A Birth Story



Our Lucía turned 20 months last Friday. I can't say time went by fast. Actually, the 'birth story' I'm about to share feels like it happened a life ago. As I can't wait to start sharing here bits of our parenthood experience, I figured I should start from the beginning. 

Am I having a baby right in the middle of the supermarket?

My due date was November 20, 2014. In Germany, maternity leave starts six weeks before the due date. From that time, I remember I slept a lot. That was actually the number #1 advice I was given by other mothers: 'Try to sleep as much as you can now,' they would say to me. I was naturally, very nervous about labor, the water-breaking situation and the contractions. I also had ridiculous -yet, kind of understandable given my lack of experience- fears like 'what if the baby falls from the changing table or slips under water in the bathtube!?!?'

I also recall feeling the baby sliding down. One time, it was like two weeks before due date, Michael and I were doing grocery shopping. I felt the baby's head dropping so fast and deep I thought I'd be having the baby right there, in the middle of Edeka. :) It didn't happen.



Still no baby?!

During the weeks leading up to the due date, I had weekly checkups with my doctor. I also went to prenatal weekly classes with a Hebamme (German for midwife). My German was not so good back then. Thank God another mum-to-be from the group was English teacher and she translated for me :)

The due date came and still no baby. After the D-Date -it fell on a Thursday-, I was supposed to have checkups every other day. During the weekend we had them at Malteser hospital, where I was already registered for the birth. That was convenient. 

At that point, all the fears and excitement from previous weeks shifted into tiredness. I was carrying around some extra 22kg - 48.5 pounds (yeap, tell me about it!!!) and could barely move. I just wanted the baby out :) The following Wednesday, November 26, I had another checkup at the hospital. The baby was fine, but still no labor. It was time to use some natural labor estimulation. The nurse gave me a combination of herbal teas to drink during that evening. After the hospital appointment, we headed to Cancún, a Mexican restaurant, for some really spicy food.

Ok, it's time to go to the hospital!

I can't remember what we did later that night. But I do recall to wake up the next day at 6.30 am noticing that my water had broken. Michael drove me to the hospital at around 7.30am. We were surprisingly calm. I guess we were lost on the thought of having no idea about what was lying ahead of us. The doctor welcomed us in the labor station, only to discover that I had dilated 2cm. To give some perspective, you are fully dilated at 10 cm, being 1 cm per hour the average dilation rate. The doctor decided I should stay in the hospital. Michael headed to the office. I was definitely in the best hands.

Breathe!

Funny how our perception of time works. At 9am was already settled in the hospital bed, tied to a machine, which monitored the baby's heart beat. I chatted with my mother (my parents were in Spain) and some girlfriends via WhatsApp and Facebook. A nurse would stop by every hour to check on me and the baby. Time was flying by. It was 4pm when I started feeling something weird, like, intense.

Yes! After 41 weeks and more than eight hours in the hospital, I was finally having my first contractions. By 5pm Michael was back from the office.

Get me the drugs!

I wanted epidural. You have to state that when you register at the hospital for the birth (usually a few weeks before the due date). After a couple of hours of intense contractions, it was time to get the epidural. We headed to the delivery room and started the process. At that time I thought 'God, I wanna go home!' At around 9pm the drugs kicked in. I was feeling relaxed. The doctor recommended Michael to go home and get some sleep -we live only 5 minutes away from the hospital. We would call him when it was time. I closed my eyes too a few times. I also spoke with my parents via WhatsApp. They would be in our living room at home in Spain. :) I woke up at 4am. It was game time. 

I remember feeling very cold. So much so I asked if I could get like a warm tea. The Hebamme was very sweet. She said those feelings were normal. My body was undergoing a big revolution. It was time to push. Of course, no tea. At 4.10 am Michael was already with us and we got the party started.

Whenever I felt the contractions I would push. Michael was holding my hand behind me. The doctor, hebamma and nurses were so supportive and sweet.

'She has black hair!' Michael would tell me as Lu's head started peeking out.

So glad you came!

During labor, the doctor asked me if once the baby was born I wanted to hold it in my arms right away or wait until they washed it a little. I can't recall what I answered, but the moment Lucia was out, they placed her immediately on my chest. And I still remember how she was looking at me smiling while I held her. Michael would take a picture and sent it to my parents via WhatsApp.

Our Lucía was born on Friday, November 28, 2014 at 4.34 am. :) 

Cheers!

I nursed Lucía in the delivery room. We were ecstatic. Then, they moved us to another room and brought us two glasses of champagne! We had a toast but I couldn't drink more than one sip. Michael drank the two glasses. ;)

Michael's mother called him at around 9am to see how everything was going. Michael said, 'yes, Elsa is fine and Lucía too!'

Surprise!!!!!! I could hear her crying of happiness at the other side of the phone.

We would stay at the hospital another two days.

Thank you Lord for this wonderful gift. 

Hope you enjoyed our birth story. Thanks for reading! 











2 comments

  1. What a superb post. I just love it. Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great birth story. Thanks for sharing! It's always so fascinating to read how differently a birth can go for people.

    ReplyDelete

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