Norah Mackenzie arrived at 3:59pm on Wednesday, May 19th.<br>
7 pounds 12 ounces, 19.5 inches<br><br>
First draft of a birth story is below, it needs some work but I wanted to get it up.<br><br>
The midwives had called May 21st my due date but I told everyone, from my earliest weeks of pregnancy, that she would come on the 19th and she did.<br><br>
Contractions started early Wednesday morning, May 19th but I had several days of early morning contractions so I didn’t pay much attention. By 8am I was pretty sure that things were getting serious, but since this was my first baby I was hesitant to believe. DH began timing my contractions and they were about 7 minutes apart. I walked around the house to keep things moving and about an hour later I was needing to vocalize through the contractions that were 5 minutes apart. We called the birth center and I spoke to the midwife on call (who was my favorite!) and she told me to come in since I was worried about the drive, but to take my time getting there.<br><br>
I got in the shower and the water felt wonderful but the contractions were clearly coming faster. DH called for me to hurry up and only later told me my contractions were every 2 minutes at that point. The ride to the birth center was not fun but I survived and was 4-5 centimeters when we arrived at noon.<br><br>
We were left alone in the birthing suite to labor and the midwife advised that I not get in the water yet because she didn’t want my labor to stall. I moaned through the contractions and spent a lot of time draped over the birthing ball since I was feeling so much pressure on my back. I labored that way for a little over an hour before I started to get desperate to be in the tub. I begged DH to fill it for me since our midwife was not around but she finally came back just before he was going to call for her. I was bent over the bathroom sink at that point and having bloody show all down my legs. I was checked again and was at 8-9 centimeter and the midwife quickly began filling the tub and gathering supplies for delivery. She was shocked at how fast I had progressed and apologized for leaving us alone for so long.<br><br>
The water felt wonderful and I continued to moan through contractions that slowed down in the tub. I was starting to feel panicky about half an hour later and the midwife suggested I try to push with the next contraction. I felt like needed to poop and wouldn’t try pushing in the tub so they moved me onto the toilet where I tried my first pushes while I gagged into a garbage can DH was holding for me. (ah, transition!)<br><br>
Pushing was my least favorite part. I practiced pushing on the toilet for awhile before I was convinced that I didn’t need to poop and my gagging stopped and then I moved to the bed. I pushed for several contractions before the midwife asked if I would try the birthing stool to help move the baby into better position. I pushed for 3 contractions on the stool before she was satisfied that the baby was lined up correctly and I returned to the bed where Norah was delivered at 3:59pm, 4 hours after arriving at the birth center. I did tear slightly which is not bothering me a bit. The torturous part is that I broke my tailbone 3 pushes before she was delivered. I remember hearing the crack but didn’t think anything of it at the time. It was only a couple hours later that I began to be aware of how sore I was down there and it continues to give me some trouble now 4 days postpartum.<br><br>
Still, it was an amazing birth experience and I feel victorious that I got my birth center birth when so many people doubted it. Nursing is going well although over production has be soaking wet most of the time! In short, I am just so, so happy. Congrats to all!
7 pounds 12 ounces, 19.5 inches<br><br>
First draft of a birth story is below, it needs some work but I wanted to get it up.<br><br>
The midwives had called May 21st my due date but I told everyone, from my earliest weeks of pregnancy, that she would come on the 19th and she did.<br><br>
Contractions started early Wednesday morning, May 19th but I had several days of early morning contractions so I didn’t pay much attention. By 8am I was pretty sure that things were getting serious, but since this was my first baby I was hesitant to believe. DH began timing my contractions and they were about 7 minutes apart. I walked around the house to keep things moving and about an hour later I was needing to vocalize through the contractions that were 5 minutes apart. We called the birth center and I spoke to the midwife on call (who was my favorite!) and she told me to come in since I was worried about the drive, but to take my time getting there.<br><br>
I got in the shower and the water felt wonderful but the contractions were clearly coming faster. DH called for me to hurry up and only later told me my contractions were every 2 minutes at that point. The ride to the birth center was not fun but I survived and was 4-5 centimeters when we arrived at noon.<br><br>
We were left alone in the birthing suite to labor and the midwife advised that I not get in the water yet because she didn’t want my labor to stall. I moaned through the contractions and spent a lot of time draped over the birthing ball since I was feeling so much pressure on my back. I labored that way for a little over an hour before I started to get desperate to be in the tub. I begged DH to fill it for me since our midwife was not around but she finally came back just before he was going to call for her. I was bent over the bathroom sink at that point and having bloody show all down my legs. I was checked again and was at 8-9 centimeter and the midwife quickly began filling the tub and gathering supplies for delivery. She was shocked at how fast I had progressed and apologized for leaving us alone for so long.<br><br>
The water felt wonderful and I continued to moan through contractions that slowed down in the tub. I was starting to feel panicky about half an hour later and the midwife suggested I try to push with the next contraction. I felt like needed to poop and wouldn’t try pushing in the tub so they moved me onto the toilet where I tried my first pushes while I gagged into a garbage can DH was holding for me. (ah, transition!)<br><br>
Pushing was my least favorite part. I practiced pushing on the toilet for awhile before I was convinced that I didn’t need to poop and my gagging stopped and then I moved to the bed. I pushed for several contractions before the midwife asked if I would try the birthing stool to help move the baby into better position. I pushed for 3 contractions on the stool before she was satisfied that the baby was lined up correctly and I returned to the bed where Norah was delivered at 3:59pm, 4 hours after arriving at the birth center. I did tear slightly which is not bothering me a bit. The torturous part is that I broke my tailbone 3 pushes before she was delivered. I remember hearing the crack but didn’t think anything of it at the time. It was only a couple hours later that I began to be aware of how sore I was down there and it continues to give me some trouble now 4 days postpartum.<br><br>
Still, it was an amazing birth experience and I feel victorious that I got my birth center birth when so many people doubted it. Nursing is going well although over production has be soaking wet most of the time! In short, I am just so, so happy. Congrats to all!
