I had my first dd at 36 weeks, so once I got beyond 37 with this pregnancy I started to feel a little antsy, even though I knew it was much better for the baby to stay in until he/she was ready to come out. I was peeing about every 15 minutes for weeks, my pelvis ached, I was nauseous again, and my appetite was pretty low, all signs that labor could be imminent, or possibly still weeks away. I hadn't been to the midwife for 2 weeks, as they had to cancel my 38 week appointment and couldn't come in the following day.
On Monday the 13th, I remember having a lot of energy in the morning. I think I felt the first contraction around 2pm while I was nursing dd to sleep, but I often had contrax while nursing, so I wasn't sure, although this was more uncomfortable than usual. I got a little excited when I had another one about 10-15 minutes later, and then a few more that were definitely pretty uncomfortable. I told dh that something might be happening, and decided to time contractions for awhile. He started cleaning the house, just in case. Contractions were now 5-8 minutes apart, and I decided this was definitely "it." I called one of our mw's and gave her the heads up, and she told me to call back when cxns were consistently 3 minutes apart. We called my mom, who lives about 1.5 hrs away, to come help with our older two. I stayed busy helping dh clean, squatting for contractions, which were getting closer together and more painful than just uncomfortable. A good friend happened to call, and I told her I was in labor and we talked for awhile, with me pausing to breath through contractions.
DH inflated the pool--we had an electric pump this time, which was great. The kids were getting hungry by then--it was after 5, and dd, 19 months, really wanted to get in the pool, throw shoes in the water, etc. My mom arrived around 6, and took Leela and Shankar (our older ones) out to get them something to eat. She was present for our other two births but knew that because dd is so young she might not be for this one, and she was fine with that.
One of our midwives arrived about 10 minutes later. She checked me, and I was thrilled to be 7 cm already! I promptly jumped in the warm water, and the relief was instant and remarkable. I had a waterbirth with Leela, but this time the pain relief was much more apparent--I'd say it cut the pain by more than half. Meanwhile, we lit a bunch of tealight candles, turned out most of the lights, and put on some soft music. Our other mw arrived, and they set up their supplies on the kitchen table. DH put on his swim trunks and got in the pool with me.
For the next hour or so until dd was born, dh and I enjoyed a "date in the hotub," as he put it. Our midwives, Paula and Tracy, sat nearby on the couch and occaisionally checked heartones, and we chatted about birth and other things. I just felt so much peace and relaxation between contractions, and even during contractions. At my other births I'd made lots of noise, which is wonderful too, but this time the warm water helped so much that I didn't feel the need to groan or shout through contractions. I was able to consciosly relax my mind and body. I felt high, calm, blissed out. We were listening to music by Peter Makena, who's songs use a lot of lines from the poetry of Rumi, and it was just so perfect to labor to.
At some point I started to feel a little pushy, and also started to burp up a storm, a happy sign that the baby was moving lower. Our mw's did't check my dilation again, trusting me to trust my body and know what to do and when. I tried a feel small pushes, and my water broke. Then I stared to really push. I reached in and felt the baby's head--it was very close. She crowned in a few more pushes, and then I pushed the rest of her body out. We lifted her out of the water and got our first sight of our new daughter. She didn't cry at all, just looked at us with her bright eyes. She was covered in lots of vernix. We waited about a half a minute before looking and seeing we had another girl. She was so alert and calm. She fell asleep for a minute or so, then woke up and latched on. Tracy helped dh cut the cord once it stopped pulsing, and I pushed out the placenta and then we all got out of the water and spent about 30-45 minutes just nursing and hanging out together while Paula filled out paperwork.
Bhavani remained calm through her newborn exam while sucking on dh's finger. She weighed 6 lbs. even, 19 inches, our heaviest baby so far!
We called our parents to tell them the news, and called my mom to have her pick up a pizza and bring Leela and Shankar home to meet their new sister. Our midwives cleaned up and left a few minutes later.
We couldn't have hoped for a more peaceful, sweet, sacred beginning for our last baby. Bhavani continues to be a peaceful little being, and we can't imagine our family with out her. It feels like we're all "here" now. After Leela's birth, I knew immediately that I wanted another baby, even though we had thought we'd stop at two, but this time I felt and continue to feel complete and ready to be finished with pregnancy and birth and just enjoy our beautiful children.
Her name: Her name is Sanskrit. "Bhavani" means "pure existance," also, "goddess of the living world" "Dharma" means "righteous action"
On Monday the 13th, I remember having a lot of energy in the morning. I think I felt the first contraction around 2pm while I was nursing dd to sleep, but I often had contrax while nursing, so I wasn't sure, although this was more uncomfortable than usual. I got a little excited when I had another one about 10-15 minutes later, and then a few more that were definitely pretty uncomfortable. I told dh that something might be happening, and decided to time contractions for awhile. He started cleaning the house, just in case. Contractions were now 5-8 minutes apart, and I decided this was definitely "it." I called one of our mw's and gave her the heads up, and she told me to call back when cxns were consistently 3 minutes apart. We called my mom, who lives about 1.5 hrs away, to come help with our older two. I stayed busy helping dh clean, squatting for contractions, which were getting closer together and more painful than just uncomfortable. A good friend happened to call, and I told her I was in labor and we talked for awhile, with me pausing to breath through contractions.
DH inflated the pool--we had an electric pump this time, which was great. The kids were getting hungry by then--it was after 5, and dd, 19 months, really wanted to get in the pool, throw shoes in the water, etc. My mom arrived around 6, and took Leela and Shankar (our older ones) out to get them something to eat. She was present for our other two births but knew that because dd is so young she might not be for this one, and she was fine with that.
One of our midwives arrived about 10 minutes later. She checked me, and I was thrilled to be 7 cm already! I promptly jumped in the warm water, and the relief was instant and remarkable. I had a waterbirth with Leela, but this time the pain relief was much more apparent--I'd say it cut the pain by more than half. Meanwhile, we lit a bunch of tealight candles, turned out most of the lights, and put on some soft music. Our other mw arrived, and they set up their supplies on the kitchen table. DH put on his swim trunks and got in the pool with me.
For the next hour or so until dd was born, dh and I enjoyed a "date in the hotub," as he put it. Our midwives, Paula and Tracy, sat nearby on the couch and occaisionally checked heartones, and we chatted about birth and other things. I just felt so much peace and relaxation between contractions, and even during contractions. At my other births I'd made lots of noise, which is wonderful too, but this time the warm water helped so much that I didn't feel the need to groan or shout through contractions. I was able to consciosly relax my mind and body. I felt high, calm, blissed out. We were listening to music by Peter Makena, who's songs use a lot of lines from the poetry of Rumi, and it was just so perfect to labor to.
At some point I started to feel a little pushy, and also started to burp up a storm, a happy sign that the baby was moving lower. Our mw's did't check my dilation again, trusting me to trust my body and know what to do and when. I tried a feel small pushes, and my water broke. Then I stared to really push. I reached in and felt the baby's head--it was very close. She crowned in a few more pushes, and then I pushed the rest of her body out. We lifted her out of the water and got our first sight of our new daughter. She didn't cry at all, just looked at us with her bright eyes. She was covered in lots of vernix. We waited about a half a minute before looking and seeing we had another girl. She was so alert and calm. She fell asleep for a minute or so, then woke up and latched on. Tracy helped dh cut the cord once it stopped pulsing, and I pushed out the placenta and then we all got out of the water and spent about 30-45 minutes just nursing and hanging out together while Paula filled out paperwork.
Bhavani remained calm through her newborn exam while sucking on dh's finger. She weighed 6 lbs. even, 19 inches, our heaviest baby so far!
We called our parents to tell them the news, and called my mom to have her pick up a pizza and bring Leela and Shankar home to meet their new sister. Our midwives cleaned up and left a few minutes later.
We couldn't have hoped for a more peaceful, sweet, sacred beginning for our last baby. Bhavani continues to be a peaceful little being, and we can't imagine our family with out her. It feels like we're all "here" now. After Leela's birth, I knew immediately that I wanted another baby, even though we had thought we'd stop at two, but this time I felt and continue to feel complete and ready to be finished with pregnancy and birth and just enjoy our beautiful children.
Her name: Her name is Sanskrit. "Bhavani" means "pure existance," also, "goddess of the living world" "Dharma" means "righteous action"
