Malachi's Big Debut!

(FYI -- this is more for my memory sake!)  Malachi's due date was Sept 26.  Tristan came 5 days early, and Noah came 2 days late, so I was figuring Malachi would come sometime in the middle, close to his due date.  However, my Braxton Hicks had been so much stronger and frequent this time, I wasn't sure if he would stay that long.  Last Thursday (38 week, 5 days), I had a friend come over, and about 11:00,  I noticed that during our conversations that I had been contracting regularly, although they were not painful at all.  After she left, I started timing them, and they were consistently 5-6 minutes apart.  Again, not too concern, since they were not painful.  False labor is what I kept thinking.  I went ahead and sent Nate a text saying "Not to concern you, but I am having very mild, but consistent, contractions...but I'm sure it's not the real thing."  They continued throughout the afternoon, not changing in intensity, so I continued to brush it off.  I had already decided that I wanted a drug-free labor (I had epidurals with the boys...more on that later)...and I wasn't sure if I was ready for it!  Mom was supposed to get the boys in the morning and keep them overnight because I had a doctor's appt, and Nate and I wanted to go see War Room.  However, at 8:00 that night, I could tell the contractions were gaining slightly in intensity, and I was no longer convinced that Malachi wouldn't come sometime that night.  So, we decided to go ahead and see if Mom would meet us in Lindale and take the boys that night, which she did.  It was "just in case".   During this time, I was texting my friend, who said she would love to be my "doula/coach", keeping her informed of how I was feeling.  By 9:30 that night, I was convinced we would be going to the hospital.  We arrived at the hospital at 10:30 and went straight to triage, meeting my friend, Kim, there.  Unfortunately, I was only at a 3 (I was at a 2 at the appt last week), and still "thick".  They told me if I didn't want an epidural, they could only send me home at this point.  I was determined not to go, so we decided to walk around the hospital for a while and try to get things progressing. 

Side note on why I didn't want an epidural because several people thought I was crazy...  During the labor with both boys, their heart rates started dropping, which it took the nurses several minutes to realize (both times).  They had to give me oxygen and constantly turn me on my sides.  I also didn't like the feeling of being so numb after delivery.  It was little things, but I just felt that a drug-free delivery was something I wanted to do.  I did question my reasoning during the labor a few times ;)  Anyways...

About 30 minutes after walking, and increasing contractions 2 minutes apart, I was convinced I had made some progress.  We went back to triage, and the nurse checked me again...I had not progressed...AT ALL.  "Go home...labor there...you will be more comfortable...we hope to see you back before we get off at 7."  At this time, it was 1:00 am.  My contractions at this point, even at a 3, were as strong as they were with Tristan when I got the epidural at a 7...so going home was not a very good option for me.  Thinking of riding in the car for 30 minutes home...and back...not comfortable at all!  At this point, I was VERY discouraged.  I wasn't sure if I could do it without drugs if I was going to progress this slowly.  We decided to go to Walmart and walk around there for a while.  We were a scene at Walmart ;)  I was leaning on something every 2 minutes with either Kim or Nathan pressing on my hips to relieve some of the pain.  Several people asked if I was ok...and Kim would say "Oh, she's only trying to have a baby."  To clarify, however, I'm a very quiet laborer, so noise wasn't the issue.  After an hour of walking around Walmart and getting a snack to give me energy, we headed back to the hospital...and again, laboring in the car is miserable!  I had decided at this point that if I had not progressed enough, I would just get the epi just to be able to stay at the hospital.  Once we got back in, the doctor was there, and by the looks of me, he told the nurses "Skip triage...just admit her!"  It was about 2:30 at this point.  They checked me, and I was at  7!  Huge relief there!  I labored for an additional 30 minutes with Nate massaging my lower back (back pain...ugh!) and Kim encouraging me.  They checked me again, and I was at a 9, so the nurses called the doctor and got things ready for the pushing.  My saving grace during this time is that I never had contractions back to back...I always had a small break between each one.  I will boast a little and say I did very well during laboring...very quiet and focused.  HOWEVER, saying that...I'm horrible at the pushing stage, although pain-wise, it wasn't as bad as I had thought.  I just had a mental block there, thinking this is going to be impossible!  Pushing was my freak-out time.  Luckily, it was over in 10 minutes, and Malachi was born at 3:11 that morning.  He was perfect at birth -- APGAR scores were all 9.  However, to back up a little, my water never ruptured until halfway during pushing (I remember the doctor and nurses wondering if he would be born with the bag still intact around him), and there was meconium in the fluid, and before they could suction his mouth, he took a huge swallow of it.  So, for a while, they were busy suctioning him out because he would only grunt instead of true crying.  He also had a low blood sugar count, so they had to test him several times during our stay, but all ended up well.

I was thinking this morning and comparing the three labors.  With Tristan, I had the epidural, his heart rate started dropping, I had a hard time pushing (can't feel those contractions!), had several stitches, had a bad recovery, had strong pain killers, and ended up on antibiotics for infection.  With Noah, I had the epidural, his heart rate started dropping, pushing was much shorter, but because of his heart rate dropping, they rushed to get him out...in short, putting me on strong iron pills later for blood loss.  With Malachi, the nurses told me afterwards that his heart rate was beautiful the whole time, not even dropping during contractions, which was typical, needed only a couple of stitches, and recovery has been great.  For me, I think my body does better without the drugs.  It wasn't fun or glorious...and I wouldn't do it again in a hospital but instead at a birth center (hospitals are just not used to drug-free labors)...but it was worth it in the end. 

I don't have my pictures yet, but I plan to share some soon!