Labor and delivery, just the way I wanted.

Savvy is here! This is how it all happened...

On the day of my 38 week appointment I had an NST (non-stress-test) and an ultrasound to check amniotic fluid levels...kind of sounds like I'm talking about maintenance on a vehicle :0)
Everything looked pretty good, but the doc wanted to check again in a couple of days. On Friday I was checked again and the fluid levels had gone down to a level doc didn't like...too low. So I was sent to Labor and Delivery for a few hours to have baby monitored.
She looked pretty good, but was having some variables in her heart rate because of the low fluid. Doc suggested we strip my membranes (for those who know what that means...for those who don't...you can look it up :0) ) to get things started a little more naturally...otherwise, we felt induction might be best for baby.
I super didn't want to be induced because I wanted a no medication labor. When you are induced with meds the labor can be way more intense. So we did the membrane strip and I went home to wait.
We had a fun family movie night planned. The kids had been making movie tickets and setting up a concession stand etc. for the last week. Their prayers had been sounding something like this..."please don't let the baby come before the movie night...wait until after...amen". The movie night was great...gotta love Indiana Jones. After it was over, I fell asleep for about 30 minutes. At about 11 pm I woke up. I just couldn't sleep. I was told that using a breast pump could help get contractions going so I gave that a try for about 10 minutes...worked like a charm! I started having contractions every 4 minutes.
I started packing some clothes for the kids, and stuff they would need while they were at our friends house...I just knew this was it. I turned on the T.V. for a little distraction...watched "Star Trek the Next Generation". The contractions were starting to get a little more intense so I decided to take a warm shower to relax...felt great. I planned on staying in there until the hot water was gone, but then I started thinking..."what if I labor really fast and have this baby in the shower? I should wake up hubby." So I got out and went to wake him up. I don't think he was convinced that this was really it at first, but I knew it was.
He took a quick shower and I breathed through a few contractions. I was still going strong and had to concentrate through each one. I felt a little nausea so I was sitting on the bathroom floor. After a few minutes of that I felt my water break! I told hubby and he said "ok. we better go now!" He woke up the kids. Pooka-shell was excited...Bubba-do was just cranky. Hubby was awesome. He got all the bags in the car and remembered a towel for me to sit on so I didn't soak the seat. :0) We headed to our friends to drop off the kids. They were so wonderful to take them for us
As we headed to the hospital the contractions were intense, but I was totally concentrating through each one...visualizing everything gently opening. I wasn't making a sound. Hubby had to ask if I was still having contractions. I was in the zone!
When we got to the hospital I changed into a gown because my p.j.'s were soaked. The contractions were so intense, but I had a minute to breathe and relax between each one. The most comfy position was sitting on the floor (on a clean towel of course) I had hubby rub my lower back. I thought maybe baby was face up, but she wasn't... my muscles were just super fatigued.
There were a couple of moments when I considered asking for pain meds, but as long as I really focused during every contraction I could make it. Finally I was able to stand up. Hubby wanted them to check my cervix to see how dilated I was, but I was like "no-way" When I had bubba-do and they checked me I was sure I was going to be almost there, and I was only 5cm. It discouraged me so much I just had the epidural. Plus, I didn't want to break my concentration. I knew my body would know what to do and when. I leaned on hubby's chest and squeezed his fingers. By about 3 am I started feeling a little urge to push. Pretty soon doc was there and one of the intern residents. I told them I couldn't change positions so I just stayed standing!
The urge to push just came. I didn't have to be told when or how, I just did it. The pushing part felt much better than the dilating part! I could really feel baby moving down. By 4:03 am Savvy was born! We did it!!! Labor was thankfully only 4 hours long start to finish. I only had to push for 10 minutes.
She did well, cried pretty quickly. What a relief to have her here. After the birth I lost a little more blood than they would like, so they worked to get the placenta out quickly...uncomfortable!
When I held Savvy I cried. I had waited so long, we all had. It was beautiful. She is beautiful! 6 pounds 6 ounces and 20 inches long with plenty of dark hair Yay! So cute. I felt like Wonder Woman.
When sitting on the edge of the bed later, preparing to get into the wheelchair to move to another room...I got dizzy. I told the nurse my ears were ringing. The next thing I knew, I was waking up on the floor with hubby trying to help me up. I had no idea what had happened. I had passed out and hubby jumped over the wheelchair (Superman style ) to catch me before my face hit the floor. The funny thing is..I felt so much better. I was exhausted and as soon as I passed out I immediately started to dream...instant REM sleep. I was actually slightly annoyed that I was being waked...until I realized I was on the floor! Haa aaa so crazy!
This is the labor I was hoping for. The kids prayers were answered..the timing was perfect. I was worried it would happen at a time when the kids were on their way home from school or that my water would break in an embarrassing situation...or a hundred other things would happen. I am recovering. We are all trying to get used to all the changes. We are so grateful to everyone who helped us through this and are still helping.
And that is the story of the doctor's wife who had a baby.....