I got a call last night around 9:30 pm, saying that mom was in early labor. I quickly jumped into bed hoping to clock an hour or two of sleep. I got almost a full night's rest, as I didn't hear from my clients again until 5:00 am! Her contractions were lasting between 1 and 2 minutes and were about 6 minutes apart.
I met mom and dad at the hospital at 7:30 am. The nurse was grumpy and wouldn't let me back into triage. (She got grumpy later on when mom said "no" to a heploc, too. Thankfully, she cheered up by delivery time.) By 8:00 we were settled into the delivery room. Mom was coping great! She was so controlled and extremely relaxed. Her husband was very supportive, offering massage and imagery prompts. At this point, mom was dilated somewhere between 5 and 6 cm.
This mom's contraction pattern was really unique. Her contractions were about 10 minutes apart, but would last around 3 minutes long! That's a long contraction! But the long breaks were nice, and mom was able to rest and even snooze a bit in between.
Around 10:00 mom got in the jacuzzi. She loved the way it felt and said it helped her relax. Things started to really progress and at 10:30 her water broke. I knew we wouldn't have much time since this was baby #4. We quickly got mom over to the bed. Things were very intense to say the least! This woman worked so hard and was able to maintain control during some very long and strong contractions. She was 8 cm dilated, but I knew we were minutes away from birth.
The urge to push soon followed, but there was no doctor yet! So mom had to continue breathing deeply. As hard as this is, it's actually a great way to deliver. It gives your skin time to slowly stretch, which helps avoid tearing. And it paid off!
Love at first sight.
Tipping the scale at a whopping 9 pounds 8 oz!
10:58 am, Monday, October 6th
This baby snuggled right into his mama.
Cute, little, old-man face. I love it!
The perfect way to start off the week!