Birth Plan VS. Birth Story

THE PLAN:

Everyone remembers the scene in "Lion King" after the birth of Simba when Rafiki raises the small lion above his head for the whole animal kingdom to see while the song "Circle of Life" triumphantly plays in the background. For those who haven't, it's a beautiful scene. This is how I imagined the birth of my first child...minus the monkey.

While I was pregnant I played with a lot of ideas: midwife, water birth, home birth, hospital birth, to do an epidural, not to do an epidural.  I also received LOTS and LOTS of advice from friends, family, and complete strangers. The last is my favorite. And who are you?

I watched this film "The Business of Being Born" with my best friend. It was great! But, after the bleak choices of midwifes I opted for a hospital birth. As far as drugs were concerned I decided to play it by ear. After all, this was my first rodeo. I would try to go natural and if I started screaming for drugs, sure, stab me in the spine...please :)

THE BIRTH:

Sunday (just over a week overdue):
On Sunday night around 10:30 pm I started to have contractions. Yeah! My husband and I were stoked. "We're going to have a kid tonight!" thought the first time naive parents. Bahahhahah!

Monday &Tuesday:
Thirty six hours later with contractions 5-7 minutes apart we decided go to the hospital. We were admitted and hopeful.
"You're half a centimeter dilated" the nurse said.
What! That's a pretty vast journey from ten. Dejected we went home with a stress test scheduled the following day with our OBGYN.

Wednesday:
"So, how long have you been having contractions?" our OB said scanning through my file.
"Sunday night" I said slightly annoyed. I'm huge. I'm hurting. I'm exhausted.
"What?" he said surprised "Well, were going to have that baby today".

After meeting him at the hospital he broke my water. Eeekkk! There was traces of meconium. Up went some contraption that flushes fresh liquid into my uterus AND we waited. I was given pitocin and up went some other contraption to measure contractions AND we waited. Oh yes, I did get an epidural :) AND a catheter :( Finally, late evening I had dilated to ten centimeters. It was time to start pushing! So we pushed and pushed and pushed. At one point baby's heart rate dropped to 70. We pushed until...

Thursday:
And still no baby.
"It's been three hours. I think we need to opt for a c-section. We could also try the vacuum".
"Can we try the vacuum" I said.
We tried and still no baby (my husband likes to add this was one of the gruesomest things he's ever seen).

Preparations for the c-section took all but 5 minutes. I was then whisked out of the room and down the hall past family and friend. I couldn't help but cry when I saw my dad. He looked worn and worried. The operation commenced and I started to feel sick. Jon, my husband, thrust a bag under my head just as I began throwing up.

She was born at 5:16am on Thursday morning. She was quickly rushed to the NICU. She was low on oxygen and had to be pumped because of the meconium. All I saw was the top of her tiny foot as they wheeled her out asking my husband to go with them.

An hour later I was reunited with Jon. We cried when we saw each other overwhelmed with emotion. Soon after little Juliet Love was brought in and I saw and held her for the first time. Like all mothers say, it was totally worth it!