. We'd talked about getting an epidural if I really felt I needed one, but I could tell things were progressing quickly enough and transition was looming so the epidural wouldn't do much and would take too long to get going anyway. But I sure wanted some pain-relief!

Matt did a great job coaching me through the contractions, using our little phrases and techniques from our "Birthing From Within" class. Mostly just chanting, breathing and focusing on the center of the pain, etc. When the midwife checked me I said I didn't want to know how dilated I was if it wasn't close to an 8. Sure enough I was a 7 that could be stretched to an 8, thank goodness! Shortly after that I heard all the room prep (my eyes being mostly closed) and knew it would all be over soon. Plus I was starting to feel the urge to push which is a fabulous feeling after wading through all the contractions.

As I started to push Dona was coaching me on holding my legs back in case the baby's shoulders got stuck (knowing she was a big baby). I wasn't worried, but then I was the one pushing not catching! I asked them to remind me to open my eyes so I could watch my belly go down. She came out just fine and was even a compound presentation: her left hand was crooked under her chin and against her right cheek! She came down so fast that she was purple all over: she looked like a chubby blueberry as they lifted her onto my belly. They gave her a little oxygen and as she cried and we rubbed her skin she pinked right up. After a little bit Matt cut her cord.

That is the best feeling in the world: having my baby lay on my body after just pushing her out. At that point I didn't care what they did to me as long as I could hold onto my little baby girl that I'd just worked so hard to get out. Pushing out the afterbirth and getting stitched up (I tore a little) was nothing as long as I could hold my baby. This was most apparent when they took her across the room to weigh and measure her briefly before handing her back. I just wanted to hold my little "reward". I couldn't believe she was 10 lbs 6 oz. She didn't seem as big to me as Henry was (he being 10lbs 4 oz) but I guess it's all about perception. And I just knew she would have dark newborn hair like her brother.

At some point before I was actually pushing I heard a woman come in the room and demand in a loud voice. "What's going on in here?" Apparently I was being rather loud during my contractions. She had come to visit someone and was confused as to which room they were in. To me it was just background noise and barely registered. To Matt and the other nurses in the room it was a total Seinfeld moment.

Another light moment was my midwife confusing my name. At some point in between contractions she gently said, "You're doing great Megan, you're almost there." I of course didn't respond but thought, she must be really busy today and forgot which patient is which. Afterwards she apologized and explained that I reminded her of a Megan she knew at church or something. I thought it was kind of funny.

So that is the story of Linnea Betsy's birth. A little later that evening Grammum and Pappy arrived with Evalyn and Henry to meet their new little sister. Evalyn came right in and hopped up on the bed to see her. Henry could care less what Mommy was doing and was much more into his french fries and drink from his Happy Meal. It was neat being all together as a growing family of five for the first time. The next 2 days in the hospital was just what we needed. Rest, food brought to us and time to recuperate. It was good to be home though when we were finally discharged. And to not have those stupid vital checks every 4 hours!