Christian's Birth Story -- From Lesley's Perspective

Well, I still laugh when I read my husband's account of Christian's birth and am still touched by the sweetness of it as well. But for any of my friends out there that want the story from the female and mother perspective, here's my story. :)

Saturday evening was a beautiful night and Sam, myself, the girls, and Sam's mom spent it down by the waterfront. It was dark outside but amazingly warm and there were tons of people and tourists out walking. The lake was perfectly calm and the sky was clear and after stopping at Dairy Queen, we decided to get out on the lake walk for a little while. I was feeling sore and achy in my pelvis as usual, but was determined to get out and walk a bit after our very disappointing day at the hospital the day before. I was hoping that walking might do something to bring Christian's head down so he could be born SOON. Strangely, I hadn't had any contractions all that day but I tried not to think about what that could or could not mean.

When we got home, we put the girls to bed and relaxed for a little while. I jokingly did some squats like the nurse had shown me to do to open up the pelvis and Sam thought it was pretty funny but told me to keep doing them because he wanted his baby out too! I spent quite a bit of time in prayer that night. I prayed hard for our baby and begged God to bring him that night. I don't know why, but I just had this strange feeling that my prayer might be answered. I went to bed and after tossing and turning a little bit, I fell asleep.

At about 12:12 a.m., I awoke with a start as I felt a sharp, painful pressure moving down through my back and my stomach tighten for what was the worst contraction I had felt yet. I got up to use the bathroom, thinking it would wear off like it always does, but it continued to increase and I hobbled to the bathroom muttering, "ouch, ouch, ouch." The pain would not let up. I got down on my hands and knees on the floor, thinking it might take some of the pressure off my back but that didn't help. Finally, as it was winding down, I called out to Sam and told him what was going on. He hopped out of bed in a daze but he was really out of it and didn't quite comprehend what was going on. I told him that if it was the real thing, they would keep coming and we both crawled back into bed to get some more sleep.

I was just starting to hear Sam's heavy breathing as he fell asleep again when another contraction slammed me and it was just as awful as the first one. I could not believe the pain in my back. It was so bad. It was like the baby was moving down and slamming up against my spine. I woke up Sam and said, "These are bad. We have to go!" I also told him to call the hospital.

This time, Sam sprang into action and after running around in circles a few times and grabbing clothes and things to bring, he went to wake up his mom who was sleeping in our basement. (she temporarily lived with us for five weeks and just moved out a few days ago) We went out to the car and I had another contraction as I was getting into the car. It was painful but not quite as bad as the first two. I started having doubts and told Sam, "If this isn't the real thing, I am going to scream! I will be so mad!"

I wasn't timing the contractions but I think they were about 10 minutes apart. We cruised towards the hospital. I think I had two more contractions on the way there and the pain in my back was unbearable. Having not lived here very long, we didn't really know where to go or where to park. We finally found a lot that was free to park in but it was a few blocks from the hospital entrance. I told Sam just to park because I wanted to get inside. Sam was walking fast in his excitment and I had to tell him several times to slow down! I felt like I could hardly walk and when a contraction hit, I had to stop. We went in through the E.R. entrance. Sam told the receptionist why we were there and they got me a wheel chair and a lady wheeled me to the elevator and up to the sixth floor to labor and delivery. She was chatting as we went along, asking about our family and I was as polite as I could be in the midst of the pain.

When we got to the desk, a nurse was expecting us and took me to a room right away. She asked how far apart the contractions were and I told her my guess and that they were very bad. She helped me into a gown and I sat down on the bed and got hooked up to the monitors. The contractions were getting closer and more unbearable. I was in agony and felt like my back was being split apart. The nurse checked me and found me to be at 4 cm. I couldn't believe I was in so much pain at only 4 cm. It was as bad as it had been right before I had Kayley when I was at least dialated to a 7 and it scared me now that the pain could be so bad and that it was likely to get worse.

I asked if I could have something for the pain because I was starting to panic a little bit. I asked about the epidural but the nurse said we would have to do some blood work first. The doctor on call came in and talked to me and asked a bunch of questions. I was getting kind of frustrated because I was in soooo much pain and kept asking for an epidural and nobody was really giving me any answers about if I was going to get one. When the contractions hit, I tried not to cry and squeezed Sam's hand super hard. I kept talking about the pain in my back and the nurse and Sam started rubbing my low back and putting pressure on it to try and help.

My doctor was gone for the weekend (isn't that how it always goes?) and so her husband was the one called to deliver my baby since he is a doctor too. I didn't really care who delivered him since the nurses always do most of the work anyway. My nurse was a sweet lady named Lois and she was very kind, calm, and gentle. Within a short amount of time, I was dialated to a 5 and not too long after that, I was at a 7.

Now, I was really in misery. To those of you who haven't experienced back labor, I can't even begin to describe it. For those of you who have, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I kept thinking that if it weren't for back labor, I would probably be able to manage the pain pretty well because the pain wasn't too bad in the front. I continued to ask for pain relief and continued to get vague responses. The doctor came in and said, "let's break the water and get things moving." I told him that I wanted the epidural FIRST because after my water was broken, it was going to be super fast. He kind of smiled and said, "well that's the idea, isn't it?" I wanted to strangle him! Yes, it is nice to move fast, but even ten minutes of agony feelsl like an eternity when you're going through it! Ahhh!

Well, he broke my water and left the room for a bit. At this point, the nurse finally broke it to me. I asked, "I'm not going to get the epidural, am I?" She quietly said, "There's isn't enough time." I said, "oh nooooo" and wanted to cry. I had a feeling they had known the whole time but didn't tell me. Things were just moving way too fast. Well, there wasn't much I could do at that point, other than survive through it. The contractions were only a couple minutes apart at this time and I felt like I barely lived through each one. I longed for the moments when Sam or the nurse would look at the monitor and tell me the contraction was going to be ending. I was laying on my side because I had been told before that during back labor, this can spin the baby around and get them in the better position for birth. It didn't seem to help at all but it was worth a try. I was in agony! I kept telling Sam that I couldn't handle it anymore. He kept encouraging me and rubbing my back.

Okay, since this story is getting super long, I'll stop here and finish the second half soon.
So, to be continued......! :)