Baby Gumba's Birth Story

Here is the post that will be all about baby Gumba, but I do see a lot of these in future, so don't be thinking this will be the only one. Gumba was born in December, three and a half weeks BEFORE his due date. Husband and I are were not expecting this, since I took the very practical approach to pregnancy and imagined that my real due date was two weeks after the one the midwifes gave me. My SIL's all have gone over and I read in a book that most first pregnancies go an average of eight days past the due date. So, yeah, when my water broke at 3am I was a tad bit surprised. Husband had to get the car seat out of the box and install it, I had to figure out what I wanted to take the hospital, Didn't have that suitcase you always see in dramas/comedies ready to go. Because Gumba was so early I had to go to the hospital, in AK the midwifes are only allowed to assist in pregs that are 37-42 weeks. Husband and I waited a few hours before going to the hospital, I knew as soon as I went they would start the unofficial countdown of when they expected Gumba to come. Arrived at the hospital around 6:30am where in I was asked multiple times if my water really had broken, and just how sure I was. That was REALLY annoying, like I can't tell a bucket worth of clear liquid from a little yellow urine. Ugh, hospitals. They also were VERY insistent that I change into one of their horrible hospital gowns. I refused. I was definitely not the ideal patient following every suggestion or whim of theirs. Every hospital personnel that came into the room was given the same shpeal, there was a reason I wanted a birth center birth, don't give me anything, let me do my own thing, yadda yadda yadda. By noon the nurse kept saying, "you aren't progressing (like we want you to) are you sure you don't want anything, we have drugs for this kind of stuff." I kept declining, she kept offering. We found out later that she (who was older) had really never seen or assisted a COMPLETELY natural birth and was a bit nervous. Can you imagine, a nurse NEVER seeing a birth without drugs? Shocking I know. By 3pm I knew that the clock was ticking, I mean, imagine a woman whose water broke 12 hours ago not in active labor. So, yadda yadda yadda, I got active labor started. Had to move pretty much immediately into the shower, where I stayed for the next five hours. A midwife came to the hospital to be support, and to assist as my advocate. The midwife was amazing. I refused to give birth on my back, which the doc was completley understanding about and really worked with me. And then at 9:20pm little Gumba came into the world. I'll spare you all of the details, but pretty interesting the stuff that happens to your body, but those out that there that haven't done this yet, nothing bad.

And then the real drama came, Gumba had to be in the hospital for the next 10 days, and then we finally got to take him home. December/January were the coldest months in recent memory. While we were in the hospital it was between -45F and -50F. It was awful. But Gumba is doing well now, we've moved on from him being sick to sleep issues. So, everything is on track. I'll post pics next time, can't get it figured out.