Posted Wednesday, July 01, 2009 3:25 PM
"I was told that it would not have mattered how long I labored or pushed, Alyson was not going anywhere on her own..."
The waiting game
Alyson took her sweet time coming. After going into labor at 10pm on Thursday night, we went into the hospital at 6pm Friday night and were admitted at 9pm. We spent Friday night trying to walk through contractions and doing some other excercises to increase dilation and change the position of the baby, who was head down, but facing posterior.
Nothing seemed to work, and after being told I had no more progress around midnight, I was given a shot of Phenergan to help me sleep so that I would be able to get back to work the next day. Neither DH or I slept well, and we were up by 7am with painful of contractions that were so bad again I could hardly stand it. The Phenergan was wonderful and really did help take the pain away, but the effects lingered all day, and at some points I was falling asleep on my feet between contractions...kind of scary!
Off to Labor & Delivery
I labored all day at the Birth Center, in every way imaginable, only to be told every time that I had no more progress, and Alyson's head was not completely on my cervix, which was why I wasn't making any progress. The midwife said I could either continue to labor indefinitely in Family Beginnings or I could be moved over to labor and delivery and given Pitocin to help increase the strength and intensity of the contractions so I could finish dilating. After already being in labor for 44 hours, I decided to go to labor and delivery for the Pitocin and an epidural.
At first it was great. The epi took all my pain away, and Pitocin was at first very effective. I had increased by 2 cm within just an hour of being over there. Then progress stalled again. I was stuck at 7 cm for a long time, and the midwife could not break my water due to a space between Alyson's head and the wall of my uterus. If my water was broken manually, there was a very good chance that her cord would prolapse and we'd have to go right away for an emergency C-section. My water finally broke on it's own, causing some more progress, thankfully.
Unplanned c-section
By 10pm on Saturday night I was finally given permission to push and was told I was doing very well...until about midnight. They realized that although Alyson had turned her position from face up, she was now sideways and her head was stuck under my pelvic bone. The nurses and midwife told me to push through it and she would pass it any minute. However, after another hour they realized that Alyson was not going anywhere without some additional help and all the pushing was causing her heartrate to drop. I was told to stop pushing (much easier said than done!) and they would call one of the doctors to assist with the vacuum. As much as I did not want my baby to be vacuumed, I was so anxious to have everything over with and to see my baby, especially after the already long labor and 3 hours of pushing. I had to wait about 15 minutes for the doctor to get there. When he came with the vacuum, he tried two times and the doctors decided I would need an emergency C-section in order to see this birth to completion.
I was wheeled into the OR while given a lot more medicine in my epidural on the way there. DH went to change into scrubs and my mom went into the rotundra to follow the baby to the nursery after she was born. They were able to start the surgery immediately after getting me into the OR and settled onto the table. They even started before DH was back in the room, which I was NOT happy about. From the time they started until Aly was born at 1:40 AM Sunday morning, was only about 5 minutes. The longest part was being cleaned up and being stitched and stapled back together at the end. I was told that it would not have mattered how long I labored or pushed, Alyson was not going anywhere on her own because her entire body was sideways.
Here's Alyson...finally!
Aly weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz at 20.5 inches long. She scored 5-8-9 on her Apgars and the only reason the first was so low, was because of the trauma we had been through. She is doing remarkably well. I am feeling ok now, but the medicine from the surgery still has not worn off completely. I am starting to feel the effects of it more and more every hour.
Even though this was certainly not the labor and delivery I had imagined or wanted at all, the 52.5 hours were worth it to see my beautiful daughter. DH and I are so thankful to God for giving us this special gift, made even more special by all the effort it took to get her here.
Posted Thursday, June 25, 2009 11:53 AM
"Being on bedrest for two days before labor in a hospital bed was the biggest challenge for me..."
Serafina Nellie arrived on Friday, April 24 at 9:51 a.m. She weighed 6lbs., 12 oz and was 19 ½ inches long. My doctor said it was the most successful failed induction he'd seen!
How it all began...
I was admitted to the hospital Tuesday evening due to my high blood pressure and preeclampsia. I spent two nights being closely monitored and on bed rest with no great improvements, so my doctor called the high-risk doctors at Yale-New Haven hospital for their “blessings” on inducing me at 37 wks and 4 days pregnant.
Before I was given any medication, I was 1-2 cm dilated and 30% effaced and had been contracting all day on my own. They decided to start the induction Thursday around 9 p.m. by inserting Cervidil. I immediately began cramping and got so uncomfortable. After suffering for a few hours they decided to take it out around 1 a.m., and when they checked me about 40 minutes later, my cervix had still made no changes. I continued cramping, which led to much stronger contractions, but still NOTHING was showing up on the machines. Finally, around 4 a.m., my doc came in (when I was about 1-2 cm, 70% effaced) and told me they would be getting me the epidural and breaking my water in order to speed me along.
Dealing with the pain
Contractions at this point were horrible. I swear the 1 or 2 hours before my epidural were the absolute worst. My mom and my nurse were absolutely amazing. And yet STILL my contractions were barely showing up on the machine. It was so frustrating because they were SO bad, yet there was no evidence of them.
Since I tested positive for the group B strep, I received two bags of antibiotics -- one before the epidural and the other right before I started pushing. At 7:15, the epidural was in place. Then my doc broke my water, which pushed me to 3 or 4 centimeters dilated. Around 8:20, my nurse came to change the towel and saw a lot of blood from my water breaking. She called the doc in and at 8:30 discovered I was already 9 cm and almost ready to push!
Finally ready
I began pushing at 9:15 and Serafina arrived at 9:51. When she came out, the cord was wrapped so tightly around her neck that she was “shell shocked." Her circulation was horrible and since she arrived early, she was COVERED in vernix. Her Apgars were 6 and 7. She was rushed over to the NICU to be monitored due to the tight wrapping of the cord and spent the first night in their, and the second night with me.
Looking back
I have to say labor was nothing like I imagined -- the contractions were rough. I know everyone says it, but you will just KNOW when you are having the right kind of contractions. Some ladies may hate me for it, but the labor part was a piece of cake for me. I was able to talk and joke between pushes and I could not feel a thing. I would totally do it again; my doctor was great. I did not poop on the table (THANK GOD) but I did have a second degree tear. (It really wasn't too bad though). The first day after the birth was a little sore, but it wasn't too long after that I began to feel much better. Being on bedrest for two days before labor in a hospital bed was the biggest challenge for me. I was so sore and couldn't sleep at all, so when the big time came, I had no stamina.
Life with baby
Breastfeeding has been a struggle. I pumped for three weeks and supplemented with formula, but now am just formula feeding. I hope all you ladies have a great birth experience! I hope to stick around the boards, but I don’t know how much time I will have now.
Another challenge I faced was that I went through the pregnancy with a single vessel umbilical cord. The cord did not cause any problems with my LO, but it was a lot thinner than a "normal" one, which may have caused it to be wrapped even tighter around her neck. But thankfully, there were no complications, (despite what Google told me!).
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Posted Monday, June 15, 2009 4:53 PM
"My doctor told me if she didn't know better, she would have thought this was my third or fourth baby, as fast as I pushed..."
The beginning
I was scheduled to go in for an induction at 6 a.m. on Friday the 24th. Instead, my water broke around 12:45 a.m., so we headed to the hospital. Once my water had broken, the contractions started coming on strong (they had been painful but pretty bearable until then). Soon after I got a hospital room, it got to the point where the contractions were killing me. But my doctor wasn't there, so they gave me Nubane and Phenergan to help with the pain until he could get there.
At 2 a.m., I was 3.5 cm dilated, and about 70% effaced. They checked me again at 4:30, and I was 5-6 cm, 100% effaced, and feeling like I was going to die. They called my doctor and told him to get there right away so they could give me my epidural before it was too late.
Getting that epi
My doctor finally got there at about 6:30, so they got the anesthesiologist up to my room to give me the sweet relief that is the epidural. It wasn't exactly pleasant going in, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I had curled up into a little ball in my husband's chest while he put the needle in so it wasn't horrible. Once it was in, it took about 15 minutes for it to kick in, and then my right leg was so numb I couldn't move it or do much of anything. The catheter, however, was a Godsend.
My other (favorite) doctor came in around 8 a.m. and checked me. By then I was about 8 cm and she said we would more than likely have a baby around lunchtime, so we were all pretty excited. She gave me Pitocin to speed up the process and slowed the epidural down a bit, too.
Time to push!
Then, around 9:30 a.m. I started to feel some pressure so I told the nurse they might want to check me. When she did, she had me do a few "sample" pushes, and by then I was 10 cm and she said she needed to grab the doctor, because I was about to have a baby.
My doctor came in around 9:35 and by that point, I put my game face on. I was so tired of being numb (and pregnant). I wanted this baby out! So when she told me to push (around 9:45ish), I did. I remember I refused to make eye contact with my DH or my mom, and my MIL and FIL ended up getting stuck in the room (in the corner so they couldn't see anything). I didn't care anymore about DH or my mom seeing my vag (this had been a big thing for me). DH kept talking to me (I have no idea what he said, but it worked). I bared down and pushed like you guys would not believe, and baby Cody came into the world at 10:04 a.m.
Meeting Cody
Cody was 9lb, 4oz, 20 1/2 inches long. He scored a 9 and 9 on his apgars, and the minute I saw him, I was hysterical. I was so emotional. My DH is like the most unemotional man in the world, and even he had tears in his eyes. I had a second degree tear, so my doctor had to stitch me up, and as she did she told me if she didn't know better, she would have thought this was my third or fourth baby, as fast as I pushed. (I didn't poop on the table, either.)
Now that we're home, things are going pretty well. Cody had jaundice, and was but under the lights for the majority of the next day, and we had to supplement with formula since we needed to push the bad stuff out. It's not easy in terms of breastfeeding, but I had been really torn about BFing anyway, so we decided to just stick with formula. Just recently he had a checkup at the doctor's office and he is already back to his birth weight and still absolutely perfect.
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Posted Tuesday, June 09, 2009 11:18 AM
"They laid him on my chest, and right away all the pain just melted away..."
Waiting for baby
On Saturday, May 23, DH and I went to a friends house for lunch. The couples there both have young boys, so we were talking the whole time about going into labor, etc. I took three sips of DH's wine, toasting the hope of having a Memorial Day weekend baby.
Afterward, DH and I took our dog on an hour-long walk. We got home at 6 p.m, and LO was moving around inside like crazy. I started to have bloody show around 8:30 p.m. and took a shower, pleading with my body for my water to break. I finally went to bed around 10:30 p.m.
At midnight, I got up to go to the bathroom and didn't realize until I was in the bathroom that my pajama pants were completely soaked! (I was in such a deep sleep I guess.) I woke up DH, letting him know that my water had broken, but also to tell him that I didn't want to go to the hospital just yet. I wasn’t feeling contractions and wanted to wait it out as long as possible.
Off to the hospital
I started to feel contractions around 1 a.m., and lasted at home until 3:30 a.m. They were coming at 2-3 minutes apart, and were really low in my abdomen and pelvis. We live five minutes from the hospital, so we were admitted by 3:45 a.m.
I was at 2 cm and 90% effaced at 5:30 a.m. I was given some Stadol right away, and passed out for a few hours. When I woke up at 10am, I was at 4cm, 100% effaced, +1 station. I asked for the epidural, and received it at noon. IT WAS HEAVEN. I didn't feel another contraction after that. DH and I watched TV, napped, etc. At 2 p.m. I was still only at 4.5 cm, so they gave me some Pitocin. By 3:30 p.m. I was at 7 cm. I was determined to have the baby by 5:30pm (I have no idea why, but that was the time I had in my head). My doctor was okay with this idea, and came back at 4:30pm to check on me. I was finally at 10 cm!
The baby was really low already, so I was pretty lucky. We discussed tearing/episiotomy, and the doctor was willing to work with me to avoid it at all costs. We practiced pushing for a bit, and then started for real! It was so, so, so surreal. I had an awesome nurse, and DH was unbelievable. Everyone was cheering me on, and counting with me.
Here comes Sam!
I ended up pushing for an hour in total, with no tears or cuts, just a few superficial stitches when his shoulders were coming out. We were on Team Green, and were so excited to find out that it was a boy! They laid him on my chest, and right away all the pain just melted away. I didn't feel the afterbirth or the few stitches I was receiving. DH cut the cord (which he was not expecting), and LO scored a 9/9 on his tests.
I can't even begin to explain the range of emotions that I have felt this week. It has been an absolutely amazing experience, one I would do again in a heartbeat. DH has been the best father/husband I could ask for, and I am terribly sad that he had to go back to work yesterday.
Sam is an amazing baby, and we feel so lucky to him.
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Posted Tuesday, June 02, 2009 6:30 PM
"I couldn't sleep at all. I was 35 weeks
exactly at this point and I didn't know if my baby would be healthy or
not..."
How it all began...
It all started in the wee hours of the morning on November 26. I woke up to extreme cramps and vomiting. I called my OB and he said to go to L&D right away. I was 33 weeks at the time. To make a long story short, they were able to stop the labor and sent me home on strict bed rest.
Fast-forward to December 4. I was laying in bed watching TV and had noticed that the baby hadn't moved all day. I drank some juice and went to lie down on my left side. No movement. I tried this once more. Still nothing. I called my OB and once again was off to L&D.
At the hospital
The first nurse I had was very rude. She acted like I was making it up that I hadn't felt him move. Since his heart rate was fine and I was only having minor contractions, she wanted to send me home. I was very adamant that I was not going anywhere until I felt him move.
Finally, she ordered for me to get an ultrasound. While the ultrasound was taking place, the nurse was very up front with me. She kept looking for pockets of amniotic fluid and couldn't really find any. The amniotic fluid was at 3.98 cm when it is supposed to be at least at 10 cm. She went to go discuss this with my doctor and then told me that one of three things was about to happen:
1. They would keep me overnight to pump me full of IV fluids in hopes of getting the amniotic fluid levels to increase.
2. They would start an induction right away.
3. They would perform an emergency c-section.
When the nurse returned, she told me they had opted for an induction. They said the fluid levels were too low to try and increase, and the baby was not in distress at the moment, so there was no need for a c-section.
Starting to worry
I got settled in to the L&D room and they started the Pitocin. I couldn't sleep at all that night, I was so worried. I was 35 weeks exactly at this point and I didn't know if my baby would be healthy or not. The NICU charge nurse came to visit me and told me different things to expect. By now I was really scared. I just watched DH sleep all night.
The morning came and the contractions were becoming more intense. I used the labor ball to help with the pain. Finally at about 1 p.m. I couldn't take the pain anymore and asked for an epidural. They broke my water at this time as well and checked my cervix -- I was 6 cm. By 2 p.m. the epidural would only work on one side, despite me changing sides to prevent it from doing that. The came in to fix it and also decide to check my cervix again. And there I was -- 10 cm. So it was time to push!
Here comes Jamison!
I pushed for about an hour but the baby was coming down sideways and was stuck. The doctor decided to use a vacuum to get him out... and at 3:22 p.m. on December 5, 2008 my son Jamison Matthew was born. He came out crying and received a 9 on both Apgars. What a relief! They put him on my chest and I cried tears of joy! He weighed 4 lbs 15.5 ounces (they rounded it up to 5 lbs even) and was 18.5 inches long. He did not have to go to the NICU, but he end up having to be re-hospitalized at 3 days old briefly. I am so in love with him.
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Posted Wednesday, May 27, 2009 12:53 PM
"When my water broke, it shot across the room and sprayed the ceiling, wall, and all 15 people in front of me...."
A surprise beginning
It was a Friday and I was on my way to school like every other day. In the thick of rush hour traffic I got really lightheaded and I felt one really sharp pain low in my groin. I pulled over on the median and waited for the lightheadedness to pass. I assumed the low pain was round ligament pain. The lightheadedness gave way to a cold sweat and labored breathing so I decided to call 911. As I heard the ambulance, firetruck, and police car coming I said to the 911 operator, "These people are going to be PISSED -- traffic already sucks today!" We both laughed and I hung up. They put me in the ambulance and soon I was off to the hospital.
I fully expected them to tell me to eat something and then send me on my way when I got to the hospital. The doctor had me hooked up to a fetal monitor as I described to him what happened. He very quickly became disinterested and asked me if I was feeling the contractions. "Yes, of course, I have been having those since I was 17 weeks," I said (as I explained to him that I thought I was having Braxton Hicks contractions because they weren't painful). I would just get this really tight feeling and it would go away. Sometimes, they were so bad I couldn't move but not the painful, earth shattering contractions I thought I would get in real labor.
I also told him they happened 8-10 times an hour. The next thing I knew they were hoisting me up in to the examining chair to check me out. The doctor looked at the nurse and said "Yep, she is 1cm" to my surprise. I then asked "Well, is that normal?" and of course they said no. They gave me a shot to stop the contraction and some medicine. It worked so they sent me home and told me to rest. On Saturday the contractions came back so they increased the medication. Sunday, they came back again and asked me to come into the hospital.
Back to the hospital
When I got to the hospital they gave me another shot. This time it dropped my blood pressure to 50/30 and I really thought I was going to die. They decided to set me in a Labor & Delivery room. Around 12 a.m. the contractions had not stopped and the nurse came in with a sad look on her face and an IV bag in toe. UGH, magnesium sulfate. They hooked me up to the mag and the side effects came quickly. Hot flashes, dizziness, nausea, head ache, vomiting. Around 4 a.m. the doctor came in and explained that I was in real danger of delivering and at 26 weeks and 1day the baby needed a level III NICU. So, off I went to UC by ambulance at 4 a.m.
Ten days ago, I was admitted to UC hospital with contractions. I was 1 cm dilated when I got there. They left me on the Magnesium for 24 hours. I have never felt that sick ever in my life but I knew it was for the good of my baby. I was hooked up for a FNST everyday. (Several times for more than 24 hours). I was rushed to L&D a couple of times for false alarms when the baby's heart rate would drop. My contractions never really stopped but they weren't painful. At some point I went from 1cm to 3cm. Tuesday, I woke up and felt fine. I took a shower, ate breakfast and at 10am I got hooked up to do a NST and at 10:15am the nurse came in and asked how my contractions felt because they were coming every 1.5 minutes. I told her that they felt different than the ones I was having before. Then all of a sudden they became pretty intense and they had to page the doctor.
Get the doctor!
It took him 30 min to get to my room because he was delivering another baby. We had developed a pretty good doctor-patient relationship so....I cussed him out for taking so long LOL. He told me that I was fully dilated and that my bag was bulging so it hadn't yet broken. I immediately called my husband and told him to drive as fast as he could to the the hospital. They rushed me over to L&D and assembled the team of peds doctors.
Now, if there are any light hearted moments to this story this is where it happens.....I asked the doctors if I could get any pain meds and they said... "Well, you are too far at this point and we don't want to make the baby sleepy." Of course I agreed. For those that know me well, they know that I joke around and deflect a lot when I am freaking out. So I decided that it was time to focus on something else. The nurses and I started talking about scrap booking and how crazy this whole thing was and how fast I dilated. The doctors said to me "Do you even realize you are fully dilated? Wow you are handling this really well!" Then the doctor said "Well, we need you to push on the next contraction." My husband had not yet gotten there so my response to that was,"It is my vagina and you can't make me!" He didn't know what to say and the room burst out in laughter.
The doctor was staring at the monitor and I said "Stop being a doctor for just a couple of minutes, the baby is fine and we can wait." I called my husband and directed him to the valet parking so he could get in faster and two minutes later he came though the door. They rushed him by my side and all 20 people in the room gazed at my vagina! They said, "Give us one good push on the next contraction" and I did. Well, my water broke but it shot across the room and sprayed the ceiling, wall and all 15 people in front of me. Me and everyone else broke out in laughter in the room. I couldn't stop laughing! They checked me again and said "Well you are 6 cm so it will be 2,3, or 4 hours..."
Here comes baby!
The nurse and I discussed whether or not to get an epidural and ushered out the peds department. All of a sudden I felt a drop in my bottom and I said I have to push NOW! They asked me to wait and I told them that I couldn't. Two good pushes later and Christopher Carl Schaefer III (Trey) was brought in to the world... I looked down to see him and thought he is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. The sound of his little cry filled my heart with more love than I have ever felt in my life. I can't even describe it.
They rushed him over to the peds and then brought him to me. I briefly held him and a tear ran down my cheek. They took him to the NICU and I felt scared because I wanted him close to me but I knew he was in the safest place he could be. Born at 12:40 on April 28 at 2 lbs, 10 ounces and 15 inches in length, he was large for a 27-week, 3-day-old baby, but he still has a long way to go! My milk (or colostrum) came in not even 1 hour after he was born, which is very unusual for a preemie delivery. I guess my body knew best. We still have no idea why I went in to pre-term labor, but I have to believe that everything happens for a reason and Trey will be just fine.
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Posted Monday, May 18, 2009 2:46 PM
"Our doula was invaluable. She was
with us from the time we got to the hospital and immediately helped me cope with the pain..."
Getting things started
I was 39 weeks pregnant. To help ensure that I went into labor on time, I was drinking red leaf raspberry tea and taking Evening Primrose both orally and vaginally. I’m not sure if those two holistic items helped me go into labor or not but I think they might have helped a little. I woke up around 3 a.m. on a Tuesday morning to go to the bathroom and when I got there, the pantyliner and underwear were soaked. It was all clear so I assumed that my water had broken. I went back to bed and tried to go to sleep. I couldn't sleep because I was having contractions about 20 minutes apart and I was excited that I was in labor so I got up and watched some T.V.
My contractions continued to be 20 minutes apart until about 8 a.m. They felt like mild period cramps. At 8 a.m., I called my mid-wife and told her what was going on and she told me to just go about my day and when they got closer together to give her a call. She also gave me the option of coming to the office to get an internal but I declined. I also called my doula to let her know as well. I decided to go ahead and work from home that day to wrap up some last minute items. I stopped working around noon and went to Target to pick up some things. My husband (who decided to stay home with me) thought I was nuts but I really felt fine and wanted to get out and about. Sometime around 1 p.m. the contractions started coming every 10 minutes and were a bit stronger. Then around 3 p.m. the contractions came back to 20 minutes apart and my doula recommended that I go walking or try nipple stimulation to get my contractions going again. Since I was in no mood to have my nipples stimulated, I opted for walking. My husband and I walked for about 30-40 minutes and my contractions started coming again around every 10 minutes. They also started to get stronger.
Trying to relax
Around 7 p.m., they were definitely stronger and I started to have to pause what I was doing and breathe through each one. I did that for about 2 hours and around 9 p.m., I laid down in bed and followed my hypnobirthing CD to help deal with contractions. Between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. my contractions started coming about every 5 minutes. They were starting to get very intense to the point that I wasn’t able to breathe and relax through all of them. We called my doula and she recommended that I take a hot bath and drink a glass of wine to help me relax. I took her advice and it did help. My contractions were getting stronger but it did enable me to stay at home for an additional hour or so.
Around 11:00 p.m. my contractions were very intense (4 minutes apart) and we decided it was time to head to the hospital. On the way to the hospital I listened to my hypnobirthing CD and tried to relax.I wasn’t able to relax completely but the CD did help. When we got to the hospital, my contractions were painful enough that I had to use the wheelchair to the L&D section.
Once in L&D, I had to lay in bed while they monitored my contractions and the baby’s heartbeat for 20 minutes. To me, this was one of the most painful parts because I had to lay still in a position that wasn’t good for me as far as managing contractions. They also checked me and I was 5 cm dilated. After they determined that everything was fine, I was able to get into my L&D room where I was able to get in to a more comfortable position. We met our doula at the hospital and she immediately helped recommend new positions to help me cope with the pain.
I was having back labor and the doula was putting pressure on my back and my husband was putting a heated rice sock on my back to help me feel better. The contractions were very intense and I was no longer able to feel relaxed during them at all. My doula said that I did relax between each but I can honestly say that I didn’t feel like I was! I went from 5 to 8 cm dilated in two hours which is apparently very fast.
Here comes Nicholas!
Around 3 a.m. my midwife arrived and I was able to get into the tub since I was planning a water birth. Once I got into the tub, the pain was definitely more manageable. The warm water is a huge help in dealing with pain and contractions. I labored in the pool for a couple more hours before I was ready to push. The midwife pushed the lip of my cervix over the baby’s head and then I was able to start pushing. Pushing the cervix back over the baby’s head didn’t really hurt either. This part for me was actually not painful at all. It was just hard trying to bear down and get him out, but it actually wasn't painful to me. I never felt the "ring of fire" and was very fortunate in that I didn't have any tearing. The midwife did some perennial massage while the head was coming out which probably helped me to not tear. I think I pushed for about an hour or so (I really didn't have any sense of time) and then Nicholas made his entrance!
A few surprises along the way
So here are a few things that surprised me about...
The pain: I took two birthing classes (ours and a hypnobirthing class) and I thought I would give birth like the women we watched in the videos...the ones that were so calm and peaceful looking.....that didn't work out so much for me. While I was able to breathe through most of my contractions, there were times when I was much more vocal. The pain was more intense than I thought it would be and I wasn't able to cope with it the way I had thought once it became really intense. It wasn’t unbearable pain though and I’m so glad that I took the classes and had an non-medicated birth.
My modesty: So, I'm generally a very modest person and one of my big concerns was around people seeing me with the clothes off, etc. Let me tell you, I didn't care AT ALL who was looking at what or anything once the labor was nearing the end. =) My total focus was on dealing with contractions.
The doulas: If you don't have one, get one! Our doula was invaluable with her knowledge and suggestions. She was with us from the time we got to the hospital and immediately helped us with coping. She was also a good support to my husband in helping him help me. I can't even imagine having a baby without a doula.
The hospital: It is so important to pick a hospital that supports natural child birth and isn’t trying to rush labor along. So many hospitals are so quick to give Pitocin and that is unfortunate.
My water breaking: So I initially thought my water broke while I was asleep but learned it was probably my membranes. When your water breaks, it actually leaks out while you have contractions. Normally I would have been embarrassed by this but at that point, I was beyond embarrassment!
Breastfeeding: This is much harder than I thought it would be. I figured I would be the one that had to learn how to do it right but the baby has to learn too. During the first 24 hours, it took 30 minutes or so just to get the baby to latch on. He is doing much better today (Day 2) but is still a bit of a struggle. The doula, the nurses, and the lactation consultants all say this is normal.
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Posted Wednesday, May 13, 2009 12:33 PM
"When his head was crowning, I was encouraged to look down, see our baby, and touch him..."
How it all began
Our son, Eliel Jadon, was born on his due date, April 16, 2009. Overall, I had an awesome pregnancy and although the labor was intense, it was still very quick! In total, the labor time was a little under 3 hours. It never dawned on me that he would actually arrive on his due date (only 5% of babies are actually born on their due date!); so the night before, I couldn’t sleep due to the nesting factor and his moving around (I was feeling some pretty serious kicks and cramps). After going to bed around 4 a.m. that morning, I woke up at 7:30 a.m. with “cramps” (or was it contractions?!) Never having known them before, I didn’t know if this was the “real thing” or not. We called the midwives and told them that the contractions were happening five minutes apart, every minute --- which is a sign for the midwives to arrive, since it meant that labor has started. But just as I was telling them this, the contractions went away. So the midwives said to hold on and just come in at my regularly scheduled 4 p.m. appointment that afternoon.
At my appointment, I had 3 contractions in a row and so the midwives sent me home saying to call when they were 5 minutes apart. Well, when we got home (after making a stop at my Mother-in-Law's house), my contractions were 30 seconds apart. Really feeling the need to lay down, I proceeded upstairs with my husband Damion's help. However, on the way, I stopped and said, “I’m going to puke. Get a bowl, quick. Real quick.” And Damion, putting his long legs to work, ran to the other side of the house to find a bowl. He said he felt like a hero for getting the biggest bowl we have, and ran back and caught me just as I was about to let it rip. That’s love -- he held the bowl and I puked. Soon after, Damion called the midwife and told her what was going on. Her response: “Yeah, I can hear Ellen in the background; I’m on my way!" And so we started to prepare for our home birth!
Getting right to work
Within 45 minutes, both the midwives and the doula (similar to a midwife) arrived and checked me out. To the midwives surprise, I was almost 9 centimeters dilated, which meant this baby was on his way -- NOW! (I had wanted to do a nearly standing/incline position or use the yoga ball as a comfort measure, but upon standing up, this intensified the contraction and I kind of fell backward, the contraction was so strong). So when the midwife arrived, she found me laying perpendicular to the bed and half on/half off the ball. Damion and Christina, the doula, had to explain why I was like that! After about 30 minutes, my water broke and boy am I glad that this happened at home, because it really was a GUSH of water (I was told about a liter’s worth!). Anyhow, being “new” at all this, when my water broke, I nearly screamed, because to me, it felt like a balloon popped both inside and outside of me and I actually thought the baby richocheted out! But nope, it was just the water.
At this point, I had been on my side, laboring. So when my water broke, it gushed all behind me and up my back. The midwives saw that the waters had meconium (baby’s first bowel movement) and this concerned the midwives because usually babies have this bowel movement after they are delivered, not during or before, which could mean the baby was in distress. So they encouraged me to push. My “energy” for the contractions hadn’t kicked in yet, so the next two attempts weren’t enough to get him out without some serious tearing. So at that point, we made the decision to go to the hospital--- however, I was at the peak of my labor and contractions (and oh yeah, he was already bearing down and trying to come through). In all honesty, it felt like the biggest poop you EVER had to take! The midwives called the ambulance. The second midwife was giving my information to the operator on the phone. I hadn’t worked with her directly yet so she didn’t know all my information and asked the head midwife how old I was, in order to answer the operator. The first midwife said “she’s 30," to which I piped up to say “--one”. The room got quiet and then everyone laughed, because at the peak of my labor and during my painful contractions, I still made a point to correct them that I was 31, not 30.
Off to the hospital!
The ambulance arrived in about two minutes. Upon their arrival, I was encouraged to try and push once more because it was so close that there was a chance that I could have the baby in the ambulance (even though the hospital was about 1km/.5 mile away!)....So the room got quiet, I tried to push, and... it wasn’t enough yet! Then, it the three ambulance people yelled, “GO GO GO!" Our house is two floors and because they couldn’t bring the stretcher upstairs, I had to get dressed, go downstairs and on to the stretcher — all in between my 30 second contractions. So I was helped up, and wrapped below with a towel, given flip flops, and had to hobble down the stairs, while it felt like I was holding a watermelon between my thighs! Another ER person met me downstairs with my robe and I was escorted outside. Now, outside were two ambulances (one for me and potentially one for the baby if he was delivered in the house) with their lights on (drawing ALL the attention in our neighborhood to our house). And here I come, with my bottom toga, a meconium/brown stained shirt, flip flops, and my pink hearts robe... yeah I was a sight! So I’m put on the stretcher, and put in the ambulance. On the one minute drive, I had another contraction, but was told to just breathe through them, otherwise the baby could come out.
Showtime
In the delivery room, the baby was coming pretty quickly. When his head was crowning, I was encouraged to look down, see our baby, and touch him -- that was interesting. It felt both weird, gooey, and wonderful all at the same time. With three contractions, his head was through; but I have to stop right there and make a commentary about this “ring of fire” that I experienced. What a feeling! WOWZERS! For those that don’t know what this is, it’s when the biggest part of him – his head – is coming through and it just burns. Here, I think is where my energy came in and with three pushes, his head came through, and then his body. And then there were baby cries in the room. Damion cut the cord and the midwives/doctors suctioned him immediately, just in case the whole meconium thing and then brought over our little one. He was definitely a long one (21 inches) and his hair was black and straight. While holding Eliel, I delivered the placenta, which was weird because it’s like a delivery that you aren’t part of -- it just plops out!
Still, it seems like a surreal experience. We go to the hospital and come back with a baby in less than three hours (I spend more time in Walmart shopping the sales!) — the ride home from the hospital, with an infant in the back in the car seat, was just, well... different and surreal. It’s really to explain.
The last week, though challenging and very, very new, has been completely amazing. We have definitely fallen in love with this little guy and have had so many laughs already. It’s amazing to see him changing and growing already.
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