May 1 - May 3

As April ended and May began, I was feeling pretty confident that I was ready for the baby.  The rooms were done, the clothes were sorted, remaining supplies were purchased.  In fact, one day after I ran a few baby-related errands, I came home and announced to Steve, "I am ready for the baby." 

That said, I had no idea that she would actually come this early.  I was hoping that I could be organized enough at home, so that I could focus on work for a few weeks and finish up the grading for the semester and tie up a few research projects before she actually arrived.  Sure, my belly was growing, sometimes I felt a little tired or awkward, but mostly I felt good.  I was ready to ride out the last month of pregnancy ....

That was the plan, until I went to bed fairly late on Tuesday May 1st.  Earlier in the evening, I was eating dinner and playing cards with some of the moms from Carolyn's school.  I got home around midnight, decided to take a long hot shower, and snuggled up next to my husband in bed.  Not more than an hour or two later, I woke up thinking I had just wet the bed.  I sort of chuckled to myself because earlier in the evening the moms I was with were all talking about embarassing stories of peeing their pants during late pregnancy.  By the time I walked to the bathroom, I realized that I was not peeing my pants.  Nope.  MY WATER HAD BROKEN.  I went back to the bedroom and started throwing a few things in a bag since I knew I would be going to the hospital sooner than later.  Steve woke up at that time and asked what I was doing.  My response?  THE BABY IS COMING.  His response?  NOT YET.  COME BACK TO BED.

We both took a few moments to wake up and digest what was going on.  I called the midwife on-call and she said that I needed to come into the hospital, since the baby was considered preterm, and to not wait at home.  So, Steve ran into his office to pick up his computers -- knowing that his work was going to be disrupted for a few days.  I emailed a few people cancelling appointments and meetings that I knew I would not be able to do.  I fretted for a moment when I realized that I had still not received, let alone graded, the fnal paper from my 28 grad students.  Oh well.   I bit the bullet around 3am and called my friend Nikki, who said that I could call her in the middle of the night if I needed any help with Carolyn.  When she groggily picked up her phone, she said, "Are you just testing me because you should not be having a baby yet!"  Before the sun came up, Steve was back from the office, Nikki arrived at our house (to watch Carolyn), and Steve and I were on our way to the hospital.

The triage nurse confirmed that I had not peed my pants, that indeed I was leaking amniotic fluid, and that I earned an admission to Labor and Delivery.  The only problem .... I was not in labor.  No real contractions at all.  Given that my water had broken and that the baby was now considered pre-term (I was 36 weeks and 1 day), they immediately started pumping me full of IV fluids and antibiotics.  They gave me a shot of steroids to boost the baby's lung functioning, as part of some clinical trial that I was eligible for. The baby's heart rate was being monitored, and another monitor was attached to my belly to measure contractions. But not much action.  At all.  The monitors showed a happy, healthy baby with no real distress and a happy healthy uterus not really ready to go into labor.  At that time, the sun was starting to come up.  It was clear that nothing was going to happen fast, so Steve ran home and explained to Carolyn what was going on.  He dropped her off at school, where he ran into another parent who agreed to take Carolyn's carseat and said that she would pick her up in the afternoon and let her spend the night at their house.  Phew.  Carolyn was covered for at least the next 24 hours.  Steve came back to the hospital.  Then, we both waited and waited and waited. We napped.  And, we joked that it was like we were on vacation, with absolutely nothing to do.  It was kind of nice.

At about 3 in the afternoon - nearly12 hours after we had been admitted and still no sign of any notable or consistent contractions - I asked my midwife what the options were.  She gave me three options -- 1) Pitocin (which would be administered via IV and would give me very intense contractions, which may or may not lead to a favorable delivery.  I was very against this), 2) Cytotek (which was something that I would take orally which was supposed to help my cervix soften), and 3) Nipple Stimulation.  I asked about the third option, thinking that it was not really a viable option to get labor started.  Basically, they were going to give me a breast pump and instructed me to put it on one breast at a time to simulate a contraction, take it off, wait a few minutes, and then repeat on the other side.  OK.  I was not convinced that it would work (nor was she frankly), but I figured it would buy me some time before we had to talk about the dreaded Pitocin option again.

Guess what?  It totally worked.  Within a few seconds of turning on the breast pump, there was a contraction.  I felt it in my belly and could see it on the monitor.  I let it peak, then turned off the breast pump.  I repeated on the other side. Another contraction.  Perfectly spaced.  Ah.  The nurses and midwives were as impressed as I was.  After I had a series of 6-8 breast pump induced contractions, I would let my body do it on its own.  It would have a couple of contractions and then peter out.  So, I continued with the breast pump until my body was more fully ready to do it on its own.  I believe they said I officially went into active labor around 8pm.  Steve and I watched a movie. I walked up and down the halls a lot.  Then, as the contractions became a bit more intense, I napped or meditated.  At one point, my nurse (Michelle) asked if I wanted to sit on a ball.  I bounced there for a while.  It felt good to sit upright.  Then, my midwife (Claudia) asked if I wanted to sit in the tub.  Why not?  So I sat in the warm bathtub, which felt awesome even though the contractions were getting far more intense.  Then, as one particular contraction was coming down, I realized that I felt like I wanted to push at the end of it.  Claudia quickly helped me out of the tub, started to assemble the room and pediatricians, and I realized that delivery must be getting closer.       

I admit, I delivered this baby completely naturally, with no medical intervention.  It was a beautiful and awesome experience.  I am proud to say that I was able to do this with both girls, but it was not easy.  By the time I had to push her out, I was so exhausted, probably from missing the past night's sleep and hardly eating anything while I was at the hospital.  During the final stages of labor, I practically fell asleep between every contraction and had very little energy to fully push.  They gave me some oxygen for the final couple of pushes, which helped give me a boost of energy, and soon a baby girl was delivered.  Ah.  What an awesome feeling of relief when the baby leaves your body and enters the world, and you hear your child cry for the first time.   

ELIZABETH GRACE ALTMAN

May 3, 2012

12:57am

5 lbs 14 oz

Because she was considered preterm, a team of pediatricians had to look her over to make sure her breathing was OK and that there were no other complications from her earlier-than-expected delivery.  So, after a quick plop on my chest so I could see the perfectly petite little girl, some initial observations in the labor room, Elizabeth was taken to the nursery for some more tests.  She and Steve came back a little later.  During that time, my midwife continued to push on my belly to deliver the placenta.  After she delivered it, she showed it to me -- a long umbilical cord attached to a fairly significant "organ".  She explained it all to me, and showed me exactly where the sack had broken, causing my water to beak.  It was fascinating to see that this entire thing developed during the weeks of pregnancy and allowed a human to develop within my body.  I just looked at her and said, "Wow!  It is absolutely astounding what the female body does during pregnancy and delivery."  She smiled and said, "I agree, that is probably why I chose to be a midwife."   

All said and done, we were now a family of four.  I was more tired than I had ever been in my life.  I was more elated than I ever had been in my life. I was proud.  I was in love.  And, I was so very thankful for the caring and competent nurses and midwives at the University hospital -- because they gave me a turkey sandwich and lots of warm blankets so I would stop shivering.  But more importantly, because they took such good care of me and allowed us to patiently wait until my body was ready to deliver this baby.  As a person who wants to control just about everything in my life, it was a refreshing experience to allow and trust my body to do what it has evolved to do.  Seriously.  Childbirth and pregnancy are probably the most awe-inspiring things I will ever do in my life.  There is no drug, no thrill, no physical challenge that can top the emotions I have felt during the pregnancies and deliveries of my two girls.