To start this story I should say that it was freezing outside and snowing. I went into labor at 1am in the morning. We lived about 35 min from the hospital in a town in the middle of nowhere, Philipsburg Pa. We literally had to drive down a snow covered mountain to get to the hospital. When I got to the hospital I was barely dilated. The back labor pains were terrible and started early on. I ended up being in labor for 14 hours and being as stubborn as I was at the time, I had decided not to get an epidural before even going into labor so I held out for as long as I could. After 12 hours of labor I got an epidural. I was beyond exhausted due to not sleeping the night before. The back labor I felt was like no other pain I've ever endured in my life. The doctors said that my body was so tense from the pain it was taking longer for me to dilate. Getting the epidural was like magic, once I felt the medication all the pain went away and all I felt was the pressure. Truly wonderful the medical advancements they have.
Since I was so exhausted I took a short nap, a little over an hour. The nurses came back in to wake me and told me it was time to push. Only took 30 minutes of pushing, which I guess is pretty good for a first baby or so I was told. Toward the end of the pushing everything became a blur, all I remember is hearing Autumn cry for the first time and the look on my husband's face when they told us "It's a girl". Autumn was born at 2:48pm on February 13th, she was 8lbs 2oz and 22 in long!
The labor with my son was very different, the only thing that was the same is that I started having contractions with them both at the same time of day! How weird is that? 1am in the morning I went into labor with both of my children, what a great time of day to go into labor! Everything with Owen went much faster, which is to be expected. The back labor started immediately when we were at home. This time upon entering the hospital at 2am I asked for an epidural asap! You live and learn. =)
When I got to the hospital I was already 5cm. The only thing I remember from the painful drive to the hospital is me saying to my husband "Don't touch me!". I feel like that is what you see in the movies but I was in so much pain that if he would of touched me I might have punched him in the face. Being the great sport he is, he took in all in stride. It's always great to have a very supportive partner when going through such a stressful ordeal. Nothing was ever too gross or too much for him, which made it so much easier on me. My labor was only 6.5 hours long from start to finish and the whole experience was so much more calm. Owen was born at 7:36am on May 3rd and he was 9lbs 5oz 21in long. Again, one of the best feelings in the world was hearing Owen cry for the first time and hearing "It's a boy!". Waiting to know the sex of both of our children was a great choice and one of the best surprises ever.
All of these memories came flooding back to me yesterday after talking to the woman who had just given me a massage at The Pittsburgh Center for Complementary Health and Healing. I had seen her once before while I was pregnant and she did say that my spine felt out of place but since I was pregnant with Owen it's normal for a lot of things move around and then move back after. (On a side note, prenatal massages are wonderful, best birthday gift to a pregnant wife!) This time she told me that my lower spine was not straight and that she couldn't move my tailbone at all during the massage. She recommended I see a chiropractor for spinal realignment. She also said that I could opt for spinal massage therapy as well. Since I have had on and off severe pains in my lower spine on the right side since I've had Autumn it was good to hear the reason behind it.
The pain in my spine did get better slowly over the year after I had Autumn, however after I had my son, Owen, it got worse again. From talking with my doctors I now know that really painful back labor is usually caused when the baby's head is coming out faced up with the back of the head (the harder part) pushing on the spine and nerves. This was the case for both of my children. This pressure from the hard part of their head can cause a women's spine to move out of place. Often times it corrects itself on it's own, depending on the severity. I'm hoping to go back to see my doctor soon and start some therapy, in the mean time I'm doing some exercises to strengthen my back on my own. Thought I would document all of my memories on this topic before I lose them. Although my back is going to take some work to get back to normal, it could have been a lot worse. I'm thankful everyday for my kids and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.
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