To the Moon and Back: May 2012

I thought about making this into separate posts, but I don't have time for all of that... I have a newborn :)

So, update on weeks 38, 39, and 40:

Total weight gain for the whole pregnancy was 51.2 pounds.

I got really lazy with belly pictures towards the end because I was so tired all the time. But, I got a good one while in labor...this is at 6cm:

Let me just say, I miss my belly. I am so glad Christopher is here, but I miss that big, round belly so much! I wish I could have another baby right away because I have loved every minute of all of this but I am lacking the man and the means. :)

and then... BIRTH STORY!

Most people assume you are going to have a baby in the hospital. Many will go as far to assume you are planning on having an epidural and will recover there for 2-3 days. I even had a woman try to talk me into a c-section because I could get a tummy tuck done at the same time. I didn't want that experience. And let me just preface with, I am not putting any body's birth choices down. I totally think there is a time and a place for modern medicine in the role of bringing children into this world. And I truly believe one's birth choices are personal and should be respected. But for me, the right choice was having my baby all natural.

My birth plan was, "to have the healthiest baby possible with as little intervention as possible." If I needed to go and have a c-section, fine. But if i could, I wanted to have him at a birth center, with midwives, and no meds. Turns out, I had an unbelievably smooth pregnancy and I was able to. So, let the story begin...

I was due on Friday April 6th and while I know that is only a "guess date", I was focusing my attention around that date. I know most 1st time babies come at 40w1d but not this one....

I woke up that beautiful "due date day" at 11am (miss those days!) and puddled around the house. I was contracting but nothing too patterned and I had been having some minor contractions for weeks. At 1:07 pm, I texted my dad who was at work and told him, "Having some pretty decent contractions..." I finished some laundry, took a nap, and watched about 5 episodes of "A Baby Story". Dad came home and we had some dinner and I was still a little crampy.

When my dad went for his 4 mile run, I jumped on the bike to ride next to him. This was around 7:30. He said, "you can't go, you've been contracting all day." I told I could and I did....4 miles in about 35 minutes while contracting ever 7-10 minutes or so....I'm convinced this is what sealed the deal. After a delicious meal at Steak n' Shake at 10:30 that night (that's all that was open and I was starving!) we went home to try to sleep because the contractions were 5-7 minutes at this point and picking up speed. I was still worried this wasn't "it." :)

By 1am, I was in the tub crying because I really thought this could be it, but I was scared I'd be wrong and people would be mad. Finally called the midwife at 3am when they were 2-3 minutes apart and lasting 1 minute. She said she would come to my house to check me....at 3:45am on 4/7/12, I learned I was in labor! 4cm!!! I was so excited and I called Nana and told her to get on a plane (from Oklahoma) cause we would have a baby by the end of this weekend! The midwife, Katie, asked if I wanted to go to the birth center at that point. I told her no because I wanted to labor some more at home and she said to call her when I was ready. At 6 am, I called and said we were about ready to come in...things were getting uncomfortable and the contractions were 1-2 minutes apart.

We went in and at 6:50am, I was 6cm. Katie confirmed that this was the perfect time to come to the BC so I felt good about that. I went to the room which is set up like a regular master bedroom and got in the tub. I was happy there for about an hour. Then I labored on the bed for what seemed like forever! At 9:55am Katie checked me again...I was back tracking! :( I was 5-6cm because Christopher's head was asynclitic. That just means his head was at an angle and wasn't coming straight down the birth canal. It was causing my cervix to swell on one side and I was not dilating evenly.

I was disappointed, but determined. I did some curb walking (one foot on the side walk and one on the road.) After about 20 minutes, my knee was killing me so I went and labored on the birthing ball. At 11:15 am, I was still 6cm but his head had straightened out. I was starting to feel defeated. I told my dad I couldn't do it anymore and I wanted to go home. At 1pm, Katie checked me and after about 6 hours or so at 6cm, we started talking about my options. I was exhausted, hadn't slept, and was terrified he'd never come out. She offered me manual dilation which hurts like crazy and I told her okay. The other option was a hospital. I didn't want that. When she went to do the manual dilation, she laughed and said my bag of water was bulging like crazy and if I let her, she would break it. It would speed things along and wouldn't hurt. I agreed and with a snap of her fingers (literally...she just pinched the bag) I felt a gush, and I mean roaring rapids. my water broke. It was one of my favorite parts cause it felt so weird! The midwives were amazed at the amount of fluid. But it was clear so it was good.

Now, this really stinks, but because things took of so quickly after that, we stopped keeping notes. The rest of this is off memory and what people told me. My water broke at 1pm and the next contraction, was more intense. They were back to back and sometimes double peaking. I was climbing the walls trying to escape the pain and my body. I got back into the tub but I overheated and wanted to get out. I was cursing up a storm and saying things I didn't even know I knew. I was asking for a hospital and drugs and anything to get the pain away. I felt the urge to push while still in the tub but when I told the midwife, she said go with. I started crying and telling her I don't wanna push cause I was scared of pooping in the tub." She laughed and said, "Well, Lauren, you already did, but why don't you just get on the bed again." I did and at 2:20 pm, I started pushing. My phone rang and Nana's plane just landed so she was on her way.

I pushed on all fours for about 15 minutes. I started getting a charlie horse in my right leg so I asked if I could roll over onto my back. Katie said, "of course. I can see his head. " I asked if he had hair and I reached down and touched his sweet head for the first time. He had some hair but it was not dry so it felt weird. About 3 minutes after that, Nana, Aunt Jenny, Aunt Lisa, and Alex all walked into the room! They made it! Alex and Lisa left to wait outside but Nana grabbed one hand, dad grabbed the other and Jenny stood behind me.

12 minutes later, his head popped out. I reached down to grab him and they told me to let his shoulder out first. His right shoulder popped out and I reached down and grabbed my beautiful baby and put him on my chest. I can't even describe that moment. He looked just like I knew he would. He pooped on me within minutes, christening me his mama, and I was sold. I was in love with this grayish blue, slimy, and squalling baby. he was loud but he was here! :) I tore a little but not even bad enough to need stitches. He breastfed right away...about 15 minutes on each side. He was mine and he was here! At 5pm, 2 hours after Christopher Blake Hudson was born, I was given 4 Ibuprofen for swelling and I took my baby home.

So there it is...Christopher's birth story. He was born Saturday, April 7th at 3:00pm. He weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce and was 20 1/4 inches long. He looks just like his daddy and has won over every one's heart! It was the hardest thing I have ever done. The pain was intense and I would do it the same way if I'm ever lucky enough to have more babies. The day of, I said I would never have more babies but within a week, you forget the pain and the exhaustion. When you nurse that sweet baby and he grabs your hand and holds it for a few minutes, it's so worth it. I'd give him the world if I could... but to start, I gave him a non invasive birth experience and I can say that I did it. I brought him into this world and I gave it all I had.