Birth Stories...again ;)

BabyPoints: 4362
Posts: 555
6/30/11 10:03 P

Thursday, May 5th, 2011 I had a check up and I was measuring 4.5cm and 80% effaced. My doctor seemed confident I would be having a baby before Monday and said not to wait around too long because I could go quick.

Saturday, May 7th at 2:00a I woke up to mild contractions (I had been experiencing this for about three days). They weren’t painful, but they caught my attention. I used the bathroom, got a drink of water, said goodnight to my husband who had just come home from work, and crawled back in bed. I couldn’t sleep. It seemed like these contractions were happening a little more frequently than the previous few days. I timed them for an hour and they were averaging 4-6 minutes apart and lasting a minute. I decided to just relax in bed for awhile since they weren’t painful. There was no sense in going to the hospital to come back home. Around 5:00a I decided perhaps we should finish packing our bags and called my mom to head over to stay with our son, James.

We arrived at the hospital at 6:30a and headed to triage to be checked. I measured 5cm but my contractions started slowing. They let me decide if I wanted to stay or if I wanted to go back home. I decided to stay and to try to walk to get things moving. We moved to our L&D room and started walking. Contractions slowly started coming back. I did a lot of different things to help move contractions along (birthing ball, squats, walking, etc). Contractions seemed manageable the majority of my time in the hospital. Once they started getting more painful (approx. 7cm dilated) I spent a lot of time in the jacuzzi with the jets going. Ryan spent a good amount of time massaging my back and doing counter pressure. When I got out of the jacuzzi, I spent some time on the birthing ball.

The doctor came in to check my progress and to see if I wanted to have my water broken to speed things up. I measured at 9cm and decided since I was getting so tired I would let her break my water before I got too tired to finish well. Once my water broke, contractions increased a bit more in intensity (still not absolutely unbearable). I had to focus a lot more to breath and to keep my body relaxed but still felt in control. I’m not sure if/when I hit transition because I was still cracking jokes at this point and could breathe without feeling out of control. The doctor told me I could begin pushing when I felt like it and to let them know. I had roughly five contractions that were very difficult to breathe and relax through. I never truly felt an extreme urge to push but I was annoyed with how painful the contractions had gotten so I told them I wanted to push. After a few good pushes I felt baby’s head and can honestly say it was the worst and best feeling of my life. The pain was awful but the knowledge that my daughter was right there made it all worth it. It was very difficult to resist pushing long enough to avoid tearing. I managed to get away with no episiotomy this time. I had one very small tear that did not need stitching.

They placed my daughter on my chest and covered her with a blanket. She cried but was open eyed and looking around. The delivery of the placenta went rough. They waited until the cord stopped pulsing before Ryan cut it. The placenta wasn’t detaching properly so they gave me a shot of pitocin to help it along. It came out in one big piece followed by two smaller pieces. The doctor had to go ‘fishing’ to make sure it had all come out. I can honestly say this hurt worse than my contractions. I had some major clotting issues and lost a lot of blood. I was given a suppository to help with the clotting. I remember saying, “Now that’s a new kind of uncomfortable” as it was given to me. The doctor seemed a little nervous about my blood loss and the fact that my uterus still wasn’t contracting enough so I began nursing to help it along. Soon after, it was under control enough for us all to relax.

My daughter stayed on my chest for a little over an hour before they washed her up and took her footprints. She has chunky little cheeks and was bright pink with a nice, round head. Lael weighed 7lbs. 10oz. and measured 19in. in length. A little chunkier than her big brother but a much smoother delivery. From the time I woke up to the time Lael was born totaled 12 hours. I was so blessed to have Ryan and my friend, Amber, help me through labor and delivery. They were such troopers and did a marvelous job supporting me. My natural birth went just as I had hoped and prepared for (other than the placenta issues). The nurses were thoroughly impressed by the amount of self control I had throughout the whole process. I guess I’m just really good at internalizing everything. Either that, or they don't see many unmedicated births.

Having now experienced one birth which included 20 hrs of labor, pitocin, epidural, forceps delivery, episiotomy, and a hard recovery, and another with only the AROM with no drugs, I can say I would do the latter again in a heartbeat. It was such a rewarding experience and my recovery has gone a thousand times better than I could have imagined. Lael is nursing so well and sleeping wonderfully already. While it was a lot of work and pain, it was worth it in every second and I will continue with natural birth with the rest of our children.

Posts: 29
4/14/11 3:57 P

I had my son 3 weeks early on December 29, 2010. I got out of work at around 5pm on December 28, after working a 9 hour day. I was getting settled into bed when my water broke at 7pm without any warning at all. I felt my first contraction about 20 minutes later and they kept on coming about every 4 minutes.

I had just had a doctors appointment earlier that morning and was told that I was positive for group b strep. My midwife told me that when my water broke I had to get to the hospital right away so they could give me antibiotics to protect my baby. I didn't have her check my cervix that day because I didn't feel any different and wasn't expecting to go into labor for at least a couple of weeks...

I got to the hospital around 8:30 that night. I was already 4cm dilated. They asked if I would like anything for the pain, but I wanted to try a natural birth, although I was not against pain medication. They set me up in my maternity room where I would be during my entire stay. They gave me the antibiotics for the GBS through an IV (which I still have a scar from). Every contraction was worse than the last and nothing eased the pain. I tried a birthing ball, jacuzzi, I tried just walking, but the only time I was even relatively comfortable was when I was laying in the birthing bed.

I don't remember when I started pushing but my mother (who was there with me along with my husband) told me I pushed for at least a few hours. The whole time it felt like I was getting nowhere. I wanted so badly to get pain medication, but I didn't say anything because I knew my husband would make them give it to me.

Finally, after what seemed like days, they told me he was starting to crown. I was relieved, thinking that it was almost over. With every push my mom and husband would tell me that he was almost out, but they underestimated how big his head really was. He was crowning for a couple of hours before he finally came at 1:36am, 6 1/2 hours after my water broke. Not bad for my first baby! Although it felt so much longer than that. They put him on my belly and I just couldn't believe that he was finally here. It felt so unreal. It still does sometimes.

I don't remember much after the birth. I remember nursing him, and then they measured him. He was 8lbs 3oz 19.5in long and perfectly healthy. After that all he did was sleep. I had to stay in the hospital for an extra two days because he was so sleepy he wouldn't eat. He ended up losing a whole pound before we left the hospital on new years eve. He stayed that way for about 3 weeks before he started waking up.

He is now almost 4 months old and is definitely making up for lost time! He weighs 16lbs now and was 24 inches long the last time we measured him which was a few weeks ago. He is full of smiles and laughs!

It was a great experience, and although it was extremely painful, I'm glad I did it natural. It was worth it even though he was still sleepy and I still got the baby blues. At least I couldn't blame it on myself for taking the medication.

Posts: 476
4/5/11 3:42 P

I finally posted my birth story. I wanted, and planned, for a natural birth, but ended up with a c-section. If I do get pg. again I will try a vbac. I still did induction w/o an epidural, and going through labor (instead of straight to a C-section) did help my baby since the contractions pushed fluid out of her and prepared her to make her grand entrance. She scored 9's on her apgar tests, even if I did feel like I'd been hit by a train. lol.

http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/m
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l.asp?blog_id=337407

Posts: 1193
3/11/11 10:57 A

This is my sister's story but it was inspiring so I am posting. My birth was horrid-hoping the next (in sept) will be more like this one!

On Tuesday she was contracting throughout the entire day, but the contractions weren't really painful and only lasted between 20 and 40 seconds but about 4 min apart. She wasn’t even calling them contractions-just "cramping" and "tightening". She also was having bloody show throughout the day. To keep busy she went to the mall and shopped/walked around with her husband. When I finished work I went to her apartment, and we walked the neighborhood for awhile and drank red raspberry leaf tea.
I guess at the in-laws house while eating and visiting the contractions spaced out to about 7 min apart. On the way home she had to stop at my house to pee because she couldn't wait any longer-she told me riding in the car was kind of difficult. She preferred hands and knees or standing so that was hard for her. She promised to get a hold of me if anything happened. I guess she continued contracting and trying to rest throughout the evening. My BIL was sleeping on the couch to give her space and at one point-maybe at 1am she wanted him to come back in the room and hold her. At 2:30 am she felt a pop and her water broke in bed-all over her and my BIL..:) So they got up, called the hospital and OB office, showered, got things together and I met them at the hospital between 3 and 3:30 sometime. When we got there they did all the routine stuff like get a line read in case of an IV, take blood, test urine, and hook her up to the monitor. She was hurting pretty badly by then. No one had checked her yet-she was quiet so no one really was rushing in-plus they were super busy. I am under the new impression that busy is good! People left her alone more!! She said to me before anyone came in to check her "if I am not at 7 or 8, I can't do this!" I ignored her and BIL and I kept coaching her to breath through contractions. They checked her at about 4:30am and she was 7cm. I think she may have been hoping more, but 7 seemed to encourage her some. She wanted to know how strong her contractions were- I exaggerated a tad and said they were about halfway-then I told her they might not even reach the peak you never know! Hey, it's what she needed to hear...:) The resident who checked her advised her to relax like she was peeing at the peak of each contraction to relax her muscles. She said this helped make them lass painful. She decided laboring on her side wasn't so bad, and stayed like that for about 2 hours breathing and moaning through contractions. She was a very quiet laboring mother! We used to joke about silent births and stuff but it's actually what she ended up preferring. Sound and light in the middle of contractions bothered her! Thankfully she was left alone by the staff most of the time. They just made she we had ice, ginger ale and barf bags. She did throw up a couple times. After laying on her side for 2 hours she said she felt pushy. I made her wait a couple contractions before getting someone. When they checked her at about 6:30am she was 9cm. I think this really discouraged her so we reminded her she could gain a cm in 10 min, you never know! I encouraged her to pee, and then she wanted to sit tailor style on the bed for about an hour. She wanted both me and her husband to hold a hand and set our other hand light on her back during a contraction, and play with her hair, rub her lightly and give her liquids between them. In this position the contractions spaced out some though the seemed stronger when they came. She started talking about having to poop again, so after several more contractions I got her nurse. It was someone new, and she checked her herself. She told her she was 9+ but just had a small cervical lip on her right side so she had her lay on that side. She was great psychologically because she started bustling around the room preparing things for pushing and talking about how it would be any minute. My sister believed her and finished dilating. It was about 7:30 am when she was checked and by 7:55 she was starting to push. The resident came in and was shocked to hear she had had no pain medication. She was the talk of the hospital, really! The Dr. on call came in after she had just started working on pushing and I think he made her nervous because she didn't push as well with him in the room. He was kind of negative talking about how she wasn't even crowning yet and it could still be awhile. I think it ticked off the nurse who was coaching my sis like she was watching a football game and it was almost over! :) Anyways, he told us another OB was there so she would be in for the birth. I think that's why he was so standoffish-wishful thinking that he didn't have to be there for this one. In any case the other OB was my sister's favorite so that was encouraging. She pushed for about 40 min total. They did give her an episiotomy, but I think it was a good call because she wanted that baby out and I think she was about to pop blood vessels in her whole body trying!!! That sped it right up and he was born at 8:34 am. Both mom and baby are doing completely awesome. It was a totally inspiring awesome experience. If only every labor could go so smoothly!!! I pray my next does!!!!!!

Posts: 4472
2/26/11 9:16 P

Everyone was asleep, but I had a feeling I might be in labour. I wasn't having very many contractions and they were pretty much pain-free. I just had a feeling. So when the girls woke up I told dh to make muffins and guacamole for the girls for the day. Then we loaded everyone into the car and drove the hour to the hospital. I had a couple mild contractions, but nothing like mt BH had been.

When we arrived we were told to wait in the hall, I burst into tears - the only real sign so far that I was in labour. The finally hooked me up, but the monitor didn't pick up the 2 contractions I had. The nurses smiled and rolled their eyes, but had to check me before they could send me home. The nurse could only find half my cervix. I was officially in labour. I went up tp LDRP but had to wait for the room to be cleaned. DH got a movie started for the girls on my laptop and I walked up and down the hall. The contractions still weren't painful. We finally got into the room were oriented to the unit, DHs sister arrived to watch the girls, then I walked to the end of the hall again. The Dr came and wanted to check me I was an 8. I tried the shower, but that didn't do anything so I climbed out and started walking some more. I had a couple more contractions that I squatted through, but was still laughing and talking through them. I had to pee so went to the bathroom, but as soon as I started to sit I had to push! I was stuck unable to stand or sit, or walk lol. I got to the bed and everyone got ready.

Everyone shouted (Dhs says they didn't shout, just talked) that I had to push harder/longer - my body wanted shrt pushes, my body wanted to be out of bed, but I was stuck by that point, baby was crowning and I wasn't capable of moving.

I pushed and her head emerged, then for no apparent reason, my dr pulled her the rest of the way out - I screamed I cursed - that hurt! I tore 2nd degree.

I had such a beautiful labour only to be ruined by a dr in a rush.

but our beautiful little girl Cordelia Rose was born Valentines day at 3:07. She weighed 8lbs 7 oz and was absolutely perfect.

This was the first time I wasn't capable of standing after delivery, my muscles couldn't work - even now my abds are sore like they've never been before.

Posts: 135
1/1/11 12:48 P

I know this is late but I would still like to share. 05/23/2010 8 days late, I had my membranes stretched twice by my midwife and accupuncture three days before. I felt my baby had dropped as I could no longer stand up straight, I knew she had engaged. Went about the rest of the day as normal, but went to bed early. Was fast asleep, dreaming of a asteroid hitting the earth in a massive expolsion as I awoke to a very strong contraction. I knew this was it and starting counting to see how long it would last. 60 seconds later I looked at the clock, it was 2:50am. I woke my husband up and told him it was time. I was not sure how long we would wait to go to the hospital, but I knew we would not have a home birth since our son (2 1/2 years) was home sleeping. I went to the washroom, was on my way back to the bedroom and realised my water had broke. I went back to the washroom to put on a pair of depends...great trick if your water breaks at home. By the time I made it back to the bedroom another contraction came on. I called my midwife to let her know our status and she asked my to call her when they were 5 min apart. I called my Mom to come over to stay with our son. It was kinds funny because she said..just call me when you need me to come over...I said you need to come NOW!!! She lives 15 min away. The contraction were comming fast and hard, as soon as my Mom arrived I was slowly trying to make it out to the car. I called my midwife to tell her we were on our way to the hospital (10 min away). I had to deal with two more contractions trying to get to the car and then into the car. On the drive three more and as the wheeled me to L&D another one. It was very quiet I think we were the only ones there 4:00 am on the holiday weekend. The nurse checked the baby's heart rate as I clutched onto the bed. I was not sure how to position myself yet. When my midwife arrived I got onto the bed, I was 7 cm!!! She started to set up and monitored my pregress. It was not long before she noticed a change in my tone and asked if I was pushing I said no, and 30 seconds later said YES!!! 10cm 4 pushes and there she was 5:10am. PERFECT she breastfed for the next 30 min and all was well. 7lb 3oz and 19in my beautiful baby girl Amelia Lauren.

Posts: 4996
10/1/10 12:06 P

9/23 @ 1-2pm I was at my house sitting in my closet sorting my socks - my sister was over helping me clean and we have this large size hamper that we throw all of our socks into - finding a pair is a challenge- so sorting them was something I thoughtthat needed to be done.

Anyhow when she left I noticed I was having contractions - not sure if it was the real thing, I started envisioning it. I started rocking the baby down, moving my body in a way that seemed to me to get her eager to go down, but gently rocking her into this idea.

I told my husband that 'we could just go to the hospital - just to get it checked out - it probably wasn't it.' I felt to comfortable but it seemed like maybe it might be early stages. Any passing in the contractions I envisioned it more - I wasn't going to let it go away.

So we continued with our plan and we did so slowly and not in a rush. We packed our stuff slowly, took our time - took Caden to the IL's. I called my midwife on the way after I'd actually had a chance to time the contractions - they were about 5 mins apart. She said to come on in. After that - they were 4-9mins apart. We got to the hospital around 5pm, they checked me and I was only 3cm - but was having good sized contractions - I was not stretchy, but my midwife said to go ahead and admit me. We called my mom and told her to make the 1.5hr commute and to take her time if I was in labor it was very early.

We were to walk around and eat for an hour before coming back again at 7;15. They checked me again - no sense and having us stay if no progress. Still only 3 cm and not stretchy. Contractions still about 4-7min apart but still good contractions - but we know it can be like this for days.

Making the plan - we had the choice to leave since I was only 3cm still, stay and continue to be checked, or to go for another walk and check again before deciding. My mom and husband convinced me to go for another walk and to get checked again at 9:30. So we did and thats when i did my funky curb jog/walk thing around the hospital- one foot on the curb - one foot off and switching every 10-20steps.

When we came back and got checked - same thing 3 cm. Mom and DH talked me into staying and the nurse told me they would just let us sleep. Well its a good thing we stayed. My mom left the hospital at 10:30, we were asleep by 11pm, but I woke up at 1am and a couple times before that, but at 1am I could no longer sleep through the contractions it was just too uncomfortable to be lying down in bed - so I asked if I could get in the tub. Had we gone home, I would have had to be in the car for 20 minutes as I dealt with those contractions and it would not have been fun!! It took an hour before the tub was available and clean. I was just walked around the room trying to manage the contractions - but sitting down or lying down just did not work very well. I somehow thought the tub would help.

The tub helped a little, but to be honest, there wasn't a good position for when I actually had a contraction. The one place that was comfortable for resting my arms and head, made it so my legs couldn't stretch out - if I wanted my legs to stretch out I couldn't rest my arms and head. We stayed in the tub for an hour, and I had Jeff start to time my contractions - he wasn't. They were 2-3min apart. So at that point - I told him to let our nurse know - cause I wasn't sure what that meant - or how I'd progressed.

We went back to our room and I dried off and put my cloths back on. My nurse asked if she could check me - I wasn't sure if I wanted to be checked - If I was checked and I was only 4cm I would have felt discouraged. So I didn't get checked right then, instead waited until it was more unmanageable or I felt the urge to poop - as instructed by the nurse. About 30mins later around 3:30-4am I think I had the urge to poop - but they wouldn't let me poop they wanted to check me to make sure it wasn't baby. I was 9cm dialated and they wouldn't let me back on the toilet, but wanted me to push.

At 9cm, my nurse called the midwife and my midwife headed over - by the way - my nurse was absolutely wonderful!! my midwife did hardly anything duing this labor and the nurse was so very attentive - she was with us the entire time - she was really great!! I don't think my midwife got there until like 5am - baby was born at 5:44am. My water broke during a push - not sure what time. I had lots of pushing and TMI but with almost each push a small turd came out - I told you they wouldn't let me use the toilet - had they let me I probably could have gotten it out of my system - so embarassing but the nurse told me this was okay and just meant baby was right there.

We switched positions lots, I tried rocking the baby out and ease my hips from the discomfort - I was tired, hot and exhausted - I just wanted a break but obviously couldn't have a break. and I just wanted her to come out. I started asking Alana - in my head - please come out its okay, mommy is going to push you out now. But each time she still wasn't coming. Finally I could feel her crowning as I was pushing. I ended up delivering her lying on my side with my one leg held up. DH got to 'catch' baby - but because I was lying down it was a matter of him helping to pull her out as I pushed her shoulders out.

My records said I labored from 1am to 5:44am, they didn't considering me laboring before that, and so they called it a fast labor.

So an unmedicated birth as hoped, Alana Nicole was born 8lbs 4oz, 20inches long. A pretty good sized baby for small little me. I didn't exactly tear but did get rug type burn abrasions along the sides of my labia which is taking longer to heal than expected.

Posts: 1581
8/11/10 3:24 P

I was due July 13th, We didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. At first I was all cool about it but as the days crept by past my due date I started to get more and more anxious. My first son Myron was born in Japan by c-section due to my water breaking and no real labor, followed by a failed induction and the typical cascade of interventions which ended with a c-section..and I was a planning a home birth for this one and going to the hospital for an induction was something I really didn't feel comfortable with.
I don't think I could have asked for it to be much better. It was long , so I was tired because I had missed a night of sleep but it wasn't really intense until the end. It started around midnight after going to a comedy festival and laughing a lot then coming home to do some nipple stimulation, I was ready to have the baby! The contractions started right away 3 min apart but only about 40 sec long so I couldn't really sleep and it also wasn't active labor. In the morning the midwife came to check, she stayed for an hour and said she would come back in the early afternoon. By the time she came back around 2pm the contractions were pretty intense and I really needed the back massage and to be on my hands and knees or some position with my belly forward. If I was sitting at all it was much more uncomfortable. In between contractions, I talked, ate, drank, sat on my balcony, listened to music.It was so nice to move around and do whatever I wanted and not worry about how long it was taking or anything. The main midwife came at 4pm and I was in the pool at that point. I didn't stay in the pool too much. After awhile I asked them to check my dialation because the labor was long and getting hard and I was afraid I had only dialated to a 2cm or something. When they checked me I was 7cm and the bag of water was like a balloon so they suggested I move to the bed so we could try a new position to help put more pressure to break the water. I lyed on my side and with each contraction they lifted my leg up towards my chest and put pressure on my hip and massaged my back, my back was kind of burning at that point and this time when I was on my side was the only point in the labor when it was really what I would describe as painful. The midwife said later I was in transition then. Then my water broke like an explosion and soaked the whole bed and everyone who was on it! The baby had already pooped so the water was greenish but the midwife said since it was wasn't chunks it was normal. As soon as that happened I got up into a squat and got overwhelmed by this crazy urge to push. I didn't expect it to be so intense and it was a bit scary at first.I held back a bit for the first contraction. The midwife told me to just go to that place where it hurts the most, so I just went with it and after one or two pushes he was out! He was born at 7:45pm. He came out yelling and wiggling all over the place with an apgar of 10/10 but I didn't see anything because I was on my knees with my face buried in the pillows. They passed him under to me and I flipped over and we all saw it was a boy! I was bleeding a bit so they cut the cord quickly and I put him to my breast right away to help contract my uterus. I felt pretty woozy but of course was super happy! I had a few tears so after they got things tidied up and we had some time together they weighed him, he weighed 8lb 2oz and then started stitching me up. The freezing didn't work very well so the stitching was pretty tedious and long. yuck. luckily it hasn't hurt much after though. I am taking lots of arnica, and so far have had no swelling.
So Aviv it is..."spring" the time of change, new life. Another beautiful boy who looks just like his brother did except more hair! He has discovered his favorite activity, breastfeeding of course. I knew the birth would be fine, and luckily my midwives and my family Dr. were all very supportive of my plans to have a homebirth after the c-section last time. It really hardly entered my mind at all during the birth. Well, I am happy to type this out and I hope it will inspire those of you are interested in homebirth or vbac or hbac or whatever! Go for it! and remember...you can always go to the hospital if your birth at home is not going the way you want but it is much harder to transfer home from the hospital!

Posts: 1266
7/27/10 2:58 P

Natalie Erin - Wednesday July 21,2010 7:40pm (8 Days Early)

The morning of July 21st, I woke up at 4am with a sharp pain. I laid in bed fully awake to see if it happened again, and it did, but not for another half hour. I got up and decided to walk around the house and monitor to see if the pain went away or came again with changing positions. It did, nothing uncomfortable, but a feeling I fully remember from 2 years ago :) I took a shower at 6:30 am , and at 7am called into work and told them I was not going to be in that this may be the day.

My husband took Hailey and dropped her at day care and he went to work. I decided to go on contraction master and time the contractions because I knew I was in early labor and they were coming closer. They were 7-8 minutes apart lasting about 30-35 seconds each. I called my Doula and told her what was happening, but it was early labor so nothing to rush to the house for. She told me to keep her posted of any shift and to try and manage the contractions in my own way to focus on "yes I can" while by myself. And that is what I did. My husband came home from work around 1ish to check on my and when he walked in, he said "OK I am going to get Hailey and drop her at your moms and come right back, you are in labor babe" I think I was still a little in denial because my first labor was 22 hours and I thought,"yes I am in labor,but the very early stages" he came back by 3pm, my doula called him on his cell and told him she was on her way. I was in the shower, just trying to find relief and some calm from the warm water.

My husband and I were bouncing stress off of each other, he was asking me questions that I had no answer to and I was looking to him for some soothing, which he provided on occasion but missed on others. He was on the stupid contraction master timer and then rushing to rub my back and it was just a mess, so rushed, I yelled at him to stop timing and just focus.

My doula arrived at 4pm and the entire mood shifted! She was AMAZING! She spoke softly to me, she expressed true care and love, she gave me wonderful massages, she knew exactly were to rub my back, she knew exactly how to touch me to take my mind off the contractions, just amazing. She brought my husband right into to zone with us, and all three of us were wrapped up in a bubble of care and support for me and the baby, just wonderful, I can cry thinking of those 3 hours that we spent laboring at home.

Because I was having back labor, my doula made me do techniques that would try to turn the baby so she wasn't sunny side up. They hurt, but they worked. So at 6:30ish, she looked in my eyes and said "Ok so here is the situation, I really cant tell how far along you may be, we can stay here for a little while longer or go to the hospital now and get checked. If the baby is posterior you may not be far along, however if the baby is not , I think you are very far along. So the decision is up to you" I said "lets go to the hospital now, and if I am only 2cm I want both of you to know I am getting an epidural , I wont be able to do this"

The drive to the hospital was INSANE! It was a 15-20 minute ride, and my contractions were every 3 minutes lasting a minute! OH THE AGONY! My brilliant husband decides to park in the lot instead of driving to the front door. The walk from the lot to the front door was another 10-15 minutes. I laugh now thinking if any young woman saw me, and was debating on having kids or not, her answer would be definitely noooo, I was a mess, stopping every minute and opening my mouth to moan to get through the contractions. The staff came outside, offered a wheel chair, I refused, I said if I sit I wont get up :)

We got to the delivery room , I was told to lay down so they could monitor the baby, I was loosing my mind saying "are you done, I need to get up and walk and take a shower" my doctor came in and checked me, we were on pins and needles, I was.....8-9cm!!!! OMG my husband and I hugged and both of us started to cry! My doula was crying ! My doctor was so in awe, she said she was so excited for me because she knew this is what I wanted.

So ready for this, we were admitted at 7:14pm , my doc broke my water, my body started to push and Natalie came out in one push fluid flew everywhere like something in a comedy movie, and she was born at 7:40pm!!!!!

I had my natural child birth, I have good energy, I feel so much better than I did after my first, its amazing.

I do have to say , if it was not for my doula, and It was my husband and I , I would not of made it. She was the reason, her support got me through, please ladies, if you have anymore children and want a natural birth, please, please, please get a doula they are true angels!

Posts: 745
7/7/10 5:19 P

here is bodhi's home birth story and pics

he was born 13 june 2010

http://bit.ly/cKbtTu

Posts: 10969
6/11/10 2:46 A

I don't think I posted Kathleen's Birth Story here - so here it is:

On Monday, August 3, 2009, I attended an appointment with my midwife to discuss induction because I was 9 days past my due date. I asked her if, induced, would I be still able to have a waterbirth. She stated that she didn't see why not, especially because I had had a waterbirth with my older daughter, Lily, and there had been no complications with my pregnancy.

The appointment for induction was scheduled for 8 the next morning at the birthing centre.

I didn't sleep well that night. It wasn't how I had wanted things to go--the word induction lit all kinds of warning signals in my mind. And although it was more "planned" than a spontaneous labour, it felt open now for interventions, and those were something I had always desired to avoid.

I had been reading (and rereading) a book called "Childbirth Without Fear" by Grantly Dick-Read, in preparation for this delivery. Out of the MANY books I have read relating to natural childbirth, his appealed to my instincts and intellect the best. His descriptions of the physiological process and the fear-tension-pain syndrome (as it relates to our cultural stigmas surrounding childbirth) intrigued me.

In preparation for my first delivery with Lily, I had concentrated on the hypnobirthing techniques and found them to be relatively good and easy enough to apply during labour. However, as Dick-Read explains in his book, the use of hypnosis isn't as effective as it claims (in his experience), and his "method" involves a conscious awareness rather than teaching women to trick the mind through methods of self-hypnosis. It resounded with my instincts regarding childbirth.

Having followed the hypnobirthing techniques once already, I felt the challenge of a new birthing experience awaiting with a more consciously, tuned-in approach.

The foundation of my desire was to understand the physiology of my uterus, remain completely relaxed throughout my body--letting go of ALL and any tension, and allow my body to expel my baby without interference or fear.

On Tuesday, the fourth of August, we left Lily with my mother and her favourite babysitter while we headed to the birthing centre, arriving at 8 exactly.

I was booked into the induction room, along with three other women. The attending midwife explained how the inductions normally took place:


Prostin gel would be applied to the cervix and left for 6 hours to soften it and encourage dilation--and hopefully a spontaneous breaking of waters.

If the waters had not broken spontaneously, we would discuss and go ahead with the procedure of breaking waters.

If labour had not started after breaking the waters, we would apply drip of hormones to encourage contraction of uterus.
The Prostin gel was applied at 9:55 a.m., after which we were allowed to roam around the birthing centre for 6 hours at our leisure.

My husband and I walked down to the restaurant and had some breakfast. When we returned I decided to get some rest as I was already sleepy from lack of sleep the night before. I slept for about 30 minutes when I realised my lower uterus was experiencing mild contractions.

I had recently loaded the "Contraction Master" onto my iPhone so decided to start timing them. I found they were approximately 3 to 4 minutes apart, with my waters still intact.

The midwife, attending the induction room, checked in to ask if I needed anything. I mentioned that my contractions were already 3 to 4 minutes apart and showed her the history on my phone. She said it looked like I could be in early labour and to let her know the minute my waters broke.

She left the room at 12:13 p.m., and my waters broke at 12:15 p.m. My husband, who had been reading a book next to the bed, jogged out to tell her and she came back with a monitor to record my contractions.

Immediately my contractions were noticeable and I kept timing them at 3.5 minutes apart while she hooked up the monitor.

I asked if she would please check on whether I could have the waterbirthing suite for my delivery. She explained that protocol doesn't normally allow waterbirths for women who have been induced but in my circumstances, she promised to ask the question. She said they needed 30 minutes of recorded contractions on the monitor so that the consultant could make the decision. She actually left the monitor on for about an hour.

When she returned, I had been completely relaxing my body (face, shoulders, pelvic muscles) through my contractions and could feel them growing with intensity. I hadn't made a sound though, so when my contraction finished and I saw her standing at the end of the bed, she said "Looking at the monitor, you are having very strong contractions... and they are real. Are you OK? If you need any pain relief please let me know." I stated clearly that I didn't want any pain relief as I was using natural methods.

She informed me that, she would take the monitor readings to the consultant and try to push through the waterbirth request.

I could tell that things were progressing so asked if she would check me--I was 3 to 4 centimeters dilated and fully effaced.

One of the other women in the induction room was continually receiving calls on her phone and her whole family was present. I felt distracted so I asked to be moved to a more private labour room, considering labour was now underway. She agreed and moved me to a private labour suite.

I continued to progress through contractions. (In my mind referring to the word "contraction" as "expansion" rather than a "contraction." I found that word very negative to my physiological responses and the word "expansion" much more positive and allowed me to open my body.) I imagined my cervix as a huge door with a great light on the other side of it.

It was very interesting to me that I found each contraction build to a point, and at that point a rush of, what felt like an endorphin release would take over and flood my body, relieving the discomfort. The power of the mind to "let go" truly amazed me!

I continually reminded myself through each "expansion" of a few key things:
This is perfectly normal.
Surrender.
Let my uterus do its job without interference.
Let go.
Open the door and let baby pass through.
Each expansion was like a wave. First a climbing intensity followed immediately by a euphoric rush of liquid through my brain--nearly druglike.

In the delivery suite, I continued to process each expansion, welcoming every one with the knowledge that my baby was coming closer to my arms.

The midwife put me back on the monitor again, as per the consultant request. (They still assumed I had only reached 3 centimeters.) And after 20 minutes of monitoring me, she must have assumed I was being way too inactive for labour to progress (I barely moved an inch throughout my labour--only moving my hand to drink water or my head to ask a question), so she suggested I climb on a birthing ball or walk around. I asked if she would please check me first. She did and excitedly announced I was fully dilated.

She and another midwife sprinted off to fill the birthing pool as I had been given the all-clear to proceed as I wished.

As soon as they left I had another expansion. I relaxed through it, but felt her head pop through the cervix and enter my birth canal. I knew then that there was no way I would make it into the birthing pool for this delivery. I put my hand inside to feel how close she was and her head was half-way down. I told my husband she was going to come on the next one. (I had been resisting the urge to push because I wanted to deliver in the pool.)

He didn't realise I was that close, and had been quietly reading a book next to the bed throughout my labour. He too dashed out the door. As he re-entered, flanked by the two midwives, my body pushed down and the baby's head crowned and popped out all in the same fluid movement. The gloveless midwives nearly missed it.

A minute later, at 3:33 p.m, a final strong push and her body was expelled completely onto the bed.

My husband and I had wanted him to catch the baby, but in the haste of it all, he wasn't mentally prepared for that moment. He did however cut the cord, after pulsation had ceased. The placenta delivered without any difficulty 1 hour later.

Kathleen Veronica latches like a pro. Her big sister and brother love her dearly and she's made this world a better place already.

For her dad and me, we have added a final, perfect gem to our already exquisite collection.

This pregnancy was my last and I enjoyed it. Becoming a mother is the height of the human experience and I would practice the art of producing babies eternally if circumstances allowed, and we could afford it.

Posts: 90
4/22/10 1:36 P

I loved reading your story. I found it to be very inspiring! Thank you for posting it.

Posts: 5477
2/17/10 5:13 P

Congratulations!

I'm sorry to hear about the struggles you faced, but I think you pulled through just fine! I know how hard it is to make changes to your original birthing plans, and to be able to stick it out in transition for so long is amazing! My transition phases have only lasted maybe 20 minutes tops, so I can honestly say you're a brave brave woman to endure that for so long! Glad to hear that you and LO are doing well now! I hope your recovery goes well!

Posts: 1941
2/17/10 4:00 P

Yeah I finally had my wonderful baby!!!

As most of you know, I was scheduled for an induction on February 11, 2010. On the 9th, before bed, I took castor oil- but I really do not think that affected me. I used the bathroom 4 times from it, but had worse diareah from pregnancy many times. Before going to bed, I did as many squats as I could handle. I hadn't been doing them, so it was painful. I would say I did about 10 of them.

Anyhow, I went to bed at 11:00 pm on Tuesday the 9th. At 12:30am, I awoke to a sharp pain and thought I needed to go to the bathroom so I started to get up (thought it was from the castor oil). When I got up, I felt liquid coming out that I could not control. I just stood there thinking, was that my bag of water or poo? :) After looking at the bed, and the floor now, I realized it was not poo... In hindsight, I realize it was a contraction that woke me up, but It was a mild one and I didnt know at the time. After being frozen in motion for a moment, in disbelief, I decided I would wake up DH... I ran to the bathroom, leaked more, and then put a towel between my legs. I woke up DH and told him to take his time, but we need to go the hospital. Still was not feel contractions at this point, but I was tested for + for Strep B.

We got ready, and headed to the hospital in a major snow storm. My contractions started getting more intense at this time, and were about 5 min apart and 1 min long.

When they checked me, I was still only a fingertip dilated, so she stretched me to 3cm.


By the time I got out triage, being checked, my contractions were getting stronger and longer. In what seemed like an hour but I guess was 4 hours, I was rechecked and was now at 6 cm. I remember thinking to myself- I am doing this! I can do this! I am gonna have a fast delivery at this pace. He also was now down to station 1.

Couple hours later and the contractions are almost unbearable at this piont. I was now at 7 cm- I was certainly discouraged because it was getting really hard and I though I would have been at an 8 or more by that point.

By the time I was in labor for 8 hours, I finally decided I just could not take it anymore.. My contractions were literally on top of each other, and I was stuck in the same positon because I had no time in between to experiment other positions. I realize now that I was in transistion for FOUR HOURS and no wonder I was failing in my confidence to handle the pain.

I had her check me again. I knew if I was close, I would bare it, but if I hadn't made progress, I needed help.

Needless to say when she said he was still at station 1 and still 7 cm dilated, I was not happy. I asked for something for the pain. My midwife, trying to not let me fail on my birth plan, gave me some kind of drug to make me mentally process the pain differently, but not take the pain away. I noticed NOTHING but getting even more tired.

She hestitanly gave into getting me a epidural (because she knew I didn't want to go that route) by this point- I KNEW I wanted to. It still took over 45 minutes to get the epidural working.

An hour later, she checked me again, I still was only 7 cm/ station 1. I asked for the epidural to be cut back a bit because I wanted to feel the contractions, I just wanted the edge off.

I agreed to pitocin at this point but asked that they did not up the epidural. With the pitocin, I felt pretty intense contractions, what I thought they should have felt like at 6 and 7 cm- not what I was having. I had to breath through them and they were not fun, but I was enjoying feeling my body go through it (I am glad I just remembered that part)

When I still wasn't making any progress, they upped my pitocin two more times. I was determined not to up the epidural because I didn't want to start the cycle.

Eventually they contractions got back to where they were when I got the epidural. I HAD to get more epidural now.

Another 45 minutes later, they couldn't get my epidural to work at all. my legs were no longer even numb. It just stopped working all together, so now I have the unbearable contractions confined to a bed, with the transition mindset that I don't want to be here anymore...

Just as they were getting ready to run a new line in my spine for the epidural, the originaly one started to work, so I didn't need to be restuck.

Time passes and I am now at 18 hours after my water broke, contractions are really painful in my pelvis because baby is so low and the epidural can't help that- they were tolerable though.

I WAS STILL AT 7 CM... My midwife comes in and starts talking about a c-section. Of course after all of this, I started balling and was REALLY UPSET about the choice I was going to have to make.

They had put in an internal monitor to see how strong my contractions were, and she said that they were stronger then they needed to be to progress labor and there was no reason I should still be at 7cm.

We also discussed that baby's heart rate was showing fine during contractions, but intermittandly, it would go up to the 150's 160's (his was NEVER higher than the 140's)

We agreed that I would go for the c-section, but in an hour (when the anestegiologist got there) I would be checked again and if I made progress, we would call it off.

Well, of course I was still stuck at 7 cm an hour later and had to go in for a c-section. My first surgery.

They even had trouble getting the spinal block to work on me. Once it started, them getting baby out didn't hurt at all, didn't even know he was out until we heard "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

I tell you what, I lost so much blood that they were having trouble after baby was out that the c-section was like no pain I had EVER felt either.

It felt like the entire O/R staff was jumping pu and down on my insides and that they were breaking every rib. I was screeming, DH said my face was GREEN (probably from the blood loss) and I was shaking terribly from the spinal block. They brought baby right to me, but I couldn't even focus on his because it was so bad.

I made the comment at one point "why don't people warn you about this pain?" I was informed that most people do not experience pain at that stage and that I was losing a lot of blood. It was bad...

Baby latched on and ate for a long time immediately after I was put in recovery! I am feeling great now! I have NO regrets as to the choices I made that day... I gave it my all to 9 hours of natural child birth, 4 of wich in transition, and a total 20 hours of labor all together.

Landon is so beautiful and perfect it was worth every ounce of pain (although I have never in my life felt anything like either thing)

I found out today that Landon's head was not turned completely, my pelvis bone is more long and narrow than usual so he was most likely not able to get through and turn. Also, the cord was wrapped around his neck really tight too (really lucky on that one)

We are nursing pretty well, he gets mad if he waits to long, then its a struggle- but we will get it.

Landon Clair Hoffman was born on February 10th, 7 lbs 5 oz. and 19 inches long!

Posts: 11290
12/25/09 5:08 P

The evening of Sunday, December 13, I started to feel crampy and have some contractions with a bit of a pattern. When Will put Jackson to bed, I decided to head that way myself. Much to my surprise, I got a normal night’s sleep, i.e., insomnia kicked in around 3:30 am, and I was disappointed to discover that I wasn’t having even a twinge. Will woke up and graciously took one for the team by helping out with natural induction methods. The contractions quickly reappeared, and by 7, I told Will he needed to reschedule the cattle working he had planned for the day. My brother arrived a little before 8 to stay with Jackson, and we headed out the door.

We checked in to the hospital at 9 and went over our birth plan with our nurse, Brenda. She was great and didn’t even fuss when I started drawing lines through things on the blanket consent form. After 20 minutes of monitoring and a vaginal exam (4 cm), we proceeded to walk the halls. The hospital we chose to use is fairly new, and we were literally the only people on the floor. The contractions were very manageable, and I relaxed through them by either hanging off of Will’s shoulders or leaning on the rails along the hall.

After about 2 hours of walking, Brenda asked to do another round of monitoring. I said sure…if it could be done while I sat on the ball. There was no way I was putting myself in the bed. Things were progressing well, and we spent the rest of the labor in my room where I alternated between pacing, sitting on the ball, and rocking on hands/knees. Letting my tummy hang during contractions brought relief. Will said he could tell that I was starting to feel the contractions my hips. Being a good “doula”, he applied counter-pressure during contraction and kept my rice bag well heated.

I’ll admit that I was disappointed that I was feeling it in my hips, but it was more like muscle cramps in my hips and thighs as opposed to the piercing, shooting pain that I experienced in Jackson’s labor. Several times, I felt myself getting amped and fearful that it would turn into that type of pain again. Each time, I told myself that I had been proactive, this baby was positioned perfectly, and that it just wasn’t going to happen.

Will didn’t tell me at the time that he was a bit concerned because it seemed that the contractions weren’t getting closer, longer, or more intense. He watched the History Channel while I DOZED between contractions. Brenda came in around 1:15 to do another round of monitoring. Afterwards, she asked if it’d be okay to do an exam, so I moved back to the bed. The look on Will’s face was priceless when she said that I was complete with a bulging bag. She thought we’d have a baby quickly if I were to have it broken. This brought a wave of fear. With Jackson, I was 9.5 cm when my water broke on its own, and it was 7 hours before he was born. I couldn’t pull the trigger. As Will helped me move back to hands/knees, my water broke, and I felt an urge to push. Another priceless look on Will’s face as he said, “You’re pushing, aren’t you?!” I could see him mentally ticking off EMS protocol on baby catching, just in case.

The baby nurse came in and started getting things ready while Brenda started massaging my perineum. I tried to relax through the pushing urges, but I wasn’t very successful. I had hoped to push/deliver on hands/knees or squatting, but I ended up on my left side. That was probably for the best as I suspect it slowed things just a bit. Dr. H arrived and took over the massaging. With the next contraction, Jolee crowned and was born in with the next 2 pushes. From the time my water broke until Jolee was born, Will estimated that it was no more than 10 minutes, and that I pushed 6 times. Jolee weighed in at 8 lbs, 8 oz and was 20.5" long.

Will says that Jolee appeared pretty blue, but he thinks it was the bruising as she perked up quickly and had good apgars. About the time that we looked to see if we had a boy or a girl, I felt another urge to push, and I delivered the placenta. From this point, the goings on are a bit of a blur. Given how quickly she came, I was prepared to have tearing. I had two small tears that Dr. H said could probably do without a stitch, but that he’d rather be safe than sorry. Dr. H then said pitocin was in order due to some large clots and bleeding. From the demeanor of both Will and Dr. H., I gathered that the clots and bleeding were significant. The next few minutes were painful as the nurse did a lot of palpating. The natural birth high and snuggling a brand new babe made it tolerable. Between Jolee’s immediate nursing, the pitocin, and palpating, things slowed to a point where Dr. H relaxed a bit.

We spent an hour or so snuggling with Jolee, and then let the Grands come in to meet her. The grandmothers were pleased and surprised to learn her name…Jolee is a variation of Will’s mom’s middle name, and Ruth is my mother’s middle name. Both grandfathers just melted. Best of all was when Jackson arrived. He was so excited to meet “his baby”. He has been super with her, and he frequently stops what he is doing to give her kisses.

After Jackson’s birth, I pondered and replayed it for some time. Jolee’s birth has taken away a lot of the self-doubt and guilt. (Jolee has a broken collarbone as well. Go figure) It feels good to have accomplished what I set out to do and to have a sweet, beautiful baby girl to boot.

Jolee weighed in at 8 lbs, 8 oz and was 20.5" long.

Posts: 2388
7/20/09 5:34 P

**Duplicate of birth story posted in June 2009 forum**

Gavin’s Birth Story

6/6/09: 40 Weeks - My Due Date! Needless to say, this day came and went – with no baby in sight.

6/13/09: 41 Weeks. Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital automatically schedules all of their pregnant mothers for induction at 41 weeks. I called the hospital the day of and said I did not wish to be induced. I would rather give the baby an additional week to make his appearance on his own – and hopefully avoid any drugs/interventions. The doctor said that was fine, but had me come in for fetal monitoring to make sure everything was looking good. They monitored the baby’s heart rate, my blood pressure, and did an ultrasound to check for fluid. After all that, they sent me home. Induction avoided!

6/17/09 @ 10:30am: 41.5 Weeks. Appointment at the hospital for more fetal monitoring. The nurse hooked up the heart and contraction monitor just like before. When she came back to check our progress, she asked if I’d felt the contraction I’d had a minute prior. I said, “No, it just felt like pressure. Similar to the Braxton Hicks I’ve been feeling on and off for months now.” My blood pressure was a little bit high, so I remained hooked up to the fetal monitors while they waited for it to come down a bit. While lying there alone (trying to relax so my bp would come down) I realized that the sensation of pressure (no pain) in my abdomen was now coming regularly – about every 10-15 mins. During the last weeks of my pregnancy, I’d declined each opportunity to have my cervix checked for dilation. At 41.5 weeks curiosity got the best of me and I had the doctor check at the end of my appointment – I was 1cm dilated and about 25% effaced. Everything looked fine for the day, so home I went.

6/17/09 @ 6pm: The “contractions” were now coming every 5-10 minutes apart. I really wouldn’t have even described them as contractions, except that they were now coming regularly. Earlier in the afternoon I’d taken a walk and then a nap. I was curious to see if any of that would make them go away – or if they’d stick around. Brad offered to go pick up food for dinner, but I told him I wasn’t in any pain. We went out – thinking it might be a while before we could enjoy a quiet meal out. 

6/17/09 @ 10:30pm: My plan had been to make cookies while in labor. Something to help me occupy my time, and then bring in for the doctors/nurses too. Well, at 10:30 at night the contractions were still 5+ minutes apart and entirely painless. I was undecided, but thought maybe I should get some sleep while I could and skip the cookie idea.

6/18/09 @ 1:00am: Real glad I skipped out on trying to be Betty Crocker. Contractions are far from miserable, but more than I can sleep through. Glad I snagged 2.5 hours of sleep! Spent some time emailing a couple girl friends saying “This might be the day!”, and monitoring the contractions on www.contractionmaster.com.

6/18/09 @ 4:30am: Brad didn’t come to bed until after I did, so I waited until now to ask him if he’d like to be awake with me… pretty please?? 

Through the next few hours the contractions kept coming (yay!), getting closer together and lasting longer. In the end, I laid on the couch while Brad sat at the laptop hitting the start/stop button on the contractionmaster.com website whenever I said the word. Eventually, they were 2-3 minutes apart without a whole lot of time in between them. I felt a change in the pressure during contractions. Originally, I’d felt each one thru my entire abdomen – at some point it changed and felt like a band of pressure low in the front and wrapping around the back. I’d had about all I could handle, so I told Brad we should probably head for the hospital. He was more than ready to go, but had just been waiting for me to say the word. Ha ha, I think he was tired of listening to me breathe, moan, and hum my way around the house and not being able to do anything to help me. I told Brad to call Labor and Delivery to let them know I was coming in – they asked about the frequency of contractions and said to come on in and they’d check me out.

*Stop reading here if you are easily grossed out*

Any how, I was ready to go when all of the sudden I felt nauseous. I headed to the bathroom, but with the pressure of vomiting and contractions, well, things were coming out both ends. I ripped off my comfy yoga pants and yelled to Brad that I’d need another set of undies and pants. In the end, I think I changed my pants three times before my system was empty and we were able to leave the house. (It wasn’t until later that I read somewhere, and was reminded, that when your body purges like that it can be a sign of Transition.)

6/18/09 @ 8:40am: We parked at the hospital. Walking was extremely slow going at this point, except for the 30 second intervals (if that) between contractions. I no longer cared what people thought of me as I hobbled thru the lobby and rode up the elevator. One woman in the elevator asked me if I was ok (I was holding on to the wall and, ha ha, probably humming loudly) and asked if I needed a wheelchair. Nope – we’re almost there, the door opened to the L&D floor and out we went.

We checked in at the L&D desk, they said to go wait in the first room and they’d send someone “right in” to check on me. While Brad and I were waiting, between contractions I joked, “Well, I was 1cm yesterday… what do you think I am now? Hopefully 2cm at least!!!” It certainly didn’t feel like she came “right in”. Although it was only 2 or 3 contractions later – it felt like forever. When the nurse came in, I was busy bending over and holding on to the exam table to cope. She was about to hook up the fetal monitor when the doctor on the floor that morning, Dr. Price, came in and said he’d like to check me. (I have no recollection of taking off my sandals or my pants.) He said he’d wait to check until I was between contractions, which I totally appreciated and made me like him right off the bat. When I said the word, he went ahead and checked. Dr. Price said something about being “plus one”, and I’m sure the look I gave him was one of absolute confusion. (When he said “plus one” all I thought of was the fact that I was 1 cm yesterday, so maybe I was 1 cm plus some today??? Labor brain…) He looked at me and said, “Do you know what that means?” I just stared back, so he said, “That means you’re fully dilated. It’s time to push.” I was shocked, thrilled, and numb all at the same time – and things started to move REAL fast.

They wheeled me out of the exam room, into one of the labor rooms. Once there, they asked if I felt I needed to push – no, not really. I think they were glad, so they could have a few minutes to get set up. They asked a few questions as they prepped since they didn’t have time to go thru all my paperwork. I remember one nurse asking if a couple corpsmen could come in and observe the birth. I asked her how many. She said only two and they’d be standing by one of the walls on the other side of the room - fine by me. I also remember them asking about GBS – I told them I was negative, one less thing to worry about.

A few minutes later when they asked I said I thought I could push. After a push or two, Dr. Price asked if he could break my water. I said sure since I was already at 10cm. Once broken, he said there was meconium in the water. That, combined with the fact that I’d had no pain meds, seemed to bring another 20 people into the room.

I don’t have too much recollection about how long it took to push him out – it didn’t feel too long to me. I just remember being annoyed by the oxygen mask that was on my face. Brad was holding one leg and a nurse was holding another. It felt like they were either holding them up too close to me, or not giving me enough resistance. At the point where I started to lose control and say “I just can’t do it!” his head came right out. After that, his body was easy. Brad said it couldn’t have been more then 10 sets of 3 pushes before he was out. Instant relief.

They took him over to be suctioned and examined before showing him to me or letting me hold him – but I heard him cry right off the bat and he stayed in the same room I was in, so it didn’t bother me at all. I was just glad it was over. Thanks to Dr. Price’s help stretching along the way, I ended up with one tiny tear with three stitches on the top side of things – he’d been managing the bottom end of things.

From the time we parked the car – Gavin was born 90 minutes later. I am extremely pleased with my birth experience and hope I have one similar next time. No complications, no meds, and a healthy baby – I couldn’t ask for anything more. My plan had been to stay and labor at home as long as I could prior to heading to the hospital. They said next time, since it’ll be my second, to come on in when the contractions are 4-5 mins apart. We’ll see about that….. ;)

Gavin Leon White
06/18/09 @ 10:11am
8lbs 15oz, 20 inches long
(Orig. due date was 06/06/09)

Posts: 806
7/18/09 10:21 P

Emerald Faith's Birth Story

So I Wake Up At 3 Am On The 15th To Go Pee.. I Do So...I Stand Back Up And "Pee Myself". I Call DH And He Comes.. Looks At Me And Asks What I Did? We Both Laughed And He Wanted To Get My Mom ( We're Staying With My Parents While We Close On A House) And I Tell Him No Cause She'll Tell Me My Water Broke And I'm In Labor..( Which I Knew But Was Not Ready For).. Needless To Say Anytime I Would Even Slightly Move I Would Gush More Fluid.. So He Gets My Mom Who Says Yup It's Your Water.. I Was Not Having Contractions So I Put A Towel Between My Legs And Tried To Lay Back Down... With In 20-30 Minutes Contractions Started.. So DH Was Timing Them And When We Got About 5 Minutes Apart I Jumped In The Shower.. We Got To The Hospital Between 7-7:30 am.. ( My Family Has A History Of Quick Deliveries So I Was Concerned About Waiting To Long To Head In.
So I Get In A Gown Get In Bed And Checked.. My Water Had Indeed Broke.. I Was 3-4cm Dialated 80% Effaced And -2 Station..Ok Things Are Moving Pretty Good.. My MidWife Shows Up At 11 Checks Me I'm 4-5cm 100% Effaced -2Station.. OK Not Bad Still Progress.. I Get Checked Again Around 3 or 4pm And I'm about 6-7cm.. Still Ok Progress.. This Whole Time I'm Having Strong Contractions But Not All Are As Strong As Need Be. Just About 7pm I Get Checked And I'm Still 7cm.. So At This Point My Wonderful MidWife (Who Was Done At The Hospital For The Day At 1pm And The Office At 5 And Has Come Back To Help Me Deliever And Is All About Natural Etc) Suggest Pitocin To Make The Contractions More Steady And Strong... So After Tears I Agree And We Start The Pitocin 15 Hrs Into Labor.. About 19 Hrs In Around 9pm..I'm Exhausted And They Are Asking Me If I Want Pain Meds.. Again After Talking With My MidWife She Convinces Me A Small Dose Of Nubain Will Do Me And Emerald Good.. It'll Help Me Rest A Little And Just Barely Take The Edge Off The Contractions.. So More Tears And I Consent And Instantly Start To Dose Off.. Still Feeling The Contractions.
About An Hour Later The Nubain Starts To Wear Off And I Start To Come To Really Feeling The Contractions One On Top Of The Other,, At This Point DH And My Dad Are Both There Helping Me To Continue Staying Focused On My HypnoBirthing And Breathing,,(I Started My Hypnosis The Second My Water Broke And Contractions Started @ 4AM) So Now It's Almost 10 pm.. I asked To Be Checked Again To See If We Have Made Any Progress..My MW Checks Me Tells Me I Am 9-10cm 100% Effaced And a +1 And We Can Begin Pushing.. I'm SOOO Excited!
I Should Also Mention I Am Having Intense Back Labor As My Darling Daughter Was Sunny Side Up..
So With My Dad On One Side And DH On The Other I Start Pushing.. After A Few Pushes.. My MW Decides She Wants To See How My Contractions And Pushing Are Working So She Places Her Fingers Inside And Feels For Babys Head.. At This Point She Discovers That My Cervix Is Not Completely Dialated And Decides To Continue Working It As I Push.. After A Little While They Bring In Another Nurse Who Uses Ice To Help Disolve The Rest Of The Way.. Well Before I Know It I Have Been Pushing For Over 2 Hours..It's Now 1 Am And The Dr Comes Into Check Me.. ( Now Mind You I Have Had 3 Other People All Check Me And Agree That I Am Just About 10 And Her Head Keeps Flipping Between The Cervix..) He Says I'm Only 8cm!!!! I Burst Into Tears Cause At This Point It's Been 21 Almost 22 Hours Of Labor And The Past 2+ Hours I Have Supposedly Been Pushing For Nothing.. We Knew She Was Sunny Side Up And Wasn't Dropping That Last Bit But Had No Idea That Was Why..So After The Dr Explains Whats Up.. I Look At Him And Ask What This Means... He Replies With He Doesn't Feel She Will Be Coming From Below.. At This Point I Completely Lose It And Burst Into Tears.. This Was Not My Plan.. I Was To Go Natural No Drugs All Hypnobirthing Relaxation.. Now Had They Told Me That Another Hour Max Oh Pushing I Would Have Found The Energy.. But The Dr Explained That I Could Be Looking At Many More Hours With No Result And At This Point Her Health Could Be In Jepordy Due To My Water Having Been Broke For Almost 24Hrs.. I Looked At My MW.. She Gave Me The Nod.. I Looked At My DH And Father Burst Into Tears And Said OK.. Give Me The Epidural I'm Ready To Meet My Daughter.. ( DH And I Feel That Because I Had Asked If There Was Anyway To Speed It Up Or Any Idea How Much Longer.. That They Had A PowWow And Decided To Tell Me I Was 8 To Get Me To Consent To A C-Section) So By 1:45am I'm Wisked Off To The OR.. And At 2:15am My Beautiful Emerald Faith Was Born Weighing 7lbs 3oz 19in Long She Was So Stuck In My Birth Canal She Had A Huge Cone Head Full Of Beautiful Black Hair!
As Devistated I Was I Know I Did Everything In My Power To Get Her Here As Naturally And Vaginally.. I Was Up Walking Around. I Was In The Tub. On The Birthing Ball.. On My Hands And Knees Trying To Get Her To Drop And Turn. And Only 1 Hours Worth Of Pain Meds Doing My Hypnosis The Whole Time.. But She Had Other Plans And I Decided It Was Time To Stop Stressing Her And Get Her Out..
The Dr And Nurses Were Shocked By Her Size And Told Me If She Had Waited 4 More Weeks She Would Have Been 9-10lbs.. As It Is She's Big For Her Gestational Age Which Even With Her Recent Health Issues Is Actually Working In Her Favor.. So Thats It.. Sorry It's So Long But Alot Happens In 22 Hours.. LOL

V

Posts: 1719
7/18/09 7:17 P

Elenore Ruby arrived at 11:45pm on 7/17/09(right on her due date)
weighing 7lb 15oz and 21in long
She looks like an eskimo to me but she is beautiful. She had a very full head of dark hair and dark eyes right now. She nursed really good last night she is busy resting right now.
I went into early labor around 9am with bloody show and light contractions. My contractions picked up intensity around 4pm and we headed to the birth center by 10:30pm. I was already 7cm when we arrived. I headed to the tub and after a few contractions my water broke and I had a really intense double contraction. The next one I was pushing. That scared me because I was not ready for everything to happen so quickly. Then Elenore gave me a good break to recover and the next contraction she was out. And then she let us know her lungs worked good by telling her version of events.
That's her story short and sweet. With only a very minor skin tear.

Posts: 3468
6/13/09 5:00 P

I worked a long day on Thurs April 9th- it was my second to last day of work and I had a lot of stuff to finish up. I had my dog with me at work which meant that I had to walk home (2 mile walk). I walked VERY slowly, took me an hour to get home because of a bunch of BH. Once I got home, I pigged out on Indian food. Around 6 pm, I lost my mucus plug along with the bloody show. I still figured that labor was a while away. For some reason, I was convinced that the baby would come late and I was a week away from her due date. But, this did motivate me to finish packing the hospital bag and clean our apartment (again).

A few hrs later, some cx’s started (around 9 pm). They started out 30-45 mins apart. I was pretty sure it was “false labor” from my busy day and long walk. So, I plopped down on the couch and watched a silly movie and drank a bunch of water. Matt ordered a sweet treat for us- sweet butter and sugar crepe (Yum!) I wasn’t timing the contractions, but during the movie- I realized that sometimes I would have to hit pause to breathe as they were getting more intense.

After the movie, they were around 10-15 mins apart. I called my mom and she thought it would be soon. She had been convinced for wks that tonight was the night because of the full moon. She bought a plane ticket, leaving the following afternoon. I was apprehensive about her buying it as I still wasn’t sure this was the real thing. We called our doula just to keep her informed. She told us to try and get some sleep! Randomly- at this point, my hubby was making a very elaborate carrot/parsnip stew. I think he was just trying to keep himself occupied. I got in bed around midnight, and the cx’s were about 10 mins apart. At this point, I sent my boss a txt mess that I may not be in for my last day of work the following day. I was able to lay in bed for a few hrs and rest between the cx’s, but they were definitely getting more intense. In my head- I was getting ready for labor that would go on for days so I didn’t want our doula to come too early. She was checking in about every 1/2 hr with Matt and asking if we were ready for her. I got up and got in the bath around 3 am, I couldn’t rest between cx’s anymore. Matt was attentive and sweet and had never gone to bed. Around this time, I started vomiting all over the place(man, I was regretting the Indian food the night before). After ruining our rug, Matt ran and grabbed me a plastic bag- it had a hole in it, so the vomit went right through and got all over me. We both just had to giggle over this.

Around 4 am, the back pain kicked in and that is when the pain reached a new level. I needed Matt to squeeze my hips and put firm pressure on my lower back during the cx’s. Our doula arrived and she was absolutely wonderful. She knew just where to press and rub in order to help me cope. These hrs were a blur. I went from the couch to the bed to the shower to the toilet, etc. Every time I couldn’t deal anymore- we would find a new position. At one point, the birth ball in the hot shower felt really good. We were waiting for the cx’s to get to 3 mins apart to head to the hospital (that was our “rule” that the Dr had given us). They never reached this point. I was laying in bed and they varied between 4-6 mins apart and then I really started feeling like pushing. Matt called our Dr and she said to go ahead and head in even though they were still irregular. Our fear was that it could still be early and maybe the desire to push was just a part of back labor. My biggest fear was getting sent home- I just couldn’t imagine getting to the hospital and then having to turn around. I was stalling and didn’t want to go in yet. I really wanted to wait for them to be 3 mins!! Around 8 am, our doula said it was time to head in even though the cx’s were still far apart- I was feeling deflated and like I really couldn’t do it. I started crying and telling the doula that I absolutely could NOT do this- it was too much. Looking back, the doula said this was probably transition. I got up to use the toilet before leaving, after standing up- I felt immense pressure in my bottom and reached down and I could feel her head RIGHT THERE!!!

I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t talk- all I wanted to do was push. I told Matt and Lorelei (our doula)- her head is coming out, call 911! I wanted to lay down. The doula said firmly- “No, we are going to the hospital. You are NOT having the baby here!” We live in a fifth floor walk-up apartment and it took all of our strength to get me down the stairs. I had visions of having the baby in our stairwell or on the sidewalk. I saw myself on the cover of tomorrow’s daily news! The ride to the hospital was absolutely excruciating. I was squeezed into the back of our Toyota Corolla and it was rush hour in Manhattan- I screamed at Matt to HURRY the entire way. I really thought I could feel her head coming out, I was SO worried!!! Every time he stopped at a red light, I FREAKED! Matt was so unbelievably calm. Our doula was wonderful and helped me to focus on other things- she had me visualizing Jamaica and deep breathing and TRYING not to push (which was impossible).

Once we FINALLY got to the hospital. The doula plopped me in a wheelchair as Matt went off to park. We RUSHED to the elevator, she was yelling at people to move. The entire time she was talking to me about Jamaica- I was visualizing the beach, the sand, the sun. We had to go through triage- the waiting room was FULL (standing room only). The doula said to the nurse, the baby is coming NOW! The nurse looked at us like, yeah right and walked OUT of the room. I started screaming and at this point I couldn’t help but push. A very pregnant woman jumped up from her chair and ran into the hallway and started screaming for help. Another nurse came in and I said- “The baby is crowning, she’s coming!” They still weren’t believing me b/c of the irregular cx’s, but they did wheel me into a room to get checked. The resident checked me and had a look of PANIC on her face- she said “Oh God, DON’T PUSH!!” and everyone went running. They wheeled me into a delivery room. My doula was trying to tell everyone that I was a patient of the birth center and that I wanted to go there. They have a rule that you need 20 min’s of fetal monitoring before going to the birth center. My Dr arrived and said, honey- you don’t have 20 mins. I told her that I didn’t care where I had the baby- I was just happy it wasn’t going to be the car!

Matt got there just as I was starting to push (he had to park 2 blocks away). We pushed for 20 mins. OMG- the pushing was just a crazy feeling. It hurt, but it was an entirely different type of pain. And, I knew that I had to push through it to get to the endpoint. She arrived! Her cord was around her neck so she was quite blue. I couldn’t have her on my chest right away b/c she needed suctioning. After the suction, she pinked right up. I needed a few small stitches. OMG- What an absolutely unbelievable, overwhelming feeling when they gave her to me. My life will never be the same!!! Viola had arrived- 7# 9 ounces, apgar 9/9, completely naturally delivered. She was SO alert- looking around the room and right at me. She started BFing right away. After she came, they let me transfer to the birth ctr for post-partem. They wheeled me and the baby back through the triage center 20 minutes after we had come through the first time. Everyone saw me and started clapping!

Random thoughts:
-Absolutely could NOT have done this without the doula, and I’m becoming increasingly convinced that we would have had her at home if she wasn’t there.
-Everyone is different! Even if the cx’s aren’t regular, if you feel like pushing- get to the hospital!!
-The only way I can describe labor is like being strapped to the front of an out of control freight train. It was just going faster & faster and I couldn’t get off! I had to just surrender to the ride.

Posts: 65
6/6/09 3:23 A

A Natural Birth Story

Benjamin Harrison - born May 23, 2009
Weight: 10 lbs 3.3 oz

I was due on May 15, but anticipated going over as women in my family tend to carry to term or post-term. My own mother actually carried me FOUR weeks over (the doctors thought they had just miscalculated until they saw me, then they realized I really was 4 weeks over!). I prepared for birth by attending Bradley Method childbirth classes, and although my husband was deployed for the majority of them, I emailed him everything I was learning and he was home for the last two "labor rehearsal" classes. I used the certified nurse midwife program through my local military hospital, Tripler Army Medical Center, here in Honolulu. Because I was using CNM's and planning a natural birth, they said they would allow me to go two weeks over, but after two weeks, they would have to induce me. I was terrified of being induced, having heard Pitocin horror stories. So I started researching natural induction solutions.

At my 40 week appointment, the CNM asked me if I had been having contractions, to which I replied "Not that I know of... but sometimes I wonder if I have been having them and just don't know what they are supposed to feel like." She did my first cervical check and said "Well, you've definitely been having contractions..." I was measuring 3 cm and 75% effaced, and she guessed that I would probably go into labor within 24-48 hours. Ha! I made a 41 week appointment for the next Saturday (May 23) evening and proceeded to attempt natural induction solutions throughout the week - lots of walking, sex, spicy food, etc. I started noticing contractions, but they were very mild and irregular. I had decided that at my 41 week appointment on Saturday (May 23) I would ask about stripping my membranes.

On Friday (May 22) my husband and I went out to our favorite Indian restaurant for dinner (spicy food!) and to the mall to exchange some clothes at Gymboree. We then came home to watch some TV. At 9:40 pm I went to the bathroom and as I was finishing urinating I felt this "pop pop" in my lower abdomen. I thought to myself "Well, that was weird... baby must be doing something silly in there!" and came back out to the couch. A minute later, I realized my undies were wet. Then I realized it wasn't just my undies, but my dress, and my couch... Did my water just break??? Knowing that spontaneous rupture of membranes only happens in 8-10% of pregnancies before the onset of active labor, we really weren't anticipating that! I went to the bathroom to check and the fluid was pink - I knew from my Bradley classes that as long as it wasn't green or brown, it was okay. Over the next few hours, the fluid continued to gush out every 20 minutes or so - I was using pads and lots of towels!! But since I wasn't having regular contractions, we knew we didn't need to head to the hospital yet. So we carried on as normal.

We headed to bed around midnight and my husband was able to catch a couple hours of sleep, but my contractions started becoming stronger and more regular. At 2 am I woke my husband up and said "I think we might want to start timing them..." By 3 am, they were 1-2 minutes apart and we decided to head to the hospital. The gate guard at the hospital (military hospital) checked my husband's ID and was about to ask for mine when a contraction hit and I started vocalizing - my husband said "We really need to get to the hospital!" and the gate guard's eyes got really wide and he said "OH!" and waved us through, LOL. We got up to L&D and I was measuring 7 cm and 90%. Up to this point, we knew I would be having a big baby, guessing between 8-9 lbs (in my family, I was the smallest at 8.5 lbs) but when the midwife checked me, she estimated my baby would be 9+. At this point, she informed me that due to the size of the baby, an episiotomy, forceps, or vacuum extraction may be necessary and had us sign consent forms, just in case - but promised it would all be last resort. She also informed me at this time that I would not be allowed to labor in the tub because my membranes had ruptured - news to me, because I had been told previously that it didn't matter. This was disconcerting because the tub was a large part of my birth plan, but being in full-blown active labor, I didn't feel up for much arguing. Instead, I labored on the birthing ball, with the bed in front of me and my husband on a stool behind me, rubbing my back, helping me relax, and giving me fluids after every 1-2 contractions.

I started to feel the urge to push, but the midwife checked me and said I still had a lip on my cervix and was only 9 cm, so she wouldn't let me push yet. I knew from my Bradley classes that at 9 cm or with a small lip, sometimes pushing would actually help to move things along. But the urge came and went, it wasn't constant, so I left it alone. At 6 am, the shift changed, and so did my midwife. The next midwife was more on my level, and even though she checked me and found the same thing, she instructed me to go ahead and push on it. I originally wanted to push in the squatting position because it opens the pelvis by 28%, but the midwife said that with the size of my baby that position wouldn't give her enough leverage should anything happen - so she instructed me to do hands and knees pushing. I pushed on my hands and knees, while she helped stretch my perineum and my husband rubbed my back and encouraged me. The baby started crowning, but every time the contraction would subside, he would retreat back inside. So the midwife instructed me to flip over - even though I did not want to labor on my back and told her as much. But she persisted that in this case, it would be best. So I got into a semi-sitting position, and sure enough, a few pushes later my son was born! Once his head emerged, the rest of him quickly followed - no intervention necessary, thank goodness!

I suffered a superficial, first degree tear that was easily sutured up while I held my newborn son. It is amazing that I didn't tear more given his size - 10 lbs 3.3 oz - but I attribute it to the Bradley Method exercises and the great nutrition of Dr. Brewer's pregnancy diet. However, there was one complication AFTER labor and delivery. Once my son was born, I had planned on using breastfeeding to naturally contract the uterus and minimize bleeding; however, I had postpartum hemorrhaging and was informed by my midwife that we didn't have time for that - that without Pitocin, I would bleed out in approximately 5 minutes. So I had no choice but to take the Pit via IV, and after that saline to compensate for the fluid lost. I find it ironic that after being so terrified of being induced with Pit and doing everything in my power to avoid it, I ended up having to have it anyway. But since it was AFTER labor and delivery, after my son was born, I still feel I was successful in achieving a natural birth.

Everyone was amazed by my energy and attitude afterwards. I kept hearing "You don't look/sound like you just gave birth!!" In addition, everyone was shocked by how healthy and strong my son was and is. "I've never seen a newborn with such strength! Look how he lifts his head!" No drugs in our system = healthy, alert, active mother and baby.

2 weeks later and all is well! I couldn't have asked for a better birth experience or a more beautiful baby. Check out his pics on my BabyPage!

Posts: 2692
6/4/09 12:22 A

Matthew Allen - Born Feb 2, 2009 - VBAC

What an amazing journey this was!

I had been having contractions in the week before Matthew's birth, and although they were mild they were frequent and they were letting me know that his birth was coming closer. On the big day I had a midwife appointment in the morning. I was curious whether or not the contractions I had been having had done anything and I asked to be checked. There were some minor changes but nothing spectacular - Cervix was on its way forward, slightly thinned, soft and a tiny little bit (less than a fingertip) dilated. Needless to say I thought I still had at least a week, maybe two to go.

Just before lunch (12h30) I went to the washroom and as I stood up I felt a "pop " and had a small rush of fluid come out. I honestly thought I peed my pants for a second! But one sniff and I knew - it was time!! I kept losing fluid and started getting mild contractions around 13h30. I called my midwife, just to let her know that my membranes had ruptured. She asked me to check in before bed and reminded me that first labours often take a long time to get going. Imagine my surprise when my contractions very quickly got much stronger and closer together. By 15h30 they were between 4 and 5 mins apart, lasting well over a minute and I could no longer talk through them. We called the midwife and after hearing me work through one contraction she made her way over to our house immediately. On their arrival (I had a midwife and a final year midwivery student attend the delivery) they checked my vitals, and watched me work through a few contractions. They then checked me and I was a loose 3cm already. I moaned and danced my way through another 2 and half hours, and then went to take a shower. In the bathroom I started violently throwing up and started panicking. My contractions were coming on top of each other with no break in between. I later heard these are called double peak contractions. I also had major back pain during the contractions, which my angel of a midwife made bareble using couter pressure. We decided to leave for the hospital as I wanted to get in the labour tub ASAP. As we got to our front door I started feeling the urge to push. The midwife was yelling at me not to push and I was yelling back at her to shut up! I started biting myself in an attempt not to push. The hospital is only 7 mins away from our house but it was 7 mins of hell. The worst part was walking to L&D. I was very vocal all the time and had people stare at me as I swayed and moaned and grunted, trying not to push. As soon as I got to the delivery room I was given a couple of whiffs of laughing gas to try to control the urge to push as they checked me. I was 8cm and very much in transition. I got in the tub and it was just amazing! The
backache was soothed by the jets and the contractions finally eased back into normal single peak contractions. It was such a relief that I was actually smiling and joking between contractions! But the contractions themselves were getting really painful and I still felt the urge to push with each contraction. I would pant through the push urges but could not help but push at least once with every ctx. As I was having a VBAC the hospital had to treat me as a surgery patient and they were trying to draw blood for the OR profile. What a joke!! Poor lab tech had a heck of a time getting blood as the contractions were so close together. Finally I asked to get checked again - there was barely any cervix left and after one more contraction I told them that I am pushing and that is that. So we got out the tub and one more check confirmed that other than a slight lip I was fully dilated. My midwife slipped the lip over his head as I was pushing. Pushing was the most amazing experience. I tried a couple of positions and finally used the squat bar. Between ctx I was standing on the bed using the bar for balance. It was simply amazing. I have never had as much or as little control of my body before, if that makes any sense! I reached down and felt the top of his head and realized I was really doing this - I was giving birth! Gravity was helping a little too much and I was asked to lay down to try and slow him down. With the next push he was out and on my chest. I did it!!!! Unfortunately it was not picture perfect - Matt wasn't breathing and had to be helped a bit. it took a good 25 mins before I was able to hold him. It was nothing serious - he just was not able to take his first breath unassisted. He weighed in at 8lb 15oz and was born at 21h20. I was starting to feel whoozy and noticed that the midwives were getting a little frantic. My uterus wasn't clamping down and I was losing a lot of blood. I got a shot of oxytocin and was handed the gas again as the midwife started scooping clots out of my uterus to try and get it to clamp down. That hurt more than the delivery! I got an IV and more oxytocin, first directly into the vein and then into the saline. Finally it slowed down and they were able to suture up the couple of minor tears I got. Even though one of them did not need to be sutured they were trying to stop bloodloss and were very aggressive. I did not need blood but it was scary.

We were released from hospital the next morning and things are going wonderfully. Through it all my DH was phenomenal. I knew he is a stong, supportive man but I had no idea how incredible he would be as a birth partner.

My VBAC was perfect!! There is simply no comparison to the c/section. I feel like the strongest woman around and I learnt that I am capable of anything.

Editted to update (The story was written a couple of days after Matt's birth. He is now a very healthy, very chubby 4 month old)

Edited by: SACANUCK at: 6/4/2009 (00:26)