Annie and Bailey
“No matter how your labor and delivery go, that day will be carved in your heart as the incredible day that you meet your child for the first time. It will be your birth and it will be special.”
I remember our doula, Jennifer, saying this to me during the labor of our first child as I was contemplating receiving an epidural for what at the time felt like insurmountably difficult contractions. This put my mind at ease and I decided to “wait a few more out” until eventually she turned, it was time to push, and out came Tori – warm as can be and ready to nuzzle into our arms and hearts forever.
This crossed my mind again last week, as my water broke and a surge of adrenalin left me shaking and completely terrified of the unavoidable process that stood between myself, my husband Ed, and the grand entrance of our second baby girl.
It comforted me again, because it was completely true. Natural childbirth was our Plan A. If we needed to move on to Plan B (medical pain management) or Plan C (interventions due to unforeseen complications) it would still and always be the day that we met our beautiful daughter and began our journey as a family of four.
After my water broke, we both scurried around the house making final preparations, contacting the midwives, our doula Jennifer, and Ed’s sister Ashley who would be watching Tori during our hospital stay. Tori is 16-months old and still nurses about twice a day. She woke up as I tried to sneak a few diapers from her room to tide me over on the way to the hospital. Going into “mom mode” was the best thing for settling my nerves. We had a very peaceful and cuddly nursing session and I choked up looking down at her long and lean frame stretching around my round belly and her sweet curls that fall in every direction. I knew in that moment that my sweet baby girl was growing up and would be a big sister the following day. It was a “tears of joy and sadness” moment that comes with all great changes in life – when you realize that you are so excited for where you are headed and that not moving forward isn’t an option.
We arrived at Evergreen Hospital around 11 pm and got settled into our birthing suite. The midwife on call, Shana, and the nurse were welcoming and we got all of the paperwork taken care of quickly. Since my water had broken, we decided not to do a cervical check, as it wouldn’t change a single thing in our course of action. We walked the halls for a bit, and then decided to take a rest. I won’t forget the image of my hubby, my belly and I curled up in that small hospital bed – if anything we were going to crowd the baby out of her comfortable home in the womb.
My contractions slowed a bit after laying down, giving me nice ten minute breaks between each, although the strength and duration of each contraction continued to grow. Eventually my position/breathing technique was no longer effective in getting me through on my own, and I was up and ready to try something new. Again we walked the halls, pausing for each contraction doing nice big hip circles while holding the railing and listening to Ed lead me in guided breathing. Even though we weren’t always in sync (his lungs are bigger than mine!) it was so nice to hear his voice and I felt very loved that he would get right in there with me, which he did every step of the way. Jennifer would touch my shoulders when they started creeping up and help me “breathe the baby down” as the contractions ended – once again I had my amazing team in place and we were going to do this!
When we tired of the walking, we returned to the birthing suite and I labored for a long while in a wooden rocking chair padded with pillows for my back and bottom. Ed sat across from me and held my legs as he gently rocked the chair and continued to breathe with me through contractions. One funny thing about labor is the time in between contractions. It is just casual conversation and life as usual and discussion about movies, children, and wise cracks ensued. I told Ed that two was a nice round number. He mentioned that 4 and 6 were as well. Nice try, buddy! Jennifer continued to coach me through body relaxation and reinforce how well I was doing after each contraction. Her presence as a place to go when a contraction got ahead of me or fear set in was invaluable. She could offer new positions, sounds, and breathing techniques for us to try – which passes the hours while the baby makes her great journey downward and into position. With Jennifer coaching me in one ear, Shana focusing on pressure points to press during contractions, and Ed in front of me, I felt very well taken care of and capable of what laid ahead.
The first time Shana did a cervical check I was dilated to 4.5 which was encouraging because in theory dilating from 0-4 takes the longest amount of time in labor. I knew the next “half” would be more intense and much harder, but I also had a sense of excitement that we were making great progress and nearing the actual arrival of our baby girl. The next few hours were spent in “labor land” where I just used the different sounds that came naturally to me to endure contractions. Ed followed my lead with making all the “yayayaya” and “mamamama” sounds and having his big voice present made mine just feel like background noise which I loved. I began to feel the urge to push around 6 a.m. so I tried to get myself positioned on hands and knees with the support of a bean bag on top of the bed. This wasn’t a good position for me so I tried laying on my side for what felt like transition and preparation for pushing.
When our second midwife, Sharon, arrived around 7 to relieve Shana, I was side-lying and enduring long and strong contractions while the pressure on my perineum continued to grow. She did a cervical check and let me know that while I was dilated to a 9, there was a bit of swelling beginning and we needed to get moving. Now Sharon delivered our first baby and I knew that she ran a tight ship. I knew that I could trust her implicitly and she would see to it that mom and baby would soon be united. So, goodbye side-lying and hello standing, let’s get this baby moving! It’s not easy to change positions at this point but again, I did what I was told and knew that this team had been through a bit more of these than I had. Transition came on strong and hard at that point and boy did I want to give up. I said several times, “I can’t do this” and I meant it, it simply felt too hard. I was exhausted having thrown up several times in response to the adrenalin pumping through me. I was administered an IV of saline and salt water has never felt so good.
At that point I knew that baby had done her work and now it was my turn. Like it or not, I needed to get in position, get strong, and prepare to push. I loved the strong and deep “Maaaaaa” sound for this stage because sentimentally, it said to me: “You are the mom. Your baby trusts you to know what to do and guide her through this. She can trust you. You can trust your body. This will be over soon.”
I listened closely to my coaches and communicated to them when contractions had begun and were ending. I accepted their guidance on when to push, when to hold, when to catch a breath, and when to push harder. The baby had the cord loosely around her neck which Sharon detected and corrected immediately. She had shoulder dysplasia, meaning she was a bit lodged at the shoulder level, and Sharon let me know that contraction or not, it was time for this baby to be born. I could tell that tension had heightened in the room, but like any good leader, Sharon took control of the situation and simply moved us through it. I pushed as effectively as I could and with Sharon’s help both at the perineum and externally on my belly, I felt the unmistakable “whoosh” of childbirth and knew we had done it. Our beautiful baby Bailey, warm, tiny and perfect, came onto mama’s belly for the first of a lifetime of snuggles with her parents.
I return to where I started, in saying that no matter how you birth your baby, it is the irreplaceable day that you and your partner come together and deliver on what you created together just less than a year before. That said, we have been blessed with two incredible births and two incredible little girls and I am so grateful for each person who had hand in their arrivals. I wish you all the best of luck and leave you with this: ““You are the mom. Your baby trusts you to know what to do and guide him or her through this. Your baby can trust you. You can trust your body. And yes, this will be over soon!”
Teresa and Adam
While falling asleep late on the night of February 5th I felt a strong Braxton Hicks contraction. Since I had many of these throughout my pregnancy, and sometimes along with menstrual-like cramping, it didn’t alarm me. However the cramping this time felt a little stronger than usual. I decided not to think about it too much and to try to get some sleep.
I was able to get several hours of sleep and sometime between 3 and 4 am I felt another light contraction. Around this time I also experienced stomach cramping and loose bowel movements, which I remembered were common symptoms in early labor. Over the next couple of hours the contractions, along with the stomach cramps, became more frequent and intense and it was hard to tell at times which was which. This made me question if I had truly started labor so I decided to wait to call my midwife.
Around 6 am, however, it became clear to me that I was indeed in labor and when my husband and I started to time the contractions, as suggested by our midwife, they were coming every 2 to 3 minutes apart. By this point the pain was so intense, the only thing I could do was get on my hands and knees and rock my hips back and forth. I wanted to scream with each contraction but tried hard to moan loudly instead allowing the sound to come from the back of my throat.
The next 2 hours were chaotic as my husband and I ran around the house gathering last minute items and arranging for our 2 year old to be picked up by a sister-in-law. All the while I was crawling around the house on my hands and knees with each contraction. I also tried to take a shower to help relieve some pain but the contractions were coming on too fast and too strong.
I was able to do 2 down dogs on the shower wall before rushing out because I had the overwhelming sense that it was time to leave for the hospital as soon as possible. It wasn’t until after the shower that I remembered to try the TENS unit and kept it on until we got to the hospital. I can’t say whether it relieved any pain or helped by serving as a distraction from the contractions. It probably would have been more effective had I tried it earlier in my labor.
We arrived at the hospital at 8:30 am and I was relieved to discover that I was already 8 cm dilated and that the feeling I had of being out of control was transition. For the next 30 to 40 minutes my husband held me in a standing position from behind (the way we learned in our Couples Yoga for Labor class) and we swayed back and forth with each contraction. I asked the midwife to check me again when I started to feel like pushing with the contractions and she found I was just about at 10 cm but had a small lip of cervix in the way. On the next contraction she pushed it aside and I was fully dilated.
When I started to push I got on my hands and knees because I wanted to give birth in a upright position, but the pain in my back was so intense with each push that the only comfortable position was on my side in the bed. After pushing for a while, my midwife broke my water in the hopes of speeding up the process, but it did little to move things along and I ended up pushing hard for an hour and a half. Everyone kept assuring me that they could see his head and that he had lots of dark hair but my husband told me later that it felt like an eternity since they could see his head in the same position with little progress.
I knew the end was close when I started to feel the “ring of fire” but felt like the stretching lasted for an unusually long time. It almost felt like the baby was stuck! The long, hard pushing as well as the intense pressure on my back all made sense when Adam’s head popped out facing up. In retrospect I’m glad that no one realized he was OP because I’m sure I would have felt discouraged and therefore less confident—ignorance is bliss!
Adam Dominic was born on Sunday morning February 6th at 10:46 am. He was 8 lb 9 oz. (a big boy!) and 21 inches long. When I held him in my arms for the first time, I was overwhelmed with feelings of love and in awe of one of life’s great miracles. I also felt strong, powerful, and proud.
Luba and Adrian
My water broke on Monday, January 17th, at 3:35 am, which woke me up. The amount of water wasn’t very significant, but I was sure it wasn’t something else. I went to the bathroom where I had my “bloody show”.
I paged both my midwife and my doula to inform them, and went back to bed per my midwife’s suggestion. Falling back to sleep wasn’t very easy because I was so excited, I could feel my knees shaking 
I decided to try using my slow breathing techniques from Hypnobirthing to calm myself down and try to get some rest.
About an hour later, in my sleep, I felt the baby move and next thing I knew, there was a gush of water rushing out of me. It felt like there was nothing stopping it! The amount of water released this time was shockingly large – my clothes were soaking wet and so was my blankets and sheets. I cleaned up and went back to bed.
I continued to release water (though in much smaller amounts) as well as blood throughout the day. Knowing that labor doesn’t always start right away, I continued with my day as if nothing happened. I started doing house chores – vacuuming, doing laundry, etc., and then went for a 2 mile walk with my husband and the dog. I then talked to my midwife and gave her a status update on where I was at, and subsequently kept in touch with my doula providing her with quick updates on my progress.
Around 3 pm that day, I started to have some mild contractions and around 4 pm, I thought it was time to give my husband’s contraction tracker application a try and started tracking my contractions using his Windows Mobile 7 phone. I also started to practice my hypnobirthing breathing as I knew the earlier I started, the better chances I would have coming in and out of my hypnosis later on, when the pain became severe.
I continued to do house chores while tracking my contractions and also communicating with my family in Russia as well as my friends here.
I kept updating my doula on my progress, and finally around 10:30pm when my contractions became 3.5 minutes apart and lasting 1 minute long, we agreed that she should come over. I continued to do my hypnobreathing and listening to my meditation music with candle lights around, which was very relaxing. I also started to have lower back pain so my doula kept giving me hot compresses which helped relieve the pain. The one thing I did not know would happen is that I would continue to have bleeding (clot kind) throughout the entire process, so I was a little surprised, but the doula told me that was normal and was a sign of dilation.
Pretty soon, the contractions got a lot stronger and I actually started to feel sick to my stomach. We paged my midwife to prepare to go to the birthing center. By the time we ended up leaving the house which was around 2:30am, I was vomiting pretty frequentl as well as trembling. At the same time, I began to feel somewhat excited though, thinking all of that could be signs of transition, hopefully!
We got to the birthing center which is 2 blocks away from my house (thank God:-)), they checked me there and to my surprise, I was only 4cm dilated! I was shocked.
I got into the bath tub which felt like a heaven-sent after all those hours, and helped me get back to my hypnobirthing techniques and actually get into a deeper relaxation. I tried various positions in the tub, got out and relaxed on the birthing ball, did cat and cow and other “all four” poses, and eventually got back into the tab. After several hours of doing all that, the contractions became unbearable and I started to lose my focus and could no longer control pain with hypnobirthing techniques. At the same time, I became very dehydrated – I couldn’t keep anything down, and every time I would get out of the tub (they told me to try to go to the bathroom), I would be shaking uncontrollably so I wanted to go back in immediately.
When they checked me again, they told me I was only 6cm, which was discouraging to hear after all those efforts, and as a result made me want to get transferred to the hospital for pain relieve with epiderral or have a C section, I don’t think I careed at that point! The midwives tried to talk me out of it, of course, and told me I was so dehydrated, it would be best to put me on IV right away, and hopefully see how things go afterwards. I insisted they start the transfer process but agreed to get an IV and “stick around” for a couple hours, as it was going to take time to get transferred anyway (find a doctor, an available room, etc.). They didn’t want me to get back into the tub and wanted me to move around instead, but I was shaking so much, I just had to be in warm water, so as a compromise, they had me take a hot shower. That was such a relief and actually made me come to my senses (I literally couldn’t see straight up until that point), so I told myself I would give it another try and attempt to deliver as originally planned. A few hours later, they checked me again, and I was STILL at 6 cm! I said to myself “that’s it, it’s time to go”. It turned out I had also developed a fever, so at that stage everyone agreed a hospital transfer was the right decision after all.
We arrived at the hospital at 10:30 am on Tuesday, there I received an epidural as well as pitosin, since apparently my contractions hadn’t been strong enough and they needed to be, in order for me to make any progress. The epidural worked well and I was able to get some sleep. Hours later, around 3-3:30 pm, they checked me again, and (guess what), I was still at 6 cm…
The doctor said I was 100% efaced, -2 station, but the baby was ROP (Right Octiput Posterior) and facing up. Also, because he was a good size baby, the chances of him turning at that point were very slim. Because of that and because I had made absolutely no progress after so many hourse, the decision was to do a Cesarean…
I took me a few minutes to try to “digest” what I had just heard and attempt to keep my composure but unfortunately I wasn’t very successful at that. But then my logical side of me kicked in and I started analysing the whole situation, and there I knew that I had tried everything I could have, and given all the facts, surgery was the only way to go.
Additionally, they were concerned that my water had been broken for so long and that I was feverish; I myself finally started to feel pressure from the fever in my eyes, so I knew it was time to do what I originally dreaded the most.
They took me to the OR about 20-30 minutes later, and at 4:21pm, little Adrian finally made his appearance. 8.8 lbs and 21.25 inches long. Poor thing had a cone head from trying to get out somehow but it was just not meant to be. The surgeon also said he was too high up in my pelvis after all.
We stayed at the hospital for 3 days and went home on Friday morning.
I must say the whole labor experience as well as the surgery was quite something, but at the end of the day, when I look at this tiny little guy, it somehow makes it all worth it
Tami and Lorenzo
I was due on the 26th of December, and after two convincing mornings of practice labor on the 22nd and 23rd, I was convinced that my baby would arrive within a couple of days of my due date. The 26th came and went with no signs of baby. I finally reached the point of extreme discomfort during this time: I was too big to sit, lay or stand for long periods of time. I started maternity leave from work and did a lot of nothing during the day. I’d go for walks, read, knit, and work on puzzles. After a week, I was bored out of my mind.
Finally, 10 days after my due date, on Thursday, January 6th, I woke in the morning, went pee, and noticed there was extra fluid. My waters had ruptured and the fluid was heavy with meconium. I had an appointment that morning with the midwives already, but I called them at 8:00 AM to tell them I thought there was meconium in my fluid. They asked me to come in as soon as I could to be checked. I told my husband, Art, that I wasn’t going to be coming home that day, I would be admitted. We both showered, packed our bags (yes, we’re last minute like that), and called my mom and our doula to let them know what was happening and to be on call.
At 9:00 AM we arrived at the hospital, and a quick inspection from our midwife confirmed that I was leaking and it was heavy with meconium. She walked us down to maternity and I was admitted. Because my labor still had not started, they started me on pitocin. I labored for four hours: sitting, standing, walking the halls. I overheard my nurse call our midwife and say, “she’s walking the halls and doesn’t look like she’s in labor at all.” Our midwife arrived, told me I was dilated to two centimeters, and suggested that she try to break my other water bag (I didn’t know there were two), to see if that would speed up my labor. I agreed. After a few uncomfortable minutes, she broke it and I leaked some more.
My labor became more intense within ten minutes or so. Pitocin is weird: I would have a really jagged contraction, then what felt like a second contraction right after. It was during this time that the nurse decided that my natural labor had kicked in and cut the pitocin. After about twenty minutes or so the contractions, while intense, lost their jagged edge. At this point I lost track of time. I know I labored for many hours while moving around the room, and that my favorite place to be was on the toilet. As my labor advanced I remember moving from the bed to the bathroom and laboring in the shower, leaning on my husband for support, and on the toilet, rocking back in forth. I was accomplishing what I wanted: I was laboring naturally without medication.
It was on the toilet that I had the realization that I should probably be checked, thinking I might be getting close. It was now about 12:30 AM on January 7th. Our midwife came in, checked me and told me that I could start pushing. I had totally missed transition; it never felt different to me. I started pushing while standing, squatting, on my hands and knees, and finally with a squatting bar on the bed. Our midwife was in and out for the first hour or so, monitoring me. It was intense. After an hour and a half, she was in my room with the nurse, my doula, my mom and my husband. She started coaching me to lower my tone while moaning during a contraction, and where to push during a contraction. She coached me to push four times (most people only push three times) during each contraction. My husband, mom and doula propped me up during each contraction so I could bear down more.
After three hours of pushing, with no medication at all, I was exhausted and asking for it to be over. I could tell that something wasn’t right: I could feel the baby’s head come down then move back up when I pushed. It still hadn’t crowned. Our midwife suggested that they start the pitocin again to see if it would help, and she also thought it would be a good idea to call the OB on call. The pitocin was started, albeit briefly, and it was excruciating to push with it after laboring without it. The OB showed up soon after the pitocin was started, at about 4:00 AM, took a look and said, “Nope, this ain’t happening.” My baby wasn’t even low enough to use the forceps or vacuum.
At this point, we decided that it was time for me to have a c-section. I agreed readily, and as they prepped me quickly to move me, I was still pushing with each contraction. The truly fortunate thing is through all of this my baby did not show any signs of stress.
The surgical team was great. They were quick, efficient, and the anesthesiologist was wonderful. Our midwife, my mom and doula accompanied me to surgery, and Art waited outside (he gets queasy with blood, as do I). At 4:44 AM they announced “it’s a boy!” and I cried. They took him to the warming table as his color was not great, and our midwife took lots of pictures for me. Unfortunately I didn’t really get to see him for long, he was sent to the NICU, and my husband accompanied him. He was 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and 22 inches long. My husband came back to my room and we decided on a name for our baby: Lorenzo Russell. He came back from NICU after an hour so I could nurse him.
Things get blurry for me at this point (probably because of the meds). I remember them saying that the placenta smelled bad. My OB came by later to tell me that the placenta potentially had an infection so she cleaned me out really well, but that I needed to go on antibiotics just in case. I started antibiotics on the Saturday the 7th, and I lasted on the first antibiotic for two doses before I couldn’t take it anymore, I was reacting to it. They put me on a second antibiotic when I left the hospital on the Sunday the 8th. I lasted on it for three days, until Wednesday, before my reaction to it was so bad that I was completely dehydrated. On Thursday I saw my OB and started the third antibiotic. By Saturday night (eight days post partum), I had hives in my throat to the extent that my throat was closing (anaphylactic reaction). I started taking Benadryl; fortunately it worked. I started the fourth antibiotic on Monday, and continued taking it until the following Monday
(three weeks post partum).
I have to say that laboring un-medicated for twenty hours, while not easy, was doable. The reactions to the medications that I took post partum were the toughest part of my birth story. But it was so worth it, I wouldn’t trade Lorenzo for anything!
Elizabeth and Crosby
We welcomed our little boy to the family bright and early Thursday, January 6 and we are smitten! Born at 4:14 a.m., Crosby weighed in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. and is 20 inches long. Not exactly a small baby (especially for my 5 ft. frame), but fortunately the labor and delivery went smooth (far more so than my labor with Clara who weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz.).
Driving across the bridge after my appointment on Tuesday, I started having consistent and strong contractions but I was able to get some rest that night. I woke up Wednesday not feeling well. Contractions picked up by 9 and I labored at home all day, with Clara right
by my side and this was not easy. Let’s just say, laboring w/ a toddler is NOT FUN. I had Sean come home mid-day because I was feeling awful and didn’t know how I could continue taking care of Clara in pain.
Finally, at 5 Sean convinced me that we needed to go to the hospital, and I’m glad we did because the drive there was miserable and yes, it was rush hour and we had to drop Clara off at our friend’s house. We checked into triage at Swedish around 6:30 and I was dilated at a 6. By the time I got into my birthing suite, I was 7 centimeters and more than ready for an epidural.
Unfortunately, it took them awhile (5 attempts total) to get an IV in so this slowed things up. And then, it took two tries to get my epidural in correctly. I was not a happy camper given I was having contractions every 2 minutes through this all. My blood pressure dropped considerably after the epidural so they put me on some drugs which made my heart rate sky rocket so I had a case of the shakes for a few hours but otherwise felt relaxed and pain free. I even watched some of The Bachelor on Hulu and some of Sleepless in Seattle, while Sean took a quick cat nap. Aside from me developing a temperature, baby and I were in good shape (with Clara, both her heart rate and mine fluctuated the entire labor so it was really stressful), so Sean and I were both able to relax and enjoy the anticipation and excitement leading up to the birth of our child. This gave us some time to solidify our top names for each gender, given we didn’t find out during the pregnancy.
I started pushing sometime right around 4 and can honestly say that despite the hard work involved with pushing, the experience was amazing (far more so than that with Clara). I felt like I was in much more control given I felt a lot more (pressure) this time around and therefore much more productive with each push. There was a short time when Sean, the doctor and nurses could see the baby’s head and lots of hair, and relayed this to me. Given we didn’t know the baby’s gender, this simply inspired me to give it my absolute all and before I knew it, our sweet baby entered the world. And boy were we shocked to see “boy parts”, as Sean and I sort of assumed we were having another girl. Tears were streaming down both of our cheeks as we quickly realized we now had one of each! Crosby was brought to my chest immediately and started nursing within minutes. And it’s been two weeks. Time flies when you’re in love.
A few things I found helpful or enjoyed, so you might want to share with the mamas in Prenatal Yoga:
* Coconut water (both Sean and I enjoyed during L&D)
* Hard candies (I got some from PCC and loved sucking on them,
and so did Sean and my nurses)
* Water (I drank throughout labor at the hospital this time)
Prenatal offered me an “escape” from the business of life and being a mom of a toddler during pregnancy to focus on myself (attitude, spirit and body) and my baby growing inside of me. I could count on a few hours of peace and relaxation at yoga. Physically, it provided me with greater strength and I always left feeling better than when I walked into class. During labor, I felt strong and powerful despite being exhausted and in pain at times. While I labored at home, I did a lot of cat cow and frog pose along with some of the breathing techniques Anna taught us. And two weeks after giving birth, I am amazed at how good I feel. The recovery has been speedy and uneventful, and I attribute that to prenatal yoga and a smooth labor and delivery.
Nancy and Gavin
Gavin was born January 4th, 2011, 9lbs 10oz and 21 1/4 in long.
I was induced at 39 weeks due to my family situation, stress level and mother’s availability to stay and help this week. The Dr. did say that stress hormones can shut down the labor process, so the few times my body was acting like I was in labor, it probably was the beginning. She was shocked I hadn’t delivered by the 4th anyway. However, with the size and super fast delivery, it was almost safest for me to be in the presence of someone who could deliver Gavin.
Tuesday I arrived at Evergreen at 5 am where I was starting the process at 5 cm dialated, 100% effaced and 0 station (which didn’t matter as much because there was so much excess amniotic fluid the Dr could push Gavins head and he’d float up and down). After being checked in and settled, the pitocin was started around 6:30 am, the Dr broke my water at 8 am, I cruised the hall once, got in the tub where I did most of my laboring (which was fantastic! My husband poured warm water over my abdomen during contractions and it really helped) and Gavin was born naturally via vaginal birth at 9:50 am. Very busy morning we had!
My husband is enjoying telling everyone the story of me asking the nurse if she was holding the head in and her saying, “No” all the while she was really holding the head in until the Dr. could get gowned. He thinks it’s hilarious, I on the other hand not so much…….. The contractions really did their job and I could feel my body doing all the work. My body was literally kicking Gavin out and I had no say in the matter. With the final contractions I had, after I’d gotten in bed I turned on my side with my top leg in the open clamshell position remembering it opened the space for the baby to come through, and did it ever! I was afraid to roll on my back until I could push because the contractions literally started from the top of my abdomen and pushed the baby down, I could feel his head coming. They told me to take short exhalations to help slow the contraction and pushing, I did my best but yeah right! When the Dr. was ready, I rolled on my back and four pushes later Gavin was in my arms. I felt controlled, collected and empowered. I had done it, I had a natural birth using natural elements such as water and my own breath and strength. No screamng this time! It wasn’t until I heard the, “Oh my God, he’s almost 10 lbs” that I lost it and started crying.
Because Gavin was so big, he ended up getting a severe bruise (causing extra breakdown of red blood cells under skin/bili that needed to be flushed out through peeing and pooping) on his face which the Dr’s think contributed to his jaundice and that his intake wasn’t enough to flush the excess bili so we went home on Wednesday afternoon on phototherapy, but it wasn’t enough and so Gavin was admitted to Evergreen Hospital for intense phototherapy which is going well. He got an IV fluid bolus and remains under the lights. I get to nurse him and hold him for 30 minutes every 3 hours, which isn’t much but I’ll take all I can get!
I hope you are doing well. Tell everyone Hi for me and I’ll be missing prenatal yoga!
Tennile and Lennon
As you know I was given a Doppler ultrasound on Thursday when they determined that my placenta was not providing enough for my baby and my fluids had dropped from Monday. That afternoon they placed a balloon catheter in to stimulate my cervix to open. When I arrived at the hospital Friday for induction at 11:30 am I had to receive antibiotics for 4 hours before I could have my baby (because I tested positive for Group Beta Strep, which can infect the uterus during delivery since the uterus is open.) At 12:30 pm they began a low level of pitocin at 1:30 pm they removed the catheter and broke my waters to find I was already 6cm.
Contractions were slowly getting more intense and closer together, they then said that anesthesia was most likely going to get busy and if I thought I wanted the epidural to get it at that moment, so I did. I remained at 6cm until 5:30 pm when they started really increasing the pitocin. At 6 pm the Epidural stopped working on my right side and in between contractions they were fixing it – it was at that point my body wanted to push and I had a hard time keeping it from pushing.
They were frantic and really insistent that I stop pushing as they were trying to get the medicine to work which is was not. I kept telling them he is coming I have to push – they they paged the doctor and began setting up for delivery. My doctor arrived and began getting her gown on when I began pushing the second they said OK push your baby to the doctor, it was 2 pushes to get him out. Lennon David Jones was born at 6:20 pm 5 lbs 17 in.
Overall it was a fantastic experience – I got to feel real labor this time and feel blessed by the whole process. He latched on right away. He is happy and healthy, just small. We were asked to stay until Sunday due to his size which was perfectly fine for me as I was pumping like crazy to get my milk in. It came in at 36 hours after which has been vital in his growth. He is amazing. So different from Lilah. He just rolls with things. I am truly blessed and have a beautiful family.
Thank you for all your support and teachings as I am pretty convinced yoga makes life easier and more enjoyable and having such a caring, knowledgeable and strong teacher with such compassion as yourself is blissful!!
Laine and Ross
My birth story really begins Wednesday December 8 when I began feeling even more fatigued than usual. I cancelled my afternoon patients and stayed home that Thursday when I happened to have my 37 week midwife visit. We discussed a reduction of my work hours from full time as it seemed the way I was feeling was unlikely to improve until after delivery; in other words, nothing was wrong, just late third trimester pregnancy. I returned to work Friday am but noticed light bleeding that morning for the first time during my pregnancy. The midwives said it wasn’t alarming but to let them know if I wanted to be seen. When it worsened after walking the dogs that afternoon, my husband left work to take me in to be seen. A visual speculum exam showed that I was maybe 1 cm dilated and maybe not at all, and the midwife at the appointment wasn’t concerned but offered a nonstress test to c heck on the baby if we wanted that reassurance. Towards the end of the 40 minute test, the on-call midwife came in to review the strip and declared I was in early labor based on the pattern of contractions she saw. I wasn’t feeling any of them yet. My husband pointed out I was on call for my practice that weekend, to which the midwife responded, “No she’s not.” We arranged coverage with one of my partners and went to meet our doula for the first time (we like to do things last minute). Our midwife had left us saying she thought the baby would come that night or the next day and advising we hire the doula NOW. Fortunately after meeting we all agreed it was a great fit, and we scheduled to meet again the next afternoon for our prenatal visit since I was no longer working that weekend. Earlier in the week when we talked the first time, we were going to meet Sunday, but she felt this was pushing time a bit too much since that was 2 weeks prior to my due date. It was a wise bit of advice. She also gave us a referral to a prenatal specialty photographer since we had left that to the last minute also. Serendipitously, the photographer originally was going to do a studio session with us Sunday but found her schedule worked best to have us in Saturday evening at 8 pm.
That night (early Saturday) I woke around 2 am feeling contractions for the first time. Unfortunately they were in my back, and I didn’t wake my husband as there wasn’t any regularity, but they were painful enough that my hypnobirthing relaxation techniques weren’t very helpful. They were rising to a peak intensity and then easing off, which the doula Rebecca later said alerted her that they were likely not practice or Braxton Hicks contractions. However, they slowed and subsided the next morning, and I joined you all for yoga that day since I was relieved from clinic duty.
At Anna’s advice I slept a few hours that afternoon; she said often the nightly contractions can curtail sleep for several days prior to delivery. We met again with Rebecca and her doula trainee, Myla (pronounced like Lila), that afternoon to go over the birth plan and receive our intro packet to her services (which I still haven’t read). Afterwards we headed to my photo shoot. During it I began having mild back contractions again and recall not being able to reposition right away for her a few times due to the discomfort. They weren’t yet as noticeable as the night prior, though. After the photos we had just an hour before Target closed, and I felt compelled to exchange our baby bath as it was missing a part, and I had been feeling stressed about not having a functional bath. While at Target for about 40 minutes I had 4-5 contractions that did cause me to stop walking a few times. Driving home I was looking forward to getting out my yoga mat and trying some of the poses from the labor class. Within 10 minutes of arriving home, although I had made it onto my yoga mat, I was having such severe back contractions that no relaxation techniques or poses were helping at all right when they started. My husband started doing intense hip squeeze that left him sweating, but it was the only thing that allowed me to endure. The pain was brief, about 30 seconds, but occurring already every 3-5 minutes. Soon after this started (time began to lose meaning for me around this point), Brian called the doula. She listened to my vocalizing through one contraction and decided she and Myla should come on over.
They arrived about 90 minutes after the contractions started and soon relieved Brian from hip squeeze duty as he was worn out – it was only effective if done very intensely. Myla got a technique down that worked and proceeded to save my plans for natural labor by doing the squeezing every contraction. Some time just before the doulas came I began vomiting, and unfortunately this continued throughout the whole labor, too, usually peaking with the peak of the contractions. Twice I was already vomiting when a contraction started, and I remember those being the worst moments of the night. Not long after they arrived, Rebecca recommended we call the midwives and start looking to move towards the hospital.
At this point I was still thinking this might be really early labor or false labor, and we didn’t want to check in to the hospital until in advanced labor. I was not in the condition to discuss these things in depth at that time, though, and trusted Rebecca’s judgment. My husband had to talk the midwife into believing how close and severe the contractions had become, but eventually she agreed we should be seen at the hospital.
The car ride was interesting – Brian had to remove the carseat so I could sit in the back with Myla for her to continue the hip squeezes. I also had to travel with bucket and continued to vomit frequently. Fortunately we only live about 10 minutes from Evergreen. When we arrived I actually had to kneel on the floor through 2 contractions before we even made it to the triage bed. Without checking my dilation they moved me back to a room determining from a few minutes of the monitor that I would need admitted.
When midwife Lisa did check, I was at 8 cm, and this was around 2:15 am. Labor continued as above for about an hour. I didn’t make it into the bath although we intended to try this to relieve some of the intensity. At midwife Sharon’s suggestion (I also had 2 midwives as Lisa was in the final days of supervised care as a new midwife), Rebecca helped me move into a kneeling position with my arms supported on the back of the bed, which was moved upright.
Within minutes of this my water broke with an audible pop. I then began feeling intense rectal pressure, which the nurses, doulas, and midwives all said was a good sign. Sharon advised I listen closely to them at this point to not push but pant as they looked toward birthing the head. I think up until that point I still wasn’t convinced I was really going to have a baby that night. Lisa checked again and said I was at plus 2 station (if plus is just past the pelvic opening – can’t remember which is plus or minus) and fully effaced and dilated.
Unexpectedly, with the next contraction I felt unable not to push, and with the deep vocalization that had helped throughout labor, I bore down and birthed my son Ross Hall completely during that contraction. He had a long, curly umbilical cord, and after Brian announced that it was Ross (we hadn’t known the sex), the midwives passed him through my legs to my arms and helped me sit since I had knelt during birthing. Of course he was perfect. I also had started to think the pain would never stop whether I delivered the baby or not, but thankfully it ended immediately. I also was actually hungry that morning without any nausea for the first time in about 8 months.
My total labor was about 6 hours but very intense the entire time. I felt like I didn’t use any of my hypnobirthing or yoga very effectively as I just did what I had to for survival, but the doulas, midwives, and Brian were effusively complimentary of my coping. I’ve started to feel a little more pride that we accomplished our goal of natural birthing. I wish you all the best with your births!
Stephanie and Ronan
I have a birth story for you! Yes he was preterm but doing well. I delivered at 29 weeks (almost 30 weeks).
I have finally had a moment to sit and reflect on this fast, crazy time! It started on Friday at 4am I was having some contractions in the middle of the night. It felt a little like a period but my husband and I tracked them and didn’t seem like normal labor contractions so we passed it off as Braxton Hicks (contractions were 22-30 seconds coming at 2-3 minutes; 16 in an hour-they didn’t seem like typical laboring contractions). I was able to sleep a little longer tossing and turning a bit. I awoke at 5:30am for my normal gym time but was still experiencing some pain. So I decided not to go (good choice!).
We tracked them again and I told my husband I was going to call the doctor around 8am when I arrived at work. They were getting stronger and a little bit more comfortable at this point. The nurse on the line told me to come home and take a warm bath and call them in 1-2 hours. I called my husband to let him know. He was almost to work and asked if he should come home. I said yes because I was getting very uncomfortable at this point. I needed him to run the bath because I couldn’t figure out how to plug it! He got him within an hour.
I was crouched on the floor trying to do child’s pose (which helped) as well as others. We waited until 11 am to call the doctor as the bath did make me a little more comfortable but the contractions were very hard at this point. I was having really bad back pain. I knew it wasn’t right.
We arrived at the doctor and they hooked me up to a machine. I was clearly uncomfortable and having contractions. They had me pee in a cup to check for a bladder infection just in case that could have caused some contractions. As I was waiting in the hallway for the bathroom I was crouched on the floor in a squat to relieve some pain. The nurses were like what is going on with this lady?! I finally peed in a cup and went back to the room. At this point they were definite in giving me medication to stop the contractions.
Contractions continued the same throughout the laboring process. First they needed to see if I was dilated, then I had my “bloody show.” The midwife was like uh oh. I knew then that there would be a baby that day. She put the speculum in a little ways and sure enough I was 10cm!
They threw me in a wheelchair, my husband called my mom and within minutes they were running me across the street to Overlake Hosptial. When we arrived a bed was ready. The OB (which I was planning on a midwife but at this point was high risk) was waiting long with the neonatal group in the room. They wanted to give me Serfactin but did not have enough time because they could see his head of hair ready to come. They quickly hooked me up to an IV and then said push. It was painful and then I thought I might want something but they were like yeah right it’s too late. That was fine I wanted to do it naturally anyway (the original plan).
So within 30 minutes baby Ronan arrived at 1:14pm. He was crying and kicking vigorously. I asked to hold him and they were a little reluctant but he was doing well so I got to hold him for a minute. Then my husband went with him to the NICU. His apgar was an 8; that was great. My husband did not get to cut the cord because everything went so fast and they just did it. We also wanted to donate cord blood so the lady came in with her kit before hand and the OB had her leave because there probably wouldn’t have been enough time. That was fine. My mom and husband along with the midwife were by my side. They were great supporters and everyone was awesome in the room. We are staying an extra night (don’t need to) but want to be by the baby.
He is doing very well. He was born 3lbs 4oz and 15 1/2 inches long. He is not on oxygen but has a tube in his mouth to push air (like we breath) in because he had a little elevated level of carbon dioxide in his gases. He is slightly jaundice (which is normal for any baby) so he is under a light to get rid of that ASAP. Looking at him you cannot see it at all. They put him on a little moriphine in the beginning to calm him as he was a little feisty but is off that now. They are hoping to start some breast milk (that I have pumped) tonight or tomorrow. That is very good. He is hitting his little milestones. They take 24 hours at a time and set goals that he can maintain and reevaluate them each 24 hours. He will have to stay at lest for two months in the NICU. They say the goal is to get him out by his due date (February 23rd) but most can leave before. A lot of times at gestational 36 weeks. We just want him to be as ready as possibly. It will be a long haul.
I recommend Overlake Hospital and the Group Health staff in Bellevue. They did awesome and have been very open about everything. They encourage us to ask questions and don’t hide anything. There is no explanation for what happened. It happened because it did. They told us that even if we came in at 5 am they probably wouldn’t be able to stop it because of the contractions I was having. Everything was handled well and we are very lucky.
Enjoy yoga and remember to use those exercises during labor. They did relieve some pain and helped me be a little bit more comfortable. When birthing it is a marathon so when doing those intense moves work through the pain. It will be helpful when pushing as you need to push through the pain and beyond your limits. I wanted to birth in a squatting position but the OB was not comfortable with that because of the high risk. I didn’t argue and went on with it. I did have intense pain in the back during labor though. As soon as it was over it was gone and have only had to take ibuprofen and an ice pack (between the legs for swelling) afterwards. I did not tear on the outside but had a small one on the inside; it did not need stitching though.
Thank you Anna for all the help and I will hopefully be seeing you soon after baby is ready!
