Birth

Maybe some people really do forget the pain of labor--not me. I went into labor just as my mother arrived from Philadelphia. After 24 hours of moderate, frequently regular contractions we took a harrowing midnight drive to the hospital--through relentless thick fog that slowed us to a crawl along the 73 and, when we reached a detour, along various highways and byways of South Orange County until we got to the hospital an hour later. When Lisa the midwife told me I was only 2 cm dilated I was in despair.... but she took charge and moved everything along amazingly fast after that.
She made me lie on my side and the contractions got a lot worse, but the labor moved along 3 cm in two hours. She broke my water and then the *real* pain started--but for that I was in the tub, sleeping between contractions, and claiming I'd never make it when the contractions came. Around 6 AM they took me out of the tub to monitor the baby. Was I *furious*! I kept demanding to get back in the tub. Then Lisa the midwife came back from a break: "Well Elizabeth," she said, "You can get back in the tub if you want. Or you can push that baby out."
I pushed. Everyone was in the room--Mom, Keith, midwife, doula, and dear friend Christopher--reminding me to curl, showing me the baby crowning, and generally encouraging me. Lisa massaged and guided me so I didn't tear. In all honesty it still hurt so much I hardly cared about the baby crowning and even when, 26 minutes later, she was there on my belly, I still couldn't quite take it in at first. I was mostly relieved the pain was over. The baby was oddly quiet while the cord was still pulsing. She looked like such a little *human* though--all face and fluid and skin--and when she started to cry she became suddenly very real.