In which we learn why labor is named thus.

This post has been a long time coming.  I've wanted to write it down but I've either been to emotional to finish, or too distracted by life.  I decided to put other things aside on this Mother's Day and record the story of the events surrounding our little lady's birth, as remembered and experienced by myself.

After doing quite a lot of research and reflection, I decided that what made the most sense for me was  to have a minimal intervention, unmedicated birth.  I hoped I'd start labor on my own, and I did a lot of reading about the stages of labor and how to know when it was "time."

I was going have my baby after my due date- or at least I had convinced myself that I would.  I didn't want to experience the anxiety associated with waiting for baby to come around the due date, so I mentally added two weeks to that date.  At my 38 week checkup (a Wednesday) I wasn't showing any signs of progress toward delivery.  We scheduled my next appointment for the following Friday since my doctor was going to be on vacation for several days.  I figured baby would come in about 3 weeks.

Here I am at 35 weeks pregnant.

Late on Friday night, I started feeling some low back pain that kept me from falling asleep.  This happened every now and then during my pregnancy, as did insomnia, so I wasn't really worried about it.  I just used a heating pad as usual to try to get some relief.  It was taking me a long time to feel relaxed and tired, and just before I was finally ready to catch some Zzzz's I observed that I was showing some early labor signs.  I panicked for a moment, but remembered that this probably didn't mean that baby was coming immediately, so I calmed myself down and decided to try and get some sleep.  This was difficult because the pain continued when I laid down, but I discovered if I elevated my head it eased up a bit, so I finally got a little sleep.

On Saturday, I figured I'd better start preparing for baby's arrival in earnest since it was looking like she'd come closer to my due date than I expected.  I did important things like make hair bows, create two new playlists for labor, tidy up the nursery, and other things of supreme importance.  Early labor signs continued.  That night Bill and I started watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy, just because.  I did call my doctor's office to see if I could get some advice, but the answering system just said to go to L&D if you thought you were in labor.  I was pretty sure that wasn't necessary so I just relaxed that evening.

I was feeling optimistic about getting a good night's sleep and going to church in the morning, but when I laid down I would feel pain in my hips and couldn't sleep, even in a more upright position.  I became frustrated to tears, and sweet Bill caught on and offered to get out pillows and blankets and sleep on the couch with me.  I managed to get comfortable enough with him there to get some sleep. 

I did not make it to church the next morning, on account of having not slept much in the night.  Bill filled in for my calling as primary chorister.  The rest of that day I tried to relax and I ate when I had an appetite and managed to take a little nap.  Hip pain continued, though I did get some relief when we sat on the couch to watch our movies.  Bill gave me a massage before bed, but again, I couldn't sleep.  I started to notice that the hip pain definitely came in waves, so I tried to time the pains, thinking that perhaps they were contractions.  They would happen every 10 minutes or so, and according to what I had read even if they were contractions, it still wasn't "time."

I think it may have been that night that I asked Bill to give me a blessing of comfort.  I was very concerned that since I wasn't sleeping I might not have the strength to give birth, especially without medical interventions like I was so intent on doing.  In the blessing he said that I would have the strength I needed when it came time to give birth, that my Savior Jesus Christ understood the pains and emotions I was experiencing, and  that I had been entrusted with the life of this particular spirit.  I did find comfort in those words, as well as a sense of wonder, awe, and humility.

The next 36ish hours are a little bit of a blur.  I slept very little, did some easy chores around the house, felt confusion over the hip pains, had an appetite on and off, took showers at odd hours to get some pain relief.  During the day on Monday I was able to use my relaxation techniques to get a good nap in spite of the pain. The highlight of every day was our nightly movie watching time, because I got to be with my husband, and sitting upright eased the pain substantially. 

On Tuesday night things got intense.  It hurt to go to the bathroom because I was feeling so much pressure.  The pains in my hips had started to feel like a very strong person was squeezing my hips from behind, trying to break them.  Soon, the pain became constant.  Now you might be thinking "why didn't you go to the hospital?  Or wake your husband?" The answer is that it didn't even occur to me.  The pain was all consuming.  Also because I'm a rather reserved, private person and I don't like to inconvenience others, and I generally deal with difficult things on my own.  So I just sat in the rocking chair in the nursery trying not to stay relaxed, and for the first time in my pregnancy, I felt angry at my tiny baby for causing me so much pain.  In hindsight, I think I may have been in transition at this point.

After several hours of this, things calmed down very slightly.  I took a shower and got in bed, but didn't sleep.  The pain continued to subside, but I was pretty sure I was in some stage of labor.  I laid in bed until Bill woke up, which was pretty early.  He started timing contractions for me.  They were anywhere from 4-17 minutes apart, so we figured it wasn't quite time yet.

Bill decided to go ahead and go to work.  I ate a little, then knelt on the bed with my legs tucked underneath me, leaned against the headboard, and feel asleep.

I don't know how long I was asleep, but when I woke up around 9 I realized I was noticeably damp.  I evaluated myself for signs of bladder leakage and didn't find any.  I texted Bill about this discovery.  He called my doctor's office.  They told him we should go to the hospital.

He came home and we packed up a couple of last minute items into the hospital bag.  I changed clothes and tamed my bangs, and decided to skip doing my hair.  Bill put our things in my car, and we were on our way to the hospital.  What a long, painful drive that was!  I could no longer sit without feeling substantial pain.

(This story will continue in another post.)