I’m not much of a story-teller, but I’m going to try to tell the story of how our first-born son came into the world on October 31st 2013 (his due date)!
It all started Wednesday October 30th when I woke up at 3am with horrible lower back pain and noticed there seemed to be moments of more intense pain that would wrap around to my stomach. I got everything ready if we needed to go to the hospital in the near future and Jacob went to work with the knowledge that I might be calling him home if things became intense. I wasn’t able to get comfortable all day due to the constant back pain and contractions were anywhere from 6-10 minutes apart and became farther apart as the day wore on. The day came to a close and we got ready for bed. The worst pain came when I laid down so I got settled in the recliner in the basement to try to get some rest. I had not slept since 3am that morning. I sat there thinking it was going to be another sleepless night and was discouraged that nothing had progressed all day.
About 20 min. after going to bed about 11pm I thought I slightly peed my pants so I ran upstairs and by the time I got to the bathroom my underwear were soaked. I thought it was my water that broke but was unsure because contractions hadn’t been very intense yet. Well it kept gushing. I woke my mom up for confirmation then called the hospital and they said it was my water and told me to come in. We collected our things and headed out the door telling my mom we would let her know if they admitted us.
Right before we left for the hospital.
It was a super foggy night as we drove to the hospital. we arrived just before midnight, and checked in. A friendly security guard walked us to the maternity ward. At my first internal check, not long after midnight, i was 3 cm dilated and 100 percent effaced. The Dr. told me to keep moving so we walked halls, Jacob massaged my back with a tennis ball, I rolled on an exercise ball. the nurse was great and gave me a portable monitor so i could keep moving and wouldn’t have to get in the bed for 20 min out of every hour.
being monitored when we arrived.
3am came and i had made no progression. The Dr. said if I hadn’t progressed at all by the next check then they would have to put in an IV and give me some pitocin, but if I progressed even a little farther she would break another sack of water that was inhibiting him from coming further. it was amazing how much fluid I had already lost and I still had another sack not yet ruptured. Jake jokingly nicknamed me gusher. We both were getting very tired and I had been awake for a full 24 hours by then. I got in the bath tub to try and relax and it was absolutely wonderful.
The next check at 4:30am I progressed to a 4 (such an answer to prayer), and they broke the 2nd sack of water. After the Dr. broke the last sack we took a walk again and by the time we made it back around to our room the contractions were already much more intense. Since the tub had been relaxing and helpful the first time, i tried it again, but i just couldn’t get comfortable. We tried other positions, and the best one seemed to be on my knees on the ground either leaning over the exercise ball or on all fours. It seemed to shift some of the pressure from the back to the front. The general pressure and back pressure was getting so intense I couldn’t even think what to try to help it. By this time I think I had hit the transition phase and was really thinking i couldn’t make it much longer…there was just no relief. I questioned why I went natural and thought I will never do this again. I also thought about all the women who have had 5 plus kids… it’s hard to imagine going through it again right now.
About 6am I started feeling like I needed to push due to the pressure. It had only been an hour and a half, so I don’t think the Dr. thought I would be ready to push yet. She checked me anyway, and I had progressed in an hour and half from a 4 to a 10 and was ready to push. I’m thankful the most intense contractions were so “short-lived.”
Jake took one foot and the nurse the other at the end of the bed. I thought that once we got to pushing that it would be quick. Not the case. Pushing was hard, but a welcome change of pace from the constant contraction pain. At least during a contraction, I had a distraction and felt productive. It was really hard to keep my breath in for 10 seconds while pushing then repeat that three times in a row. My first two pushes were generally good, but the third push was a real struggle. Once I got the hang of it I could totally tell while pushing if it was a good push or not which was helpful. Between pushing Jacob would give me sips of water. 7 o’clock hit and the nurse shift change happened. I was getting discouraged because that means we had been there forever if a new nurse came on. Jake and the Dr. said they could see his head and he had dark hair. We just kept pushing and by this time I was drenched in sweat (I’m not exaggerating). We were making good progress and the Dr. said it wouldn’t be long now. She said that most first time moms push for over 3 hours and she thought I would most definitely be under that time, which was encouraging.
Clinic hours opened and they called my Dr. who came down and replaced the Dr. on call. I really liked the Dr. on call and kind of wanted her to deliver since she had been in the trenches with us all night, but my Dr. was fine as well. I thought contractions were bad, but the final pushes (ring of fire) were absolutely horrible. All of the sudden there was a ton of people in the room besides me, Jake and the nurse, so I knew we were close to seeing our little boy. The ring of fire lasted forever and it was very hard to push through the pain. I kind of forgot about form like bearing down and pulling my legs toward me rather my legs just wanted to push straight out and I couldn’t do anything because it hurt so bad. Finally, we were waiting for a contraction and I just was yelling that it hurt so bad and I couldn’t wait for the next contraction. My Dr. looked at me and said “okay, but you have to give it all you got.” I said okay and I pushed. Jake said the Dr. pulled really hard and he came out. I guess he came out with his hand by his face which made me tear more. The hand by the face thing doesn’t surprise me considering now he’s obsessed with having his hands near his face all the time. At 8:42 am Graham Lewis Aase was born.
They took him to the exam table and cleaned him up while I delivered the placenta and was stitched up (I had a 2nd degree tear). I had originally requested immediate skin to skin contact, but i was glad they did the exam first because I was just too weak, so I was able to rest while everything got stitched up and he was examined. My eyes were super puffy and sore and my face looked like I had a rash due to popped blood vessels. They said he weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21 inches long. They were amazed at how long his torso was and his big feet. Once they were finished cleaning him up they gave him to Jake and according the Jake the first look Graham gave him was a Zoolander blue steel look. 
First picture with his daddy! 
First Family Picture
We spent the rest of the day resting, feeding, and holding our little boy. My mother came about an hour after delivery and spent the afternoon with us. The uncles and grandfather came to visit later that afternoon as well.
We were able to get approval for an early release to leave the next afternoon November 1st, which was great (a nice thing about having a natural birth and a healthy baby).
All ready to come home (November 1st).
Labor is really just one of those things you have to go through to fully understand how painful and hard it is, but it’s worth it. I couldn’t have done it without Jacob’s help though. We’re thankful to have our little man and we love him a lot.
I’ll post soon on how Graham is doing now that we’re at home and how that adjustment has been.
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