November 8th 2010
This morning I did not want to get out of bed and go to work, so I did what any 9 month pregnant woman would do on her due date; I called work and told them I was too tired to come to work today and officially began my maternity leave. Around nine I got out of bed and moved to the couch in the living room and turned on the TV. Nothing interesting was on so I looked through the DVR and found one of my favorite movies to watch, Pretty Woman. I barely made it 15 minutes into the movie before the contractions became noticeably consistent (they started earlier but I was use to the fake ones at this point). I turned on the computer and opened the contraction counter website I found a few weeks before and began timing them. By the time the horse race scene came on my contractions were 5 minutes apart and were lasting about 30-45 seconds each.
I called mom just to let her know I was pretty sure I was in labor and she, being the woman she is, began to panic. I was thankful she wasn’t at my house at this moment otherwise she would have killed us going to the Birth Center. Tara was in town running some errands for mama so I got dressed while I waited for her to arrive to take me to get checked out.
We got to the Birth Center a little past eleven and I was put on the monitors which confirmed I was indeed having contractions. Nancy, the midwife, came in to check how dilated I was, 2.5 centimeters. Not enough to officially say I was in active labor yet so we were given instructions to go get some food and walk around for a little while then come back in about an hour and get rechecked. So we did and everywhere we went Tara had to tell everyone I was in labor so we didn’t get much walking done due to having to talk to EVERYONE.
Mark met up with us at the mall, he couldn’t stand being away, and I rode with him back to the Birth Center. I was rechecked and it was determined that I had not progressed any more. Nancy sent us home with new instructions. When my contractions became a lot more painful and I was a lot less happy it was time to come back. She said sometimes it takes several trips sometimes to get it right. We left disappointed knowing we had to go back home and wait it out. Mark went home to change for work (he had court that night) while me and Tara headed to mama’s house so I wouldn't be alone.
I spent most of the next few hours lying on mama’s couch hugging a pillow trying to stay strong as the contractions worsened. I attempted to eat some pizza but was not very interested in it. I kept looking at my watch, waiting for Mark to get out of court before I went back to the Birth Center, because I knew this baby was coming tonight. At this point I was getting scared, what if me waiting for Mark was going to make me too late to get to the Birth Center? Was I going to deliver this baby in the car or at mama’s house??? I kept debating with myself whether or not to call Mark out of court. At 6:30 the contractions had gotten so close together I called Nancy back and we got ready to leave. It would take Nancy almost an hour to get to the Birth Center since she had already made it home for the night. Court finished early and Mark made it to the house in enough time to drive me back to the birth center. The car ride was HORRIBLE!!! The whole crew, Me, Mark, Mama, Tara, and the twins, made it to the Birth Center right at 8:00 and I was now 6.5 centimeters dilated – I was not going home without a baby in my arms. I let Gabrielle know we were here to stay (she was at work) and we told daddy who left his poker game and the mass texts began going out and Facebook was updated. In a few short hours I would be a mommy.
We settled in the room and got comfortable (well everyone else did…there was no me getting comfortable at this point). The tub was filled and I got in which eased some of the pressure of the contractions. Every once in a while I would be rechecked to see how much I had progressed. When I jumped 2 centimeters in an hour I got word to Gabrielle that this baby was not going to wait for her, she was going to have to leave work early if she was going to make the birth.
Nancy had me get out of the tub and start walking around to get the baby into a good position. As I walked around the Birth Center Gabrielle arrived and immediately went into “helper mode.” We sashayed in the halls, stopping only to allow the contractions to run their course. By 11:30 I was fully dilated and ready to push when my body gave me the ques. Nancy called in her nurse and they broke my water to ensure the liquids were clear (otherwise I wouldn’t be able to deliver in the tub) and given the ok to get back in the tub. I thought the contractions were bad before – they escalated after my water was broken.
At one point the baby’s heart beat began to slow and I had to move positions to give her room, which was an awkward position so Nancy suggested someone get into the tub with me. Gabrielle didn’t give her time to finish her sentence before she stripped down to her undergarments and was in the tub with me. It wasn’t long before I knew what the “ring of fire” was and I knew when it was time to push. After pushing and pushing Nancy had me get out of the tub because the baby was not in the right position and had me do some tricks to work her into a good position. I was ready for pain killers at this point but I remembered in one of the classes I took that by the time you think you need medications you are almost done so I opted out of asking for any.
Most of this time was a blur to me; it consisted of changing positions and pushing, moving and pushing. I remember mother telling me she could see the head and I was almost done and I wanted to hit her cause she had to have said the same thing over and over again for an hour. I had Mark on one side holding a leg and mother on the other. I remember yelling at her between contractions because she would let my leg relax and I didn’t want it to be relaxed…I wanted it sturdy. I remember thinking “She is never going to come out” I began to panic because I didn’t know what they were going to have to do to get this baby out and it was then I pushed as hard as I could and she was here. I remember asking “is she here?” several times before I got an answer.
She was here in my arms – my precious baby girl! Born on November 9, 2010 at 1:54 a.m.
For more of Colleen's Birth Story read Gabrielle's POV.
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