After leaving the office Maggie and I talked about the big day approaching and hoping to have a natural birth. Then, lo and behold, later that afternoon Maggie started to feel light contractions, not very regular but much more than anything before. As the day slid into night and Saturday morning broke it was clear the labor was progressing and it was time to call Maggie's mom. Mama made plans to drive down early Sunday morning, since we knew we had several more hours of laboring at home.
We knew what to expect in terms of the stages of labor, the midwives encourage laboring mothers to call the practice to report on progress and make sure the expectant parents don't rush to the hospital too soon. So we called to tell them Maggie was in labor, they spoke to her and reassured us that everything was progressing normally. Maggie labored throughout the day but the contractions weakened and got less cohesive that night, which turned out to be fortuitous since she was able to get some rest.
Early Sunday morning the contractions were back and stronger than ever. Maggie's mom arrived around noon and the laboring got serious. One of the "signposts" we are told to look for during labor is the mother getting determined, serious, and needing to be in bed rather than walking around. Maggie was at this stage as we timed the contractions, waiting for them to build to 60-90 seconds in length and be about 4-5 minutes apart.
Maggie was doing fabulously, staying calm and not fearing or fighting the contractions. Most importantly she was not inflicting bodily harm on me for putting her in this situation. She took all the points of the Bradley Method to heart, breathing normally, trying to remove tension from her body, and handling the pain by keeping the goal of seeing a healthy Lola in her mind. Mama was there to help keep things calm, it was also great having someone else to rely on as all of our focus was on the labor.
Throughout Sunday afternoon we called the practice a few times to check if it was time to come in, the contractions had reached 5 minutes apart and were very strong. It was clear from Maggie's face that the pain was getting more intense and labor becoming more difficult with the onset of nausea. Every time she tried to have some water or ice chips it came back up with the next set of contractions. Finally around 6:30pm, after two hours of contractions at five minutes apart and lasting well over a minute we got approval to come in. Mama and I loaded the car as Maggie went into a ten minute long contraction, I thought for sure we were having the baby at home. But it passed, and we all hit the road. The crowning moment was Maggie's water breaking about halfway into the 30 minute drive to the hospital - the final sign it was go time.
We arrived at the hospital without me veering off the road in a panic and got in to be evaluated. One of the midwives we'd had the most contact with, Jessica Hilsenroth was there to meet us. She congratulated Maggie on the great job so far, she was 4cm dilated and at -2 station. Reluctantly, but after the long hours of labor and stomach upset, Maggie finally asked for an epidural for the pain and it worked quickly. IV fluids were also started to combat her dehydration.
In the birthing suite and with pain under control, we sat quietly talking and watching the fetal monitor as the contractions rose and fell. We called some family and friends and the staff changed over for the evening. Ann Visser, another midwife on our team, took over our labor. A slow pitocin drip was then started to bring the contractions back after the epidural slowed them somewhat, however, the drip was halted after only about 20 minutes. Evidently the baby's heart rate was higher than would have liked during the contractions and, after some more monitoring and consideration, they thought it might be best to go forward with a C-section rather than wait until the baby was in distress. We wanted whatever was best for the baby so we agreed and within 15 minutes Maggie was wheeled into the operating room.I got dressed up in a gown, hair net, and booties and was brought into the room after the prep work was complete. I sat next to Maggie, reassuring her everything was alright, and in short order, out popped our beautiful baby girl!
Lola was handed to me once she was cleaned up and swaddled with a little cap on her head. She looked up at me and I expected a big, big cry to hear those lungs working, but instead she pursed her little lips and said "ook ook ook". I couldn't believe it, with all of that hair on her head and that little noise, it was just as Maggie had predicted - we had a little monkey baby! The nurses took her back and suctioned her out a bit more and then we heard the loud cry we had been waiting for. Later in the recovery room Maggie got to hold Lola for the first time.
Maggie was still under the effects of the anesthesia, which made her hands shake, so Lola was put into a warmer for a little while. She was so quiet and had such big eyes I had to get a couple of shots.
Mama joined us in the recovery room, it was the first time she got to see her granddaughter and make sure her baby girl was doing well. After about an hour there, we followed Maggie as she was wheeled over to the postpartum wing where we spent the next four days before coming home as a new family!
