Theodor Gustav has come:)

Theodor entered the world at 10:14pm on March 27th after over 25 hours of birth. I was able to use hypnobabies to almost have the completely natural birth that I wanted. Active labor started in the evening on March 26th, at around 9:00/10 pm we started timing contractions and we went to the birth center at 2am by the time they checked me at 3am (a birth had just ended so Thomas and I went on a walk for an hour) I was already at 5 cm, and at around 10am I was at 10 cm dilated!! I used hypnobabies throughout this time to keep myself in a hypnotic state which helped me breathe and relax through each contraction- they were sometimes VERY uncomfortable but never impossible and I knew I could do it. My midwife was super impressed as was I LOL. Unfortunately though my water wasn't breaking and since I was now completely dilated that needed to happen for the birth to continue. We tried for 4 hours to get the water to break naturally but nothing was working. They didn't feel comfortable breaking the water themselves at the birth center because it was possible to push Theodor up away from my birth canal and the danger was there that the cord would go before his head when they broke my water, so it was decided that I would transfer to a local hospital to have my water manually broken.

Once we got to the hospital the doctor did an ultrasound and commented that not only did I have a lot of amniotic fluid, he said that the baby was also probably a bit big- maybe between 8 and 9 pounds. I didn't take much stock in this but I was happy that he was willing to break my water because his second suggestion had been a c-section. At this point it was now about 3 in the afternoon and I had been in labor for over 17 hours so when they told me they were going to give me something to increase my contractions I had them give me a short working pain reliever instead of an epidural.

The doctor broke my water and there was so so so much- it was crazy. I was having strong contractions and the baby moved right down just like he should. At this point it was about 7pm and I had been in labor for almost 24 hours and I started to feel the need to push. My midwife said I was doing everything perfectly and that many women liked pushing more then the first part of labor since you were actively doing something. Well after about half an hour of excruciating pain I asked how much longer- hoping for something like 5 minutes LOL when she said not more then 2-3 hours I freaked out. I was able to get an epidural but in Germany they don't keep you from feeling the pain and pressure of your lower half so that you can actively help with pushing although they do keep you from feeling contractions. I can honestly say that the worst contraction med-free was nothing like the pain of the pressure I was feeling with the epidural while pushing.

I pushed for over 2 hours with the epidural and in the end was able to deliver Theodor vaginally with the help of a vacuum and the doctor and midwife pushing on my stomach and Thomas by my side as I screamed and pushed it was so intense my nose started gushing blood at one point and after each push I swore that I couldn't do it anymore (I should add that DH was SO SO amazing for the whole birth he could not have done a better job helping me). I also later found out that I was very lucky to not have a C-section forced on me-I will be sending a card to the doctor and midwife on duty as only later did I realize what a supportive team they were.

It turns out there was a reason why pushing was incredibly difficult and why it almost wasn't possible for my body to get him out- Theodor was a little over 10 pounds!!!!!! His head and body were also over the averages at 21.65 inches long and his head had a circumference of 14.96 inches.

When they put him on my stomach the first thing I said was Oh my gosh he is SO big. I couldn't believe someone that size had come out of me. I was completely exhausted and in shock but SO SO happy! Theo then started nursing like a champ right from the beginning!

I am super pleased with my birth. I was able to go natural for almost the whole way and I honestly don't know if I could have delivered him vaginally without the help of the vacuum which wouldn't have been possible at the birth center. I also think there was a reason my water wasn't breaking on its own, as the way everything happened was so calm. Driving on our own to the hospital from the birth center, being able to make informed decisions about the next step without pressure, and delivering without an emergency C! For this I really have Teddy to thank as his heart rate was perfect throughout- he also had perfect Apgars:D The one downside for me is that I both tore and was cut although this is a case in which I think the cut was necessary. I won't lie though it is quite painful and the healing will probably take a good long while. I still wouldn't change anything though!

Here are 2 pictures of our "little" prince :)