I had a rather different experience with this birth, so I wanted to share my story.
L offered to come up and help me with the birth this time. It was a great comfort to have someone there who understood where I was coming from. I was concerned that the three hour drive from
We went to the hospital got checked in and waited. My contractions had slowed and I figured it was because of the traveling. We walked the halls then lay down to try and relax. Nothing worked. By
My doctor was okay with me leaving if the baby passed an NST (non-stress test) conducted by ultrasound. The baby passed the test. The ultrasound technician was super nice and even printed out some pictures for us. The doctor cleared us to go. It was really weird to leave the hospital knowing I was still in labor. I was really confused.
L and I went and got breakfast and walked the mall. All the while I was completely puzzled why my labor had stalled. I kept thinking of Karin's story about concerns she had about the baby stalling “Buggy’s” birth. I thought maybe it was because I knew “T” had to leave and wouldn't be back until after lunch. I felt confident that it was the right time for the baby to be born. The due date was Dec 24th. We thought it was a girl and A was born on her Uncle Tr's birthday. January 3rd is Uncle Jer's birthday. Jer and Tr are birds of a feather, they even work together.
After lunch and a little more shopping we went home. Something I had been hesitant to do for two reasons. One, my kids were there and they didn’t understand labor and why mommy wouldn’t bend over and no talk to them every five minutes. Two, because I knew as soon as I hit transition it wouldn’t take long. We could get regular contractions, but nothing more than we'd had the night before. I didn't want to go back to the hospital and have labor stall again. This time I was waiting to see signs of transition.
When we got home we started thinking about the baby's position. In the release NST the baby was facing my left side. The baby had previously always been facing my right side. Either way, not the ideal birth position. I logged on to Doreen’s website and clicked the spinning babies link. There I learned that it is difficult for the baby to rotate if the chin is not tucked. I pulled out the photos given to me by the ultrasound tech. They clearly showed the baby’s chin was up. So we got out the birthing ball and tried hula hoops. Then I got in the shower and did pelvic rocks until the tub filled with water.
I decided to try rotating the baby manually. I was a little nervous about rotating the baby with my hands. But at this point I figured I had few options. Surely they would induce me if I went back to the hospital. They baby would certainly be born one way or another in the next 12 hours. I checked to make sure the baby was still moving. And then gentle tried to move the baby. I was surprised at how different it felt in the water. Submerged I was easily able to rotate the baby. It seemed like the baby’s shoulder was caught on my right hip bone. I could feel the contractions radiating from there to my back. I worked that area for a bit and the tension seemed to free.
I finished up and went to my room. I asked my husband for a blessing. Then I lay down to listen to my body. I was unsure if I had been successful in rotating the baby. It was about 7 PM and my husband was taking the other kids to his brother’s house to spend the night. Before he even left I noticed strong swift contractions and started getting the feeling we should go to the hospital again. He told me to go rest and call his brother’s house if we decided to go the hospital. I lay down again for about 5 minutes, but now I knew it was time to go.
L and I called and got in the car and left the house around
Warning: gory details ahead. Probably for experienced moms only.
I went with side lying position this time. It was a little awkward because they wanted me to hold my leg way up in the air. And of course I still tore, but Emma does have fewer stork bites (birthmarks) than my other kids. So far I think I prefer the supported C birth position. I will probably go with that if there’s a next time. I guess that’s just the scientist in me, I always want to try something new in hopes of finding a better way.
Two other funny things. Doreen told me to try touching the baby’s head when it crowns. I didn’t with J, but I tried it this time. Only the baby hadn’t completely crowned yet. It was more like a fold of skin. I thought I was touching the cord instead of the head. And I had a moment of unnecessary concern. “Oh no, the cord is prolapsed.” But of course it was not.
The other funny thing was after the birth they were kneading my stomach to make sure the uterus was contracting and I wasn’t hemorrhaging. (Everyone’s least favorite part.) A large heart-shaped blood clot shot out and “T” was standing right there. He had a moment of shock before he realized that it couldn’t actually be my heart. He is still making jokes about it though.
Your probably wondering about the GBS. They weren’t as crazy about it here as they were in
9 comments:
OMG, that was beautiful and so inspiring...so you were able to turn the baby yourself!! Amazing! It really helps me to read your experience as mine is about 4 weeks away! WooooHooo! Thanks for sharing.
Congrats on the new baby girl. We are having a girl too. I am glad you started a blog. I will put the link on mine later.
What a crazy story. Glad to hear my blog was helpful, hehe. It's amazing how relaxing water can be. Glad you were able to help the baby get into position. And how wonderful you could have a friend there! Congrats again, I'm glad everything turned out well for you. :o)
It was truly amazing to see how strong you are and what a great Mom, even while in active labor with no sleep and while worrying about what in the world was going on with this baby! Little E. is gorgeous and thank you so much for letting me be there. I have to agree the clot was shocking and hilarious at the same time.
John's plan backfired. He was hoping that by my witnessing a birth I would experience how terrified and powerless he feels during birth. Instead, I see how much power and strength a woman has. I told him that, and he said, "Well, A may be strong, but YOU are not A." I need to have another baby just to show him, I guess.
Goodness L, if my husband ever said that to me I'd whack him upside the head. :p Has he forgotten all about K's birth? Hello, you are VERY strong, and determined. :o) Maybe next time you can tell him to just stay home, you'll take your doula for support. :p
Wow woman! It just goes to show you that listening to your body is the only way to have a baby-I don't ever want to go back to laying in bed doing nothing, one time was enough! Congrats on the little girl and just so you know...I think you're an amazing Mom too!
Congratulations! I'm also so glad that L was able to be there. It was a beautiful birth story and I'm glad I was able to read it. As I get ready for another birth, I'm reminded how important it is to listen to my body and to my inspiration. God has blessed us with such amazing vessels that were built to birth.
I guess we're getting ready for another wave of Villa babies...except we're not all in the Villa anymore. :-) Thank you for sending me the link...
There were a few things I wanted to add:
On the way to the hospital, Andrea was breathing through her contractions really well and they seemed to come every 3-5 minutes while we were on the highway. As soon as we got off, the road was all bumpy and her breathing turned to moaning (yes in wonderful low tones) and I swear she had one long 15 minute contraction until we got the hospital. It seemed to have peaks and then slow down a little, but I don't think she had a break at all during that part of the trip. When we got there, she got out of the car and immediately had to stop for another big one. It was too cold to lean on the car, so she leaned on me. But then as soon as she could walk, she realized she wasn't going to make it in before another contraction and it was FREEZING outside. I started to run to get a wheelchair, but paused as another contraction took hold of my dear friend and I was torn--be there for Andrea to lean on, or get a wheelchair to get her in where it was warmer. AAGH! I finally decided on the wheelchair and I could see Tyler inside looking at us through the windows wondering who those crazy ladies are that need a wheelchair. . . "Oh! That's my wife!" and he finally took the wheelchair and wheeled Andrea to the check-in. While we're going through the hospital (looking for admitting, then going up to L&D), A is telling T: "turn here, pant, pant, to the end of the hall, pant, pant, 5th floor," etc. She was totally strong and with it.
I can't remember if you mentioned this was the only time you didn't throw up during transition. When we had left the hospital that morning, we went to get bagel sandwiches for breakfast, then later (after walking at least a hundred miles) had Mexican food for lunch. A. got this spicy soup that I couldn't handle. She ate about half, then said she should probably not eat too much. But then she ate the rest! I couldn't believe it! She has a stomach of steel, even when it's being pushed out of the way by a big beautiful baby.
When we first got up to her room and A. was putting on her lovely gown, Tyler looked at the clock and saw it was 8:45. He then said, "We'll have a baby by 9:15." I was pretty skeptical, seeing as she hadn't even had the telltale signs of transition and surely she would have to push for a few times. But he was right, he even overestimated because she came at 9:05. But I can never take Tyler seriously because he always seems like he's joking. The nurses felt that way too, I think, and didn't really believe him until Andrea suddenly said "I need to push!" and of course everyone really sprang into action then! It was funny.
It was really great to be with you, you have taught me a lot just by your strength and example.
Doreen, yes, I did want to smack John upside the head when he said that, but it IS true I am not Andrea. She is my hero! What John needs to learn is that EVERY woman has the strength she needs to give birth naturally, even his own nagging wife. He thinks K.'s birth was horrifying and fraught with danger that I refuse to acknowledge (this is somewhat true-I remember having a constant feeling of everything is just fine and will be great and bad things didn't come in my bubble except when the Dr. said "pitocin or a c-section-you decide") And I did tell him if he needs to stay away during birth, I'm fine with that as long as I have someone there to help me. Now, it's the conception part I actually DO need him there for.
LOL, yeah, men are needed for that little part... :p You know, I don't think men will ever fully understand what it means to birth a baby. In fact, anyone who's never given birth just won't ever understand. And, of course, it's a different experience for each woman, heck, even each pregnancy. I think as mothers, we just have this instinct. The men have to do without that. They go by what they see, and that can, admittedly, be terrifying at times. Especially if you get into a situation where things don't go as planned.
On a different note, I remember when A's water broke with J's birth, and I could tell she was starting to get "pushy". The nurse totally wasn't taking things seriously, just kept on checking the monitor strips. When A was seriously starting to push, the nurse had a sort of panick attack, and all she could think of was "wait, this woman is standing on the bare floor, we must get her laying in bed." It would have been funny if it hadn't been so sad... Let the woman push wherever and however she darn well pleases, I say. Fortunately, Dr. F came in and convinced the nurse it was really okay for A to not be lying on her back...
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