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The story of Kayden's entrance to the world

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#1 ·
Birth Story of Kayden Ardria Kathryn:

It all started around 4am on June 11th... I woke up to a very mild contraction. Even though I knew what a contraction felt like I still was reserving my excitement until I knew FOR SURE that it wouldn't go away. I got up and went to the bathroom and back to bed... about 10 minutes later I felt another one... promising!

Another 10 minutes went by and there was another one... after the next one I felt like I wanted to make sure things kept happening so I woke Richard (my DH) so we could go for a walk. At about 4:45 we went out for a walk... it was short though because there were so many people already awake (surprised me!) and it was noisy around the area I wanted to walk (around the pool and fountain area) so we went to buy something for breakfast. Yum! We got home around 6am and I was tired... the contractions were about 8 minutes apart now... I decided to try to sleep while I could. I woke up around 8am and the contractions were gone! Well, okay, not *gone* but they were few and far between... by the time it was 10am the contractions were about 20-30 minutes apart... pretty much just mild, but a couple were stronger... this continued until about 2pm when I was desperate! I just wanted the blasted contractions to start again for real! So I decided to try orgasm... I knew Richard would be nervous about sex during labor (even though my water hadn't broken) so I, ahem, (TMI) took care of it myself... it worked! That little burst of oxytocin was all I needed... the contractions started coming about 10 minutes apart again, and definately stronger now... about an hour later they were about 5 minutes apart... *about*... we timed them for a while since I wanted to be in a regular pattern before we called my midwife and let her know what was happening... they were averaging 5 minutes apart, but not regular... it would be like:
5 minutes
5 minutes
6 minutes
4 minutes
5 minutes
3 minutes
7 minutes
8 minutes
5 minutes
2 minutes
6 minutes
You get the idea... and the intensity and frequency was still dependant on what I was doing... when I would get in the shower they would come closer together, but be more mild... if I laid down they would be farther apart, but more intense... this continued for what seemed like an eternity! About 5pm-ish we called my midwife to let her know what was going on... we didn't want her to come over yet, so she said to call her back when they got consistently 5 minutes (or less) apart. By now I was starting to think I was going to be in labor forever... especially since I knew that Kayden had been posterior at my last apointment (a week prior) and that a posterior baby can cause prolonged labors because her head wouldn't be pressing on my cervix as hard as needed to cause dilation. I tried bouncing on the birth call... agonizing! I tried getting in the hands and knees position to make Kayden spin... agonizing!!! I couldn't stay in that position longer than 1 contraction! I tried walking as much as possible so to use gravity to help put pressure on my cervix, but I couldn't walk during the contractions and more than once nearly fell down when a contraction hit because my knees would buckle... the contractions were getting very very strong and they felt completely different than what I felt with Ayla (DD#1, 8yrs old)... these not only felt like strong tight cramps, but they also burned like crazy, even down into the top of my thighs! I felt like someone was digging in my butt with a dull knife! Around 10pm we called my midwife again and asked her to come over... I needed to know if Kayden had spun yet (I doubted it) and basically I just needed the reassurance that, even though everything felt SO different, it was still normal and my insides weren't exploding. My midwife and her student arrived around 10:30pm and we discussed letting them check me to see how far along I was... I knew that before I went into labor I was about 2.5cm dilated (I'd checked myself a few days prior)... we discussed the pros and cons, and finally I decided that letting them check outweighed the cons, IF they couldn't tell Kayden's position by palpating my belly... well, the student started digging in my belly (she gets in there really good... I swear, she could count baby toes from the outside if she wanted too!), and she couldn't tell FOR SURE what position Kayden was in... she didn't think she felt her back (which meant she hadn't spun yet), but she wasn't positive... so, I let them check... I was STILL only 2.5cm dilated! I could've screamed, but my midwife also let me know that I was completely effaced... in fact she said she'd never felt a cervix that thin, she had a hard time differentiating between my cervix and the bag of waters, which apparently was *right there*... because I wasn't dilated much and the waterbag was in the way, she couldn't tell Kayden's position... that was alright, I was 99% sure that the student was right and her back was still facing mine ~sighs~ Because the contractions were still coming in weird intervals, I was barely dilated, and Kayden was still posterior, we agreed that there was no need for them to stay since it could be several more hours... around 10:45pm they left... my midwife warned me that the belly check and internal could cause a couple REALLY strong contractions... she was right!

Right after they left I was hit with a contraction unlike anything I'd ever felt! Up till this point I hadn't had Richard bring out the blowup pool we'd bought... now I felt like it was DEFINATELY needed... I sent him to get the pool and get it filled... a few minutes later he came back in the room and let me know there was a hole in the bottom of the pool... I could've screamed! (Actually, I think I did because I was hit with another contraction ~laughs~) I was so upset! I soooo needed the water, but apparently it wasn't meant to be ~pouts~ And then another contraction hit... it was unbelievable! Totally took my breath away because I wasn't even close to being prepared for it... and then there was another! The contractions started coming right on top of each other, some were double, even triple, peaked as well... and Kayden wouldn't stop squirming either... intense contractions right on top of each other AND a baby moving at the same time are not a good combination!!! I was crying like crazy and could NOT relax my body no matter how hard I tried... I screamed at Richard to call my midwife again... they arrived about midnight (now it's June 12th!) in a rush... they took over the bedroom... I couldn't stop crying... there was NO reprieve between the contractions at ALL... the student came over to me and I cried that I couldn't relax... I don't remember her exact words, but basically she said that was alright... I felt better then, I had been afraid that they would pressure me to relax, when I knew I couldn't! My midwife's assistant arrived then and they all agreed I needed to get on my hands and knees again to help Kayden finish turning to anterior... I tried to turn over, but I couldn't make my legs move... literally... I tried and tried, but the contractions weren't letting up to give me ANY relief and I couldn't move during the contractions, so.... they moved me... Richard and the assistant (i think it was her) shifted me onto my knees... immediately the excrutiating pain became even WORSE... I screamed (I never screamed during Ayla's birth)... it didn't feel like labor, it seriously felt like my insides were ripping apart... after about 3-4 minutes (MAX) I felt a sharp POP and my water FLEW out... no one noticed! I yelled "I think my water broke"... a moment later someone (I don't know which of the midwives) said "Yep, sure did!"... they also seemed surprised that Kayden's head was much closer than they expected... I cried that I couldn't stay in that position so Richard climbed onto bed and sat in the corner and they helped me move onto him so I was reclined against him (pretty much the same position I had Ayla in, only I was reclined against a futon then)... immediately I felt like I had to push and I told them that as I started to push, it wasn't a choice... because I hadn't been dilated very much not to long before my midwife was concerned that I wasn't really dilated all the way so I let her check... oh good god that hurt! Not the check itself, but it made the contractions even worse, which I hadn't though possible! I still was pushing too, she asked me to breath through a contraction so she could check easier, but I told her that wasn't an option, it was happening too fast... she moved out of the way and the assistant moved in front of me and I put my feet against her knees and pushed... wow, it hurt so bad, but felt so good! The contractions were still on top of each other so I couldn't even count how many pushes I did... it seemed like continuous pushing... suddenly I felt like I was spliting apart... there was the head! I reached down and felt Kayden for the first time... all hairy and gooey... ewwww! They held a mirror for us and we saw her head... wow, it looked gross! ~laughs~ I asked if I was tearing because the stretching felt sooooo sharp... they said no, she was slipping out just fine. They asked Richard if he wanted to catch and I said he didn't, but he spoke up and said maybe... too late for that too though... I couldn't move off him to let him move around in front and I was caught with an even stronger pushing urge... I started screaming with a low primal yell and in just a couple more pushes they said one more push for her head... well, not just one more push for her head, but for ALL of her! As I pushed out her head the rest of her squirted out with such speed that Mary wasn't able to catch much of her! Kayden was wrapped quite well in her cord too... it was around her neck and both shoulders... they say it looked like a halter... I though more like a harness... they unwrapped the cord and handed my little, wet, wrinkled, white (vernix) girl to me... she looked around quietly, still hadn't cried... I rubbed her and rubbed her... no worries since the cord was still pulsing... in a minute she started making little whiney noises and then a little squeeky cry... just a little one though, but that was plenty! Richard and I couldn't keep our hands off her!

Kayden was born at 1:05am on June 12th. Depending on when you consider my labor really started it was either long or really short. Techincally I was in prodromal labor from 4am until about 11pm, so that doesn't *techincally* count as active or real labor... in that case I birthed Kayden in about 2 hours... but if you count ALL the contractions as my labor time, then she took about 21 hours... damn posterior labor!

It's more of a blur from there on... I remember putting her to my breast and she managed to latch on pretty well... took a little help from the student, but still, not bad for a baby only a few minutes old! I also remember her holding Kayden and moving from one side of me to the other and it hurt because the cord wasn't cut and I hadn't delivered the placenta yet (which reminds me... we kept the placenta so to bury it... I think it's time now... I wanted to wait until after the 7th day... don't know why, just felt right)... I think she stretched the cord a little too much while moving... I don't remember why she was moving with Kayden though... I also remember the assistant saying "And you made it through it all with your glasses on!"... I laughed at that! The placenta came out about 40 minutes later... no pitocin or anything... it wasn't offered, and I would've refused it anyway.

Through this all, no matter how bad the pain got, and it got BAD, I still knew that I didn't want any pain meds... Richard even asked me once if I wanted to go to the hospital since I was in SO much pain... I said "Why? I'd refuse everything they'd offer anyway!" I'd do it all again in a heartbeat too! No matter the pain it's all worth it! We're even discussing when we're going to TTC again... we're thinking in about a year. Planning a possible unassisted as well... but to be honest, it'll depend... if the baby is posterior again, I'll want a midwife there... more for support than anything else... but if the baby is anterior, unassisted all the way! This birth just reinforced my conviction that birth is what women were made for! We don't need all the medical crap in a healthy pregnancy and birth! Trust birth!!!
 
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