Previous birth stories « Back to Group Discussions

[CookAMH]

I don't know about you, but I love reading birth stories when I'm pregnant. If you want, post yours from a previous birth for us to read while we await our new babies!

Here's my VBAC story with my second child: http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1307192/my-vbac-at-home

[haurelia]

I love birth stories too!

Here's mine from my son, in January 2009.  It's a long post! 

I worked four hours on the 21st, til 11 am.  When my charge nurse asked me if I wanted to go home early because we had an empty unit, I jumped at the chance.  I was on 8 hour shifts at that point, and was almost 37 weeks, but I felt really tired--I chalked it up to having worked out the day before, and cleaned my house in preparation for a home visit from one of our midwives that evening.  Folks at work were joking with me that I was looking ready, but I was dead certain that I'd be that first time mom who went to 42+ weeks.    

So, I took a long nap when I got home.  Paul got home from work, and we just hung out for an hour or so, talking about our weekend plans (which included getting the rest of our birth supplies, doing some cooking to feed the freezer for postpartum meals, and making a belly cast).  

Amanda, our midwife, and Amy, her apprentice came to our place at about 7pm.  It was Paul's first time meeting Amanda (we had two midwives in our practice, and Paul hadn't been able to make it to any of the visits with Amanda, just the other midwife) and neither of us had met Amy before (our regular apprentice was out of town).  They looked around and got familiarized with the layout and where we were stashing our birth kit and supplies, and we talked about the setup of the pool and what kind of hose to pick up to fill it for the labor and birth.  Amanda and Amy did the normal prenatal visit assessments, and we were just chatting on the couch, wrapping up and deciding when to meet the next week.  I felt a big gurgle in my belly and sudden wetness in my pants.  My heart started racing and I announced that I thought my water had broken.  Amanda and Amy looked at me like, "Ha ha! Very funny joke, birthworker." And Paul just looked at me like I was nuts.  I stood up and it flooded down my legs, making things very obvious.   Whoooo!  We were so not ready for this to be happening!  

I went upstairs, Amanda got her doppler and checked heart tones, felt my belly and did some Leopold's (to determine a size estimate and the baby's position).  All was well, and we talked about what to do from then on.  My grand plan, especially since I wasn't contracting at that point, was to eat dinner, drink a beer as a sleep aid (of course, Hopslam is a tasty way to ingest the sleep-inducing power of hops) and go to sleep.  We called our doula, Kate, to let her know what had happened, and put her "on call" in case things happened in the night or the next day where we might want her to come check in.  I was firmly convinced that I'd at least have the night to snooze before things got started.   Amanda planned to come back early in the morning, to check on us, and bring over the supplies we needed for the tub along with some bath herbs for the postpartum period.  She told me to call for any reason, but to try my very best to go to bed and sleep.   As I was seeing her and Amy out the front door, I had my first crampy contraction.  It was around 8pm. 

Pizza arrived, but I couldn't eat much, and I wasn't really able to focus on getting that beer down...things were feeling more intense and required concentration to deal with.  Paul was bustling about the house, taking out garbage, drying a load of laundry, inflating the pool and rearranging the living room.  At 10, I really let myself start thinking I was actually in labor, but the nurse part of my brain wouldn't let me believe that it was "real" or "active." I kept telling myself to suck it up, and quit taking it so seriously, because, like a typical first timer, I'd have a long labor to deal with. Paul's dad came to pick up the dog, as we'd previously planned.  During all this activity, I was just pacing, stomping, kneeling, squatting showering and dancing around trying to figure out how to get comfortable.  Amanda was called somewhere in there, and we made a plan together for us to call Kate, who lived nearby and ask her to come over to help decide when Amanda should come back (Amanda lived almost an hour away).   I couldn't talk to Amanda, except between contractions.  Paul did the talking to Kate.  

Kate arrived at 11 pm, talked to Paul for a sec and came to me.  At that point, I was on hands and knees in the bathroom, working hard but doing really well.  If you know me at all, you know I over-think everything, and over-analyze my thoughts and feelings to the n-th degree...I went over all the reasons why I shouldn't call Amanda back, namely because I couldn't possibly be in active labor yet since I was only a few hours into contracting.  Kate shrugged and just said "call her, she can always go home if things are early, or sleep in your guest room. Plus then you'll have the stuff to fill the pool if you want water (which I really did)"  I think she could read me pretty well, and knew the right thing to say.  Paul called Amanda to come back over.  

Kate suggested that I make a change, and shooed me to the living room to be in the (empty) pool for a

while, because it had a padded bottom and padded tall sides to lean on.  She also helped Paul to do some hands-on help for me, which was really lovely.  So, off I trundled to the pool and had a few contractions in there...and then, all of a sudden, I felt super scared for like, 3 minutes--and I said as much to Kate and Paul.  Kate talked me through a few contractions, and then I felt like pushing. Wha? This clearly was crazy (in my mind) because, of course, I couldn't have been more than like, 4 centimeters dilated.  I mean, seriously? I am having my first baby here people! Pushing after four hours of labor is just not how it usually goes.  So, I spent a little time thinking about that, and a little time worrying about if Amanda didn't get there in time (I knew Kate could catch my baby, and our other midwife just lived a mile away if needed, even though she was off call).  But mostly, I just pushed if the urge was too strong to breathe/moan/growl/howl/hoot through.  Paul called Amanda (who was en route) to let her know what was happening. 

Amanda and Amy zoomed in around midnight, and checked the heart tones and began setting things up rapidly.  They sent me to the bathroom with Kate and Paul while they started filling the pool (after asking me if that still seemed good to me; um, YES!).   I pushed on the toilet for a while, which worked quite well.  Amanda encouraged me to check myself and I felt my baby's head like, rightthere.  Okay...so I wasn't 4 centimeters after all.  Why I didn't think to check myself before is beyond me...all I can say is that I was in laborland.  

The pool had about 6 inches of blessedly warm water in it, and I lumbered down there to sit in it while it finished filling.  Oh! Blessed pool!  That felt so good, I can't even describe it with words.  As the water rose, I continued to push and push and push and push.  My worries about having the baby before my midwife arrived were needless; I pushed for a little more than 2 hours.  I got pretty tired toward the end, and kept wanting to just get a snorkel and sink down under that warm, lovely water for a nap.   Everyone was really loving and supportive, and gave me what I needed emotionally to keep going.  I complained a lot about pushing, and then apologized for complaining.  Paul was up by my shoulder where I could meet his eyes, and Kate was up behind my head helping me out when I needed some talking to.  Amanda was at my side, and Amy was keeping notes and getting things here and there.  The cats were sitting on the steps with big eyes, very curious about what was happening.  Everything was fine with the heart tones, and I was moving the baby down.  I do admit, though, that I really didn't like pushing.  At all. It wasn't that I felt weak or too tired, but that it just felt...yucky and uncomfortable.  So I definitely can reflect and say that I didn't give pushing my all.  I could have been done much sooner, I think, had I really given everything to pushing instead of complaining about it. 

Paul started talking about how he wanted some coffee, and he and Kate were whispering about that, and it made me sort of wake up a little and just finish pushing the baby out.  As he began to emerge, I really could understand that "ring of fire" feeling that people talk about.  Okay, finally, we're almost done with this pushing stuff, I thought.  I felt the baby's shoulders rotate within my pelvis, and SPLOOSH! Out came the rest of the baby, and Amanda passed him onto my belly at 2:14am.  I held that slippery little dark-haired being and looked into those wise, wide-open newborn eyes for a few seconds that will always be eternal for me. Ecstasy! 

Paul pronounced our baby a boy, and we took him in...curly black hair, long slender fingers, round belly, long legs and a squooshed-up nose.  Our Henry, so perfect.  He never gave loud cries or screams, but got really pink and just looked around and was breathing clear and quiet.  I kept him low on my body, as his cord was rather short, and kept him warm in the water and covered with a blanket.  We spent some time in the pool, but then got out for a while to get the placenta, which took a while.  I got cleaned up and got into bed.  I ate a banana and drank some tea while Amanda and Amy did Henry's weight and full assessment.  They snuggled him in with me and Paul got into bed with us both.  The ladies cleaned everything up, and threw in a load of laundry.  We talked about what to watch for, and when to call.  They'd come back to check on us after lunch. Everyone was gone and everything put back to normal by 5:30am.    We went to sleep, sort of.  It was hard to sleep when there was lots of staring to be done in order to properly appreciate and admire this new person in our lives!    While I never expected such a short labor, I loved being pregnant and giving birth.  I'm really excited to do it again.  :)

[dakipode]

Thanks for sharing ladies! I really enjoy reading these stories because none of my friends have ever shared such intimate details about the birthing process with me. Everyone just says: we had a baby! This makes me feel a little more prepared and it's enlightening to read about different experiences.

[beep]

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1176465/beautiful-joyful-hospital-birth-induction-epidural-high-risk-mama

[splath]

http://plathsadventures.com/adelaide-janes-birth-story/

[splath]

My first http://plathsadventures.com/eleanore-raes-birth-story/
Edited by splath - 1/28/13 at 5:00pm

[CookAMH]

haurelia, I really enjoyed your story.  We sound a lot alike...analyzing everything! I did that too and thankfully my DH stepped in to call the midwife or she wouldn't have made it.

[haurelia]

Thank you Alicia! :) 

Thank goodness for partners who know when to override our over-analyzing! 

[mamaw/two]

Here's mine from my fifth baby:) http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1320724/fourth-of-july-hypnobabies-birth-of-gabriel-henry

[swissmiss2584]

Amelia’s Birth Story


Due date July 23, 3008
Birthday July 27, 2008 3:40am

For at least two weeks before Amelia’s birth I experienced lots of pressure and strong Braxton hicks. The pressure would get so strong while walking that I felt like my water would break while walking through Bed Bath and Beyond. I had false labor twice and the last time it lasted most of the night. At one of my last prenatal checks I had not dilated or effaced any and I was still firm. At my last prenatal check which was the Tuesday before I gave birth I had only softened a little. Needless to say I was discouraged. The baby had been head down and engaged in my pelvis before 36 weeks and with all of the pressure I was sure something had changed. My Midwife told me not to worry and that she was sure something would happen that weekend. So I walked, bounced on my birth ball, did squats, drank gallons of Raspberry leaf tea and took my birth herbs.
On Saturday, July 26th we went to a flower nursery to get some plants for our 4-plex. I was on my feet most of the day walking and squatting while planting bushes. I felt lots of braxton hicks and pressure throughout the day but paid no attention since it had become the norm for me and was not painful, just annoying. I was able to take a 2 hour nap after the yard work and felt rested.
Around 11:30pm (after dtd) I started to feel some strong contractions. Since I had already taken a shower I didn’t feel like taking a bath to see if the contractions would stop so I just laid down and relaxed while counting the contractions. After breathing through about 7 or 8 contractions I felt and heard a “pop, pop”. I thought what was that? Then I decided to go to the bathroom and saw pink bloody show. At that point I knew that there was no waiting around to see if the contractions would go away. I was in labor. I called for Joaquin to come to the bathroom so I could get him to call our Midwife. She asked him some questions for me to answer and then wanted to speak to me. While I was talking to her the pressure was getting stronger and heavier. I was still sitting on the toilet so she told me to go lie down on my left side and count the contractions. She said that when they get to be one minute long and 5 minutes apart to call her back. Joaquin woke my mom and dad while I went to lie down. Joaquin counted my contractions on a contraction counter that he downloaded on his computer. From the beginning of counting my contractions they were 2 minutes long and 3-5 minutes apart. Joaquin called her right away. She was on her way from Santa Cruz about 25 mins away. At that point Joaquin prayed over me and the baby. Her apprentice arrived first since she lived close by and asked me a few questions while we waited for my Midwife. The apprentice was surprised by my descriptions. I hummed and swayed back and forth which seemed to help the pressure. I felt my contractions in my pubic bone with lots of annoying pressure. . I started to think, “I don’t think I can do it if I have 6 more hours of this”. Little did I know that I was transitioning. I threw up my dinner during a big contraction. I skipped early labor and when straight to the end! My midwife finally got to our house and started setting up for the birth. I told her I felt lots of pressure. She said she didn’t want to check me just yet because my water had broken and she didn’t want to introduce germs if we have a few more hours of labor left. I went to the bathroom to sit on the toilet because the pressure made me feel like I had to have a bowel movement. I couldn’t go so I just sat there which was very uncomfortable during contractions and my midwife came in the bathroom and asked how I was. I told her I felt like pushing. She said, “Well maybe I should go ahead and check you”. I laid down on the bed and she checked me. I was 6 cm already! She said, “This isn’t normal for a first baby. I think I will get to go to church in the morning”. She put a few pillows between my legs while I laid on my left side to keep pressure off of the baby so she could come down easy. Within minutes of her checking me I felt a tremendous urge to push. My uterus was making me push down. It was so strong. I felt like it took over my body and was making me do crunches. My midwife told me to breathe through it which seemed difficult. She had Joaquin squeeze my hand which helped. She checked me again at that point and said, “I see lots of black hair!” What tha? Amelia was crowning already!! 1:30am I started pushing. Once I started to push, all discomfort went away. I could feel the urge to push but it wasn’t painful. The only discomfort I felt was of my midwife doing perineal stretching and massaging. I was pushing so hard that I would lose my breath and get so tired. I was fed dextrose tablets (sugar) to give me energy. My midwife said, “You have plenty of room in your pelvis you just have to push down towards your rectum because she is hitting your pubic bone.” I had my mom on one side and Joaquin on the other helping me hold my legs up. After 2 hours of hard pushing and my mom and midwife praying out loud, Amelia was born. I didn’t even feel the “ring of fire” you hear about. No tearing praise the Lord although my midwife said after the fact that she was about to give me an episiotomy right when Amelia’s head started coming out. She never performs them unless she thinks it is necessary. I’m glad her head came out when it did! Amelia was born at 3:40am weighing 8lbs and measuring 19in long.
It was amazing despite the hard work. My midwife said she was glad that I had an easy labor because it was a hard birth. She said a lot of women who have 10-20 hour labors have a hard time with 30 minutes of pushing. I asked her if my next baby would be this hard and she said, “oh no, it will be much easier.” Thank God. I’m believing in that. Even though it didn’t feel like 2 hours of pushing, I don’t want that again.
My first thought when I saw Amelia was, “look at that hair!” The heartburn and acid reflux wasn’t in vain. She was laid on my chest screaming and crying. She wanted to make sure we knew she was there. She looked just like her 36 week ultrasound pictures. The side of her face that was hitting my pubic bone was a little bruised and swollen. While Amelia was being weighed and measured, I was being cleaned up. Joaquin was given a lesson on how to swaddle a baby and then he wiped down her hair. Since I couldn’t urinate on my own due to swelling for obvious reasons my midwife used a catheter on me. Joaquin made me a yummy sandwich, which tasted so good. Around 6:00am Joaquin and I with our new baby girl were tucked into our freshly made bed. My midwife helped Amelia latch on. She was such a good nurser from the beginning. My midwife slept on the sofa for a few hours before heading home to get ready for church. I was already awake when she came to check on me before leaving. I think I was living on adrenaline most of that day. My mom and dad made me pancakes and brought them to me in bed. Soreness set in fast. I felt like I was hit by a truck. My arms were sore and I felt like I had no ab muscles. Who said birthing babies wasn’t hard? I loved my experience even though I felt like I wasn’t prepared at all. I was prepared for a 6+ hour labor and the gradually increasing contractions but I was not prepared for a 2 hour, wham, bam thank you ma’am kind of labor but I am thankful for it. I'm praying for another quick, easy and safe home birth with this baby too.

[100%mom]

Swissmiss I hope for you your 2nd is easier. My first was 3.5 hours and second 4.5 hours and actually harder.

I loved reading everyone's birth stories. I'll see if I can find mine.

[LivingSky]

Here is the birth story for my first:

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1326662/the-perfect-birth-of-kayden