Bret and I found out we were expecting a baby in February of 2001. This was kind of a surprise because I had miscarried in December and we didn't think we could get pregnant again so quickly. But our doc and the 8-week ultrasound assured us that everything was fine and that we should welcome our second child in October. We were guessing at the due date since we didn't have a good LMP date to go by. The ultrasound said Oct. 15. I thought it would be more like Oct. 9 or 10.

Because of the recent miscarriage, we were keeping a close watch on this baby. When the second trimester rolled around, I kept waiting for that wonderful relief I remember feeling during my first pregnancy in 1998. No such luck. I was extremely tired, still running to the bathroom constantly and there were no signs that the morning sickness would be ending any time soon. We did the one-hour glucose test around week 23, and I failed. The doctor's office called and had me schedule the 3-hour test with the lab, which I also failed. I was kind of surprised since I wasn't diabetic with my first pregnancy, there's no family history of diabetes, my first baby was not large (6 lbs. 6 oz.), and I am not overweight. Seems it was just one of those random things.

Anyway, I promptly met with the nutritionist who gave me a diet, showed me how to use the glucometer, etc. It took some getting used to (2200 calories with no sugar is a lot of food) and some adjustments (my numbers were dropping down into the 50s in the afternoons until we added even more carbs) but the diet worked wonderfully for me. My numbers were great! This was a big relief for me because if the doctors had considered me a high-risk pregnancy then I would not have been able to deliver at the birthplace I had chosen. I really didn't want to have to drive an hour to the hospital while in labor.

Everything went fine the rest of the pregnancy. They did do external fetal monitoring and ultrasounds every week starting at 36 weeks, just to keep a check on the fluid, etc. Everything was always fine. We never had any worries about the baby being too big. My docs agree that ultrasounds aren't very accurate at determining size and their best estimate was that she was less than 7 lbs. at 38 weeks. Did I mention we were having another girl? :-)

On October 9, I went to work as usual (I work part-time) and then picked Rachel up at preschool at 2:30. We came home and played and I was quite relieved when she agreed to settle down in the big recliner with me to watch Dragon Tales at 5:00 p.m. because I was quite tired. Shortly after we curled up in the chair together, I felt my first contraction. It came out of nowhere, with no warning and was strong enough there was no doubt what it was the real thing. It also appeared that I was having back labor again. :-(

I glanced at the clock and by the time Rachel's show was over, I had 4 contractions, 7 minutes apart. I got up and played hide-and-seek with Rachel for about 15 minutes until Bret got home. He was just in time to play tag with Rachel and give me a break. I decided to go very easy on dinner (I have a stomach condition and knew I would be throwing up during labor). After dinner, Bret got Rachel ready for bed and tucked her in, while I went upstairs and got in the bathtub. Bret called his mother, who lives a couple of hours away and was going to come up to stay with Rachel. I got out of the tub around 8:30, with contractions 5 minutes apart. We hadn't finished packing our bag yet, so we did that. Bret carried our things to the car, and I called our doula. We decided that I should call the doctor and then call her back and let her know when we were leaving for the hospital and she would meet us there. I paged the doc and by the time he called me back a few minutes later, the contractions were stronger and 4 minutes apart. He said to come on in, so we called a neighbor to come stay with Rachel until my mother-in-law arrived. We left for the med center at 9:30 p.m.

Our doula pulled in the parking lot right behind us and we headed in. I realized in the car on the way there that I was hitting transition. The contractions were close and strong and the lucky folks in the emergency room lobby got to watch me deal with a few. Apparently, though, I appeared very relaxed (thanks to the Bradley Method and years of yoga meditation) and everyone but me was surprised when the nurse checked me and announced I was "a good 8 centimeters". It was nice to have that confirmation. I had planned to labor at home and not be at the med center too long. When she said that, I knew that it wouldn't be much longer. It was about 10:20 when she made that announcement. She then put the external monitor on me to check things out. Another nurse set up the heplock. The heplock was a compromise my doc and I had agreed to a couple of weeks before when he reviewed my birth plan. Because of the gestational diabetes, he wanted a vein open (just in case) and I really didn't want an IV. I could live with the heplock.

The only frustrating thing about this labor was the external monitoring. It wasn't supposed to be continuous but the nurse said she couldn't get a good reactive reading on the baby so she wanted to leave it on. She wasn't going to let me out of bed because of the monitor, but the doula stepped up and made sure I could get up. Later we compromised somewhat on the monitor. I convinced her I didn't need to monitor my contractions to know they were strong and frequent, so she agreed to remove one of the monitors, which was better than nothing. I must say, though, that when I'm puking, I don't want anything restrictive around my tummy. Fortunately, I only threw up a couple times and it wasn't nearly as bad as during my first labor.

The doctor arrived about 11:05 and came in to check me. He said I was complete, with a little lip left. He said if I felt the urge to push, I could. He went to put on scrubs and said he'd be back shortly. My water had not broken yet at this point and it was clear from the doctor's comments that the baby was right there and as soon as my water broke she was going to come quickly. This seemed to make the nurse a bit nervous. I was standing next to the bed when I felt a trickle down my leg during a contraction. When the contraction was over, I felt a very strong need to urinate and told the nurse she needed to unhook the monitor so I could go to the bathroom. She agreed, but insisted that if I felt the urge to push while in the bathroom that I couldn't. She seemed a little nervous that my water would break and the baby would come immediately if it did. Of course, as soon as I emptied my bladder, I had a contraction and a strong urge to push. Bret is telling me to breathe and not push and my doula is reminding me to keep my chin off my chest and not bear down. I made it through that contraction and went back to the delivery area. My water broke with the next contraction, so the nurse stepped out and came back with the doctor.

They were right about it not taking long. My total pushing time, including the one in the bathroom when I didn't push, was 10 minutes. I used exhalation pushing (bearing down on the exhale with no breath holding) hoping to reduce tearing. Sydney was born at 11:55 p.m. on Oct. 9. She was 7 lbs. 2 oz. The doctor immediately picked her up, handed her to me. I laid her on my chest, and we enjoyed that wonderful skin-to-skin contact for a while. Her apgars were 8 and 8. She lost a couple of points for color. This wasn't a major concern, though - her descent was so rapid that she got a bit bruised. Because of the bruising, her nasal tissue was a bit swollen, so it took her a little longer to pink up.

It was very strange to be told after delivery that I could have anything I wanted to eat or drink. I had a ginger ale of the non-diet variety before leaving the delivery room! Poor Sydney, though, had to have her blood sugar checked at 1 hour, 2 hours and 4 hours after birth. Here numbers had to be over 40. She was a 46 at 1 hour and a 41 at the 2- and 4-hour checks. They did leave the heplock in my arm until after they did a CBC later that morning.

Every experience is different. Overall, I had a wonderful natural childbirth after a less than pleasant pregnancy. Both the pregnancy and the labor were very different this time than with Rachel, but both had wonderful outcomes. I have two beautiful daughters. I was much better prepared this time, had better doctors, a better birthplace, a doula and a better idea of how I wanted the labor and delivery to go. These things made all the difference in the world!

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