hurricane

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Topic: hurricane

marylandavedc

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Posts: 50

Date: Mon Feb 28 6:01 PM, 2011

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Thanks to Tash
comments are appreciate, but please private message me

I turned the radio of my car up, they were doing another weather update. The hurricane was headed in this direction, and they were predicting 4 hours until it reached my parents house. I was about 2 hours away, so I had time. There was no place I’d rather be in this weather than my parents’ house. I was 9 months pregnant and due in about 10 days, so timing couldn’t have been worse, but I didn’t want to stay in my apartment and take on the storm alone. I had been in the car for about 2 hours at this point and I was really feeling the effects of my pregnancy.
The whole pregnancy had been good for the most part. I had always been in good shape, and remained that way for the nine months of the pregnancy. I did gain a significant amount of weight, 40 lbs. The doctors weren’t very concerned about the weight gain, as most had gone to the baby, and they were confident I was physically OK to deliver. My hips were a bit narrow, but they didn’t see why I couldn’t have a natural birth.
Sitting in the car for 2 hours, however, was starting to take its toll. I’m sure the baby sensed that something was going on, as it squirmed around inside of me. My back had been hurting, but what was new. I just continued to drive in the rain with one hand on the steering wheel and one on my belly, trying to relax the baby.
I was just about to cross the state line when I saw flashing lights ahead of me. I slowed down my car when I got to them. An officer approached my car, and asked me to roll down the windows. He told me that they had closed the highway, because a bridge was out. One of the dams up the river had broken, and the highway was not crossable. He also told me I needed to take shelter quickly because the hurricane was approaching. I let him know that my parents’ house was right up the road (an hour and a half) but he wouldn’t let me cross, he suggested I go back down the road about 10 miles, there was a small hotel that was still taking on people.
It was about that time that I turned my car around that I got a terrible cramp in my back. All I could feel was a tightening of the muscles and my baby trashing around in my stomach. I suppose that I shouldn’t have been just sitting in a car for almost 3 hours, being 9 months pregnant. I took deep breaths and was able to last through the cramp.
I got on my phone and told my parent what was going on. They were happy I was going to get to shelter, but were still concerned about their pregnant son riding out the storm alone. My mom said she read something about the barometric pressure being able to induce labor. I let her know it was ok, and I’d be fine, I didn’t even think that the baby had turned down yet for birth.
I found the hotel pretty easily. The parking lot was packed with people who didn’t have anywhere else to go. The hotel looked fairly safe, it was a big cement building, and they had boarded up most of the windows already. I parked my car and got out.
I noticed when I got out that my belly was lower than it was when I started my trip. I could feel the extra weight on my back, and my maternity jeans were slung very low in the front. I tried to put this from my mind, and told myself that I could make it thru the hurricane and get back to my apartment, and give birth like I had planned, in a hospital.
The walk to the front door was a long one, I didn’t have much with me, just a back pack with a change of clothes and some toiletries. When got to the front desk there was another guy in front of me. I could see by the expressions on the guys face and the receptionist that I looked like a mess. The both just stared at my belly, which was peeking out a bit from under my tee shirt. I’m sure they could see the strain on my skin.
I got to the desk and the receptionist let me know they didn’t have any more rooms available. My heart sank, and I think my belly moved closer to the ground. What was I going to do? She said I was more than welcome to stay in the lobby, they might be able to find a cot for me. But, just then the guy checking-in in front of me offered up his room. He got the last one, and it had 2 double beds in it, I was so grateful, plus he was pretty cute.
We walked down the hall to our room, and he introduced himself as Jim, he lived a few hours away, and ran into the same issue I had with the bridge being out. He was still in college, and worked around where I lived. I told him about my pregnancy, that I had about 10 days to go. He was shocked, his sister had a baby a few months ago, and he remember towards the end she was smaller than me, he also commented on the fact that I was carrying pretty low, like she was before she gave birth. I could tell he was nervous and didn’t want to be a midwife for me, in a hotel room.
For the next hour we just kind of hung out. The AC in the room wasn’t working, so I asked Jim if he minded if I took my shirt off. He seemed a little apprehensive, but said it was cool. It was a relief to take off my tee shirt, and cool down my body. Jim’s eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw my baby filled belly. I realize it must have been quite a site. I invited him to come over and feel it, most people liked it. Jim took his big hands to my belly and began to move around it. He felt the baby squirming around inside. He also felt, as I did, my belly tightening up. I had not been having Braxton-hicks contractions, but this very well could have been one. My belly suddenly tightened up and felt like a rock. He looked up at me as a breathed out heavily. Jim didn’t know what he had gotten himself into. I just explained these were practice contractions, and there was nothing to worry about.
The wind started to pick up in the next hour and the rain got heavier. We were supposed to be on the outskirts of the hurricanes path, so it never really got that bad. We did eventually turn the lights out and try to go to sleep.
Jim must have woken up by the light in the bathroom at 2am. He knocked on the door and asked if I was ok. I wasn’t. I let him in and he saw me with both hands on the sink in a death grip, and my legs spread wide. I had been having back pain for the past hour and my water had just broken. As the contraction passed, I saw Jims eyes locked on my belly. It was contorting in the weirdest shapes, trying to move the baby down to the birth canal. As the muscles in my stomach clenched, you could see the baby struggling with hands and feet pushing out against my skin. Instinctively, Jim rushed to my side and began to massage my back.
When the contraction passed Jim helped me back to the bed. Jim picked up the phone and tried to call the front desk, but he line was dead, and neither of our cell phones were working. My contractions were about 5 minutes apart, and seemed to be getting stronger. Jim looked at my belly and noticed that it didn’t seem like the baby had moved much farther south since we met. With my permission he felt around my sore belly. Right where my belly button was, he thinks he felt the head, and further to the top of my belly he felt the butt. I assured him this couldn’t be the case, that I felt the baby close to my birth canal. He put my hands on my sweaty belly and I felt the same thing. Either the baby hadn’t been moving down, or it was still upright, and would be delivered feet first. How could this get worse, I was in a hotel room with a stranger who would have to help me deliver my baby breach.
A few hours later we were getting close to delivery. Jim was helping me walk around the hotel room to try to speed things up. I suppose I should have been grateful for having a quick labor, but I just wanted it to be over sooner. Every minute, I’d have to stop and lean against the wall as a contraction set in. Jim would help massage my back and belly in order to relieve some of the pain. On his last contraction I got the urge to push. I dropped to a deep squat and started groaning.
Jim got me to the bed and helped me get my shorts off. I was laying flat on my back with my knees spread wide. Jim told me to do whatever felt natural, so I started pushing. After about 20 minutes of pushing, Jim said he saw the feet. Delivering a breach baby was hard because the head, the biggest part, comes out last. So pushing the feet and the lower half of the baby out was not that bad, when we go to the torso, I started having problems.
It must have been quite a site, me naked and pregnant lying on the bed with half of a baby still inside of me. I continued to push, but didn’t make very much progress. Jim then came back up to my head and tried to encourage me to push harder. I told him I couldn’t. Jim then began to press on the top of my still big belly. He pushed the baby’s head down as much as he could as I continued to push. Soon only the head remained to deliver, Jim began to pull the baby out from its feet. I struggled and felt myself being stretched to the limits, but eventually got the head loose.

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