I was in my 39th week and growing very impatient. There were a few questions in my mind and I didn't know how to resolve them. I didn't have loads of time on my hands so I figured the inevitable would occur - the baby would just come out regardless of the breathing techniques, positive visualizations and mental preparation. I was undecided about which hospital to give birth in because my midwife had moved her practice from Roosevelt to St. Vincent's and let me know this in December, a few weeks before my due date. I thought I might need to contend with a medical, less natural birth if I chose to go with St. Vincent's. But thank goodness I decided to stick with Christiane - Aiyana's arrival was wonderful.
That week I stayed at work and despite some false labor pains the week prior, I decided to stay working as long as I could. Christiane asked me to come into the office on January 13th because she wanted to see me before I gave birth - she wanted to make sure that she saw me instead of her partner. When she examined me, she discovered I was 2-3 cm dilated, -2 station and 70-80% effaced. I was already in the early stages of labor but felt completely fine. I knew the pregnancy could end any moment and my baby would be here. She smirked, and said, "Well, you could walk around like for another 2-3 weeks or you could give birth sooner than later. So just keep me posted and give me a call." We went over the signs of labor once more and I went home. My brother took me to the appointment and asked him to take me to my favorite Ethiopian spot to buy take out since I was so happy. The end/beginning was near!
That night I had a few back pains, but nothing I attributed to the labor. I really didn't think I was going to have contractions again. I thought I would be the person that would walk around being 3cm dilated for a while. Fritz even asked me how I was feeling and if he should go to work. I guess I was the only one in denial because the waves started about 9am or so. I decided to eat some oatmeal, watch some t.v. and let my boss know that I was going to start my maternity leave that very day, just in case. As I was watching the View (11am) I decided to go online and use somethign my friend told me about - Contraction Timer - to time what I thought might be contractions. They seemed to be getting stronger. I called Christiane around that time and let her know they were about 5-7 minutes apart and seemed to be lasting about 30 seconds or so. She told me to call her back when they were getting much stronger and to be ready to meet her later at St. Vincent's. Oh and eat some lunch. Yeah right.
I called my mom, told her I think that today is the day and to come over right away. I called Fritz and told him about the contractions and he said he was going to finish up with his patients right away and leave. The contractions kept coming and they hurt very much. I couldn't do anything and at one point was punching the wall. All I wanted to do was go to the bathroom. I knew that was a bad sign when I wanted to push and I was still home. So I held on.
My mom arrived first, got my bags together and then Fritz arrived soon after that. I was dying to get to the hospital to get this process really going and allow myself to feel it all. The ride down the West Side highway was excruciating as I felt every single bump. I continued to hit the door and asked for drugs right there. But Fritz told me no, I didnt' need them and that's not what I want so to hold on. I honestly didn't think I could do it. The contractions were becoming so much stronger.
We arrived at the hospital at 2pm. My mom went up with me to the ninth floor while Fritz parked the car. I went straight to the nurses, told them I was in labor and that Christiane would be on her way. She arrived about 5 minutes after me when I was already in my hospital gown. She examined me once more and determined I was 9 cm dilated and -1 station. I was almost there. I couldn't believe that I made that much progress at home in such little time. Lester arrived a little while after that as well as Fifi.
They put the fetal heartrate monitor on me from time to time, and an IV just in case I needed it. This was the more uncomfortable part of the labor, because I was standing up the majority of the time and this didn't allow me to put pressure on my wrist like I wanted to. And yes, I was standing up the whole time. I couldn't sit because all of my pressure was in my pelvis and i didn't see how anyone could sit or lay down at a time like this. I walked around the room a little bit, went into the shower, anything that felt good at the moment so that I could alleviate the discomfort. I asked for medication several times but Fritz and Christiane diverted my attention to other things. When my water broke, I felt such relief but then knew the baby was left.
After a few hours in that situation, I asked to squat in the bathroom. I felt like it was the only way I could be comfortable and frankly, I was tired of waiting. I was going to have this baby as soon as possible and I needed to take matters into my own hands. I asked Fritz to have my mom and Lester leave the room so we could have this moment on our own. I squatted on the toilet, and a few minutes later, I was sooo happy because I could feel a much bigger pressure in my pelvis. I started pushing but thought I should tell Chris in case the baby would fall into the toilet. LOL And I was right, she was crowning. I was moved to the bed and instructed to push some more. I pushed and pushed and Aiyana came out at 5:51pm. They gave her to me right away. She was so miraculous, and white, and pastey-looking. HA! They gave her to me and said, oh, look at what you have! And I was honestly shocked it was not a boy but so happy I got a girl! She came out crying, sucking and even peed on me once she was handed over. Everyone yelled YAY when she peed (all the organs were working) and I was taught to breastfeed. I was shocked to see her sucking reflex in full effect because she started feeding right away. I didn't know what I was doing but it felt very natural and satisfying. Fritz cut the umbilical cord and was naturally all smiles. Our little girl was here!
I then had to push my placenta out. That was an ordeal because my contractions stopped and we had to get them going again. The nurse to my left and Fritz had to stimulate my nipples to start the contractions again and it actually worked right away. It took me about 45 minutes to get the placenta out -longer than most people. While I did this the baby was being examined by the staff and Fritz was going back and forth between the baby and me. Our moms and my brother was in the hospital and were waiting outside for the news. Fritz teased them quite a bit until they were allowed to come in. Needless to say they were elated.
We were moved to another room as a brand new family. :-) We didn't name Aiyana Felicity until late that night when everyone left although I think we both knew that was her name way before the birth. We didn't choose very many boy names and the girls' list kept growing. I should have known then that she would be a girl. Hopefully we will bring many blessings to her life as much as she has already blessed ours.
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