So, my official due date was Wednesday, July 27, but on the Wednesday before, I felt that the baby would be coming pretty soon. My mum was in Montreal, and I had invited her and my mother-in-law to be present for the birth with us. She was going to take the train on Saturday, but I called her Wednesday night and told her she should come Friday instead. I can't really pinpoint why I felt like the baby would be coming soon, it was just a sense that things were different and there was less movement than usual. The baby felt lower and heavier and I lost my appetite and got restless. Meanwhile, we were getting a huge heat wave in NYC with temperatures in the 110's. I was told by a good friend that the best thing I can do to help get labor going is to walk and walk and walk...so I did. I would wake up at 7am and head out the door and run errands all over town; walking everywhere and up and down the subway stairs. I had to be home by 10:30 or 11am at the latest, because the heat really started to kick in at midday. There's a terrible position for a pregnant woman to be in: I was terribly thirsty and drinking gallons of water because of the heat and the pregnancy, which in turn would make me have to pee every 10 minutes, but bathrooms are VERY scarce in NYC. I figured out the best and cleanest restrooms all over town and I would stay very close to them at all times!
Around this time, I also decided that I should put together a bag of things for the hospital. I got all kinds of advice and recommendations from friends: anything from slippers to nightlights to bubblegum. BUT, I was convinced I only needed to pack light because I was NOT planning on staying at the hospital more than 10-12 hours after the birth. You see, I had decided before I was even pregnant, that I would be having a natural birth, with a midwife, at the BIRTHING CENTER, at St Luke's Roosevelt hospital, not the regular labor and delivery area. I actually wanted a home-birth, but my insurance wouldn't cover it (typical) and when I priced paying out of pocket for a midwife-assisted home birth, it was costing anywhere from $5-6,000!
My husband and I had to take special birthing classes, select a participating midwife who was part of the hospital's approved list, and at every prenatal visit, I had to make sure I was not disqualified from the birthing center for any health reasons. These reasons include: excessive weight gain (I worked hard and gained only 21lbs through my entire pregnancy! yay!), high blood pressure, group B strep positive, baby in breech or not engaged position, or gestational diabetes. The other thing I was worried about being unable to qualify for the birthing center was that if you go into labor at more than 38 weeks or later than 40 weeks and 5 days, you will have to deliver at the regular L&D.
I thoughtfully packed my vintage Fendi duffel bag (a sweet flea market find by my husband in Hell's Kitchen several years ago!) with a loose dress to come home in, two outfits for the baby (one in newborn size, one in 0-3 month size, depending on how big the baby turned out to be, several American Apparel deep-V t-shirts, a sweatshirt in case it was cold, a bikini top for the jacuzzi tub (if I decided to have a water birth) electric flickering candles and tealights (the birthing center didn't allow real candles) to have a gentle, dark room for the birth, peppermint and lavender essential oils, a wooden rolling massage tool, and some gatorade and protein bars for energy. I thought I was prepared for the perfect natural birth (we'll soon see that my best laid plans and efforts meant absolutely NOTHING when the big day actually arrived!)
My mum arrived on the train Friday evening, and we spent all day Saturday inside at the apartment, as it was too hot to go outside even for a walk. On Saturday afternoon, I was so restless- I just felt like I had to be moving, walking, swimming...SOMETHING! I spent an hour swimming in the indoor pool in our apartment building, then went back to the apartment. A few hours later, I told my mum and Dan that I needed to go to the gym and walk on the treadmill. I can't explain it other than just RESTLESSness that I was overwhelmed with. Something was telling me to move move move! I put on my yoga pants and hauled them up over my HUGE belly, and put a tank top on. I found my sneakers and had to completely loosen ALL the laces just to get them on my swollen feet...and they were SO tight and uncomfortable I ended up taking them off in the elevator on the way to the gym in our building! I walked into the gym and got on the treadmill. I could see people glancing my way in the reflection of the mirrors everywhere, and they were probably wondering what this VERY pregnant lady was doing in the gym! I absolutely did NOT care! I walked for maybe 20 minutes but I just didn't feel the relief I was looking for. I paced around the gym and finally came to the section of eliptical machines. There was this one machine that was a combination of a stair-master and eliptical, so I heaved myself onto it (in my sock feet), plugged in my headphones, and went crazy climbing on shifting, wide-stanced invisible stairs at the lowest resistance. I did this for about 40 minutes and when I stepped off, I felt amazing! I now think it was the wide stance and stair climbing that helped position the baby and took the pressure off my hips. Whatever it was, it WORKED! I went back up to our apartment and took a hot shower, shaving my legs, painted my toes, did my hair- everything to get ready for this kid. I just had a feeling it would happen soon! As I was in the shower, I remember looking down at my rounded belly and running my hands across it, wondering if it would be the last shower before my baby came. If I would ever see this belly like this again.
My husband and I had to take special birthing classes, select a participating midwife who was part of the hospital's approved list, and at every prenatal visit, I had to make sure I was not disqualified from the birthing center for any health reasons. These reasons include: excessive weight gain (I worked hard and gained only 21lbs through my entire pregnancy! yay!), high blood pressure, group B strep positive, baby in breech or not engaged position, or gestational diabetes. The other thing I was worried about being unable to qualify for the birthing center was that if you go into labor at more than 38 weeks or later than 40 weeks and 5 days, you will have to deliver at the regular L&D.
I thoughtfully packed my vintage Fendi duffel bag (a sweet flea market find by my husband in Hell's Kitchen several years ago!) with a loose dress to come home in, two outfits for the baby (one in newborn size, one in 0-3 month size, depending on how big the baby turned out to be, several American Apparel deep-V t-shirts, a sweatshirt in case it was cold, a bikini top for the jacuzzi tub (if I decided to have a water birth) electric flickering candles and tealights (the birthing center didn't allow real candles) to have a gentle, dark room for the birth, peppermint and lavender essential oils, a wooden rolling massage tool, and some gatorade and protein bars for energy. I thought I was prepared for the perfect natural birth (we'll soon see that my best laid plans and efforts meant absolutely NOTHING when the big day actually arrived!)
My mum arrived on the train Friday evening, and we spent all day Saturday inside at the apartment, as it was too hot to go outside even for a walk. On Saturday afternoon, I was so restless- I just felt like I had to be moving, walking, swimming...SOMETHING! I spent an hour swimming in the indoor pool in our apartment building, then went back to the apartment. A few hours later, I told my mum and Dan that I needed to go to the gym and walk on the treadmill. I can't explain it other than just RESTLESSness that I was overwhelmed with. Something was telling me to move move move! I put on my yoga pants and hauled them up over my HUGE belly, and put a tank top on. I found my sneakers and had to completely loosen ALL the laces just to get them on my swollen feet...and they were SO tight and uncomfortable I ended up taking them off in the elevator on the way to the gym in our building! I walked into the gym and got on the treadmill. I could see people glancing my way in the reflection of the mirrors everywhere, and they were probably wondering what this VERY pregnant lady was doing in the gym! I absolutely did NOT care! I walked for maybe 20 minutes but I just didn't feel the relief I was looking for. I paced around the gym and finally came to the section of eliptical machines. There was this one machine that was a combination of a stair-master and eliptical, so I heaved myself onto it (in my sock feet), plugged in my headphones, and went crazy climbing on shifting, wide-stanced invisible stairs at the lowest resistance. I did this for about 40 minutes and when I stepped off, I felt amazing! I now think it was the wide stance and stair climbing that helped position the baby and took the pressure off my hips. Whatever it was, it WORKED! I went back up to our apartment and took a hot shower, shaving my legs, painted my toes, did my hair- everything to get ready for this kid. I just had a feeling it would happen soon! As I was in the shower, I remember looking down at my rounded belly and running my hands across it, wondering if it would be the last shower before my baby came. If I would ever see this belly like this again.
I can't believe you were on the exercise equipment right before you delivered her! Can't wait to hear the end.
ReplyDeleteExercising??? You are crazy! I vote for you to be my phone coach when I finally have a baby to get my butt moving :) Hurry up and write the rest!!!!
ReplyDelete