There are several people that have wondered about how the birth of Marsi really went. It has been a rough couple of weeks emotionally so it has been too hard for me to recount her birth. But, I think that it is important for me to write it down.
The story begins at my last midwife appointment at 2 days shy of 40 weeks. I decided to ask for a membrane sweep to see if it would help kick start labor. It brought on some mild contractions. The next day, the contractions were still coming, but I was not in labor yet. Being a first timer, I didn't really know what labor was so, since they were coming at a regular interval, I assumed I was and called the midwives. This was on Saturday. They decided to give me another sweep and stretch. MAN...that was painful but both of them figured that I would be in labor by the next day. I was able to sleep that night and decided to take a small dose of castor oil Sunday morning.
On Sunday, my due date, the contractions were getting stronger. I called my brother and sister in law and my parents to come down. Labor was pretty much eminent at that point. I went into the midwives and they told me that I was still not ready quite yet and sent me home. My parents decided to stay and my brother and sister in law went back home. We were sad because it was getting late, but we knew that if I wasn't ready yet, waiting around wouldn't make it faster.
Around midnight contractions were getting intense. I called the midwives and they told me to take a bath. I did and the contractions kept coming more and more. By 1:30 am Monday, Endrit and I were back on our way to the birth center while my parents stayed asleep. We told them that we would call when I was in the pushing stage.
I got into the birth tub. It was wonderful to stay in there. The contractions were hard, but I was able to handle them. Then things just kept on getting more and more intense. Back labor started. I was trying my hardest to stick with my Hypnobabies birthing tracks and work through labor. I did not allow the midwives to do any checks on me because I was terrified of them telling me that even though I was in horrible pain I wasn't progressing. At some point, I have no clue when, I finally allowed them to check and I was at a 9 almost 10. Endrit called for my parents to come to the birth center.
At this point in labor I seem to not remember time. I just knew that I thought I was going to die. The midwives told me that I could push if I felt the need. With contractions, I tried to push my hardest. At some point they told me to try to relieve my bladder to see if that would help. I don't think I got back into the tub after that point. They got out a birth stool and I sat on that pushing for a while. I don't have any clue how long. I started to get exhausted so they gave me an IV and a sip of 5 hour energy. I didn't eat because I had already thrown up a couple of times.
Then labor stalled. She wasn't coming down and I was in horrible pain and could hardly breathe through contractions. It was now about 7 am and they advised me to transfer to a hospital. By 7:30 am we were all loaded up in the vehicles and on our way.
Back labor, sitting in a car, and a worried husband who is driving like a bat out of Hell is a very painful experience. I felt bad for the people that were going into the hospital. I wasn't breathing well so I wasn't very quiet on my way up to labor and delivery. I already had it in my head that I NEEDED drugs! I NEEDED something before I could endure getting the epidural. I got into the room and begged for Demerol. They checked me again and she was still very posterior and there was a lip still left on my cervix to dilate.
They gave me the Demerol and it worked well enough for me to be still enough for the epidural. Getting an epidural at transition is not a fun experience, but I did it. When the relief started, I bawled. I was so tired that the relief was better than I could have ever imagined. I was able to rest.
In the hospital, labor continued to stall. The lip wasn't going away so they started Pitocin. Then every hour or so, they upped it again because it was still not complete. I was a happy lady. I was resting, talking with family, and overall just hanging out. At 12:46 they found I was complete and decided it was time for me to start pushing.
I was still able to feel pressure and an urge to push. They allowed me to guide the pushing since I had those urges. Everyone said that I was pushing like a champ. I honestly have to say 2 hours into it I wasn't feeling like a champ! We set a goal for 2:30...that came and went. We set a goal for 3:14 (I am a pi nerd) and when that came and went, a high risk OB came in and said it was really time to get her out. I was praying that didn't mean a c-section. They said that since she was further down they would try forceps. I had to get another shot in my epidural because the pain was intensifying and with the forceps it would be even more painful.
With a few more good pushes and the forceps, Marsi was born at 3:46 pm.
