Baby # 5 Failed Homebirth, first C-Section, and final spawn
Birth story time!! (Nearly 3 years late - he came 9/26/2021!)
Okay soooo… we wanted a home birth to stay home and safe, have kiddos see a bit of birth, plus the water birth experience. Baby had other plans! Since I was positive we would go to 41 weeks the kids and I stayed a night at a local hotel. We swam, had family meetings in the hot tub, then jumped into the fresh sheets in a nice cold room. I was definitely feeling comfortable. And only hours prior our handyman installed the AC into the birth room! All the things that needed to be done were done.
2 am! Water breaks! Wonderful… grab the stuff, grab the kids, head over to our house (7 minute drive 😉 ). Call the midwife when contractions are 3 minutes apart and about 50 seconds. Call my mom to come help with the kiddos.
Midwife gets there around 4. We attempt to fill the birth pool but it’s too cold. She checks me and I’m 7 and -2 station. Yay!!! The moonlight is bright in the backyard so Harold and I have some slow dance contractions to Moonlight Sonata. The girls join me too! I gotta say both my girls were amazing and they definitely got a little insight on this beautiful process. However they were so tired!
And wow was I tired too; only around 3 hours of sleep (thanks Netflix’s The Circle!!! ). So I decide to take some side lying resting positions since the sun is up and things are slowing. Get maybe 40 minutes of half sleeping. Then I get back up and it picks up well! However now baby has jumped back up. I’m shocked!! Oh well, more maneuvers, more vertical.
By 10 am I’m feeling sore all over, legs are giving up and still no progress. I’m also feeling overwhelmed by the contractions. 5 hours of intensity and nothing has changed. I get in the tub, clary sage, warmth and massage. Maybe relaxing will help? An hour of this I get checked again but baby isn’t dropping, more walking… more leaning and breathing; but now I’m ready for relief and it’s time to consider the hospital and an epidural. Half feeling like a failure at the time, but I’m physically exhausted beyond imagination. Birth at 35 is much different than 24!
I discuss it with everybody there for third party input and the decision is made! My mom drives me in, I make literally the saddest birth bag ever. PJs, onesies, diapers, and a single change of clothes! The car seat is still in the box on our deck 😂
We get in smoothly and the anesthesiologist is called in. The epidural is placed perfectly. What a blessing from my last swiss cheese experience. Then the cold line enters, “Hello old friend” lol. I instantly feel relaxed and changes apparently happen! The nurse calls it 9/10 and -1/0 station! Then Dr. Young checks…. 6, -3. Cryyyy!
So we start pitocin, upping it all the way to 12 by 7/8 pm. The contractions get me to 8, -2 but then they stall. Then I start feeling it ALL. The tube for the epidural came out! “We should file a report on that, this has happened before.” I’m back there in pressureland and now I can’t stand or rock to ease it. The anesthesiologist has to come back to the hospital. He does get there but then it’s for a new order.
I rejected a cesarean around 8, but then after the tube pops out and full on pitocin contractions my mind has changed. Plus a part of me wanted that experience. And the idea of it finally being done was what I needed. I was sleeping between contractions and crying. Not fun or empowering. It was suffering. And baby’s heart rate was decreasing during contractions.
I honestly thought he would be here by at least my second longest birth, 16 hours. But we were at 20 now. And I hadn’t eaten more than 3 spoonfuls of oatmeal and was sweating nonstop still since the cold air annoyed me! So I was also highly dehydrated up to that point. My whole time at the hospital almost nothing came out of the catheter. It had me further concerned on my body’s function with this birth.
Yay for “geriatric pregnancy” lol -- so another major decision… doc said if I wanted to tie my tubes that would be the best time. I told him I wanted to before. And I think I finally encountered my uterus’ limitations. So no more babies from this body. This year is gonna be so bittersweet with our last baby! 😭
I’m dressed and prepped. Told the team I want baby after 12 so he will be a master number 22 in numerology! I was half kidding but they actually had some dosage delays where I felt the knife; Slicy feels and needing a re-up pushed delivery time back lol! 12:02!
I heard the cry on the other side of the sheet. SHOW ME! Harold had the first 15 minutes of bonding and it totally warmed my heart to see that he was the one this time around. I finally see him with my head twisted up awkwardly. 🥰 LOVE!
I’m all cleaned up in about 30 minutes and we move to another room to get right to nursing and skin to skin. Perfect latch right away and I get a good look at this handsome guy! Cleft chin, two dimples, blue eyes, and brown hair!! 21 inches long, 9 lb 2 oz!!!
I really feel like I had 3 different births this time. In the time span of 22 hours I suppose I could have. The homebirth: a caring compassionate midwife and assistant who supported me in whatever I wanted to do, a warm tub, moonlight, slow dancing. Then the relief of hospital medication, great nurses and a knowledgeable OB, along with a larger team of support to make me feel safer; then the c-section and surrender to new experience and meeting my son a different way. And as for my Cesarean and the relief from numbing and simplicity of baby getting removed, I can say to all the mamas out there I totally GET IT!
And his name is……!!!!!!!! I have no clue still! 😜
(Update: Alvin Jackson “AJ” Grieco)
Okay soooo… we wanted a home birth to stay home and safe, have kiddos see a bit of birth, plus the water birth experience. Baby had other plans! Since I was positive we would go to 41 weeks the kids and I stayed a night at a local hotel. We swam, had family meetings in the hot tub, then jumped into the fresh sheets in a nice cold room. I was definitely feeling comfortable. And only hours prior our handyman installed the AC into the birth room! All the things that needed to be done were done.
2 am! Water breaks! Wonderful… grab the stuff, grab the kids, head over to our house (7 minute drive 😉 ). Call the midwife when contractions are 3 minutes apart and about 50 seconds. Call my mom to come help with the kiddos.
Midwife gets there around 4. We attempt to fill the birth pool but it’s too cold. She checks me and I’m 7 and -2 station. Yay!!! The moonlight is bright in the backyard so Harold and I have some slow dance contractions to Moonlight Sonata. The girls join me too! I gotta say both my girls were amazing and they definitely got a little insight on this beautiful process. However they were so tired!
And wow was I tired too; only around 3 hours of sleep (thanks Netflix’s The Circle!!! ). So I decide to take some side lying resting positions since the sun is up and things are slowing. Get maybe 40 minutes of half sleeping. Then I get back up and it picks up well! However now baby has jumped back up. I’m shocked!! Oh well, more maneuvers, more vertical.
By 10 am I’m feeling sore all over, legs are giving up and still no progress. I’m also feeling overwhelmed by the contractions. 5 hours of intensity and nothing has changed. I get in the tub, clary sage, warmth and massage. Maybe relaxing will help? An hour of this I get checked again but baby isn’t dropping, more walking… more leaning and breathing; but now I’m ready for relief and it’s time to consider the hospital and an epidural. Half feeling like a failure at the time, but I’m physically exhausted beyond imagination. Birth at 35 is much different than 24!
I discuss it with everybody there for third party input and the decision is made! My mom drives me in, I make literally the saddest birth bag ever. PJs, onesies, diapers, and a single change of clothes! The car seat is still in the box on our deck 😂
We get in smoothly and the anesthesiologist is called in. The epidural is placed perfectly. What a blessing from my last swiss cheese experience. Then the cold line enters, “Hello old friend” lol. I instantly feel relaxed and changes apparently happen! The nurse calls it 9/10 and -1/0 station! Then Dr. Young checks…. 6, -3. Cryyyy!
So we start pitocin, upping it all the way to 12 by 7/8 pm. The contractions get me to 8, -2 but then they stall. Then I start feeling it ALL. The tube for the epidural came out! “We should file a report on that, this has happened before.” I’m back there in pressureland and now I can’t stand or rock to ease it. The anesthesiologist has to come back to the hospital. He does get there but then it’s for a new order.
I rejected a cesarean around 8, but then after the tube pops out and full on pitocin contractions my mind has changed. Plus a part of me wanted that experience. And the idea of it finally being done was what I needed. I was sleeping between contractions and crying. Not fun or empowering. It was suffering. And baby’s heart rate was decreasing during contractions.
I honestly thought he would be here by at least my second longest birth, 16 hours. But we were at 20 now. And I hadn’t eaten more than 3 spoonfuls of oatmeal and was sweating nonstop still since the cold air annoyed me! So I was also highly dehydrated up to that point. My whole time at the hospital almost nothing came out of the catheter. It had me further concerned on my body’s function with this birth.
Yay for “geriatric pregnancy” lol -- so another major decision… doc said if I wanted to tie my tubes that would be the best time. I told him I wanted to before. And I think I finally encountered my uterus’ limitations. So no more babies from this body. This year is gonna be so bittersweet with our last baby! 😭
I’m dressed and prepped. Told the team I want baby after 12 so he will be a master number 22 in numerology! I was half kidding but they actually had some dosage delays where I felt the knife; Slicy feels and needing a re-up pushed delivery time back lol! 12:02!
I heard the cry on the other side of the sheet. SHOW ME! Harold had the first 15 minutes of bonding and it totally warmed my heart to see that he was the one this time around. I finally see him with my head twisted up awkwardly. 🥰 LOVE!
I’m all cleaned up in about 30 minutes and we move to another room to get right to nursing and skin to skin. Perfect latch right away and I get a good look at this handsome guy! Cleft chin, two dimples, blue eyes, and brown hair!! 21 inches long, 9 lb 2 oz!!!
I really feel like I had 3 different births this time. In the time span of 22 hours I suppose I could have. The homebirth: a caring compassionate midwife and assistant who supported me in whatever I wanted to do, a warm tub, moonlight, slow dancing. Then the relief of hospital medication, great nurses and a knowledgeable OB, along with a larger team of support to make me feel safer; then the c-section and surrender to new experience and meeting my son a different way. And as for my Cesarean and the relief from numbing and simplicity of baby getting removed, I can say to all the mamas out there I totally GET IT!
And his name is……!!!!!!!! I have no clue still! 😜
(Update: Alvin Jackson “AJ” Grieco)