I had hoped to wait until Mary and Monika arrived before getting in the pool, but when Rick said it was ready, so was I and I got in. Just a couple of minutes later, at about 10, Mary walked in. She said since Monika wasn't there yet, she'd like to go ahead and check me. I asked if I had to get out of the pool and she said no (thank goodness). She listened to the baby (heart sounded good) and did a cervical exam at 10:05 p.m. She said "Oh, wow! That baby is really low; he's right there" and then "You're complete-- no, wait-- your cervix is just really thin. You're 5 cm, but he's really low."
The contractions were feeling really strong and I was a little unsure of how I'd get through another 5 cm! I told Rick that I'd forgotten how much labor sucked. Ha! Somewhere in there, Monika and Julia both arrived. I was quickly shutting down, though, and I wasn't looking at anybody except Rick sometimes and my Mom, who happened to be in my line of vision if I looked straight ahead. Oh, and the dog! Gracie was looking at me the whole time with her ears cocked up. Ready and willing to render aid!
Rick later told me that at this point, every contraction was noticeably more intense than the one before. I was making a lot more noise each time. Everything felt really intense to me and I stole a couple of looks at the clock, really wondering how I would get all the way to midnight-- and was that being too optimistic? I got out of the tub between contractions to go to the bathroom to pee and the labor train just kept on coming. When I got back in the tub, I started talking to my body, trying to convince it to ease up a little and give me a break. I said "It's ok" over and over again. And it just kept coming.
Finally, at about 10:45, I asked Mary to check me again-- I needed to know how much more there was to endure. She did and said I was 8 cm, but that the baby was really low and I'd probably feel like pushing soon and I could go ahead and do that when I felt like it. When she was done, Rick asked if I wanted my bathing suit bottoms back on (I'm modest!), but I didn't-- I knew we were close and I told my mom to go wake up the kids, but to tell them I was making noise. Sure enough, the next contraction or two were hybrids-- half like regular first-stage contractions, half with an edge of pushing contractions to them. During that time, I vaguely remember that Monika was checking the baby's heart rate. Everything still sounded good and strong.
I reached down to feel the baby's head, so I would know how far I had to push him out. I had this feeling that if I tried some pushes and could feel him making progress and descending, I could really power through the delivery. With the next contraction, I pushed two or three or four times and I felt nothing. He was exactly where he started! Not what I'd hoped for. I was on my knees-- pretty much in the same position I'd used with Mariela. I really thought I'd be more effective.
But on the very next contraction, I got out of my head, moved my hand, and gave one amazingly strong push. And I felt his head come move past my pubic bone and come out! I remember saying "there's his head!" -- but I actually don't know if the words came out of my mouth or I just thought them. I was expecting to have a good pause between the delivery of the head and the rest of the body, and was even starting to wonder why everybody wasn't commenting on the head, when WHOOSH! It felt like someone grabbed the baby and PULLED him out as fast as they could. I couldn't believe that was happening-- I knew Mary and Monika would never do that! But I felt it! I was so confused, but also elated that I was done! No more labor! He was here! About an hour after the midwives arrived and two and a half after active labor began. And 59 minutes before his due date.
The next thing I knew, the baby was crying and Mary was telling me he was breech. What?! None of us had expected that! My labor notes even indicate twice that he was vertex (the hard round thing Mary felt turned out to be a butt, not a head!). Cara was holding him and I twisted my way free of the cord-- which had a true knot! This crazy baby came out backwards and with a true knot in his cord. Can you believe it? He got APGARs of 9 and 9 and was clearly a healthy guy. He looked nothing like my kids! A full head of dark brown hair and super chubby cheeks. I do grow cute babies. Welcome, baby Leo!
Because of our umbilical cord tether, Cara handed Leo back to me and we all made our way back to my bedroom-- me, Cara, and a parade of husbands and kids and other folks. Once back there, I handed Leo back to Cara and Andie helped me get a dry shirt. We all settled on the bed to deliver the placenta and to check out the baby some more. When the placenta came, Rob cut the cord, and then Mary and Monika checked it thoroughly, because we expected to see the twin we lost midpregnancy with it. They found a large infarcted area of the placenta (new word for me-- means clotted), which we thought was the other twin's placenta, but no evidence of the twin herself. Mary called Dr. Berry (the maternal fetal medicine specialist) for advice and he said the remnant of the baby was probably layered within the placenta. We decided to send it to the hospital pathology lab for more answers. [Today we got the pathology report-- the discolored area on the placenta was actually the other twin.]
Mary and Monika also checked me out for any tears that needed repair. I had one small laceration ("like a papercut") that would heal itself, which was pretty incredible, considering that according to everyone, Leo had literally shot out of me like a cannonball! Cara and the midwives were all on standby ready to catch and nobody caught him-- he just went straight into the water because it was so super-fast. The midwives weren't even sure what they were seeing. Mary thought he was presenting with a nuchal hand (hand by the head), which she eventually realized was a foot! She thinks he was "incomplete breech," which means one leg was straight up by his head (frank breech) and the other was crossed in front of his body (complete breech). In her entire career, Mary has had one other missed breech birth-- in 1979!
After the cord was cut, the Leo family headed to
the guest room and I stayed in my room. The midwives shuttled back and
forth, learning how to do separate baby and delivering-woman care-- a
new experience for them. Cara nursed Leo for something like two hours,
which was awesome, but meant we all had to wait in suspense for his
weight. And in the meantime, he apparently had a huge meconium poop
that definitely lightened him up a bit! But when all was said and done,
he was 7 pounds, 9 ounces and 20.5 inches long. And adorable.
Mary and Monika are still reeling from the delivery-- missed breech is a pretty big deal. If they had known ahead of time, I would have had to try an external version (unlikely to work so late in pregnancy) or go straight to c-section. And even though that's her standard of care, Mary said "Wouldn't it have been a shame to get a c-section for that?" I asked what would have happened if she'd realized he was breech on the first cervical check and she said she would have advised me to transport, which would have meant a probable delivery in the ambulance, given how fast everything went! Or, if not, a c-section with whomever was on-call at the hospital. Ick! I am so grateful that everything worked out the way it did. We had a fast, safe delivery that resulted in a healthy baby. As I write this, three days postpartum, I don't even feel like I delivered a baby. It's probably my easiest recovery yet (though I'm trying to remind myself to take it easy anyway!).
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