2007-07-05
two years ago today
|Two years ago today, I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my third daughter. I was hugely pregnant and scheduled to be induced at 1 pm. I remember so vividly driving to the hospital, my anxiety rising as each mile passed. She is my third child and I had a very good idea of what was in front of me regarding labor and delivery.
It's funny to compare the advice I received from my sisters versus my husband. My sisters told me to remember the pain is temporary and would be over in at least 24 hours. My husband reminded me it was okay to take drugs for the pain. I think having an epidural to relieve the pain of childbirth is fine. For everyone else.
The first time out I wanted to see if I could deliver the baby without drugs. I was open to the possibility of an epidural if it got to be too much, but it turns out I was in labor for two hours and then the baby was there. I pushed for 15 minutes and there she was -- all 8 lbs. and 11 ounces of her. Ouch.
The second time I knew what was in store for me but I had done it without drugs once before, I wanted to see if I could do it again. I thought, since I already had one baby and my body was used to this activity, the second child would slip right out like she was riding a water slide. Negative.
Labor lasted two hours, I pushed for five minutes and there she was -- all 8 lbs. and 10 ounces of her. Yeah, that hurt too.
So the third time I felt the (self-imposed) pressure to go drug-free again. Plus I am totally freaked out by the concept of a large needle going in between my spinal column and the remote possibility of paralysis should something go wrong. Again, I tried to soothe myself with the thought that surely the third child would slip out and twirl around as if she were on a water slide.
On the upside, I did finally acquire the concept of riding the contraction wave through deep breathing and kind of felt like a maternal Zen master. In fact, the nurse actually commented that she had never seen such control during labor. I took that as a huge compliment.
On the downside, labor lasted six hours with an angst-riddled detour into the operating room for a potential emergency C-section. I was completely prepped for the scalpel down to drinking a liquid antacid and having an anesthesiologist check my mouth for any loose teeth. My doctor told me to breathe as much oxygen through the mask as I could to get the baby's heart rate up. Talk about pressure. I really did not want a C-section and I was extremely worried about the baby. So short of hyperventilating, I did as much deep breathing and positive thinking as I possibly could and we finally got the green light to leave the operating room.
When she was ready to come out she did not glide down the water slide, either. However, I was able to push her out in five minutes. (I have been told by my doctor that I am "good at pushing babies out." Again, I choose to view this as a compliment and wonder if I could parlay this talent into a lucrative career.) She was the smallest of the three weighing in at 8 lbs. 7 ounces, however, her delivery had the most drama to it.
And she is fast becoming the most dramatic of our three daughters. I guess that's the job of the last-born (knock on wood) -- to keep things fun and active.
Happy Birthday, Baby!
2007-07-05 at 7:28 a.m.
