Birth Story

Some friends said that I should share my birth story... So here goes! 

              

• Elise was five days late. If you have ever been pregnant before, you know how miserable you are by the end of your pregnancy. Towards the end, you are SO over the body aches and sleepless nights. So after speaking with my midwives and doing some research online, I decided to try taking castor oil. It is a laxative that is thought to help start contractions as a side affect of stimulating your bowels. Sounds fun huh? From what I read, I expected to take it at night and hopefully be far enough in labor the next day, to head to the birthing center. I was warned that I might be up all night with a tummy ache but by this point, I was fine with that! I ingested the oil around 11:30pm on Thursday June 2, 2011. Though I was not miserable, just uncomfortable, I still could not sleep. I will spare you from the details of what went on for the next few hours :-)
• Around 2:30am I noticed a change in how I was feeling. In my mind, I thought it was just more intense cramping from the oil...I  read that it can be quite painful. But due to some other happenings, I felt it best to inform Cristian, my husband. He agreed that we should check in with my midwife to let her know what was going on. She felt like it could be the beginning stages of labor but, as there was no consistency to the length and amount of contractions, she suggested I try to get as much rest as I could. Not to mention that she and the other midwives were currently at a home birth one hour away from the birthing center. Did I mention the fact that it was about an hour and a half drive for us to get to the birthing center? Yep, that's what we had decided to do. 
• At this point, I told Cristian to go back to bed while I hung out in the living room...I was too uncomfortable to sleep. But from everything I read and was told about child birth, I had a long way to go. So I continued to time the contractions. There was absolutely no consistency to them. Later, Around 4:00am, I woke Cristian up again. I was much more uncomfortable and was to the point that I could no longer time my own contractions. As I paced around our apartment, He too noted that they were still all over the place. Nevertheless, he continued to time. Pacing was all I could do to get through the pain. Sitting still or lying down was not an option. The pain was too intense. Then, seemingly out of no where, the contractions would not let up. So around 5am Cristian called the midwives...I could not focus on anything except getting through the pain ergo he had to do it. She suggested we head to the birthing center and said that they would try to beat us there.... They were still attending to the other birth. 
• Frantically, Cristian gathered our things and started loading the car. On a side note, in our paperwork it was stated that we needed to have the car seat properly installed and have knowledge of how to work it...Well, we put off installing the car seat for weeks and in the stress of the moment, we thought it needed to be fully installed before we left... Well this took about 30 minutes. This next part might be TMI...Just FYI :-) Because of having taken a laxative, I was going to the bathroom constantly and got to the point where I didn't want to fuss with my pants anymore. Consequently, I'm lying on the couch wrapped in a blanket with nothing on but a tank top when we started towards the car. I was in too much pain to even get dressed! So around 5:30am, Cris wrapped me up and helped me down the stairs...This was no easy task. You see, while he was loading the car, I began having to push. That's right! I'm laying on the couch in the living room having to push and we still have an hour and a half drive!
• At this point, we get on the road and Cristian gives my mom a call... She was attending the birth. Just as we got outside of the Waco area, Cristian notices something. It couldn't be! Not now! The gas light is on! As he starts to prepare me for the fact that we will HAVE to stop for gas, we realize something even more alarming... We forgot my purse! No, I'm not kidding. Our only way to pay for the gas, we so desperately needed, was back in Waco. Not to mention the fact that Cris is flooring it. So we crossed our fingers and kept on course to the birthing center hoping and praying we don't run out of gas. What's next? Well, we pass a State Trooper sitting on the side of the highway looking as if he is waiting to pull someone over. And here we are going X amount of miles over the speed limit. If you know my husband you know that number is a large one. All the while, I'm sitting in the front seat scared that I'm going to have this baby in the car - Funny fact, though not many thoughts other than, "get this baby out of me," crossed through my mind, one that did was..."if we end up delivering the baby ourselves in the car, what did we pay the birthing center for?" I laugh really hard at this. In all the craziness, THAT is what crossed my mind. PS, either way, it was not, nor would have been a waste of money. Those ladies are amazing and they do so much.-We did not get pulled over, Thank God!
• It's 6:40ish now and we arrive. That's right, he got us there in about an hour. An hour and a half drive turned into a one hour drive. Thankfully the midwives beat us there. Cristian helped me inside and they checked me. I was at 100%. They got me to the birthing room and my mom arrived shortly after that. By 8:35am on Friday June 3rd, 2011 Elise Beth Martinez was here! Cristian caught her and put her in my arms! Life as I knew it, would never be the same! How wonderful! While 3 hours of pushing is not normal, I'd say a  6 or 7 hour labor to birth, is not too bad.
• Looking back, there are definitely some things I would do differently. I would either make sure the car seat was installed a couple weeks before the due date or would suggest we just wait until we got there. Also, maybe I would make sure there was emergency cash in the car or just be sure we grab my purse. But despite all the craziness, it was the most amazing experience ever! The love that filled my heart for my daughter is indescribable! She is a treasure! In lieu of the photo of the day, here is a picture of my little darling