On Tuesday, Dec. 29, I had my 39 week appointment. I had to see a NP instead of my midwife because my midwife, Cheryl Pearce, was not in the office due to being on vacation...or so I thought. Anyway, I went in to see a very nice NP and was told I was 1cm dilated and 40% effaced. I went home and decided to take castor oil (even though every person I had asked about it had warned me against it). It was my brothers last night staying with us and if taking the castor oil could send me into labor then he would be there conveniently to stay with Malachi and Zoe. If it didn't start labor than at least it would clear out my system. ;)
So here is the timeline:
2:00pm Took 2 Tablespoons of castor oil mixed in orange juice which was no where near as gross as many on the internet made it out to be. My research said to take 2-4 T and I did play it safe and stuck to the lower end.
3:30pm - 5:00pm Took a nap, nothing was happening.
5:30pm We decided to go get food at Open Sesame. Wound up getting it to go cause I was beginning to feel sick to my stomach.
6:45pm Got home, tried to eat but didn't feel well. I only had 3 small bites of my favorite restaurant food, big red flag...
7:oopm Went to the bathroom...got cleared out from the bottom end but still felt icky.
7:30pm Went to the bathroom...got cleared out from the top end...can't remember the last time I threw up like that...felt much better! That was the end of the bathroom escapades for me so not too bad. :)
8:00pm Feeling contractions every 2-4 minutes but nothing intense.
9:00pm-ish Started packing hospital bag just in case. Big difference from my first pregnancy...I think the bag was packed 2 or 3 weeks before I delivered :)
11:30pm Went to the hospital. Contractions were still relatively minor but consistent enough that I wasn't really sleeping and due to Zoe's labor only lasting 4 hours we were concerned about getting to the hospital in time.
12:00am Got to Kaiser, checked in at triage and found out my midwife, Cheryl Pearce, was there until 8am! (If you are unfamiliar with Kaiser...you can see the same person throughout your pregnancy but will be delivered by whoever is at the hospital) She checked me and I was only 3cm. We chose to walk around for an hour...which turned into a little longer, I really did not want to be sent home.
2:30am Got checked again. 4cm, 80% effaced. We opted to have Cheryl strip my membranes and walk some more.
4:30am Got checked again in triage, 5cm, so we got admitted! Yay!
5:00am My contractions were still a little inconsistent so we had Cheryl break my bag of waters...I was trying to get this baby out before 8am. :) Cheryl asked if she could pray for us, so we held hands with her and one of my nurses while she prayed for a safe delivery!
5:30am I was having back labor and decided to get in the shower. Stayed in there about an hour. It felt great on my back but I could still tell the contractions were not intense enough ie I had not hit transition yet.
7:00am Got checked...7cm...Cheryl had me turn on my left side and showed Kurtis how to apply counter pressure. She said it would help my contractions work more efficiently...boy was she right! Cheryl started dressing to deliver me and Kurtis later told me he was a little doubtful that I was that close to delivering but then again Cheryl proved to be correct!
7:50am-ish Cheryl had me get on my elbows and knees and asked me to try pushing. I was a little leary when she said it but I went ahead. After 2 pushes she told Kurtis to look. He says he expected to see Shiloh's head crowning and was shocked to see her head was out. One more push and she was out, with Kurtis helping to deliver her!
Shiloh Grace was born at 7:59am on December 30. 1 week before her due date(good thing since she was already 8lbs 10oz), before the new year, delivered by my midwife before 8am, and as if that wasn't enough blessing...I didn't even tear! This was one of the biggest blessings considering what happened in Shiloh's first week, but that is another post...not to mention2 of the 3 kids are now awake. :)
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4 comments:
Okay, girlie. I am so glad you posted because there is so much good stuff to this. But before I go on, I have to get this out: I can't believe you wasted Open Sesame on castor oil....ugh!
Well, I feel like I should congratulate you again on such a birth. I knew Cheryl was great, but never knew she was THE BOMB!!! That's crazy she prayed with you all. Like, crazy-amazing. And with offering such 'primitive' techniques that aided labor and birth, I just think Cheryl is one rockin' midwife. You held out well, Pamela. God's timing was clear and evident. What a blessing Shiloh's entrance was to both you & Kurtis. Thanks for posting...and was tempted to bypass Taco Night with Open Sesame for you guys.....ugh.
Wow Pamela! It's amazing at how much I can find out about you by reading your blog! There's so much that I didn't know about Shiloh's birth...sorry for not asking more questions. Yeah!!! Praise the Lord for so many answered prayers. :)
Wonderful story! Loved reading it! :-D So many blessings crammed into one birth! Congratulations!!
I'm 11weeks and have my next appt at 13 weeks with Cheryl Pearce. I wanted to see your experience with her. You sound like you did it all natural, which I am a big baby and need my epidural!!! This is my third, and I really enjoyed my birthing experience being numb...but that's just me lol... Anyways I noticed she prayed with you which is awesome! What are other things I can expect if I stick with Cheryl pearce? Please give me your reviews on her:)
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