My little guy actually turned 1 today so I am reliving his birth. I thought I share it here as an example of overcoming a bad first birth and a hospital birth experience that was positive.
Theodore Edwin’s (Teddy) birth story
I was getting anxious in the days prior to Teddy’s birth about something happening or how my birth would go. I was really worried about going into labor on the weekend when my doctor wasn’t on call. I thought with my luck I get the OB from Delia’s birth. On Monday October 6th at 39 weeks 4 days I made an appointment with a chiropractor to help him get into an optimal position for birth. Later that day I noticed I was having some contractions that made my belly hard. They weren’t really too painful or happening where I could time them. I was wondering if it meant that I was dilating a little so I thought I ask at my OB appointment the next day for him to check me which he hadn't done at all yet. I know the baby was still pretty high so I was worried I was not really thinned out like I was with Delia.
I continued the sporadic contractions and around 7:30 I put Delia to bed by rocking her in the rocking chair. She was a little restless so it took about an hour to get her to bed. I felt Teddy moving like he usually does when I put Delia to bed and noticed a few contractions. When I got back I was reading on the computer. We were having an early snow storm and the first accumulation of the year. The contractions were starting to become more regular and I noticed they were coming about 9 minutes apart. I was wondering how I would go to my appointment tomorrow with all the contractions. I was peeing a lot between contractions and noticing lots of pressure while sitting on the toilet. My husband came to bed early and I thought I would go to bed early too so I could rest just in case this was the real thing.
I rested between contractions in bed but they were getting a little painful so I couldn’t sleep. I started timing them and they seem to be coming 6 minutes apart or so. I wasn’t really timing how long they were but they didn’t seem too long. I was doing well since I had a nice break in between. After 10 pm they started getting more painful and were about 5 minutes apart. They kept this pattern up and it was getting hard to lay in bed during them. I had a granola bar and some water since I didn't feel sick and was a little hungry. Mike stirred awake so I told him I was having contractions and that I was thinking of calling the doula because it seemed like I may be in labor.
A little after 11 I called the doula and told her tonight may be the night and to get ready just in case. The contractions were getting painful and still coming around 5 or 6 minutes apart and lasting about a minute. I told Mike to go to bed. I tried to lie in bed but it was getting hard to do so during contractions and I kept getting up to pee and to belly dance during contractions. I imagined my cervix opening and swayed my hips with contractions. I noticed some bloody show during one of my pee trips and soon started to feel a lot of pressure during contractions. I tried to lay down one more time but I had one or two contractions in bed and it was too hard to stay in bed. Mike woke up and was reading the computer.
I timed my contractions and they were coming around 5 minutes apart and some 4 minutes. They were getting more painful. Around 2 am I was starting to think about going to the hospital so I called the doula again. I told her contractions were about 5 minutes apart and I was thinking of leaving soon but wasn’t sure if I should leave or not. She asked if I could talk through contractions and I said no. I had two contractions on the phone with her and she was like your contractions are coming much closer to 5 minutes. I said I will start to get ready and probably leave soon. I got some last minute things done like writing down some phone numbers and wrote a note to my mom telling her we left. I made sure I had my birth plan. Mike started timing a few contractions. They were coming every 3 minutes now and lasting a minute and were getting very hard to cope with. I told him I wanted to go and he asked if I was sure and he said it looked like the baby was still high up. He went to walk the dog and I called the on call. My Ob called me back and I told him the contractions were coming 3 minutes apart and he said to come in right now the roads are really bad. He actually just arrived at the hospital himself. I called the doula and told her we were on the way. The hospital is really close to the house. I had two really bad contractions on the way and was screaming through them and bracing myself against the seat. We got there and met the doula in the hall at around 4:15 and we headed over to the maternity unit. I had a contraction or two and told her I was worried that he didn’t drop enough. She said he was much lower than at our last meeting.
We got to the triage and they checked my cervix. I was 8 centimeters and he was a +1 station. I said I had to use the bathroom after the check and the nurse got all worried and scared and asked if I had to poop. She said don’t push if you feel the urge. You are really stretchy and I could have stretched you the rest of the way. We got to the labor and delivery and I had some intense contractions really close together. I was in a lot of pain so the doula and Mike talked me through them and rubbed my back and told me I was doing great and that the contractions were doing exactly what they were supposed to do and it wasn’t much longer.
They hooked me up to the monitors and were about to put an IV in when I stopped them. I told them they could put a heplock in but no IV. The doula gave them my birth plan. I actually was thinking of telling them to forget the heplock but they got it in fast the first time. The doula asked if I wanted to get up and walk around and if they had a birth ball. I sat on the birth ball for a bit. The nurse said she wouldn’t check again unless I felt like pushing. I wasn’t feeling like pushing but I was feeling a ton of pressure and the contractions were really starting to get to me. I was yelling when they started and Mike and the doula were helping me through them telling me to slow my breathing. I was waiting for the break between contractions to signal pushing contractions were coming and transition was over but it wasn’t coming. I said I felt pressure so they felt again and I was at 9 cm. She said it was ok to push if I felt like it since I was really stretchy. My OB came and checked and I had a contraction just as he started. He said to push and that he would move the cervix out of the way. He did that and said he was going to break my water so it won’t explode on him as he was coming out.
I still didn't feel like pushing after he did that but I gave a half hearted push or two. The OB said he is getting really close and asked I feel relief with pushing. Everyone said he said he was right there. I felt burning and lots of pain and screamed really loud I can’t do this. It felt overwhelming and so painful and I pushed two hours with Delia so I was pretty scared. The OB said he be out any minute he was right there. I finally felt the need to push and knew exactly how my body just did it and out he came at 5:36. He arrived after being at the hospital just 1.5 hours. The OB put him right to my belly. He was still wet and slimy. He didn't really cry he just kind of relaxed on my shoulder. I couldn’t believe that there he was and how tiny he was. I though he must be much smaller than my daughter was and how he looked so different from her. I was in awe.
The placenta came out soon after and my OB checked to see if I tore and needed stitches. He said he didn’t need to do any stitches and that I didn't tear. I peeked under the towel and saw he was still a boy. I started nursing soon after and he actually latched on and was feeding which was amazing to me since it took Delia a few days to latch. I was amazed at how different he looked than my daughter and at his hair. It was much lighter and blonder than I pictured it being and he had less than Delia had. The nurses let me finish nursing and so I got to spend about 50 minutes with him before they weighed him and put him on the warmer. He weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces and was 20 inches long. They said his head was pretty big. His apgar scores were both 9.
I was able to move around well right afterwards and we left that afternoon. The pediatrician dismissed him less than an hour after he was born and commented that it was his birthday too. He continued to nurse well and often which was so much different than my first experience. A lactation consultant I knew from a group I attended with Delia came and checked his latch and said it was perfect. I had breakfast shortly after he was born and my mom brought Delia to see him and she bonded right away. She cried when my husband went with him to do the hearing test because they took the baby away.
I wasn’t feeling confident from the way my first birth went and I got it back with Teddy’s birth. I am not afraid any more. Even with it being in a hospital I couldn't ask for a better experience. I did most of the laboring by myself at home but the doula and OB where there at the end when I needed someone. I was grateful for him moving my cervix out of the way at the end so he could finally be born.
Theodore Edwin’s (Teddy) birth story
I was getting anxious in the days prior to Teddy’s birth about something happening or how my birth would go. I was really worried about going into labor on the weekend when my doctor wasn’t on call. I thought with my luck I get the OB from Delia’s birth. On Monday October 6th at 39 weeks 4 days I made an appointment with a chiropractor to help him get into an optimal position for birth. Later that day I noticed I was having some contractions that made my belly hard. They weren’t really too painful or happening where I could time them. I was wondering if it meant that I was dilating a little so I thought I ask at my OB appointment the next day for him to check me which he hadn't done at all yet. I know the baby was still pretty high so I was worried I was not really thinned out like I was with Delia.
I continued the sporadic contractions and around 7:30 I put Delia to bed by rocking her in the rocking chair. She was a little restless so it took about an hour to get her to bed. I felt Teddy moving like he usually does when I put Delia to bed and noticed a few contractions. When I got back I was reading on the computer. We were having an early snow storm and the first accumulation of the year. The contractions were starting to become more regular and I noticed they were coming about 9 minutes apart. I was wondering how I would go to my appointment tomorrow with all the contractions. I was peeing a lot between contractions and noticing lots of pressure while sitting on the toilet. My husband came to bed early and I thought I would go to bed early too so I could rest just in case this was the real thing.
I rested between contractions in bed but they were getting a little painful so I couldn’t sleep. I started timing them and they seem to be coming 6 minutes apart or so. I wasn’t really timing how long they were but they didn’t seem too long. I was doing well since I had a nice break in between. After 10 pm they started getting more painful and were about 5 minutes apart. They kept this pattern up and it was getting hard to lay in bed during them. I had a granola bar and some water since I didn't feel sick and was a little hungry. Mike stirred awake so I told him I was having contractions and that I was thinking of calling the doula because it seemed like I may be in labor.
A little after 11 I called the doula and told her tonight may be the night and to get ready just in case. The contractions were getting painful and still coming around 5 or 6 minutes apart and lasting about a minute. I told Mike to go to bed. I tried to lie in bed but it was getting hard to do so during contractions and I kept getting up to pee and to belly dance during contractions. I imagined my cervix opening and swayed my hips with contractions. I noticed some bloody show during one of my pee trips and soon started to feel a lot of pressure during contractions. I tried to lay down one more time but I had one or two contractions in bed and it was too hard to stay in bed. Mike woke up and was reading the computer.
I timed my contractions and they were coming around 5 minutes apart and some 4 minutes. They were getting more painful. Around 2 am I was starting to think about going to the hospital so I called the doula again. I told her contractions were about 5 minutes apart and I was thinking of leaving soon but wasn’t sure if I should leave or not. She asked if I could talk through contractions and I said no. I had two contractions on the phone with her and she was like your contractions are coming much closer to 5 minutes. I said I will start to get ready and probably leave soon. I got some last minute things done like writing down some phone numbers and wrote a note to my mom telling her we left. I made sure I had my birth plan. Mike started timing a few contractions. They were coming every 3 minutes now and lasting a minute and were getting very hard to cope with. I told him I wanted to go and he asked if I was sure and he said it looked like the baby was still high up. He went to walk the dog and I called the on call. My Ob called me back and I told him the contractions were coming 3 minutes apart and he said to come in right now the roads are really bad. He actually just arrived at the hospital himself. I called the doula and told her we were on the way. The hospital is really close to the house. I had two really bad contractions on the way and was screaming through them and bracing myself against the seat. We got there and met the doula in the hall at around 4:15 and we headed over to the maternity unit. I had a contraction or two and told her I was worried that he didn’t drop enough. She said he was much lower than at our last meeting.
We got to the triage and they checked my cervix. I was 8 centimeters and he was a +1 station. I said I had to use the bathroom after the check and the nurse got all worried and scared and asked if I had to poop. She said don’t push if you feel the urge. You are really stretchy and I could have stretched you the rest of the way. We got to the labor and delivery and I had some intense contractions really close together. I was in a lot of pain so the doula and Mike talked me through them and rubbed my back and told me I was doing great and that the contractions were doing exactly what they were supposed to do and it wasn’t much longer.
They hooked me up to the monitors and were about to put an IV in when I stopped them. I told them they could put a heplock in but no IV. The doula gave them my birth plan. I actually was thinking of telling them to forget the heplock but they got it in fast the first time. The doula asked if I wanted to get up and walk around and if they had a birth ball. I sat on the birth ball for a bit. The nurse said she wouldn’t check again unless I felt like pushing. I wasn’t feeling like pushing but I was feeling a ton of pressure and the contractions were really starting to get to me. I was yelling when they started and Mike and the doula were helping me through them telling me to slow my breathing. I was waiting for the break between contractions to signal pushing contractions were coming and transition was over but it wasn’t coming. I said I felt pressure so they felt again and I was at 9 cm. She said it was ok to push if I felt like it since I was really stretchy. My OB came and checked and I had a contraction just as he started. He said to push and that he would move the cervix out of the way. He did that and said he was going to break my water so it won’t explode on him as he was coming out.
I still didn't feel like pushing after he did that but I gave a half hearted push or two. The OB said he is getting really close and asked I feel relief with pushing. Everyone said he said he was right there. I felt burning and lots of pain and screamed really loud I can’t do this. It felt overwhelming and so painful and I pushed two hours with Delia so I was pretty scared. The OB said he be out any minute he was right there. I finally felt the need to push and knew exactly how my body just did it and out he came at 5:36. He arrived after being at the hospital just 1.5 hours. The OB put him right to my belly. He was still wet and slimy. He didn't really cry he just kind of relaxed on my shoulder. I couldn’t believe that there he was and how tiny he was. I though he must be much smaller than my daughter was and how he looked so different from her. I was in awe.
The placenta came out soon after and my OB checked to see if I tore and needed stitches. He said he didn’t need to do any stitches and that I didn't tear. I peeked under the towel and saw he was still a boy. I started nursing soon after and he actually latched on and was feeding which was amazing to me since it took Delia a few days to latch. I was amazed at how different he looked than my daughter and at his hair. It was much lighter and blonder than I pictured it being and he had less than Delia had. The nurses let me finish nursing and so I got to spend about 50 minutes with him before they weighed him and put him on the warmer. He weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces and was 20 inches long. They said his head was pretty big. His apgar scores were both 9.
I was able to move around well right afterwards and we left that afternoon. The pediatrician dismissed him less than an hour after he was born and commented that it was his birthday too. He continued to nurse well and often which was so much different than my first experience. A lactation consultant I knew from a group I attended with Delia came and checked his latch and said it was perfect. I had breakfast shortly after he was born and my mom brought Delia to see him and she bonded right away. She cried when my husband went with him to do the hearing test because they took the baby away.
I wasn’t feeling confident from the way my first birth went and I got it back with Teddy’s birth. I am not afraid any more. Even with it being in a hospital I couldn't ask for a better experience. I did most of the laboring by myself at home but the doula and OB where there at the end when I needed someone. I was grateful for him moving my cervix out of the way at the end so he could finally be born.
