A very different birth
Annabelle Katelyn
9 lbs 0 oz
21" long
14 1/2 inch head
Born at 7:01 PM on July 26, 2011
After 2 weeks of start and stop "prodominal" labor, Annabelle was finally born! I got up at about 8:30 Tuesday morning as Thad left for work. I got Titus his breakfast, took my thyroid, and then right at 9 had a very strong contraction. I had been having stop and start strings of contractions for 2 weeks, so at first I didn't think anything of it. I continued about my morning, but just a few min later, I was hit with another one, and these were painful enough right from the start that I found myself telling the kids to leave me alone. At 9:30, I called and gave Thad the heads up that if contractions stuck, I might be calling him home in an hour. At 9:45, I called him back and said Come home NOW, followed by a call to my midwife, and a text to my friend Trudie who would be watching the kids. Several people had predicted that with this being my 4th baby, it could potentially be a fast labor, so we didn't waste any time. I went to go get Kezzy dressed and realized, I couldn't help her through the contractions. I told her sorry, but daddy will have to dress you. At 9:55 AM, I called Thad back and said "Come home FASTER!" A few minutes later, he arrived home. Thad finished getting the kids dressed and into the car while I grabbed a few last minute things, and we were out the door. We dropped the kids off at their friends house and headed out to the birth center.
We arrived at Bella Vie at 11 AM to find the parking lot empty, lights off, and doors locked! Thad called my midwife and found there had been a miscommunication. I had said, "It will take me an hour to get my husband home from work, kids dropped off, and drive out there." She had understood, "It will take an hour for my husband to get home from work, then we have to drop off the kids and still drive out there." Needless to say, the timing of my birth teams arrival was a little off. Someone I didn't recognize pulled up and unlocked the door for us and my midwife arrived a few minutes later.
At first check, I was between 3 and 4 cm dilated and 70% effaced. I was a little disappointed that it looked like I wasn't going to have a fast labor, but also thrilled that this might be the real thing, since I had been 2 cm and 50% effaced the day before at my apt. So, they put in my IV and I got my first dose of antibiotics for strep. 20 min later they unhooked me and I was free to labor however I wanted. Because they said Annabelle was really high up, we chose to walk a lot. We walked, paced back and forth in the room, walked up and down the stairs, bounced on the ball, and anything else we could think of to try to wiggle her down lower into my hips. The contractions were stronger then I had expected right from the start and I found moaning or "vocalizing" through them to help a lot. I spent most contractions bent over whatever piece of furniture I was near with Thad rubbing my lower back while I made low moaning sounds. At about 1 PM, they brought us lunch. I had the most amazing salad with bacon, avocado, lettuce, spinach, tomato, etc...and some fruit and juice. After lunch, I continued with contractions the same as before. The 2 birth assistants took turns coming in to listen to the baby on the doppler every 30 min to make sure she was doing ok.
At about 3:30, I hit my first breaking point. I told Thad I was exhausted, I don't want to do this anymore (walking and staying on my feet to get her to move down), I have to lay down! So I laid down on the bed to rest. My birth team came in at 4 to hook the IV back up for my 2nd dose of antibiotics and I told them I couldn't be on my feet anymore because I was too tired. When the IV was done, I decided to have them check on my progress. I was praying, "Please God let me be past 4 1/2 cm so they don't send me home again!" I was totally shocked when she said that I was 6 1/2 cm! The good news totally boosted my mood and gave me a new wave of strength to continue.
Knowing that the worst was still to come and that transition starts at 7 cm, we decided to fill up the birth tub. I paced back and forth and texted updates to family while the water was running. At 5 PM I got into the tub. Thad put on a hypnobabies relaxation CD for me and I spent the next hour focusing on relaxing all of my muscles and going as limp as possible in the water to let my body work. I think the CD really helped me stay focused during this first part of transition.
The CD ended at 6 and I switched to trying to work with the contractions. I made a point to take positions that seemed to open my hips well. The 2 birth assistants came in and stayed with us at this point. I found myself leaning over the edge of the tub with Thad putting ice cold wash rags on my head and the back of my neck while Hannah (one of the assistants) made low moaning sounds with me. Thad also fed me ice water between ctx as often as he could get me to take it. Thad said he could tell ctx were getting a lot more intense by my volume. Others must have noticed too because Kelsey (another assistant) started setting up for the birth. At this point, I remember thinking of all the birth stories I had read where people said as soon as they thought they couldn't do it anymore, the baby was born. So I started saying, "I can't do this anymore!" with tears running down my face...however...inside I was thinking, "I can't do this anymore, that means she will be here in a few minutes!" It was almost like I thought saying it out loud would make her come faster.
Suddenly, I felt a lot of pressure and said "OH! She's going to come out now!" The assistants called the midwife in. They encouraged me to not push until I absolutely had to, and to let my body do the work. I got into the recommended position for my "big" baby (hands and knees), but that didn't last. With the next contraction, I was hit with a horribly painful, incredibly strong charlie horse cramp in my right thigh! Suddenly, there was no position that wasn't painful because of my thigh! With the next couple contractions, I found myself wiggling around trying everything to find a position where my thigh didn't hurt. Then, with 1 big contraction, the muscles in my sides and belly involuntarily clamped down with a huge push. I settled into a squat position and said "I'm not pushing, but my body is doing it without me!" They told me to continue not pushing until I absolutely couldn't resist it anymore. With the next contraction, my water broke. I went through 3 more contractions with the odd sensation of my muscles working without me before I felt that telltale burning ring of fire. I reached down and felt her head crowning. I told them "I can't 'not push' anymore!" With the next contraction, I took a deep breath and pushed hard, and her head came out into my hands. I panted and moaned for the next 2 minutes waiting for another contraction. When it came, I gave 1 final big push and Annabelle Katelyn was born gently into the water, into her mothers hands at 7:01PM. I brought her up to the surface for her first breath and was instantly in love.
Her cord was short so someone unplugged the tub and started letting water out. They had to drain about half the water for me to be able to sit down and still have her face out of the water. We sat there just amazed at how beautiful she was for about 15 min or so waiting for the placenta. Once it was out, Kelsea scooped it up in a bowl and left it in the tub. I now had enough slack to be able to nurse. Once we got set up nursing in the tub, my birth team said "We'll leave you to get to know each other now," and closed the curtain that was between the birth tub and the rest of the suite. Someone brought us both smoothies, to make sure blood sugar levels stayed normal. They put cinnamon in mine because apparently, cinnamon can help reduce bleeding.
We spent half an hour, just me, Thad and Annabelle, admiring the beautiful baby that had just been born. At about 8 PM, I told them I was ready to get out. The 2 birth assistants helped me get through the shower while Thad and 2 midwives took Annabelle back into the bedroom. I got out of the shower and found Thad holding her, still attached to the placenta, which was in a ziplock bag next to them. I got checked out and was happy to find that for the first time (4th baby), I didn't need any stitches! At 8:30, we agreed to finally cut the cord and do her newborn exam. Thad cut the cord, and Annabelle cried for the first time during her little check up. Then Thad weighed her, the MW measured her, and we were all tucked into bed to rest and recoup. About a half hour later, they brought us a wonderful salmon dinner. There is no comparison to this and my hospital births. This one was by far the best, and so far has also been the easiest recovery for me as well.
9 lbs 0 oz
21" long
14 1/2 inch head
Born at 7:01 PM on July 26, 2011
After 2 weeks of start and stop "prodominal" labor, Annabelle was finally born! I got up at about 8:30 Tuesday morning as Thad left for work. I got Titus his breakfast, took my thyroid, and then right at 9 had a very strong contraction. I had been having stop and start strings of contractions for 2 weeks, so at first I didn't think anything of it. I continued about my morning, but just a few min later, I was hit with another one, and these were painful enough right from the start that I found myself telling the kids to leave me alone. At 9:30, I called and gave Thad the heads up that if contractions stuck, I might be calling him home in an hour. At 9:45, I called him back and said Come home NOW, followed by a call to my midwife, and a text to my friend Trudie who would be watching the kids. Several people had predicted that with this being my 4th baby, it could potentially be a fast labor, so we didn't waste any time. I went to go get Kezzy dressed and realized, I couldn't help her through the contractions. I told her sorry, but daddy will have to dress you. At 9:55 AM, I called Thad back and said "Come home FASTER!" A few minutes later, he arrived home. Thad finished getting the kids dressed and into the car while I grabbed a few last minute things, and we were out the door. We dropped the kids off at their friends house and headed out to the birth center.
We arrived at Bella Vie at 11 AM to find the parking lot empty, lights off, and doors locked! Thad called my midwife and found there had been a miscommunication. I had said, "It will take me an hour to get my husband home from work, kids dropped off, and drive out there." She had understood, "It will take an hour for my husband to get home from work, then we have to drop off the kids and still drive out there." Needless to say, the timing of my birth teams arrival was a little off. Someone I didn't recognize pulled up and unlocked the door for us and my midwife arrived a few minutes later.
At first check, I was between 3 and 4 cm dilated and 70% effaced. I was a little disappointed that it looked like I wasn't going to have a fast labor, but also thrilled that this might be the real thing, since I had been 2 cm and 50% effaced the day before at my apt. So, they put in my IV and I got my first dose of antibiotics for strep. 20 min later they unhooked me and I was free to labor however I wanted. Because they said Annabelle was really high up, we chose to walk a lot. We walked, paced back and forth in the room, walked up and down the stairs, bounced on the ball, and anything else we could think of to try to wiggle her down lower into my hips. The contractions were stronger then I had expected right from the start and I found moaning or "vocalizing" through them to help a lot. I spent most contractions bent over whatever piece of furniture I was near with Thad rubbing my lower back while I made low moaning sounds. At about 1 PM, they brought us lunch. I had the most amazing salad with bacon, avocado, lettuce, spinach, tomato, etc...and some fruit and juice. After lunch, I continued with contractions the same as before. The 2 birth assistants took turns coming in to listen to the baby on the doppler every 30 min to make sure she was doing ok.
At about 3:30, I hit my first breaking point. I told Thad I was exhausted, I don't want to do this anymore (walking and staying on my feet to get her to move down), I have to lay down! So I laid down on the bed to rest. My birth team came in at 4 to hook the IV back up for my 2nd dose of antibiotics and I told them I couldn't be on my feet anymore because I was too tired. When the IV was done, I decided to have them check on my progress. I was praying, "Please God let me be past 4 1/2 cm so they don't send me home again!" I was totally shocked when she said that I was 6 1/2 cm! The good news totally boosted my mood and gave me a new wave of strength to continue.
Knowing that the worst was still to come and that transition starts at 7 cm, we decided to fill up the birth tub. I paced back and forth and texted updates to family while the water was running. At 5 PM I got into the tub. Thad put on a hypnobabies relaxation CD for me and I spent the next hour focusing on relaxing all of my muscles and going as limp as possible in the water to let my body work. I think the CD really helped me stay focused during this first part of transition.
The CD ended at 6 and I switched to trying to work with the contractions. I made a point to take positions that seemed to open my hips well. The 2 birth assistants came in and stayed with us at this point. I found myself leaning over the edge of the tub with Thad putting ice cold wash rags on my head and the back of my neck while Hannah (one of the assistants) made low moaning sounds with me. Thad also fed me ice water between ctx as often as he could get me to take it. Thad said he could tell ctx were getting a lot more intense by my volume. Others must have noticed too because Kelsey (another assistant) started setting up for the birth. At this point, I remember thinking of all the birth stories I had read where people said as soon as they thought they couldn't do it anymore, the baby was born. So I started saying, "I can't do this anymore!" with tears running down my face...however...inside I was thinking, "I can't do this anymore, that means she will be here in a few minutes!" It was almost like I thought saying it out loud would make her come faster.
Suddenly, I felt a lot of pressure and said "OH! She's going to come out now!" The assistants called the midwife in. They encouraged me to not push until I absolutely had to, and to let my body do the work. I got into the recommended position for my "big" baby (hands and knees), but that didn't last. With the next contraction, I was hit with a horribly painful, incredibly strong charlie horse cramp in my right thigh! Suddenly, there was no position that wasn't painful because of my thigh! With the next couple contractions, I found myself wiggling around trying everything to find a position where my thigh didn't hurt. Then, with 1 big contraction, the muscles in my sides and belly involuntarily clamped down with a huge push. I settled into a squat position and said "I'm not pushing, but my body is doing it without me!" They told me to continue not pushing until I absolutely couldn't resist it anymore. With the next contraction, my water broke. I went through 3 more contractions with the odd sensation of my muscles working without me before I felt that telltale burning ring of fire. I reached down and felt her head crowning. I told them "I can't 'not push' anymore!" With the next contraction, I took a deep breath and pushed hard, and her head came out into my hands. I panted and moaned for the next 2 minutes waiting for another contraction. When it came, I gave 1 final big push and Annabelle Katelyn was born gently into the water, into her mothers hands at 7:01PM. I brought her up to the surface for her first breath and was instantly in love.
Her cord was short so someone unplugged the tub and started letting water out. They had to drain about half the water for me to be able to sit down and still have her face out of the water. We sat there just amazed at how beautiful she was for about 15 min or so waiting for the placenta. Once it was out, Kelsea scooped it up in a bowl and left it in the tub. I now had enough slack to be able to nurse. Once we got set up nursing in the tub, my birth team said "We'll leave you to get to know each other now," and closed the curtain that was between the birth tub and the rest of the suite. Someone brought us both smoothies, to make sure blood sugar levels stayed normal. They put cinnamon in mine because apparently, cinnamon can help reduce bleeding.
We spent half an hour, just me, Thad and Annabelle, admiring the beautiful baby that had just been born. At about 8 PM, I told them I was ready to get out. The 2 birth assistants helped me get through the shower while Thad and 2 midwives took Annabelle back into the bedroom. I got out of the shower and found Thad holding her, still attached to the placenta, which was in a ziplock bag next to them. I got checked out and was happy to find that for the first time (4th baby), I didn't need any stitches! At 8:30, we agreed to finally cut the cord and do her newborn exam. Thad cut the cord, and Annabelle cried for the first time during her little check up. Then Thad weighed her, the MW measured her, and we were all tucked into bed to rest and recoup. About a half hour later, they brought us a wonderful salmon dinner. There is no comparison to this and my hospital births. This one was by far the best, and so far has also been the easiest recovery for me as well.
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