During one of my contractions the baby's heartbeat dropped. Even though my 4-page birth plan clearly stated my desire to try a variety of positions, such as squatting, kneeling, leaning, and being on my hands and knees, I was confined to the bed for continuous fetal monitoring. While this made the contractions much more painful, I was willing to do whatever it took to ensure the health of my baby. His heart rate quickly recovered. And I quickly dilated to 9.5cm.
My water had still not broken at this point. The doctor asked if she could break my water, as she predicted this would quickly get us to the pushing stage. I agreed. And within minutes I was 10cm dilated and pushing.
I pushed for a full two hours. This was the toughest part of my labor. The pain was excruciating. The force of the contractions was overwhelming. During each contraction I would work with my body pushing as hard as possible to bring Sage down the birth canal. Matt was amazing during this two hour stretch. During each contraction he would grab my back and push me up towards my knees. He let me use my muscles for pushing, rather than holding myself in the proper position. I could not have made it this far without him. He could barely move his arms the next day! They brought in a mirror so I could watch my progress. I started to see Sage's head emerge. And at one point they helped me to touch it. Birth was on the horizon.
