Jude’s Birth Story

I had been very uncomfortable since around 37 weeks. I had contractions, sometimes ones that were both painful and regular, every day. At 39 weeks exactly, on Yom Kippur, the contractions were so intense and regular that I went to the hospital, only to be sent home. I was miserable. At my 39 week appointment I was dilated 3 cm, which was encouraging. At least all of those contractions were accomplishing something. My parents came to stay with us for Sukkot, which they had planned to do all along. The thinking was that if I had not yet had the baby, they would be here in case I went into labor. And if I had had the baby, they would be here to help. To my consternation, I had not yet had the baby. I was very preoccupied with meal planning for Sukkot and having everything arranged and organized for everyone should I be in the hospital. On the second day of Sukkot, around noon, I began having regular, painful contractions. They would taper off, only to pick back up again a while later. I rested, took a bath, and continued to labor at home all day. By dinner time I couldn’t take it anymore. After we put the girls to bed we left for the hospital. I expected to be at least 5 cm dilated given the awful day I had had. However, after being checked, my doctor told me there had been no change since my last appointment. I was crestfallen. He said since I was over 39 weeks and there were available beds, they would keep me if I wanted. He gave me the following options: 1. Go back home, possibly facing another few days of this unproductive labor. This was unacceptable to me. I could not imagine going through even one more day of this. 2. Walk around the hospital and be checked again after a couple of hours. This didn’t sound appealing either, since after an entire day of what I thought was semi-active labor I had not progressed. 3. Give me an epidural, turn up the Pitocin, and have this baby. I went with option 3. By midnight I had been given the epidural and was comfortable. By 12:30 am the Pitocin was working its magic. By 6:30 am I was completely dilated and ready to push. Three pushes later Judah Jack was born at 6:42 am Friday morning, October 14, 2011 (one day before his due date)! He weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces. He was 21.3 inches long. His apgar scores were 9 and 9. He was perfect! I couldn’t believe I had a son! Delivery and immediate recovery were a breeze. I did not tear at all, and the epidural wore off pretty quickly. I had been telling everyone since before I even delivered that I wanted to go home as soon as I felt ready. They told me I had to wait at least 24 hours, so after I delivered on Friday morning, I told anyone I encountered that I would be going home the next morning. We made sure everyone had our discharge papers ready, and that all necessary exams and vaccines were given. By Saturday morning I felt great; I wasn’t even that sore. Due to an outbreak of pertussis, the hospital was offering moms a DTaP vaccine, which I accepted before going home. We got home in time for lunch in the sukkah. We had only been gone for about 36 hours, and we picked up our holiday/Shabbat celebrations right where we had left off. All of my best friends were eating at another friend/neighbor’s house that day and I couldn’t resist surprising them by popping in. I felt fantastic, so I bundled Jude up and along with Shimmy and the big sisters, we walked over. Everyone was shocked and happy to see us- I am so glad we went! Recovery continued to go well. I ended up a having a localized reaction from the DTaP vaccine which resulted in an extremely sore, red, and itchy upper arm for close to a week. This was my only complaint recovery-wise (other than the sleep deprivation). I feel very lucky to have had such a great birthing experience and to welcome our sweet little boy to our family!