Sunday night the contractions didn't stop, though, so after my mom and the boys went to sleep, we filled up the birth pool and called Stephanie (my midwife and best friend) to give her a heads-up. I went and laid down with Ricky while it filled, because he had gone to sleep very cranky and I was afraid he wouldn't stay asleep. I realized about this time that I was leaking a small amount of clear fluid. I couldn't rest, though, so after a little while I got up and sat on the couch and listened to the tape of music I'd made especially for this birth. This was the first time I had included other artists besides Metallica. I was worried about waking Ricky up, so I sat on the birth ball with headphones on. Scott asked my mom to sleep in our bed in case Sam or Ricky woke up, but an hour or so later, Ricky still wanted his mommy when he woke up crying for no apparant reason. He seemed to be in pain, and I wondered if he had an ear infection. I gave him a little Rescue Remedy and we laid on the couch together. He finally slept soundly, and Scott took him back to bed.
I talked to Stephanie again and told her things were still pretty slow. Her apprentice, Carrie, lives rather far away, so she had come out to Stephanie's to wait. I told them to get some sleep, hung up, & went to the bathroom. While I was on the toilet, I had a small gush of fluid and I felt her head move down. I told Scott to call Stephanie and tell her I was ready for her to come.
Stephanie and Carrie got here around 2 am. My contractions were fairly strong but were still only about ten minutes apart. Things continued that way the rest of the night. I checked myself at one point and was completely effaced, but I wasn't sure about the dilation. Because things were going so slowly, I decided to have Stephanie double-check my assessment, and I was right in my guess that I was 7 cm. The baby's head was very low. I got in the pool and it was so wonderful, but it slowed my contractions even more. The contractions were very uncomfortable and I pushed a little with each one because of the pressure. We took heart tones with the fetoscope every few hours, and they were great; the contractions were still so far apart it was not inconvenient to lay down. A few times, Stephanie was even able to check while I stood. Stephanie and I went for a walk around 5 am. Things were still slow at this point, and Stephanie's oldest daughter was being admitted to the hospital that morning. We had hoped the baby would come before then, but she was still taking her time. I told Stephanie I didn't mind if she left to be with her daughter that morning, and Carrie agreed to stay with me. I decided to try to get some sleep between contractions, and the baby seemed to agree; the contractions slowed to about 20 minutes apart, but were still strong and woke me each time.
Sam and Ricky awoke one at a time and scooted over in the bed to snuggle. I told Sam the baby was coming. I asked him again if it was a boy or girl (he had said from the start that it was a girl, and got upset at any suggestion that it could be a boy.) Apparantly he changed his mind at the last minute, because for the first time he answered "A boy."
I got up later that morning and went to the bathroom. I checked myself and was surprised to find that the baby had backed up; the head was higher and I was no longer fully effaced. I thought this was rather amusing for the most part, but made a mental note that this could mean a tight cord. I talked on the phone with Stephanie, who was still getting her daughter settled at the hospital. I ate again, just a small amount filled me up, as it had all night. Nothing more had really changed, the contractions were the same, but my mood was different. I had been rather cheerful all night; now I was very serious. I continued to have strong contractions all morning, but they stayed at least ten minutes apart. Around noon I started to need verbal support during the contractions; I held Scott's hand and he told me how strong I was. I wanted back in the water so very badly, but the contractions were still so far apart and I didn't want to slow things down. I finally decided I would stand in the tub between contractions and only get down in the water when a contraction came. This seemed to work as the contractions didn't slow down. They were still ranging from five to ten minutes apart, but I was getting more emotional, needing more support during the contractions. Scott sat next to the pool and covered me with a towel when I stood; he was a wonderful help, and we got into a little rhythm, me throwing the towel at him as I sunk into the water, crying out in dismay so that he would know I needed to hear that I could do this, that I was strong.
Carrie called Stephanie and let her know it was time to come back; her husband took off work to stay with their daughter, and she got here around 1 o'clock in the afternoon. I had been lightly pushing with contractions again, but I couldn't feel the head moving down. I was squatting and kneeling in the water with the contractions. I quit standing between contractions. We checked the heart tones twice, and I had them use the doppler because I didn't want to get out of the water or wait to find them with the fetoscope. I checked my cervix again, and talked to Stephanie about what I could feel. The head was so low I could only feel the front part of my cervix, which hadn't seemed to change much. Stephanie suggested that maybe there was a lip in the front that was trapped, and that turning over might help. I rolled over in the water onto my back in a crab-like position, and the next contraction was more painful. After it was gone, I checked again and there was much less cervix, and I felt bulging membranes. (The earlier water was probably a hindleak.) After another contraction in that position, I felt the water break. I turned back around and faced Scott in a kneeling position. I didn't bother checking again. I started pushing again and could feel the head move down, but it moved back once the contraction was gone. The next contraction was long and I pushed the head down again.
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