The Chaffee Chronicles: Josie Elizabeth: The Birth Story

October 6th, 2010

~This story goes back much farther then just nine months. I have wanted to be a mother ever since I can remember. As a child, baby dolls were never more then an arm's reach away. My maternal instincts run deep. Some people say they have "a calling"; the one thing that they know in their heart of hearts is the reason they were put on this earth. My calling is to be a mother. I feel so incredibly blessed that I have been given the opportunity to fulfill that calling. Best. Life. Ever. ~

38 weeks and 3 days was apparently more then enough "cooking time" for my little J Bird. I woke up at 6:05 am to empty my bladder for what must've been the twentieth time that night. While walking back to our room, I noticed a steady stream of liquid running down my leg. My immediate reaction was "Oh Crap! I'm still peeing!" (haha I'm pretty sure I was just upset that I'd have to find a different pair of boxers to wear...not the fact that I might've peed my pants). While rushing back to the toilet, I noticed the more I moved the MORE liquid came out (No Effing Way). By this time I had made a nice little puddle on the bathroom floor (TMI?). My waters broke at 6:10am on October 5th.

I hurried back to our room to find a dry pair of pants and wake a very sleepy Tim ("Guess who's not going to Syracuse today?"). Ideally, I should've attempted to get some more sleep but let's be honest...what woman can possibly fall back asleep once she knows her baby is on the way? We called Mari (our awesome doula) around 9, then called Dr. Farrell's office around 10. The nurses told me to come into the hospital right away since this was AN EMERGENCY. Yea, I didn't do that (I was even scolded when I called back a few hours later to confirm that it was ABSOLUTELY necessary that I come in ASAP). We arrived at the hospital around 1:30pm expecting the nurses in the maternity ward to be waiting for us by the door, ready to whisk us away to our room. This was not the case. We waited around in the "family waiting room" for at least 20 minutes before a very calm nurse came to admit us. She escorted us to a room, checked me and confirmed that my waters had definitely broke (as if I had any doubts). At that point I was 1cm dilated with zero contractions (Damn). 2:30pm

I made it very clear that I wanted minimal medical interventions. I was SO grateful that the staff of Lourdes was completely supportive of my decision. They started nipple stimulation via electric breast pump in order to start the release of Oxytocin (which would help jump start my contractions. Ten minutes on, ten minutes off for 10 hours. Contractions started but weren't strong enough to bring on active labor. Since my waters broke so early I was at risk for an infection setting in (you have a 24 hour window after your waters break before this risk sets in...at this point it had been 15 hours since mine broke..eek!). I talked with the Dr. and my nurse who suggested we start Pitocin. At this point we had tried walking, acupressure, a warm shower, various positions, castor oil PLUS 10 hours of nipple stimulation and nothing was showing steady results. I never thought I'd say this: Pitocin saved me from a cesarean. Thank you Pitocin! They started Pit around 11:30pm. I was still 1cm dilated (Double Damn!)

I was beyond happy to feel those strong, steady contractions. I think I might've smiled through most of them. Up until this point, we were bored out of our minds waiting for something to change ( We even had enough down time to watch an entire episode of Glee. The one where Kurt's dad has a heart attack. I remember laughing during a contraction when Rachel started singing "Papa Can Your Hear Me"). Everything happened pretty speedy after that. I felt the pressure intensify and had the nurse check me. Only 4cm dilated (Son of a B!). An hour later, I could've sworn the pressure had doubled and I must've been at least 7cm dilated. Nope! Still only 4cm. Finally around 5:30am transition started. I dilated from 6cm-10cm in about 15 minutes (YIKES!). Those 15 minutes were pretty much the only time I felt INTENSE discomfort during the entire labor. I think that was mainly due to the fact that while I was transitioning the nurses were attempting to reposition the straps that monitored the baby's heart rate; so I was forced to be on my back. Worst 15 minutes of the day.

40 minutes later Josie was born (30 minutes total pushing time). I have never been more determined to do ANYTHING else in my life. They said push...and boy, did I push. I was riding high on SO many endorphins at that point that the only thing I could feel was the pressure of that baby. I had NO IDEA when I was having a contraction. I relied 100% on Tim telling me when to push because I honestly couldn't feel anything (Later, he informed me that the only reason he told me to push when he did was because my face said "IM HAVING A CONTRACTION!". I was totally unaware of this). As soon as the baby's head was out she started crying (a sign of things to come). Nearly a minute later I heard Tim say "Josie's Here!". A Girl! (I'm surprised I didn't high five him.) To my surprise I didn't cry, I just laughed. Overjoyed. 6:27am, on October 6th 2010, (after 24 hours of labor and ZERO pain meds) we welcomed Josie Elizabeth into our family. All 6 pounds, 7 ounces and 18 and a half inches of her. Our Itty Bitty Lady.