birth stories: michael.

so, as i was just reading a friend's birth story the other day, i thought i'd reflect on my four.
four.
i've written down bits and pieces on calendars but i want to write out the whole thing.
all four.
so, here we go :)
*update: still no baby. but enjoy the scheduled posts ;) *

michael.
we came to september 23rd and flew past it.  i was shopping with my mom, who had been there for a week already in anticipation, when someone asked when my due date was and i, kinda shocked, said, well...today!  i had focused so long (seven and a half months) on getting my husband home from his first deployment that michael's due date just flew on by.
so there i was, four days overdue, at the scheduled, post-due, appointment, sitting in the comfy chair with the dimmed lights, listening and pressing a button every time he'd kick.
kick count, good.
position, good.
heartbeat, good.
okay, one more check and you're outta here for another few days and then we'll do it all again.
okay!
ultrasound shows...?  uh oh.  very low fluid.  like, danger-low.  like, head over to the hospital now.
okay...can i go home and get my bag?
ummm, sure but be back in an hour.
now, we wanted a natural birth.  we did not want to be induced. so, when i said i needed to go grab my bag, i meant, i'm driving the hour and a half home, taking a shower, taking a nap, eating a huge plate of pasta (for energy, you know), and then heading to the hospital.
yup, i got yelled at when i finally showed up seven hours later.
whoops.
anyway, no harm, got there and checked in at 6pm, and started the pitocin at 8pm.
slow and slower.
progressing, but insanely slowly.  only at 2cm.
during the next 28 hours, i had rounds and rounds of nurses and doctors, all telling me that i was doing great and to keep plugging along. i had several nurses try to take me off the pitocin and see if i could progress without help but to no avail. i remember at one point being at 6 or 7 cm and actually napping during the 30 minutes i was off the meds. i also clearly remember thinking, is this seriously what labor is like without induction?!?! this is easy.
when we got to the 27 hour mark, i had a very nice but very traditional doc come in and tell me, okay, you're all done. you should have had a c-section hours and hours ago. i almost cried. all that work for nothing. luckily, my nurse at the time was a midwife as well. she convinced him to go deliver another baby and to let me have one more hour. she got me into a few new positions and when he came back, i was finally at 9 1/2 cm. i was starting to swell but they decided to let me try to push.
the doc looked down at me with a sad smile and condescendingly told me to go ahead to see if i had enough strength for a push.
after that first push, he said, okay! we are having a baby! and 20 minutes later at 12;09 am and weighing 9 whole pounds, michael had arrived.
my mom had come to the hospital with us but didn't have any intention of staying through the birth. but due to torrential flooding and near-record-like conditions, she ended up on my other side, helping encourage me. she was great but my mike was better. he was there for me every step of the way, for 28 long hours. when we would both fall asleep between contractions (literally, we would doze for the 45 seconds between, at the end) and then i'd wake him to tell him to take my hand again.
all that lovely lamaze that we had learned flew out the window and he took it in stride. when i made up my own breathing techniques and refused to "focus my eyes" on anything, he didn't bat an eye. he was amazing and i couldn't ask for a better partner.
and michael was amazing too. not once did his heartbeat rise or show any distress of any kind. he was happy just being born. when the doctor said, my goodness, how big is this baby's head?!, he just pushed his way on out. he didn't cry when they checked all his stats and slept the rest of the night. too bad, i was stuffing my face with food and so excited to be a mama that i didn't take advantage of that :)
it was a crazy long and hard labor but obviously worth every moment.
stay tuned for jack's crazy long and hard labor next week!