Monday, September 17, 2012 ~ I had been having contractions for days but they didn’t have the edge of labor so I continued working. 41 weeks pregnant today. I went to bed that night expecting labor to come the following weekend but feeling more tired and ready for labor than I had with my boys at 41 weeks.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012 ~ At 2:00 am I was woken up by a familiar feeling…. Could it be, at only 41 weeks pregnant? I laid there awake waiting to see if another would follow; several minutes later another one came. They were real contractions but they felt like a small band around the bottom of my belly and only had the sting of labor, no real surge. I got up anyway; I prepared coffee, tea and snacks, picked up the house and started the dishwasher then went back to bed. I was able to sleep the rest of the night and when I woke up in the morning I waited… another one came, but the contractions hadn’t changed or increased. I called out of work, hoping labor would come soon but I knew that this kind of inactive labor could last for days (as it had with Cadan’s birth). I sent Karen a text and told her I would try to walk around today to help bring on labor.
The day was cloudy, stormy and extremely windy (we had a couple tornado warnings throughout the day) so I planned to walk around the mall once the kids got up. However, when Saor woke up he had a high fever. We gave him a dose of ibuprofen and realized that we were out of acetaminophen so Cadan and I took the opportunity to go to Target; we picked up a few things and spend some time walking around the store. It didn’t increase my contractions so when we got home I ate a snack, took a rest and followed up with Karen (a little discouraged). After lunch, while we were getting the boys ready for their nap Saor’s fever spiked, he threw up the acetaminophen, and then digressed into a febrile seizure. Dan and I sat with him for a few minutes afterwards but they always wear him out and he needs a long nap to recoup so once he was asleep Cadan and I headed back to the mall to walk around some more. At Cadan’s request we bought gifts for Dad, the new Madden football game and a four pack of monster, we also bought soup for Saor, then Cadan and I split a hot fudge sundae. As we walked around my contractions began to increase, first in frequency, then in location (contracting my whole uterus and not just the band that I had been feeling) and then at last in intensity.
By the time we sat down to eat our ice cream I explained to Cadan that his sister was talking to my body and when they were talking I had to pay attention to them (my explanation for why I had to stop talking and slow walking when a contraction came). On our way out of the mall Dan sent me a text saying Wes was over to visit. At home, we all sat on the couch talking, the boys played ball first with each other then with Uncle Wes and Dad too. My contractions were still coming steady but I didn’t say anything to the guys. I just sat on the couch and zoned out every so often. When Wes left it was 4:00; I told Dan what was going on then sent Karen a text to tell her about the progress. I told Karen I was going to eat a light dinner then go lay down to rest for a while and that I’d keep her updated. I walked upstairs to use the bathroom before eating but by the time I got to the top of the steps the contractions gained momentum and I hollered down to Dan that I was going to stay upstairs and lay down. In our room the contractions began coming fast, less than five minutes apart and increasing in intensity. Dan kept coming up to check on me, he brought me grapes to eat and a vitamin water to drink. Saor came in to check on me a couple times too and tried to climb in bed with me but Dan carried him back downstairs.
After lying down for an hour or so Dan and I began to talk about when to call Karen. My contractions had already passed the recommended mark for calling the midwife but I had only been in active labor for an hour or two. I was hesitant to call her too soon because I didn’t want her to have to wait around for hours but as Dan watch me labor he kept suggesting that I call her sooner than later. By 6:30 I agreed with him and sent Karen a text. I told her not to rush but I was ready for her to come.
Karen arrived at 7:00. Soon after she arrived she offered to check how far along I was, I declined because I was afraid if I wasn’t as far along that I would lose steam and feel disappointed. Karen went about setting up what she needed, asking Dan and I questions, watching me handle the contractions then after a bit (what only felt like a few minutes) I told her I did want to be checked. The last two contractions had hit another level and I now felt that I needed to know how far along I was. When she checked me she said, “There’s no cervix, all baby’s head, you can push when you’re ready” With the next contraction my body began pushing. Wendy, the student midwife, called for Dan and the boys. Two minutes later she was born. My water broke during delivery but once again she came first then the fluid (like Saor’s birth). Once she was born Karen laid her on my chest, Cadan climbed up on the bed next to us and began to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to her; Dan leaned in for Saor to see but given his fever and long day he wasn’t as thrilled and stayed closer to Daddy.
In the end Asana’s delivery was 18 total hours, 14 inactive (or latent labor) and 4 hours of active labor. She was born at 7:39 pm on Tuesday, September 18, 2012. She weighed 7lbs even and was 21” long.
