Finneas is here!

I can’t believe that my Finneas is here! He was born at home into my arms after a 22 hour labor at 2:43 AM on September 25th, 2005.

He weighed 9lbs 10 oz and was 22 inches long.

Click here to view a slideshow of the birth

It all began Saturday September 24th at 5:00AM. I woke up to a sensation that felt like intestinal cramps. I thought maybe I was going to have another bout of stomach trouble but then I felt my uterus and it was very hard. I tried for an hour to get back to sleep but I couldn’t. The sensations kept coming and started to feel like real contractions. My belly was very hard and I felt a dull ache down low. I woke up and took a shower and went into the kitchen to watch TV. I sat on my birth ball for a while and started timing the sensations. They were about 10 minutes apart.

It was the day after my son Sullivan’s birthday and I had a birthday party (just family) planned that day. I putted around the house trying to get the contractions to get closer together as I prepared for the party. I tried calling my labor support people and couldn’t get ahold of anyone. I was so frustrated! At about 10AM I had a teeny bit of bloody show and I got so excited! I never bleed at all unless I’m in labor so I knew it had to be it. I called my midwife to let her know that I thought today was the day!

We had the birthday party at 1:00 and the contractions were still 10 minutes apart but lasting at least a minute and very strong. I watched and had contractions while the grandmas handled the party. I was starting to get annoyed and frustrated that they wouldn’t get any closer together! At 2:00 I called my midwife again and let her know that they were really strong but never were closer than 7 minutes apart. She told me to call when they were at 5 minutes apart. I told her I’d update her in an hour. I hung up and just wanted to cry! The contractions were really strong and long but just wouldn’t get closer together! I was ready for the party guests to go home and to get into a better labor pattern.

After the party guests went home I called my labor support people again. This time I got ahold of them and they all came over. After watching me for about an hour my hypnobirthing doula told me that I seemed a little cranky and she thought maybe we should do some hypnobirthing scripts. I admitted that I was cranky after not being able to get ahold of anyone and then the contractions staying at 7 minutes apart for hour after hour. So we did a hypnobirthing script and it really helped me to get focused and start being happy that I was going to meet my baby soon! My massage doula began to do pressure points on me using Clary Sage and Jasmine oils and I started smiling and joking with my friends. My mood improved drastically and I really started feeling happy that I was in labor. I tried really hard not to think about the long space between contractions and focused on how well they were working. They were nice and strong and lasting about 60-75 seconds long. During the contraction I’d start thinking “dang I’d better be at least 6 cms by now! I think I should call the midwife” but between them it was such a long pause and I was feeling so happy that I thought there’s no way I was at a 4 yet.

At about 5 pm I decided to call the midwife and tell her to come in. She said that was the longest hour of her life! LOL I had told her I’d call her at 3 and forgot. I told her the contractions were only 7 minutes but VERY strong so I thought maybe she could come and give me some ideas for getting them closer together.

It took an hour for the midwife to get there because of bad traffic. I sat on the birth ball and on the couch with David and eyed the birthing pool wishing with each contraction that I could get in it. I wanted to wait and get checked to see if I was far enough along. I really felt like I must be 6-7cms but didn’t dare say. When the midwife got there I asked her to check me and told her that I needed to know that I was at least a 4 so if I wasn’t to just lie to me. Inside I was hoping for more than a 4 though. She checked me and my cervix was still very posterior but once she finally found it she said it felt like more than a 4 and that she’d say probably a 7! Woohoo! That was just what I was hoping to hear! It was so nice to know that the contractions were working even though they were still so far apart!

I changed into my maternity swim top and jumped in the birthing pool only to discover it was very cold! Yipes! Dave hurried as fast as he could to pump out some of the water and refill it with hot. I was so worried about feeling too hot that I had him fill it with warm water and when it was done I was still shivering. Let me tell you that contractions while you are shivering are NOT pleasant. So we had to pump it out again and this time we filled it with straight hot water. Ahhhh bliss. That felt wonderful! I labored in the tub in various positions, rotating position every time it seemed the contractions would space out again. Everyone was chatting and smiling and having a general good time. They were all happy that I was progressing and handling the sensations so well. I was secretly proud of myself as well as the hypnobirthing was really working for me and I was really staying on top of them. The only time I felt frustrated at that point was between contractions waiting for another one to start. I was feeling so impatient!

At about 9:00 PM I decided I wanted the midwife to check me again and to see what was going on. I couldn’t believe the contractions were still 7-10 minutes apart and I really wanted things to get more intense. I wanted to go into “labor land” but I just couldn’t because they were so far apart. I had all my friends leave the room and had my midwife check me while sitting on the birth stool. She said that I was 9 cms and very stretchy. I couldn’t believe it! 9cms! I was still handling the contractions so well! After that I labored out of the tub for about 2 hrs. The contractions were still far apart and we were all joking and laughing in between and sometimes even during contractions. Everyone couldn’t believe how well I was doing and kept commenting on that. I felt amazed myself but was getting really impatient to see my baby. At about midnight I got back in the tub but the contractions stayed apart!

At about 12:30 AM I decided we had better get this show on the road! I asked the midwife to break my water. She did and said I was 9.5 cms and very stretchy. I had hoped that the water breaking would start speeding up my contractions but instead it just made them hurt worse and stay far apart. I decided to try pushing to see if the cervix would change that way. All that did was make the contractions hurt even more and then they got closer together. The problem was is that the cervix just wouldn’t budge even with the closer contractions! I started pushing at 1:00 AM with a full rim of cervix. It was awful! The contractions were so intense that I couldn’t relax through them, but when I would push it was so hard because it still hurt and the baby wouldn’t move. I alternated between pushing with all my might, yelling, crying, apologizing, and trying to relax for about an hour. I can honestly say it was the longest hour of my life. I thought I would literally have to do it forever…that the baby would never come. I could feel the cervix holding him back and I wasn’t strong enough to move it. I was so tired after being up since 5 and contracting all day, I just didn’t think I had the energy to do it.

My midwife decided I needed to get out of the birth tub and let gravity help. I stood up and had one intense contraction and found that my pushes felt more useful in that position. I got out of the tub and had another contraction and this time when I pushed my cervix felt like it did something. I sat down on the birth stool and the midwife checked me and said it was barely there. She wanted me to put my legs up by my ears and push but I just couldn’t do it. I just pushed as hard as I could on the stool and started to feel the baby move down. After the second contraction everyone heard and audible “pop” and the cervix FINALLY slipped behind the baby’s head! Woohoo! I almost sang “The Spirit of God like a Fire is Burning” at that moment but didn’t have the concentration power or the energy. I don’t know how many times I pushed after that but I soon felt the stinging of crowing and started to get so excited to meet my baby. It still hurt but I knew that I was so close. I wanted to touch his head but I couldn’t reach. I begged someone to help me reach and my midwife guided my hand to his head. It felt so wild holding his head as his body was still inside me. It hurt so much and yet it was so surreal. The midwife checked for a nuchal chord and instead found a nuchal hand! I couldn’t believe it as I had been talking during my labor about Lorraine’s(from my Ivillage EC) birth and how that had happened to her. He must have overheard me! His arm was wrapped in front along his neck and his hand was alongside his ear. I pushed him out as carefully and slowly as I could bear and kept my hands down low hoping that the midwife would pass him to me as soon as he was born. Finally I pushed one last time and felt a huge relief of pressure and then there he was in my arms all gooey and warm. Oh the bliss! To have worked so hard for something and to have finally achieved it. It was absolutely incredible! Later on the midwife checked me and I had no tears! I couldn’t believe it, especially when we weighed him and found that he was 9lbs 10 oz! I couldn’t have been happier. I am walking around on cloud 9 today and I am so in love with my baby!!!

Here are a few pictures I’d like to share.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/modernmother/labor.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/modernmother/Finneas2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/modernmother/Finneas1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/modernmother/Finneas3.jpg