My Birth Story - Kierra

Kierra Evelyn has arrived!! She was due to arrive on the 9th of October, but came into the world on the night of the 6th, one day after her Daddy's birthday. I was hoping to be induced on the 7th in the morning, but I didn't even make it that far. Our little family of three has grown into a family of four, we are adjusting and doing well.

On Friday morning I started having contractions, not very painful but definitely stronger than the Braxton Hicks I had been experiencing for the past few weeks. John went to work, but then came home...he was too excited to even concentrate at work. Well I was kind of expecting to have a baby by the end of the day, but nothing. The contractions went away, would resurface that night, but eventually led to nothing. That was my weekend to sum it up. We were on pins and needles thinking it could happen at any moment all weekend long. You get tired of wondering at every little twinge if this is it.

John had a birthday on Monday. I was really hoping Kierra would decide to show up then, what a great birthday present for her Dad. On Monday evening, still no baby. I had a doctors appointment Tuesday morning. My doctor checked my cervix to see if I was dialated any. I figured I would be a centimeter or two because of all the contractions and pressure. I felt that if he said I was still closed I would have reached up and slapped him. That was not the case at all, in fact, I was already dialated to about four or five centimeters. That was shocking, I was halfway there. He asked me if I wanted to have my membranes stripped, this supposedly helps put some people into labor. It's about a one in three chance it could start labor in 24 to 72 hours. I thought it sounded like a long shot, but I thought it wouldnt hurt to try.

I told my doctor I was ready to have this baby and I wanted to be induced as soon as possible. He told me that they may not have room for an induction the next day, it would probably be Thursday. And the last thing he told me was to call if I felt any contractions, even if they were 10 minutes apart because it takes him 20 minutes to get to the hospital. I thought to myself I have been contracting on and off for four days some as close together as four minutes...how will I really know? This was a scary thought, but I figured if this birth was anything like my last I will have plenty of time to get to the hospital.

Had my membranes stripped at 9am. Contracting on and off all day, like I was all weekend, but it was not painful at all. Fast forward to 5pm, I started having contractions literally in my bottom. It kind of felt like I was going to have a BM, or a gas bubble. They were about 10 minutes apart, still not painful just very uncomfortable. I told John that if they were still coming in about an hour that we should get ready to go to the hospital. Six oclock rolls around and they are still coming. I told John I was gonna call the hospital, he made arrangements for a sitter for Kylie. By 7pm we were checking into the hospital.

They hooked me up to the moniters, checking baby's heartrate and monitering my contractions. What a joke...the moniter was not even picking up the contractions. My nurse checked me at about 7:30, she claimed I was only 3 centimeters dialated. How did I go backwards? So we watched tv, I timed some of the contractions. They were coming about four minutes apart now. At about 8:30 the nurse asked me how I was feeling, I told her they were coming stronger and closer together. She looked at my moniter and said that all she was seeing was tiny contractions. They a little bit painful but not by any means unbearable. She said she'd check my cervix again at 9:30 and if I hadn't made much progress they'd send me home.

So, at 9:30 she checks me and said I had made progress, I knew it! The nurse said I was about a 7. She told me she was calling the doctor. They decided to hook me up to an IV. I have notoriously uncooperative veins. This process felt like it took them five hours. By this time I was contracting pretty hard and it was pretty hard for me to concentrate through them. I had developed 'the shakes' which I knew from last time giving birth that this was the home stretch. I am estimating that getting an IV in me, after three stabs in my arm, took about 15 minutes. My doctor had arrived at that time. Then they had to take blood. This I think took another five minutes or so of fiddling around with my arm. And here I am concentrating, staring at a brown spot on the ceiling just to get me through the contractions. My doctor waited patiently for the nurse to take blood before he checked my cervix. On the other side of me they started a drip of fentonol, to help with the pain. Aparently I had to wait for the blood to come back before I could get an epidural.

Well, by the time the nurse was done hooking me up and extracting blood I asked my doctor about an epidural. I felt the urge to push but held it back so I could get some meds. He said that he was gonna check my cervix to see where I was at, I think he knew I was already too far gone. Yup I was ready to have this baby. So he broke my water, which came out like a tidal wave, splashing John's arm. Bless his heart, he's such a trooper. And my doctor told me that if I felt to need to push to do it. Boy did I ever. I was so scared I kept telling them I couldn't do it, but I guess I did. After a few pushes John caught his daughter and I got to see Kierra for the first time.

I couldn't believe I had just given birth without my precious epidural. Yes it hurt, but it went so fast that by the time I realized I was in pain it was pretty much over. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would and the recovery so far has been so much easier than last time. No rips or tears. Kierra came in weighing 6lbs 1oz and 18 inches long. We all got to rest a little, which was nice. And we got to go home less than 24 hours later. Overall a very positive birth experience. It wasn't what I had planned or hoped for but I think I liked it better this way, we spent far less time in the hospital than with Kylie. I am glad to not be pregnant anymore, and I'm falling in love with my new little girl more and more everytime I look at her.