I know I'm only a sporatic poster, but our little boy is here! Quincy was born on September 3rd. He weighed 9lbs 12 ozs and is 22 inches long. He is the perfect blending of his big sister and big brother in his appearance.
I'll have to get to work on the long version of the birth story, but the highlight of it all is that we finally managed to have the type of birth at a birth center that we envisioned! Relaxed, complication and intervention free, and relatively fast. Woohoo!!!
UPDATED BIRTH STORY
Quincy was actually 'due' on the 29th of August, so when September arrived, we were all very anxious to meet him. My daughter would wake up every morning and immediately give my tummy a pep talk. One of my favorites was "Baby, you're taking a too long time. I have grown bigger and bigger and you are still in there!"
As the early days of September began drifting by, I was starting to feel very nervous about the timing of everything. My oldest son was beginning kindergarten on the 5th and I wanted to be there to see him off on his first day. My husband began a new job as an assistant principal and school was beginning for him too. Although everybody at his job is very considerate, it would have been odd for him to miss the first day or two of school in his new position.
My doctors had started to bring up the idea of induction at my 39 week appointment, but I had evaded any serious talk about it. Finally, we did have that discussion and we agreed upon the 4th, when I would be just about 41 weeks. Normally I would have pushed for more time, but with the circumstances, I felt that it would be better to have the support than wait for labor to begin by itself.
I had a pervious experience with pitocin that was horrible, so the idea of induction was not pleasant to me at all. I tried to stay positive and focus on the fact that I still had many days before that cut off of the 4th...then I only had three days, then I was down to two and I started believeing that things would just not happen on their own. Feeling a little anxious over this, I called my sister (who is a midwife). I was basically looking for anything I could do that would get things going. We'd tried all the less stressful things you hear about (red raspberry leaf tea, spicy foods, long walks, pineapple, sex, etc). She said those are the things she would normally discuss trying. She did say there were some other herbal ideas, but that she herself was not completely comfortable with knowing the correct amounts, etc. She also said that, though she doesn't recommend it, some people have had success with castor oil.
Well, it was two days before induction day and my fear of pitocin was mounting, so I decided to try the castor oil. I figured that if it didn't lead to labor and just had nasty side effects, they would be gone by the time the induction was scheduled. Otherwise, it seemed I had nothing to loose. So, down went the awful stuff. I took 3 tablespoons at about 3:00 P.M. on the 2nd. I then went up and took a nice nap until around 5. At that point, I woke up with some crampiness and went to the bathroom a couple of times. The cramps moved into regular contractions by about 6, and we headed to the hospital around 8. My water broke while we were in the car. Fortunately, I had a pad on which absorbed everything (I had been loosing my mucus plug on and off for the week prior to this).
When we arrived at the hospital, I was checked and found to be 4 cm. I labored for a while and then went into the birthing tub. I was looking forward to using this during my labor, but when I actually got in there, I hated it (turns out I was in transition and probably would have hated anything at that time). So, out I came. By the time I was dried off and dressed again, I was 9 cm and by the next contraction my body was pushing. I had epidurals for my other children and this stage was the biggest difference to me. Feeling your body take over during that pushing stage is amazing and indescribable! With the epidural, I felt contractions and could push with them, but the sensation was completely different than without the epidural. Anyway, I didn't need to push for very long. I think that the head was out in about four or five contractions. The shoulders seemed to take an awfully lot of time in comparison, but then he was out!
The birth center in our hospital has nice double beds, so my husband and I were able to lay together skin to skin with our new little boy for the first hour of his life. It was such a special bonding time. Then they brought in the scale and weighed him. 9 pounds 12 ounces!! We all slept for a little while and then my husband went home to the other children at 7 a.m. while I stayed at the birth center. The baby and I were able to go home that night. It was so nice to be able to tuck all our children in under our own roof that very evening.
I hope everybody else has the birth they envisioned. Seeing that your birthing hopes can come true is wonderful!!
I'll have to get to work on the long version of the birth story, but the highlight of it all is that we finally managed to have the type of birth at a birth center that we envisioned! Relaxed, complication and intervention free, and relatively fast. Woohoo!!!
UPDATED BIRTH STORY
Quincy was actually 'due' on the 29th of August, so when September arrived, we were all very anxious to meet him. My daughter would wake up every morning and immediately give my tummy a pep talk. One of my favorites was "Baby, you're taking a too long time. I have grown bigger and bigger and you are still in there!"
As the early days of September began drifting by, I was starting to feel very nervous about the timing of everything. My oldest son was beginning kindergarten on the 5th and I wanted to be there to see him off on his first day. My husband began a new job as an assistant principal and school was beginning for him too. Although everybody at his job is very considerate, it would have been odd for him to miss the first day or two of school in his new position.
My doctors had started to bring up the idea of induction at my 39 week appointment, but I had evaded any serious talk about it. Finally, we did have that discussion and we agreed upon the 4th, when I would be just about 41 weeks. Normally I would have pushed for more time, but with the circumstances, I felt that it would be better to have the support than wait for labor to begin by itself.
I had a pervious experience with pitocin that was horrible, so the idea of induction was not pleasant to me at all. I tried to stay positive and focus on the fact that I still had many days before that cut off of the 4th...then I only had three days, then I was down to two and I started believeing that things would just not happen on their own. Feeling a little anxious over this, I called my sister (who is a midwife). I was basically looking for anything I could do that would get things going. We'd tried all the less stressful things you hear about (red raspberry leaf tea, spicy foods, long walks, pineapple, sex, etc). She said those are the things she would normally discuss trying. She did say there were some other herbal ideas, but that she herself was not completely comfortable with knowing the correct amounts, etc. She also said that, though she doesn't recommend it, some people have had success with castor oil.
Well, it was two days before induction day and my fear of pitocin was mounting, so I decided to try the castor oil. I figured that if it didn't lead to labor and just had nasty side effects, they would be gone by the time the induction was scheduled. Otherwise, it seemed I had nothing to loose. So, down went the awful stuff. I took 3 tablespoons at about 3:00 P.M. on the 2nd. I then went up and took a nice nap until around 5. At that point, I woke up with some crampiness and went to the bathroom a couple of times. The cramps moved into regular contractions by about 6, and we headed to the hospital around 8. My water broke while we were in the car. Fortunately, I had a pad on which absorbed everything (I had been loosing my mucus plug on and off for the week prior to this).
When we arrived at the hospital, I was checked and found to be 4 cm. I labored for a while and then went into the birthing tub. I was looking forward to using this during my labor, but when I actually got in there, I hated it (turns out I was in transition and probably would have hated anything at that time). So, out I came. By the time I was dried off and dressed again, I was 9 cm and by the next contraction my body was pushing. I had epidurals for my other children and this stage was the biggest difference to me. Feeling your body take over during that pushing stage is amazing and indescribable! With the epidural, I felt contractions and could push with them, but the sensation was completely different than without the epidural. Anyway, I didn't need to push for very long. I think that the head was out in about four or five contractions. The shoulders seemed to take an awfully lot of time in comparison, but then he was out!
The birth center in our hospital has nice double beds, so my husband and I were able to lay together skin to skin with our new little boy for the first hour of his life. It was such a special bonding time. Then they brought in the scale and weighed him. 9 pounds 12 ounces!! We all slept for a little while and then my husband went home to the other children at 7 a.m. while I stayed at the birth center. The baby and I were able to go home that night. It was so nice to be able to tuck all our children in under our own roof that very evening.
I hope everybody else has the birth they envisioned. Seeing that your birthing hopes can come true is wonderful!!
: Congrats
I am so glad you got the birth of your dreams. Enjoy your babymoon!
Quincy!
: I'm so happy for you! 
