Well, mamas, it was intense. I went into labor at 2.30ish am, 9/11, and we went to the hospital at 5am. In the car to the hospital, my contrax changed to back labor, and yowza! That was a kick. I lay down on my side to try and shift Akiva into a different angle, knees and head to the floor, but nuthin'. Lying down for the initial baby monitoring was rough, and DH nearly hollered the nurse out of the room (she asked about an epidural three times!!), and DH is the gentlest of men.
But then we were done and my doula joined us. And it was so much better. She reminded me to keep it soft, to let my body do it's work, and somehow I actually tried to listen, instead of fighting the pain, like I did with DS. What followed was timeless - DH supporting me, telling me that it was a 'Ziva-sized pain,' telling me that he loves me, the doula and he reminding me that, yes, I *can* do it! And somehow I believed them. Three times I said, 'I can't do it,' and each time went on from there. i remember once thinking clearly, okay, so I *can* do this, but I really don't want to! And so we went, until about 8am when I felt something -shift-. I stood up and my water broke, and then immediately I had to push.
Pushing was tricky: because it was a VBAC, they wanted lots of monitoring. Because of the risk of hemophilia (Akiva's big brother has severe hemophilia A, there's a 50% chance he'd have it too), they couldn't use a scalp electrode, they wanted lots of monitoring, to be sure he wasn't developing a dangerous bleed while in the vaginal canal. So they worked to find a steady heartbeat, and the only place they could find it was if I was flat on my back - aargh! And even then, Akiva wiggled between contrax, so they'd find the heartbeat only to lose it again. We ended up with me on my back, one nurse holding a leg, me holding the other, the DH suporting my shoulders, and the doula holding hot washcloths to my perineum. Two hours and seventeen minutes later, bam! Akiva crowned - I reached down to feel his head coming through and it was amazing. The DH's voice was full of awe and love and it kept me going, and out came our little guy.
I'm so grateful: to the DH and the doula for being even more of a support than I could've ever imagined, to the ob for letting me tear (2nd degree, no episiotomy), to the ob for letting me push for so long even though he was anxious (not my ob, and the most medically aggressive in the rotation), and to Akiva, for a beautiful nursing shortly after delivery, while they were still stitching. And most of all, the wonder of a child whose labor and birth were not only natural, but whose body is all prepared to clot, unlike his brother. The magnitude of my gifts overwhelms me: this is more than I ever expected to have, and I am humbled. Oh, and did I mention that he's a 9/11 baby? Well, mamas, last 9/11 we almost lost Elisha - he coded in the ER from an astonishing allergic reaction to an antibiotic. After three days in the ICU, DH and I decided that our child is so precious, and that even that fright was not something to scare us, but to show us the wonder of that little life. So we decided to have another baby. And here he is: Akiva Meir, born on the anniversary of the day when we were given his brother's life again, as an infinitely precious gift from the doctors and nurses of Boston Childrens.
-Ziva, wife to Ezra
, mama to Elisha 
1/7/02, and Akiva 
9/11/05.
But then we were done and my doula joined us. And it was so much better. She reminded me to keep it soft, to let my body do it's work, and somehow I actually tried to listen, instead of fighting the pain, like I did with DS. What followed was timeless - DH supporting me, telling me that it was a 'Ziva-sized pain,' telling me that he loves me, the doula and he reminding me that, yes, I *can* do it! And somehow I believed them. Three times I said, 'I can't do it,' and each time went on from there. i remember once thinking clearly, okay, so I *can* do this, but I really don't want to! And so we went, until about 8am when I felt something -shift-. I stood up and my water broke, and then immediately I had to push.
Pushing was tricky: because it was a VBAC, they wanted lots of monitoring. Because of the risk of hemophilia (Akiva's big brother has severe hemophilia A, there's a 50% chance he'd have it too), they couldn't use a scalp electrode, they wanted lots of monitoring, to be sure he wasn't developing a dangerous bleed while in the vaginal canal. So they worked to find a steady heartbeat, and the only place they could find it was if I was flat on my back - aargh! And even then, Akiva wiggled between contrax, so they'd find the heartbeat only to lose it again. We ended up with me on my back, one nurse holding a leg, me holding the other, the DH suporting my shoulders, and the doula holding hot washcloths to my perineum. Two hours and seventeen minutes later, bam! Akiva crowned - I reached down to feel his head coming through and it was amazing. The DH's voice was full of awe and love and it kept me going, and out came our little guy.
I'm so grateful: to the DH and the doula for being even more of a support than I could've ever imagined, to the ob for letting me tear (2nd degree, no episiotomy), to the ob for letting me push for so long even though he was anxious (not my ob, and the most medically aggressive in the rotation), and to Akiva, for a beautiful nursing shortly after delivery, while they were still stitching. And most of all, the wonder of a child whose labor and birth were not only natural, but whose body is all prepared to clot, unlike his brother. The magnitude of my gifts overwhelms me: this is more than I ever expected to have, and I am humbled. Oh, and did I mention that he's a 9/11 baby? Well, mamas, last 9/11 we almost lost Elisha - he coded in the ER from an astonishing allergic reaction to an antibiotic. After three days in the ICU, DH and I decided that our child is so precious, and that even that fright was not something to scare us, but to show us the wonder of that little life. So we decided to have another baby. And here he is: Akiva Meir, born on the anniversary of the day when we were given his brother's life again, as an infinitely precious gift from the doctors and nurses of Boston Childrens.
-Ziva, wife to Ezra
, mama to Elisha 1/7/02, and Akiva 9/11/05.
and your new baby boy!
Sweet Baby Akiva!!!
: 
Go VBAC!!!!!
