Chase's birthday was nothing like I had imagined. I know every birth is different, and the difference in Regen and Claire's birth were about as opposite as possible, so I was just assuming that I was either going to have a birth JUST like Regen or JUST like Claire, and boy, was I wrong.
The day started off like any other day that week - with contractions, and me freaking out that I was going to have a c-section and miss all of Regen's kindergarten activities. I had a dr. appt at 9am and Dr. Russell said that she would be fairly aggressive in scraping my membranes to make sure he was born that day. Having her already do this the week before, my hopes were NOT up at all that this was going to work, but I was willing to try anything to avoid the c-section. When I saw Dr. Russell I was already at 3cm and after she scraped my membranes, I was at a 4cm. She held off on scheduling my c-section until Thursday and said if I wasn't in active labor by 3pm that she would see me again to scrape my membranes again. She sent me in for a non-stress test since the little guy was a week over-due at that point and things with him looked great. I guess he just really liked it in there.
We headed home and I was a little more optimistic and I was still having consistent contractions every 4 minutes, but they were in my opinion.. NOT labor contractions. We ate lunch and decided to take the girls to a park so I could walk around to hopefully get the contractions stronger and closer together. I walked and walked and walked and my contractions stayed about 4 min apart and some got a little stronger, but still not in my opinion LABOR contractions. We left the park and got the girls in bed for naps and I called Dr. Russell back and let her know that I was having contractions, but I did not think I was in active labor. She told me to come back to the office, but to make sure we have our overnight bag in case she admitted me. I got pretty excited that this could be IT.. finally!
We got back into the office and Dr. Russell checked me and I was at 5cm and she could stretch me to 6cm and she sent me right down stairs to get admitted and she would break my water!!! This was it, I was going to have the baby soon! I just didn't know HOW soon it would really be.
I got checked in and hooked up to the IV. Since I was already at 6cm the nurses asked if I wanted the epidural. There was NO question that I wanted it with Claire, I was begging for it when I entered the hospital at 4cm. But this time it was different, I was feeling the contractions, but they really weren't that bad. The nurses talked me into trying it without, but since I was VBAC, I had to be hooked up to the IV and monitored continuously, so if I wanted the epidural, I could ask for it. I decided I would try it without since I was doing good at that point.
Dr. Russell then came in to break my water. There was meconium in the water which meant that Colin could not assist in the birth, and that there would be a special care team in the room when he came to make sure his lungs were ok. This also happened with Regen, so I was familiar with the procedure.
After Dr. Russell left my contractions definitely got stronger, but I felt that I could still handle them fairly easily, and in between the contractions I felt fine. I got out of bed and they were much easier to handle while standing. I wanted to try the jacuzzi tub, so the nurses filled it and helped me in. It was SO nice and really helped with the pain of the contractions. They were getting much stronger and Colin's job was to pour water over my belly during the contraction. The pain was getting a little strong, so I asked the nurse to check me and I had made the decision in my head that if I was only at 7cm I would ask for the epidural, but if I was 8cm, I could handle the rest. When she checked I was 8cm and I felt relieved, but also a little scared since I knew there was no turning back. Two VERY PAINFUL contractions later, I was pushing.. there was NO controlling it. Colin yelled for the nurse since she had left the room. She ran back in and checked me and gave me a very serious look and told me to get out of the tub, I was going to have him NOW! It was pretty difficult to get out of the tub and to the bed while pushing.. or trying NOT to push. The nurses were yelling to get Dr. Russell here NOW. Dr. Russell got into the room and 5 minutes later our sweet baby boy was here. I am sure some expletives were thrown about here and there in the last 5 minutes and I yelled for someone to shut the blinds because the sun was right in my eyes, but it was a pretty amazing experience that I would not change for anything.
I feel pretty blessed to have 3 beautiful children and to have such unique and special deliveries. I wouldn't change any one of them. Amazing!
Chase Michael Worsley
August 24, 2009
6:31pm
8lbs 120z, 22inches
Regen Marit Worsley
June 27, 2004
9:20pm
7lbs 9oz, 20 1/4 inches
Claire Anne Worsley
March 29, 2007
6:43am
8lbs 9oz, 21inches
