Ashton's Birth Story

This is going to be a long entry, so proceed when you have time to read:)

The morning of March 23rd, I woke up around 4:30 to go to the bathroom and quickly noticed that I was having an occasional cramping in my lower belly.  I started to time the "cramps" and they were very sporadic and not lasting very long, so I decided to stay awake and see how things progressed.  I watched a little TV and surfed the internet for around an hour while I timed the contractions, which were very sporadic (4-10 minutes apart) and not very painful.  Around 6 am I figured that the baby was going to be born that day, so I got into the shower and started packing the last minute things that I needed in my hospital bag.  Travis and the boys woke up around 6:45 and saw that I was about ready for the day, and Travis asked if he needed to take me to the hospital.  I told him that I didn't need to go right then since the cramps/contractions weren't getting any stronger or closer together, but that he should probably get in the shower and get his things packed for the hospital.  After I finished getting my things ready, I woke my mom up and she jolted out of bed and wondered if it was time.  I told her that I wasn't sure, but that probably yes, today was the day, and she should get in the shower and get ready as well.  I then made myself some breakfast and watched some morning cartoons with Bryson while timing my contractions.  After my mom and Travis were ready, Travis packed the car and then I think he thought we would be off to the hospital.  But I didn't really feel like it was necessary at that time since the contractions were still not all that painful and weren't progressively getting closer together (they were still anywhere from 4-7 minutes apart).  I told Travis that I would call the midwife when the contractions got painful enough to have to breathe through them.  So he took Taryn to preschool at 9am and then came home.  I could tell that he and my mom were anxious for me to call the midwife and get to the hospital, but I assured them that I didn't feel the need to go yet.  I think they feared that since my labor with Bryson went so quickly that I would deliver the baby in the car on the way to the hospital if I waited too long:)  But honestly, I really didn't want to go and sit in triage on a monitor forever when I could be laboring in the comfort of my own home.

A little before 10am, I talked to my best friend, Tammy, who was going to come and photograph the birth and told her that I was contracting, but nothing really strong or painful yet, so she still had time before she needed to start making the trip to Madison (she lives 2 hours away).  As soon as I got off of the phone with her, I had my first real painful contraction.  Not to the point that I had to breathe through it, but definitely more of the pain that I remembered from my previous labors.  I remember walking through the kitchen and bending over the kitchen chair while having that contraction and then saying, "That one hurt" when it was done.  After a few more contractions like that, I had Travis get our exercise ball for me to sit on to see if that would be helpful for me, which it was for awhile.  I also walked around our kitchen and dining area during contractions.  The contractions were still 3-7 minutes apart and lasting around 1-11/2 minutes, so I was still very comfortable at home and didn't feel the need to call the midwife yet.   Eventually they got the point where I had to really breathe through them and have Travis provide counter-pressure to my tailbone to alleviate some of the pain.  It was then that Travis strongly encouraged me to call the midwife.  I finally called the clinic around 11:30am and was able to talk with a nurse who took a message and was going to talk to the midwife on call, Denise, and have her call me back.  Five minutes later, the nurse called me back and told me that Denise suggested that I come to triage at the hospital to be evaluated.  I then called my neighbor who so graciously offered to watch the older kids for us so my mom would be able to come be at the hospital with us.  She came over and we left for the hospital around 11:55am.  It was on the way to the hospital that the contractions started lasting around 2 minutes and were getting a little closer together.  I think I waited until the perfect time to go to the hospital:)

We arrived at Meriter around 12:25pm and walked up to triage in the birthing center.  I got changed into my labor gown that my mom made for me and the midwife came in to check on me.  I asked her if she was busy and she told me that she was extremely busy, the busiest she had ever been actually and that she may have to call in the back-up midwife to help her out.  I didn't know if she was serious or kidding at first since there was no one else in triage and the hospital floor seemed pretty quiet, but she said that since the barometric pressure dropped with the rain that we were having, a lot of women had their water break and were just waiting around for their contractions to start.  I was a little worried if she was going to be able to be with me during my labor and delivery as I had hoped when she told me this, but thankfully everything turned out fine.  She then proceeded to check me and declared that I was 6 cm dilated already.  The nursing assistant then tried get my vitals and put me on the monitor, but the nurses quickly rushed me to a room.  While I continued to labor, two nurses got me admitted and my paperwork done as quickly as they could (apparently they knew it wouldn't take me long).  I walked around the room between contractions and leaned over a chair so Travis could put pressure on my tailbone while I was having contractions.  My mom was sitting on the chair so that it wouldn't move- she still thinks this was pretty funny and must have been a sight:).  It wasn't long and my contractions progressed to the point that I wasn't getting any break between them and I asked the nurse if I could get some IV pain medication.  She went and got Denise the midwife and she came in to evaluate me and told me that I was probably entering transition and that she was going to hold off on giving me any pain medication.  I then started to feel like I needed to push so I got into bed.  Denise checked me at 1:30 pm and told me that I was fully dilated.  She then gave me the option of breaking my water or not.  She explained that it would make things progress quicker but also be more intense.  I opted to let my water break on its own.  I had a few contractions while laying flat in bed, but since I was having so much back pain, I quickly decided that position wasn't going to work for me.  So I switched to being on all fours, which is how I spent the rest of my labor and delivery.  I'm not sure exactly what time I started pushing, but I know it wasn't long and my water broke, and then maybe 10 minutes later, at exactly 2pm, I delivered the baby.  Since I was on all fours, the midwife had me grab the baby through my legs and the first thing I said was, "You're a peanut."  I then wanted to know what the baby was since no one declared the gender when he came out.  I quickly unwrapped him from the blanket and saw that he was in fact a boy!  I then turned over and placed him on my chest.  He was beautiful and perfect in every way!