Eli Nstaa Vang made his appearance into the world on May 30th, 2022, just a few days short of his due date! He came in weighing at 6lbs and 7oz and18.5 inches long. We just love him so much!
It took E and I by surprise that Eli came before his due date (June 2nd) because we were just convinced that he would be late since most first pregnancies turn out that way. We were definitely wrong!
On the night of May 28th, I began to feel lower back cramping. I had felt this before, but only two times and they went away within the hour. However, these cramps were a little more intense - not painful, but just more uncomfortable. I used the bathroom and saw bloody show on my underwear - now this was when it really hit me that I might be going into labor soon! E and I just kind of looked at each other and we both knew - it's happening soon! We went to bed as normal but I later woke up around 3am with cramps in my lower back again. I experienced two contractions, but then they went away as soon as they came. Bloody show was still appearing on my underwear. The cramps soon went away within a few hours and E and I went to church as normal. Later that day, I began to feel contractions, but they were so far apart that I didn't think it was anything important. I had an average of one contraction per hour so nothing super significant.
It was around 1:30am that I began to feel lower back cramping again and soon enough, they became contractions. I began to time my contractions using an app on my phone. Most people will tell you to rest during early labor to save energy for active labor and transition but I couldn't sleep! My mind was just whirling with thoughts of, "Is this it?" I let E continue to sleep because I wanted him to get as much rest as he could. When 4am came around, I knew in my heart that I was going to give birth to Eli that day. My contractions weren't close enough to go to the hospital, but they were getting closer, from 20 minutes in between contractions to 10 minutes between contractions. They were also getting more intense - bearable, but a little more painful. It was around 5am that I woke E up to let him know that I had been experiencing contractions for several hours. We decided to wake up and spend the morning as usual since my contractions were still 7-10 minutes apart. E and I had already made the decision to labor as much as possible at home so that labor at the hospital wouldn't feel so long. I also didn't want to get sent back early.
We showered, cleaned around the apartment a little bit, packed the rest of our hospital bags and went to McDonalds to grab some breakfast, haha. I ordered a hashbrown and oatmeal. We came back to the apartment to eat. It was at this point where my contractions were causing me to really use breath work to get through each contraction. E encouraged me to get off the couch and to walk around the living room to help manage my contractions. He walked with me around our coffee table (haha) for about an hour. Each time a contraction came, he would apply counterpressure on my lower back or hips or I would hold onto him to get through the contraction. After doing this for an hour, we decided to head over to the hospital because my contractions were consistently 5 minutes apart. I did NOT want to sit in the car because I found that sitting made my contractions worse, but I was able to make it.
We entered the hospital and a super kind nurse checked my cervix. This was the first time I ever had my cervix checked because I had declined previous offers. I was 5cm dilated! This was exciting for me because I knew that I had made good progress. The nurse went over my birth plan and they were so sweet in basically granting everything I wanted in my birth plan. I did have to stay in bed for an hour because they wanted to monitor Eli's heartbeat, but after that hour, they took me off the monitors and allowed me to move around the room. The nurse I had was amazing! She provided me with a yoga ball, a peanut ball, and a step stool to stretch and engage my pelvis. Boy, did I use that yoga ball! I sat and bounced on that yoga ball for almost three hours (I'm convinced that bouncing on that yoga ball helped me progress)!
Pretty soon, my contractions were getting closer and getting more and more intense. So much so that each contraction would literally leave me breathless. It was pretty painful. The nurse checked my cervix again and I was at 8cm!!! I already had a feeling that I was in transition but was too scared to hope. This was when things began to feel extremely intense and painful for me. Each contraction lasted longer and longer and they were only 2-3 minutes apart. Being on the yoga ball no longer helped and even E's counterpressure felt like it made the pain worse. The only thing that helped me to manage that pain was using deep breathing techniques that I had learned through Built to Birth and "mooing" sounds. It sounds embarrassing to make those kind of sounds, but at that point I didn't care! It was the only thing that helped me get through each contraction.
The nurse offered me aromatherapy and I chose peppermint. She put peppermint oil on two cotton balls and placed them in a small plastic cup for me to hold. As each contraction came, I would bring the cup to my nose and focus on the scent to help me with the pain. This worked for a few minutes, but later on I ended up crushing the cup in my hand due to the pain I was feeling, haha. During this time, I was also laying on my side with the peanut ball between my legs to help open up my pelvis (I'm also convinced this helped me dilate faster).
After 30 minutes had passed, I just couldn't do it anymore! I told E and the nurse that I was considering the epidural. I knew from birth stories I had listened to that mommas who planned for a natural birth usually asked for the epidural during transition because the contractions are so intense and I was definitely part of that statistic! In my heart, I really didn't want it because I knew that I was soooo close to the finish line, but the pain of the contractions was unbearable. The nurse offered to check my cervix again and she excitedly announced that I was 9cm dilated! She told me that there was still time to get the epidural, but she also said that the doctor could break my water (because it still hadn't broken) and she was sure that doing so would speed up my delivery. This was a tough decision for me. I really didn't want the epidural because I was literally 1cm away from pushing, but the pain during transition was taking a toll on me. Transition was the hardest part for me because my body literally began pushing on its own and it took everything inside of me to not push. That part was painful and excruciating. Each time my body felt the urge to push, my body would literally jolt and convulse on the bed because I had to hold the pushes. This was the hardest part of my labor.
I finally decided that I would have the doctor break my water. As soon as she broke it, I began pushing immediately with each contraction! The relief that many women describe that comes with pushing was not something that I experienced. In fact, it was the opposite! I was sure I would have felt relief as holding the pushing was so painful, but the pushing only enhanced the contractions even more and the intensity of the pressure of the pushing was far more than I had ever expected.
I truly loved my doctor! She encouraged me to push in different positions. I first voiced that I wanted to push on my side and she responded by saying "You can push any way you want!" Then we tried on all fours, on my back with knees together, and on my back with knees apart. After almost an hour of pushing, we realized that I made the most progress when I was on my side. On my side and on all fours was the most intense feeling I felt among the other positions I tried and my doctor told me that this was a good sign! As soon as I pushed baby through my canal, I remember hearing E say "I can see his head!" This was it. This was the moment! I remember the intensity of my contractions working with my body's natural urge to push. It was definitely hard. But knowing that I was so close to meeting my baby and hearing the sweet encouragements from E and the nurses made me even more determined to push my baby into this world! I could hear E saying "Baby, he's so close!!" and other nurses telling me, "You're so close, Esther! You can do it!" I knew Eli's head was coming out the moment I felt the ring of fire. Yes, I felt the ring of fire, haha. People make it out to be the most terrible thing and for some people it may be, but I welcomed it because I knew it meant that Eli was coming out. It definitely felt like a stretching burning, but that pain is minimized compared to the contractions, haha.
As soon as Eli's head came out, the doctor and nurses encouraged me to do one last final push and before I knew it, my son was placed on my chest. The rest is a blur, but I remember seeing tears in E's eyes, hearing Eli's small cry, placing my hands on his small body, and just repeating, "Oh my gosh, this is my son!" It is still the most surreal moment ever. Here he was, my baby boy, on my bare chest, sweet and adorable as can be.
Everyone knows that giving birth to a baby is one of the most difficult things ever so I truly praise God for giving me the strength to do it. I was praying throughout my entire labor and delivery and I know that E and our families were praying too. Was it the hardest thing I've ever done in my life? Yes. Was it the most painful thing I've ever experienced? Yes. But it has given me the greatest reward: Eli. He is worth all of the pain and agony and I would go through it again just for him. Praising God for my beautiful, healthy son. Eli is more than we could have ever asked for and E and I pray that we will be good stewards as we care and love our son.
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