My little vashti meadow was born april 24, 2007 at 10:38 pm. she arrived 3 weeks early to the day, and on my and dp's 1 year anniversary no less!!
here's our story....
i awoke with contractions that were 5-7 minutes apart at 1 am the morning of the 24th. i had lost my plug days before and knew that this was it, as i had nested like it was going out of style on sunday. the contractions kept coming, but i felt that we were not making any real progress. i ate breakfast, went for a walk, cuddled with dp, then ate lunch, and called my midwife for some suggestions to get this labor rip-roarin'. my mw arrived at my house around 2pm. she checked the baby, who was fine, and did some accupuncture on me. my friend came over and encouraged me to do some bellydance moves- amayas and shimmis. we are both belly dancers, so she did them with me and we had a few laughs, and i had a few real strong contractions. my mw also prepared a tincture of black cohosh and something else i can't remember, for me to take every hour. i was burning jasmine in a diffuser to help strengthen the contractions too. at 3pm i laid down to take a nap, and awoke at 6pm to almost no contractions. i began sqautting up against various doors in my home, doing the bellydance moves, and the cat/cow yoga pose. i drank water. i went to the bathroom at 630 pm, and my water broke. the contractions began coming hard and fast at 2-3 minutes apart. dp phoned the midiwfe and she arrived 10 minutes later. she bid me a hello and filled the birthing pool. it had been over 6 months since i was able to immerse my whole belly in water, and i was in heaven the minute i sank down into the pool. shortly after another mw arrived as did my bellydancing friend. i labored for 2 1/2 hours in the water, the contractions were intense, but very managable. then, i felt "pushy". my mw checked my cervix, and i was only 6cm, with a large swelling on the front of my cervix. now, as each contraction came, my body was involuntarily pushing. it was soooo intense. my mw told me to create space around the sensation, but i couldn't, it was not working for me to envision space when it felt like i was totally consumed by this pushy feeling. i wanted out of the water. the mws prepared the couch and i lay on my side, panting through each contraction and looking into dp's eyes, trying my hardest not to push. some time passed, about 1 hr and 15 min. my midiwfe checked my cervix again to find i was now 10cm, but still swollen. she massaged the swelling out of my cervix, and i was not happy about her fingers being inside of me whilst feeling like i had to push. she managed to successfully get the remaining cervix up over the baby's head. now i really HAD to push; the urge was undeniable, but it felt ok this time. i wanted to sit on the birthing stool. i pushed for about 10 minutes, and dp caught our baby, handed her to me, and it was done! she didn't cry at first, just looked at me when i picked her up and held her in front of my face. it was so surreal, and wonderful. and can i just say that there's nothing like crawiling into your own bed with your new family right after giving birth. i will never birth in a hospital if i can help it... home is just so safe and comfortable, especially when the birth is attended by such compentent midiwives. i feel soooo lucky to have had this experience, and i'd do it all over again!
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a.../newfamily.jpg
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a.../ourfamily.jpg
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...shtianddad.jpg
here's our story....
i awoke with contractions that were 5-7 minutes apart at 1 am the morning of the 24th. i had lost my plug days before and knew that this was it, as i had nested like it was going out of style on sunday. the contractions kept coming, but i felt that we were not making any real progress. i ate breakfast, went for a walk, cuddled with dp, then ate lunch, and called my midwife for some suggestions to get this labor rip-roarin'. my mw arrived at my house around 2pm. she checked the baby, who was fine, and did some accupuncture on me. my friend came over and encouraged me to do some bellydance moves- amayas and shimmis. we are both belly dancers, so she did them with me and we had a few laughs, and i had a few real strong contractions. my mw also prepared a tincture of black cohosh and something else i can't remember, for me to take every hour. i was burning jasmine in a diffuser to help strengthen the contractions too. at 3pm i laid down to take a nap, and awoke at 6pm to almost no contractions. i began sqautting up against various doors in my home, doing the bellydance moves, and the cat/cow yoga pose. i drank water. i went to the bathroom at 630 pm, and my water broke. the contractions began coming hard and fast at 2-3 minutes apart. dp phoned the midiwfe and she arrived 10 minutes later. she bid me a hello and filled the birthing pool. it had been over 6 months since i was able to immerse my whole belly in water, and i was in heaven the minute i sank down into the pool. shortly after another mw arrived as did my bellydancing friend. i labored for 2 1/2 hours in the water, the contractions were intense, but very managable. then, i felt "pushy". my mw checked my cervix, and i was only 6cm, with a large swelling on the front of my cervix. now, as each contraction came, my body was involuntarily pushing. it was soooo intense. my mw told me to create space around the sensation, but i couldn't, it was not working for me to envision space when it felt like i was totally consumed by this pushy feeling. i wanted out of the water. the mws prepared the couch and i lay on my side, panting through each contraction and looking into dp's eyes, trying my hardest not to push. some time passed, about 1 hr and 15 min. my midiwfe checked my cervix again to find i was now 10cm, but still swollen. she massaged the swelling out of my cervix, and i was not happy about her fingers being inside of me whilst feeling like i had to push. she managed to successfully get the remaining cervix up over the baby's head. now i really HAD to push; the urge was undeniable, but it felt ok this time. i wanted to sit on the birthing stool. i pushed for about 10 minutes, and dp caught our baby, handed her to me, and it was done! she didn't cry at first, just looked at me when i picked her up and held her in front of my face. it was so surreal, and wonderful. and can i just say that there's nothing like crawiling into your own bed with your new family right after giving birth. i will never birth in a hospital if i can help it... home is just so safe and comfortable, especially when the birth is attended by such compentent midiwives. i feel soooo lucky to have had this experience, and i'd do it all over again!
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a.../newfamily.jpg
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a.../ourfamily.jpg
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...shtianddad.jpg
