That's the way.

I did it.

I carried and delivered a beautiful baby girl and I did it my way. I had a goal of my "ideal birth" and I can't believe that it really worked out just as I had hoped and planned. Except for maybe being awake all night...

After everything that happened having Scotty I thought it wouldn't be possible, but with determination, great support, lots of love and prayers and two fabulous nurses (and a few on the spot doctors!), we did it.

Alyssa Leanne Larsen

8/14/10, 8:04 am

7 lb, 7 oz

19.75"

Hair: indeterminate. Some parts are dark, some pieces are lighter, some parts seem reddish, and her eyebrows and lashes are very light. Definitely has some curl!

If you want the story, keep reading. Otherwise, more pictures to come soon! Nana is going crazy with the camera.

Interesting how things that have so much in common can be so different. This delivery was completely different from Scotty's from start to finish. After three and half weeks of low grade labor I had been making slow progress but was getting pretty tired of contractions every afternoon and all night long. Last week I was dilated 3 cm and feeling very optimistic about an early delivery. I had actually packed all the bags and owned a nursing bra (unlike last time). At my doctor's appointment Friday morning I was exactly the same, though the doctor assured me that my body looked ready for labor and it could still happen. She said we would talk about scheduling an induction next week. Despite the discouragement I had a full day and took Scotty to the children's museum on a culture pass. Little did I know as I was hunched over crawling through kid sized tunnels that a few hours later I would be in full blown labor!

Eric came home from work and could tell I was feeling discouraged. He decided to take me on a nice night out, get my mind off NOT having my baby. I picked chinese food and we ended up eating at Pei Wei. While enjoying my lo mein I had three very painful contractions but didn't think too much of them--I'd been having contractions every five minutes for hours every night for weeks. We walked down to Coldstone to redeem Scotty birthday ice cream and headed home. After we got home I realized that I was still having contractions and they were definitely stronger than normal. Eric called my mom to come over and sit on the couch (Scotty was asleep) so we could go for a walk and see if they kept going. We ended up taking a nice stroll all around the park. By the time we got home at 11pm I was pretty sure I was in labor but didn't know how quickly it would progress. My contractions had been about 5 minutes apart since 9pm and didn't seem to get closer but they all hurt! At midnight I send Eric to bed to get some rest while he could and I stayed up talking with my mom for awhile longer. At 1 am she convinced me to try to lay down and doze between contractions. I managed to feel peaceful at times but at 1:40 they were way too painful to handle lying down. I woke up a very dazed husband and told him it was time for Phase 2.

"Phase 2?" he says, looking at me with blurry eyes. "Yes, love. As in, I can no longer pace the floors of our house in the middle of the night. I need more options. It's time to go to the hospital."

We woke up a dazed little Scotty and my mom shuttled him over to spend the night with his Papa while we headed to the hospital downtown. We checked in a 2:30 and when they checked me at 3:15 they congratulated me on being 6 cm dilated! Things were going well, I was having strong contractions every 2-3 minutes but handling them well. Feeling pretty confident we talked about my plans for pain management and intervention. I made a special request for one of the rooms with a tub and waited a bit longer to get settled while the room was being cleaned. I owe a special prayer for that tender mercy! I never would have made it without the tub.

In the process of checking in, transfering, and getting settled my contractions backed off a bit but I was still having strong frequent contractions. Still, I was discouraged when they checked me at 5:30 (2 hours later) and I was still at a 6. I saw my ob doctor on call and wasn't very impressed with his attitude. I got the impression that he doubted I was in "true labor" and was going to be stuck at a 6 unless he intervened. Fortunately (and I never thought I would say "thank you" for this!) I test positive for group B strep and have to have two doses of antiobiotics before delivery. I still had two more hours before I was "cleared" to get my second dose, so the doctor was forced to give me two hours of grace before he could break my water or give me pitocin (2 things I really didn't want!). At this point I was feeling VERY tired and decided to get in the tub. Either my labor would keep going or pick up, or I would be able to rest a little and have the energy to keep going. My contractions definitely didn't stop in the tub but it was much easier to relax. I think they hurt as much as they had before, but I later realized they must have been much stronger. My nurse was great and made sure to work with my doctor to let me do things my way. She used wireless, waterproof monitors that I wore right into the tub and kept me from being tethered down. And she was so encouraging and complimentary! I really felt like she believed I could do it and was there to help me.

I got out of the tub after about 40 minutes as I coud tell I was getting pretty warm, and right before I got out I was hit by the mother of all contractions. I went from managing to suddenly light headed, vomiting, and uttering the infamous words: "I don't think I can do this!" Eric was extremely supportive and kept telling me I was making great progress and that I was almost there and that I was doing wonderfully. Sometimes I believed him but it was still very important to hear that :o)

Out of the tub I could tell my contractions had gotten much more intense and practically on top of each other. Transition is famous for all sorts of things and I think it lives up to its reputation. It's hard to keep going when you have 6 contractions in a row and each one leaves you wondering how on earth you can keep going. That said, it would take too much energy and will power to scream or cry, and I definitely could have sat still for an epidural at that point! They wanted to check me and I finally gave up waiting for a break to get more comfortable as it was clear there was no stopping. I said to myself "if I'm still at a 6 then I'm done. I'm getting the epidural and I'm getting some sleep!" At this point it was just before 7am and I had been up all night. Fortunately I was a definite 9, which gave me a glimmer of hope that I could hold out with this through one more hour. My "clear" time for delivery was 8am so I tried to stay optimistic and listen to the encouragement from my mom and Eric.

The last half hour wasn't what I would call pretty. I had to keep changing positions and needed all the hands on support I could get from people pushing on my back or holding me up or doing whatever seemed to provide any relief in the moment. The shifts changed and my nurse, Helen, decided to hang around to keep helping because I was so close. She also handpicked my delivery nurse, Dawn, who was an angel for me. They told me to tell them when I felt the urge to push as that would indicate that I was complete and/or the baby had descended. I felt pressure with each contraction but because I was so numb with Scotty I wasn't sure what "the urge to push" felt like. Imagine my surprise when suddenly something was there and it was coming out and I couldn't stop it! Eric had been holding me up and I yelled for him to catch it. His ninja reflexes (honed by hours of NCAA '09 this past week) got him to catch it quickly while we looked around in a panic for either of the nurses, who had stepped out to page my doctor. When they rushed back in, Eric handed the water sac to the nurse, and stepped back before it slipped out and broke on the floor. It felt so dramatic, like you see in the movies with a sudden gallon of water splashing on the floor!

They checked me and realized the baby had descended and was a +2 and ready to push. It was probably 7:30am so I was almost in the clear for delivery. Not that they could have stopped me from pushing if they'd tried! The ob shifts had changed, and in all irony the doctor on call was the doctor I had seen at my appointment the day before. The nurses paged her but she didn't respond so they contacted my previous ob on call. He had just started a c-section in the OR and couldn't come either! So I got a polish resident doctor (who actually had been a practicing doctor in Poland before training here in the US and had lots of experience) and another resident. He was wonderful in listening to what I wanted and the advice of my nurse about what was working and what was too painful. I pushed for about 30 minutes, nice and slowly, and only when I felt I needed to and how I needed to, and it was so different from the "hold your breath and count to 10" approach from last time. The longest I ever pushed was 2 seconds and the doctor was very patient and encouraging. My nurse Dawn was a life saver here. She kept reassuring me that my baby was doing great and there was no rush. She kept telling me to push how I felt I needed to and when I needed to and to just trust my body. She kept saying "that's the way" and it was so calming and encouraging to know that everything was going perfectly. I was definitely ready to get the baby out but I also could tell what my body could handle. They also hurried to get the second dose of antibiotic in so they didn't need to do any additional tests on her. In the end I had a short tear and a slightly bizarre abrasion but nothing like the trauma of last time!

And here's the best part. I didn't hemhorrage! My uterus kept contracting the way it was supposed to. I delivered the placenta (and a very short umbilical cord!) and my body just kept doing everything it was supposed to. I got to hold my baby right away, in all her gooey, smurf-colored glory. They didn't even weigh her for an hour, until after the doctors were done working on me. It was so nice to just have her gentle weight on my chest and her eyes wide open looking peacefully up at me. A little piece of heaven!

This is probably the longest birth story ever. I think I'm just still feeling fortunate that I actually remember everything about this one! I'll post soon about what I think are the important things for successful natural childbirth.