Birth Revisited.. DD#1 part 1.

Ever watch "A baby Story" If you have ever been pregnant I bet you have! When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I used to watch those shows any chance I got, and what I took away from them was that BIRTH SUCKED! that it was scary, that is was cold and mechanical, and heartless and pretty much the equivalent of an alien abduction, the lights, the constant Vaginal probing, the people in scrubs yelling at you to push! I was soooo not looking forward to that, but I figured well, I guess that's how birth is.

Then another show came to town.. anyone remember "house of babies" The show was the equivalent of those birth shows but all done in a well established birthing center, the women seemed relaxed, happy, the main midwife was kind of a bully at times but you could tell she genuinely loved her patients and the joy of the water births , the gentle way they would come in to the world.. it opened my eyes! THAT IS WHAT I WANT, I told myself and I did research and watched videos... and started a myspace group called NON-Hospital Births.

I decided that home birth was too scary for me but that a happy medium would be a Birthing Center. After my 20th week, I happily transferred to the only birthing center we had in the county at the time. It was lovely an old house that felt very cozy, it had a small examining room, a kitchen, a huge living room/waiting area and 2 rooms for delivery, one with a HUGE tub <---I really wanted that one. And a smaller room, with a smaller tub inside a bathroom.<---I did NOT want that one, later on they added 2 extra rooms but they worked on a first come first served basis. I constantly prayed that I would get the big room lol.

Everything was well, I was a perfect candidate they did however make me take chest X-rays because I test positive for TB because medical staff can't seem to get it in their heads that in places like Mexico where I grew up if you get the TB vaccine (which is not given here <--amazing huh) then you will always test positive for TB... So against my wishes I went to get a chest x-ray so I could avoid breaking their rules and that I would be my wonderful birth. (THAT should have raised a red flag as to how much birthing centers are a joke, <--If you have had a successful and wonderful birthing center experience kudos to you! but I am realizing they hospitals and lawyers have these midwives by the ovaries, and though they mean well, they can really fuck someones birth up like they did mine by not telling you about the shit that could happen. I was new to the mom business so I was naive about a lot of things.

March 2nd 2006 at around 8:30 am my water broke, they kept drilling us that that was rare so not to worry but alas it happened to me! Just my lovely luck! You always think your water breaking means you are going to have a baby..like pronto! well WRONG! I called the midwife very excited thinking she would be like sure come one over let's have this baby! Nope! I got told to wait for my contractions to be the standard 5 minutes apart and if I didn't by 6pm to call her back.

I called My husband before I called her so he immediately rushed home and was there as soon as I got off the phone with the midwife. Ok cool, contractions lets wait, do you want breakfast? heck no! I'm having a baby I am too excited to eat! ...waiting....waiting....excitedly telling all my myspace friends that my water had broken... waiting.... dinner? nah I am too nauseous with excitement but maybe I'll drink some milk... waiting.... 6pm got here... They said ok come over so we can check the baby, I then got some contractions but I took a shower before leaving thinking. Thinking we would be coming back home with a baby we packed the car.

Off we went on that 30 minute drive that HURT LIKE HELL!!! It got contractions going all in my back. First thing they do is give me a vaginal exam, nope you are only 1 cm, (<---A good midwife would know NOT to do an exam with PROM because bacteria can get pushed in and there is a higher risk of infection. But I didn't know that) Well take some Castor oil, that will get it going and call when your contractions start... WHAT?? WTF??? Are you kidding me? I'll settle for the small room just please don't send me back home! not that excruciating car ride again!! Fine! We went back home, my husband, my mother and my preggo self... I drank the castor oil <--That stuff is disgusting! I ate a little bit and the BARF!!!!!!! yeah the castor oil came back out the wrong end.. So Castor oil was a fail.. 1am I got contractions, oh yeah I thought this is it!! Off we go to the birth center.. I get there and they STOP!!!!! I get checked Again still 1 cm... go home call me in the morning they said.WHAT?? at this point I was feeling like the driving back and forth would never end! WHY DID THEY NOT TELL ME I would not be able to stay!!!! WHY? what harm could have been done if they would have let me relax in the room and get into birthing mode.. The next morning they called me told me to come in... I figured Great! Now they will be more proactive about getting this baby out of me! We were all tired as we had not slept all night.

Off we went woo hoo At 11:30am March 3rd <--I got transferred to a hospital, more than 24 hours had passed since my water had broken and already I was branded with failure to progress... I cried and I cried, and my husband and I cried walking into that big cold hospital I felt like a cow walking to meet her cold death.... walking had become painful at that point, where's the wheelchair they show at the birthing shows I kept asking myself. We went into the hospital and they were very calm making us fill paperwork until she asked what I thought was the stupidest question, why are you here? "umm my water broke 27 hours ago? THE SHOCK in her face I will never forget, immediately they brought out a wheelchair, got me undressed strapped me to these monitors got me on an IV everything happened so fast they acted like I had a ruptured appendix lol... but in a way I felt like FK Finally! get this baby out! I am tired hungry and I want to meet her.. food? NO FOOD?? AHHH!! We were there for a while watching TV..waiting..waiting... the pitocin took action and BAM!! OMG!! The pain! the agony!! Can someone give me an epidural??? like NOW?? They didn't want to check me because of the infection so they kept feeding me Demerol, that stuff made me feel like a drunk woman in labor, I was still in pain just dizzy and more confused.. finally someone checked oh 4cm you can have your epidural now.. (oh wait I forgot the idiot nurse before couldn't get my I.V in I got pocked 20 times leaving my arm black and purple, then they had to get the anesthesiologist to finally put the needle between my knuckles. boo) WHERE THE FUCK IS THE EPIDURAL!! Yeah I was cursing like a Sailor.. and the nurse just kept saying relax you need to relax.. no YOU FUCKING RELAX!! go get my epidural... my mom and hubby were starving at that point so I sent them to eat (bastards! I am hungry too!) I got my epidural and by the time they came back I was happy.

We watched some more TV, tried to nap and all of a sudden someone came in to check on me and I started getting the shakes and started barfing, and developed a fever, they threw c-section around and boy did that scare me enough so that I composed myself, and after they checked and I was at 10cm. I started pushing, I had no feeling fro the waist down except that I felt like I was going to poop so I voiced this and the nurse said good it means you are using the right muscles. I quickly realized when the contraction machine peaked meant I had to push, it was so difficult though with me not feeling, I remember someone kept shoving an oxygen mask in my face and I just kept thinking eww I wonder if they clean this it smells funny and i kept taking it off, and they kept shoving it on me.. finally she crowned and then they said You gotta wait because the DR is at a c-section... What?? umm ok, I guess.. then I just pushed I realized I don't nee a Dr to have this baby I'm gonna keep pushing. I don't know how they did it but the DR. came in and it went from an intimate setting with my mom, husband, midwife to a party! Pediatricians extra nurses etc.. they were worried the baby would get an infection. She came out at 12:10am March 4th <--her due date :) 7lbs 10oz and they whisked her away! WTF!? are you not going to put her on my belly, let me have a moment? Nope I got to get a glimpse and they whisked her away Clint held her all the way to the special care unit but I was left behind with a hemorrhage and some stitching work to get done.

When all was said and done I was starving! The kitchen was closed (I had not eaten for 2 days!) Some nice nurse got me a frozen spaghetti dinner that I ended up not being able to stomach, and then they transferred me to my room. Thank goodness I ended up with a room to myself.. a little bit after they wheeled me as I could not walk or feel anything yet, to go see my daughter and nurse her.. I did for a bit but she was still sleepy, they poured formula on my nipple to wake her and it didn't work. She was here though and I was happy.

Continued........... in Part 2 Boobie trapped.