Tuesday, September 11, 2007

What a difference a decade makes

I was in labor 10 years ago. My water broke at 37 weeks and nothing happened, so technically I waited all day and was in labor only after being induced in the late evening.

I could hear and feel it pop at 12:20 am, knew exactly what it was, kind of liking the smell. Alone in my own bed, I huffed and puffed breathing, thinking I was doing so well. Little did I know what real pain would come. I spent the day at my certified nurse midwife's, a hippie love child Ina Mae type with three kids herself. I absorbed the flow of her household, tried walking, pressure points, and nipple stimulation, but they didn't translate into contractions. Later I had two bowls of applesauce laced with castor oil; little did I know how its prostaglandins would ripen my previously long cervix into giving me a first baby labor lasting less than eight hours after the oxytocin was introduced.

Although I'd hoped for an unmedicated birth, the second I hit 4cm, I wanted drugs. I think they made me peppy with energy afterwards, able to greet the delivery guy who came to pick up J's umbilical cord blood for quick airline delivery to Arizona.

So, this was my day a decade ago, spilling over onto J's birth at 6:20am. J, my sweet J, had APGARS of 10 and 10, mostly because of his "lusty cry" which curled my toes and made me think he'd be a wild ride. Little did I know what a gentle ride motherhood would bring.

6 comments:

Shinny said...

Wow! Your birth experience on this day sounds alot nicer then mine was. ;) 14 years ago today I started labor and finally 25 hours later my red head arrived.

Happy Birthday a day early, J.

Cricket said...

The hair color was sort of my pusing coaching - "The hair's not dark!" and it made all the nurses excited. It was like hitting a home run with them when he was a red head. I wasn't in shock, but it was in deep surprise at the red.

brite69 said...

I agree that your experience sounds nicer. LOL Mine was filled with far too many doctors, a little red head of my own that damned near refused to move and the threat of an emergency c-section.

Wow... 10 years. Does it even begin to feel like it's been that long?

Anonymous said...

Happy Be A Momma Day to you Cricket!
J sounds like a great boy and you are a delightful mother to him.
Have a great day!

DD said...

Wish J a Happy Birthday from me, would you?

And Happy Birth Day to you, dear Cricket.

Dee said...

Like DD said, happy (belated) Birth Day to you, and happy (again, belated) birthday to J.