Saraanndipity

One of my bffs from high school just had baby #11! Wowzer! Way to go, Clarisa! :) She posted on her blog a few experiences about delivering her babies and it got me thinking about my own deliveries. I love to share my birth stories and I love hearing/reading other women's birth stories. Delivering a baby is such an amazing experience! :) I'm going to very briefly write about my deliveries, for posterity's sake. Of course, I have more in-depth accounts in my journals.

Baby #1
Leif was 8 weeks premature and I hadn't researched epidural stuff yet so I didn't feel like I could make an educated decision to have one, plus the thought of having a needle poked into my spinal cord really freaked me out. I told the doctor my feelings when he asked me if I wanted an epidural so we proceeded without one. Wouldn't you know it, that delivery was a piece of cake! Leif was itty bitty and I was in really, really good shape at the time. I was up walking around fine within an hour of delivering him.

Baby #2
Well, the first delivery was a piece of cake, so I thought I could have a go at it again without an epidural. I was given Demerol through the IV and everything was fine until the contractions where unbearable. I felt like NO MAN EVER had suffered this much except Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. After Sabrina was delivered, I was like, "That was A BIG OUWWIE!" I felt a little bit estranged toward my daring baby for about a week and later discovered that is a side effect of Demerol. Note to self: Say no to Demerol! Say yes to epidural. :)

Baby #3
It had been 3 years since my previous delivery and I had convinced myself that I would be okay with or without an epidural. While I was in labor, I told the nurses we would just wait and see about an epidural. Well, when I felt like I was ready for that epidural, I asked for it. The answer I got was, "Well, the anesthesiologist is with the other woman in labor who is having an unexpected C-section." Hmm. I suppose she needed him more than I did, so I delivered Anders without an epidural. It was really the best delivery experience I had, mostly because my doctor was so awesome, but also because I decided to focus inside of my body instead of distract myself from what was going on! This was the only time I had a woman OBGYN. She was so cool! Maybe this is too much information, but after the baby's head was out, she told me to reach down and pull my baby out. Crazy but awesome! I did it and it was amazing.

Baby #4
I decided that I would definitely have an epidural this time because, hey, pain free, why not? If the technology is there, why not just do it. Who cares about the needle? Women get epidurals all the time, right? I walked into the hospital and after telling them I was in labor, my next sentence was, "And I'd like to have an epidural, please." :) I was being really brave this time. Well, when I got checking in and examined, the nurse said, "Sorry, dear, you're too far along to have an epidural." I think I was already dilated to 9. Just my luck, right? Well, I new it'd be painful, but all my deliveries have been short and this one was the same. I was mostly thankful to have a healthy baby and NOT be pregnant anymore.

Baby #5
This time, I thought, "Hey, I've delivered 4 babies without an epidural, I could probably do it again." And so I did. The painful part is intense, but thankfully brief for me. It's not the pushing part that hurts, it's the contractions before the pushing part that are uncomfortable. I actually am glad to do the pushing part because then I feel like I'm actually DOING something instead of waiting around. My first push is always a practice push to test how well I can do it. The second and third pushes get the baby out. With Dacia, I wanted her to come out with the second push, so I didn't stop pushing the second push until she came out. I was probably turning blue in the face because the nurse told me to stop and take a breath. I gave her the hand and continued to push until POP! Dacia flew out and thankfully, the doctor caught her! :)

The End