At 5 pm we made a trip to the hospital to see what the progress was...I was 2 cm. Talk about disappointed! I had been having contractions for 8 1/2 hours at that point and only 2 cm!!! It was not the news I wanted to hear. We went back home. We went for another walk and I laid down and rested a little more. My contractions started coming quicker and they were stronger. It was hard to find a place to get comfortable at home so at 8 pm we decided to go back to the hospital and see where we were. After nearly 12 solid hours of labor I was at 4 cm. The nurse told me women usually progress about 1 cm an hour so I was really hoping I was further along at this point, but NO! They told us that we needed to stay at the hospital and they set us up in the labor and delivery room. The midwife hooked up all of the monitors and left. At 9, they had a shift change and our new midwife came in to introduce herself. At this point, my contractions were still bearable, but I was having bad back labor. I tried standing up and bending over the bed and having Hannes press on my back, but nothing seemed to work. The midwife brought me a hot water bottle and suggested I walk around outside for a while. The hot water really helped! Sweden was playing some soccer game and we didn't have a TV in the room so Hannes was listening to it on the radio. I joked that he was probably the worst husband ever leaving me to wander around outside, alone, while I was having contractions, but there was only 4 minutes left on the game and I was doing okay. I walked around for a while and then came back in and sat in the recliner, where I spent most of my time in labor. It was very comfortable and put just enough pressure on the water bottle on my lower back. I felt okay and Hannes and I talked in between contractions. Then 11 pm came and everything went downhill fast! My contractions were coming with almost no break, they were stronger and more painful then ever. I had Hannes call in the nurse to check me and see what progress I had made. I was at 6 cm!!! That was the worst news I could possibly ever hear. I, potentially, had 4 more hours of labor ahead of me! I knew I could endure the pain for a little longer, but not four more hours. I made the decision to get an epidural. It had already been 14 1/2 hours and I was only dilated to 6 cm. I had wanted to try for a natural childbirth, but I knew that physically and mentally I could not do it for four more hours. Hannes filled out the paperwork and the midwife came in and...I changed my mind. I didn't want the epidural, but I needed something and something fast. She suggested gas and air (laughing gas/nitrous oxide). I tried that for my next contraction, but it didn't help with the pain. She said it doesn't do anything for the pain, it just helps you relax. I decided that at that point I needed something for the pain. I changed my mind again and asked for the anesthesiologist so I could get an epidural. He made it to the room very quickly, but it still took a while for me to get the pain medicine. They decided I was too far along for an epidural so I got a spinal block instead. It is a one time dose of medicine that they administer into your spine, I found out later - from the anesthesiologist - that it's more of an art than the epidural is. Before the anesthesiologist administered the spinal block my midwife was concerned that I was ready to push and that there wasn't time for the spinal after all. She kept insisting that she should check me, but I lied...oops! and told her I didn't feel an urge to push and that I just needed something for the pain. So, she let me get the spinal block. The first few contractions afterwards were even more painful...I didn't think that it worked! At this point I was very angry and just wanted the pain to be gone. My midwife kept trying to get me to roll on my back so she could check me, but the pain was too intense. A few contractions later I finally rolled onto my back and sweet relief...no pain! The spinal block only worked if I was laying on my back - I guess that was the "art" part that the anesthesiologist talked about! I was so happy to be pain free. She check me and the baby was 2 inches from being born and my water still hadn't broken so she went ahead and broke it for me. I just laid there through the next 4 contractions and rested. I closed my eyes and just relaxed, it was the best feeling in the world! At this point I had been in labor for over 15 1/2 hours. I really needed the break. The midwife kept asking me if I had the urge to push and said that he was ready to be born, but without the pain I had no urge to push and I was enjoying myself. She saw his heart rate dip and had me roll to my side and then the pain came back and with it the urge to push. Three contractions later and Henry was here! He was born at 12:55 am on June 8th! He weighed 3,530 grams and was 50 cm long. He also had the biggest feet...which I knew all along because they were always stuck in my ribs!
Hannes cut the umbilical cord. I delivered the placenta a few minutes later and then we just stared at him for a while. They brought us in some fika, a few sandwiches and some cider, but I wasn't in the mood for any food. I was exhausted. We were moved to a room where we stayed the night and we left the hospital as soon as we could, at 11 am the same day. We had to bring him back to the hospital on Sunday June 9th for a check up with the doctor. They thought he looked a little jaundice, but everything came back normal. Then we had to return on Tuesday the 11th for another check. They checked again for jaundice, and again everything was normal. They also weighed him again. Newborns can lose up to 10% of their body weight those first couple of days, but not Henry! He had only lost 100 grams and weighed 3.4 kilos. This past Tuesday, the 18th a nurse came to our house to do another check of Henry and he had gained almost half a kilo! He weighed 3.88 kilos! She seemed pretty impressed and I just knew his cheeks were looking chunkier! Overall, I really enjoyed the birth experience here. We were so well supported, but we were left alone. Which is just what I wanted.
Now here's some cute pictures of Henry Tage Bäckström!
I loved reading your labor story. Henry is a perfect name and he couldn't be any cuter! Congratulations again!!
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