Birth of our third son, Noah Asher Luciano

One week ago today I had no idea that I would have a baby in my arms by the end of the day.  Sure I was 5 days past my due date, but even then I wasn’t expecting a baby that day because I was 7 days and 9 days late with my other two.  For the most part I didn’t expect to go into labor on my own (especially since my mom was over a week late for all three of us) and I thought the doctor would induce me eventually for being “overdue”.  But all the same, I was hoping to go into labor on my own and I tried a mired of “natural inducement methods.”

            Some of the things I tried were drinking raspberry leaf tea, eating pineapple, taking primrose oil supplements, walking, and doing squats and pelvic tilts.  I really didn’t have much hope in these various methods, but it was fun to have something to do (that last week or so in particular) while we seemed to “wait around” for Noah to arrive.  And maybe some of those techniques helped since I did eventually go into labor on my own.

            One week before I actually gave birth, I was dilated to 3-4 cm and 60% effaced (needing a total of 10 cm and 100% effacement before one pushes the baby out).  Even though I was a little dilated with my other two births before I was in active labor, I was never this dilated.  Perhaps catching the stomach flu at 39 weeks helped with this early progress?  Vomiting throughout the night sure did start up some good contractions.

            That last week before Noah’s birth I would have some contractions each evening for a couple hours, but they weren’t strong and consistent and would stop when I went to bed.  So when Saturday came around, and contractions started around 3pm or so while watching football playoffs with Allan, I didn’t really pay much attention to them.  But all the same I decided to do a few squats and pelvic tilts in between to help, just in case.

            After about an hour or so of noticing my contractions getting a little stronger (but still 10-15 minutes apart) I told Allan.  He got up from watching the football game and took a shower, just in case.  We kept watching the game and eventually another game came on.  By 5pm I starting timing my contractions, but they were still weak and far apart (still 10 apart and not very consistent).  Then when 6pm came around Allan told me to start texting him each time I had a contraction.  I did that while he went downstairs to make dinner for our other two boys.  From 6pm to 7pm my contractions were getting stronger and closer (now about 5-10 minutes apart).  But I still wasn’t convinced I was in active labor yet.  Why not?  Well you see with the birth of my second son, Trevor, I was induced and was on pitocin from start to finish.  And when I was on pitocin my contractions were strong and even.  So I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect with contractions without the aid of pitocin.  And with the birth of my first son, Jakob, I was only in the early stages of labor before I asked for an epidural.

            Around 6:30pm I called labor and delivery to let them know that I believed I was in the early stages of labor.  The nurse was kind and told me to come in when my contractions were about 5 minutes apart for 1 to 2 hours and when I had a hard time talking through each contraction.  She also told me to drink a glass of water and lie down to see if they would go away.  So I drank some water and tried to lie down, but I was more uncomfortable lying down than sitting or walking.  I told Allan “it was time” and he gathered our belongings and we left for the hospital around 7pm.

            It is about a 30 minute drive to the hospital from our house.  The contractions were getting stronger and closer on the drive over, picking up speed more quickly than I expected.  I started to get panicked that I would be able to handle the birth (as I desired to give birth without the need of an epidural if possible).  The CD “No Less Days” was playing in the background as we drove down the freeway, listening to hymns and worship music.  I asked Allan to tell me about my God.  Allan starting listing attributes about our dear Savior, His power, control love, compassion, and intimate knowledge with every detail about us.  The drive calmed me down as I focused on the greatness of my God.

            Around 7:45pm we got to the hospital Allan asked if I wanted to be dropped off or walk with him from the parking structure?  The parking structure was about ½ mile away from the entrance.  I didn’t want to be dropped off because when I am in labor I am very emotional and I didn’t want to be left alone waiting for him to park the car.  Plus they say walking is good while in labor, right?  So we parked and walked.  Boy was that a long walk!  We walked slowly and I definitely gimped along like a woman in labor, stopping every several feet to hang on Allan through a contraction. 

We made it to the entrance and up the elevator and around the corner to the labor and delivery nurses station.  They asked how they could help us.  I began to tell them I was in labor when my water broke all over the floor! (Funny, later I would notice that my discharge papers listed the reason I was admitted as “leaking fluid).  They saw the mess I made and said, “yup, you are in labor, come into this room.” There was no mistake, I was in labor.  The contractions were coming closer and stronger.  The nurses moved slowly by efficiently until I started moaning.  They then picked up speed and said, “let’s check her”.  One nurse checked me and said, “um yeah she is a 9.5, call the doctor.” 

            Things moved quickly after that.  They put me on the baby monitor for only a minute before taking it off again since it was time to push.  The doctor walked into the room and introduced himself.  I remember saying “hi doctor nice to meet you.”  Ha ha… since my OB doctors were a team of doctors I hadn’t gotten around to meet, Dr. Tuso, the current doctor on call that evening.  I pushed a few times and by 8:14pm I had a 6 lb. 9oz, 20 inch baby boy in my arms!