Birth Story--Makena June!

On June 11th, I went into the doctor because I was not feeling any movement all day and needed to know baby was ok. They checked me and said I was still only 1cm and the ultrasound showed that,while she was not moving a lot, she was still moving her fingers and toes. I decided that I just needed to be more patient--my due date was 2 days away and I knew that didn't mean much anyway.

The next day, I went to work and felt fine until 10am when contractions started but were mild and very inconsistent. I called Ryan when I left work to tell him that I had been having contractions and of course he got super excited. The same pains happened until midnight and I finally fell asleep. I woke up at 7am and realized the contractions stopped. Ryan stayed home from work because we thought this was still going to be the day. We took walks and hung out with my mom all day, but the contractions we very inconsistent and not getting any stronger. At night, they stopped again!
Friday came and Ryan went back to work. My mom and I walked all morning and the contractions started getting more consistent. At about 3:30pm, I called Ryan to tell him they were about 7 minutes apart. He got home from work around 5pm and they were 5.5 minutes apart and getting stronger. I couldn't even eat dinner so we knew it was probably the real thing! We called our doula but by the time she got to town, we had to meet her at the hospital. I checked in at 8pm with contractions about 3 minutes apart. I was 5cm and handling the contractions very well.

They checked me 2 hours later because I wanted to get in the labor tub. The nurse told me I was 9.5cm!!! That felt awesome! I didn't even know anything was happening and I had made so much progress. My doula thought something was wrong because I didn't even go through transition.
Ryan and I got in the tub and labored for a bit. We got out and walked and bounced on the ball until my water broke at midnight. I was having a lot of back pain so my doula rubbed my back forever! The doctor checked me again at 2am. She looked at me and said, "I am sorry but you are only 8.5cm." I was so sad! The nurse earlier told me the wrong thing and I had done all that work for 4 hours thinking I was going to start pushing at any time. My doula and husband were so instrumental in keeping me sane and focused after this setback. They rubbed my back all night nonstop! The doctor checked me again a couple hours later and said I was at 9cm and there was about to be a shift change. My least favorite doctor was coming in. I was very disappointed and extremely exhausted emotionally. I got very quiet and focused all my energy in getting my baby out!

Things got serious around 8am and the nurse started prepping everything and monitoring me more regularly. At 9am, I was 10cm and could start pushing! I started practicing (I thought I was actually pushing at the time). I tried 2 different positions before settling into backwards kneeling on the bed. I pushed that way for about 1.5 hours and couldn't do it anymore. I was pushing 3 times every contraction and felt like I was doing so much, but I wasn't. I laid on my back and they held my legs...the exact position I was trying to avoid...for the rest of the time. I pushed for another 2 hours and the baby was just bobbing in and out. I was frustrated and exhausted so I begged for something to help. My doctor, who ended up being a great labor coach, suggested the vacuum, c-section, or resting and trying again later. I didn't want c-section because there was no need for it. I couldn't rest because the contractions were pushing for me too much. I decided the vacuum was the extra help I needed. It attached the very first time and I pushed only about 5 more times and she was out! Makena was born on June 15th at 12:47pm. The vacuum was the only thing that was not on our birth plan, but I still do not regret it. We were both healthy! After 2 days of random contractions and 25 hours in active labor, I just wanted to meet our baby