Wednesday, September 26, 2012

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?



26 comments:

Liz Mays said...

You got scolded by your doctor! You were really in a lot of pain, so I'm so very glad you had people around to support you through it. I'm a wimp so I had a little help, but not an epidural.

I love how you looked into the baby's eyes and were already in love.

Congrats, new mama. This is beautiful!

Quiana said...

Good for you for not being bullied by the dr. to go in earlier than you wanted to! So happy you had the natural birth you wanted. This line especially made me laugh, " i remember telling Mr. Pancakes, "I don't remember where my stomach muscles are."" My daughter was born around 2p.m. and I remember being very concerned about the time of day she would be born - not that it really made any kind of difference because night and day means nothing anyway when you have a newborn. Congratulations again!

Unknown said...

Congratulations Pancake Fam!!!!!

Zoe was born at 11:47 a.m but I have no clue when I was born!

Printed Bonnet by AyoBE said...

Oh my...I just LOVED reading your birthing story. You truly have encouraged me to stick to my guns as far as natural child birth goes.
You did GREAT! Congratulations momma! Baby pancakes is one lucky guy.

Anonymous said...

Congrats to you all....loved the birth story. I had my little one at 4:45pm after 5 hours of pushing 0_o

Ticka said...

Congratulations again!! This story was nothing short of beautiful! The birthing process is a personal one, so you really have to do what's best for you, and I'm glad you did. Having support is such a blessing.

My daughter (who is almost 14) was born around 8:30pm, and my son was born around 11:00am. Both my C-Sections. I was in labor for 23 hours with my daughter, and her head never came down :(. My son was a c-section for the simple fact that I didn't want to chance going through what I went through the first time.

PS, I know God will understand about the cursing ;)

Kandi-STYLE said...

I'm a bit emotional right now-your story was beautiful CONGRATULATIONS, I'm so happy for you and your family.

Well let's see...

My daughter (who coincidently is referred to as Cakes) was born at 11:22pm -it was 10:22am in the U.S. She was born in Japan-my mom was there via telephone on her lunch break!!

I was born at 8:15pm-my mom went into labor at NC A&T homecoming game; and had the nerve to be upset that she couldn't go to the concert-she really liked the Commodores! :-)

Congrats again!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

This was amazing. I'm proud of you for taking the natural route! You are a trooper! :) I'm shocked really that as a first time mother you chose to go home instead of listening to the doctor and going to the hospital. I know some women who will be delivering soon for the first time and they are so shook, they and their husbands seem to think the baby will be born minutes after labor begins. LOL So I have to say, that was very wise of you. I think you made the best decision.

A Haute Mommy said...

I'm so proud to hear you had a natural birth. That's great. And it's great you had the support you needed to get through. Neither of my births were natural. I thinking could but the problem is labor is also slow for me lasting way over 24 hours and yep that's intense pain the entire time. I'm a little jealous lol at how your labor started. But isn't the best moment when your baby comes out and you're able to see them and hold them. Oh I can't wait to experience it again.

Darby Hawley said...

Yay love your story and dependence on Him for strength! Congratulations again on your baby boy!

Janna Renee said...

I am in tears and LOVED this recap. I can't believe that you did it all natural and were so strong and determined through it all! Congrats on a healthy baby, lady!

Nicole said...

Bless you heart my friend, this was a beautiful story!

Jenna E said...

I love your birth story, it sound like you had the birthing experience you wanted. :) Congrats again xo

Alicia said...

Awww... I love reading birth stories. I remember when I was preggo, all I did was read birth story after birth story. I had a loooong labor as well, but I had a natural birth as I wanted and it was beautiful. Aiden was born at 2:10am, and I didn't cry until after I pushed him out. I couldn't believe it and I was in AWE.

Miss Bee said...

aww...this made me teary. I love reading birth stories, it is amazing how you carry and birth a human being in a space of 9 months, God is Great!

My son was born at 8:38am through C-section after I had laboured for about 12 hours.

I am glad at how everything went for you and your strength to go through the birth process naturally. Hope to meet baby pancakes soon..:)

henning love said...

i love how you went home even after the doc was like you are 4cm you will have this baby anytime, tell me he knows you have to be 10cm dilated. i love the fact you went home and the hospital called you to come i have never heard that happening. i love how you were in control and didn't want the hospital to have their money. most of all i love you didn't do an epidural to experience the pain of childbirth which I totally blame on Eve

stephanie said...

what a sweet story! and way to stay strong momma, you go! my kids were born at 4:12 a.m. and 10:05 a.m. :)

A Life Un-Styled said...

Thank you so much for opening up and sharing this Mrs Pancakes. It is truly such an incredible journey. It intrigues, excites and scares me all at the same time!

Anonymous said...

This is an amazing story! I read every word! I can't believe how strong you are, being in labor for so long and sticking to your guns to do it naturally even when they kept offering you other options! I cracked up at the part about not remembering where your stomach muscles are. :o)

I was born at 3:31PM and my daughter was born at 10:37PM, but I had a much shorter labor than yours. It's probably people like me that motivate the doctors to push you to head to the hospital at 4cm. From the time my water broke to when she was here was less than 5 hours! When I made it to the hospital, she was almost ready to come out!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your new little pancake! Loved your story~

Victoria said...

Congratulations on your new arrival! I just stumbled upon this blog through pinterest and I have to say this is one of the most inspiring birth stories I've read. I don't have any children yet but I hope to have a birth like yours where I move when I need to and listen to music that I need not that someone else dictates is right for me. (And to answer your question, I was born at 4:27pm. It's also the time my mom was born although AM and the date my sister was born.)
Vickey
madwoman427.blogspot.com

Rachel said...

Love this story! How exciting! This is pretty much how I expected my labour to be but it was very different! The pain is crazy isn't it? Can't believe it was only 8 days ago!

Theodora Ofosuhima said...

i loved reading your birth story, another empowering natural birth story.

my baby was born at 8.32pm and i am not sure what time i was born, my parents didn't keep accurate detail about birthing at the time, lol!

Sara said...

my eyes were tearing up with every word... i didn't need a single photo and yet I saw the entire day. this is one of the most beautiful, faithful, inspiring birth stories i have ever read (and aren't ALL *birth* stories inspirational?!) Thank you for taking us there with you...I hope you continue to talk more about how you prepared for a unmedicated delivery. This is something I really want and I want to make sure we go into it with all the right positions, tips, and tricks. (Loading my pandora Gospel right now! What an amazing birth 'soundtrack")

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