birth story
I finally found some time to write out a birth story,
7/5: I worked all day, but felt some pelvic pressure on and off. Someone commented that I had dropped several inches over the course of the day. I was hoping to go into labor; 7/5 is my mom’s birthday. I had my 39 week appointment at 4 and decided to finally have a check; I was 2 cm and baby was still very high. We discussed my stopping work, but I wasn’t sure about going out just yet. I decided to call in sick to work for Wednesday.
7/6: I relaxed all morning; watched a couple of episodes of Gilmore Girls. I planned to bake cookies for a picnic on Friday, so I pulled butter out to soften. Around 11 I made a smoothie and continued watching the last season of GG. I had a contraction around noon; I had to breathe through it. 15 min went by before the next one hit. When another one came a few minutes later, I sent DH a text. He didn’t respond right away so I called him. I needed a watch to time contractions, but he had his at work. I called my doula to let her know I thought things were starting, but I wasn’t sure yet. She suggested I eat something and try to sleep. I grabbed some leftovers and had a few bites. I tried to sleep, but contractions were coming too hard and fast. I figured it was time to start timing; I found an app online and got started. A few minutes into timing, I had to use the bathroom; spent 20 min in there. I had some bloody show. After, I called DH and my doula and told them it definitely was time. DH had to pick up DS from daycare; he wanted to “be there when you push the baby out.” Things get a bit blurry; contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes. My water broke around 2:30; I had DH call the midwives and we were told to head to hospital. DH started packing the car while Melissa (doula) helped me cope with contractions. She also checked on baby’s heart rate, things looked good. I started to feel like pushing, so we got to the car as quickly as we could. Melissa called the midwives to let them know we needed to bypass admissions and go straight to delivery room.
Melissa wheeled me up to L&D while DH grabbed our bag, DS and my SIL. I got in the bed, was checked and was at 10. Because this was a vbac, CFM was required. I tried being on my hands and knees, but baby wasn’t a fan. I tried leaning on bed, but the monitor didn’t like that. I was given the choice of getting back in the bed or internal monitoring. I chose to get back in bed. Started pushing semi reclined, grabbing my legs. Things were not progressing very fast, and baby’s heart rate was not good. Oxygen was put on me at some point, and I got some IV fluids. I started to get scared; my c-section happened for this exact reason. Melissa suggested trying the birth bar. The nurses got it set up with a sheet tied to it. I grabbed the sheet with each contraction, Melissa asked if her counting would help me focus and I agreed to give it a try. The counting did help me, as did my midwife having her hand inside me. Before I knew it I was told to feel my baby. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing it. DS was at the foot of the bed eating a granola bar as his sibling was pushed into the world. My baby was put on my chest and we had DS look and tell us the sex. He stood there quietly until DH asked if the baby had a penis, then he said “yes, it’s a boy.” He wanted a sister, so he was a little disappointed. I snuggled with Liam for a bit, he coughed up some fluid, then Melissa helped us get started breastfeeding.
While I was getting acquainted with my new son, my midwife was repairing my tears, 2 2nd degree tears. I was not prepared for all the swelling; it was hard to walk for a few days, but this has been a much easier recovery. I’m thrilled that I had the birth I wanted; I’m beyond grateful to Melissa for helping me find the position that worked for me.
Liam Albert was born at 6:54 pm; he was 20 ½ inches and 7 lbs 15.5 oz.
7/5: I worked all day, but felt some pelvic pressure on and off. Someone commented that I had dropped several inches over the course of the day. I was hoping to go into labor; 7/5 is my mom’s birthday. I had my 39 week appointment at 4 and decided to finally have a check; I was 2 cm and baby was still very high. We discussed my stopping work, but I wasn’t sure about going out just yet. I decided to call in sick to work for Wednesday.
7/6: I relaxed all morning; watched a couple of episodes of Gilmore Girls. I planned to bake cookies for a picnic on Friday, so I pulled butter out to soften. Around 11 I made a smoothie and continued watching the last season of GG. I had a contraction around noon; I had to breathe through it. 15 min went by before the next one hit. When another one came a few minutes later, I sent DH a text. He didn’t respond right away so I called him. I needed a watch to time contractions, but he had his at work. I called my doula to let her know I thought things were starting, but I wasn’t sure yet. She suggested I eat something and try to sleep. I grabbed some leftovers and had a few bites. I tried to sleep, but contractions were coming too hard and fast. I figured it was time to start timing; I found an app online and got started. A few minutes into timing, I had to use the bathroom; spent 20 min in there. I had some bloody show. After, I called DH and my doula and told them it definitely was time. DH had to pick up DS from daycare; he wanted to “be there when you push the baby out.” Things get a bit blurry; contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes. My water broke around 2:30; I had DH call the midwives and we were told to head to hospital. DH started packing the car while Melissa (doula) helped me cope with contractions. She also checked on baby’s heart rate, things looked good. I started to feel like pushing, so we got to the car as quickly as we could. Melissa called the midwives to let them know we needed to bypass admissions and go straight to delivery room.
Melissa wheeled me up to L&D while DH grabbed our bag, DS and my SIL. I got in the bed, was checked and was at 10. Because this was a vbac, CFM was required. I tried being on my hands and knees, but baby wasn’t a fan. I tried leaning on bed, but the monitor didn’t like that. I was given the choice of getting back in the bed or internal monitoring. I chose to get back in bed. Started pushing semi reclined, grabbing my legs. Things were not progressing very fast, and baby’s heart rate was not good. Oxygen was put on me at some point, and I got some IV fluids. I started to get scared; my c-section happened for this exact reason. Melissa suggested trying the birth bar. The nurses got it set up with a sheet tied to it. I grabbed the sheet with each contraction, Melissa asked if her counting would help me focus and I agreed to give it a try. The counting did help me, as did my midwife having her hand inside me. Before I knew it I was told to feel my baby. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing it. DS was at the foot of the bed eating a granola bar as his sibling was pushed into the world. My baby was put on my chest and we had DS look and tell us the sex. He stood there quietly until DH asked if the baby had a penis, then he said “yes, it’s a boy.” He wanted a sister, so he was a little disappointed. I snuggled with Liam for a bit, he coughed up some fluid, then Melissa helped us get started breastfeeding.
While I was getting acquainted with my new son, my midwife was repairing my tears, 2 2nd degree tears. I was not prepared for all the swelling; it was hard to walk for a few days, but this has been a much easier recovery. I’m thrilled that I had the birth I wanted; I’m beyond grateful to Melissa for helping me find the position that worked for me.
Liam Albert was born at 6:54 pm; he was 20 ½ inches and 7 lbs 15.5 oz.