Sandra's Birth Story
Hola Vittoria & fellow yoga students :
Joaquin James Revilla-Harker- born Monday January 4th at 6:27 pm.
My due date was January 10th but Joaquin decided to come early. I started to have contractions on Saturday January 2nd and early in the morning had a bloody show. We went to the hospital that morning and they said that my membrane broke and that I could go into labor in the next few days to two weeks I was 2 cm dilated.
On Sunday I started to have contractions close together and by 8 pm I knew I was going into labor. We called our doula and we decided to try to stay home as much as possible. At 11 pm I vomited and I was having close contractions, so we decided to go to the hospital.
When I got to the hospital around 11 pm I went into the tub, I walked, I used the ball, but by 4 in the morning I was in a lot of pain and was only 4 cm dilated. I decided to get a mild pain medication (I cannot remember the name). My water broke around 6:00 and the contractions were really strong. Even with the pain medication I still in a lot of discomfort. I was still only 4 cm and they said that it was about 1 cm per hour so I figured I had a lot more to go. I decided to get an epidural after about 9 hours of labor. The epidural slowed everything down. They told me that the baby’s head was in my back and that he need it to rotate, so they placed my stomach facing down so he will rotate for an hour and half . I was scared that I would have to have a C-section.
At 5 pm the next day I was ready to push and I was able to feel my left leg, but not the right. I pushed for about 1 and 30 minutes and finally the wonderful Joaquin born. I had a second degree tear which wasn’t bad.
Once I had my boy in my chest I forgot about the labor and I will live it over again and again.
Looking back, I don’t think I could have lasted 9 hours of painful labor without eating healthy and being active in yoga throughout my pregnancy. Originally I really was hoping for a completely natural birth, but now I realize that it is an unpredictable process that is sometimes out of your control no matter how much you prepare. In the end all that matters is that you and your baby are healthy.
Mucho amor,
Sandra (I will be there for postnatal)- What do I need to bring? Joaquin of course!