Castle de Ninakoff: Birth Story

I figured I may as well write my birth story now that we have orli here...so here it goes:

About 7am June 19th I went into active labor. The contractions started and needless to say I was super excited it started! Orli would soon be here! The week before was my 40 week checkup and because m OB was educated by the system and I had Medicaid, he pushed for a C-section. Now, I had educated myself on everything child birth and knew exactly what I wanted and because I had a perfect (no problems) pregnancy I knew I could have my daughter naturally. I had a birth plan all written and showed it to my OB and he said it was fine. Well, he thought he could change my mind and get me to have a section (and get him more money) by scaring me and telling me my baby was going to be like 12 or 13 lbs and her head is in the 99% and she was going to get stuck and die. Yes, he said my baby would die unless I got a section. I just let it slide off my back like a duck because I knew he was going to say these things and I knew he was wrong because I had faith in my body and knew Orli was a fighter! So Nate and I do into the check up and at this point, my dr knew he wouldn't be able to change my mind so we did not even really talk to me, but to nate! Now nate wasn't as educated about child birth like I was and just went with everything the dr said because he didn't know any better (he does now!) and when the dr said my baby would surely die unless I got an induction and had her now, nate believed him and scheduled an induction date for the next week. Well, I did not want to fight in the dr's office so I didn't say anything till we got home and I explained that I would NOT have an induction or section because I was just fine, as was orli. (I mean, have you SEEN my family?? Yea, all big and tall and my mom was just fine!) when I tried telling the dr that I was fine because us Nine's are all large, he said the stupidest thing I have ever heard.."genetics has nothing to do with it"...REALLY??? Then how do you explain how we MADE the baby? Sheeeesh...anyways, so we ended up cancelling the induction date, and as if to say "I told you so" I went into labor the day AFTER the date was supposed to be, at a healthy 41 weeks and 1 day!
So the contractions started early morning the 19th and I knew it was time. We already had bags packed (i actually forgot to pack nate stuff, poor thing had to spend the whole 3 days in the hospital without clothes! oops!!!!) and were ready to meet orli! So I called my mom and we started timing the contractions. They were about a 4 on the pain scale and happening about every 45 min. not a bad start! So we went over to my mom's house so she could take us to the hospital when I couldn't take the pain anymore, which was about 4 or 5 pm that day. Went into the hospital and we ended up staying there all night, me going through contractions and hooked up to the stupid baby monitor. "dr wants to monitor the baby" yea yea yea...I practially pushed my nurse over when I was contracting so I could stand up and get through it the way that was most comfortable for me. Well, this continued till early in the morning when my blood pressure started rising and orli was undergoing more and more stress, which I did NOT want, so I finally caved and got an epidural....which was so freaking hard especially when you are already 9 cm dialated and the contractions kept on coming! It took the nurse a couple pokes to get it in my spine, and at this point nate (who faints with needles) finally was ordered on the couch seeing as he started turning blue in the face. I had been holding him and screaming into his chest while the contractions came and went because I had to hold still while the nurse put a mile long needle into my spine...ow. By the way, I could NOT have done this without my mom and Nate there. Nate was there to help calm me and boy did he do his duty! I really could not have done it without him! My mom was there to fight for my birth plan. I asked her to help fight the dr and nurses away when they wanted to do something against my plan and it wasn't needed. She was AMAZING!!!
So the epidural finally kicked in and at this point nate and my mom were going on well over 24 hrs with no sleep and I was closing in on 48 ( i couldnt sleep the night before I went into labor) I was getting ready to just pass out when my dr came in, didn't say hi, how are you...nothing! He asked how long I wanted to wait until I got a section...SERIOUSLY?? I said as long as it takes (i had been stuck at 9cm for awhile which is normal) and he (condensendingly) said how long is that? A day? A week? A month? I was exhausted and I remember thinking "You are so fired doc!" and I said yes! as long as it takes. My mom then stepped in to help (calmly) explain the I was fine as was orli and there was no need for a section. My dr then shut her up by saying "you aren't the expert, I am. I am the one who went to school, you don't know what you are talking about" my mom was dumbfounded by how stupid this was!! So, my dr then told us a horror story of some lady in AFRICA and how she had a natural birth with no medicine and how a hyena came and ate the placenta..something...(I was drugged up and exhausted so I dont remember it alot) and all of us (nate had been napping and woke up during the "story") just looked at each other after he left and were like "SERIOUSLY???" even nate lost faith in him after that (finally haha) well, needless to say we are never going back again!
So a few hrs after that it came time to push! (my nurses were all execeptional by the way) and they came in and we started pushing! I was pushing for a while and one of my nurses said she could see the head and asked if I wanted to see..uh DUH! So they brought a mirror in so I could watch and as I pushed I could see her head. Well, being me and totally sleep deprived, I started giggling! I was so excited to see her! Well, everytime I pushed and giggled, she got sucked back in and I finally asked to have the mirror taken away so I could concentrate on pushing. 3 hrs later, out pops little orli! I stripped from the waist up so I could do skin on skin with her and the dr said "hurry cut the cord" and my mom literally yelled NO! not yet! wait till it stops pulsing. I really don't think he liked not having his way. Oh well.

At 8lbs 7ox and 21 1/2 " long we welcomed Orli Ninette Ribakoff at 1:48 pm June 20th!

(and nate agrees next time we go with a midwife)

After a long 9 months we finally got to meet our Orli girl and we could not love her more!!!!

Nate was a life saver!!