Here you go...sorry it took so long to post. DH wrote it in his words.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday morning, May 14, 2006 (aka Mother’s Day) at about 6 am, Jeni rolled over in bed and noticed a wetness running down her leg. Ben ran to get the pH paper; upon testing the leak, the pH turned dark blue… amniotic fluid! Jeni’s water had broken!
Both of us were surprised and excited – we weren’t quite to 37 and a half weeks yet. Jeni laid back down knowing that she would need to rest. The midwives were notified at this point, and they didn’t say much except to call them when contractions started.
Around 9:40 am another gush of fluid came, but no contractions yet. Again at 10:40 am.
By this point, the moms (who were here for Jeni’s Blessing Way ceremony) were both here for Mother’s Day brunch. We took pictures with them outside and generally hung out for most of the day while we all waited for contractions to start.
Midwife Catherine told us that evening that if contractions hadn’t started by morning that she would want to start doing some homeopathic things to try to jump start the labor. We found out that Jeni was Group B Strep negative, so we weren’t too concerned about infections at this point. We went to bed early that night so that we could conserve some strength.
The next morning came and there were still no organized contractions. We went together to an acupuncturist recommended by the midwives, Mary. Actually, we went to her house because her husband had just left and she was still taking care of her 3 year old. Jeni had six needles put into her, four in her lower back in pairs on either side of the spine, one in her hand and one in the foot. Meanwhile, Mary’s little boy was keeping us entertained with his guitar, drum, and helicopter. Jeni had a pretty good Braxton-Hicks contraction during the acupuncture, as well as a couple later, but still nothing consistent.
Around 11:30 am, we started using a breast pump for the nipple stimulation. This was done for 2 hours at a time, 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off the pump. Jeni would consistently have between one and three contractions during the pumping and one when not pumping.
At 1:30 pm, Catherine checked out the baby and Jeni, finding that the baby was in the right position and that the head was engaged. Some symptoms Jeni was having, like having the shakes and whatnot, were normal and showing that she was going into labor. However, Catherine felt that it was very important for Jeni to going into active labor today to help ensure a healthy birth and reduce the risk of other infections.
Breast pumping was repeated at around 3pm. Things seemed to be improving (i.e. more contractions and cramping), but there was still nothing definite at this point. Immediately after the pumping, Jeni took a yummy Diet Pepsi and Castor Oil shake. The 2oz of Castor oil is thought to contain prostaglandins, which help with contractions, and the squeezing of the abdomen the body goes through is thought to “transfer” to the uterus.
During this day, the Mothers and Herb had been hiking around Mt. Hood. They got back in the evening, and Ben went out to Red Robin to eat some food with them and give them an update. Mother Houston was to be on a plane Tuesday night (after changing her reservation from Sunday night).
Meanwhile, back at home, Jeni started getting contractions at 7:00pm. The contractions were seven minutes apart still when Ben got home around 7:30. Woo hoo! Over the next couple of hours, the contractions got stronger and stronger (enough to make Jeni vocalize through them) and got to be 5 minutes apart. Ben started working on the birth tub while Jeni continued with the contractions, and finally we called the midwife.
During the call, Midwife Catherine wanted to talk to Jeni, but she was in the middle of a contraction at the time, and by the time Jeni was done vocalizing through it, Catherine said that it sounded like she was needed.
Midwife Catherine and Assistant Rebecca showed up around 11pm, just as Ben finished up the birth tub. Jeni was still on the toilet at this time (lovely Castor Oil), and answered a few questions Catherine had. Catherine and Rebecca started setting up things in earnest at this point, including starting to fill up the birth tub, while Ben hung out with Jeni as she worked through the early labor.
At around 11:30, Jeni was found to be at 6cm – making excellent progress! Jeni asked if she could go into the birth tub yet, and was told that she could as soon as they had water in it. By this point, Ben had to remove his wedding ring as Jeni was crushing his hands during contractions. Jeni moved through a number of different positions, including all fours and on her side before the birth tub was ready. Doppler measurements of the baby’s heart rate showed that he was doing fine.
Sometime before 12:30am, Tuesday, May 16 Jeni was moved to the birth tub. She spent the next couple of hours in the tub on all fours. The midwives finished setting up everything they needed, and sat with us to help Jeni through some of the contractions. At this point, probably around 1:30 or 2:00am, the labor got a little complicated. Ben noticed that the midwives were talking amongst themselves more, and Midwife Nora showed up.
The midwives sensed that Jeni seemed to be pushing some through the contractions instead of letting the cervix relax, and they asked her what was different about her contractions. She just said she felt like she needed to push. Catherine checked her again, but thought she was only at about 8 cm, and shouldn’t be pushing yet. Jeni appeared to be getting frustrated and tired. The midwives checked with the Doppler again, and noticed that the baby’s heart beat was depressed a little bit.
Jeni focused very hard on not pushing for the next 30 minutes or so, giving the baby’s head more time to stretch the cervix. Jeni was on her back at this point, and Ben ended up getting in the birth tub with her to help her focus on blowing and not pushing. Finally, after a final cervical check, Catherine said that Jeni was fully dilated and moved the cervical lip out of the way. We’re at about 2:30 am now.
Jeni started pushing in earnest at this point, still on her back in the birth tub with Ben supporting her. The baby was starting to make some progress down the birth canal, but not as quickly as the midwives wanted. The baby’s heartbeat was dropping significantly during contractions, and wasn’t making it all the way back up during the resting phase. The baby really needed to be born quickly.
We’re at 2:51, the beginning of the last 13 minutes, and the baby’s heart rate stayed between 90 and 110 bpm this entire time. (Later, we found out that 80 bpm is where there is concern about oxygen loss to the brain). Ben would like to point out at this point how awful it was to listen to the Doppler – the distress of the baby was clearly heard, and the baby’s heart rate was slower than Ben’s.
After a few more pushes in the tub, the midwives wanted to try a couple of other positions, so we moved Jeni out of the tub and into a squatting position, with Ben supporting her from a chair set behind her. This worked a little bit, but not quickly enough. We migrated everything into the bedroom, with Jeni on her back, knees way back. Jeni was put on oxygen for a bit, which improved the baby’s heart rate.
The midwives wanted Jeni to work in 3 or 4 pushes during each contraction now, and told her that she might need to have to have an episiotomy to help get the baby out. Jeni couldn’t care less – she would do whatever it took to have a healthy baby.
A few more pushes later, Jeni was given an episiotomy. Two contractions, a bunch of pushes, and a gush of blood and fluid later, a little baby boy came into the world. He was immediately put on oxygen and stimulated to get him to breathe. With Nora breathing for him and Rebecca rubbing him, Cody’s heart rate increased immediately. 30 seconds later, Ben cried when he heard Cody’s first tiny little cry. Soon, Cody was taking in good lungfuls of air, and everything was right with the world.
Cody was born at 3:04am Tuesday, May 16, 2006 a healthy 8 pounds, 18.5 inches long.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday morning, May 14, 2006 (aka Mother’s Day) at about 6 am, Jeni rolled over in bed and noticed a wetness running down her leg. Ben ran to get the pH paper; upon testing the leak, the pH turned dark blue… amniotic fluid! Jeni’s water had broken!
Both of us were surprised and excited – we weren’t quite to 37 and a half weeks yet. Jeni laid back down knowing that she would need to rest. The midwives were notified at this point, and they didn’t say much except to call them when contractions started.
Around 9:40 am another gush of fluid came, but no contractions yet. Again at 10:40 am.
By this point, the moms (who were here for Jeni’s Blessing Way ceremony) were both here for Mother’s Day brunch. We took pictures with them outside and generally hung out for most of the day while we all waited for contractions to start.
Midwife Catherine told us that evening that if contractions hadn’t started by morning that she would want to start doing some homeopathic things to try to jump start the labor. We found out that Jeni was Group B Strep negative, so we weren’t too concerned about infections at this point. We went to bed early that night so that we could conserve some strength.
The next morning came and there were still no organized contractions. We went together to an acupuncturist recommended by the midwives, Mary. Actually, we went to her house because her husband had just left and she was still taking care of her 3 year old. Jeni had six needles put into her, four in her lower back in pairs on either side of the spine, one in her hand and one in the foot. Meanwhile, Mary’s little boy was keeping us entertained with his guitar, drum, and helicopter. Jeni had a pretty good Braxton-Hicks contraction during the acupuncture, as well as a couple later, but still nothing consistent.
Around 11:30 am, we started using a breast pump for the nipple stimulation. This was done for 2 hours at a time, 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off the pump. Jeni would consistently have between one and three contractions during the pumping and one when not pumping.
At 1:30 pm, Catherine checked out the baby and Jeni, finding that the baby was in the right position and that the head was engaged. Some symptoms Jeni was having, like having the shakes and whatnot, were normal and showing that she was going into labor. However, Catherine felt that it was very important for Jeni to going into active labor today to help ensure a healthy birth and reduce the risk of other infections.
Breast pumping was repeated at around 3pm. Things seemed to be improving (i.e. more contractions and cramping), but there was still nothing definite at this point. Immediately after the pumping, Jeni took a yummy Diet Pepsi and Castor Oil shake. The 2oz of Castor oil is thought to contain prostaglandins, which help with contractions, and the squeezing of the abdomen the body goes through is thought to “transfer” to the uterus.
During this day, the Mothers and Herb had been hiking around Mt. Hood. They got back in the evening, and Ben went out to Red Robin to eat some food with them and give them an update. Mother Houston was to be on a plane Tuesday night (after changing her reservation from Sunday night).
Meanwhile, back at home, Jeni started getting contractions at 7:00pm. The contractions were seven minutes apart still when Ben got home around 7:30. Woo hoo! Over the next couple of hours, the contractions got stronger and stronger (enough to make Jeni vocalize through them) and got to be 5 minutes apart. Ben started working on the birth tub while Jeni continued with the contractions, and finally we called the midwife.
During the call, Midwife Catherine wanted to talk to Jeni, but she was in the middle of a contraction at the time, and by the time Jeni was done vocalizing through it, Catherine said that it sounded like she was needed.
Midwife Catherine and Assistant Rebecca showed up around 11pm, just as Ben finished up the birth tub. Jeni was still on the toilet at this time (lovely Castor Oil), and answered a few questions Catherine had. Catherine and Rebecca started setting up things in earnest at this point, including starting to fill up the birth tub, while Ben hung out with Jeni as she worked through the early labor.
At around 11:30, Jeni was found to be at 6cm – making excellent progress! Jeni asked if she could go into the birth tub yet, and was told that she could as soon as they had water in it. By this point, Ben had to remove his wedding ring as Jeni was crushing his hands during contractions. Jeni moved through a number of different positions, including all fours and on her side before the birth tub was ready. Doppler measurements of the baby’s heart rate showed that he was doing fine.
Sometime before 12:30am, Tuesday, May 16 Jeni was moved to the birth tub. She spent the next couple of hours in the tub on all fours. The midwives finished setting up everything they needed, and sat with us to help Jeni through some of the contractions. At this point, probably around 1:30 or 2:00am, the labor got a little complicated. Ben noticed that the midwives were talking amongst themselves more, and Midwife Nora showed up.
The midwives sensed that Jeni seemed to be pushing some through the contractions instead of letting the cervix relax, and they asked her what was different about her contractions. She just said she felt like she needed to push. Catherine checked her again, but thought she was only at about 8 cm, and shouldn’t be pushing yet. Jeni appeared to be getting frustrated and tired. The midwives checked with the Doppler again, and noticed that the baby’s heart beat was depressed a little bit.
Jeni focused very hard on not pushing for the next 30 minutes or so, giving the baby’s head more time to stretch the cervix. Jeni was on her back at this point, and Ben ended up getting in the birth tub with her to help her focus on blowing and not pushing. Finally, after a final cervical check, Catherine said that Jeni was fully dilated and moved the cervical lip out of the way. We’re at about 2:30 am now.
Jeni started pushing in earnest at this point, still on her back in the birth tub with Ben supporting her. The baby was starting to make some progress down the birth canal, but not as quickly as the midwives wanted. The baby’s heartbeat was dropping significantly during contractions, and wasn’t making it all the way back up during the resting phase. The baby really needed to be born quickly.
We’re at 2:51, the beginning of the last 13 minutes, and the baby’s heart rate stayed between 90 and 110 bpm this entire time. (Later, we found out that 80 bpm is where there is concern about oxygen loss to the brain). Ben would like to point out at this point how awful it was to listen to the Doppler – the distress of the baby was clearly heard, and the baby’s heart rate was slower than Ben’s.
After a few more pushes in the tub, the midwives wanted to try a couple of other positions, so we moved Jeni out of the tub and into a squatting position, with Ben supporting her from a chair set behind her. This worked a little bit, but not quickly enough. We migrated everything into the bedroom, with Jeni on her back, knees way back. Jeni was put on oxygen for a bit, which improved the baby’s heart rate.
The midwives wanted Jeni to work in 3 or 4 pushes during each contraction now, and told her that she might need to have to have an episiotomy to help get the baby out. Jeni couldn’t care less – she would do whatever it took to have a healthy baby.
A few more pushes later, Jeni was given an episiotomy. Two contractions, a bunch of pushes, and a gush of blood and fluid later, a little baby boy came into the world. He was immediately put on oxygen and stimulated to get him to breathe. With Nora breathing for him and Rebecca rubbing him, Cody’s heart rate increased immediately. 30 seconds later, Ben cried when he heard Cody’s first tiny little cry. Soon, Cody was taking in good lungfuls of air, and everything was right with the world.
Cody was born at 3:04am Tuesday, May 16, 2006 a healthy 8 pounds, 18.5 inches long.
Congratulations!
)
