Well Prepared for Scheduled C-Section

Our little one was born, happy and healthy, on July 8th. Ivy Claire Lapham Timm (she's a girl!) was 8 lbs. 14 oz. and 21 1/4 inches.

The anesthesiologist had Benji wait just outside the door of the operating room while he administered the spinal for the c-section, but I knew he was just a few feet away, and they brought him in 10 minutes later, after the spinal was administered and I was nub. They had him sit right at my head, and the drape was hung at the top of my chest so he could be right with me and still see what was happening below... I wanted updates from him.

Around 8:30 a.m. he announced that the baby had hair--I asked how much, and if he could see the baby's face, but he said the baby was back in. Apparently, it was difficult to get the baby around the tumor--Dr. Berkoff had to use a suction on her head and it took five pulls with the suction, with her head just peeking out, to get her around the tumor and out. Benji said at one paint Dr. Berkoff had a foot propped, against the table and was pulling back hard while the other doctor was on a stool at my side, pushing down hard on my abdomen. The incision never hurt, but I had hand print bruises all over my stomach and felt sore and bruised there, but not nearly as bad as I expected to feel. Benji got some photos of the tumor too--it was the size of a giant grapefruit. Unfortunately, it was too well attached and vascular to remove it then, but we're hoping it will shrink postpartum.

Ivy was born at 8:36 a.m., and they took her right to the table to clear her airway... I couldn't see her because one of the doctors was blocking my view, but they kept saying she looked great. Benji said she was so blue, and that it was probably best that I was just told she was great without seeing her color. When I did finally see her feet, i couldn't believe how blue they really were. Yet within a minute I heard her cry, which made me sob. As soon as she cried, they brought her right over and help her against may face; the anesthesiologist took off my oxygen and undid my arms so I could touch her right away for a minute to weigh and measure her, then brought her right back. it was wonderful to have her touching me all the time.

Laura was there as I as I was wheeled into recovery, she was going to come into the operating room if Benji needed to leave with the baby, but she came into recovery and took photos of our first moments with her, which meant so much.

We stayed at St. Mary's until Tuesday; the nurses and lactation consultants were so, so very helpful and we were glad to be there and soak in all the advice and tips we could.

Ivy is now nursing so well, sleeping well, and just all around perfect. I just look at her and cry several times a day; I feel so lucky to have her here, and so healthy after such a rocky start.

Thank you so much for all your guidance and support; you really helped put me in the right place to be ready for everything and advocate for the best birth experience I could have, given that it needed to be a c-section.

Corey & Benji, Shorewood

Completely Natural Labor & Peaceful Birth

Holden was born completely naturally after a very short and peaceful labor. My water broke at 4:30 p.m. on June 3rd. We arrived at the hospital at 9:30 that evening. Our doula helped us settle in and create the relaxing environment we wanted per our birth plan. The lights dimmed, the room silent, there were candles (battery operate, of course) spread around the room. Around 10:30 p.m. I was 4 cm and 85% effaced. I used some relaxation exercises/breathing, told my body that it needed to dilate and deliver this baby and kept repeating positive birth mantras in my mind. About 15 minutes later, I went into transition. Transition lasted about 45 minutes, afterward I was 9.5 cm and 95% effaced.

I pushed for two hours to get him out due to him being stuck sunny side up but it was all worth it! Just as planned the room was dimmed and silent as he was born. Justin announced that we had a boy and spoke Holden's name to him for the first time. Holden was immediately placed on my chest and we both wept tears of joy and told Holden how much we loved him. He was so alert and was able to nurse for 45 minutes! His rooting reflex worked just as we learned in the classes and he was able to crawl around and latch himself without really any assistance. He remained wide-eyed and alert for a few hours, which allowed Justin and I time to bond with him. It was truly the most beautiful experience Justin and I have ever felt.

Amy & Justin, Glendale

Birthing Experience Was All They Desired

Audrey Lynn was born on May 26th at 3:46 a.m. She was 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 18.5 inches.

I was having light contractions from the time I woke up on Wednesday the 25th. By 3 p.m., the contractions were getting more intense, but I still wasn't sure if "this was it." Conor came home from work at 5 p.m., we did a little curb walking in the rain and some stair climbing. After pacing my house 100 times, we finally checked into the hospital at 9:30 p.m.

I thought I was really far along, but to my dismay, I was only 4.5 cm (at my doctor's appointment the week before, I was 2.5 cm)! Fortunately, things progressed fairly quickly. We requested to not have the monitor on me and our nurse reluctantly said OK. Conor and I think she was slightly skeptical of our desire for a natural birth. I was 6 cm an hour after settling into our hospital room. Every hour the nurse came in to put the monitor on me and I had to lay on the bed for twenty minutes (super uncomfortable as my contractions intensified).

We were able to labor in the tub until I was 7.5 cm. After that, it was pretty uncomfortable for me to get around. Every hour after that, I progressed a little more. My water finally broke at 9 cm (even though the nurse kept offering to break it in order to help things along... I happily declined every time!). The doctor came in to tell me I had five more contractions to get through and then I could start pushing. I remember looking at Conor and feeling really scared and tired and unsure of myself. I just wasn't sure I could go any further. We counted the five contractions and sure enough! By 3:35 a.m. on Thursday, I started pushing. Ten minutes later (although it seemed A LOT longer), Audrey was born! We spend the next three hours with our wide awake little girl before she fell asleep from all the excitement. Conor was an amazing coach and for the most part our birthing experience was all that we desired!

Mary & Conor, Waukesha

Stuck With Cervical Lip for Too Long

On Friday, May 14th I went to the doctor and discovered I was 3 cm dilated and baby was getting ready to make her arrival so Jeremy and I decided to take a nice long walk and see if we could get things moving along. Later that night i experienced some cramping but nothing indicating labor. Saturday morning was a different story.

I woke up and immediately started to experience heavy cramping. We started timing things but they weren't close enough or consistent enough to be too concerned. I cleaned up around the house and watched some TV so I could relax and be distracted. As the day went on contractions were closer together and lasted for longer.

About 6 p.m. contractions were about 5-7 minutes apart and getting more uncomfortable. We wanted to stay home as long as we could so we continued to hand out at the house. At about 8 p.m. my water broke or rather was partially punctured. We called the doctor and she said we should head to the hospital. Once at the hospital things started to progress rather quickly. My doula and Jeremy were very helpful in keeping me focused on my breathing and reminding me to relax through the pain. I changed positions several times which I found very comforting and helpful. I spent quite a lot of time in the tub in different positions.

In the tub Dr. Koch checked me and I was about 8 cm dilated so she punctured the remainder of my membranes to move things along. At this point she suggested I move out of the tub and back to room. I sat on the birthing ball for a while as contractions intensified. Dr. Koch checked my cervix again and realized I was not longer progressing. She discovered that my lovely little girl was on an angle so she wasn't lined up in the birth canal. I did some positioning of my body to get her to move into the proper position. After about 30 minutes of that she was properly aligned but my body was exhausted and still not progressing.

I continue to try the birthing ball and laying on my side but nothing. As were now well into Sunday late morning I was exhausted. Dr. Koch said I needed to relax and suggested I receive an Epidural to see if that would help my cervix dilate. I was very reluctant since that wasn't my plan but my body really couldn't take it anymore and different things didn't move along I would need a C-section. Jeremy and I discussed it and decided we would try the Epidural and hope for the best. After a few hours on the Epidural my cervix was still not progressing so I needed Pitocin as well.

About 1-2 hours after the Pitocin I was ready to push. I pushed for an hour and at 3:35 p.m. (after 30 hours of labor) Olive Frances Sawyer was born. We are doing well and happy but tired.

Jessica & Jeremy, Mequon

Pride of Accomplishment & Awe at Body's Ability to Birth

I was given a "due date" of Sunday, April 3rd, and that day came and went without even a Braxton Hicks contraction to be felt (as I suspected it would). As the next few days also passed without incident, I decided to start taking Evening Primrose to help soften my cervix, hoping to help Mother Nature on it's course. My doctor (Dr. Claudia Koch--love, love, love her!) said she usually lets her patients go to approximately 41 1/2 weeks as long as everything is going well with mother and baby, so I definitely wanted to go into labor naturally within that time frame, to avoid any induction methods. I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for Friday April 8th, which I had been hoping not to make it to, but Friday came and still no baby, so off we went to the doctor.

Baby and I checked out well, and the doctor asked if I wanted her to check and see if I was any further dilated at this point (she had checked at my previous appointment the week before, and announced I was maybe 1 cm dilated, if that), but I declined at this point, figuring it didn't do me any good to know if I was or not--Baby obviously wasn't coming yet! She then discussed the possibility of stripping my membranes, explaining that she would rather attempt that sort of induction method than using a drug. The thought that it might come to having to induce scared me a lot, as I kept picturing the slippery slope of interventions, and I was convinced that if it came to that, I would end up with a C-section. (OK, OK a dramatic, I know--blame it on the hormones). She suggested we meet again the following Tuesday (my birthday!), and if I still hadn't gone into labor, she would strip my membranes to try and get things going. I left the appointment scared and disappointed.

I decided to start tying some natural induction methods (except Castor oil, I decided that having massive diarrhea just did not sound appealing whatsoever, and I had a 45 minute drive to the hospital...imagine that drive!) I kept up with the Evening Primrose, I had Clint massage the labor-inducing acupressure points, I ate a ton of fresh pineapple (suggested by my doula), even "got cozy" with Clint. :)

Saturday during a trip to the bathroom, I discovered that I lost my mucous plug and/or had some bloody show... I'm not really sure which... I think maybe both. I tried not to get too excited, because then I read that it could still be days/weeks until labor begins.

BUT...

Sunday morning, April 10th, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. with menstrual-like cramps that were definitely different from any Braxton Hicks I had previously felt. They weren't particularly painful, and were coming about every 10-15 minutes. I just had a feeling that this was it... FINALLY! I thought for sure we would be headed to the hospital by afternoon...

HA!

The day dragged on, and the contractions stayed pretty much the same intensity. Just when I thought they were getting closer together, I wouldn't feel one for 20-30 minutes. I got in contact with my doula (the first of MANY phone calls/texts throughout the day as I bombarded her with questions about my labor: Now they are a little closer together, should I go to the hospital now? The last one felt a little stronger, should I go to the hospital now? I am getting really anxious, should I go to the hospital now? Bless her heart, she put up with all of my questions!), who reminded me that I should try to RELAX, and keep myself occupied, and get some sleep if I could, because this sounded like the real deal to her, so eventually I'd be heading to the hospital to meet our Baby!!! I decided the nap sounded like a good idea, since I had only slept for about 4 hours the night before. I headed to bed, but only managed to sleep for about an hour; I was waaaay too excited/nervous to sleep! (I would later regret this.) We had family over to visit, so that kept me occupied for a while. I also didn't eat too much (something else I would regret later), because I absolutely dreaded the thought of "Going Number 2" during delivery.

As evening approached, I noticed the contractions coming at more regular intervals. My doula gave me a link to a website contractionmaster.com that would time my contractions with the click of a button, and keep track of the intervals at which they are happening. I played around with that for a while, until they were about five minutes apart, lasting one minute for about an hour. Then I started to get a little (OK, a lot) nervous, because right about that time we got some nasty weather rolling through the area; severe thunderstorms, gusty winds and threats of tornadoes. the last thing I wanted to drive through in the midst of labor was a tornado. Since my contractions were pretty regular at this point, and the weather was getting bad, and we had a 45 minute drive ahead of us, and I was pacing around the house like a made woman (relax?! Not a chance), at 9:30 p.m. I called my doula--for the millionth time--and told her we were going to head to the hospital. Then I called the doctor and told her my news. They both said they would meet us there. We grabbed our bags (which had been mostly packed since my original due date; we finished putting things together earlier in the afternoon when we figured this was really happening), texted our families that we were heading to the hospital, and said a final goodbye to the life as we knew it was we walked out the door.

All I could think about was" Oh my God, this is really happening! And: Oh. My. Go. This is really happening!

We arrived at the hospital (Columbia St. Mary's Mequon) at 10:00 p.m. and we were taken to our birthing suite. I had filled out paperwork ahead of time, so we were able to bypass the admission process. The nurse had me change into a gown, took my vitals, and hooked me up to the monitors to read Baby's heart rate and my contractions. I had given the doctor a few copies of my birth plan, and she made sure the nursing staff also had a copy so they knew I requested only intermittent monitoring, so the nurse informed me I would be hooked up to the monitors for a few minutes about once an hour to get readings. At this point my contractions were definitely stronger (though still manageable), and coming about every 4-5 minutes. The doctor arrived at this point, and she checked to see how much I was dilated: 4 cm and 80% effaced. Not bad! I decided I would take a few laps around the floor for awhile (I wish I had a pedometer to see how far I actually walked that night!), so Clint, myself and the doula began walking. And walking. And walking...

After that became immensely boring, we made our way back to the room, where I tried some different positions with the birthing ball for a while, watching some TV, tried to get Clint to sleep (he refused; he actually never left my side the entire time, he was amazing!), and basically tried to pass the time as best we could. I was getting really tired at this pint (remember, I'm running on about five hours of sleep), but I wasn't able to sleep through the contractions any more. The doula suggested we try the hot tub, so I sat in the tub, listening to my relaxation CD for about an hour. I must say, the tub was AMAZING. It really took the edge off the contractions, and it was incredibly relaxing and peaceful. I felt like one of the women in the birth videos that is in a totally relaxed, meditative state, and is making labor look like a piece of cake. I thought, "This isn't so bad!" I actually think I said that out loud to the doula; she just laughed.

When I got tired of the tub (I couldn't seem to focus on any one position for very long), the doctor decided to check me again. In the six hours since I had arrived, I was now at 5 cm. WHAT?! ONLY ONE CENTIMETER FURTHER?!?!?! That was when the first little seed of doubt was planted; was I really going to be able to do this? They assured me that the first 5 cm usually take the longest to get through; now I should start progressing faster. So, off we went, more walking...

The next few hours basically consisted of more walking, trying more positions with the bed and birth ball, and another round in the tub. I was pretty exhausted by now, and the only place I actually managed to doze off between contractions (which were about 2-3 minutes part at this point and really strong) was the tub. The doctor had told me to let her know when I started to feel pressure "down there", like an urge to have a bowl movement. This, she assured me, would not be a bowel movement, it would signal time to start pushing. (I still hadn't eaten much at this point, so I'm sure there was no danger of me really having a bowel movement. I should add that I was allowed to eat and drink anything I wanted the entire time I was at the hospital, which I think is great. I should have taken advantage of that.) While I was in the tub I started to feel the pressure, and the doctor told me to start bearing down a little with each contraction, if it felt good to do that.

At some point I decided I wanted to get out of the tub and walk around some more. I think I only did that for a few laps because the contractions were really strong and I had to stop and lean against Clint for each one. I must say I think I was handling the contractions really well; don't get me wrong, they were STRONG, and I had to make a conscious effort to relax for every one, but I just tried to open up, relax every muscle in my body, and I just wanted to lay down, so I climbed into bed to try and rest between contractions, but holy crap that was so uncomfortable to just lay in the bed. So the doula positioned the bed into a chair (the head raised up, and the foot dropped down), and I tried bearing down like that for awhile.

The doctor came back in and decided to check to make sure I was fully dilated so I could push, and she discovered that I had an anterior cervical lip, resulting from Baby's head not being in proper alignment, I think. She told me she would try and push the lip out of the way during the next contraction, and when she did I thought I was going to pass out because it hurt more than the contractions. I think I even screamed a little. Since she wasn't able to push it out of the way (because I was begging her not to do that again), she had me get on my hands and knees, resting on a birthing ball, to see if that position would help move the lip out of the way. I found that position EXTREMELY uncomfortable with contractions; this was the point when I lost that "feeling like the relaxed, meditative woman who thinks this is a piece of cake." There was definite moaning and crying and saying "I don't want to do this any more." (Transition, anyone?!)

I think I managed that position for about a half an hour, then I begged to try something else. Luckily, when the doctor checked me again, the lip was gone (she later admitted she was a bit worried that the lip wouldn't move out of the way; I wonder what would have happened then?!) and the doula put a squat bar on the bed so I was able to try pushing while squatting. I found the uncomfortable also, partly because I was so utterly exhausted at this point, that I found it hard to hold myself into a squat, even with the assistance of the bar (this is where I start regretting not napping longer and not eating to have some energy). After doing this for awhile, I asked to just lay flat on the bed, because I no longer had the energy to hold myself up. So, yes, I ended up delivering Baby in the worst possible position... flat on my back in bed!!! Go figure. :)

So I pushed... and pushed... and pushed... and with every push Clint, the doctor, doula and nurses cheered me on, saying how great a job I was doing, and I wanted to punch every one of them in the face and tell them to shut up unless they were going to tell me that the head was coming out with the next push. Every time I pushed, I absolutely knew I wasn't going to be able to push any longer. I just had no energy left (I couldn't even open my eyes, I was soooo exhausted), but every time I managed another tremendous push. Then I remember thinking; OK that's it, I'm done,, I cannot do this anymore, they are going to have to take me for a C-section because I cannot push any longer.

And finally... at 12:55 p.m. on April 11 (one before my birthday--I guess she didn't want to share a birthday with me after all!) I gave birth to Eve Margaret, weighing 8 lbs. 11 oz. and 20 inches long. Clint got to grab her head while they suctioned her mouth out, then ease her body out as I gave the final push. They put her on my chest, and I was in complete awe at finally getting to see the baby that had grown inside me for the last nine months. They wiped her off and when she didn't pink up fast enough for their liking, they put an oxygen mask on her face for a few minutes to help her breathe a little better. Clint got to cut the cord after it had stopped pulsing, and she was kept on my chest for some skin-to-skin bonding and to try and start breastfeeding (more requests from my birth plan). Meanwhile, the doctor was busy tending to me, which consisted of delivering the placenta (I was terrified of having to push yet another thing out of my body at this point, even though I knew this couldn't hurt as much as pushing a baby out) and stitching a small internal tear. I was still bleeding a little too much, so they gave me a short of Pitocin to help contract my uterus, and then discovered a piece of the placenta still inside my uterus. Once that was out, I was OK. We had decided to forgo the eye ointment and Vitamin K shot for Eve (we bought oral Vitamin K drops to give her instead), so they finally cleaned her up, checked her out, and give her back to us to enjoy.

The whole aftermath is a blur, I do remember shaking like a leaf from Adrenalin and exhaustion. I also remember looking at Clint and say, "WE ARE NEVER HAVING KIDS AGAIN! I CANNOT DO THAT EVER AGAIN!" The next day, it became "OK, maybe we can have another kid, but I CANNOT do that without drugs!" Today I have decided that I wouldn't be able to do it any other way than how I did it. I'm so proud of my accomplishment and totally in awe of my body's ability to give birth. I realized I am a lot stronger than I ever thought. I just hope that it goes a little faster next time. :)

Christy & Clint, Eden

Challenging Parts Completely Forgotten the Next Day

Milan (pronounced like the city) Natalie was born on March 28th at 10:17 p.m. She was 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 20 inches tall.

At 3:00 a.m. on the 28th I started feeling regular labor pains that felt much different than the Braxton Hicks from before. We continued to time them until about 9:00 a.m. and they were 5-6 minutes apart. We called our doctor and she told us to go to the hospital since we lived 30-40 minutes away.

We got to the hospital (St. Mary's Ozaukee) and the on-call doula (Vanessa) came soon after that. When we started walking the halls there was a slow leak in the amniotic fluid and the contractions were coming much faster. By 11:00 a.m. our doctor (Dr. Koch) had come and encouraged us to go into the birthing tub.

We spent the next seven hours in the tub with Vanessa and Dr. Koch at our side. The two of them were fantastic and extremely attentive. The nurses were annoying and seemed to only be concerned with getting the baby monitoring machine working.

Time seemed to stop while I was in the tub and Vanessa and Tony helped me concentrate on breathing and changing positions to stay comfortable. Four hours into laboring in the tub Vanessa and Dr. Koch had me start pushing, when comfortable, to break the last of the water. This wasn't working so Dr. Koch broke the rest of it. At this time I started having the need to push at every contraction. I pushed in EVERY position possible. (Squatting while in the tub is very doable and not as tiring outside of the tub!) I pushed for three hours squatting, leaning over the tub, lying on my side, floating and laying back against Tony, hands and knees, and more but she wasn't coming down the birth canal.

I remained at 7 cm the entire time. At this time Dr. Koch said the cervix was blocking her and she had me get out of the tub. In the bed I had to lie with my face and chest on the bed and butt in the air so that the baby could slip around the cervical lip. This position, as well as being outside of the tub, was extremely painful. They also were not getting a reading on the baby's heartbeat. At this time a ton of people started running into the room and Dr. Koch paged the OB doctor she works with. After consulting with the OB, she recommended a C-section. I hadn't progressed after three hours of pushing in every position possible and they were concerned they weren't getting strong enough readings on the baby's heartbeat. By this time, I was so exhausted and in so much pain, I just wanted it to end. And Tony was concerned about me and the baby.

Vanessa was with me when they took me to the operating room and Tony was allowed in soon after. I admit it was such a relief when the spinal tap kicked in. Dr. Koch assisted Dr. Gilman (the OB) and she showed Tony the baby as they pulled her out. Tony likes to brag that he saw my guts all hanging out. She announced to us that it was a girl which surprised us because, while pregnant, we and everyone around us was convinced the baby was a boy. The sad part was that they took her to clean her up and I had to look over at her while they operated on me. All I could see was a bunch of brown hair. Tony and Milan went into the room and they finished stitching me up (which is far from painless). We were so exhausted so had her sleep her first night in the nursery. She slept the entire night but I didn't; thinking about the day's events and wanting to be with her.

Jeni & Tony, Milwaukee

Will & Kate's Wedding More Important Than Birth

Reece James was born on Wednesday, May 4, at 1:11 p.m. in Racine. Our little peanut was 6 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 inches long.

Neither labor nor delivery went at ALL like we had hoped. While it was all going on, I was totally fine with everything, but looking back, I wish it could have been different. But I don't know if it could have ... anyways, here's the story. I'm still emotionally coming to terms with it all.

On my due date, about 5:25 p.m., as I was getting up to go to a friend's for dinner, my water broke. Out of the blue. No labor before, no contractions yet. Since I had had it in my mind from the beginning that when my water breaks I go to the hospital, I called the hospital. Of course, they said to come on in. Then, and I laugh looking back on this, I went to the computer and typed in "water breaking before labor"!! I wanted to see how normal it was to have water break first, and what to do. I had it in my mind that I'd start contractions continue on with my day until labor started, but I was afraid to do that because I knew about the risk of infection and didn't want to jeopardize either me or the baby.

We got there about 6 p.m. and my contractions started at 6:15. They were not painful. Fast forward about two hours and boy, they were coming on stronger! They checked me once at 6 p.m. and I was 1 cm dilated. I hadn't been dilated before this. I gave them my plan, they were OK with everything, but the tub went out the window, and the doctor on-call came in and said that I may not walk around because of the chance of prolapsed cord happening. I was so mad. So I sat legs apart on the bed and moved around as much as I could, changing my position in bed as much as I could. They put me on the fetal monitor (external) and the contraction monitor. They were not going to vaginally check me because of the risk of infection, so they checked the contraction monitor instead. Thankfully, they did not give me an IV at that time.

I went naturally through the night, with very sporadic contractions. And they were strong! I was not ready for them... I thought I would be but I wasn't. I listened to music, I breathed, I relaxed (or tried to). At one point in the middle of the night, I stood up at the edge of the bed, I used a ball, I leaned forward to be like being on all fours. It was hard to stand at one point, the contractions just wiped me out. So after 14 hours, at 8 a.m. on the 4th, they checked me and I was at 2 cm. I was so beat!! They said, sleep between contractions. Well, I didn't know how long I would have between, because some came 30 seconds apart, some came 10 minutes apart. I had 3 piggy-back contractions at one point. If this is normal, Id' love to know.

I decided, with increasing risk of infection as time went on, that I would get an Epidural since I was beat (they said the intensity of my contractions was around 4-5, while I felt the pain was a 7-8 and the intensity would get a 10), and then they would use Pitocin to speed things up. After 4 or 5 shots of Lidocaine and 2 attempts at getting the Epidural in, I had the Epidural and was numb. I hated being numb. I don't know which was worse, the contractions or not being able to move my legs. I was pretty stressed at that point. Partially because when I was turned on my left side, I would become increasingly uncomfortable in that position and want to be turned over, and then that would happen again. At one point, I asked my poor husband to rotate my foot about 10 degrees towards my other foot (HAHA!). Also, partially because while on my left side, I had a horrible pain that started at my middle back and spread around to my abdomen, above where the baby was. Back labor? My Mom thought it was, but I thought it was more near the Epidural site, too high to be that.

Then the "fun" began. I say this sarcastically.

As I moved back and forth from one side to another for comfort purposes, Reece kept getting lost on the fetal monitor. So they would come in and re-adjust it. They did that so many times, that they decided to put an internal monitor on his head. They did one, it didn't work, they took it out. They did another one. It didn't work. Trey took it out. They put he external monitor on again and told me I couldn't keep moving. Then they checked my dilation--4.5 cm.

Then Reece started to not bounce back after contractions. They gave me oxygen, they reassured me that he was going to be OK. At that point, I whispered to Jason that I just wanted him out and I wanted a C-section.

Well, my OB came in later and said, "I think it's time we start considering other options." I appreciated that she didn't just make the decision for me. She allowed me to say it. At least I could have some sort of control, since I felt like I had lost all other control.

At that point, I developed a fever. Infection? Probably. I went in for a C-section and had the chills so bad I couldn't talk, my teeth were violently chattering. I even remember hearing one of the doctors saying, "She's still seizing." I do remember them telling us the time Reece was born (turned out he was face up), and I remember smiling at Jason and I remember Jason bringing Reece over after they cleaned him off, but it was quite hazy for me. My arms were flopping soon after he was born, so he didn't need to be taken to NICU like they thought he might. They ran a few tests on him while they were finishing me off, but he was in the room with us when I was wheeled back. They gave him to me and had me start breastfeeding, and praise the Lord, he latched on and was GREAT at breastfeeding! I am thankful, because with all those drugs, of course I was worried he would be so drugged up, but he was fine!

The one complaint I had about the whole thing in the end was that in the operating room, I heard three different conversations going on, the anesthesiologists were laughing and giggling about something, the nurses in the corner were talking about the Will and Kate wedding, and the doctors were shooting the breeze about something else, and I think also chipped in on the Will and Kate wedding. I was unhappy that they didn't follow our plan that said to keep other talk to a minimum so we could enjoy the birth of our child. Since everything else on the list was basically thrown out the window, how about giving us one??? But then again, I was such a wreck, how much did I really ENJOY all that ??? LOL

Rachel & Jason, Racine

Not as Painful or Scary as Expected

At my 41 week appointment on Monday, the 6th, I was 4.5 cm dilated, 80% effaced and baby was at -1 station. I asked the midwife to strip the membranes in the hopes that it would get things moving along, as we had already established that we were looking at an induction in the next several days. Baby passed the biophysical profile, and my fluid was within the normal range, but they weren't comfortable letting me go more than until the end of the week. I was pretty emotional leaving the appointment, things were not happening the way I wanted or expected them to, and I just didn't understand why my body wasn't going into labor on it's own. I had been having moderate to intense cramping for a week, and began having the most intense cramping yet after the membranes were stripped, some sex and walking. I also had lots of bleeding, but wasn't sure if that was a sign of any thing coming or not.

I went to bed with the cramping in my lower abdomen and back continuing, and woke at around 3 unable to sleep any more from the back pain. I got up at 3:30 a.m. and sat on my exercise ball, that was the only thing that helped the back pain. Around 4, I noticed something that had a distinct start and stop--possibly my first contraction! After 4 o4 5 of these at 4:30, I decided to take a shower to help with the back pain and to see if that stopped the contractions or not. I woke Cory up accidentally, but told him what was going on and encouraged him to rest until I knew more. After the shower, I went back to the ball and Cory got up to time contractions. They were pretty regular from the beginning, 4-6 minutes apart and 40-60 second long. I drank juice and water and tried to hang out through the contractions for a couple of hours. I think baby shifted during this time, because the excruciating back pain went away. At 6:45 a.m. or so we started talking about going to the hospital. Our hospital is 30-40 minutes away and we would be leaving at rush hours, so we decided to just go for it. I figured I was dilated enough already that they wouldn't send me home. I had a few serious contractions in the car and started to feel even more sure that this was the real thing. I had still been having some doubts during the morning.

We were immediately taken to a room at the hospital by our amazing nurse, Rita. I am so thankful we got her, she was absolutely wonderful, so helpful and supportive of our wishes. When Alli, the midwife came to check me, I was 6 cm, 80% effaced and still at -1. She offered to break the bag of waters, but I opted to wait. it took a long time to get a good baseline reading on the fetal monitor, but baby girl finally cooperated and I was able to get off. The next few hours blurred together for me. I know I sat on an exercise ball for a while and after a monitor check got in the whirlpool tub. That was heaven. I was in absolute drowsy, relaxed state and was able to easily breathe through contractions. All the while, Cory was encouraging me to drink water and juice, and we snuck in a Nutri-grain bar at some point.

After my next monitor check I got back int he tub, but things had picked up by now, and it wasn't as relaxing. My temperature had gone up, so Rita didn't want the water too warm and it just didn't feel warm enough to me. I was cold and the back pain was back, so I got out after 20 minutes and switched to standing at the sink, and then hands and knees on the bed. Alli came back to check on us, and I asked for a dilation check. I was 100% effaced, between 8-9 cm dilated and the head was quite low, with the bag of waters bulging. I had her break it, knowing thinks could get more intense. They did! I believe I was in transition after this, the contractions were frequent and intense, the back pain was bad, and I was starting to snap at Cory. It helped immensely to have counter pressure on by back and when he wasn't right there to do it when I needed it, I think I yelled. I was on hands and knees being monitored at this point, Rita was holding the probes to my belly and it took quite a long time, since baby's heart rate was around 170 and they needed to see if get down to 160 or less. I twas driving me crazy to feel like I couldn't move. I was also super hot and sweaty now, so Rita and Cory were putting cold washcloths on my face and back. This went on for a while. After we stopped the monitoring, I wanted to move, but nothing seemed comfortable.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed trying to decide what to do, when I felt like the pressure changed, and maybe it was time to push. I called for Rita and she checked for position, not dilation and called for Alli. She checked me while I was laying on my side and said I was completely dilated. I'm pretty sure I asked "can I have her now?" I was so ready to do something else. I started pushing at 1:50 p.m. while laying on my side, but I was having a hard time knowing what to do. I switched to my back and got the hang of it. I thought more than once, I shouldn't be on my back, but it just seemed so complicated to move to another position so I just went with it. Alli let me completely direct the pushing, she just stood at the end of the bed and hung out until I was ready with a contraction, then she helped support the tissues during pushing. I was timid at the beginning of pushing, a little afraid of the pain during crowning and tearing. Alli, Rita and the tech were very encouraging and told me when I was pushing well, this helped me to know how it should feel. I reached down and felt her head and that was good encouragement to just get it done. I didn't even recognize crowning happening, but remember being told to do short, grunty pushes. I must have been easing her shoulders out. I didn't realize she was completely out, they had to tell me a couple of times to grab her and pull her up to my chest.

I looked down and she was right there! I pulled her up and was so surprised that she was out. I had been pushing for 40 minutes, but it felt like it happened so fast. I just kept saying "oh my gosh" over and over again. Cory cut the cord, and they cleaned my up. I ended up with a 2nd degree tear and a few stitches, and needed Pitocin to help my uterus contract. I was also catheterized to empty my bladder. Lyla was calm after birth, but not interested in nursing, we just stared at each other for a while and she took her first poop on my chest. Having my uterus massaged was awful, the worst pain of the whole birth experience, in my opinion. The baby nurse encouraged her to cry since she sounded like she had some fluid in her lungs, and she must have been able to cry it out. She took her over to be weighed and measured, she was 8 lbs. 14 oz. and 20.5 inches long. We both got her poop cleaned up, I ordered a meal and ate while Cory held Lyla for the first time.

All in all, my birth experience was wonderful. I'm so thankful for Rita and Alli, they were perfect throughout the labor and delivery, I couldn't have wished for more supportive staff. It was definitely hard, and incredibly intense at times, but not as painful or scary as I thought it could be. I'm glad it was relatively short, 10.5 hours of active labor, or I'm afraid I would have been completely exhausted by the end.

Karissa & Cory, Waukesha

Assisted by Personal Flock of Guardian Angels

After months of preparation and prayer, Lauren Evelyn Rottier was born on Friday, June 3, 2011 at 3:05 pm, weighing 6 pounds 14 ounces and 20 3/4 inches long.

I've started to realize in life that many situations do not go as I would like or as I plan, yet I am learning to be grateful for the little things. I was told 15 years ago that I had slim chances of ever having children of my own, and as i got older, new conditions were discovered that made those chances even smaller, but God clearly has a different plan. Will and I were stunned to find out in November of 2010 that I was 3 months pregnant. At that time, I had a 6 cm fibroid growing in my uterus, which the doctor cautioned could cause a miscarriage. If the baby did make it through the pregnancy, he expected it to be 6-8 weeks premature, due to the additional space the fibroid was taking.

We kept the pregnancy quiet, waiting to pass that invisible date into the "safety zone." We decided to tell our families at Christmas, as my growing bump was beginning to appear. The doctor did an ultrasound at each appointment to carefully watch the fibroid, as they tend to grow astronomically during pregnancy. Miraculously, it not only grew very little, but stayed on the complete opposite side of the ideal area for the baby to attach and grow. At 28 weeks, a test was done to determine if I had developed gestational diabetes, another likely situation with a disease I have called polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS. A side effect to PCOS is glucose intolerance; my body finds it difficult to process any sugars I ingest, and digest, and digests all into fat stores instead of energy.

Amazingly, my sugar numbers were ideal, and the doctor suggested pregnancy may have pressed a "pause button" on my PCOS condition. however, at this appointment my blood pressure was slightly elevated at 140/90. There was no significant weight gain, protein, or headaches to indicate pre-eclampsia, so it was yet another thing to keep monitoring. At each consecutive appointment, no change for the better or worse had occurred. My doctor began to talk about inducing me early, as I was not showing signs of premature labor from the fibroid (!) and he was concerned about the effects of my high blood pressure on the baby and myself. I was very uncomfortable with being induced, and insisted that I would like to have a June baby (my due date was the 7th). Each week, he would suggest inducing me if it did not get better, and each week, I would remind him of my June goal. My last day of teaching (and my last spring concert) was June 1st, and he set my induction for Friday, June 3rd. Will and I tried everything we had researched to "induce naturally" on the 1st and the 2nd, but the baby was comfortable and wouldn't come out on its own.

Friday morning, we arrived at the hospital at 6am with doughnuts in tow for the nurses, and a few bags for ourselves. It was evident by our luggage that we were first timers! We settled in to our beautiful, spacious suite, a little nervous about the unknowns of the day. The doctor broke my water at 7 am, and was pleased to see I was 2-3 cm dilated and 50-60% effaced on my own (thank you evening primrose)! I was a high risk for a cesarean section due to the fibroid--he had seen a fibroid rip off a uterine wall once after delivery me in the operating room, which I said absolutely not, so he put me in the room closest to the operating room in case he had to rush me down the hall.) I was also started on antibiotics for group B strep and hooked up to what I can only describe as mini blood pressure cuffs on my calves that would gradually inflate then deflate to keep circulation going in my legs (I also have a blood clotting disorder...) At 7:30 am, they started Pitocin at a very low dosage, and the contractions finally started. I was allowed to get up to use the bathroom, however, I didn't realize how close to danger my body really was. AS I began to find out, my blood pressure was much higher than it had been at my appointments, and they were extremely concerned about my risk for a seizure or stroke. I was started on magnesium by 8 am, and heartbroken that I could no longer move around to cope with the pain or even use the bathroom. I was slowly watching my natural, unmedicated birth plan go down the drain. At this point, I was still determined to at least not have an epidural, and kept reminding myself I could do this!

Thankfully, I managed to escape without any severe effects of the magnesium, only feeling a little "out of it." At 10:30 am, I was dilated to 5cm, but my blood pressure was still around 160s/105 and a call to my doctor was made. he was very aware of my wish for a "Bradley birth," and asked to speak with me personally on the phone. he explained all of his concerns, and how much I wanted a natural childbirth, but at this point he was extremely concerned about my safety and the baby. He gave me a choice between getting an epidural or a cesarean. My intuition was also telling me something didn't feel right (which probably didn't help my blood pressure either), and I accepted an epidural, requesting that it stay as low-dosage as possible. Of course, all the horror stories about epidurals started going through my mind, and I began to sob and apologize to Will for failing at giving birth! Will was in a panic about getting my blood pressure higher, and kept reminding me to calm down, that it was okay.

The anesthesiologist was really wonderful, and put my epidural in a little higher in my spine, so I would still have feeling in my legs and feel/know when to push. As soon as he put it in, my blood pressure pummeled down to 110/60 and I felt insanely dizzy and nauseous. It was one of the most miserable few minutes of the day. it helped my doctor feel better about not having a cesarean though, and that made me feel a little better too. Although I could no longer feel my contractions in my abdomen, i could feel significant pressure and pain in my lower torso, and continued to be "in the zone" during contractions and grumble at Will whenever he tried to talk during one. :) Around 2:00 pm, I started feeling what I can only describe as "pushy," and by 2:30 I was fully dilated!

My doctor arrived at 2:45 and the hard work began. I can honestly say that pushing is the most frustrating part of labor. it's hard work, and you feel as if it will never accomplish anything. In my opinion, the cesarean rate is so high in medicated birth solely because you have to push on your back. I wanted to sit up, stand up, squat, have gravity help me out, and I was confined to my bed. Agh! After 20 minutes of hard pushing (it felt much longer!). Lauren came out all in one push. I'll never forget my doctor telling me" it's a girl!" We had elected not to find out the gender throughout our dozens of ultrasounds, but with Will's family history, COMPLETELY expected a boy! They put her right on my tummy, and she was eating in 5 seconds. We wanted to wait to clamp the cord, but she started getting a little blue on my tummy, so I asked them to take her and give her oxygen (I was already, but the doctor shoved the scissors in his hand anyway! After "the rest" came out, the doctor quickly did an ultrasound to make sure my fibroid was behaving (not ripping off the uterine wall) while my uterus was contracting back down. To his amazement, everything was cooperating perfectly. He sat there, completely awestruck, starting at me. He finally listed off all the things I had "going against" me: PCOS, a large fibroid, a blood clotting disorder, etc..., the nurses just started to laugh, and he declared I must have a personal flock of guardian angels. He kept me on magnesium overnight to make sure I would not have a seizure or stroke, and I ended up having 2 full IV bags of Pitocin by the end of the day to make sure I would not hemorrhage. I was pumped full of so many different fluids, that I looked like a giant sausage ompah loompah. The nurses were actually looking forward to our natural birth, and everyone felt awful that I did not have anything close to the birth experience I was hoping for, so they were EXTREMELY accommodating whenever they could. They went out of their way to locate an oral version of the Vitamin K for us, never pushed the Hep B or eye gel (just had us sign the waivers during discharge), kept Lauren in our room our entire stay without pressure... I may be biased, but I think I had the best L&D nurses in the world! We later found out that our room was the best/largest room with the biggest walk-in shower too! We didn't have to be out until midnight on Sunday, so we decided to stay until after dinner and make sure we were relaxed and ready to go home and go to bed! My experience giving birth was nothing like I had hoped or planned it would be, but I safely delivered a beautiful baby girl, and we were able to go home on time and start adjusting to our new family.

Kate & Will, Menomonee Falls

Still Able to Be an Active Participant in the Birth

On Saturday, May 14th Emma Rose was born at 1:30 pm. Everyone is healthy and happy.

I woke up Friday morning around 1:00 in the morning with contractions. I knew I needed to rest so I tried to fall back to sleep. Unfortunately that didn't happen until four and I woke up again around six. Contractions were random so I didn't know if I was experiencing false labor or real labor. i thankfully had a doctor's appointment scheduled that day at 1:00 pm.

That afternoon my doctor indicated I was close, but no in labor yet. Because I was already three days late he asked if I wanted to be induced, which I declined; however, he did strip my membranes.

Well, after that my contractions started coming hard about an hour later. Andy and I started timing them and at 5:00 pm called the doctor as the contractions were lasting at least one minute and were four minutes apart. We were admitted to the hospital even though I was only 2 1/2 cm dilated.

The next five hours were spent wandering the halls and going into the shower to help with the contraction pain. At 11:00 pm I had only progressed to 3 cm dilated. At that time I decided to get the Epidural despite my original intention. I was at least able to get some sleep as my labor was progressing so slowly. About 12 hours later I was finally dilated to 10 cm. I started pushing but with the Epidural I wasn't pushing correctly. After a while of trying and talking about the possibility of a C-section (the baby's heartbeat went down with every contraction), I asked that they decrease the strength of the Epidural so I could feel the contractions. Thankfully, things progressed quickly after that and Emma was born within a few minutes!

Even though my labor didn't go with the birth plan I had developed for myself, I am still very happy with how it went. At the end I was still able to be an active participant in the birth. My OB/GYN was the doctor on call and was the one who delivered her and all the hospital staff were wonderful.

Beth & Andy, Franklin

41.5 Hours of Contractions & Very Little Sleep!

Sunday, March 27th we arrived at Sinai for our induction. Things got started about 9 am. first we did a foley catheter until it fell out late afternoon/early evening. That evening they inserted the Cervidil, about 8 pm I think. Around 5 am we insisted they take it out. I was having tons of regular, painful and very long contractions... but VERY little change in dilation or effacement. (Charlie saw one on the monitor that was over 8 minutes long... not fun). So, they removed the Cervidil and then we started on Pitocin. That helped things out, my contractions stayed regular, got a little shorter, and become productive.

About 10 pm Monday night, after still not progressing that far, Eileen decided to break my water. I think I was up to 4-5 cm by then. Overnight things got really, really tough. The contractions became much more difficult to manage. they did let me off the Pitocin for quite a while and my body continued contracting so they let me into the whirlpool (which I thought I had no chance of whatsoever... but thank goodness!). That helped, but even by early morning I was only as 6 cm. Around 5 am Tuesday morning, after having been in the whirlpool for maybe 3/4 hours I felt like I needed to push. I was exhausted and miserable, in pain and just at my end, but hey! I felt like I could push. So, they wheeled me back to the room... checked me... and I was STILL at 6 cm. that about broke my spirit. 3-4 hours of terrible misery and I still hadn't changed and still couldn't push. so... we went back to the whirlpool, but the sensations were just unbelievable. My body was still having contractions, and they were all in the 3-4 minute long range (or longer) and only perhaps a minute apart. Finally I begged Charlie to have them stop this. (Oh, and they wanted to start the Pitocin again too since my own contractions weren't productive.) Charlies knew when I really meant I couldn't do it any more, so he talked to the midwife and she had two recommendations. A narcotic or an Epidural. But, since they'd have to up the Pitocin again, and I really just needed the rest, we decided on the Epidural. Not what we had wanted to do, but we're both still positive it was the best and only choice at that point. Everything went smoothly with that an I was able to get a couple hours of sleep. (Between 6:30 am Sunday and whenever we went to bed Tuesday, I think I had maybe four hours of sleep and Charlie maybe six.)

They upped the Pitocin during that time and by maybe 10 am I was 7/8 cm. They were pleased... but it still wasn't as much as they had hoped. I asked Erin, our midwife at that point, when they would/if they had started thinking C-section. I didn't want them to do it, and they knew that... but I also knew we were getting to the end of our possibilities. She first suggested some sort of internal catheter that would monitor the actual strength of the contractions, but we couldn't get it in. (Oh, and I forgot to add his head was down the whole time but asynclitic from Sunday night to early Tuesday as well...) Erin said that they'd probably have to up the Pitocin again and then if nothing changed in 2-3 hours, they'd let me know, and we'd try for another hour and then... well... we'd have to consider it. not nice, but I wanted to know where things were at.

Thankfully around 11 I felt the contractions differently. (The Epidural worked great for me. I could rest, but I could still move and feel. I was scared of it before... and I still wouldn't choose it again... but in a situation like this, it was just the best choice and I'm so thankful for it.) It also felt like there was "something" down there, "something" that moved with each contraction. I'm not sure anyone quite believed me, but they checked and I was at 10! and had been 100% effaced for a while! and hid head was FINALLY going the right way! So, they let me "labor down" for the next hour and just have my body do some of the moving for me. Not long before noon, though, I couldn't help but push a bit with some of them. Around noon then i really started pushing.

By 2:30, Erin came to talk to me again and let me know that she had to talk to the on-call doctor and just let her know where things were at. She said everything was going well... but as thing take longer and longer, they have to tell the doctor. If it got to four hours, they'd be thinking at least about suction or forceps. I was not happy with that, but understood. (Honestly, we had the best people there ever. They knew what I wanted better than I did and did EVERYTHING to make things go the way we wanted. It was fantastic. This certainly wasn't a drug-free birth like I wanted, but they gave me the best shot at it possible, and kept it as low level as possible.) Finally, at 3:34 Baby Beck was born. Charlie got to help catch him and cut the cord. I tore in four places, none worse than 2nd degree (although to me, right, that's plenty). I didn't tear backwards or much forwards, mainly sideways. Charlie said it was great to watch him be born... except that he could see me tear right at the end and felt back for m.:)

So, we ended up with 54 hours of labor, 41.5 of contractions, very little sleep and 3.5 hours of pushing. It was a terribly exhausting experience. And that Tuesday contained some of my absolute worst and best feelings and experiences ever. And... I still to do it again someday. :) Charlie and I felt so confident after having taken your class. We knew what they were talking about with every stop; we knew what we wanted and didn't want, and we knew the benefits and risks of everything. You helped me learn to relax :) And, helped Charlie learn to remind me. And, we had excellent people. Our doula, JJ Schambow, was spectacular, and so were all the staff at Sinai in Labor and Delivery. Erin, our midwife, and Cindy, our nurse, were wonderful. Erin, Cindy and JJ were just so encouraging the whole time... and believably so. Even though it was taking so long, I still believed them when they said good job. :) Even Charlie said he didn't think he could have kept that up convincingly for as long as they did. :)

I don't know that I mentioned Charlie enough, but he was fantastic also. It was just him and I until Monday night around 10ish. We didn't want to call our doula until things were actually happening. I think the only time I snapped at him was when he was down, waiting to catch
Arthur. Suddenly he started laughing (quietly, but I still heard). Erin, the midwife, asked what was so funny, and all he could say was how weird it looks to have half a head sticking out. I told him it wasn't funny from where I was. :) (Granted, a tiny part of me that managed to separate itself did have to admit that would be pretty funny.) But really though, Charlie took great care of me and knew my every want and need. He read me like a book, and by Tuesday morning, when things were at their worst, when I was just in incredible pain, poor Charlie could hardly take it and our doula took over. JJ was wonderful as well. She was such a help to me in the tub and through the rest of labor, and she was a huge help to Charlie too. She enabled him to get his emotions out without disturbing me; she let him rest and helped him understand that was OK. And, when I got to my end and couldn't go any further, Charlie knew it. I had said it a few times before, the obligatory "I can't do this..." But when I told him the last time, "Charlie, I cannot do this anymore." he knew it was real, and he talked to the midwife and made the decision to do the Epidural. He told me about it and explained the options, but knew that, at that point, I didn't care. I just needed something. Neither of us would have felt that confident without your class. I'm so thankful.

Claudia and Charlie, Milwaukee

Born on Due Date After Only 20 Minutes of Pushing

Paige Violet arrived right on her due date, April 26, 2011 at 12:03 pm! She weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz and 19".
It all started around 3 am on the 26th, when I awoke with some cramps. I just stayed in bed for a while, checking the clock each time a contraction would start. For the first two hours, they were about 10-12 minutes apart. (Somewhere during that time my water broke, but I didn't know it until we got to the hospital. Probably because it happened when I went to the bathroom.)
Jonathan's alarm went off shortly after 5 am, and I told him he wasn't going to work today! I called my doula around 7 am, and contractions were about seven minutes apart. The only positions that were now comfortable were being in the hot shower, or sitting on the toilet.
Around 8:30 we called our doula back and said she should probably make her way over sooner than later. Contractions were six minutes apart, and feeling more intense with each one. by the time she arrived, shortly after 9 am, we were down to 3-4 minutes apart. I skipped five minutes.
I was starting to feel a lot more pressure with each contraction. We left for the hospital at 10 am, with contractions 2-3 minutes apart. That was the bumpiest 10 minute care ride of my life! We checked in, they rolled me up to labor & delivery, and wanted to get me hooked up to the Penicillin right away, since I had tested positive for group B strep. I had originally been told (by a couple of nurses and my midwife) that it would take about 15 minutes for the IV. When they hooked me up, they said it would take an hour to drip! They checked me and I was fully dilated!! No wonder I was feeling so much pressure and and urge to push!
Because the IV had to drip in, I labored for about 40 minutes wanting to push each time but holding back and just breathing and relaxing through each contraction. They were able to 'somehow' speed up the drip. By the time it was done, my midwife said it was up to me to when I wanted to start pushing. Which I did on the next contraction. It was about 20 minutes of pushing, with constant encouragement from my husband and doula.
Paige was born very gently and they put her on me right away. What an amazing feeling! They had wanted to take her to the nursery to do a blood draw right away, but we were able to keep her with us as her vitals were checking out perfectly for the first hour. I did have a little 2nd degree crooked tear. Because of this, I was able to keep Paige with me even longer as they were stitching me up! She nursed pretty quickly, and has quite the set of lungs! After
r we moved to the recovery room, Jonathan went with Paige to the nursery where they did a blood draw to make sure everything checked out fine with the GBS-which it did.
Having taken your class really helped me through the labor. Honestly, i was waiting for worse. Worse pain, a longer labor, and it never happened. It truly went so quickly, I'm still wrapping my head around it, and it was so incredible. We are so in love with our little darling.
Hannah & Jonathan, West Allis

Beginner's Luck!

I couldn't wait to tell you some of the details behind the birth of our daughter, Lucille. Mary was amazing. She began having contractions around 6 am on Saturday morning--I got out of bed around 7 am, and they were fairly short, and consistently about six minutes apart. We had some plans for the day that we were trying to decide on keeping or breaking, as Mary had felt uncomfortable for a few days. Well, we sat around the house, watching TV--and because I'm borderline OCD and needed something to do, I was timing all contractions. At about 10:30, we went for a walk, and we were seeing contractions around 4-5 minutes--but sometimes much sooner-- and most were about 40 seconds long. Mary wasn't describing them as very strong though.

We watched a movie, and tried to eat, though Mary wasn't in the eating mood. I continued to time, and the rest periods were erratic, and contractions were consistently around the 4-50 second mark. They started getting stronger, though Mary still wasn't reporting "knock down" contractions. Around 3 pm, I called Dr. Trebian and told her we had 5-6 minutes between 40 second contractions--she advised that we wait to see how things progressed. We then had Mary take a sower because she was shaking pretty bad--this helped--she then got into bed, we turned the lights low and played some relaxing music. After about an hour plus, we had no rest periods exceeding three minutes, and contractions in the 50 second range--I decided "knock down" contractions notwithstanding, it was time to go. We called the doctor and headed to the city. We got into triage at 4:15, and the resident checked Mary out--she was 8 cms! Beginners luck, or nerves of steel? Who knows, but it was perfect timing!

That was just the news Mary needed to hear to dispel her doubts about making it without the epidural. We were in our room by 5 pm. Dr. Trebian and our nurse were incredible. They allowed Mary to try pushing on the toilet, using the squatting bar, side lying and also in hands and knees. Making a long account somewhat shorter--our daughter was born at 7:15 pm on Saturday, without the use of any drugs or intervention. it was easily the most amazing thing I've ever seen--Mary was so focused and diligent--the nurse and Dr. T were so supportive--and I think you trained me pretty well as coach. Lucille was able to come right to Mary's chest--and the nurses even allowed for over an hour's amount of bonding. No IV, not even an Ibuprofin--we were home by 10 am Monday. Your class definitely made all the difference in this experience--and I would recommend even to someone who isn't gung-ho on trying to birth "naturally."

Mike & Mary,

Leaking Fluid Isn't Always Membranes Breaking

Our daughter Elena Clare was born on December 30th at 12:20 am. But our story begins on Christmas day, because Chris and I had originally decided not to do anything for the holidays but stay home. Then a few days before Christmas we decided to travel up to my brother's place in Appleton just for Christmas day. Once there, we were tempted to stay the night, but decided we better go home to be close to our hospital and doctor (I was due Jan. 7, but had a feeling she might come a little early). This turned out to be a very good idea, since we got home at about 11 pm and at 2 am I started having strong contractions. I woke up, went to the bathroom and then returned to our bedroom, where I felt a splash of water on my legs. I started getting really excited and nervous and thought "This is it...my waters just broke." I was also excited because it was my birthday and I thought it would be cool to have my baby on my birthday.

I remembered that Coral said to get a lot of rest in early labor since I would need the energy, so I got back into bed trying not to wake Chris. Then I started worrying about the whole 24 hours thing. I really didn't want to be induced, and I was having strong contractions about seven minutes apart at first, but then they started dying down. I needed my birth coach to help me think through things, so I woke up Chris.
He asked me like four times if I was sure my waters had broken, and I just told him what I had experienced and "What else would it be?" He agreed that if my waters had broken we better get labor going a little more, so I started going up and down our stairs from our second story apartment to the basement and back. This definitely caused more contractions, but it didn't seem like it was doing enough. By about 5 am, we decided to drive to the grocery store and try to buy some castor oil since we had none in the house. WE pulled into the parking lot to discover that the store that I had thought was 24 hours actually opened at 6 am. We went back home, and I think I did the stairs a few more times. I was feeling anxious. Chris thought I should call the doctor but I was really scared that he would tell me to come to the hospital and I wouldn't get to labor at all at home and I would end up being induced. I told Chris I would feel better calling Coral. To avoid being a total nuisance, I waited until 6 am since I thought that was a fairly reasonable time (I found out later Coral was in Arizona at the time so I still woke her up at 4 am I think). I told her what had happened. She asked me how much water I had lost over the past four hours, and when I told her it was basically just that splash, she said there was no way my waters had actually broken if that was all the water there was. She thought that perhaps that had just been the mucous plug. Feeling rather foolish, I thanked her for her advice and her suggestion of "Go back to bed." Thank God I didn't take the castor oil!

The next several days were fairly uneventful. Every here and there I had a few strong contractions, but my sisters were throwing me a shower on the 28th and I wanted to be sure to get through that first. On the 29th I went to work, and during lunch I had one contraction that almost knocked me off my feet (let's just say I was glad I was already in a chair:) I didn't think too much of it. That evening, we were supposed to go out with a group of friends who were celebrating us and were giving us a little "shower" at dinner. I got home at around 5:15 and lay down to get some rest before the dinner at 6:30 pm. By 5:30 or 5:45, I was having very strong contractions about six minutes apart. When Chris got home at six, they were more like three minutes apart. The contractions were so strong that I was throwing up after every other contraction. I was also swaying back and forth between being very hot and very cold. I kept asking Chris why it already felt like I was in transition.

Looking back, I think the funniest part of our birth story is that, although Chris was really supportive and all, he kept asking what he should do about the people we were supposed to meet for dinner. After another vomiting session which included a heavy nosebleed, I looked up from the toilet and said, "Do you really think I can go in this state?"

Somehow we passed another hour or so at home, but my contractions were still like three minutes apart and were not dying down, so we thought we should go to the hospital. I didn't know how I was going to make it without vomiting all over the car, but at one point I felt a little better and we decided that was a good time to go. The car ride was very interesting. I kept thinking, "How could anyone actually be able to relax during labor?"... I had pretty much given up trying and was bracing myself on the handles on the ceiling of the care during each contraction. I only vomited once during the car trip, and it was at a stoplight so I was able to open the door and lean out.

We arrived at St. Mary's hospital at 8:15 pm, where we walked up to the door only to find out that those doors close at 8 pm and we needed to proceed to the emergency entrance. When I got in, the nurses asked me a bunch of questions while Chris parked, and I couldn't help feeling annoyed that they kept saying things like "Well, we'll get you upstairs to see if you are staying." They really wanted me to get in that wheelchair, but I refused and we walked the long trek across the hospital, pausing every three minutes for a contraction.

We got to the room and at first I was able to walk around, sit on the toilet, etc. The nurse checked my cervix and said I was 4-5 cm dilated; they didn't seem too excited about this, but decided to let me stay. I had to have an IV because I was Group B positive. At this point I was so tired that I spent the next hour in bed, even though Chris kept encouraging me to move around. After this hour, my doctor came in and reported 4-5 cm again. He suggested breaking the waters to get my labor going more. I did NOT want this, and I couldn't imagine contractions being any stronger, so I asked if we could wait a little longer. Chris got me to get up, move around a bit, and I ended back on the toilet (as suggested by our class, a very comfortable place to labor). The nurse only let me stay there for 1/2 an hour before she wanted the heart monitor on the baby again. She tried those mobile ones, but couldn't get good readings from it. Finally, she brought in a birth ball next to the monitor so that I could sit on that. I spent almost the rest of the labor on that ball, most of the time thinking "Why am I not getting an epidural? How has any women voluntarily gone through this more than once?", etc. In the end, I think the only reason I didn't get the epidural was because I was thinking of all of you.. and my pride told me I couldn't tell you [her class mates from Bradley] I had succumbed to that pain and temptation... so thanks! :) My waters broke while I was on the ball, and then things went really fast.

I had contractions that forced me to begin pushing. Just an hour after the doctor had suggested breaking my waters, just an hour after I had been 4-5 cm, and just six hours since I had realized I might be in labor, I was on the bed and pushing. About eight people rushed into the room and started yelling encouraging "PUSH!"es at me. Apparently the baby's heart rate was not doing well because they were telling me I had to push as hard as I possibly could and we had to get that baby out. Well, I REALLY didn't want to end up in a C-section and I figured tearing was a better alternative, so I pushed and pushed. After 12 minutes of pushing aided by a suction to the baby's head, she was out and we had a beautiful baby girl. I did have a minor tear, and I didn't find out about the suction until a day or two later when I wondered aloud to Chris why she had such weird lumps on her head, but I am grateful to have avoided a C-section.

We are extremely grateful to have taken the Bradley class, and are very grateful to Coral both for the class and for saving us the embarrassment of an extra trip to the on the 26th.

Mary & Chris, Milwaukee

Worst Fear of Posterior Baby Had to Happen

Our sweet baby GIRL, Nora Jane, was born on Monday, April 18th at 8:03 pm.
Contractions woke me up at 5 am. I wouldn't say they hurt (especially in retrospect), but they were strong enough to wake me up. I paid attention to them for a couple of hours before dozing off again. Kurt and I got up around 8 am and decided to eat breakfast and go for a walk. The walk made the contractions stronger, but I could still (sort of ) walk through them.
By noon the contractions seemed to be getting stronger and closer together, so we decided to start timing them. They were a minute long consistently, but only about 7-8 minutes part. it was around this time that the contractions started to hurt. I was dismayed to discover that I was a moaner during contractions, but it was really all I could do.
By 5 pm the contractions were closer to five minutes apart, and by 8 pm they were 3-4 minutes apart. And they HURT. I wasn't able to relax. We called the hospital at 9 pm and went in. The triage nurse checked me and I was only 3.5 cm ( was 2 cm at my last appointment a few days earlier). That was a bummer. They decided to admit me and I hunkered down for a long night. I labored in the tub a couple of times, I bounce don the birthing ball, I tried hands and knees, I hung on Kurt's shoulders... it all sucked.
Monday, April 18th. A nurse checked me again around 5 am and I only went to 4.5 cm. Sooo, basically after 24 hours I only progressed 2.5 cm. I remember looking at the contraction monitor and the contractions were off the charts in intensity. All of the pain was in my back and hips, and from what I've heard, this "back labor" is the WORST. A posterior baby? It WOULD be just my luck that Nora was posterior, despite my best efforts at exercising and stretching. Given the amount of pain I was in, my level of exhaustion from being awake all night, and the fact that the contractions weren't productive, I asked for an epidural.
The epidural was an experience in itself. I was familiar with the procedure, so nothing was a surprise, but I didn't expect it to not go well! The anesthesiologist attempted to place the catheter in my back three times with no luck. He kept saying, "OK, you will feel some pressure and then a CRUNCH." Umm, yeah, I definitely felt the crunch. I guess he kept hitting bone and couldn't get the thing in. I was praying he wouldn't paralyze me. Finally he decided to try placing it below the next vertebrae and that worked. It was painful and stressful!
The drugs started working almost right away and I was soooo much more comfortable. I was able to get some rest, no thanks to the stupid blood pressure cuff I had to have on the entire time that would automatically inflate and take my blood pressure every 15 minutes. With the epidural, i was also hooked up to an IV with Pitocin to get things moving along. I was fine with it since I couldn't feel the contractions anyway. A nurse checked me again around 8 am and I think I was up to 6 cm by then. That was more like it! As she was checking, she accidentally broke my water. Awesome. The amniotic fluid had meconium in it, so they informed me that I would not be able to hold Nora right away because they needed to whisk her off to the warming station to suck the poo out of her mouth. AS this point, nothing had gone right, so I don't think it bothered me as much as it could have.
Kurt and I dozed off the rest of the moaning and I slowly, but surely dilated more. I was almost 10 cm by 5 pm, but the baby was still in a posterior position, so I had to get on my hands and knees to try to turn her. That was easier said than done with number legs! After another hour or so I was 10 cm and her head was VERY low and finally in the anterior position. However, ... one of the nurses decided to turn the Pitocin off at some point, so my contractions weren't close enough or strong enough to start pushing yet. They turned the Pitocin back on and we waited around for things to get more favorable.
Finally, I was able to start pushing around 6:50 pm. I actually like pushing because it felt like I was finally in control. My epidural started to wear off so I was feeling contractions again. They weren't as bad though since she was finally facing the right way. They wanted me to try pushing in different positions, but I actually preferred my back. It was a little slow at first, but it went much faster once I could actually feel myself pushing her out. Kurt held my leg and watched the whole thing. I could tell he was amazed at what I was doing. I gave one last huge push at 8:03 pm and she was here! I burst into tears right away because it was the most overwhelming experience ever. Kurt cut the cord and off she went to the warming station.
She was perfect. She had APGARs of 8 and 9, so the meconium thing wasn't a big deal at all.
Lindsay & Kurt, Milwaukee

Thankfully, We Learned About Laboring at Home

Our little guy arrived just a couple hours before his due date at 9:44 pm on Saturday, April 9. We named him Samuel (Sam) Steven. My contractions started on Friday night and were manageable enough to allow me to stay in bed all night, though I didn't really feel rested in the morning from waking up so much. They got stronger on Saturday morning, but then basically stopped by lunch time. Marie, a friend of ours who acted as our doula came over about that time and we took a nice long walk. The contractions started up again and got stronger and stronger and closer together, but weren't getting much longer than 50 seconds or so.
We called the hospital because some of them were only about three minutes apart and they said if they were consistent, we should come in. I was so afraid when we got there (at about 7:30 pm), they were going to tell me that I was only dilated a couple of cm, but thanks to all we learned about laboring at home, I was fully effaced and dilated to 7 cm! I was so grateful!!!
We got into the room and they got the whirlpool tub ready (I was so excited to use it!), but about that time my water broke and I wanted to push. The nurse checked and I was fully dilated. No more tub :(
Cheri, our midwife made a special trip in for us and it was so good to see her. I pushed on my hands and knees for quite a while and then on my side. Brian had the challenging job of holding up my leg every time I had a contraction and pushed :) He watched it all and was super calm. I have to say, that I think pushing was the best part--finally I could control something! Same was born about an hour after I started pushing. The staff said Marie and Brian were the best coaching team they'd seen in a long time!
Mindy and Brian, Glendale

Nurse's Negativity Slows Labor

Liana Marie was born at 5:15 a.m., November 18--one day before my due date. She was 7 lbs. 8 oz., 21.5 inches.
I was very fortunate to have an easy pregnancy, but toward the end I was ready to be done. I had major nesting going on at home and at work. Every night I left work I would post sticky notes on everything just in case I wouldn't be in the next day. I was having mild contractions on and off for two weeks, the baby was at 0 station, and I was 2 cm dilated for 2 weeks.
My water broke at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17th right when my alarm went off for work. It wasn't a huge gush, so I wasn't positive, but I had been having mild contractions all night long and I felt really crampy all night. So I woke my husband up and told him I didn't think we were going to work that day!
We went back to sleep for a bit, then I got some last minute things done around the house and ran some errands (I went to three different Wal-Marts looking for a glider, because I hadn't bought one yet.) I was having pretty mild contractions that were about 7 minutes apart. Throughout the day they got closer together, but weren't really strong.
I wanted to labor at home as long as possible, but I tested positive for Group B strep, so I knew I had to get antibiotics once I went to the hospital. I called West Allis Hospital at 2 in the afternoon and told them I thought my water broke and they told me to come in right away. I wanted a natural, drug-free labor, so I waited a bit longer and went in at 4. My contractions were still about 5 minutes apart. When I got there they checked me and sure enough my water had broken so they admitted me.
The first nurse I has was very abrasive. I told her I wanted a natural birth and gave her my birth plan and she basically laughed in my face and told me I wouldn't be able to handle it. She made me really tense and I think that actually slowed down my labor. I was starting to regret having a hospital birth. My contractions slowed to about 7 minutes apart for about three hours. they wanted to give me Pitocin pretty early on, but my doula, Addie Wescott, convinced them to give us another hour of walking to try to speed things up naturally. I was hooked up to an IV for the Group B strep, and since my water broke I had to be constantly monitored., They did attach portable monitors, but it still felt somewhat limiting.
My husband, Addie, and I did a lot of walking to try to get things to progress. I also tried some different laboring positions, but the only thing that felt comfortable for me was to rock back and forth standing. Sitting in any form was way too uncomfortable for me--I couldn't even sit on the birthing ball. Luckily shifts changed and I got a new nurse, Gretta, who was awesome!! She was so nice and wanted to do everything she could to give me the birth experience I wanted. They did end up giving me Pitocin, because things just weren't progressing. My doula, Addie, was wonderful and asked them to give me the smallest possible dose. Luckily I didn't need much to get things moving, and they turned it off a few hours later.
Finally at 2:00 a.m. I was fully dilated. I never really had a strong urge to push though. I kind of felt like my body was pushing without me really trying or feeling the urge I ended up pushing for three hours though. It was exhausting! They also gave me some Oxygen because I was so exhausted, and out of breath. There were a few points where I was getting worried and the doctors were too because it was approaching 24 hours that my water had been broken. I don't know what was holding her up, but I was pushing with all my might! I was so tired that I was falling asleep between contractions even when I was standing up. I had also been awake for almost 24 hours by that point too. I kept waiting for the doctor to say they were going to have to do a C-section too. I could hear the doctor and nurse whispering, and they kept saying that I had to get the baby out. I also feared forceps or the vacuum!
When it came time to push again I was so worried about interventions that I pushed with all my might, and instead of her head coming out, then waiting for the baby to turn, she just kind of shot out in the last push. I ended up with a 4th degree tear since she didn't have time to turn. I didn't really feel it when I tore, but the stitches hurt worse than anything!! I didn't have an epidural or anything, so they did numb the area a little when they stitched me up, but I could still feel. it. HI held Liana for a few brief moments, but she was grunting, so they whisked her off to the NICU to monitor her breathing. Luckily she only had to be monitored for a few hours, and they brought her up to our room around 6 p.m. that night.
I couldn't have had a natural birth without my wonderful husband, Carlos, my amazing doula, Addie, and my knowledge from Coral's Bradley Method classes. I really turned inward to get through my contractions, and visualized myself opening up like a flower. I also remembered a quote from one of the books I read, (Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally), "If I don't float I'll sink." I kept saying that to myself over and over! I imagined the contractions as though they were waves and I was floating over them. I would definitely go the natural route again. Maybe next time it will be at the Birthing Center!
Serene & Carlos, Milwaukee