The Birth Story: No Cute Pictures Are Included in This Post...

...Just lots and lots of words.

Feel free to scroll down to 

@2:25am for when Baby Pancakes arrived into this world!

We didn't take many pictures during my labor and delivery so there are no cute pictures.

 Although i wish i could post the one of my best friend grinning 

and giving the thumbs up sign while i am grimacing because of a contraction!! 

Anyway where do i start....

August 26th, 2012

We walked and walked.  I was ready and determined 

for Baby Pancakes to make his arrival since he had defied my Eviction notice.

August 27th, 2012 

@ 6am

I woke up in the morning and noticed that i was bleeding a little bit.

Of course for a pregnant girl, BLOOD of any kind is never good.

I told Mr. Pancakes...he as usual was calm but i could tell he was concerned.

So i waited at 8am to schedule an appointment with my doctor.

@9am

We walked to the doctor's office since it's not too far from our house.

The doctor examined me and informed us 

"You are about 4cm dilated, you are ready to have this baby!"

Our reaction, we look at each other with wide eyes 

and i tear up not believing this was actually happening.

But wait...when did my water break?

 And have i been contracting?

Honestly, i don't remember my water ever breaking...the big gush ladies talk about..

i didn't experience this.  I felt contractions but nothing too strong that morning.

The doctor advised us to go to the hospital within the hour.

So of course i made the executive decision 

NOT to go to the hospital until much later 

because i didn't want to just lay in the hospital bed all day...so we went home.

@10am-3:30pm

We returned home.  I had breakfast.  

Watched TV and around 2pm i started to feel some sharp contractions...

it wasn't completely comfortable but it wasn't unbearable either.  

I received a call from the doctor's office informing me 

"You have to go to the hospital soon because 

we don't want you to have the baby somewhere else."

Of course this irritated me because i felt like 

they were more concerned with receiving their money than me being comfortable.

Anyway by 330pm the contractions were increasing....

honestly we were even able to track the contractions

 because it was ALL confusing, overwhelming and surreal for me.  

I kept on thinking..."i am going to meet Baby Pancakes soon...this is amazing!"

@4:30pm-5:30pm

We finally made it to the hospital.  

The doctor wasn't too pleased with me since i had taken my time to admit myself.

  I changed into the hospital gown, was hooked up to the monitors, 

the Doctor checked me out and i was 5cm dilated. 

 Woohoo, progress!!!

@5:30pm-7:30pm

The contractions were ok at this point.  I was breathing, talking to Mr. Pancakes. 

 I was able to walk around when i needed.  My plan was to watch the US Open since i want Baby Pancakes to play tennis...i thought it was perfect but the contractions became progressively more intense with each hour, so we turned the TV off.  

We turned on Pandora to the Gospel Station

 and literally it played the entire time during the labor and delivery. 

 Thank you Inventors of Pandora!!

@8:00pm-10:00pm

At this point, i was definitely in labor...i can't really describe the pain...

all i remember was that it was strong and intense and with every contractions, 

i told myself "to ride the wave."  

And i continued to repeat to myself,

 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

My best friend came to visit and she was really helpful...

she held my hand when the contractions were strong.  

She was a reassuring presence in my time of need...

because as supportive as Mr. Pancakes is...

he was as nervous as i was during the entire experience.  

Although i must say he massaged my back and legs at every command.  

I was literally a mad woman from 10:00pm going.

@10:00pm-12:00am

I remember the first and second Nurse asking "Do you want something for the pain?" 

AKA: the EPIDURAL. 

And i declined. 

 I had gone through the entire pregnancy wanting a Natural Birth.  

My mindset was this, 

"Nothing will take away the pain of child birth,

 I have to go through the pain so my baby can be born!" 

And honestly this mindset was what helped me through.  

Among other things (faith in God, relaxing mood, supportive husband, friends and family)

During the laboring process, I was in and out of the hospital bed so many times...

i was determined to have a birthing experiencing that was right for me. 

 One minute i was in bed, the next i was out, walking, 

kneeling on the floor, leaning forward on a table, 

i had the bed up, down, i was asking Mr. Pancakes for massages, water, ice, cold towel.

  I repeated all these actions over and over again as each contraction became stronger and stronger.

It was the most intense feeling i have ever had but it helped when i continued to breathe and move.  And the constant Gospel music in the background was soooooooooooo helpful. 

 At one point, i remember singing along with one of the songs...in between contractions.

I demanded for the Nurse to check out how much further i had dilated because the contractions were so frequent and intense, i was sure Baby Pancakes was ready to make his debut. 

 She checked and i had dilated to 7-8cm.

August 28th, 2012 

after 12am

I remember the Nurse saying, "We should be ready to push in an hour!"

So of course, i continued to ask Mr. Pancakes "What time is it?" every five minutes.

When you are in labor, an hour is a long time because with every passing second, the contractions become stronger and stronger!

@1:00am

Mr. Pancakes' aunt and father had come to visit.  

His father waited outside. 

 But his aunt was soooo helpful in that she held my hand, 

squeezing and massaging and giving me all the support i can ever ask for. 

 She was definitely a God sent.

Around this point, i had strong urges to push so of course i demanded for the Nurse again. 

 She came checked me out and said i was almost at 10cm and the appropriate effacement, 

as you can tell, somethings are literally a blur!  

She went back to her station and i went to work.  

I squated, i kneeled, i did everything that i could possibly do 

because the contractions were so frequent, intense and STRONG!!!!

I wasn't sure if i could ride the WAVE anymore. 

 Amazingly, i wasn't tired just ready to give birth to my Baby.

@1:30am

The Nurse came back and said "Let's try to push and see if the Doctor is ready to come."

Pushing out a baby is no joke.  My initial thought was where are the stirrups??

 Did they really want Mr. Pancakes and a Nurse to hold my legs while i pushed?? 

The answer was yes they did.

Initially, i wasn't breathing and pushing probably so this took some guidance. 

It definitely is a challenge to push for ten seconds while contracting 

but that was the only way Baby Pancakes was coming out.  

At one point, i remember the Nurse reminding me to use my stomach muscles 

and i remember telling Mr. Pancakes, "I don't remember where my stomach muscles are."

@1:45am

The Doctor finally made her appearance and we started the pushing. 

 On two pushes i would do great but then on the third push i would lose my breathe.  

I encouraged Baby Pancakes to come out. 

 I asked for God to help me.  

I swore a few times when the pain was too strong. 

 God i hope understands!

@2:00am

At some point, the doctor said "you have been pushing for almost an hour.

  If the baby doesn't come out soon, we will have to do an Emergency C section!"

WHAT??????????!!!!

I didn't experience NATURAL CHILD BIRTH to have an Emergency C Section...

i screamed in my head.

I don't know if the doctor was bluffing but after this comment, 

i was completely and utterly plugged into pushing and delivering Baby Pancakes.  

Mr. Pancakes was great in that we made eye contact and he said, "You can do this babe!"

I asked God to help me and with those two encouragement, i was ready to push my baby into this world.

@2:15am

The Doctor said the baby needed a little help so she had to suction him out...

i am probably using the wrong terminology but we were reassured this had little complications...

@2:24pm

The last pushes were all or nothing....it was with anticipation that i pushed and pushed and pushed...

@2:25am

And then i felt him come out and the water works started...i was crying and my crying increased as soon as i heard Baby Pancakes cry.   It was the most beautiful sound i had ever heard.  The nurses were able to get me to breathe and relax because i think i was crying a little too hysterically.  Which was a good thing because i was able to ask, Mr. Pancakes, "How is he? Is he ok?"

@2:45am

When i finally held Baby Pancakes for the first time,

 i looked into his eyes it was instant, i was in LOVE

 because i had fallen in love even before we met!

*****************

Experiencing labor and delivery naturally was the most amazing, inspiring, spiritual and Godly thing i believe i will ever do!  There are still some mysteries including: when my water actually broke or how long i had been in active labor? I will never know these answers but i know in the end,

 our Baby Pancakes was healthy and all was well in the world...at least in the moment it was.

More to come later...about after the birth story.

Thank you for reading my loooong birth story!

Now for the fun part....

Question of the Day:

What time was /were your child(ren) born into this world?

What time were you born into this world?