On Thursday night which was 39 weeks and 3 days around 10pm I started having contractions. Non painful contractions. It was quite entertaining have the stomach hardening without any pains. I didn't have braxton hicks early on that I know of so this was different. Around 1230am I started getting some painful contractions, but nothing too bad. It did keep me up, but I was sleeping between the intervals. I wasn't timing them because they were not super painful.
I woke up Friday morning with more painful contractions. They were coming at about 8 minutes apart, I only timed them from about 6am until 730am. I got up with Zuri and had to get her ready for school. It was kind of entertaining to do while having contractions. I told Pedro I thought I was likely going into labor but he went back to sleep and said to let him know. I brought Zuri to school and had my mom go with me just to show her where the school was located in case she had to pick Zuri up. I told the school my mom might be picking her up because I thought I was in labor. They said that I looked pretty good to be in labor.
I got home and decided to call my doctor around 11am. I told them the contractions were not consistent in time, just based on me estimating, since I still wasn't timing them! I said they were painful contractions though! They said I needed to come in right away to be checked. I told them I would come in soon, but really didn't have any intentions of doing so. I waited and some cereal and then Pedro and I went to pick up Zuri from school. We stopped and got her some pizza (as per her favorite after school snack) and went home. I ate a small piece and then we left to go get checked. On our drive there we stopped to get coffee. We arrived at the doctor at 2:40pm. Contractions were still random but painful.
When I went in the nurse checked me and said "Oh my!! you are 7cm!!" I laughed. She said you need to go to the hospital RIGHT NOW. I said we needed to go out to the car to get our bags and stuff. She said "NO!" She told me I couldn't even walk to the hospital that I had to be wheeled there.
I was wheeled into the hospital and they looked at me and said that I looked pretty good to be so far along. I agreed. I didn't think it would be soon since it was still not at regular intervals (still not timing them). The doctor came in and commented that I couldn't be that far along since I looked so good. She checked me and declared me to be 6cm because at 7 it would really be active labor. She told me to go walk for 2 hours and come back to be checked.
The view from my room...
We walked the halls for 30 minute increments and had to be monitored for a few minutes then sent walking again. Walking this time felt pretty good and it felt good to be standing during the contractions. With Zuri walking was terrible during contractions so this was different. After 2 hours she declared me at 6cm. I was not pleased. She told me to walk for another hour. We did and came back and was declared to be 6cm! Seriously? Contractions were much more painful at this time and were coming more frequently. Pedro left to go get some cookies for himself and they came back in and told me that they would break my water if I would like. I told them I wanted to wait for Pedro to come back. Pedro was gone forever and when he came back I told him they wanted to break my water, but I wasn't sure I was ready! The nurse came back in at 645pm and told me they were about to have a shift change and they would be in at 7:15 to break my water.
At 7:45pm they came in and broke my water. Then the contractions really came, super painful and frequent. I told the nurse I would go get in the shower but this is as far as I got:
Around about 8:40pm the nurse came in and told me that I was still at 6 or 7! Seriously demoralized at this point. She told me I needed to get in the shower. I told her I wasn't sure I could get there, it seemed so far away! Pedro and the nurse got me to the shower. I was in there for 15 minutes and really felt the urge to push. I told them that I needed out and that I knew I hadn't been in there very long to have progressed much and if I hadn't progressed there was no way I was making it. The nurse told me that the shower and standing really could have made me progress that quickly.
I made it to the bed and she checked me and said I was at 9cm!!!! She suggested I go on my hands and knees. At this point laying down did not sound good, so hands and knees I went. It was painful and I told her I needed to push, she didn't tell me I couldn't. About 3 contractions later she checked me again and I was at 10cm. She told me I could push and told the doctor to come in for labor. I was pushing while she was on the phone. Two pushes and baby Aviela was born at 9:14pm. It was so quick with the pushing that the doctor had just made it to the room as Aviela arrived!
Aviela Jaidyn Malave
Born on 5/16/2014
6lbs 13oz and 20.25 inches long
Zuri with her new sister!
She has been great with "Baby Sista!"
