the sunny side

I had been at the birth center alllll day and was TIRED. (We had had two gorgeous little ones in the morning, more about those births later as they were both difficult.) Since the previous births had been tough...I had had some serious adrenaline highs and then crashes...which makes for a tired that is a little more intense. The nurse was also on the same boat.

It was the typical labor of a first time Mama. Her first stage took almost 15 hours, but had progressed at a nice steady pace and flow. Mama's spirits had remained intact and positive throughout. She came to the center at the appropriate time and labored well. Being with her definitely helped to wake us up...along with some super caffeine charged tea that the nurse compared to crack! (And it was quite effective.) Mama had a mild urge to push so I checked her cervix; barely a rim of cervix and a bulging bag of waters at +2 station, with a baby head close behind. In my exhaustion, I offered to AROM, in my mind I wanted to speed things up....something I am not proud of! Wisely, Mama declined. Then, a short time later while sitting on the toilet, her water spontaneously ruptured and she was ready to push for real. Her second stage was 39 minutes, a couple of times the baby heart tones dipped a touch so we changed positions with good results and ended up semi-reclining in the bed. Then there was a lovely crown, followed by the birth of a direct OP baby! The nurse said, "I thought something looked funny and then realised it was because the baby was looking up at me!" Her labor had progressed so nicely, she never had any of the classic "OP labor" symptoms...it was amazing. I have heard of this happening, but had just never seen it myself. So, it does happen! Believe me, I have experienced, many times, the classic "OP labor" and all of the associated dysfunctions and extra pain. And then, there is this one that just kinda snuck up on us. I could see why they are sometimes called "sunny side up" cause that sweet little sunny baby face was lookin right up at us!