Okay y'all I'm going waaayyy out of comfort zone on this one so I hope you appreciate it! I've gotten so many questions regarding my labor and delivery after sharing Fallon's birth story. I was a little surprised at first with how personal some of them were but then again, I know first hand that there are a lot of things about the experience that not many people talk about. While I did have some friends tell me a thing or 2 about what really goes down when you're giving birth, it of course was not the same story for everyone. So, I'm just going to break through the wall and lay it all out there. I compiled the questions most asked and decided to go ahead and give the real, honest answers in all their nitty gritty glory. This one isn't for the faint of heart but I'm doing this because I love you and love that you're still following along.
How did you know you were in labor?
- This is a big one for first time mamas and it can be totally different for everyone. If you read my final pregnancy post or Fallon's birth story you know I was sent home from the hospital twice in the week and a half before I actually gave birth. Prolonged prodromal labor is pretty rare so I'll skip right to that fateful night that shit got real. Really real. I was having the same type of contractions I had been having every day since they started and felt different than Braxton Hicks. But looking back now, things started happening that could have tipped me off that day was going to be the day I just didn't realize it at the time. The nicest way I can put this is that my body cleaned itself out pretty well that day. Then there were the menstrual like cramps that started mid afternoon. I disregarded both as just 3rd trimester pregnancy symptoms. And finally early evening I was walking around and felt like I peed a little. Hey, it happens when a giant baby head is pressing on your bladder. It happened a few more times but I didn't for a second think it was my water breaking. The 2 things I knew to look for were either an obvious big gush of water like in the movies or feeing like I peed but enough that it soaked through my pants instead of a puddle at my feet. Neither of those things happened. I actually didn't even find out that was my water and not pee until AFTER I delivered. So probably an hour after I thought I was peeing my pants I was watching TV and the contractions started to hurt a lot more all of a sudden. I was having pain in my lower back but also in my entire pelvic region. I tried to go to bed but that lasted all of about 20 minutes before I was quickly in agonizing pain and feeling like I could not get any relief, even between the contractions. I was having trouble walking normally and could still hold a conversation but not with my eyes open (closing my eyes helped me deal with the pain). I called my doctor and she told me to go to the hospital and I told Chris it was time. It was terrible to sit down and I felt like someone was twisting a knife deep into my lower back at the same time as something very strong was squeezing my body from my lower belly to my thighs with an iron grip. When I was checked at the hospital I felt a pop and thought that was my water breaking. It was, but the nurse had been confused saying it felt like it had maybe already broken. I found out later I had a very slow leak aka the tiny amounts of "pee" from earlier. When it was really showtime, I knew 100%.
Did you tear?
- Ugh, this one makes me cringe. Of course this happens all the time. You're trying to push a bowling ball through a pin hole and sometimes it just won't quite fit. Something's gotta give. I had a first degree tear, the most common, so it was minimal. This is pretty surprising considering my girl came out shoulders front to back instead of side to side. I had a few stitches but honestly recovery hasn't been bad. I'm a pretty fast healer and have a fairly high pain tolerance so take this with a grain of salt.
Did it hurt to push without the epidural?
- This one made me a chuckle a bit. I'm sure you're hoping the answer is no, it just stung a little. In short, hell yes it hurt. But my situation made things a little different. I was not expecting to have to deliver sans epidural, it just ended up happening that way so that was an unwelcome surprise and I wasn't prepared. Fallon was sideways and the vacuum was used so that kind of upped the ante in the pain department. I mean to put it bluntly, it felt like my body pelvis was ripping apart. But then you have the fact that at the point I had to push au natural we knew something was wrong with baby and I was terrified and just determined to get her out as fast as my body would let me. I'm sure my adrenaline levels were through the roof. I will tell you that there was no screaming or husband slapping or cussing at the nurses or crying. I just closed my eyes and used everything I had to push.
Did you have to deliver the placenta?
- I actually did not even know about this until recently. Seriously, I had no idea that when you have a baby, that baby is not all that has to come out. I've heard some women have to push again to get it out, others it just comes out with the baby and some are like me. I was barely paying attention after delivering Fallon because a team of people was working on her across the room and I was just holding my breath and waiting to hear her cry or at least that she was okay. But I was slightly aware that my doctor just sort of tugged on the cord and pulled it out. I don't recommend looking, unless you find that kind of thing cool or fascinating.
Did you poop?
- This is my favorite one. Yup, I'm going there. So apparently this does happen to the overwhelming majority of women during childbirth. You push with all the muscles down there and well, everything just all comes out whether you want it to or not. The nurses and the doctors don't care, they literally see that shit all the time and it's a totally normal part of the job. It's cleared away maybe even before you ever know it happened. But lots of women are terrified about it happening anyway. And after saying all that, nope I did not. And I am not just saying that because I'm embarrassed and fibbing. Guys, this post is so left field for me it would be pointless to be untruthful. I'm positive it didn't happen because nothing was taken out from under me and thrown away while I was pushing. The nurses only ever touched my legs to help me push. Oh and my husband confirmed that i did not and he's honest to a fault. I just got lucky. Go ahead and hate me, I think I deserved to be spared this one considering everything else that happened before and after. Remember how I said my body cleaned itself out? I guess there was nothing left. There, now you know.
Hopefully putting myself out there like this has been helpful and informative to some of you. And for those of you just curious, there you have it. Anyone who was appalled, offended or disgusted after reading this post, I'm sorry but most of the people had spoken and they wanted to know the dirty details. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to stick my kid on the boob. Might as well tell it like it is now, right?
No comments
Post a Comment