- I will never make a joke about child birth again. Before Miss K was born, I had the house scrubbed from top to bottom. I commented that if I died in childbirth, at least the house would be clean when people came to drop off condolence casseroles for Mike. And then this happened. With Mr. A, I joked about how I wasn't going to go to the hospital until I heard crying coming from my pants. If I would have waited at home for another half hour, my joke probably would have come true...and it wouldn't have been very funny.
- I don't think I'll have the opportunity to make jokes about another child's birth because I'm pretty sure our family is complete. Part of the decision comes from how much work it is caring for the young ones, plus Joel. The other part of the decision comes from the fact that I NEVER EVER EVER want to feel that kind of pain again.
- Awhile back, I had written a post about what was the worst type of physical pain I had ever felt. Houston...we now have a winner. Although I didn't cry (which is how I normally measure whether something hurts), natural, drug-free childbirth is the hands down winner. Part of me wants to puff my shoulders up at the fact that not only did I do it drug-free, I did it in the shortest amount of time possible. Perhaps that added to the amount of pain I felt?
- The human body is absolutely amazing. Not only did my body know how to push out the baby, my body was also able to not push out a baby. What do I mean exactly? Before my doctor arrived, I was giving in to each contraction and wanting to push. While I wasn't necessarily bearing down, everything from my boobs down was doing it's best to push Mr. A out. The nurses finally pointed out to breath through the contractions so that I wouldn't push. I was amazed at how the simple act of blowing air out of my mouth was enough to control the pushing instinct. I also couldn't help but laugh at how stereotypical I must have looked with the "whooo whooo whooo" noises I was making.
- Although Mr. A's birth is obviously cause for huge celebration, I also can't help but mourn the events of his birth day. Every woman has a picture in her mind of how she wants labor and delivery to occur and I KNOW that very few of them go according to plan, but Mr. A's birth was just the complete opposite of what I pictured. I had no intentions of feeling the pain of child birth. I wanted an epidural. I wanted the delivery room to be relaxed and joking like it was during Miss K's birth. I wanted Mike to video the majority of my labor and the entire delivery so that I could see Mr. A being born. There was just no time for any of that (there was no way Mike would have been able to even hold a video camera given the death grip I had on his hand during each contraction). And, like everything else in my life, I blame myself. I ignored the initial contractions because I didn't think they were real. If I would have paid attention, we could have gone to the hospital sooner and maybe my plan (or most of it) could have happened.
- The day before Mr. A was born, I went back to my doc to have my membranes stripped again. I had a pre-natal appointment booked for 10:00am on A's birthday, but I couldn't wait that long so I went in the evening before. I can't help but wonder if I would have kept the appointment (and not gone in the day before), maybe my doc would have told me I'm 5 or 6 cm dilated and to head to the hospital...this way, there would have been time to have my birth plan play out.
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| A wee smile from my wee man |
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| Second trip to the doctor since he was born...this Mama worries...A LOT. |
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| Father and son |
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| Someone hates playing dress up... |
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| Late night snuggles with my son |
I loves these kinds of posts - the looking back the new and different perspective. Well said on all points! A suits his Mister Adorable onesie perfectly.
ReplyDeleteI think you had a fantastic birth experience! Try to focus on the positives! A lot of people would covet your experience!
ReplyDeleteI have had quick deliveries too, and it's hard to process. Plus, you can't play the music mix you made, have a calm atmosphere, etc.
I have friends who don't go into labour on their own (always have to be augmented and are overdue), have hideously long labours, or always have to have c-sections. Really, I can't complain. And in the end, birth is something we can't control. Like I said, try to focus on the positives...these are the memories you'll have for the rest of your life.