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Week by Week

Andrew John Tufano

I had a relatively textbook pregnancy. Gained too much weight (50 pounds) and all tests were normal. I was due on April 23rd 1995. To my dismay - Andrew was born on the 30th. Every day past my due date felt like a year!

I was scheduled to be induced on a Tuesday. It was now Saturday. My husband and I spent the day at the zoo. The next morning I woke up with a backache. I passed it off, blaming our walks the day before. Throughout the day I was uncomfortable, my backache was getting worse, I had fitfull sleep, and I was definately tired of being pregnant! The phone rang all day with family and friends wanting to know if I had had the baby yet - No, No, No, was all I could say - Why did they keep asking me!! It never occurred to me that my backache could be labor - I had had lots of BH contractions for about two months now and expected labor to be the same sort of feeling - just stronger.

I was also beginning to think that I would never deliver - and induction would be the only way. I remebered my doctor saying that if you can still sleep you are not in labor - so I tried to take a nap. It was about 2pm at this point and the basketball playoffs were going on. After a few hours uncomfortable on the couch - I decided I wanted ice cream.

I took a shower and the backache still wouldn't go away. When I got out of the shower - the phone rang again - another friend wondering when the baby would be born. During the conversation the pain got so bad I couldn't talk - I was just now beginning to think that I was starting labor. I still hadn't told my suspicions to my husband. I got dressed and we went for ice cream. By the time we arrived (now about 6pm) I didn't think I could stand in line and wait - I told my husband I wanted to go home. He asked if we could get gas first (the car was on "E") - I said no, just take me home.

On the way home the pain was getting more intense - I told Ralph that I thought this might be it. When we got home I was pacing around the house and at about 7:30pm I decided to time the pains (which I still did not think were truly contractions - because they felt nothing at all like the BH contractions and were mostly in my lower back). They were about 3-4 minutes apart. After timing them for about 20 minutes I told Ralph to call the doctor. We paged the office and a midwife called back within 15 minutes.

By now I was crying with each pain and scared to death - this is not at all what I thought it would be like. The midwife said that since it was my first baby - that it would take a while - I wanted to go to the hospital right then - she told me to wait at least an hour (which would have been 10:30 or so). By now I was screaming with each contraction, crying, and cursing. Ralph was calling my family and telling them it was time. I remeber being in the bathroom - kicking and screaming saying that I couldn't so this. I couldn't imagine if this was only the beginning what birth would actually be like.

Then everything became a blur - the pain was fast and furious and I didn't have time to regain control between contractions. I told my husband to call back and tell the doctor we were coming. We lived about 20 minutes from the hospital. My husband was running around trying to pack a bag (I know being almost two weeks late - you'd think I would have done that already - but I am a true procrastinator) and I was screaming and destroying the house. I settled down on the couch - leaning over backwards on my knees, biting the cushion and screaming. My husband ran past me numerous times packing the car. Then I began to feel the urge to push. Oh no - I thought - you're not supposed to push until the doctor tells you to! What do I do - I tried to ignore the feeling - and I fought every urge. I was thrashing about and scared to death.

Somehow I got into the car and managed to sit in the front seat again on my knees, facing backward screaming into the headrest - all I wanted to do was push. On the way to the hospital I couldn't take it anymore and I went with one of the contractions and my water burst! It felt like such a relief! Truly Niagara Falls in the front seat of our brand new car!!! (we still laugh about that now)

My husband was driving through red lights and speeding all the way to the hospital. The pressure relief that I had felt was minimal - because the urge to push and pain came right back. We arrived at the hospital and my husband ran in (our car was still running in front of the emergency room exit). Less than a minute later he came back out saying that I would have to go in - they weren't paying attention to him. I tried to walk - but fell to the ground. I couldn't move. I gathered all of my strength and made it inside. They saw me and ordered a wheelchair - before it arrived I dropped to my knees again screaming. Then the staff jumped into action. They put me on a stretcher and took me to the L&D floor.

In the elevator I was screaming. When we arrived in the room - they pulled off my pants and I remember asking the first person I saw for drugs. When they said no, that I would have to be checked first - I objected with a slew of curses - I was totally out of control. The doctor then checked me and told me to push with the next contraction. I was still on the stretcher and in my street clothes. The first contraction I still found myself thrashing wildly - then with the next one - out came Andrew John - in one fell swoop! It was 10:31 pm. They placed him on my chest and moved me to a bed (that was right next to me) and I began to deliver the placenta. In retrospect that hurt more than delivery. Every push on my stomach was sooooo painful. They then took Andrew to clean him up and my husband went downstairs to park the car (which was still running, doors open!). They then registered me as a patient and I started trembling. I had a high fever and couldn't stop shaking.

The next hour or so was focused on me and trying to bring the fever down. Eventually all was calm and Andrew was sleeping peacefully next to me.

Gina Tufano