As you can see, I was more worn out with my first child's labor than my subsequent deliveries. No sleep and no food for two days does that to a person. Add on thirty-six hours of labor and you have a recipe for one worn out momma. Oh, and I couldn't sleep after giving birth either. Talk about an endorphin rush. Too bad I didn't get much sleep for the next month and slumped into PPD. Hubby was working overtime and I had no help with adjusting to motherhood. No friends or family to show me the ropes. I felt so alone. And desperate for sleep. Munchkin was the epitome of a "happy spitter" in the doctor's office and a colicky, pukey baby at home. I learned some tough lessons, but those experiences helped me become the mother I am. Munchkin and I learned together.
Either later the same day or the day after Munchkin's birth.
After my rough labor with Munchkin, I was not about to have the same experience again. I researched everything about unmedicated birth. We looked into switching to a midwife and the possibility of hiring a doula. With my pre-term labor scare the midwife was out of the question, and doulas were hard to come by in our area. At least with our budget. I was blessed with a wonderful nurse once arriving at the hospital. I had a full night sleep the night before and a great breakfast that morning. Twenty minutes later, my labor started. Fourteen hours after that, and Little Miss joined our family. Little Miss had the cord wrapped twice around her neck, though not tightly. She had also released some meconium prior to birth. From the lack of staining and her clear lungs they think it was during transition and shortly before birth. She had no ill effects.
Twenty-three minutes after Little Miss's birth.
With Pumpkin I had on again, off again labor for three days before the real deal. I had a midwife at the Naval Hospital, but no doula. Not that there aren't doulas out here, time just got away from me. When it came down to it, the family who was going to watch our kids had left for vacation and it took hours to get a hold of anyone so we could go to the hospital. Then I found out the wasn't a midwife on duty, luckily it was at shift change and one just came on. Great experience with my delivery. The only thing that didn't follow my birth plan was the nurse lying my bed back while I was pushing. Bad idea. I ended up with internal muscle damage and a trapped nerve by the time everything healed. Twenty months later and I learn all of this with a physical therapy evaluation. Pumpkin had the cord wrapped once around his neck, loosely, and promptly had a bowel movement upon exit [he hit the sheet]. Pumpkin had some breathing difficulties at first and needed some further evaluation. Somehow he didn't get all the amniotic fluid squished out of him during the birth process and it took about twenty four hours for him to have it all exasperated manually or coughed up. Then he was a happy camper.
Three minutes and twenty-four minutes after Pumpkin's birth.
1 comments:
very cool...I was so much more laid back with the 2nd than the first...but as with yours cord was around her neck and had a knot in it...not tight on either but still scary...number 2 had the cord and meconium(sp) very crazy...I guess my kids like to twist and play...
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