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  Birth Stories: Past or Present
« on: February 23, 2007, 06:06:34 PM » by ForeverGirl

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Thank you, everybody, for the enthusiastic response to our news! I am up and going again, and so happy to have my baby boy out where I can look at him, smell him (don't you love that smell?), and hold him! It was the easiest birth ever, and the recovery time is truly amazing. I'm back at my routine, and feeling great. For those of you that are interested, here's the story:

Tuesday I grocery shopped, baked bread, cake, cleaned house, did laundry... talk about "nesting instinct"! Gabe must have had it too, because at the end of the day he told me, "I've caught up on all my projects, paid the bills, and now you can have the baby..." Ha! We went to bed and slept until 6 AM, February 21st - when my water broke. I jumped out of bed and announced "my water just broke!" Gabe ran a warm bath for me and I got in and had mild to medium labor for two hours.
When the kids woke up, their great grandparents came and picked them up for the morning.

Two hours of labor and I was ready to push, and got out of the tub. I didn't make it any further, and Elijah was born right by the tub at 8:18 AM.  :-)  It was the shortest and easiest birth we've had - just the two of us!

We took him to the Richardson's Trading Post to weigh him on their jewelry scale the next day. Their digital scale was gone, so we went to Perry Null's Trading Post. (We live in the middle of Navajo Reservation.) Our friends there were excited and entertained by the whole idea, and put the Elijah in a bowl on the jewelry scale to get his weight. Minus the bowl, and blankets, Elijah weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

He's a good baby - sleeping and eating like a pro.

Thanks for all your prayers and cheers!

Rebekah

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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2007, 12:23:14 AM » by StephTallent
Quote from: SteveTallent on May 08, 2007, 12:17:11 AM
Wrong Log In.   Roll Eyes

That was me!  Cheesy  Using hubby's computer...

I thought I'd better take the time to write out what I can remember of Noelle's Birth Story before I forget anymore details.  Amazing how much of a blur certain things become and when it's all over how very difficult it is to remember. 

Jenny our wonderfully composed and uber experienced midwife came to our house on Saturday to try to trigger labor through some heavy duty natural things.  She started me on a very strong Cottonwood Tincture and my body responded nicely by launching into fairly strong contractions 3 to 5 minutes apart.  Several hours later things didn't seem to be progressing so she decided to sweep my membranes in an attempt to make things move along a little faster.  In the course of that she found that my cervix was not lined up at all.  It was tilted way off at 3 o'clock which made checking for dilation very difficult for her and very painful for me.   She was confident though that as labor progressed and I dilated my cervix would swing around in line before time to push.

I continued with 3 minute contractions through Sunday.  Sunday evening Jenny was starting to get concerned.  With as intense and frequent contractions as I was experiencing my cervix should have dilated nicely but I was stuck somewhere around 3 centimeters or so.  After calling and consulting with a couple of other midwives she she strongly recommended that she break my water in hopes that it would speed things along.  After talking it over Steve and I agreed and she broke my water around 7:30 PM.  Things got a lot more intense after that and I dilated another couple of centimeters and then got "stuck" again.  It didn't help anything that after two days of labor we were all pretty exhausted.

With concern of having to be transported to the hospital and the knowledge of what would probably happen when we got there in the back of all of our minds Jenny decided to do some aggressive exploring to see if she could find something, anything that would be the cause of our lack of progress.  Turns out my cervix had some pretty major scar tissue that had adhered itself in such a way as to prevent the cervix from dilating anymore than it already had.  Jenny manually "tore" where it was adhered in hopes that it would allow dilation to occur as it should.  That was THE most painful part of the whole labor.    It did work though and an hour or so later I was completely dilated.  We don't know exactly what caused the scar tissue but speculate it was from the miscarriages.

I did most of my laboring in the large birth pool that was provided by the midwife.  Sometime after she broke my water and things were very intense I couldn't really tell that the water was helping much anymore so moved to the bed.  It was a BAD idea.  After only a couple of contractions on the bed I realized just how much the water had been helping!  I got back in the tub and stayed there until she was born.

After "only" 30 minutes of pushing Noelle was born!  I say "only" because it felt like forever to me but Jenny told me the average push time for first time Mom's is 2 hours.  She was so beautiful and alert from the second I pulled her out of the water.  Steve and I just sat there and cried as we looked at our beautiful baby.  From the moment she was born her eyes were open and she calmly looked around at us while she took her first breath.  She never cried and within 15 minutes of being born was nursing like a pro. 

I ended up with one 2nd degree tear and a couple of skid marks but nothing too bad.  Am sore from head to toe.  I knew labor would be hard work but didn't realize it was such a full body workout!

We are so thankful to God that things worked out the way that they did.  If I had been in a hospital there is no doubt in any of our minds that I would have ended up with a C section. Most Dr.'s would not have been willing to try what Jenny did to force my cervix to dilate, even if they had taken the time to figure out what the problem was in the first place.  They also would have had me on pitocin after the first several hours of no progress which would in turn have probably led me to beg for an epidural and after hours/days of no progress a C section would have probably sounded best to all of us.  We are just so glad that Jenny was willing to try what she did and most of all that it worked even though it took two and a half days.   

With Noelle being two weeks over due I was afraid she would be really huge.  She weighed in at a nice moderate 7 lbs 7 oz/20 inches long though.  Jenny confirmed that she was indeed two weeks over her due date by whatever means midwives determine such things.  A couple of the things was the size of her head and the length of her fingernails.  She came here needing a manicure!

We love our sweet baby so much and have spent every waking minute just marveling at her.  Steve has her in the living room right now presumably so I can take a nap.  Heh.  I had better go to sleep before he comes in here to check on me.   Grin

« Last Edit: May 08, 2007, 12:46:40 AM by StephTallent »
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2007, 05:01:49 PM » by KatieMac
Ok, a little background. With my two boys I was in labor 5 1/2 hours each...I have a reputation for being a fast birther. Nothing less was expected this time. I was also very late with the boys...9 days late with number 1, who weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and 16 days late with number 2 who weighed 8 lbs 8 oz.

I did notice that this pregnancy was different. I was sick for 8 weeks instead of 6, which I attributed to having a girl. Then around Christmas I developed a yeast infection that lasted literally for over three months. The only thing that cured it was Three Lac. Then in the midst of the yeast infection I began having serious pelvic floor pain...combined with the yeast infection there were days where I was almost incapacitated. I was going to the chiropractor once a week, and it wasn't helping that much. I started going to an aqua-natal class at the local YMCA and it was wonderful...it really helped with my pain. My other pregnancies were uncomfortable to be sure, but fairly run of the mill. This was totally different...I was sick so long in so many different ways.

I think that my midwife had to come out to my house 3 times for "false labor." I am a little fuzzy on it at this point. Once it was a couple of weeks before my due date, then a week before, then on my due date. That was also unusual for me. I just wasn't dilating at all.

On Sunday morning about 6 am I started having regular contractions and I let my husband know...our midwife came out a few hours later but she left our house around noon because I just wasn't progressing. She told me to eat, walk around, and nap and see what happened. I continued to have regular contractions throughout the day. We called her back that night and I was still having regular, close contractions but still not much progression. She told me to try to sleep. I slept from about 12:15 to 2:15...still contracting but able to rest through them. I had my husband start timing them at 3:45 and at some point we called the midwife again. She told us to time them for another hour, and I think we put in two calls to her before she was satisfied that things were actually happening.

When she got here it was about 8 in the morning maybe. She checked me and my cervix was really mushy, probably from the evening primrose oil I had been using. At first she said I hadn't dilated much...then she said "Oh wait...That's your water bag! You are 8 centimeters!" It was hard to tell because my cervix was so strange. I was so happy and I started calling my friends.  However, the next time she checked me she said I was only 5 centimeters. She acted like she had made a mistake but I wasn't sure...maybe my dilation went back down? We don't really know.

My girlfriends started to arrive and everyone was pitching in and helping. I had been waiting and waiting to get in the birth tub because I didn't want to slow down my labor...finally I was able to get in! The Rubbermaid "horse trough" we borrowed was extremely comfortable to labor in. It was deep and I was able to be buoyant, and the water was wonderfully warm. I had always labored in the bathtub but this was so much better because of the size.

Things went great up until about 9- 9.5  centimeters. I did throw up a few times as things got more intense.  I was concerned because my bag was not broken. With my first child I had the urge to push and my bag of water was broken, with my second I did not and I found it hard to push him out. I wanted the urge. I had my midwife break my water and instantly I had an uncontrollable urge to push...but it took 5 contractions to get me open. I had a terrible time trying not to push yet not tensing up my bottom...I had to look at her and focus and it was the hardest thing I have ever done. I definitely had trouble controlling. I was practically sobbing and I kept apologizing and freaking out.

When she said I could push I went to TOWN! Apparently she crowned through 3 contractions and her head came out in the water. Then my midwife noticed classic signs of shoulder dystocia and she told me to get on my hands and knees and get my bottom up, and told my friend Liz to coach me. Liz told me to push like I had never pushed before while my husband and friend Jeannie grabbed my legs and pulled them apart. I was screaming and I realized that my screams were my pushes going out my mouth and I started really pushing. The entire pushing stage was less than 10 minutes we think but it was scary. There was cord around her neck and she was supposedly pasty and didn't breath right away but by the time I turned around she was already gasping and going to be fine. I got out of the tub and felt extremely weak and tired.

Alice weighed 9 lbs 15 oz and is 20 inches long! I still cannot believe my delicate flower daughter is so large! I had a feeling because my belly was so enormous but still, what a shock!

When it came time to push the placenta out I pushed so hard it practically FLEW OUT and almost hit the midwife in the face! That was pretty funny. I still felt very weak and exhausted. My couch was too low for me to be checked out so I had to walk all the way up the stairs to my bedroom, which was really hard. When I did finally get up there I only needed 3 stitches and I wasn't swollen at all! Pretty remarkable...I guess it's because I pushed so hard and fast.

When I had to go to the bathroom for the first time I threw up but it helped me pee!

I was really weak for a few hours but now I feel fine. Even so, after this extremely difficult pregnancy and rough birth we are about ready to call it a day. I know if I do get baby fever there are kids out there who need good homes! We are delighted by our 3 wonderful kids. Alice is so big and beautiful!

« Last Edit: May 08, 2007, 05:07:24 PM by KatieMac »
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2007, 01:03:53 PM » by Melie
Quote from: mercy on May 08, 2007, 11:33:31 PM


HHmom, aren't boys just wonderful?  So glad for you and your family!  And how great that is was a relatively easy delivery!  Still, take it easy and rest.  You didn't say how long you were in labor, but if you had him at 3 a.m., you were probably up all night till that point, and for a while after, of course.  "Thou shalt lay down and sleep; and thy sleep shall be sweet..."  That's in the Psalms, but at the moment  I don't remember where.  It's past my bedtime--'night, everybody!

My labor was only about 4 hours.  My first one was over 24, then I don't recall how long my daughter's was, my last was 6.  This was really a great labor.   I kept doubting that I was in labor because with all the others there came a point where I said "I'm going to die!"  I never even felt that this time.  I felt like I wanted to several times but never like I was going to.  I think this is the first time I was really able to trust that the pain was on my side and I just stopped fighting it (until the head was out but not the shoulders - I did panic at that point).  And don't you just love that feeling when the baby is out!  I kept that in my mind this time.  The recovery has felt worse with this one.  I am just so sore!  I dread going to the bathroom and this morning I wrenched my neck out of alignment somehow but still I am so happy to be on this side of the labor, NO MORE HEARTBURN!!!  YEAH!  My husband has taken the full 12 weeks of family leave off so that he can work on becoming self employed so our family can be more of a family but for this week he is just here taking care of us and that is a real blessing.

I almost feel guilty after hearing the stories from Cody's birthday buddies.  Steph and Katie - I am in awe of you.  You are so tough!  I'm pretty sure I would have been demanding to be transported early on in the process of either of those deliveries!  God knew you could do it!  That must make you feel good.  And what a story to tell your girls!
God bless you both!  We are exhausted and thinking "never again" but you know in a week we'll be saying "ohhh, that was so great!"
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2007, 05:55:22 PM » by Kitty
I can't believe we don't have a thread for this yet?  I'm hesitant to start this w/ a Birth Announcements thread already in existence...but seeing as that is for current births/congratulations...I'm wondering if we could start a thread for birth stories, past or present?  Huh

I just heard about a surprise frank breech birth at home...would love to hear THAT one <hint, hint>  Wink  Grin.  It'd be nice to have a spot dedicated for those looking for VBAC stories or homebirth stories or births in hospitals, birthing centers, tubs, vehicles, fields... Cheesy  WHATEVER!  Any kind of birth story!   Grin

I'll hold off on posting one until I see that HB doesn't kill this/merge it...(please, please, please don't!).   Kiss  Anyone want to start?   Grin

« Last Edit: August 04, 2007, 07:34:17 PM by Yooper Kitty »
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2007, 09:44:26 PM » by *MommaJo*
Ok, I'll start.  I don't do anything special: water birth, at home..., I'm just your run-of-the-mill hospital birther.  I love my doctor, nurses, and hospital.

And, I love to hear birth stories.  Once some of you hear how easy mine were, you might not like me anymore... Wink  I LOVED my labors and deliveries.  It's almost tempting to be a surrogate.   Undecided  I'm SO looking forward to my next one in January (Lord willing, of course).

When I went to my first ob appointment with my first child, she gave me my due date -- 2-29-04.  I paused for a second and said,  "Oh, funny, THAT'S Leap Day!"  She offered to change it to the 28th or March 1st in my records.  I thought it was a neat due date and wanted to keep it.  After all, how many babies are really born on their due dates anyway.  Well, Leap Day rolled around and sure enough, contractions started about 8 a.m.  (After a false alarm, of course, a week earlier)  Smiley  We kept an eye on them and, later, headed to the hospital.  I got there around noon.  The doctor decided to break my water around 2 or 3.  The contractions got pretty tough so I decided to go for the minimal amount of pain meds to take the edge off a bit.  Keaton was born at 6 pm ON his due date.  Leap Day, 2004.  He celebrates his FIRST birthday this coming February!

With my second, he was due on 12-15-05.  The morning of the 14th, I was scheduled for an ob appointment.  I was having some pretty good contractions before we left.  On the way, we decided we'd better go to the hospital instead.  We got there around 10 a.m.  Things progressed REALLY quickly.  I could feel my self transitioning but, unfortunately, didn't communicate that to the nurses!  Then next contraction was HUGE!  My water broke, I pooped (shhh), and Noah crowned all at the same time!  I screamed, "HEEEEE'S COOOOOMING!!!!!"  My dad remembers seeing my doctor running across the parking lot.  (I was raised by my dad and he was there for both my boys' births - near my HEAD, of course! Smiley )  I also remember a nurse saying, "Somebody put some gloves on!  Somebody put some gloves on!"   Shocked  Well, Noah was born before noon, less than TWO hours after I got checked into the hospital and only about 4 hours after the first little contractions.  PLUS, he was born just 12 hours before his due date.  I have punctual little babies.  And, polite, that they came in the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night.  Smiley  He weighed 8 lb. 12 oz.  A POUND and a HALF BIGGER than his brother who was 7 lb. 4 oz.!

My latest birth story isn't as happy, but memorable, nonetheless.  Our little boy died at 18 weeks along.  My doctor was WONDERFUL through the induction and delivery.  She really took such good care of us.

Anyway, on to some more exciting birth stories.  I hope I didn't take up too much space with mine. Embarrassed 



« Last Edit: August 04, 2007, 09:48:35 PM by ~mshelson~ »
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #6 on: August 04, 2007, 09:56:41 PM » by Kitty
Thanks for being brave, MJ, and going 1st!   Kiss  I enjoyed reading about your experiences (well, except the last one... Cry ).  I love all of the details...just wait 'til I  post (you think yours was long  Wink Cheesy ), and I've only had 3 births...where, oh where, is lotsaboys? And ClassiclyAmber?    Cheesy

P.S. I learned something new about you...I didn't know you had a Noah, too.    Cheesy
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2007, 12:05:45 AM » by seeker
Okay, here are my birth stories. My husband was there for all my births. One of my sisters was there for #1. A friend was there for #2 and #3. My mom was there for #5.

1995 - 1st pregnancy ended in miscarriage at about 8 weeks. We were devastated and had trouble conceiving the next child. It took around 1 yr. and 9 months.

1998 - 6 days before due date.Contractions began around 2:30 a.m. Slept as much as I could. Arrived at hospital at around 8 a.m. Was dilated to 2cm. Dr. broke my water. I did okay until transition, then got some Stadol via IV. I mildly freaked out, but my wonderful nurse  Kiss got me focused and told me just what to do. I can still hear her voice, “Fill up your lungs with air. Now push, 2,3,4...” I pushed for about 15 min., I think. Baby girl was born at 12:40 p.m. - 6 pounds, 6 ounces. The nurse delivered the head as the dr. was getting his gown on!  Shocked I only had a very small tear and a couple of stitches. Oh, the things I would have done differently if I had known better!  Tongue

2000 - 3 days before due date.Contractions began around 2 or 2:30 a.m. Arrived at hospital at 6:30 a.m. I think I was dilated to a 3. Not sure. Dr. came and broke my water at 9 a.m., then went back to his practice to see patients. Handled the pain okay until that blasted  Angry transition, then I had some Stadol via IV. Dr. barely made it back to the hospital in time. I NEVER got the urge to push with this one like I did w/the first baby, and it was so hard when everyone was telling me to push. I hated that feeling.  Tongue Pushed for about 15-20 min. Baby boy was born at 9:30 a.m.- 7 pounds, 9 ounces.  Small tear - about 4 stitches.

2002 - I was determined to do my best to use NO DRUGS this time. I had always gotten the Stadol just 15-30 min. before the baby came out, so I knew I could probably do it w/the right encouragement. I talked to my dr. about all this before hand. When I arrived at the hospital I told the nurses what dr. and I had discussed: as little intervention as possible, moving around and walking when I felt like it, no pushing until I felt the urge, no drugs, encourage me during the transition, remind me that the baby is almost here. The nurses were VERY responsive to me and did JUST what I asked. It was an INCREDIBLE birth experience.  Smiley

9 days before due date. Contractions began on a Friday morning, but kept stopping. They were pretty painful, though, so definitely some dilating going on. Contractions started w/o stopping on Sat. morning. Arrived at hospital at 2:30 p.m. after staying home as long as I could. I was dilated to 4 cm. Dr. broke my water at about  4 p.m. - not sure about that. I handled all the pain without drugs this time.  Grin I handled it with breathing and focusing on relaxing the parts of my body that I was tensing. I felt the “ring of fire”, but couldn't communicate that she was coming, b/c I CANNOT speak during contractions. So everyone was surprised when baby girl popped out with just one push - 6 pounds 15 ounces. No tearing, no stitches!

2003 - miscarriage in Dec. at around 11 and a half weeks.

2005 - This is another really sad story. I had a troubled pregnancy. We knew from about 19 weeks that this baby was not expected to live after birth, if baby made it through the birth. We did know that baby was breech. Dr. supported my decision to try to deliver the baby breech, only b/c there was no chance for the baby to live. Anyway, at 34 weeks, I went in to labor. Contractions began around midnight, I think. I was having 1 HUGE contraction at the top of every hour, so I didn't’t really think I was in labor. Arrived at the hospital at 8 a.m. dilated to 9 cm! WOW! That was hard walking in to the hospital while dilated to 9!  Shocked I delivered in the OR, b/c of the chance that they might have to do a CS if I was having trouble w/the breech birth. Baby boy was born at  9:30 a.m., 5 pounds, 2 ounces, but they really had to work on him to get him breathing. He lived for about 3 and a half hours. I was able to get through the birth, even with him being breech, using no drugs. He deserved my best. I’m so glad I was able to give it to him.

2006 - 3 days before due date.Contractions began to be consistent around 11:30 p.m. with some off and on hours before. Arrived at hospital around 2:30 a.m. dilated to 5 cm. Dr. wanted to break my water, but I didn't want him to. He was going to check my dilation, then talk to me about it again. I had him wait until my current contraction was over, but during THAT contraction, my water broke!  Grin  Handled the pain w/no drugs. Baby girl was born at 4:30 a.m.- 6 pounds, 2 ounces. No tearing, no stitches.

So that's 7 pregnancies. Two miscarriages and 5 births - 2 of those using IV drugs for pain and 3 being natural births w/no drugs (and one of those was breech).

Whew! That took a while to type! Thanks for listening. I guess if SarahK shares, she’ll be writing a book!  Cheesy But I’ll gladly read it!  Wink

I keep modifying this, b/c I keep remembering things to add!  Roll Eyes

« Last Edit: August 05, 2007, 04:00:06 PM by seeker »
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #8 on: August 05, 2007, 07:01:30 AM » by andeebeth
OK..I'll give it a try. (and I wanna hear SarahK's birthstories, too! LOL Wink

I was 18 when I had my first son (married, too). We lived in western WA. I remember having tons and tons of bh's for weeks. Had a false alarm about a week before he was due. (Edd June 20th 97). He was born June 18th. I think contrax started in the morning..by then everyone and their dog had scared me to death about the upcoming pain, so I went for the epidural. I never felt the urge to push, and pushed for two hours. Ethan was born at 10:30 at night, and I tore a bit and had to have stitches. They were painful for weeks. Took forever to heal.
He was 6lbs 14oz.

My second son was due April 20th. Much of that pregnancy is a blur..my sister had a baby boy in Dec before that, and he died that following Jan. (heart defect) Again I had alot of bh's for weeks..then one day they changed slightly..so by 3pm we headed in to the hospital. I got my epidural..it was horrible. I had searing pain in one spot all night long. He was born around 530am. It was a bittersweet birth, though. My sister tried to stay, but had to go home around midnight. It was one of the hardest things, knowing I was holding my baby when my sister couldn't hold hers. I was not a Christian at the time.
Isaac was 7lbs 5oz.

My third birth took place here in MN (Mayo). We had been trying for a few months..and I had had two m/c's. With this one, I bled for two weeks straight (weeks 4-6). They suggested vanishing twin syndrome, which made sense with my hcg levels. No problems the rest of the pregnancy. I had been reading up on natural childbirth online..and wanted to go for it! I was seeing an OB at Mayo though..they're not very..uh, natural oriented, to say the least. She even suggested I see the midwife..and I said "no way". (because of the problems I had earlier on. oh..how ignorant of me LOL) Anyway..again, bh's for weeks on end. Four false alarm trips to L&D. When I finally went into labor (due June 2nd, 02)..he was born after 12 hours in the mid afternoon at May 29th (on his great grampa's bday!) He was delivered by a dr. on call there (you get whoever). I hated that. I had several people, including students, in my room. It was awful. No way was I going to do that again. Noah was 8lbs 3oz. Our third boy!! WOW! The birth itself was excruciatingly painful and exhilarating at the same time!

My fourth was due Aug.10th. After much more reading online..I went with a midwife this time!!! They are so awesome..even at Mayo. Wink There are four that rotate..instead of like 50 OB's that rotate. Again, I had weeks of BH's contrax. Only one or two false alarm trips to L&D though this time. I tried to labor at home for as long as I could. I went into labor on July 29th, two weeks early)...I labored for 17 hours. No drugs this time either. It was soo long..my labor stalled around 8-9 cm. Mary (midwife)..ended up having me deliver on my side and she pushed the cervix out of the way and told me to PUSH. He was born..and I had NO TEARS for the first time ever! She was very attentive. Kept everyone OUT of the room..(except dh and MIL..whom I wanted) It was a better hospital experience..just not a better labor experience). It took me longer to recover from Mikey's delivery. I don't know why my labors are getting longer. She says I have a putzy uterus. Tongue He was born July 30th at around 4am...7lbs 4oz.
FOUR boys!! Wow again, right?

My fifth was due July 20th, 06. Pregnancy went well. Our FIFTH BOY was on the way. Lotsa BH's contrax..but this time I knew what I was watching for. No false runs to L&D. (much to dh's delight) We were up late on the 4th of July watching fireworks. We got home about midnight. I woke up about 2 hours later with contractions. They were about 5 minutes apart..and different. So after timing a couple..I got out of bed. I could NOT sleep. I tried taking a bath..dh woke up and I said this "might" be it..but to go back to bed just in case. He had to be up at 5am to go to work. (fortunately, he works where I have to deliver Smiley Around 5am he got up..and said he better call in. This was it. I hadn't slept at ALL..I tried, but couldn't sleep thru them. I thought I'd be having a baby in a few hours. (ha ha). I labored at home ALL day...around 3-4pm..we called my BIL to come to stay with the boys..and we headed in. I was about 4cm so they admitted me. Mary was on call again (she delivered my last). I labored and labored...ugh. Around 8pm my contractions slowed to 8 mins. apart, and I was only 5cm!!!....but contrax were soo strong. Mary knew I wanted to go natural..but she also knew when I needed help. (and I certainly do NOT want a section!). When she said.."Girl..I think you need some pitocin"..I said "Well then..I'm getting the epidural!" So..they got the epi in about 9?pm....what a process!! I'd totally forgotten what it was like..it wasn't such a process at the last hospital I delivered. But it was WONDERFUL. I went to sleep for a little while. Dh, his mom and dad were there and watched a video while I snoozed. They started the pit around 10pm or so. Maybe it was later than that. Obadiah was born about 12:18 am on July 6th (two weeks early again!). Total labor was about 22 hours from start to finish. What is WRONG with my body?!?! LOL. I had an easy recovery this time though..and again, no tears!

I'm due with first baby GIRLl this Dec. I'm pretty much going to just go with an epi and pit this time. Everyone always says..Oh you never know! You could go quickly next time. Well..they've been saying that the last two times..I'm tired of looking forward to it. lol. I'm not sure there is anything I can do to speed up my labors. And I think I've pretty much lost the desire to go natural anyway. I definitely DON'T want a c-section though. Wink Lord willing, of course.

~andee, mom to five sweet sons, lil princess due in Dec.

« Last Edit: August 05, 2007, 07:04:32 AM by andeebeth »
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #9 on: August 05, 2007, 09:50:10 AM » by BlessedWith4
Ethan's Birth:
Unnecessary Routine Interventions Lead to Chaos, Pain and ultimately Enlightenment

It was a Monday, and my 40th week of pregnancy. Everything was great. For the past 4 weeks, I had been 4 cm dilated and 50% effaced. I was healthy and the baby was healthy, and in the most ideal position for birthing. My doc’s office called me up one morning. “Amber, can you please come in today for your weekly checkup? Dr. Patel is going out of town in the morning and wants to see you today instead of later on this week.” Crap! I was hoping to get in some really good rest that day because I was really tired…but now I’ve got to go get ready for this appointment.

I get to my appointment, and my OB wanted to do a pelvic exam. While she was literally examining me, she said “Oh! You’re in labor! It looks like you’re going to have a baby tonight! I’ll call over to the hospital and get you a room set up. Are you excited?”

Um, okay. I was in SHOCK. Since this was my first labor and all, I had no idea what to expect or how things were “supposed” to feel. I just kept saying to Corey (DH), “Wow. I must have a REALLY high pain tolerance or something because I had no idea I was even in labor! This just feels…NORMAL.” At that point, everything started to happen really fast, and I was trying to figure out everything as it was going on – hard to do, ya know!

We call both of our moms, and just repeat what the OB is telling us. “Yeah, apparently Amber is in labor and is going to have the baby tonight!” They were in disbelief. Well, I was, too!

We go on over to the hospital at 4:30 that afternoon (the OB made it sound like I was about to literally birth this baby and made us rush). My Mom went home to get my suitcase (we live out in the country, 30 min. from the hospital. So it was at least an hour before she’d get to hospital). I was wondering if the baby would be here before she got back with mine and the baby’s clothes. When Corey checked me in, they were saying that all of their birthing rooms were full, and could I wait? Well…they tell me I’m in labor, but I’m not in PAIN, so sure! I could wait! What was all the rush about anyway? I sat in the conference room for over an hour waiting on a room. During that time, nurses kept flying in and out of the room with panic-stricken voices “Oh mygosh! Are you okay? We’re going as fast as we can to get you set up in a room, okay? Just relax as much as you possibly can and let us know if you need ANYTHING!” I just waved my hand at them and said, carelessly, “Oh no! I’m fine! Don’t worry! ”

Finally I get into a room around 6:00 pm. Immediately, a nurse came in for me to sign about 400 pages of paperwork. I dunno. Something about if me or the baby dies, we won’t hold the hospital personally responsible. So I signed my life away in blood on the papers to them that afternoon. Then another nurse came in and checked me. Yep, I was about 4 cm dilated and 50% effaced, just as I had been a few hours earlier over at Dr. Patels. By the way, I had a TON of pointless vaginal checkups that afternoon and evening, and the nurses were ROUGH with that. It hurt so bad every time. Anyway, after the first two nurses left, yet ANOTHER came in the room, and held up a chart. It had a series of stupid looking faces…one end had a happy face and a 1 underneath it…then it gradually went up to a scrunched up, UNHAPPY face with 10 under it. She began talking to me like I was in Kindergarten all over again: “Now, we will be back at several different points through your labor and delivery (great, thanks) to show you this chart. We will ask you the exact same question each time: What does the pain feel like right now? Okaaaaaaaaaaay? So all you have to do is look at this chart, and tell us how you feel by giving us the corresponding number with the pain level, okaaaaaaaaaaaaay? So right now…What does the pain feel like?” I gave it a 2. It was like NOTHING. And that’s because – I later found out – I wasn’t even IN LABOR. I was just really pregnant. There’s little pain in that.

Right after that, another nurse came in with a big pole-thing on wheels and a bag at the top of it with a tube coming down. Yes, this was the first time I had ever been around anything enema-related. “All right honey, your doctor is ordering an enema for you. I know, this is no fun. Let’s just get it over with.” So I laid on my side, got it done – felt like I was about to explode (of course) and for the next 45 minutes after that, I was back and forth from the bed to the toilet. It is MISERABLE to get an enema any time, but especially when you are so very pregnant.

I had just gone back to bed to recover from the enema when another nurse heads in. She had some stuff in her hands. I didn’t know what it was or what she was doing. “Okay, let’s go ahead and get you set up with this hep-loc.” I totally admit - I was pretty stupid. I mean, I obviously wouldn’t even have had any of this done if I hadn’t been so stupid and gullible. I didn’t even KNOW what a hep-loc was! I saw her pull out a needle from its package, and knew I needed to look away. Corey, however, stood beside my bed and watched the whole thing. So I sat there and watched his face. After a minute, I began to feel a sharp twisty pain in my hand, and then watched as Corey’s face turned to complete HORROR. I immediately looked down at my hand – with bright red blood all OVER the side of the bed – and the nurse was fumbling around, mumbling and saying, “I-I am s-so sorry! Um…let me…clean this u-up! Ugh….okay…I’ll just – I’ll just get this cleaned up and then we’ll, um, we’ll try it again, okay? I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Hang on with me for a second. Okay, all right. It’s cleaned up now. I’ll be back again with a new needle. Hang on.”  While she was gone, Corey told me how angry he was about that. I told him that I was upset over it, too. I thought about asking for a different nurse to do this again, but for some STUPID reason, I didn’t. This nurse came back and put in the hep-loc the right way. My hand was hurting really bad. It’s bad enough to have one of those things in there, but to have it all messed up like that on you the first time…ugh.

Then another nurse comes in and hooks up my belly to an external fetal monitoring machine. They put a clip on my finger to keep a check on my blood pressure.

I kept my spirits up the whole time. We were REALLY excited to be having our first baby! Would it be a boy or a girl? What would the baby look like? You know, there are so many emotions around that time. I had a whole flood of people come into my room that night. I remember at one point, there was a big crowd in there, and people kept asking me, “Are you SURE you’re in labor? You don’t look like it!” And I kept saying “Well, that’s what they TELL me!” (so whatever they tell you must be the truth, right?).

Now it’s 7:30 pm. I get yet another check down there. “It looks like you’re heading up to 5 cm”. Then another nurse comes in with a bag on a pole and starts hooking me up to it. I felt like saying, “Um, what the CRAP are you doing to me and my baby?” Instead, I waited for an explanation as I watched her set it up. Nothing. I kept looking inquisitively at her. Nothing. Finally, I summoned, “What’s that?” She said in a hurry, “Oh, this is what your Dr. just ordered. It’s Pitocin. It will help speed up your labor.” At that point, my gut instinct was to have her sit down with me and go over all the pros and cons of having this Pitocin stuff, and did I really need it anyway? Have all laboring moms always had Pitocin when they are having a baby? I said, “Okay, I didn’t know anything about this. What does it do exactly? Do I have to have it? What are the negative side effects to having Pitocin? Does it hurt the baby?” The nurse sighed and said, “It’s fine. Yes, you have to have it – it’s Dr.’s orders. No, it won’t hurt the baby. You’ll both be just fine, okay? Do you have any more questions? (Well, NO, that was no help what-so-ever!)

I looked at myself. My body was literally hooked up to so many things…all going on at at once. Something in my gut told me that this was not the best way to do things…it was not how my ancestors had had their babies. I hated it…

After that, the Head Nurse kept coming in my room to check the Pit drip. She said, “How are you doing? I can’t BELIEVE that you’re not in pain! You know, this is the only floor of the hospital where we WANT you to feel pain! I’ll check back later…”

I started to get a pain in my left side, so I propped up left leg to help compress it. Yes, that made the pain lessen considerably. I decided to stay that way. After about 5 minutes of that, a nurse came in the room. She was fumbling with the EFM machine, then she looks over at my propped up leg, pushes it down and says, “No, you need to keep your leg flat because it messes with the EFM and we can’t get baby’s HB reading as well, okaaaaaay? Okay!” When she left, I propped my leg back up and nobody said anything else to me about that.

My mom went over to the machine and grabbed the printout. “Wow, Amber. I can not believe you! When I was this far along in labor with you kids, I was writhing in pain! And you’re just sitting there like it’s NOTHING. Okay, here comes another contraction. Get ready! Can you feel it? Breathe! Oh my goodness! I can’t believe you!” I just sat there normal the whole time, listening to her and trying to figure out what the big deal was. Another nurse came in later and mom talked to her about it. The nurse said, “Well, that printout doesn’t measure the level of pain that she might experience, so keep that in mind.”

My Grammy called at 9:15 pm. While I was chatting away on the phone with her, my water broke. Things started to feel different. Without saying anything, I handed the phone over to Mom. Then I felt a gush of water and a nurse confirmed that it was amniotic fluid by another check down there. I immediately began having hard, hard contractions out of NOWHERE and thought I couldn’t breathe through them. It hurt so badly! My mother was on the left side of me and Corey was on the right side and they were helping me with the breathing techniques. I had asked Corey previously to get everyone out of the room when it got serious. So the grandpas and kids left, but my sister-in-law (Emily, 15) and my mother-in-law (Regina) were still in the room. Emily was at the foot of my bed with her hands cupped over her mouth in horror watching all the pain I was in. Regina was putting wet washcloths on my face because I was sweating like crazy! I thought that it was all making me feel worse though, so Corey asked them to leave.

I had contraction after contraction and I thought that it would never end. Those PIT contractions were making me insane and I asked for an epidural. The nurse checked me. "Nope, sorry," she said. "But you're going way too fast and you'll be ready to start pushing soon!" I was at 9 centimeters and in excruciating pain. They decided to give me some Demerol, which basically made me like a dumbed up momma in horrible PIT pain that could no longer speak about how much pain she was in! There were more contractions and when the nurse checked me again, she said, "Your cervix is almost ready but there is still a little bit of a lip to it and when it gets a little softer, you'll be ready to begin pushing." Again, there were more contractions and I was falling asleep between each one. The last time she checked me was about 10:30 p.m. and she said that she would phone the doctor because I was ready to have this baby!

I began to feel nauseous, but could barely speak. I started blubbering about feeling like I was about to throw up. The nurse looked irritated that I’d be making a mess. Corey ran and got me a bed pan. I threw up in it a few times. Then the irritated nurse came over with a HUGE needle and – like she was murdering my leg – she STABBED it hard into my left leg - - through the sheets, my hospital gown - everything. She said nothing. I felt nothing for all of the pain from the PIT contractions. To this day, I have no idea what she injected into my leg.

They hiked up the bed and took off the end of it. They turned on the spotlights from the ceiling. The Head Nurse began to instruct me how to push. She said, “What you’re going to do is when we say go, you will grab your legs up, pull them INTO your chest, and bare down pushing as hard as you possibly can for a count of 10 seconds, okay?”

How can I push? I feel SO worn out from those horrible contractions! My uterus literally felt like it was about to fall apart from all the stress it has been under these past several hours.

I never felt the urge to push, but I began pushing and she said that I was doing great. They slowly counted up to ten while I pushed and pushed. I could only make it to 7 or 8 before I had to let go because I didn’t have it in me. This went on and on for about 30 minutes.

The doctor came in with her splatter shield (yes, it literally said SPLATTER SHIELD across the top of it). The Splatter Shield looked somewhat like a welder’s helmet and freaked the mess out of me! She urged me to push harder and harder. My husband was fanning me like crazy and kept watching down there so he could see it all. Finally he said, "Oh, honey! I see the head! The baby has a head full of hair!" He was so excited! I was so tired! It wasn't over yet, though. I pushed and pushed some more, and the doctor told me that I was going to have to have an episiotomy, which shocked me, and I wanted to protest, but didn’t have the energy to even speak. I felt her stick me with the needle about 8 times down there, and she kept on after that but I didn’t feel it. Then she got out the scissors and started cutting away my perineum – all the way down and over to the right into my butt cheek.

I pushed and she pulled the baby out at 11:02 p.m. Our baby was finally born and we were surprised with a baby boy! My husband cut the umbilical cord and he was so happy that he was crying! It was so sweet. They asked me his name and I told them with slurred speech, “Ettthan Mattthew Davisss”. I didn't get to hold him, though, and that made me very upset. At that moment, I kept passing out from all of the pain and the huge blood loss. I thought I might slip out and die, honestly. I don’t even know what all was going on around me at that point.

Then the doctor started tugging on the placenta and said that it wasn't going to come out on its own, so she had to pull and rip it out. That was extremely painful! Then she reached way in (she had small hands) and said that there were still pieces of it inside of me and that she was going to have to scrape it all out with her hands. She also stated that my blood was clotting like crazy. So she kept reaching in there and scraping over and over and over again for almost an hour after Ethan was born. I thought that it would never end and I was screaming in pain! I had NEVER heard of anything like this and had NEVER been in so much pain in my life. It was so awful that I literally wanted to die. I could not believe it. Finally, at midnight, it was over. After all that, I felt like I had just given birth to 200 babies that night. Then she stitched me up and I waited patiently in my bed to see my beautiful baby again. At this point, I was in so, so much pain, but didn’t feel like I was about die anymore.

After what seemed to be an eternity of me waiting totally alone in my birthing room, they brought him to me and I tried nursing him for about 15 minutes. He did so well! It felt so good to have him in my arms because I had waited for this moment for so long! Ethan weighed 7 pounds even and was 19 1/2 inches long. He had dark skin, a head full of hair, and was just as beautiful as could be!

That night, I tried to sleep, but couldn’t. Every time I would close my eyes, I would hear, see and feel Dr. Patel cutting me open, pulling the baby out and then scraping the inside my uterus out with her hands – over and over and over again. I was totally traumatized. I felt victimized, but didn’t know how to put it into words.

Little did I know that I was heading straight into severe post partum depression that would last for a solid 2 years after Ethan’s birth. Little did I know all of the truths behind my birth experience, and how none of the horrible things that happened to me and Ethan that night HAD to happen; those were all choices that my doctor made FOR me for HER convenience and comfort - - not for mine or my baby’s. I wish I knew then what I know now…how being artificially induced ups your pain levels GREATLY, and that it is also a huge, huge risk you are taking. It is dangerous for your uterus, as it’s not made to contract unnaturally hard or fast like that, with little to no breaks in between. It can cause your uterus to literally rupture under those kinds of drugs. It greatly ups your chances for having a C-section, a very risky surgery. It can cause the baby’s heart rate to change to dangerous levels because of the hard, unnatural contractions. That was one of the reasons why I had to have an episiotomy.

I learned that my doctor put me on my back to labor and push, which caused the baby’s heart rate to go down and that was her reason for wanting to get the baby out fast. That was why she wanted to cut me open down there. It took me a full year to recover pain-wise from the episiotomy. However, it has been over 6 years, and my body has not recovered down there, and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same. How can I after being cut open so badly? My muscle was literally snipped in two.
I learned that birthing flat on your back is the WORST position for pushing a baby out. It keeps the pelvis from opening up all the way and can also change the baby’s heart rate.

I learned that one should never tug and pull on the placenta. In fact, it is very dangerous to do so. It can cause a woman to hemorrhage and bleed to death. I DID hemorrhage because my OB pulled on mine, and almost had to have a blood transfusion…I almost bled to death. Thank God that I didn’t! My mother works with a woman who has a daughter that was under my OB’s care. She was having her first baby. After she pushed the baby out, Dr. Patel pulled on the cord. It caused the woman to hemorrhage. She started gushing out blood. The Dr. wheeled her straight into the operating room and performed surgery, removing her uterus. She had to do it to save her life. The OB created the problem in the first place, then had to take away any chance of this woman’s right to ever bear children again in order just to keep her from DYING. This woman is now trying to sue Dr. Patel. But that could have so easily been ME. I feel sorry for her.

I thought of this…all through pregnancy, your doctor tells you about certain things. Don’t take unnecessary drugs because everything you ingest goes to the baby, too. Halfway through your pregnancy, they tell you not to lie on your back because baby doesn’t get as much oxygen that way and it is dangerous. Yet what are the two main things that most doctors and hospitals do to a laboring woman when she checks in? They plop her on her back and give her TONS of drugs…stating to the woman that all of this is okay for both Mom and baby, when REALLY – that is a LIE. It’s not okay and it leads to loads of problems for both Mom and baby.
At first, I never wanted to have another baby ever. I thought that all of that stuff was something that we as women HAD to go through in order to bring a baby into the world. For the longest time, I didn’t even look into it or think about it. However, after I got over PPD and started settling into life as a Mom, me and Corey started thinking about another baby. It was then that I started my own research to find out the truth about women and childbirth. I wanted to know what ALL of my options were and wanted to be completely accountable for my own choices. I wanted to MAKE my own choices, not give that over to somebody else to do for me – while I suffered through the consequences. I will NEVER go back and birth a baby the traditional American way again. It’s the worst and most dangerous way to do it.





« Last Edit: August 05, 2007, 09:55:24 AM by ClassiclyAmber »
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #10 on: August 05, 2007, 09:51:18 AM » by BlessedWith4
Nolan's Birth:
We had PLANNED on a hotel birth, but…
The baby had something else in mind!

I’d been having contractions for the last two months of my pregnancy and a month before I was due it was determined that I was 4 centimeters dilated and 40-50% effaced. The original due date was February 10, but the doctors moved the date up to January 31 after a few ultrasounds and baby measurements. However, once January 31 came and went, and still no sign of baby, we figured out that I must have been due closer towards my original due date.

On Thursday night, February 10, I came back from next door at Aunt Linda’s house, and decided to call my doula friend, Shanna. While I was on the phone with her, my sides started cramping pretty bad, and I remember telling her, “Man! I’m kinda hurtin’!” and her response was just, “Hmm….” as if to say “I wonder if this is the night?” That night, I went to bed around 11:00 and woke up around 1:00 AM - - still having those cramps and having to use the bathroom. I also noticed contractions that were a little more intense than normal, but figured it was still nothing since I was managing just fine…and decided to go back to bed and sleep. At 2:00 AM, contractions woke me up! They were even more powerful, and I was starting to feel them in my back. I shook Corey and woke him right away. “You’re going to have to start timing these things!! Oh - they HURT!” By this time, I was on my hands and knees, breathing through each one and trying to get some relief for the pain in my back. Corey timed several of them, and we found that they were only a minute apart. He called the midwife, and told her everything that was going on. I was on the toilet again, and right when my midwife was asking Corey if I had seen any blood yet, I was wiping and saw some! She told Corey that based on all she was hearing, that I definitely was not going to make it to the hotel. Corey relayed this info to me, and I started crying! I said, “We have to go to the hotel! Those were our plans! We can’t change our plans now!! What about being near the hospital?!? Oh my gosh!” I realized that I needed to quickly regain my composure…after all, I didn’t want to make the pain worse. My midwife and assistant were now on their way to our house (they both live over an hour away).

Next, Corey ran some very warm bath water for me and helped me in. Then he got back on the phone and began calling everyone on our birth team. Now this is the insane part: People have been calling and harassing me for the past entire MONTH wanting to know when I was going to go into labor….and once I finally DO go into labor and we call to let them know - - we can’t get anyone on the phone!! For instance, Corey called my doula friend, Shanna, several times! No answer! Then he kept calling my parents…and finally they picked up the phone. Could they please come right out?? Amber is asking for her mom….well, NO, my Dad says, because she’s got a contagious stomach virus and how horrible would that be if she gave it to Amber or the baby?!? So my Dad would not allow my Mom to come out here. Then Corey calls my sister to tell her, and HER husband wouldn’t let HER come out here, either!! The reason? He says that he didn’t think that she could handle the sight of childbirth. So he told her stay home and she did. By the way, the whole time that Corey is calling up all these people, I am still in the bathtub and in TRANSITION stage of labor having hard contractions and with absolutely no help. This is not what I had envisioned my birth experience to be like - - but everything was happening so quickly and I was glad about that. I remember yelling for Corey to “Get in here!!” and then “heeeeelp me!!” at the start of an intense contraction. He was a panicky mess! He was having to do the job of 4 people all at once and it wasn’t working out that great! There was the birth kit and all the plastic liners that needed to be out and in place…so he had the phone on one ear, me yelling in his other, all the while running around ripping the sheets and comforter off the bed, laying down plastic everywhere and getting an entire birth scene ready.

Meanwhile, I was in the tub and could not get comfortable. In between contractions, I looked down at my legs and MY - - what a sight! I yelled for Corey to get in here and to please get my razor before the next contraction started so I could shave my legs. He did and I started shaving RIGHT when another contraction was starting up…I stopped and breathed through it…then I tried shaving again but another contraction came - - so I just completely forgot about shaving.

That whole deal went on for about an hour, and then Corey helped me out of the tub and onto the bed. I remember when I stood up out of the tub, the contractions became really, really hard and all I wanted to do was to relax and lay down because I was afraid of birthing the baby right then and there. Next, he helped me onto the bed, and I laid on my right side breathing and quietly moaning through each contraction. The pain in my back was very strong at this point! I remember doing this for a while, and then was so relieved to look up and see my midwife standing beside me. I grabbed for her hand while I went through yet another contraction. Now I was applying pressure to my lower back through each contraction because it hurt so badly - - and I was glad to know that someone else was there to help with my back pain. Corey tried to help at one point, but he pushed too hard and that made it hurt worse, so I asked him to stop and let me do it again. At this point, I could literally feel my body pushing the baby down further and further…my hip bones were really starting to stretch apart – Ouchie!!

My water broke! It felt so heavy and thick, that I at first thought it was the baby coming right out! My midwife checked, and stated that there was meconium present in the fluid. She then checked me and got a look on her face. It wasn’t a bad look, it was just a serious one and I couldn’t figure her out. Then she told me in a very calm manner that what she just felt was a butt, and that the baby would be born breech. I came up off the bed, my eyes all bug-eyed, and said, “WHAT?!?! You have got to be KIDDING ME!!” Of course, she wasn’t, and calmly reassured me that everything would be okay, and that that was what they were here for. “We do this kind of work all the time and God is in control. Look to Him to ease your fears…” She prayed and talked and talked about God, and that made me calm and relaxed.

Next she said that she would like me to get on the birthing stool, so I did. That was not very comfortable, so then she had me lie down on the floor, kind of on my side with one leg up. Corey held up my right leg, and Shanna sat behind my head and offered good resistance and something to pull against. I apologized to Shanna for having morning breath! After all, there was no time to brush my teeth! This whole time, there was meconium coming out of me – more and more (it looked like more than it actually was). Everyone was joking around that this baby definitely knew how to poop! From here on out, every time I would finish having a contraction – my midwife would use her handheld Doppler on my belly to check the baby’s heart rate. “The baby is handling it all just fine!! This is good!”

My midwife began with calm, clear instructions: “Push a little only when you feel the urge…” I did this a few times, and then she said, “Okay, now I need you to stop pushing, and blow through each contraction.” She made a horse noise through her mouth, and when my contractions came, that’s what I did, too. I wanted to push SO BADLY, and it hurt like mess to not be pushing. She said, “We have to let your uterus do the work for you, and try to stay opened up. After the baby has come down some more, then I’m going to have you stand up to finish pushing the baby out.” I kept on breathing through each contraction, and I could feel my body moving the baby down further and further, and I was starting to feel the ring of fire. They told me that it looked like a boy so far, but it was still kind of hard to tell. Finally, a good bit of the baby was out and I reached down to feel. Sure enough, everything was showing and it was definitely a boy! When his little “member” came out, it flopped over and peed right on Corey! All of this part happened in about 30 minutes. “Sorry for making all you guys wait around on me!” I kidded with my birth team. The next 30 minutes consisted of me voluntarily pushing the baby out. Once his butt was out, my midwife said, “Okay, now you need to stand up.” WHAT?!?! Stand up with a butt between your legs?!? Somehow, Corey and Shanna managed to get me up to a squatting position, and that felt so good! I said, “Oooooh….Let me push some right here!!” So I went for it. With each push, my midwife was squirting olive oil all around down there and massaging with her fingertips. This felt so good and really helped me to stretch nicely! In the squatting position, I pushed out one leg at a time, the body, and then one arm at a time. My midwife quickly said, “Okay, now you HAVE to stand up to birth his head!” They helped me to my feet, and everyone was squealing, “Push – push – push – PUSH!!!!” And I pushed his head out and they helped me back down on the floor on several pillows and on my back.

Corey and I were so happy! They handed me the baby, and I proudly announced his name as “Nolan Emmanuel”, and felt like I was laughing and crying all at once! He was just as alert and bright-eyed as he could be…not really crying and he came out looking around the room at everything and everyone. He lay in my arm beside me and the cord was still pulsating. After a few minutes, it stopped and Corey proudly cut the cord. We were bonding with him, and I was still having intense contractions, which helped deliver the placenta naturally and safely. Nolan was born at 4:59 AM on Friday, February 11, just about 3 hours after I awoke from sleeping! He was 7 pounds 6 oz. and 20 inches long.

My midwife checked me after I had a nice, long hot bath and found that I tore only a millimeter. I was surprisingly shocked! It makes sense, though, because she really helped me take things nice and slow through the pushing stage – and the olive oil and massaging definitely helped!

Ethan slept through it all, but later woke up around 6:00, and was introduced to his little brother. He was smiling from ear to ear, and you could tell that he was very proud of his new little sibling. He got in bed with me and Nolan, and said in a sweet manner that he wanted to share his (favorite) giraffe blankie with Nolan, and proceeded to cover him up with it. It was so cute!

Everything about my birth experience this time was absolutely perfect! I would not change a single thing - - not even the fact that Nolan was born frank breech. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I never ever saw myself birthing a baby at home, and now I can’t think of any other way that I could ever do it. It’s so amazing to me that it all happened right here, in the comfort and safety of our bedroom, and that right after it was over, I could crawl back into my own bed with the baby and Corey and go to sleep. How peaceful! I highly recommend it… Smiley

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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #11 on: August 05, 2007, 09:53:13 AM » by BlessedWith4
Gianna's Birth:
Just going with the flow...

I woke up Sunday, April 1 just feeling exhausted. All day long, there was nothing that I could do to gain my energy back, and so I spent MOST of the day in bed resting and sleeping. I couldn’t remember the last time I had spent so much time sleeping!

Closer towards the evening, I rolled out of bed for the second time and decided to make my way downstairs. Around this time, I noticed contractions again – and every now and then, I’d feel one in my back. By the time 9:00 pm arrived, I was having regular contractions, and feeling most every one in my back first. However, they were totally manageable and I really didn’t even think much of these contractions except for the back pain. When I spoke to a friend on the phone and told her what I was experiencing, she suggested calling the midwife. So I did, and at my midwife’s recommendation, I went upstairs and checked myself. WHEW! I was about 5 cm dilated, and could literally feel the sack bulging out of my cervix. At that point, I began to question if I would be having the baby soon! HA! I told my midwife what I discovered, and she asked if I thought that tonight would be my night. “I honestly have NO idea! I mean, part of me thinks that surely something must be going to happen soon….” - - but I couldn’t guarantee to her that I was in active labor at that point! She suggested us putting the boys to bed, and then seeing if something happened after that. I don’t know HOW she knows these things!

Immediately after putting the boys down for the night, I crawled into bed and laid on my side, thinking about these contractions. It was seriously starting to irritate me that I couldn’t tell which way things were going. I felt out of touch with my body. 30 minutes passed, and Corey spoke with the midwife, asking her to come on out. Since she lives an hour and 15 minutes away, we knew it would take her a little bit to get here, but it was also just after 10:00 at that point, so the roads were more than likely clear for her to get here a bit sooner than normal. I was still second guessing everything – and telling myself that we were probably having her out here for nothing. I honestly thought at that point that we’d just be sending her back home with no baby in our arms yet. Corey said, “Better safe than sorry, though. Let’s just see what happens.”

Corey pulled out some chux pads and ran a hot bath for me. I got in there and little did I know that it would be a few HOURS before I climbed back out! The hot water helped me relax and made the back contractions ease up quite a bit. Thank goodness! While I was in the tub, though, the contractions gradually picked up and between 11:30 pm and 1:00 am, I was in full blown labor! With each and every single contraction, I motioned to Corey and he put his hand on my lower back just right to put pressure on my spine and ease the pain. It helped a LOT! I absolutely needed him there doing that for me, and he was just awesome.

The contractions grew intense, and I could feel the powerful waves start to push baby down and slowly start to spread my hip bones apart. The baby was moving down further and further, and pretty soon, I could feel such a pressure on my butt and the baby’s head at the opening. Now I was softly moaning and involuntarily pushing with each contraction. “Thaaaat’s good! That’s what we want!”, my midwife spoke gently. She grabbed her Doppler and kept a check on baby’s heartbeat here and there. “Baby sounds good! Everything is going great! You are doing PERFECT!”, she said. I could REALLY start to feel baby’s head coming out, and for some reason, I started to arch my back in the water. “If you’re going to have this baby in the water, then you’ll have to keep your butt below the water. If not, then let’s get out and try something different” my midwife told me. I felt like I was trying but to no avail to get the baby down past a certain point, so my midwife directed me to come forward and get up on my feet (with help, of course!). Corey and the MW assistant helped me up, and before I knew it I was standing up in the tub and REALLY pushing the baby out! Her head had crowned and more was coming out when the midwife directed the birth team to help me out of the tub and let me squat on the floor beside it. SQUATTING! How could I have forgotten about squatting? It works SO well and feels SO good birthing a baby that way. I should have been in that position all along! They helped me squat on the floor, and the baby’s head popped out so fast after that…and then the shoulders and everything else came out in practically one big motion. WHOOSH! It felt great! The baby was covered in the creamy vernix and I reached down to pick up my child “Oh my baby! Oh my baby!! I can’t believe it!”…after a few seconds, it actually occurred to me to see WHO I had just birthed, so I quickly looked down there and proudly, loudly exclaimed, “…and it’s a GIRL! Oh my goodness! A girl!! Her name is Gianna Belle! She’s so beautiful! A girl, Corey, a GIRL!!” I held her so close, and kissed her and loved her. She was just sucking all over her hands and was TOTALLY ready to nurse right from the get-go! I couldn’t believe that, either!  This was a first for me! It was a bit before I could nurse her, though, and she pitched a FIT over it, too!

The birth team let the water out of the tub, cleaned it and ran a new, sparkly hot bath for me and Gianna. Within minutes, we were back in the tub relaxing and bonding. My midwife was also waiting for the cord to stop pulsating so that we could cut it. She kept checking it every so often, but it was a good 35 minutes before it stopped pulsating, and she set it up so Corey could come over and cut the cord. Then we had to wait on the placenta. Corey held Gianna now while I got in a in a squatting position in the tub to push out the placenta. After that, my birth team cleaned me off in the tub, and then helped me to my bed. Corey brought over Gianna, and I put her up to me to nurse, which she was past ready to do. She latched on like a champ and had such a strong suck! Whew! That kicked my uterus in gear again with those intense contractions! After that, my midwife gave Gianna a thorough checkup and found that she was very tiny indeed – weighing in at only 6 pounds 9 ounces and 19 inches long! Everything about her is perfect. God has blessed us with another healthy baby!

Gianna Belle

6 lbs. 9 oz.

19 in. long

Born here at home 1:12 am, April 2, 2007
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #12 on: August 05, 2007, 03:10:51 PM » by Kitty
Seeker, Andeebeth & Amber,

I've been reading your stories here and there throughout the day--  Thank you for sharing them.  What a sweet blessing it has been.  I am so moved and so in awe of how our bodies are designed, and how God empowers us to deliver babies in a variety of situations.  I am enouraged greatly in the thought of birthing any future babies here, even though I currently have no midwife in the area...thank you for bostering my faith in that area!   Kiss 
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #13 on: August 05, 2007, 03:17:32 PM » by cecac
Well, we've had 9, but I'll not tell but two of them.

The first one, I went into slow labor.  In the hospital, I decided to take something to help me sleep through contractions (in an IV).  In the middle of labor, I was at about 7 cm, the nurses kept checking the baby's monitor.  They decided to put a monitor on baby's head because they were having trouble monitoring with the belt on my tummy.

The nice, even heartbeats were very reassuring to us all......until during one of the contractions.  Then the baby's heart went to -0- !!

Boy, those nurses kinda started losing it.  They had me turning every which way.  During this time, my husband was gone to park the car.  I found out later the doctor on call was just about to go to church because he though I'd be a while.

So, all I can remeber now is this:  The doctor coming in and hearing another dreaded -0_ !!!, his hollering at the nurses to leave me alone, and my turning my head and locking eyes with that doctor.  I basically, without saying a word, was saying to him, "YOU DO SOMETHING NOW."  He got it loud and clear.  He hollered at me, "It's okay, we're gonna get this baby out."  Oh, and during this time my dear husband came in, and took a nose dive onto the floor in prayer.  They had to assign him a nurse.

I remember, as they rushed me down the hall to emergency surgery, having the absolute peace of the Lord.

I also remember thinking how it's no big deal to you, when things are like that, how you are being stripped naked, shaved, and all that jazz right in front of who knows how many people.

And the sweetest memory of all is when I just woke up.  They immediately told me, "It's a girl."  And I looked over to see my DH, crying, holding my hand.  I also remember the way he could tell me to let the nurses knead my tummy.  I would fight them in my half drugged state and my DH's voice kept me steady.  

Now, I'll share birth #6.  My husband, of course, after that first experience, did not want to hear one word about home birth.  I kinda wanted to try with #6, but at least at that time (and with #4 and #5) I had a midwife in the hospital.  It was a nice, happy medium for my DH.  

Well, my water broke while I climbed out of the tub.  I called my midwife and she told me, since my #5 birth had been very slow, to go ahead and take my time.  I called my parents (who were out of town) and told them, you know, take your time we'll meet you at the hospital.

I went in and got ready to go.  Laid on the water bed and had the most awful contraction of my entire life (got rid of that dad-gum bed after that!!), got up and walked into the living room and sat on the couch.  My mother-in-law sat on the other couch waiting for us to leave.  My husband went out and put the car by the deck, running, with the door open.  

My mother-in-law started talking to me, and then everything seemed to go in slow motion.  I got irritated at her for talking to me, then, I kinda though, "Hmm, that feels like the ring of fire."  Then my husband comes in and tried to usher me out the door.  I looked at him and said something like I didn't think I was gonna make it.

Then, DH did the, well, typical guy thing.  To this day, I wish I had it on camera.  He 1)pleaded with me 2)commanded me, hoping I'd do the obey and submit thing and 3)then reluctantly checked to see if he could see the head since I wasn't listening, I was kneeling on the floor, asking for help in removing all necessary clothes, and requesting that he have a look.

"No, I don't see the head.  Ohhhhhh, yes I do."  As my mom-in-law dialed 911, my husband started catching.  The first catch wasn't baby, it was stuff that had to be quickly dumped into the kitchen sink.  The next catch WAS baby.  I discovered that night that it is very hard to talk on the phone with someone and push a baby out at the same time.

It was so funny after it all happened.  I'll spare you guys the rest of the details except for this one:  Daddy ripped a bath rug to shreds with all the adrenalin left from his adventure.  He was trying to get something to tie off so he could cut the cord.  The firemen came in, and luckily had a sterile blade to cut and, lo and behold, something to tie that cord with.

Blessings,
Cara
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #14 on: August 05, 2007, 04:52:47 PM » by Mrs. B

*
I love all of the home birth experiences that you guys have shared here.  I never realized that it was something that was done as much as it seems.  I think that I would have wanted to have tried it with my first, but ended up going a different route.
My first 2 pregnancies ended up in miscarriage at very early points.
My first delivery was one of the worst experiences of my life short of ending up with my sweet girl afterwards.  I think that I tend to view things as an ideal, and I wanted the ideal, perfect pregnancy and delivery.  I was never sick, felt great, and travelled a great deal at this time.  I was also convinced that my CNMs would be great and allow me autonomy during the delivery.  I was wrong.
I ended up going to 42 weeks and was stressed with back pain and my blood pressure went up slightly (to 130/90).  I think more than anything I was really scared about delivery.  I wanted to go completely natural--no iv, no pitocin, no nothing.
The midwives told me that with the increased blood pressure I needed to go and be induced for my and the baby's safety.  We went to the hospital where I sat on pitocin for 3 days having contractions every 60-90 seconds with absolutely no dilation. I had to be drugged for the pain and for my nerves. 
I have had cervical pre-cancerous lesions with surgical interventions.  The staff nurses kept saying that it felt like I had alot of scar tissue, but the midwives wouldn't do anything about it or even address the issue...they said to just keep waiting.
The nurses finally went to find a MD to check me.  He said he felt scar tissue and that was why after 3 days of pitocin I still had ZERO dilation.  He said he could take the amnio hook (used to break membranes) and try to bust thru, but we would risk a c-section.  We went ahead.  After about 90 minutes I am in intense pain---and I come up with a plan Wink  I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom.  I decide that I am going to go to the bathroom and get dressed and have my husband sneak me home.  I am a RN and know how to remove everything okay, but I'm going to go to the toilet first.
I asked the CNM to leave so that I could get up and go to the bathroom. and she asks to check me first (I haven't had a vag exam since the MD broke thru). 
Well, this look of fear comes over the midwife.  She runs out of the room and tells me not to push yet.  The staff nurses are changing shifts so there is no one around.  Apparently the head was almost out.  I pushed when she came in for less than 5 minutes and after some tearing I had my little 6 pounder cutie...
She nursed within 5 minutes of being born...I demanded to go home the next am early and they let me go. 
We decided after this not to have any more children.  I thought that nothing in life could be worse than this experience...until I had a kidney stone and changed my mind.
So we decided to try for another baby.
This time I was only going to see a MD.  I worked at the hospital I was going to deliver at also and knew some of the nurses.
Again, I went to 42 weeks with no dilation or contractions.  They told me the scar tissue was gone with the first delivery and should not be an issue.  This practice was wonderful.  They did minimal exams and did not requre any ultrasounds unlike my midwife practice.
I scheduled an induction just before 43 weeks.  I had no stress and loved being pregnant.
I showed up at 6am to the hospital got an IV with Pitocin started.  Around 11am I started having stronger contractions and walked around a bit.  The doctor came to check me and I asked about epidurals and when I could have one.  I was told that anytime I wanted it would be available considering how fast my last labor progressed after rupturing membranes. 
I went ahead and got an epidural..I figured why wait until later and hurt all this time if I don't have to.  The doctor then ruptured my membranes.
I never had any pain or discomfort until around 5pm that evening.  I felt a little funky and was all the way to 10cm.  I pushed for an hour.  It wasn't what I had expected.  They finally my big boy was born....almost 10 pounds and 23 inches of him.  His shoulders alone were massive.  He also nursed within 5 minutes of birth.
With this baby I had absolutely no tearing, cutting or pain afterwards...I give a big thanks to the staff nurse and doctor who did tissue massage and had everything loosened and relaxed.  I had none of this with baby #1. 
I do usually opt for the natural, drug-free version of life, but it didn't work out for me with babies.  I have so much regard for those of you who are able to make it work, but it's not the way that my husband or I can choose.  My question for homebirthers is who cleans up everything afterwards...because I know that at my house it would probably be me, and after laboring and delivering I don't think I can handle the housekeeping, too.
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #15 on: August 05, 2007, 05:12:53 PM » by sweetestday
Quote from: Mrs. B on August 05, 2007, 04:52:47 PM
  My question for homebirthers is who cleans up everything afterwards...because I know that at my house it would probably be me, and after laboring and delivering I don't think I can handle the housekeeping, too.

I haven't had time yet to write out my homebirth stories, but to answer your question, with my second birth the midwife did all the cleanup... which is not very much, really. Just changing the sheets, and throwing away the chux pads. My first birth was just my hubby, my mom and me. My mom of course, stayed around to take care of stuff. I have a wonderful MIL that comes to stay for a week after each of my babies, and she's a great help.
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #16 on: August 05, 2007, 05:51:25 PM » by Pastorswife2B
Cara,  Your man was so great catching your baby!  Even though it was so stressful I'll bet it's a very special memory to all three of you  Grin.

My births (2 boys) were really pretty simple and blessedly uncomplicated.  My first was about 10 1/2 hrs from waking up with contractions to baby in hand.  Looking back with more experience I wish I had moved around more instead of being pretty much laying on the bed in the birthing room for the whole time of it.  DH and I were going for natural childbirth without classes, just the council of some friends (ehum SarahK and the Man so some VERY experienced friends Cheesy ), so I was fortunite in that my OB was very positive on this and gave some very good advice about relaxing the muscles for pain control.  The other reason I made it all the way through was because the nurse who checked me in was a grouchy old thing and right over my head to the other nurse as I was explaining how I didn't want any pain meds said, "Oh you better set it up so they can give the epidural when she changes her mind" after that I think I would have refused pain killers if they had insisted on a C-section!  The only other incident was I spent the last maybe 15 min on oxygen because our boys heart rate was dropping, but things went quickly after that, he was a double cord wrap, but not difficulties because of that.  When the doctor was examining the baby he looked over at us and said, those are the biggest hands and feet I've ever seen!

My second was also a pretty routine birth, but we ended up weathering a tornado in the hospitol after he was born!
His labor was about 9 1/2 hrs from waking with contractions to baby in arms.  They waited longer with him to break my water so I think that helped with him never being in distress like his older brother was.  I had a really nice nurse who was originally fromt he UK (and these births were in TX) so the memorable things about it were the doc having to interpret some of my more interesting sayings for her to understand, apperently whoperjawed is not the queens english  Wink.  We made it natural child birth with this one also (with great help from my husband again) with nothing going wrong.  I did surprise the doc when our boy had a TRIPLE cord wrap, so after he delivered the plecenta and everybody's in the room (3 nurses our pediatrician etc) he holds up the ambilical cord for the whole room to see and says, "that is the longest ambilical cord I have EVERY seen."  He had it held up with both ends draping down and a good sag in the middle with his arms and wide as they would go.  And the next thing I hear is man those are the biggest hands and feet I've ever seen, from our pediatriction  Grin.

With this one due in Dec we're in MO and going with a 2 CNM practice and I'm hoping to experience a water birth this time! 

-Heather
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #17 on: August 05, 2007, 05:51:25 PM » by diaperswyper
  Cleanup was super easy and i did none of it. We put  really old sheets on the bed and the cheap flannel backed tablecloths you get at the dollar store. We put the tablecloth under the sheet i think, to protect the mattress, with the flannel side up and after the baby was born, the midwife rolled the sheets and tablecloth into a ball and threw it into a big trash bag, along with the placenta. Throw into dumpster and that's it. Nothing to it. I would say if your midwife wants you to cleanup, i'd look for another midwife.   Tongue
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #18 on: August 05, 2007, 06:42:28 PM » by CountyCork
No one can get mad at me if I post my stories!

Baby #1 born in hospital after 2 hours of labor and 15 minutes of pushing.
Boy #2 born in hospital after 4 hours of labor and 2 pushes
Boy #3 born at HOME after a putzy, painless day of labor, 1 hour of pain, and 2 pushes.
Girl #1 born at HOME after 2 hours of labor (pain for 30 minutes) and 1 push.
Girl #2 born at HOME after 4 hours of labor (30 minutes pain) and 2 pushes.
Boy #4 born at hospital after 2 hours labor, superfast scary drive, transition in parking lot, walked in, got on table, pushed baby out in 1 push.  Midwife ran in and literally caught him!  Went home 8 hours later.

If and when there are more, we'll go back to home birth, with or without midwife.  Once labor kicks into high gear, I have about 30 minutes of pain and intensity, and there is no stopping it!  They've all been 8 pounds or less, but I can say for sure that it HURTS and the head is the worst part.  I am VERY thankful that my labors are short, easy and complication free.  God obviously designed things to work just right with my body!

Before you get jealous too much, I do have horrible nausea that has lasted anywhere from 12-18 weeks with each prenancy, my girls being the absolute worst! 

God is a loving and merciful God, and He sure loves babies!
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #19 on: August 05, 2007, 07:55:39 PM » by steadygirl
My one and only birth story so far...
 My little one was due on MArch 27, but he decided to wait a few days. I went into labor at 3:30 am on April 1st. I woke up to use the bathroom and after I got back into bed realized that I was having the kind of contractions that the midwife said was "real" labor- starting in the back and working to the front. I was so excited!!! I had to calm myself down to count how far they were apart. The midwives in are birthing classes had told all of us to try to go  back to sleep if are labor started at night (haha) and NOT to wake are husbands up unless it was urgent. I finally woke my husband,Richard, up at 6:30. I couldn't keep it to myself. Grin I called my midwife at 7:30am. Contractions got harder and harder until 9:30am when we decided to head for the birth center an hour and a half away. As I sat down in the car I felt a wave of nausea and remembered that they had suggested bringing along a bucket. I had Richard run and get one. It didn't take long before I needed it. Lips Sealed I went into active labor halfway there and my water broke when I got there at 11. I was 5 cm dilated. The midwife told me to try laboring on the toilet for a while, because some women like that and it can speed things along- I hated it. After a little while she suggested using the birthing tub- a wonderful idea! I spent most of my labor on my hands and knees in the tub. My husband was right in there with me rubbing my back and being supportive. Tip*Do not rub a woman back during a contraction.*  I got out once to use the toilet. I hated the thought of moving, but they kinda made me. Cheesy When I got back in they had me switch to my back because they thought I had been in one position too long. (they were probably right- I had been in the same position for about 3 hours!) I was in the tub on my back with my hands on a bar above my head. The contractions were pretty hard by then. Suddenly the contractions almost stopped and I felt energized. I started to feel like pushing. Richard held my feet while I pushed- so nice. My midwife coached me on how to push a little. It was funny 'cause she kept telling me to push through the burn, because the head was crowning. Finally I got a little frustrated,
" It doesn't burn!, I said.
She was like, "oh".
 After the head was about halfway out I said, " NOW it burns!" 
" It is good to know your human.", was even funny through the pain. Roll Eyes 
I think I pushed for about an hour total. I almost hate to admit my first thought when my little boy was put in my arms. "He looks like a little monkey!" ( he was very blue when he came out) He was my monkey, though, and I was so glad I didn't have to give him back to the midwife. I just wanted to look at him! Kiss My labor was 12 hours total almost exactly.
I think the part I liked least about my labor was the monitoring they did while I was pushing. They took my blood pressure and checked the baby's heart beat a lot, and when they checked I had to not push and be still. I had wonderful midwives. They did a lot of birth education, so even through the hazy brain of a woman in labor I knew just what stage I was in.
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #20 on: August 05, 2007, 08:21:21 PM » by Kitty
I LOVE these stories!  Somehow sharing these makes me feel like I know you better...seeing how women handle childbirth is revealing, I think.  You are all amazing!   Grin

I am working on trying to find some file I had already started on my births.  I will post sometime, I'm sure.  Hhmom and Amber--thanks for all of the details...beautiful stories.  Jillymom--short and sweet.  Nice, and yes, I'm a bit envious (I'm a PROM Queen).   Wink Cheesy  MrsB--LOVE your plan to sneak out!  Shocked  LOL...They're all such special stories...more, please!   Smiley
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #21 on: August 05, 2007, 11:52:14 PM » by LKS
Amber- I was absolutely mesmerized by your stories! I sat here reading with my mouth open making gasping sounds! You should write for a living....or do you? Thanks for sharing!
LKS
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #22 on: August 05, 2007, 11:52:52 PM » by smileyface
Ok, like any woman can resist telling her birth story to anyone who will listen.  Grin Grin
My first, my son, was a wonderful pregnancy. Pretty easy, until the end. Lots of BH the last couple months. I was due Dec. 19, and everyone kept saying I would have a Christmas baby. It irritated me, I was determined he would not be born on Christmas. Besides, I wouldn't go over that much, would I? Well, Dec. 19 came and went. All that time, he was head down, but then at a dr. appt. the dr. realized he had turned. They tried the external version (ouch!!!), but it didn't work. I knew nothing about anything natural (besides knowing I wanted a natural birth), so we scheduled a C-section for the Monday after Christmas. Christmas Eve, still pregnant, we were at my grandma's for a Christmas party. All night I had what I thought were gas pains. I kept trying to use the bathroom, but it didn't help.  Grin My mom and sister were watching me, finally they said that I was in labor. I said no way, he wasn't going to be born on Christmas. Well we went home, it was late. DH went to bed, I took a bath. Woke him up about 2, said we had to go. Got to the hospital, they checked, he was still breech. They got me prepped for the surgery, the epidural was the worst part. But at 5:55 am on Christmas morning, I had my first baby! It wasn't exactly how I had planned, but the outcome was still good.  Cheesy
Baby #2, due about 19 months later, I was determined to have a VBAC. I already knew I didn't want the epi, it hurt too bad last time. The day after my due date, I started having contractions late that night. Not bad though, I slept some. I still wasn't sure in the morning. DH got up and left for work, but on the way turned around and came home. Said he just had a feeling he needed to be home.  Smiley So I started getting things ready just in case, the hospital was an hour away, and we still had to drop our son off at his sister's. I had a dr. appt that day anyway, so we decided to leave early just in case. Got to his sister's house, she watched me through a few contractions, said I should prolly get going to the hospital. (Can you tell I'm stubborn, I was NOT going to be one of those women that get sent back home!) We got there, they checked me, said I was definately in labor. Hooked me up to an IV and monitors, but let me walk the halls for a while. Then I got in the jacuzzi tub, boy that was nice! I stayed in there for a while. They finally made me get out so they could check me. They wouldn't let me eat anything, just ice chips. That really bothered me, I was kinda hungry. Things really picked up after the bath. The funny thing was, we didn't know if it was a boy or girl. So I got to pick the girl name, and DH was supposed to pick the boy name. Well, he didn't have a name when we got to the hospital, so my mom and his mom were going through the baby name book with him, with no success. He is very picky, and didn't like any of the names. So we had no boy name.  Grin My mom helped me with the breathing, I did pretty good. Until transition, no one had really told me how bad it gets then. I begged for pain meds, so they were bringing some stadol in. The nursed decided to check me first, and said I was too close, I couldn't have the meds. I wanted to cry. About this time, I found out my doctor wasn't going to make it because when she left her office, her car wouldn't start. So the other doctor in her practice was going to have to deliver, he happened to be across the street at the time. So, I'm needing to push, the nurses are telling me not to, I have to wait for the doctor. I'm like, I can't help it! Finally he gets in the room, and I'm allowed to push. Talk about relief! That was the best feeling ever! I pushed for about 15 or 20 minutes, and out came my baby girl! I did it! So from the time I got to the hospital to having the baby was about 8 hours. Not bad, I thought.
Next baby, I moved so had a different doctor. It was a practice that had newly graduated doctors, ones that needed experience before they could start their own practices.  Tongue It was my hardest pregnancy, I wasn't very healthy at the time. I was due Dec. 16, but was sure I would have this one early. I wanted to have her on Thanksgiving weekend, because my mom was here visiting, and wouldn't be able to come back. My BH had started at like 18 weeks, and I was miserable. But she didn't come then. Well, 12 days (yes 12 days!  Angry ) after my due date, I agreed to induction. So I went in, I was so nervous. I remembered how bad it hurt last time, and asked my hubby if we could just turn around and go home. He laughed.  Undecided So we got there around 10 am, pitocin went in around noon. Real contractions started around 2. I hadn't realized that if I was induced I would have to stay in bed the whole time being monitored.  Tongue It was miserable. Around 5, the contractions were so bad I asked for meds. Big mistake! They did nothing for me, I had no idea they made you feel all weirded out. I could hardly focus. My husband thought I was pretty funny though, he likes to remind me of one of my comments. The nurse asked me if the pain was as bad, I said it still hurts, but before it felt like the contractions were happening to me, now it feels like they are happening to someone else.  Cheesy And of course about that time, my kids came to see me. I hated my kids see me like that, I could hardly talk I felt so drugged. But I do think the drugs did help me relax though, because soon after I was in transition. The drugs started wearing off about then too, thank goodness. (All this time, I had barely seen my doctor at all, just mostly nurses.) Well, she finally gets there, checks me and breaks my water. Of course she didn't do it right, so nothing came out. She had a student in training with her too, and she was so annoying. She kept trying to talk in the middle of contractions. And there were so many nurses. Finally, they check me and I'm at 10. The doctor is just standing there while the nurses are taking the bed apart. Finally one of the nurses notices her, and says umm, you might want to go get dressed, she's starting to push! Everything happened fast after that, I think I pushed like 2 or 3 times, and she was out. I tore just a tiny bit, and needed one stitch. It took that doctor like half an hour to fix everything down there, and she needed another doctor to help her do it! But at least I had my baby to keep me occupied.  Smiley I was in active labor for about 4 or 5 hours, with less than 5 minutes of pushing.
My last delivery, in Feb., was definately my best. I switched doctors, for obvious reasons. This one was much more naturally minded. From the beginning, I said I didn't want to be induced (I knew I would go over  Undecided), and I wanted no drugs, no monitoring or IVs. I did my homework a little bit more. I was also a lot healthier. It was an ok pregnancy, my BH started even earlier this time, at 16 weeks. And I had a lot of hip pain the last 10 weeks. I was due Jan. 30, I knew I would go into Feb. Well, late Monday night, Feb. 5, I was having light, irregular contractions. I kind of had a feeling that I was going to go into labor. I did some laundry, and a few other things, just in case. Then I laid down on the couch (didn't want to wake DH, and that far along the couch is more comfy!). I figured if I could sleep, then it wasn't time to go yet. Well, I fell asleep for a few hours. Then at 3:30, I woke up, and just knew it was time. So I got up, finished up the laundry, logged onto Welltellme for a minute,  Grin and timed a few contractions. Once I knew for sure, I woke up hubby. We got all the kids rounded up and off to the neighbors, and got to the hospital a little after 6. The ride there was the hardest part of the whole labor, it was hard to relax through the contractions. I ended up having one of the other doctors in the practice, but he was just as great as my doctor. And I had an awesome nurse! Because I was a VBAC, I had to at least have a heplock, and they wanted to monitor me a little. But other than that, I was told I could do whatever I wanted. I wanted in the tub. So my nurse monitored me for about 5 minutes, checked me (I was at 7 already!), and let me get in the bath. That was so wonderful! My sister lives 2 hours away, and we didn't think she would make it in time. (She really wanted to be there) But she got there about half an hour before I had the baby. I was starting to feel hot, and the nurse wanted to monitor me again, so I got out of the bath. She only monitored me for a few minutes, because the belts were hurting my belly every time I had a contraction. My doctor came in, and we all just sat and chatted between contractions, which were pretty frequent. It was so nice and peaceful, just me, DH, my sister, the dr, and the nurse. Not a roomful of strangers.  Roll Eyes I really wasn't in much pain, I just relaxed during each contraction instead of fighting the pain, it worked much better! They checked me, I was at 9 1/2. Then I started going through transition. Even that wasn't all that bad, I just had to work a little harder to stay relaxed. I started feeling like I had to push, and told my doctor that. He was just sitting there watching me, said do what you feel you need to do. That kind of shocked me, I was so used to them telling me when it was ok to push, and doing the counting thing. He didn't even check me again to make sure I was fully dilated, he trusted my instincts, so did I.  Smiley I just went with what my body was telling me. Sometimes I pushed twice during a contraction, sometimes not at all. It didn't take long though, about 5 minutes and she was out. My 3rd baby girl! She had the cord around her neck, and her arm up across her body by her head. They put her right on my belly, and just let me hold her. The only bad part about the whole thing, she wasn't breathing very well. She hadn't cried yet, and wasn't turning pink. They let me try and rub her to stimulate her, but it wasn't working. So they had to cut the cord and take her to the bed to give her oxygen. I wanted to cry, I wanted her in my arms so bad. But it didn't take long and she was back in my arms and I was nursing her. It was beautiful! So, from waking up in labor until I had the baby was about five hours, the last two spent in the hospital, and about 5 minutes of pushing.

Ok, so I was going to just give the short versions, I guess I got carried away! Sorry about that!  Grin Grin I just love remembering my last delivery, hopefully if we have more, they will be just like that.  Smiley  BTW, I love reading birth stories, so keep em coming! Maybe someday I will have a home birth story to share!  Wink
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #23 on: August 06, 2007, 02:09:29 AM » by Wing
3 homebirths:

#1: 19 hours.  I was sure I would be one of those women who died in childbirth.  Oh how it hurt, then out came a gigantic child.  I looked at this big old baby thinking, there's no way will he fit into newborn clothes.  The newborn diapers were too small too.  10lbs. 13 oz.

#2: 20 hours (wait a second, wasn't baby #2 supposed to be easier?!!) Oh it hurt, why oh why do I have my babies at home when I can go do it "pain free" in a hospital- oh yeah, I remember as soon as the baby comes out.  She is mine all mine!  And no one will take her away from me!  And being in the comfort of my own home is priceless. 9lbs. 7oz. 

#3: I  made blue and black cohosh capsules and started taking them 2 weeks before my due date, many STRONG braxton hicks.  Finally at 3 in the morning on my due date I started labor.  I tried not to wake my hubby and started a fire (it was a cold November morning).  Had many contractions just sitting in front of the fire.  Very peaceful.  My hubby awoke and said, are you in labor?  I said yeah so he set up a pool in our living room and filled it with hot water.  I got in and it felt oh so good.  My other two kids went to in-laws when they woke up at 9.  I felt like I missed them so much and was sad to see them go.  At quarter til 1 the midwife said I was dilated to 8 and I was mad because I really wanted to push.  So I went and sat on the toilet in defiant silence and had some really big contractions, then got up and tried to get on the bed but I only was able to get halfway on the bed before I started pushing.  My husband walks by and said, uh, that's a baby.  Finally I was all the way on the bed and my boy plopped out.  I remember being confused about the burning because I did not know the baby was coming out right then.  Yeah only 10 hours this time!  And finally a "small" baby too!  Only 8lbs. 9 oz.!

My hubby got to catch all 3!
Three babies in less than three years! 
And no tearing ever!  My midwives are awesome!

I believe that the cohosh capsules caused this last delivery to be much speedier, as after taking them, my body would immediately do strong Braxton Hicks, so I felt like much of the work was done BEFORE I went into labor.  Has anyone else tried this?
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #24 on: August 06, 2007, 07:15:45 AM » by diaperswyper
   I took cohosh with my last pregnancy and i woke up with my water breaking at 1:00 a.m. and had him 4 hrs later. The contractions were very intense but was able to relax inbetween. I think the cohosh made a difference. The midwife i have now has a labor tea with cohosh in it. And i'm drinking pregnancy tea now with red raspberry and different herbs in it. In the back of my mind i'm already not planning on the midwife making it.  Smiley She lives almost an hour away. Guess we'll see.
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #25 on: August 06, 2007, 11:43:59 AM » by kayinpa
I just posted my birth stories (all 5 of them) on my blog recently....so I will just give the link!

http://kayinpa.blogspot.com/search/label/birth%20stories
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http://kayinpa.blogspot.com/
  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #26 on: August 06, 2007, 11:59:54 AM » by visionarymom
#1  Water broke, slow leak. Contractions began 3 hours later. Total labor about 12 hours. Had midwife, but birth was at hospital, thankfully. At about 7 centimeters, baby went into distress. Nurses everywhere, moniters, IV, and a call to surgury. suddenly the midwife reached in, "ripped" me open to 10 cm and told me to push as hard as I could. Everyone left the room at that point, and hubby stood next to me, very nervously. Midwife returned, and baby arrived quickly. She was purple, and breathing was gurgley. They sucked 2 oz of fluid from her lungs. I had a nasty tear. Discovered at this point that local anesthetic does not work well, and felt all those horrible stitches. (That part was at least as awful as the labor!)  I just wanted to sleep, and stop being in pain. Never wanted another child at that point, and had some ppd.

#2  Total surprise!!! Still nursing #1, and was 15 1/2 weeks already! Labor started Dec.26, and midwife said she see me at hospital later that day. I got home from appointment, and dog had torn down Christmas tree and destroyed most of the hand made ornaments. Our babysitter called and asked If I needed anything, and came over immediately to help clean up. (I know, not birth, that was all free...) Anyway, went to hospital that night, sent home due to lack of progress. Undecided Next day, went back, and admitted right away. Epidural (Due to the previous experience with local not working). It took horrific back labor pains away, and after about 33 hours, could relax for first time. finally time to push about 3 hours later. Nervous about tearing/stitches after first episode. Midwife announces head is out with NO tearing!!!! But then his shoulder got stuck. (He was posterior) Couldn't do hands and knees because of epidural. Fought/pushed hard for a while, and midwife finally got him free. Tear was excruciating, nearly 4th degree. A doctor was called in to stitch up. I was petrified, but God's "mercy endureth forever" The combo of the epidural and local worked. Praise God! Total labor about 36 hours. Healing from this one was actually faster than the first. (better stitching maybe?)

#3  Total labor about 20 hours. Started just before bedtime. Hubby slept all night Wink At about 6 am, contractions about 6 minutes apart. We prepare for hospital, get kids picked up. Ready to walk out, and contractions nearly stop. This was Mother's day Sunday. Kids and sitter came home from church, and I was still there!!! Angry I scrubbed kitchen floor, cleaned bathroom, etc. nothing helped. I gave up to "rest". Contractions speed up after hubby talks to Pastors daughter (to update the family), and she (daughter) prayed the baby would still arrive on Mother's day!  Before leaving for hospital, contractions were about 3 1/2 minutes apart, and very long. When we arrived at hospital, I was the woman in the wheelchair flying through the hospital corridors, with everyone staring!  Baby was already at +2 station. (no wonder I could hardly walk!) Anesthesiologist took his sweet time, and I was far into transition before he FINALLY administered epidural.  Had to push before it completely took effect, but it helped some. First side birth. Tiny tear, just a few stitches. Healed very quickly. Grin Red Raspberry helped tremendously with bleeding. (Down to "ultra thin" store bought pads before leaving hospital.

#4  on the way, due Oct. This time I will add evening primrose to the regimine, hopefully shortening the LONG first stage. However, baby's been breech for most of the pregnancy. We're praying he turns soon.

visionary mom
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #27 on: August 06, 2007, 12:11:36 PM » by grocerygetter
I saw this topic and was excited to talk with other moms about labor Smiley I don't know why but I love to chat with other mommas about this...Well I have two kidos. The first labor was a little scary for us. We had read and learned all we could as people who didn't know quite what to expect since we'd never been prego before. We took it very seriously and packed our hospital bag with everything minus the kitchen sink. Then it came! I was in bed at 4am and all the sudden my water broke all over the floor! So, I woke up my dh. He kind of freaked out at first then he got himself together and was a GREAT helper. I took a shower and we headed to the nearest hospital (one hour away). By the time I was in L and D I was already fully dialated! They informed us right away that it was time to push! We were so surprised. I had no idea I was that far along in labor. So, after 40 minutes of pushing we had our dd in our arms. It was awesome, but it did take us by surprise that it was so fast. It was 2 1/2 hours very start to the end.
Then w/ our second pregnancy we weren't so quick to pack so much for the hospital (we never even opened the bag for our first time!) I did make sure to pack my clothing and such early on  though. Then at 30 weeks along I went to Bible study in the morning. When I stood up at the end of study the baby felt "funny" to me. So, I "grabbed" my dd and booked it home to call dh and my doc. I stayed home resting for two hours but still felt like something was not right so I called the doc and dh again to tell them I was going to go see the doc. After going to see her she said I needed to be admitted to the hospital to see what was going on. The short story is that my cervix had completely thinned out and I was already dialating. So, I spent many a long weeks in the hopsital on bedrest waiting and praying for our ds. We made it all the way to 36 weeks and had a happy, healthy ds, 6 lbs 15 oz. It was hard being on bedrest away from my family but well worth the wait for our precious little son. He also came very quickly like our first. I started having very strong contractions out of no where at like 1020pm. So, we decided to haul out to the hospital (at this point I was home on bedrest). This time though we knew by the time we got to the hospital (20mins) that I was fully dialated. The nurses wouldn't believe me though and finally the doc demanded that they move me to a delivery room ASAP. At least my doc realized how quick I go. He asked if I wanted him to break my water or wait for it to go oon it's own and I said break it and then we started pushing! This time was only like 20 minutes of pushing. So, also natural our ds was 2 1/2 hours too from start to finish. My doc this time was much better about helping me not to tear so my recovery was SO much better! It is a little strange to have such quick labors but I guess we're learning how to deal with them. And I'm learning how to deal with no pain meds Smiley which isn't always easy.
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #28 on: August 06, 2007, 12:18:54 PM » by grocerygetter
Quote from: visionarymom on August 06, 2007, 11:59:54 AM
Tear was excruciating, nearly 4th degree. visionary mom


I'm so sorry! I'll be praying for your little one this go round. I tore like that with my first and it was really painful. That was the moment I remebered the most about delivering. And then the healing took so long!
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  Re: Birth Stories: Past or Present
« Reply #29 on: August 06, 2007, 01:00:33 PM » by Maria/NHM
I LOVE reading birth stories! Keep em coming ladies Grin
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