Gage's birth

k, so i've been getting a few requests for "the birth story" ~ so this entry is for all the birth junkies out there :)

Tuesday night i started getting a few ctxn's. Nothing regular or painful... but they kept coming through the night. Eventually they were 10 minutes apart or so ~ sometimes 6 minutes. They hurt, but weren't all that close together ~ some were long, some were short... (peaking in less than 20 sec.) But they did keep me up. By the time i got up, maybe aroung 5:30? i played on the computer a bit, they stayed the same ~ so i drank some rrlt & had a bath. *Still they stayed the same* ~ Finally i went & crawled back into bed & Neil said, "if they're bugging you this bad, let's just go to l&d & get you checked out anyway. ~ (*in retrospect, i think this period of time is when Gage was turning from posterior to anterior*) ~ So, it was almost 7am, so we got dressed & ready. i was too shy to bring my baby outfit in case i just came home, still pregnant. We got Sloanie (second oldest, age 9) ready (she was coming to witness the birth) & my other littles crawled into bed with Granny. The drive to the hospital was about 25 minutes & i only had 3 ctxn's that whole time & one was really short. i was feeling a little sheepish as we went to l&d to get checked as i thought with 5 other children, you'd think i'd know if i was in labour or not... BUT, some of the ctxn's really did hurt, so i did have some hope that it was the real thing. We got there around 7:30 & they hooked me up to the monitors & all sounded good. The nurse said, 'we'll admit you' & sent Neil to do that while she was going to check me. Neil was shocked when he got back to get the news that i was a "stretchy 8" & they were moving me to a delivery suite right away & baby was coming. i was shocked too ~ the nurse even gave me a hug! She told the nurses who were trying to get me a wheelchair to 'put it away, this one can walk' haha! We got there & i started to tell the nurse who was there what i wanted... i wanted a squat bar, no pit, no vit k, no eye ointment... She just stopped me & said, "It's up to *me* what positions you can labour in. *I* decide, not you." uh oh... Neil & i just looked at each other... so i said to her, 'i've had problems with tearing before, & i really think this is a good option for me." & she said, "if you've torn before, you're going to tear. Your perineum will already have scar tissue & the squat bar won't help. You've had too many babies to use the squat bar & it's too hard for the dr's to see what they're doing." At that point, i got another ctxn, so i squatted on the floor & my water broke. It was green! My heart sank then, 'cause i knew the nurse was already a control freak & things seemed to be not going my way. She hooked me up to monitors because now, they needed to watch us a little more closely... i was disappointed, but understood that mec staining is a little more serious... i laboured on my hands & knees for a couple of ctxn's (brutal ones ~ i had an extremely hard time coping *blush* ~ but Neil is such a honey, he said i did really really well) & then the dr. came back to check me. (she had checked me at 9cm, & after a couple of ctxn's i was sure i must be ready). i was complete. The dr. said the squat bar was ok, so the devil nurse set it up, but proceeded to put my feet up on it with me on my back (using it like stirrups). ~ All the while, i'm saying, "this isn't what i want, this isn't working for me, i'm not comfortable in this position"... Finally, my dr. faced the nurse & said, "Leona, i am FINE with her delivering in a squat position. Leave her alone." & proceeded to get me in the right position (The bed was put really low & so the dr. pretty much had to sit on the floor to catch). The squat bar ROCKED. It was the best position to deliver in & every time he descended, i could feel it. i reached down to touch his head & the she-devil yelled, "Don't do that!!" & my doctor said, "Yes!! She can! Go ahead, baby's almost there," (While she's saying this, she's spraying & stretching me so i don't tear). Then his head came out & she wrestled with him a bit & then his body came out with a huge splash of mec. water all over everyone... oops... They had to clamp & cut his cord quick to suction him because of the mec. & although i was disappointed, i understood why... All ended up being well tho as he scored 9 & 9 on his apgars ~ & within minutes, he was back in our arms ~ so lovely.
So, i hardly have any bruising & required no stitches. Gage was in a rush to meet us, & was born at 9:03am, only 1.5hrs after we pulled into to the hospital parking lot. We got home in time for supper... (they wanted to watch us 'cause of his mec. & me refusing the pit shot)...

There's my long long story. With this beautiful sweet ending: (see sweet pic at *top* of post... blogger won't let me insert it here...)

So, now here we are, one week past Gage's birth. He's a dreamy baby ~ so good. Neil & i are amazed at how little he cries ~ we get little piggy gruntings when he's hungry. i think he might look a little bit like Sloanie ~ but it's so hard to tell yet. He loves to nurse ~ & for the first time, i avoided getting mastitis??!! (i'm thinkin' 'cause he's such a *frequent* nurser). My feelings are tender & tears come easily, but it's mostly tears of gratitude.

God has been so good.