short labor, short labor story

Gabriella . . . the name does NOT fit this athletic, talkative, very intense young woman. But her nickname, Gabby, does. :)

Gabby called to inform me that she woke up in a puddle. She was 10 days past due date, so her water breaking was great news! No labor yet, so I took my time and arrived to their house a couple of hours later to find she was beginning to have some mild contractions.

We went for a walk, but with a heat index of 102, twenty minutes was all she wanted to do. We went inside and bounced on the birthing ball and talked about life and watched contractions go from 'easy and 6 minutes apart' to 'intense and 4 1/2 minutes apart' in just a couple of hours. Based on my experience, I knew it was time to transfer, and she readily agreed, so we loaded up in my van and drove the 25 minutes to the hospital.

We enjoyed talking along the way, noting that they still didn't have a carseat OR a name picked out for this child and laughing at the fact that they maybe the worst procrastinators ever.

When we got to the hospital, Gabby said, "Steph, we talked the whole way here." We did! Oh. We did. She never stopped once to breathe through a contraction because she never had a contraction. Darn.

She had already heard about my last client's "long birth, long birth story" and was more than happy when I suggested we walk around outside and get labor progressing again before we checked in and had to deal with IV's and monitors. So we walked. And sweated. Just as our bodies were about to change state from solids to liquids, Gabby announced, "Let's go to Wal-Mart!" DO WHAT??? "Seriously," she said. "We can walk around in the cool, we can get a carseat, and I'm pretty sure Wal-Mart won't hook me up to a fetal monitor." Well, she makes a good point. So off we went.

After a few minutes of walking around Wally World, her contractions picked up nicely, and by the time we checked out, people were pointing and staring and offering assistance. :)

Back at the hospital, we walked the lobby and courtyard for another half hour until Gabby felt she really wanted to check in. We got a room, determined she was 8+ cm dilated, and no sooner did they check her than transition hit hard and fast. She got into a squatting position up on the bed between her hubby and me, using our shoulders for support, and laughed at herself for looking and sounding like an Olympic weightlifter with a beer belly. (I'm telling you, this girl was a riot!)

After 30 minutes of transition came 30 minutes of pushing, and her 7# 15oz little boy was in her arms all wide-eyed and happy.

THAT'S how to have a baby. :)