The abbreviated and rated G version
of labor and delivery is that we planned for a natural birth in the
hospital without medication. What actually ended up happening was that I
had sporadic, inconsistent contractions for 42 hours which never progressed.
Mario, our wonderful doula, and I headed to the hospital on Wednesday
night to get an epidural so I would have enough strength left to push. I
labored without medication at the hospital for 6 more hours but was still
experiencing sporadic and exhausting contractions that were not progressing.
That's when we made the final decision to get an epidural. After
the epidural I was able to relax and felt much better. We all slept for a
few hours while I dilated from a 6.5 to a 10. After that, they turned off
the medication, and I pushed effectively for 45 minutes, and then, voila!
Windham came into the world. :) It turns out he was posterior which
may be the reason why my labor never progressed naturally. (The grand
total of hours in labor and delivery was 54.)
We may never know why
things turned out the way the did, but I'm not disappointed I received
medication. It was a medical solution to a very real problem I was
facing, and Mario, my doula, and I feel confident it was the right thing to do
given my situation. Although I wanted to have a natural birth, I feel
very good about the way things turned out.
We may never know why
things turned out the way the did, but I'm not disappointed I received
medication. It was a medical solution to a very real problem I was
facing, and Mario, my doula, and I feel confident it was the right thing to do
given my situation. Although I wanted to have a natural birth, I feel
very good about the way things turned out.
Although both Windham and I are
healthy and healing we'll still be in the hospital until Friday, because
Windham is receiving photo therapy (sleeping in a special
brightly-lit bassinet in our room) to treat a mild case of jaundice.
We've very lucky and grateful for Windham and the blessing it is to have
him, officially, in our lives. And I'm SOOOO glad I'm not pregnant
anymore! More photos will be posted on facebook in the next few weeks
once we've gone home and settled into a routine. Mario is taking a couple
of weeks of paternity leave and then his company's Christmas Break begins so
we'll have a relaxing, low-key babymoon/Christmas. We appreciate your
love, thoughts, and prayers. Can't wait for you to meet him!
Love,
Chelsea, Mario, Windham, and Prince
(the dog)
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