Thank you!
Here's a more detailed birth story. I may add more once I get a better time line from my doula.
My guess date was July 13th, 2008, but I just had a feeling my baby would come on June 27th. My babies tend to come early. Originally I was thinking my baby would come at the beginning of July, but after a Hypnobabies script one day I felt strongly that it would be June 27th.
I slipped on the ice in February, landed on my back, and broke my elbow. I didn’t realize until the middle of June that my pelvis must have been injured during my fall. My baby was presenting posterior and the positioning exercises I was doing weren’t working to rotate her. I went to an excellent chiropractor who determined exactly what was off in my pelvis. We began treatment. After two visits my baby turned around to an anterior position, which was heartening. She turned back posterior, however, the Wednesday before she was born. I had another chiropractic appointment that day and hoped it would work to help her move again.
I had pressure waves on an off starting the morning of Thursday, June 26th. My husband, Matt, decided to work from home in case things picked up. I took a nap in the morning. We realized there were a few more things we needed for the birth so I went shopping for those things. When I came home things had pretty much stopped. I was a little disappointed, but figured I’d just rest some more.
At five the waves started again and were more intense, but irregular. I wondered what position my baby was in, but was confused about what I was feeling. I called my doula and midwife who arrived around 8 pm. My birthing waves were 3-5 minutes apart lasting about a minute.
I was feeling back pressure so I got in the birthing tub, which helped. Time is very fuzzy, but I ended up getting out after awhile to walk around and use positions that would help my baby rotate and descend since none of us could figure out what position she was in. I walked up and down the stairs and up and down my upstairs hallway. I stopped and leaned over the railing during my pressure waves, focusing on releasing my belly. It felt good to sway back and forth. My doula was very helpful in giving me lots of affirmations and hypnosis suggestions. I used my Hypnobabies Peace cue a lot, which released anesthesia to where I needed it in my body. My waves were very intense and I remember commenting to her something like “I don’t know why anyone would choose to do this without hypnosis.”
I got back in the tub and out again a few more times. I don’t really know how many. At 11 pm I decided that I could probably sleep, so everybody went downstairs while I rested. I dozed for an hour or so and then got up to be more active again. I listened to my Hypnobabies Fear Release script while I rested. It might have been at this point that we did the stair walking, I really don’t remember.
At 4 am I felt like I could sleep again so I lay down. I woke up with the sun streaming in through the window. I remember feeling pretty annoyed and frustrated that it was morning and my baby still wasn’t here. My pressure waves had stopped while I slept and I felt a lot of baby movement. The waves started again once I woke up. My midwife felt my belly and it seemed that my baby had gone all the way from what we thought was LOT or LOA (back near my left side) to ROP (back near my right side). That was discouraging, too. My chiropractor had given me her cell phone number so I called her. She told my doula some specific exercises for me to do to help my pelvis and my baby’s rotation. My midwife went home. My doula stayed for another hour or so while we did the exercises. At around 8:30 the waves stopped all together, even though I was 6 cm open. My doula tucked me in and told me that she was leaving but that she wanted me to call her as soon as anything changed.
At 11:30 or so I woke up. I took a shower and decided that I was hungry and wanted to go eat at my favorite restaurant. I felt like I needed a change of scene and a distraction from the total lack of anything happening. My husband’s brother and his wife had stayed the night to be with our other kids, which was very helpful, and they stayed all day Friday to help out, too. During lunch Matt and I talked about how if we were having a hospital birth I’d very likely be on pitocin or have my water broken or a c-section for “failure to progress”. I was very glad that wasn’t happening, even though I was not exactly happy about being stalled at 6 cm.
I rested in the afternoon and had a good cry to release my frustrations. At 6 my waves started again in earnest. I felt my belly and was happily surprised to find a solid little back lying along my left side. I called my doula and my midwife. Since I was feeling a bit like a watched pot we decided to have them leave their homes at 7:30 so I wouldn’t have to think about calling them again.
I was feeling a lot of back pressure even though my baby was now in a good position. I think this was due to my pelvic injury. The tub helped so much. I alternated between listening to my Hypnobabies Birth Guide, Birthing Day Affirmations, and a playlist I created with songs by artists such as the Beatles, Cat Stevens, Eva Cassidy, and Simon and Garfunkel.
I don’t know what time it was, but my midwife checked me and I was 7 cm, which was encouraging. My cervix was posterior, though, so I got out and did more of the exercises my chiropractor recommended with the hopes that my cervix would move forward. After awhile things started to slow down and space out again.
My midwife, doula, husband, and I had a conversation about the benefits and risks of breaking my water. I knew there was a reasonable chance that breaking my water would get things moving again, which was quite an appealing thought since I was more than ready to meet my baby. I was also worried that my baby would again turn back into a posterior position, which I really didn’t want her to do, and that it would be less likely for her to move positions once the water was gone. I knew there was a chance that it would do nothing, which could potentially lead us to the hospital for pitocin. I knew that breaking my water increased the chance of infection and opened a very small potential for a cord prolapse, but since my baby was quite low I wasn’t concerned about this. I mulled things over for awhile and then decided that I wanted to try it.
I knew that my waves would probably be more intense after my midwife broke my water, so I listened to my Hypnobabies Deepening CD first. After it was over I sat on the birth stool with Matt behind me and used my Peace cue while my midwife broke my water. It was clear and I got back in the tub. I waited there and kind of bounced around in various positions. Nothing was happening. I got out and swayed my hips around. I had a good pressure wave standing in my bathroom. I felt my baby move down a bit, which was encouraging. I decided that I needed to walk around, so I walked up and down the stairs. I had a few pressure waves, but I could tell they weren’t exactly what I needed in order to finish dilating.
I sat on the birth stool again with my husband behind me so my midwife could hold my cervix forward. After a few minutes of this I felt dizzy and wanted to lie down. I might have gotten dizzy because I was breathing a little quickly due to saying my Peace cue so many times. I lay down on the bed and took deep breaths. That’s when I had a very long and very strong pressure wave. That was good news. I got back in the tub.
My waves were much more intense now and I was feeling pretty much constant pressure in my back. I had Matt press on my back, which felt so much better. Occasionally he would remove his hands because they got tired and I would immediately call for him to put them back. After the birth he said that it was very tiring, but that he figured I was exerting much more effort than he was.
I mainly alternated between a squat and kneeling/frog position and I was really helpful to be in the water since I could change positions so easily. I felt pressure as my baby moved down more. I experimented with pushing to see if that felt better. I wasn’t sure. I reached inside and felt that there was still some cervix in the way. After a few more waves with it not moving, I asked my midwife to hold it forward while I pushed through. She did and this was probably the most difficult part of the birth for me. I breathed as much anesthesia as I could there to my cervix while I pushed. I felt my baby’s head slip through my cervix and it was a relief.
I pushed in a squat for a bit but my legs felt like they were about to cramp so I switched back to a frog position. I felt my baby’s head move down my birth path and I reached down to touch it with my hand. I was confused by the texture, but didn’t open my eyes to look. I provided my own perineal support as I pushed her head out. With previous babies, once the head was out the body pretty much followed immediately. With this baby, I actually had to push her body out. Clara Helen was born at 11:57 pm on June 27th, 2008.
Once she was out, my midwife passed her between my legs and I pulled her to my chest. She was wrapped up pretty well in her cord and my midwife helped untangle her. I held her on my chest and talked to her. She was pretty quiet and a bit blue so my midwife had us get out of the tub so she could work on the baby and help get her breathing better. After a few minutes she pinked up and was breathing much better. She stayed right by me the entire time, which I thought was great. I talked to her and touched her while my midwife worked on her. I remember with my first baby, who was born in a hospital, that they took her to the other side of the room where I couldn’t even see her. I much prefer my babies to stay right with me.
Matt got a turn holding Clara while I took a shower. Afterward I lay down in bed and nursed Clara for awhile before we did the newborn exam and found out how much she weighed. She was 6 lbs. 10 oz., 21.5” long. She has very thick, dark hair that was so coated in vernix that it felt somewhat spiky. That was the strange texture I was feeling previously.
I feel very grateful for the wonderful support I had throughout this rather long and unusual birthing time. My older two daughters (8 and 6) also helped out by putting cool wash cloths on my face and neck, bringing me water and food, and placing their hands on my shoulder (a Hypnobabies deepening technique).
My oldest three all wanted to be woken up for the actual birth. My oldest woke up and stayed awake for awhile after the birth. My second oldest blearily watched the birth and then said she was going back to bed. My third oldest (3) came in, told me she was tired, and then went back to bed. She doesn’t remember it at all.
My fourth daughter (21.5 months) didn’t meet her new sister until the next morning. She has been ahhing over and kissing and hugging Clara ever since. She doesn’t get upset about me not holding her. She gets upset that I’m not letting her hold the baby. I suppose that’s better than sibling rivalry although I am a bit nervous about how much and how rough the love is that she’s wanting to give.
Overall things went well and we are happy to have her here!
CONGRATS! 
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