Rowan’s Birth Story
Rowan Elizabeth
E.D.D. September 19th 2009
Born September 25th, 2009
1:31 A.M.
At home in the water
7 lbs 12 oz (the same as her brother!), 21 inches long
Rowan’s birth was very, very different than her brother’s, which shouldn’t be a surprise since the entire pregnancy had been completely different too.
I had been worried about her positioning (she had been posterior for as long as we could tell) and that it meant a difficult labour lay ahead, so I was preparing for that mentally. My son had been OP right through birth, leading to lots of tearing, bleeding and a difficult labour and recovery, of which I was scared to go through again. My good friend/doula is a Reiki healer, and was sending me healing off and on in the weeks leading up for birth. It really helped me accept things as they were and trust my body to have the strength necessary for this baby to be born however she wanted to be.
About a week before her birth (so sometime around her due date), I began experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions that were much different than any I had ever felt. Rather than the regular muscle tightening I usually experienced, these were more like rushes of energy that would build up from my spine, flush up my body, peak as a kind of “head rush”, and then subside. My belly would harden at the time, but the predominant feeling was just one of power and energy rushing through my body. I could feel the strength build and hear my heartbeat pounding in my head when they were at their peak, but there was no pain or discomfort at all. They were amazing in the way that they really helped me to feel my body’s strength, and I really enjoyed them.
As my due date came and went, I will admit to being a little dismayed. DS had been born four days before his E.D.D., so I hadn’t really expected to go past it. However, we didn’t do any cervical checks or sweeps, because I wanted to let this baby decide her birthday and to trust that she would come when she was ready. We weren’t going to talk induction or intervention until much closer to 42 weeks, which made me VERY happy. I was relieved that my midwives kept that pressure off of the baby and I.
I had always felt that this baby would be born at night (perhaps because DS was born during the day, and since these pregnancies had been like “night and day”, I had that intuition.) Each morning I would wake and think, “Oh well, it wasn’t last night, maybe tonight I’ll go into labour.”
Sure enough, the evening of September 24th brought real contractions. They began as a bit of a backache around 5:30 p.m., as DS and I were having a light dinner at my parent’s house. I mentioned it to my dad in passing, but my back had been bothering me recently so we didn’t think too much of it. I kept busy, making tea and playing with DS, and it took me until a little after 6 P.M. to notice that the back and hip pain was accompanied by my belly tightening. Still, I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, so I just kept it to myself.
My sister dropped by for a visit a little later, and asked how I was feeling, so I mentioned the contractions. She suggested timing them. The drinks had started flowing and everyone was in a great mood, sharing stories and jokes, and we all sat at the table with the laptop as I quietly timed them on contractionmaster.com. DS played with one of his cousins nearby, and the whole atmosphere was amazing, and almost festive in a way. This is a great memory for me, as I’m really close with my family and to be in such a relaxed and happy environment was wonderful. It kept my mind from worrying, and I think all the laughter helped strengthen my contractions.
They were kind of irregular in strength, but quite close together. I would have a strong one, then a weaker one about two minutes later, followed by another strong one at 3 and a half to four minutes after that. The strong ones lasted 55 seconds to a minute or more, the weaker ones 30 seconds or so, but the pattern was consistent and the contractions all slowly began to strengthen. By about 7:45 my sister and dad were suspicious enough that it might be the real thing to suggest making some phone calls and heading to my house to prepare, so that’s what we did. My mom arrived home from work at 8:00 so we gathered the kids and trooped across the street to my house.
Everybody got busy tidying up and collecting the birth supplies, and around 9 p.m. I got in touch with my midwife. She suggested a warm bath, some yogurt and tea, and to see if the contractions remained steady throughout. They did, and when her backup midwife called to check in at 9:30 I was just getting out of the tub. I told her again, through contractions, what was going on. At this point they were strong, but I could only talk through the beginning and end of them, and I had to focus my breathing and lean over during the most intense part. She told me it sounded promising, that she was going to get some rest, and for me to try and rest as well but to call as soon as things got more intense.
I joined everyone in the living room and we made sure we had all we needed. My sister and brother in law stopped by with a surprise load of groceries to make sure we had enough food, my parents helped tidy up and my younger sister was playing with the kids. Everyone was so amazing, and I could really feel the love and support.
My mom and sisters began to help me through the contractions. We called my doula and she came right away. My brother in law and dad left, so it was just us girls: myself, my two sisters, and my mom, with my doula on the way. My ex had arrived from work with my sister (they work together and car pool) and he helped get things ready and played with DS a bit. Someone had brought some DVD’s, too, so we all kind of settled in for the long haul, since DS’s birth had followed a full 12 hours of labour.
I was still kind of in denial that this was the real thing, but I began to have to vocalize through contractions. Although my midwife had told me to rest, my body wanted to move. I continued to keep busy tending to DS, making tea (lots of RRL and honey, Mmmmm!) and gathering linens and things we might need. I spiraled my hips during contractions, because the birth ball just felt wrong. I remember at one point telling my sister that at the peak of contractions, I could feel the baby’s head bashing and twisting very low. There was lots of head movement, for sure, but I could still feel the contractions in my back so I assumed she was still posterior.
Around this point my doula arrived. She helped me vocalize through contractions. I made low moaning sounds, almost like an “Ommmm…” chant, and said “ooooooooopen” in low tones too. This really seemed to help me visualize my body opening up and letting the baby out. At the end of the contractions I’d breathe through the feeling. This was rejuvenating to me, to take deep cleansing breaths. Then my doula said that as she drove to my house, she had been sending vibes to the baby to turn into the right position. The timeline had coordinated with when I told my sister I could feel the baby twisting her head. It was really cool!
DS began to worry about me, so we had a bit of a cuddle and XH took him for a walk to get him to sleep. Shortly afterwards, he called to let me know he was at his mom’s house because it was quite cold out, so he was going to try to put DS to sleep there where it was a bit quieter, but to call when things really picked up and he’d come back. He never made it in time for the birth, though.
I guess at some point someone realized that the contractions were more frequent and more intense. This was around 12 a.m. I believe. I called my midwife back, but couldn’t talk to her on the phone myself so I had to hand it off to my mom. She and her partner decided to head out our way to check my progress. I still thought I was at *maybe* 3-5 cm dilation, but my mom was worrying because the midwife had told her that if my water broke we were to call 911. I guess that should have been a clue
My mom, doula and sisters began to put the liner in the birth pool and fill it up. I helped between contractions, but they were quite close now, maybe 2 minutes apart and over a minute long. At this point I was still smiling and feeling great in between the contractions, I was so excited to be in labour!
The first midwife arrived at 12:40 a.m. They brought in all their supplies, and at 12:50 they checked the baby’s heart rate, which was fine. They then did my first (and only) vaginal exam of the pregnancy, and I was at 7-8 cm’s and very stretchy. Wahooo! I had to jump off the bed right away though, because the contractions were too intense to sit or lie anywhere.
I went back to the spot where I’d been leaning on the wall, rocking my hips during contractions, and during the next one my water broke with a little trickle. This was great news to me, since they’d had to break my water with DS when labour stalled.
I took off the cotton dress I’d been wearing and put on my favorite Bob Marley t-shirt. I wanted to be comfy!
At 1:00 a.m. I got in the pool. This was INTENSE! The water felt nice though, and I rocked on my knees during contractions.
At 1:10 I had a bloody show. I had a contraction and felt something kind of pop inside of me. I said out loud, “I think the head is coming!” I was on my knees, leaning over the side of the pool.
At 1:22, my body was pushing by itself during the contractions. My midwife confirmed the baby’s head was *right there* and that it was okay to push, but my body was doing it anyway so I just let it happen. The contractions were intense, especially combined with feeling there was a head in my birth canal
but between them I was smiling to myself because I was so excited!
At 1:26, her head was appearing, and I was ready to be done! I gave a few big pushes with the next couple of contractions.
At 1:31 A.M. Rowan was born! It took me a moment to turn around and negotiate the cord and such, and the midwives handed her to me. Bliss!
Her name has a lot of spiritual meaning to me, but there’s kind of a funny story to how she officially got it. Apparently amidst the confusion and excitement, my dad got the impression we had named her even though I wasn’t sure yet. (In hindsight, “Rowan Elizabeth” kept running through my head as we got to know each other, so I think it’s kind of what she wanted to be named). Anyway, he went on Facebook at 3 a.m. and made the announcement about his brand new granddaughter named Rowan. He came by the next morning and let us know he’d already told everyone about her
It was a funny mistake but I think it was just one more sign that she was meant to be our little Rowan.
Oliver is adjusting very well so far, he likes to help take care of “Baby Row-row”
Breastfeeding is going well, she’s a hungry girl so I hope my milk comes in soon. I forgot how hard nursing is, but I love it!
So that's the story
Good luck and congrats, mamas! You are all birthing goddesses, remember that!
