The midwife arrived at 12:30 p.m. I told her I was pushing a bit. I asked her to check me in case it was still too early and to check on the position of the baby. She announced, much to my delight that I was 8-9 centimeters and 0 station. Unfortunately the baby was still posterior.
She started setting everything up. She got as far as stripping my bed, when I decided I was going to use the aerobics step stool I’d use to give birth to the twins. Other people started to arrive. I was fairly oblivious. I did remember thinking I wanted a cool cloth, but I knew that once my friend Eve got there to be my doula I’d have one! Sure enough I was right.
I don’t really remember everyone getting there. Nor was I really aware of anyone except Kevin and the midwife. I pushed with a couple of contractions and asked her to check me again. The cervix was still the same, but the baby had turned to a transverse position, meaning half way between posterior and anterior. My pushes were putting her in a better position!
The pain was intense. And I really couldn’t concentrate on anything. I kept trying to get it together in between contractions. Kevin was trying his best to keep me calm. He was rubbing me, and talking nicely. He was so sweet. At the peak of each contraction all I could do was scream. Every couple of contractions, not only would I scream, but I’d say not so nice words too. No one seemed to notice, but I remember thinking, “I shouldn’t do this…” Though it actually did feel better when I screamed.
At some point I just pushed and pushed. The midwife asked if I wanted her to break my water, mainly because I kept begging for it to be over and crying in between the contractions. Kevin even had tears in his eyes when I’d look at him. When she asked I remember thinking that I was worried about meconium since I was 12 days past my due date and that she’d need to be sure to be set up to suction the baby with special equipment, so I said yes.
During the next contraction she did a vaginal exam. The baby was still transverse and I was about 9 centimeters. She broke my water and I felt the release of a bit of pressure, not much though. She remarked that it was the clearest water she’d ever seen. I was relieved. Kevin murmured his agreement. She also said that she’d keep her hands in while I pushed the next contraction. She was able to slip the last bit of cervix over the baby’s head. I was nearly home free!
Now I got really serious about pushing. Though I was still screaming at the peak of the contraction. The midwife reminded me that I was backing off everytime I screamed and that I needed to not back away if I wanted to be done. A minute or two later, she announced that she could see hair, and Kevin looked and got very excited, telling me it was dark hair! I reached down to touch the baby’s head and felt the squishy, wet hair and knew it was almost over. Kevin also touched the baby’s head.
