Where did you give birth?

[annakiss]

Self-explanatory. Please share your birth story here as well!!!

[MamaFae]

Lillian Elizabeth's Story

Well I was going to post it now, but she just woke up, so I will save my spot and come back and edit later!

N~

[Velvet005]

I gave birth in a hospital. Everyone was great and really nice BUT I wish I had given birth at home or at a birthing center. DH was afraid of not being able to get medical help if needed.

[CathToria]

I voted hospital, but I *almost* gave birth in the water. I also will post my story later!!

[crysmomofthree]

Lauren Grace the little one who wouldn't wait :)

here is my story hopefully I can get it all typed out before the kids get to me
This is the first pregnancy where I made it far enough along to have my home visit, the midwife came and checked me out and we talked about my plans for my home birth and how I wanted everything to go and who was going to be there, she asked if I had bought my supplies and I said no, because I didn't want to buy them and then go into preterm labor and be all dissapointed that I couldn't have the home birth, she laughed and said that wasn't going to happen this time I was already 36 weeks and in bc they will attend homebirths after 37 weeks and she smiled and said they would probably come at 36 weeks and 5 or 6 days.

So we went to canadian tire and bought the blow up pool and pump, went home and made dinner, I was really cranky, and hot so I went to have a bath. I stood up after the bath and kerplash, my membranes ruptured and splashed all over the floor, I was crossing my fingers and hoping that maybe I had peed all over the place but I knew that it was over I went and laid down in bed and checked the baby's heartbeat and all was good. Then I phoned the mw and she was sad right along with me that there was going to be no home birth. We decided to wait for labor to start on it own, she reassured me there was no increased risk of infection for at least the first 72 hours, so we started to wait and wait, My membranes broke on thurs at about 4 o'clock pm, I sent my husband to work on friday, and my exhusband came to get the older boys for their weekend visit I told him to answer the phone because the baby was going to come this weekend and the boys wanted to be there, he reassured me that he would bring them. Now I was all alone with my big baby and my unborn baby, we did some puzzles and danced around, the mw came and checked the baby's heartbeat sometime on friday, can't remember but she told me that the baby had turned breech, and wanted to send me for an ultrasound to check and I declined because I didn't want anyone to be suggesting a c section, I had already had 3 babies vaginaly and I wasn't having one cut out now. I spend the next few hours on my hands and knees and tilted on my ironing board and once I was pretty sure she had flipped, my husband and I and our ds went out hiking He couldn't keep up with us, but I was determined for the baby to come because my confidence was running out and I was so worried something would happen to her while we were waiting for labor to start.
We got home from our hike and after I got Lucas to bed I realize the baby was a lot lower like really low, so I felt a little encouraged at least something was happening. Dh and I ate some icecream and at about 11 o'clock I noticed I was having irregular cramping I thought oooh it might really happen on its own yeah. So I went off to bed to get some sleep. I woke up at 12 30 and noticed that these contractions were a lot more uncomfortable, I walked around my house for a while and tried to find something to do, I opened up mdc but I couln't sit still it made them much worse. I really wanted a shower but didn't want to wake up Lucas, so I went back to the bedroom and woke dh up, I told him I thought I was having contractions and he said something dumb and told me to get back into bed. I phoned my friend and told her about my contractions and she said hey they are coming close together like 3 min apart you should call the midwife, I am leaving and I will see you at the hospital, I said you can just wait it will probably take a long time I called my mw and she said she would meet us there. So with some quick organizing we called my mil to come watch ds but she was too far away so we had my grandma come and sit and the house till mil got there and off we went.

once we got there the nurse gave me a gown to put on, then the mw came and said that she got a page on her way there that another mom was in labor at the other hospital but I got her first
The contractions were super close but really manageable I was in the shower for quite some time, I really wanted to be with just dh so we were in the bathroom with the hot shower talking about all sorts of stuff, I ate a banana the mw came in every twenty minues to dopplar the hb, and baby was doing great, I decided to get out of the shower and sit on the birth ball, but sit was a joke I bounced on the thing, it was really rythmic so I bounced for about an hour, everyone was there by this time except my boys, I didn't want them to have to come until we were pretty close to delivery. My mom kept saying to call them but I was putting it off, My mom and my friend Jen were there, Jen being 9 months preggers as well. My dh and the mw.
It was about 3:00am and I decided it was probably a good time to call the kids because it would take an hour to get there. I decided to go back in the shower where things were more manageable but I took my beloved birth ball with me and my dh came in the shower with his pants rolled up (he got all wet I bounce on the ball and felt a little pushy but kept it to myself. I felt very capable of doing this on my own and I just followed what my body said to do and I didn't need any "coaching" I started asking where the kids were because I knew that I must be fully dilated and I could probably push the baby out quick, they weren't there yet so I kept it to myself. I decided that the shower floor probably wasn't a nice place to deliver the baby so I went and climbed back in the bed on my hands and knees dh was right there with me and I whispered to him that I could feel the baby's hair and to go tell Kim. He smiled and went to tell her. I stopped having contractions for about ten minutes (I think my body was waiting for my kids to get there)
the mw walked in and said that she would like to check me because the woman in the room next door (another mw client) was in transition so she needed to know where to be. She went to do the vag exam and laughed and said the baby's head is right there she is going to come out with the next contraction.
My kids walked in Yeah! they made it I laughed for a couple minutes with them. My midwife kept telling the nurse that the baby was going to be born with the next contraction and to be ready, she asked her three times for more chux pads, and gloves and to turn the warmer on, she told the nurse we weren't cutting the cord and that baby was going on my tummy right away.
Then at 4:30am the next contraction came hard, I started pushing but only a little bit, then about halfway through the contraction I got this involuntary urge to shoot her out, and out she came I pulled her up through my legs and was holding her, the nurse wasn't ready with any warm blankets or a hat she must have thought the mw was making it up that the baby was coming now. :LOL Lauren started screeming right away loudly, I held her and dried her off the nurse kept asking about cutting the cord and taking the baby to the warmer and I kept telling her no, she was fine. after about ten minutes Kim said she had to go catch the baby next door because the woman was pushing, and she didn't want the nurses catching the baby. My oldest son asked to cut the cord, he was very calm and happy, and super excited. My six year old had his ears plugged because the baby was screaming.
Because Lauren was preterm and the Mw had to leave the room the nurses took her to the nursery, my dh went with her so they wouldn't do anything to her without me present, then I waited for the placenta, out it came and I stood up to leave the room, the nurse was a little taken aback, and asked me to get back in bed, because I had just had a baby, I told her If she wanted me back in bed they should bring me my daughter. I went to the nursery and she was in an incubator, the ped came and he wasn't impressed that my membranes had been ruptured 36 hours with no antibiotics he wanted to check for an infection and her blood sugar which was fine, he told the nurses to turn the oxygen in the incubator down until it was room air and to have her out by 7am. They didn't it happened a lot slower and I wish I had told them to shove it but I didn't get her in my room until 11:00 am. but I sat with her the whole time with my arm in the incubator. She was never at any risk she was fine and I know she didn't need the oxygen, I demanded they let her out to nurse at 830, but by then she was so sleepy that it was impossible. so we didn't nurse until 11 but she was back in my room.

My birth wasn't what I wanted but the labor and delivery were wonderful and probably wouldn't have been any different if I were at home the after care was a little less than desirable but we were out of the hospital the next day, so it was short.
Now that was a long birth story I hope you made it through, Here is the link to the pictures from that night http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=9413...=SYE/otsi=SALB
Crystal

[Nikki Christina]

hospital.. both my girls were born in the same room there

[gingerlane]

Anya was born at home in the water.

Click here for Anya's birth story

And here for a slideshow

[schatz]

Fritz was born in the hospital (pre-term and dh would never have gone for a birth center anyway) but without drugs (aside from abx required because of being pre-term).

Here's his story

Aside from his birth being pre-term, it went really well and I felt very in control and empowered.

And, congrats to everyone from May 05 who's had their babies

Thanks for the poll, Anna. Oh and I read your post about bfing Sebastian -- wonderful for you and your ds!!!

[cvsprague]

Miles Graham was born in a hospital, under the care of a wonderful certified nurse midwife. My due date was May 9th, which came and went without even a contraction. On the evening of the 10th, I started having contractions but they were very mild and I really thought they were just Braxton-Hicks. That night a girlfriend called and asked how I was doing and wanted to wish me well. As soon as I got off the phone with her (around 9:30), a contraction hit me like a freight train! DH was already asleep, so I busied myself by finishing packing the odds and ends and making sure everything was ready for our older DS's care while we were away. I continued to have intense contractions, but they were not in any regular pattern. I went to bed at 11:00, thinking I had plenty of time to relax before labor really got going. (Older DS's labor took FOREVER, he was posterior) At 12:30 am a contraction woke me and as I stood up out of bed my water broke! I woke DH and we started watching the clock. Contractions were coming 5 minutes apart and lasting about 90 seconds. He called the midwife and she asked that we head to the hospital, which was about 30 minutes away. We got there at 2:30, got settled into our room at 3:00, and the nurse examined me and said I was at 4 centimeters. At 5:30 they checked me again and I was at 10! Soon after that I felt a great need to push. Miles graced us with his beautiful presence at 6:34 am. I had no medical interventions, no pain meds, no tearing. I must also say that laying on my side to push was THE BEST! I would recommend that to any woman. It was a thrilling experience and I wouldn't change a thing. Hope everyone else had good experiences too and congrats to all the May babies!

[rainbowfairymomma]

at home and it was wonderful!! soooo empowering!! it was a VBAC!!! I still haven't written out my birth story... the task seems overwhelming atm...

[Vanyalos]

At home in water (our bath tub). I haven't written out my birth story yet (haven't had a chance) but will share it when I finally get around to it.

[Einhorn]

nothing much exciting happened, but in a birth, I think that's a good thing!

after 2 1/2 weeks of constant (3-10 an hour), BH intensity contractions (that you could sleep through), on 4/30 just about 5 minutes after DS#1 was done with his wakeup-nursing they changed just a little bit - stronger and lower. they steadily got stronger and very regular all day. Since it had waited this long, I was kind of hoping for a Beltane baby, but after he woke up from his afternoon nap DS#1 decided to nurse, and the contractions went from 10 minutes apart to 5 minutes apart in 15 minutes. I talked with our Doula and decided to wait a bit longer before going in -- we were trying to balance getting there in time for a waterbirth and not laboring too long at the hospital. After dinner (I was even still hungry) they were more intense and I decided that the doula and DS#1's nanny should head on out to our house. About the time the Doula was getting there I decided that if we wanted a chance at a water birth we should head in now, so we finished packing the car and diaper bag for DS#1 and headed in to the hospital.

Once we got there (about 7:40pm) and checked in and monitored was when we got the only surprise of the evening (well, except whether we were having a boy or a girl ) I knew you couldn't have a waterbirth if there was myconium, but I didn't realize that meant they had to break your water to check if it hadn't already broken. I was a little worried about stalling (hindsight says I shouldn't have been though, I went from 5 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart after getting to the hospital while I was having the 20-minute strip done) and so we decided to labor in the jacuzzi for a bit first and see how things went. I managed to lay down in there for one contraction before they were so strong I needed to be up and moving to cope with them, so I'd lay down and relax, take a sip of water and have to stand right back up. It wasn't long before I was really wanting to push, so we went back to the room for the midwife to check me - I was 8cm and 100%, and she said I could push if I wanted to. She also said it would be a race to get the birth tub filled in time, so I decided to just go with a land-birth after all.

I was going to try pushing on my side but it was too intense. I didn't think then to try hands and knees then although I'd thought about it ahead of time, and just rolled onto my back. So they raised the back to the right angle for semi-sitting, and I pushed that way. a couple of the contractions caught me off gard now that I couldn't move with them, and I did one of the "useless" screams which scared DS#1 a bit (he had really wanted to be there) so he and his nanny went out to the hall for a little. When he got upset it made me get back into the right space and start doing more effective pushing, which got even better when the midwife reminded me to hold my legs up but the baby didn't feel like it was moving down really. Then on a big push my water broke -- and shot across the room like a water cannon, getting the front (but luckily not top) of the cart of stuff. After that it moved down noticably. Soon we were to crowning, and after they told me to do big pushes again the head made it half-way out -- but I didn't know it, so thinking we were still at crowining had no understanding why everyone was trying to get me to keep pushing while the contraction was ending - so he sat there out only to his ears until the next one, at which point the head was delivered, then the shoulders, then the waist and he was out (DS#1 pretty much shot out like a champagne cork once he got past the ears, so this was different). I saw we had a boy as they lifted him to my chest where he snuggled up with me while we waited for the cord to stop pulsing. DS#1 came back in just after he was born -- the nanny had decided that things seemed calm enough to try it when they heard DS#2 start crying. at 2 1/2 DS#1 doesn't realize he "missed" the birth, so he was quite happy to be there when his brother was "born". DS#2 was born at 10:09pm (missing being born on Beltane by 1 hour and 51 minutes).

We did the bonding thing in the delivery room so well, that they hadn't weighed or measured him until he was almost an hour old, although DH held him while they sewed my tear up. It was a pretty small one. We all got moved into the room and finally got DS#1 asleep about 1:30am after all the inital stuff got taken care of. We went home about noon the next day.

That's pretty much it. the stats for DS#2 were 8 lbs 14oz, 21 1/2" and 35cm.

[Marlet]

DD was born in a hospital but I labored at home til I was an eight (I know I know it means nothing but it did for me cause I was so close! Ended up going for some pain killer due to her presenting sunny side up which again makes me proud I made it to an eight.)

Labor started on Tuesday morning at 2:30. It wasn't subtle but it didn't hurt either. I was having to catch my breath about every ten minutes to get through them but other than that they were nothing. DH got up to get to work and asked if this meant I was in labor. He got so excited he kept coming upstairs to ask things and reassure me I could kick the employees out at anytime. I had lost most of my plug the night before but continues to lose the rest of it during the day. As I got up and got moving for the day I noticed that the contractions I was having were coming farther and farther apart andw eren't as intense. I grew disappointed pretty quick after that.

I went about my day and talked to my sister often. That's when I noticed that maybe they weren't getting duller. I was having a hard time talking through them and by nine thirty- ten o clock I was having ontractions very frequently. I let DH know that this was it and went to get in the tub. I had heard and hoped that the water would be nice for me but it sucked! I couldn't stand being in there so I hopped out. Before getting out though I checked to see how things were moving along (I know, doesn't mean anything but man I HAD to know. ) and was shocked to feel my bag of water BULGING like nothing was stopping it. I talked to my sister one more time after that and told DH to come upstairs to be with me. I labored with some t.v. and some music for a little bit before they started to bug me. I decided to lay down our sheets and what not so we kicked the dog to the basement and set things up. By this point things are getting very intense and I'm having hard time dealing wth things in general. I was rocking on my hands and knees whenever I got a contraction but that wasn't doing it for me...in fact it made it hurt more (or so I thought....lol). I couldn't find anyhting that would work for me! I decided to try the water one more time and hopped in the shower. That helped a little bit but our hot water ran out quickly and I was stuck to find something else. I got out and went back in the living room where DH was trying not to have panic attack. he was getting nervous and didn't want to say anything. All of a sudden things kicked into high gear HARD. I had already been crying with contractions but now I was crying and shaking bad. I remember thinking that it meant I was in transtition but I also remember reading that first time births were long and this was entirely too quick to be transtion. I was desperate and telling DH I didn't want anymore kids after this. lol He went and filled the tub for me and we both hoped it would work. I got in and tried to relax but was instantly hit with a contraction so I bolted upright and crawled onto my hands and knees and had my face on the tub faucet. By this point I couldn't handle it and broke down. I told DH to call someone, I wanted to get pain killers. He called a friend while I managed to crawl out of the tub and get dressed. I was so hurt at my mind's inability to do it that I stood in the living room bawling and telling DH I was a failure to myself and this wasn't what was supposed to happen and thanks for not calling me a baby...yes I thanked him for that. He calmly told me I did awesome and I'd feel better soon and that I wasn't a failure, that this was hard. Our ride showed up and the driver (poor kid) booked it to the hospital with me in the front seat grabbing his oh s**t handle. He ran all the red lights before thinking to turn his hazards on. We get there and are immediately taken to the L&D room. The nurse who took me down was nice and very talkative and explained everything as we went. I got to the room and kept asking for the pain killer. I was in so much pain I was crying and having a hard time breathing. The nurse tells me she needs to check me first and asked if my water had broke yet. I told her no but that it was bulging and right there. She looked at me as if I had two heads! DH explained we were trying a homebirth so she looks at me again and asks where I could feel it. I told her on my last check it was right at the opening of my cervix. That was nice to see her face of shock and disbelief. I got into bed and waited for to get back. Within seconds she was ready to do my exam. She checked me and told me I was at an 8!!!!!! I was so pleased with myself at that point that I lost those feelings of failure. I had stayed home until I was an eight before I felt I needed something. I kicked butt! I asked if that meant I could still have pain killer. She said yes and went about getting my hooked to an I.V. After that I was not so nice. She got the I.V. in and went about asking the questions she needed as we waited for the pain killer to get there. After having been asked for the millionth time when my birthday was I snapped and yelled at her, " Is it really necessary to be asking me this right now!?" She looked at me with shock, explained that this was all she could do until the drugs got here and that DH could answer for me. My reply? "How long does it take to grab a needle!?" Finally the lady with the pain killer showed up and asked if I wanted an epidural or an interthecal (sp?). The nurse immediately said interthecal and then explained the difference (the interthecal went in right away and lasted less time). I opted for that since the pain relife would be immediate. The lady walked out to go get it ready and the doctor (whom I STILL do not like) walked in and said they were going to pop my water. I told them no. I knew it brought everything on harder and faster and that it wasn't necessary. he actually argued with me!!! He kept asking why and I kept firmly saying no. I asked what the point was and the nurse said it would bring the baby, my reply? "The baby is going to get here either way and I don't see the point in it." The doctor shrugged and said whatever and walked out. When he came back in the nurse told him I had decided to go for the interthecal and that meant that we would need to break my water (I had agreed by that point) since the effects were far shorter lasting. He said ok and left until the pain killer got there. While I was waiting for that the nurse asked me something again that irritated me enough to ask how long it took mix some stupid liquids. I don't think the staff liked me this point. Finally the pain killers showed up and as I was leaning forward the nurse kept telling me to roll my shoulders. I was so pissed that they couldn't wait until my contraction was over that I screamed at her that they were rolled as far forward as they were going to go and to leave it be. lol She didn't like that. I only snapped at DH once this whole time and that was to tell him I was breathing. He looked like he could have cried but don't tell me breath when I'm obviously trying to! lol Theyw eren't kidding...before she had pulled the needle out of my back I was in heaven. They gave a minute and then I started pushing. I asked if I could squat since I didn't feel being on my back was doing any good (but then again I couldn't feel anything and wouldn't have known other wise) but was told that my legs would buckle or they'd let me. I said ok and started pushing. By this point the medicine had kicked in fully and it was having a good time in my body. I think they gave me too much cause I fel asleep. I also got sick a ton. DH had to wake me up a few times when I wasn't pushing so they could ask me something. I ended up getting an episiotomy. The doctor explained to DH I was going to tear and he wanted to cut. DH told him no, let me tear (such a sweetheart for sticking up for me like I asked) and the doctor explained it would be several tears, not just one. DH looked skeptical and took a look for himself. Sure enough the way the baby was presenting my skin wasn't stretching in certain spots and I was on the brink of tearing in three or four spots. He woke me up and explained it all to me much to the doctor's dismay. I agreed and fell asleep again. Dh woke me up and I pushed Scarlet into the world. It took about one and half to two pushes (even with the pre cutting pushing) to get her out. They took her off to wash her up and DH went over to supervise. The doctor explained to me what he was doing step by step and said that I wasn't going to need to push my placenta out and that I wouldn't feel it. Sure enough about two seconds later out it came. I leaned forward to try and see it before passing out again. i was quickly given oxygen as I wasn't doing too well and entiehr was Scarlet. She was taken to the NICU for some observation and oxygen. DH went with her and made sure to stick to what we wanted.

When we got to the recovery room I was told what had happened during my sleeping moments.DD was born a little floppy and purple. They quickly got some color in her but she did need some help breathing as did I. my blood pressure got way too low...it was 80 over something when she was born and I was given some medicine to help with that. I was also having a problem with bleeding. I didn't hemoorage or bleed to much but with my blood pressue so low they were worried about it. When my blood pressure went down they lost her beartbeat on the external monitor and quickly inserted the interal one to find it, which they did and all was well there. Her head plates were farther apart than they would have liked to see which made/makes her soft spot really big. They watched that during our stay and everything seems to be in order. She has a skin tag by her ear which could be indicative of hearing problems but she passed the in hospital hearing test fine. When she was finally brought to my room (about three hours later ) we were both out of it. We had a hard time with nursing at first but she is doing great now. She was favoring one side more than the other but we finely got it down. I actually had one nurse who said I would need shells to nurse her. I had a few great burses but overall they were really dumb! It took forty minutes one time to get something I needed and the only reason I got that was my new nurse came in to do her vitals check and asked about it. As she walked out of the room they were paging her.

Despite going against our plan everything turned out good. I actually was glad we got there when we did (although I was to a ten by the time I got my pain medicine...I soooo could have done it ). The hospital was amazingly pro bfing. In fact they WILL NOT give your baby a bottle unles you specify and you must do so everytime and they will not give out binkies....you want you, you buy it. I was super pleased about that. All in all from start to finish it took 14 hours. Oh yeah, before we had left the house I told DH what I did and did not want to happen. He stuck by them all so well. Scarlet was not given any shots or eye goop. They did give her the vitamin K shot but mainly because I had such low blood pressure, issues with bleeding, and was not able to feed right away. I was fine with that since nothing else got done. I'm sure the hospital was glad to get rid os uf.

DH also cleaned the house top to bottom the next day and got the house super stocked with foods and drink so all I ahd to do was come home. He even mopped the floor and did the laundry. Man it was nice! All I need to do is have a baby to get him to help out.


I think that's it. I haven't edited my birth story or anything so who knows if there is something I forgot to add. Oh her stats were 20 inches long and 6 pounds 10 ounces.

[slightly crunchy]

Hospital VBAC. Was thinking about unassisted all along (no HBMW in my area and also not legal in my state), labored at home until 8 cm, decided to go to hospital. Glad I did--took a long time to push him out and I think I would have started worrying at home. I also bled a lot and was dizzy, short of breath etc. and may have had to transfer anyway (did not need a transfusion but close). My wishes were respected for the most part and my birth was relatively intervention free for the hospital, and there are only a couple of things I would have wished differently (and they were things more related to provider than to hospital birth). Still, I think a HB would be ideal and I would wish for one if there is a next time.

[wende]

She was a scheduled homebirth but, since she was so early, was born in the hospital. Here is her story:

Áine Ciarán (Awn-yuh Keer-an) Born March 26, 2005 @ 5:03pm. 3lbs, 12.6oz, 16 1/4 in long.


On Saturday, March 19th I woke up and felt a little trickle. I thought it was just normal pregnant girl stuff so I ignored it. I took my dd to gymnastics and while I was there my ds spilled my water all over the floor. I got a towel and cleaned it up with my foot, then bent over to pick up the towel. When I stood up I felt a small gush. Hoping that I'd just pee'd myself (when else would a woman wish to have wet her pants? LOL) I went to the restroom. I came back out and felt fine but thought I should "check" so I crouched down and stood back up. Sure enough, another gush. I called my dh, who was about 5 minutes from work, and told him to come get me. He thought I was messing with him, but came anyhow. A while later we were at the hospital. I was feeling fine, no contractions, but worried. They checked to be sure I hadn't just pee'd myself and confirmed that my water was broken. They decided that I should stay but wouldn't give me a guess on how long I'd be staying, just that it could be weeks.

They gave me 2 steroid shots, 24 hours apart, and said that if I went into labor spontaniously that they wouldn't stop it. As much as I wanted her to stay in, I also wanted her to hurry up so I could get home. DH and I were worried about his job, etc. They offered to give him family medical leave, which was a huge relief, but no pay. Thankfully, he wouldn't lose his job, though, and we could figure out the rest later...so there I sat...and waited.

On Thursday I had a minor breakdown with my nurse and explained how stressed out I was. She had my OB come in and do a quicky ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that my fluid was really low and that Áine was head down. She said that the benefit to her staying past 34 weeks didn't outweigh the risks and that they could induce then, but I had to have another u/s to confirm my dates. On Friday I went for a real u/s. They said that she was measuring 32weeks, 2 days. More stress, but I was trying to stay positive. On Saturday at about 9am the OB came in and told me my options were: Wait it out for 12 more days, until the u/s dates matched when I said I was due, try to get 10cc's of fluid from what I was leaking (which was minimal by this time) to send off to the lab to see if her lungs were mature, do an amnio for the same reason, or induce me that day. Considering I was positive about my dates (I started my LMP at U-Haul on the day we moved here), she said it was unlikely that they'd be able to get 10cc's from what I was leaking, and I was not about to have an amnio and risk the infection just to have them have to induce me anyhow, I asked them to induce. I felt pretty positive that she'd be just fine.

At 10:30am they gave me a pill to induce labor. At about 11:30am I started feeling contractions. It wasn't long before they were 3minutes apart. After a while I started really feeling the contractions and they were worse than I'd ever felt. I asked for something for the pain. The nurse checked my cervix and said I was dilated to about 3-4. I said "that's all???" She laughed and said "getting to 4 is the hard part. You'll be at 10 in no time". She then came back with a second nurse and said she wanted the other nurse to confirm how dilated I was so they could decide what to give me for pain...I thought that was strange, but whatever, I was ready for pain killers. They gave me fentinol (sp?) which took the edge off but did not kill the pain. It was exactly what I needed. I whined through the contractions but was no longer ready to beat dh for watching basketball. The nurse said to let her know when I had that feeling like I had to poop, lol. After a while the contractions were right on top of each other and I was about to tell dh that I was going to be calling the nurse at any minute. At that moment I realized any minute was NOW and hit the "call nurse" button as hard as I could. I thought they would never come, though they were probably there within seconds. I yelled "It's time!!" they said "NO, you can't push! You need to wait!" I said "NO! I have to push, it's time!" They kept assuring me that I was doing great and to hold on. I decided "forget them!" and pushed. As I pushed I said "the baby's coming!" The nurse looked at me and said "umm, baby's coming and I think that's a butt!" The rushed over and I put my hand down and felt her as she came out. They got there just in time. She was indeed breech, though she'd been head down the day before. After I delivered the placenta they showed me her cord. She had a true knot in it, which is, I assume, why she was so tiny. They said after her u/s that her belly was measuring small and they thought she wasn't getting enough nutrients, which made no sense at all to me, since I eat and eat and eat, lol.

She was perfect! Her apgar scores were 9/9 and the nurse said she'd never seen a 10. Áine didn't need the ventilator and they kept saying that she was only going to the NICU because of her size. I held her for a while after she was born and she latched on right away. All 4 of my other kids were in the room watching. 21mo old ds napped right up until I started pushing and then he woke up just in time to see her be born. He just kept smiling but didn't say a word.

In the NICU she nursed like a pro. She's not hooked up to anything other than the normal monitors that they keep on all the nicu babies. She's doing well keeping her temp up, though they are keeping her warm so she can use her energy to grow rather than stay warm. They are tube feeding her when I'm not there and say that she can come home when she's about 4 1/2 lbs as long as she's not got apnea, on antibiotics, and can feed well. They said in some cases the baby will come home earlier if she's feeding well, mommy knows what she's doing, and the baby is going home to a good homelife. The nurse said "you're obviously a good mommy, she'll probably get to go home early".

Here's a pic of her nursing

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...la/DSCN2334.jpg

OH! I forgot to add...later when I was cleaning up and talking to the nurse, she said that the reason that she'd had the second nurse check me was because she thought she felt a butt. The other nurse came in and checked and said that the baby was, in fact, head down. The first nurse checked my u/s and confirmed that she'd been head down the day before. Thankfully, the second nurse was wrong or they would have had me do a c-section!

[Raven]

nak

born at home

[crunchymomof2]

Here is Claire's birth story.

I was starting to get nervous on Friday the 3rd because my mom was supposed to go out of town the next week. So at the midwife appointment I asked her to check me and to stimulate things while she was there. I dont know how much she did because it didnt even hurt. She said the baby was right there on my cervix with no forebag and I was 2 cm but stretched to 4 easily. I told her my concerns and she said I could try blue cohosh starting on Saturday morning. I took it for a couple hours on friday though because I was already having some contractions and she said if I wasnt ready it wouldn't work. I had some regular contractions but they stopped after I quit taking the tincture to go to bed. The next morning I took just a little and decided that I wasnt going to do it. I was only a week late and my mom said she had decided not to go anyway. We decided to go walk at the mall and have lunch. Later that day I had some good contractions but I didnt think anything of it. We let our son spend the night with my parents and we went home and I had a drink to relax and get a good sleep. But I had to get up every 2 hours to go to the bathroom. At 9 we decided to get ready to go see our son and take some clothes so he could go to church with my parents. We left our home at 10 am and I had my first labor contraction. It felt like the ones the night before so I didnt think this was it. I kept having them but wasnt checking to see how far apart they were. I finally realized this was it when I was fixing myself a sandwich and had to stop 3 times to deal with contractions. We checked the time and they were 3 mins apart it was 10:45 at this point. At 11:30 we were on our way home and I called the midwife. She said let her know when anything changes.

At home we picked up a little and set up the kiddie birth pool. I sent Logan off to the store to pick up a few things before it got intense. I did a few loads of laundry and continued to move around stopping every little bit to deal with a contraction. They had spaced out just a little but I am not sure how far. When logan got back we started filling the tub and the midwife called. This was about 1:30 she asked how things were going and if we needed her yet and I said it was going fine I didnt need her to leave yet. She asked if I had checked myself since I had been doing that all along. I said I started to but didnt get to because I had a contraction. She said if I checked to let her know. So out of curiosity myself I checked and I felt a small bulge of water and then overlapping bones of the baby's head. I decided it felt like 5-6 cms to me so I called and told her. She said she would head out in about an hour. I got in the tub to check the depth and temp but decided I wasnt ready to sit yet. So i wandered around and called my mom to let her know she might want to get here soon. About 20 minutes later I got in the tub. During the contractions I had to be leaned forward. So I would lay my head on the side and be on hands and knees during and then sit on my back after that. My mom got there at about 3 and I got out of the tub for a few minutes to go to the bathroom and see what all she had brought with her. She stopped by the store and got snacks and stuff. I got back in the pool and we chatted for a while until I felt sick and the contractions suddenly got closer together and very intense. The midwife arrived at 3:30 or 3:45. She quietly got things together and then asked me if I wanted to be checked but that it seemed like things were going fine. I said I wanted to know. So she checked and at 4:30 I was 7. Things really picked up from there and I was being loud and needing Logan to push on my back.

At about 6:15 I felt like pushing at the peak of the contractions and it came across in my noises. The midwife asked if I felt like pushing and I said a little. At 6:30 something changed and I was really pushing for the whole contraction. She asked to check things and I said that was fine. She said you're 10 keep doing what feels good. So I started really putting some effort behind it. And tried all different kinds of positions in the water but ended up on my knees holding my husbands hands while the midwife rubbed this awesome smelling oil on my back. Sometime near 7:30 she suggested moving to the toilet to see if it would help. I was fine with that so we went in the bathroom and did that for a few contractions and then the birth stool for a few. Then I said I wanted to lay on the bed. I did that for 20 mins and dozed between contractions and had some juice and about 8:30 I was ready to try and have this baby. I kneeled on the floor next to the bed and tried to squat but that didnt work for me and so I got back on the birth stool. I pushed hard and long and all the sudden I felt the baby moving down and I felt myself split on the inside. I said am I tearing and she said the head isnt down all the way yet. You may have torn on the inside. She said try not to push because the head had come down now and I could feel burning in the front so i was saying that and the next thing I know they are saying the head is out. I felt her turn and slide all the way out. I heard a few little cries and the midwife wrapped her up and put her up between my legs and she was so cute. My mom asked "what is it?" Logan said let Michele look first and it was a girl. We thought so. Just what we wanted. About that time the midwife said that I needed to move to the bed because I was bleeding quite a bit. So I moved to the bed and Logan said I should try to get Claire to nurse. She wasn't interested. Once the placenta came out the bleeding slowed alot. The midwife and my mom picked up the chux pads and left the room to let us bond a little. And they ran a celebration bath for Claire and I with herbs and flowers in it. Then we went back to bed and she nursed well. She was 7 lbs 15oz and 20.5 inches long. She was born at 9:04 pm. I had a tear on my labia on the inside and it was folded down weird so I wanted it stitched. I think there are three stitches there. Being at home was such an awesome experience. I feel so much better than after my c/s. I can't wait to do it again. Just not anytime soon.

[Eaglevoice]

nak
born at home in water. I'll share my story soon.

[Mama Bee]

at home in water.... no birth story yet.... will get it done eventually!

[annakiss]

I gave birth at home. Here's my ridiculously long birth story for my ridiculously short labor:

Sunday, May 29th, Aleks woke up early at 9:30 a.m. We got up and I asked Jon, who was asleep, if he wanted to go to Katie’s wedding in Dayton (four hours away) that day. He looked at me like I was crazy with one eye open and said, “no.” Aleks and I then went about our morning routine. At 11 I asked Jon again about going to the wedding, saying if we left at noon, we could make it. He again gave me a crazy look and said “no.” So I went to find something else to do. Tired of cleaning the house and being that it was already nearly spotless, I thought to sew new cushions for the rocking chair to replace using the pillows from the couch. So I set to work after chatting with a friend online for a bit and of course caring for Aleks.

Jon crawled out of bed at 3, took a shower and ate some food. I finished the back cushion for the chair and decided to do the seat cushion simpler to hurry up with it. I was out of stuffing, so I just made it big enough to go over a throw pillow and left it unfinished on one side. Just as I was doing the last side, I had contraction that sort of hurt. I’d been having tightening contractions for weeks and had had several that morning and lots the day before, but this one felt almost real. Jon left to go to the library and I cleaned up my sewing mess. As I did this, I had two more contractions that felt real and decided that this might be labor. I called Jon. He hadn’t even made it to the library yet, which is less than a mile away. It was 4:44. I told him that labor might be starting, but to go ahead and do what he was going to do as I had still not seen any bloody show or lost my mucous plug, so I wasn’t positive that it was really happening. I even felt a little silly calling after just a few contractions. He said to call our midwife, Pam, and my mom (our other midwife, four hours away). I told him I’d call him if I needed him right away.

I paged my mom and when she called back asked her when I should call her about labor because I thought it was starting, but hadn’t had any show. She said she’d just get the rose bush that she’d just dug a hole for in the ground and then leave I said okay, but still felt silly. This was at about 5:00. Then I called Pam, told her what was happening, and told her we’d call her when we needed her to come. At about 5:15, I called my dad and step-mom to tell them what was going on and had 2 contractions in the five minutes that I tolked to them that sorta made it hard to talk. When I got off the phone, I started trying to get everything cleaned up and ready for labor. I put the diapers in the wash, go the video camera case out of the closet, picked up the house and did the dishes. Jon cam home while I was doing this. I was surprised to see him so early, but it turned out the library was closed and I was glad he’d come then as things started picking up a bit and the contractions were coming regularly, though at somewhat irregular intervals and strengths. Jon started to set up the birth pool with the help of Aleks. I posted on Mothering at this point saying that I thought labor was starting and that it sure hurt like labor. I wasn’t having the back pain with contractions the way I did with Aleks, but I kept getting on hands and knees and leaning against the birth ball like I did in Aleks’ labor because I was expecting the back labor. The contractions were like very strong menstrual cramps and I suppose leaning on something was as good a way as any to cope with them. As they filled the tub, I became convinced this was definitely the start of labor and Jon called Pam back. He asked me if I wanted her to come then, but I was wandering around the house dealing with contractions. She asked him what he wanted her to do. He said it was up to her, she said, “no, it’s really up to you.” So he told her to come. Aleks started to take off his clothes, wanting to get in the pool, but the water was too hot for him. I had called our friend Heather to come get Aleks several times, but kept getting her voice mail. It was Sunday, so I didn’t expect her to be at work. Scott and Sarah, who were our second choice for Aleks were in Canton for a wedding, so I asked Aleks who was arguing with Jon about getting in the pool if he wanted to go to Riley’s house to play. He was really excited about that and I was glad to have him go somewhere so I could have Jon’s full attention and so I could labor without disruption. I called Riley’s mom Jenny and she said Aleks was welcome to come over. Jon got him dressed again and they left. I busied myself getting ready fro real labor in between contractions, which I was starting to have to pay full attention to. They were still like menstrual cramps, but the intensity and pressure on my pubic bone were increasing steadily. I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and set up the camcorder. Jon called me from the car just to keep in contact. I sat leaning over the back of the couch looking out the front window at people going by as I talked to him. After a couple of minutes, I had another contraction and got off the phone. We had timed the contractions a bit while Aleks had filled up the pool and they were about 3-4 minutes apart ad 45-60 seconds long. They were certainly variable which struck me as funny, considering this perception that we have of labor as a finite thing, as though the body were merely machinery and an uterus should contract at an exact and even pace, like a ticking countdown. I didn’t need my water breaking or exactly steady contractions to tell me that this was labor. I didn’t know what to do with myself really. I kept getting on all fours during contractions, anticipating back labor that never came. All the pressure was on my pubic bone. Pam arrived just before Jon got back at around 6:30. I was still talking just fine between contractions and decided to get in the pool. As Pam was setting out her equipment, I pointed out the cushions I’d sewn that afternoon. I was rather glad to have that done to have a comfy place to rock the new baby. Jon asked where my birth music was. I had been listening to Modest Mouse earlier, which I thought was funny, but the new album is really good. I told him the CDs were in the birth kit (I was so prepared!). He and Pam set up the video camera in a better location and I labored in the tub. The contractions were intense and I was now moaning through them, but the breaks in-between were like not being in labor at all. I was surprised at how coherent I was and kept waiting for the Lala-land feeling I had with my first labor. As it was, I could think clearly and make observations, even during contractions, though I couldn’t quite voice them. I found myself wondering what it was that I thought was so cool about birth and realizing exactly why people choose pain relief for childbirth. If it were available and offered to me, I’d be hard-pressed to turn it down. Which is why it is best for me to have my babies at home.

I also found myself worrying yet about he thought of having two children. Of course, none of these ideas were formed articulately by any means. They were more flashes in my mind of “we’re going to have two kids – holy shit!” I wasn’t exploring what that might be like or anything, I was simply surprised by the clarity I felt – how normal my body even felt in the breaks between contractions. I didn’t remember that at all from my first labor. I could also think clearly enough to remind myself what kind of sounds to make and to speculate about how far into labor I was. I could remember some of those mantras I’d read about and repeat to myself “open” or think abut Ina May having women “smile their babies out”. I thought to remind myself that I was strong enough to do this and that I was in fact doing it. I got out of the tub for a while and labored alone on the toilet, having a bowel movement and still looking for bloody show or mucous plug, but finding none. Then back into the tub where the nice breaks between contractions were just enough for me to catch my breath before the next contraction. At one point I announced that not having contractions felt really good. I really started to make a lot of low moaning sounds with them and the intensity of each surge was increasing. I even started to look for a head in my pelvis with my hand and was quite disappointed to find none. I could feel myself pushing though, probably the baby down into the birth canal. Each contraction was so intense and there was so much pressure on my pubic bone that I was anxious for the whole thing to be over. I quit caring about having a baby. I wanted to stop. I felt like changing my mind. Of course, I knew there was no way out but through, so I kept on, anticipating the final pushing the baby out. At some point I also thought to myself that this baby was going to be a Sebastian rather than an Eleanor like I had planned all along. I didn’t say this out loud, as I most likely couldn’t, but I do recall definitely thinking it. I had Jon holding the puke bowl for me for ages, thinking I might throw up and not wanting to in the pool, but i never did. Pam tried making some recommendations, suggesting that I might find it helpful to know how far along I was, which I declined, and that I might feel a little better on the toilet or the birth stool. I silently decided to get out of the tub to go to the toilet, since I was having trouble supporting myself in the tub I think because I’m so short, and my arms hanging over the sides started to wear on me. I waited through a few contractions before standing and making this decision known. I wasn’t really communicating at all any more, though I was still impressed by how clear my thoughts were. Mostly I was just catching my breath between contractions. I wasn’t really observing my environment any longer, but it wasn’t the deep in-my-body mindlessness that I recall from my first labor.

After a contraction, I stood up and Pam and Jon helped me out of the pool and into the bathroom. I leaned on Jon while sitting on the toilet, just as I had during transition with Aleks. Jon heard something fall into the toilet and asked if it was my water breaking. I reached down between my legs and we looked into the toilet and I said, “no, it was poop,” which gave him a bit of a laugh. The pressure on my pubic bone was incredible. I was waiting for my water to break at any second, and I was still looking for bits of bloody mucous. I knew that I could have the baby without any show, but I didn’t expect that to actually happen. Even as I was waiting for my water to break, thinking that the bag itself was causing a lot of the pressure I felt, I was also scared of it breaking since I’d read about the bag cushioning the head and I wasn’t quite ready for anything more intense than what I already felt, though I was anxious to get the whole thing over with. I could feel my uterus pushing the baby lower and I consciously helped it along, pushing with the stronger contractions. I knew this pushing wasn’t the “real” pushing, but I was anxious to move things along any way I could.

Pam again asked me if I wanted to be checked, saying that I might find it useful to know and that sometimes there can be a lip of cervix holding things back, which I knew. I didn’t really want to go through the discomfort of being checked, but thought that it might be far enough along that it wouldn’t hurt so much. I decided, though I don’t think I was able to say it out loud, that I would consent to being checked and that I’d lay down on the bed in order to do it. I got up from the bathroom. Maybe I said “okay” or something. I got to the hallway when another contraction started. I bent my knees, then dropped to the ground on my knees, torso up, legs out behind me. I was really vocalizing. Screaming some, moaning, making guttural noises with my teeth partially clenched (though I kept thinking of smiling my baby out, I couldn’t quite smile). Pam got a chux pad under me as I said I was pooping on the floor! When it was over, I crawled into the bedroom and got up on the bed. At first I laid down on my back, which was NOT going to work, so I rolled to my side with my legs spread wide, which was NOT going to work either, the pressure was too much and I made a comment indicating as much as another contraction was hitting all the while and I rolled to my hands and knees, screaming again, still tremendously uncomfortable. As the contraction waned, I spit out the words “birth stool” and Pam went to fetch it. I got on the stool at 8:58. They slid chux pads underneath me to catch the poop that was still falling (though there was still no bloody show or mucous). Pushing was happening more now. Jon got a flashlight and Pam said that my water would probably break with another good push. A couple of contractions came and went with me pushing but not wanting to overdo it as the pressure was beyond intense. They could see the bag of waters bulging now and at 9:05 it exploded all over the floor and down Jon’s legs. He slipped his meconium-soaked socks off and I announced the meconium in the water, though it wasn’t thick and I wasn’t worried. Pam threw some more chux down to soak up the fluid and the head started to come. Pam told me to reach down to get the head. She was trying to help me catch myself, but I told her she had to since I was supporting my weight with my arms firmly gripping the handles on the birth stool. She was rapidly getting sterile gloves on, and then she reached up and grabbed a big glob of bloody mucous and presented it to me. I grabbed it and then wiped it on my leg to get it out of the way. I felt the ring of fire and thought to myself, “ring of fire!!!” I thought of the recent MDC thread and remembered pamamidwife’s words about the ring of fire telling us not to push so we wouldn’t tear. I tried to breathe instead of pushing and did so with much concentration, rapidly through clenched teeth. Pam started to encourage me to push. I told her I couldn’t because I would tear. She said I wouldn’t tear because she had me, so I pushed and out his head came. I thought again of the ring of fire thread and how posters said they felt like they pooped their babies out because that is exactly how it felt! Pam checked for a cord around the neck, and their was one which was easily unlooped. I stopped after the head and wanted to wait to push, but Pam was again telling me to push. I think she was scared of dystocia if I waited too long. The shoulders felt big, but I went ahead and pushed with the next contraction. I think that’s when I tore because there was a hand up. His whole body came out and Pam caught him. It was 9:10. I took him from her and announced that he was a boy. There were bits of meconium on him and Pam suctioned him. His eyes were wide open, but he wasn’t crying, though I do think he was breathing. His color was certainly fine. I said “he’s so small!” and asked him if he was okay a few times because he was so quiet. Eventually Pam’s suctioning started to annoy him and he cried out briefly. Pam was glad to hear it, but I wasn’t concerned too much, though I did ask him if he was okay again. I was so surprised at how little he was (though it turned out he was bigger than Aleks was had birth) and at how quiet he was. I was also shocked that he had dark hair. I looked down at him and noticed three skin tags on his chest, all of which are gone now. My mom walked in 3 minutes after he was born. I was still on the birth stool waiting for help to move me to the bed. He had a super long cord, so we were able to wait for the placenta to be born to cut it. He actually stayed attached for awhile. I cut the cord because Jon said the feeling freaked him out & he didn’t like it. After everything was done and cleaned up a bit, Sebastian and I took a bath in the still clean Aquadoula. He was so calm and alert. He just looked around the whole time. I was so happy! Sure, my body was sore and my abdominal muscles weren’t working right yet, but I felt great nonetheless. I was thrilled with my birth though I’d hated the pain. I really felt like I’d done it, that no one else did anything. It would have been nice to catch my own baby, but all things considered, it was as good as it gets.

Sebastian Diego born Sunday, May 29, 2005 9:10 p.m. 7 lbs. 5 oz., 20 inches long