That last hour flew by

Unfortunately, we had to have a hospital birth. I'd want nothing more than to go back and have a midwife and a doula. However, I had a lot of complications in my pregnancy including a threatened miscarriage, hyperemesis, and preeclampsia, the latter being the most difficult.

My beautiful son was born June 14th, 2007. We went to the doctor that day knowing I might quite possibly be induced since my blood pressure kept getting higher and higher. My obstetrician decided that at 37 weeks, it was time to deliver for the sake of the baby’s health and mine.

I had already been in and out of labor for the past three weeks. I went in that day dilated 2cm and 75% effaced. I was very excited and by the time they broke my water and got the pitocin going, I was contracting very hard. At first, it was so intimidating, but as the nurse and my step-mom taught me how to breathe, it became beautiful.

I remember thinking how much I wanted to be at home, but for a hospital birth, my doctor and the nursing staff were amazing. They were very, very helpful and let me do what I wanted to do. Several times I got onto my hands and knees and rocked back and forth. I breathed in and blew away the contractions. While it was extremely painful, I felt so strong. At one point, I was giving in, crying and screaming, saying that I couldn't do it and that I wanted pain medication. But the nurse told me to remember how much I didn't want it and that it was too late anyway.

I went from 4cm to 8cm in 45 minutes. It seemed like that last hour flew by and I was at 10cm. My doctor told me it was time to go and pushing was the easy part. After 15 minutes of pushing, my son was out. (We were SUPPOSED to have a girl!) I remember that last push being the hardest thing. But when I was done and calmed down, it was truly an amazing experience. Matthew Dylan was 6lb 11oz and 19.5 inches long. Thank the Lord, he's completely healthy despite a very problematic pregnancy. A wonderful labor made up for all of the problems I had.

Farrah, Port Byron, IL