Ian's Birth Story, Part 1

"Labor Day", Day 1, 2-21-11

Now that our baby boy is almost 2 weeks old, I'm finally getting around to recording his birth story. And it's a different story than I was expecting to record. It may be my Type A personality or my desire to be in control of my life circumstances at all times, but this time I was planning on a "textbook labor". I should've learned my lesson with Molly's birth story that there is no "textbook labor". You can read her story by clicking here.

Based on Molly's fast-paced 10-hour labor, I was expecting much of the same this time. In the weeks leading up to my due date, the midwives kept commenting on my short first-time labor and that they predicted this one would be in the 6-7 hour range. One midwife went so far as to fully brief Eric on emergency delivery in the car or at home, saying that, if I waited around at home too long, that might be necessary. (Yes, we were both sufficiently freaked out by that possibility!) They noted that I should not wait until the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart to call them. Instead, I should call when they were 8-10 minutes apart so they could get ready. All of this was getting me geared up for a speedy delivery that was never to be.

I started getting that "labor day" feeling on Monday morning, February 21st (40 weeks and 2 days). Around 5am, I started to have strong, regular, Braxton-Hicks-like contractions. I'd been having B-H contractions since about 17 weeks, but I could tell these were a little different. They were coming about 10 minutes apart and some were quite strong, but after I got up, had breakfast and started getting ready for the day, they really tapered off. The plan was for me to go to school for the first 3 class periods to help transition my maternity leave sub into the daily routine. Then Eric and his mom (who Molly calls GG) would bring Molly and pick me up at school to go to my scheduled prenatal appointment at the birth center. Throughout the morning at school, I kept having these randomly spaced Braxton-Hicks-like contractions. Some were strong and some were weak. Some were as far apart as 15-20 minutes, but them some were as close together as 5-7 minutes. They were maddeningly unpredictable, especially compared to the every-4-minutes-like-clockwork contractions I experienced with Molly's labor.

By the time we reached the birth center for my appointment at 11am, they were about 7-8 minutes apart, but still had that "early-labor" feeling like they could continue for the next several hours or perhaps several days. An exam revealed that I was 3-4cm dilated and 75% effaced and the midwife predicted that she'd see me back there sometime between dinnertime that night and dinnertime the next day. Definitely promising, especially when I was psyching myself up to hear that these early labor contractions could go on for days.

"Where's Mommy's baby?"

"Where's Molly's belly?"

We decided to get a yummy, filling lunch of chicken kabobs, rice, pitas, and hummus at American Hero, since it might be my last pre-labor meal. Well, it was at American Hero that I would mark the true start of my labor. I was standing at the counter, waiting for my order, when I felt that first true "active labor" contraction. For those of you who've experienced it, you know it's hard to mistake false labor contractions for the real thing once you feel it. You just know! I was leaning over with my hands on the lunch counter, breathing my way through this contraction, and the poor woman behind the counter was looking very concerned. In her thick accent, she asked, "Ma'am, are you ok?" "Yeah, fine, just in labor." "You're having a baby? NOW?" "Yeah, just early contractions." "Oy! Good luck!" And then the contraction was over, I grabbed my food and we continued with our lunch. I think she thought that I was pretty much crazy. That was somewhere between 12:30 and 1:00pm. And so my labor began...Hour 1.

Breathing through contractions...I don't think Molly noticed a thing.


Once we got home from lunch, the contractions picked up in intensity, but were still somewhat erratic. They ranged from 6-10 minutes apart. I called the birth center, just to let them know that I really was in labor. They advised me to take a nap, go for a walk, and keep them updated on my progress. Well, TWO naps, TWO walks through the neighborhood, and a hearty dinner later, the contractions were becoming very intense. By 6:00, I was unable to walk or talk through them and I had to concentrate very hard in order to relax my way through each one. I was leaning into Eric or on the counter, leaning over the birthing ball, or down on all fours. However, the contractions were still maddeningly erratic. There were stretches when they were 3-4 minutes apart, some lasting 70-80 seconds or double-peaking, but then there were random stretches that were 6, 7, sometimes 10 minutes apart.
Molly keeps playing. Mommy has contractions.


I found this pattern frustrating, but there was another complicating factor weighing on my mind; I was positive for Group-B strep, or GBS + as they say in the birthing world. That meant that I had to have at least one dose of antibiotics 4 hours before the birth. Since I'd already been in active labor for 5 hours, and Molly's entire labor lasted only 10 hours, I felt like the clock was ticking. As much as I wanted to labor at home as long as possible, I figured we'd better get to the birth center. I called the midwife on call, Leigh Ann, and we agreed to meet at the birth center at 7:30pm to be checked and get my first dose of antibiotics. So we packed up the car, I kissed Molly goodnight, and off to the birth center we went.


...To Be Continued...