Robin was due April 15th so as you can imagine we were getting a bit impatient once 41 weeks rolled around.  I was awakened around 3am Monday morning (4/25, 41 weeks and 3 days) by what seemed to be a labor contraction but I tried to ignore it and fell in and out of sleep, waking up on occasion to some weak contractions.  That morning they continued so we called Nana Judy to come over and watch Lilly while Bill did some work and I went for a long walk.  During the walk the contractions were about 15 minutes apart but getting closer together.  We had a doctor appointment that morning and a non-stress test – when we went in for the appointment and I sat down the contractions completely stopped.  We were encouraged by some progress during the exam (3 cm, more effaced, +2 station, some membranes stripped) so I contacted Monica (our labor doula) who made me an appointment for acupuncture later in the day to get things rolling.  On the way I stopped by the mall and walked for awhile – contractions were 8 to 12 minutes apart.

That evening Bill and I went to Somerset to walk around and contractions steadied around 10 minutes apart (lasting about 40 seconds).  We packed our bags and asked Nana Judy to spend the night in case things were to pick up.  We got a few hours of sleep and then I got antsy so we both went downstairs where I walked on the treadmill to get the contractions rolling again.  By about 4am I started to get more frustrated because every time I would walk the contractions would pick up but they would stop when I sat down and I was exhausted.  Tuesday morning we went for several walks and decided to call Monica, who came right over.  While we waited we called the doctor on-call (contractions were less than 8 minutes apart) and planned to head in to the hospital – but after talking to Monica changed our decision and decided to labor more at home.  Shortly after Bill and I went for an hour walk and contractions were 5 minutes apart for an entire hour – when we got home I sat down and they slowed down once again.  During this time Monica mentioned that contractions would normally persist no matter what activity I was doing and suggested that the stripped membranes may be causing them to happen only when I was active.  This was discouraging and we sent Monica home while we took care of some things and waited.  That afternoon the contractions were still under 8-10 minutes apart with some activity and we decided to call the doctor, who suggested that I should not labor at home so long since I had a previous cesarean and suggested I come to the hospital. 

Once we got to the hospital things picked up quickly.  I think I relaxed knowing that we were at the place where the baby would be born.  I was 4 cm dilated and contractions were more regular and more painful.  The nurse who checked me also noted that the amniotic fluid was low so it was a good thing we came in when we did.  We got to the room around 7:30 and felt very optimistic about things after talking to the nurse and Dr. McClosky.  The one concern was the babies heart rate, which was elevated to 188/190.  I was put on a saline IV which helped at first, but then the heart rate came back up.  At this point Bill made sure that I concentrated on the labor and told me not to worry about the heart rate so I listened to him (the doctor was concerned for a bit but eventually it did come back down).  This was how we worked throughout the labor…I relied on Bill for everything, including reminding me to breathe in and out when things got more difficult at the end. 

Monica joined us shortly after we were admitted and I can say without a doubt that we made an excellent choice having her with us.  She immediately started a series of acupuncture with electrical stimulation and this dramatically decreased the pain I was feeling.  For well over an hour I kept asking if things were okay and making sure that my labor wasn’t stalling out because the pain was so minimal.  I was sitting on the exercise ball at the time and even though I had a plan of moving around after every 2 or 3 contractions I was perfectly happy sitting right there.  Soon we found out that I was 7 cm dilated and we were all thrilled.  I think it was at this point that things became more painful.  I remember feeling absolutely exhausted but the body works in amazing ways – every time I thought I couldn’t take any more my body would give me a longer break to recover.  Bill and Monica followed my every move – Bill was just inches away from me the entire time and Monica was applying acupressure to my lower back to help with pain (it was a HUGE help). 

I remember making a lot of noise during the contractions because it was one of my ways to manage the pain.  An anesthesiologist came in during a more difficult one and asked if I wanted any pain medication – Bill likes to remind me that half way through the contraction I screamed “NO!” and she turned right around and left the room.  I had made up my mind before the labor that I wouldn’t use any pain medication because any additional medical interventions were likely to decrease my chances of having a successful vaginal delivery. 

I had not progressed any further at the next check and by this point I felt completely wiped out.  Bill and Monica were instrumental in getting me back on my feet and moving around the room to encourage things to progress.  My water broke at this point which probably helped things to progress.  As painful as this period was we were all pleased when shortly after I was at 9 cm and entering transition.  For the next 40 minutes I was basically hanging on Bill while moving my hips back and forth through contractions.  Monica applied specific points to help with a cervical lip and before we knew it I had several people helping me back on to the bed because I was ready to push.  I remember asking lots of questions to the doctor including talking about her 3 boys so I guess in retrospect I was managing the pain well.  I pushed for 30 minutes before Robin was born.  Bill announced that it was a girl and I was so happy – it just felt right.  He cut the cord and Robin was handed to me right away and I couldn’t believe all her dark hair and dark features.  It took us about an hour to be sure of the name but there were no other options in my mind because it suited her so well. 

If Robin had made her move just a few hours later I likely would have wound up having another c-section (we had a backup c-section scheduled for the morning of the 28th).  The labor left me with some tearing (level 2 of 4) and I completely blew what seemed to be the majority of the blood vessels in my face while pushing (actually scared myself when I first looked in the mirror), but I was glowing and so so happy.  The labor was one of the most amazing journeys of my life.  Looking back I had a team of people (chiropractor, acupuncture, doula) helping to ensure the birth that we wanted and I felt so blessed that everything worked out exactly that way. 

Our time in the hospital was wonderful aside from the fact that I seemed to have contracted a bit of Lilly’s stomach flu and had terrible diarrhea from Thursday through Sunday.  We immediately noticed how different our girls were.  Robin was an ‘easier’ baby and had much darker features.  It took us about 2 weeks before we noticed how similar they actually look.  Having two little girls is an amazing thing and we look forward to sharing our journey on this blog.