I was pretty anxious about the delivery because of the Pubic Symphsis Dysfunction. I really didn't know how that would end up affecting things. My chiropractor had told me she thought it would be too painful to deliver laying down. That brought about more uncertainties because if I couldn't lay down, would I be able to get an epidural? I had an epidural with my last two, but I was open to the possibility of delivering naturally. Some information I read said to not have an epidural when dealing with PSD because since you can't feel anything, you may be pushing your body and moving your legs way past their pain threshold and therefore causing more harm. Others said to definitely get the epidural because it is much more painful to deliver with PSD. Basically there were a lot of questions and Cole and I were also dealing with the possibility of being induced. Understand that under normal conditions I would have no interest in an induction. I want my babies to stay in as long as possible and don't want to rush the process...but these were difficult circumstances and not being able to walk or move was really taking its toll. I was struggling emotionally with feeling pathetic and like a burden, and Cole was struggling at work because he was needing to take time off and work from home as much as possible. Basically, we needed the baby out!!!
Because things were going to be a bit different this time around, we decided to look for a Doula to be present with us during delivery. We were so blessed to find Martha Fitts! It was definitely destined by God. Not only is she Catholic, but she has had two natural childbirths, had suffered from PSD in her last pregnancy, and because she was still working on her certification she was very affordable for us! Ironically, she also uses the same Dr. as we do so everyone knew each other already!
Another difference this time around was that I decided to have a professional photographer in the delivery room. I had been looking around on craigslist and randomly saw a post from a lady that lives in Loveland that is starting a photography business and was looking for people to allow her to take their labor and delivery photos for free. Um, sounds amazing, right? In my other deliveries it has always just been me and Cole, but I was open to having more people this time because I really wanted Cole to be able to focus completely on me instead of feeling pulled in 100 different directions.
Having these other people there ended up being an amazing decision!
Things started in regards to Becketts birth the week before he came. I remember it was a Sunday night (Dec. 22nd) and Cole and I sat down to watch Blackfish after the kids went to bed. As we watched I started having some contractions (not painful though) so I quietly started timing them on my phone. I eventually told Cole that I was having them every 6 to ten minutes. This went on for the majority of the night and I remember we got the entire house spick and span, got everything ready for the kids, called my dad just to give a heads up that we may need him to come over in the middle of the night...and even though I continued contracting regularly, they never became painful and they finally dissipated in the morning.
This pregnancy I was wise enough to not stay up timing contractions all night and losing sleep (like I did with Felicity...so not a smart idea!) but unfortunatley I still didn't get any sleep. My mind was racing and I was too anxious and it is also pretty difficult to sleep when having contractions at those intervals. I was tired the next day, but not necessarily convinced it was labor because the contractions were strong, but not painful. Cole wasn't convinced it was nothing and after we talked to the oncall Dr. that morning, we decided we would go in just to be sure everything was going ok. Unfortunately my Dr. was out of town that week, and because the on call Dr. was at the hospital, they made us go there to be checked instead of just the Doctors office. It honestly was a huge hassle and looking back I would have preferred to just stay at home. Everything takes longer at a hospital and we were there probably 4 hours and learned that I was 4cm dilated but that I wasn't in active labor.
We went home a little disappointed, but also trying to trust in God's plan. I also preferred to not be in the hospital over Christmas so I either wanted the baby out right then, or I was ok with waiting a few days. Lol! :) That night we had another false alarm. I started having really bad back pain. I was contracting still but the pain wasn't necessarily associated with the contractions. I told Cole that I didn't really think it was labor, but I was in too much pain to just stay home. Another trip to the hospital that night and we found I was having really bad back labor pain. The only relief I had was when they ran me a very hot bath. As in the hottest water my body has ever been in. But it brought relief from the pain and I was so very grateful. Because I still wasn't' in active labor they decided to give me a shot of morphine and send me home to rest. It ended up being really helpful. I was able to sleep pain free and get rested up after not sleeping at all the night before. The back labor went away and thankfully never came back!
Onto Part 2...
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