On Monday the 17th, I had extreme nesting; running around the house, cutting tags off of every single baby washcloth and pair of socks, organizing baby toys, leaving a trail of unfinished tasks throughout the house. After finishing everything, I realized that I'd have "nothing to do the next day" so I called up my family and asked if I could come visit to keep my mind busy and distracted from the wait. Starting that evening, I began having contractions, but I had been having regular contractions on and off for a week. However, those contractions usually only continued for 5-6 hours and then stopped. These kept coming, though very irregular.
On Tuesday the 18th, I went in for a 9 am check up with my doctor. Though I had been 80-90% effaced since Christmas, it has been very hard to check for dilation since baby's head was so far down ( a good "problem") :) However, last Tuesday, my doctor announced that I was 3-4 cm. She suggested I go home and take a nap, so i called my family and said that I wouldn't be coming to visit them after all. I caught a short nap and then around 11 am felt my first strong contraction. From 11-2ish, I fiddled around on Facebook and email, timing my contractions on contractionmaster.com. John I kept testing regarding my progress since he was at work.
By 3ish, I started kneeling against furniture and rocking during contractions. John got off of work and we made it to West Allis Hospital around 5ish. From 5ish-7 am, I slowly progressed from 3.5-6 cm. Because I was so tired going into labor, I started getting scared that I would not be able to handle transition and pushing. Reluctantly, I chose to sit, most of the time, either upright or semi-reclined so that I could sleep between my contractions instead of trying all the positions that I had planned. I had John hold my hand while I took deep breaths and gave low moans to cope with my contractions. John would stop me if my moans started getting higher in pitch and remind to go low and open.
The choice to sleep turned out for the best. By 7:30 a.m., my doctor was on call and broke my water. The nurse, Dawn, was fantastic and encouraged me to go through transition in a side lying position. It was painful but helped the progress. She encouraged me if I felt the urge to push to only do so gently and not bear down fully.
When I was fully dilated at 10 am, she had me stand and hold on to John and we pushed through several contractions. Then they had me back in the bed in a couple different positions. After 1 hour 45 minutes of pushing, out came baby! John got to announce it was a boy! Robert! We waited to cut and clamp the cord. Robert had kept one hand by his head when coming out which caused a little tearing. When it came time to weigh him, the nurses were all saying "I bet he'll be about 9 lbs." They put him on the scale and all stood gasping! I said, "What is it?" "10 lbs, 6 oz."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My doctor said that because of his size and his hand being by his head, I had just delivered the equivalent of an 11 pounder!
Overall, it was a very wonderful experience! The nurses never offered meds and took every part of our birth plan seriously! They kept saying that I was very focused (thank you, Coral!!!) I know the knowledge and the mental preparation from the class, as well as the wonderful pelvic rocks for positioning, helped this natural birth become a reality!
Julia, John and Robert Anthony, West Allis
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Some Unexpected Bumps Along the Road
We're proud to announce that Caleb Mitchell was born on Tuesday, July 20th at 9:17 pm, weighing 8 lbs 3 oz. and measuring 21.5 inches long! Overall, Trevor and I are both extremely happy with our birth experience, although there were some unexpected bumps along the road. My due date was July 13th, and I had already been 60% effaced and 3 cm dilated for a couple of weeks before then, so both my doctor and I were surprised when my due date came and went without event.
I started feeling some light (not painful) contractions on Monday (July 19th) and tried to encourage them by going on several long walks--I don't know how many miles we covered that day! Disappointed with a lack of progress, we went to bed around 11 pm. Only a couple hours later, I woke up around 1:30 am to painful contractions occurring about six minutes apart. They very quickly progressed to three minutes apart. After a couple hours passed with minute-long contractions occurring three minutes apart, we headed to the hospital downtown, arriving at 5:15 am. At that point, I was told that I was 4-5 cm dilated. The first nurse I saw insisted I stay in bed with the fetal heart monitor on (despite my desire to move around) because the baby was not showing enough activity at that time. I was very relieved when a new nurse took over at 7:00 a.m and allowed me to walk around and try different positions freely without the monitor.
At 8:00 am I was 6 cm dilated and experiencing severe back pain. I remained active, hoping that my baby would change position and the back labor would subside... Around 10:30 am, I tried relaxing in the birthing tub for awhile. Although it felt good while I was in there, the contractions intensified tenfold when I got out! I was at 7 cm at that point and the pain was so intense that I had started vomiting. As a result, they had to give me an IV for fluids. I also received one dose of Stadol to "take the edge off" for about an hour. It made me very tired, but I could certainly still feel the pain of each contraction. The back pain was really indescribable. The nurse had commented that I was progressing well and she expected the baby to be born before her shift ended at 3:00 pm ... little did I know that my labor would go on more than six hours past her shift!
At 3:00 pm, I was 9 cm dilated with just a small anterior lip on my cervix remaining. There was an incredibly intense urge to push with each contraction, but Trevor really helped me to breathe through them and remain as relaxed as possible. Finally, at 5:00 pm, my ob/gyn told me that the baby's head had passed over the "lip" and I could start pushing. I began pushing with contractions and both the doctor and my nurse kept telling me they were "great pushes" and I was making progress... but it seemed to go on forever! it turns out that the baby had not turned and was still in the posterior position (facing up). As a result, his head kept hitting my pubic bone and although we could see him right there, he wouldn't come out. Apparently it is standard practice at St. Mary's to allow pushing for two hours. I had already passed the four hour mark (and was feeling quite desperate), when the doctor discussed the option of an episiotomy. She knew that was something I had hoped to avoid, but I was not tearing on my own and had been enduring intense back labor for 20 hours at that point. At 9:15 pm, she cut an episiotomy and used a vacuum--on the very next contraction I successfully pushed Caleb out at 9:17 pm! Despite being a week past his due date and enduring the prolonged pushing, he came out just perfect and was able to breastfeed immediately~ It was an amazing experience. Caleb stayed in our recovery room from the start and we all enjoyed the bonding time.
Not everything went according to our birth plan, but I was able to have a mostly natural and vaginal delivery with a week-overdue baby in the posterior position--which I consider a success. I am really grateful for the doctor's patience (waiting through four hours of pushing without encouraging any interventions) and all Trevor's support. I definitely couldn't have done this if he hadn't been by my side at every moment for all 20 hours!
We absolutely LOVE being parents and appreciate the preparation we received through the Bradley course that allowed us to feel informed and empowered during the unpredictable birth process.
Pam & Trevor, Franklin
I started feeling some light (not painful) contractions on Monday (July 19th) and tried to encourage them by going on several long walks--I don't know how many miles we covered that day! Disappointed with a lack of progress, we went to bed around 11 pm. Only a couple hours later, I woke up around 1:30 am to painful contractions occurring about six minutes apart. They very quickly progressed to three minutes apart. After a couple hours passed with minute-long contractions occurring three minutes apart, we headed to the hospital downtown, arriving at 5:15 am. At that point, I was told that I was 4-5 cm dilated. The first nurse I saw insisted I stay in bed with the fetal heart monitor on (despite my desire to move around) because the baby was not showing enough activity at that time. I was very relieved when a new nurse took over at 7:00 a.m and allowed me to walk around and try different positions freely without the monitor.
At 8:00 am I was 6 cm dilated and experiencing severe back pain. I remained active, hoping that my baby would change position and the back labor would subside... Around 10:30 am, I tried relaxing in the birthing tub for awhile. Although it felt good while I was in there, the contractions intensified tenfold when I got out! I was at 7 cm at that point and the pain was so intense that I had started vomiting. As a result, they had to give me an IV for fluids. I also received one dose of Stadol to "take the edge off" for about an hour. It made me very tired, but I could certainly still feel the pain of each contraction. The back pain was really indescribable. The nurse had commented that I was progressing well and she expected the baby to be born before her shift ended at 3:00 pm ... little did I know that my labor would go on more than six hours past her shift!
At 3:00 pm, I was 9 cm dilated with just a small anterior lip on my cervix remaining. There was an incredibly intense urge to push with each contraction, but Trevor really helped me to breathe through them and remain as relaxed as possible. Finally, at 5:00 pm, my ob/gyn told me that the baby's head had passed over the "lip" and I could start pushing. I began pushing with contractions and both the doctor and my nurse kept telling me they were "great pushes" and I was making progress... but it seemed to go on forever! it turns out that the baby had not turned and was still in the posterior position (facing up). As a result, his head kept hitting my pubic bone and although we could see him right there, he wouldn't come out. Apparently it is standard practice at St. Mary's to allow pushing for two hours. I had already passed the four hour mark (and was feeling quite desperate), when the doctor discussed the option of an episiotomy. She knew that was something I had hoped to avoid, but I was not tearing on my own and had been enduring intense back labor for 20 hours at that point. At 9:15 pm, she cut an episiotomy and used a vacuum--on the very next contraction I successfully pushed Caleb out at 9:17 pm! Despite being a week past his due date and enduring the prolonged pushing, he came out just perfect and was able to breastfeed immediately~ It was an amazing experience. Caleb stayed in our recovery room from the start and we all enjoyed the bonding time.
Not everything went according to our birth plan, but I was able to have a mostly natural and vaginal delivery with a week-overdue baby in the posterior position--which I consider a success. I am really grateful for the doctor's patience (waiting through four hours of pushing without encouraging any interventions) and all Trevor's support. I definitely couldn't have done this if he hadn't been by my side at every moment for all 20 hours!
We absolutely LOVE being parents and appreciate the preparation we received through the Bradley course that allowed us to feel informed and empowered during the unpredictable birth process.
Pam & Trevor, Franklin
Not a Storybook Birth
Well, like others, ours was not storybook and didn't go according to plan either. Birth plan went right out the window!!
I woke up the morning of my due date, June 29th at 3:47 am to potty. At 4:17 am I had my first contraction, followed by 4:27, 4:40 and 4:52. Paul called to let work know he was in a "holding pattern" and wouldn't leave without knowing if I was in labor or not (I had been contracting for two weeks before off and on). Well, consistent contractions kept coming all the way up 'til 6:13 am when I decided to go back to the potty. When I stood up... "GUSH!" my water broke all over the freshly cleaned carpet!
It took about 30 minutes for contractions to pick back up after my water broke, so I used the time to sit and relax in the living room while Paul got dressed. He wanted to head to the hospital earlier than we planned since my water broke much earlier than we thought it would. Around 11 am we checked into the hospital and the minute I stepped foot into my room, contractions stopped completely. So fours of walking and rocking on the birthing ball but only five contractions.
My doctor got there to check on me about 4 pm and did a sterile speculum exam looking for traces of amniotic fluid and found none. Since my contractions had slowed to about one per hour and the fact that I was trying to avoid pain meds, she sent us home. The thought is that what we thought was my water breaking that morning was some "other" kind of fluid that can build up around your uterus and since he's dropping deeper into my pelvis, it released those fluids. They discharged us and told us to come back when my water breaks for my contractions are back to six minutes apart. When we pulled up at home and I stood up getting out of the car, my water broke!! So we planned to continue to monitor throughout the next few hours and see where my contractions were and decide when to go back. Once they are less than five minutes apart for more than two hours then we'll go in. All the insanely intense contractions I had all morning before we checked into the hospital and the few I had there, and I only had all morning before we checked into the hospital and the few I had there, and I only dilated to 2 cm. So I wasn't going back until I was much further along into active labor, which we thought would be later that night or first thing the next morning.
Side note: It was so heartbreaking to leave the hospital. They had all his meds and towels, blankets, cap etc. all ready for him with his name on it in the room... I was just really frustrated to go through 16 hours of hard contractions and only be 2 cm, very discouraging to hear.
The good news is that I never stopped contracting the entire time we were home. So we decided to go to bed and get some sleep knowing full well in the middle of the night we'd be back at the hospital now that it appeared my water had broken for real this time. I slept in between contractions and by the time 11:30 pm rolled around, I was in too much pain to even walk. So I woke Paul up and said we needed to head back to L&D right then. So by 12:15 am we had been re-admitted right back to our same room. They checked me and guess what???? I was STILL 2 cm!!! and they claim my water still had not broken.
So, since my water "hadn't broken" according to them, and my contractions were not regular (one every 10-12 minutes lasting two minutes) they offered me a "cocktail" to get some sleep through the night and reassess in the morning. They gave me two shots of morphine (one in IV and one in butt), and one Ambien. I slept like a baby until 6 am. The on-call doctor came in at 6:30 am to do an exam and guess what!?!?!? STILL 2 cm!!! OMG! He seriously did not want to come out!
Doctor suggested I start Pitocin at lowest level to get contractions more consistent. Around 10:30 am the contraction were right on top of each other and I could not longer handle it without pain meds since at this point I had been in labor for 26 hours. So the RN offered a drug called Nubain, its an IV pain med to take the edge off contractions. IT DOES NOT WORK!! By noon I was screaming at the RN -- I needed an Epidural. From that point on I don't remember much, not even the anesthesiologist coming in to administer the Epidural. The Epidural on top of the Nubain had me in "la-la" land for the rest of labor and the delivery.
The most wonderful nurse in the world, Denice, came in to check me at 4 pm. I went from 2 cm to 10 in four hours. So she had me do a practice push to see how I did. Half way through the push she stopped me and said she needed to call the doctor because he was coming very quickly. The doctor came in at 4:20 pm still needed to change into scrubs, so we were still in a holding pattern for a few minutes. Meanwhile, family is out in the hallway and the RN's are prepping the room for delivery. After five pushes he was out!
So, in hindsight, our birth plan was a joke! But I did get the hour of skin to skin contact with him which made all the difference in the world. Sean Christian was born June 30, 2010 at 4:31 pm. 8 lbs., 2 oz., 20 inches and the best gift we could have ever asked for and received.
Tiffany & Paul, Brown Deer
I woke up the morning of my due date, June 29th at 3:47 am to potty. At 4:17 am I had my first contraction, followed by 4:27, 4:40 and 4:52. Paul called to let work know he was in a "holding pattern" and wouldn't leave without knowing if I was in labor or not (I had been contracting for two weeks before off and on). Well, consistent contractions kept coming all the way up 'til 6:13 am when I decided to go back to the potty. When I stood up... "GUSH!" my water broke all over the freshly cleaned carpet!
It took about 30 minutes for contractions to pick back up after my water broke, so I used the time to sit and relax in the living room while Paul got dressed. He wanted to head to the hospital earlier than we planned since my water broke much earlier than we thought it would. Around 11 am we checked into the hospital and the minute I stepped foot into my room, contractions stopped completely. So fours of walking and rocking on the birthing ball but only five contractions.
My doctor got there to check on me about 4 pm and did a sterile speculum exam looking for traces of amniotic fluid and found none. Since my contractions had slowed to about one per hour and the fact that I was trying to avoid pain meds, she sent us home. The thought is that what we thought was my water breaking that morning was some "other" kind of fluid that can build up around your uterus and since he's dropping deeper into my pelvis, it released those fluids. They discharged us and told us to come back when my water breaks for my contractions are back to six minutes apart. When we pulled up at home and I stood up getting out of the car, my water broke!! So we planned to continue to monitor throughout the next few hours and see where my contractions were and decide when to go back. Once they are less than five minutes apart for more than two hours then we'll go in. All the insanely intense contractions I had all morning before we checked into the hospital and the few I had there, and I only had all morning before we checked into the hospital and the few I had there, and I only dilated to 2 cm. So I wasn't going back until I was much further along into active labor, which we thought would be later that night or first thing the next morning.
Side note: It was so heartbreaking to leave the hospital. They had all his meds and towels, blankets, cap etc. all ready for him with his name on it in the room... I was just really frustrated to go through 16 hours of hard contractions and only be 2 cm, very discouraging to hear.
The good news is that I never stopped contracting the entire time we were home. So we decided to go to bed and get some sleep knowing full well in the middle of the night we'd be back at the hospital now that it appeared my water had broken for real this time. I slept in between contractions and by the time 11:30 pm rolled around, I was in too much pain to even walk. So I woke Paul up and said we needed to head back to L&D right then. So by 12:15 am we had been re-admitted right back to our same room. They checked me and guess what???? I was STILL 2 cm!!! and they claim my water still had not broken.
So, since my water "hadn't broken" according to them, and my contractions were not regular (one every 10-12 minutes lasting two minutes) they offered me a "cocktail" to get some sleep through the night and reassess in the morning. They gave me two shots of morphine (one in IV and one in butt), and one Ambien. I slept like a baby until 6 am. The on-call doctor came in at 6:30 am to do an exam and guess what!?!?!? STILL 2 cm!!! OMG! He seriously did not want to come out!
Doctor suggested I start Pitocin at lowest level to get contractions more consistent. Around 10:30 am the contraction were right on top of each other and I could not longer handle it without pain meds since at this point I had been in labor for 26 hours. So the RN offered a drug called Nubain, its an IV pain med to take the edge off contractions. IT DOES NOT WORK!! By noon I was screaming at the RN -- I needed an Epidural. From that point on I don't remember much, not even the anesthesiologist coming in to administer the Epidural. The Epidural on top of the Nubain had me in "la-la" land for the rest of labor and the delivery.
The most wonderful nurse in the world, Denice, came in to check me at 4 pm. I went from 2 cm to 10 in four hours. So she had me do a practice push to see how I did. Half way through the push she stopped me and said she needed to call the doctor because he was coming very quickly. The doctor came in at 4:20 pm still needed to change into scrubs, so we were still in a holding pattern for a few minutes. Meanwhile, family is out in the hallway and the RN's are prepping the room for delivery. After five pushes he was out!
So, in hindsight, our birth plan was a joke! But I did get the hour of skin to skin contact with him which made all the difference in the world. Sean Christian was born June 30, 2010 at 4:31 pm. 8 lbs., 2 oz., 20 inches and the best gift we could have ever asked for and received.
Tiffany & Paul, Brown Deer
Even the Midwife Was Skeptical!
On July 6th, 2010 at 9:41 am, Micah Russell was born! He was 21 inches long and weighted 8 lbs. 11 oz.
For the past two weeks, I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions that I noticed more than I felt. My belly would tense up and we would joke around that the baby was going to come early. On July 5th, Jason and I spent the day at home making crafts for the baby's room. After dinner, we went for a walk in the neighborhood (about 2 miles). It took about two hours: I was walking a little bit slower than I had been, but I figured I just hadn't gone for a walk in a while and we were taking pictures. On our walk, we talked about how it would be really convenient for the birth to start on Thursday evening, since we had a busy week wrapping up work stuff. When we got home, we had a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate cookie crumbles on top (yum!) and sat on our balcony to watch the fireworks. Then we went to bed a bit later than usual.
I got up around 1:30 am, then again a little after 2 to go to the bathroom. A little after 3 am, I had to get up again. Usually, I only have to get up once or twice during the evening, so this seemed a tad unusual. At 3:30 am, I had what felt like a horrible menstrual cramp. I woke up Jason and said "I think we're going to have a baby today!" He sort of woke up and said "But what happened to the cleaning?" Both my mom and my sister had been stressing to us that we'll know because I will go on a mad cleaning frenzy...didn't really happen, evidently for me it's crafts! Jason started timing the contractions, which were 4-5 minutes apart and 60-75 seconds long. He timed two and called Jan, our midwife. Jan told us to keep timing the length of the contractions, since this came on so suddenly. She was somewhat skeptical that I was in active labor already. But after two more and another phone call, she was on her way!
The contractions were intense and at one point, I told Jason "This is really going to hurt!" to which he reminded me that I can do it and that I just needed to do some deep breaths and relax during the pain. I moved some of my houseplants into our living room, since that's where I planned to deliver and it felt like the right thing to do. I also turned on the ceiling fans and turned up the AC. We didn't have a bag packed and the car seat was still in the box... My due date was July 16th and we planned to get that done during the week. So between contractions Jason started packing the bag. He opened up the Bradley workbook for the list, but didn't get far before Jan arrived at 5:20 am. By then, our place was refrigerator and Jan needed a sweater. but the coolness of the air was quite a relief to me.
Jan did an exam right away and assessed that I was already 7 cm dilated. We hoped to use the birthing tub, but didn't have sufficient time to fill it... it takes three hours and Jan was not sure we'd make it before the delivery... but allowed us to make that decision. The other option was to fill our bathtub, which we decided to do. Around that time, Jan's fellow midwife, Pam, arrived to assist.
It was nice being in the water, having that warmth around me and some of the pressure relieved, yet the contractions kept intensifying. I was in for about a half an hour, then decided to lay down on our futon in the living room. This felt worse, but I was just looking for rest. During contractions, I would grab Jason. He rubbed my lower back and thighs between contractions which helped relieve muscle tension, and Pam held my hand and told me I can do this. Jason also kept giving me sips of ice water, which was really comforting. After a few contractions, Jan suggested I change positions; I decided to stand and Jason and I slow danced. Jan and Pam commented "oh, she's moving differently" and encouraged me to just go with it. During contractions, I would often press down on Jason's hands and lean my wight into him, which felt very secure. Honestly, from the very start of the contractions, Coral's advice of not wasting my energy played over in my head and when I found myself tensing up, I'd focus on relaxing and opening up my hands. I eventually got on my hands and knees and asked for the birthing ball, which I leaned my body over and rocked on. When I would get a contractions, I would roll and bear down. I don't remember when the birthing ball left, and my eyes were closed for most of the labor, but I ended up leaning over the futon on my hands and knees, with a pillow under my knees. My bag of waters did not break and I was getting the urge to push. I was waiting for it to break to push, but Jan said that if it felt good to push, then go with it, which I did. They saw Micah's head in the bag and told me he was crowning. I felt the "Ring of Fire" which lives up to its name... a burning sensation, but it does not last long at all. Jan slightly tore my bag. Two or three pushes later with a few guttural, primal screams, Micah was here and he was screaming too! I turned over and he was placed on my chest... I didn't even know if it was a boy or a girl yet. It was just nice holding him in my arms. From the start of contractions to his birth, it was 6 hours and 15 minutes. After some time, I delivered the placenta with some help from Jan. Jason cut the cord and then we named him.
Rebecca & Jason, Milwaukee
For the past two weeks, I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions that I noticed more than I felt. My belly would tense up and we would joke around that the baby was going to come early. On July 5th, Jason and I spent the day at home making crafts for the baby's room. After dinner, we went for a walk in the neighborhood (about 2 miles). It took about two hours: I was walking a little bit slower than I had been, but I figured I just hadn't gone for a walk in a while and we were taking pictures. On our walk, we talked about how it would be really convenient for the birth to start on Thursday evening, since we had a busy week wrapping up work stuff. When we got home, we had a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate cookie crumbles on top (yum!) and sat on our balcony to watch the fireworks. Then we went to bed a bit later than usual.
I got up around 1:30 am, then again a little after 2 to go to the bathroom. A little after 3 am, I had to get up again. Usually, I only have to get up once or twice during the evening, so this seemed a tad unusual. At 3:30 am, I had what felt like a horrible menstrual cramp. I woke up Jason and said "I think we're going to have a baby today!" He sort of woke up and said "But what happened to the cleaning?" Both my mom and my sister had been stressing to us that we'll know because I will go on a mad cleaning frenzy...didn't really happen, evidently for me it's crafts! Jason started timing the contractions, which were 4-5 minutes apart and 60-75 seconds long. He timed two and called Jan, our midwife. Jan told us to keep timing the length of the contractions, since this came on so suddenly. She was somewhat skeptical that I was in active labor already. But after two more and another phone call, she was on her way!
The contractions were intense and at one point, I told Jason "This is really going to hurt!" to which he reminded me that I can do it and that I just needed to do some deep breaths and relax during the pain. I moved some of my houseplants into our living room, since that's where I planned to deliver and it felt like the right thing to do. I also turned on the ceiling fans and turned up the AC. We didn't have a bag packed and the car seat was still in the box... My due date was July 16th and we planned to get that done during the week. So between contractions Jason started packing the bag. He opened up the Bradley workbook for the list, but didn't get far before Jan arrived at 5:20 am. By then, our place was refrigerator and Jan needed a sweater. but the coolness of the air was quite a relief to me.
Jan did an exam right away and assessed that I was already 7 cm dilated. We hoped to use the birthing tub, but didn't have sufficient time to fill it... it takes three hours and Jan was not sure we'd make it before the delivery... but allowed us to make that decision. The other option was to fill our bathtub, which we decided to do. Around that time, Jan's fellow midwife, Pam, arrived to assist.
It was nice being in the water, having that warmth around me and some of the pressure relieved, yet the contractions kept intensifying. I was in for about a half an hour, then decided to lay down on our futon in the living room. This felt worse, but I was just looking for rest. During contractions, I would grab Jason. He rubbed my lower back and thighs between contractions which helped relieve muscle tension, and Pam held my hand and told me I can do this. Jason also kept giving me sips of ice water, which was really comforting. After a few contractions, Jan suggested I change positions; I decided to stand and Jason and I slow danced. Jan and Pam commented "oh, she's moving differently" and encouraged me to just go with it. During contractions, I would often press down on Jason's hands and lean my wight into him, which felt very secure. Honestly, from the very start of the contractions, Coral's advice of not wasting my energy played over in my head and when I found myself tensing up, I'd focus on relaxing and opening up my hands. I eventually got on my hands and knees and asked for the birthing ball, which I leaned my body over and rocked on. When I would get a contractions, I would roll and bear down. I don't remember when the birthing ball left, and my eyes were closed for most of the labor, but I ended up leaning over the futon on my hands and knees, with a pillow under my knees. My bag of waters did not break and I was getting the urge to push. I was waiting for it to break to push, but Jan said that if it felt good to push, then go with it, which I did. They saw Micah's head in the bag and told me he was crowning. I felt the "Ring of Fire" which lives up to its name... a burning sensation, but it does not last long at all. Jan slightly tore my bag. Two or three pushes later with a few guttural, primal screams, Micah was here and he was screaming too! I turned over and he was placed on my chest... I didn't even know if it was a boy or a girl yet. It was just nice holding him in my arms. From the start of contractions to his birth, it was 6 hours and 15 minutes. After some time, I delivered the placenta with some help from Jan. Jason cut the cord and then we named him.
Rebecca & Jason, Milwaukee
Praises From the Nurse
Adam and I are happy to announce our new baby girl, Lillian Jane. She was born on Dec. 31st at 11:45 pm. She was 7 lbs. 7 ox. and 20 inches long. We were quite surprised that she was born before the new year but happy to claim the child tax credit for 15 minutes of being parents.If you remember, it was really nice outside that day, so in the morning I was finishing up some yard work that I hadn't done before winter and then we took the dog for a long walk. Up to this point, i was trying all the tricks to get labor going, but nothing seemed to work. I had actually resigned to going back to work on Monday. After the walk I noticed that I was having some blooding and I thought maybe I was leaking fluid or something, so I called the clinic. Of course, it was closed because of the holiday so I was on hold for 20 minutes waiting to speak to the operator who then put my call into the on call doctor. The doctor suggested I go in to get checked, so we went to the hospital around 1:30. The monitor was showing contractions 3 minutes apart and I was 4 cm dilated. However, I was not feeling any contractions.
We walked around the hospital for an hour and then I could kind of identify a "cramp" but nothing strong. I was 4 1/2 cm and still having contractions 3 minutes apart. We thought for sure they would admit us, but they didn't and wanted us to walk around the hospital another hour. We didn't really see the point in this, so we decided to go home instead.
It was a little confusing because we didn't understand what was going on and what exactly they were looking for. They suggested breaking my water, but we declined and said we wanted to see what would happen naturally first. Adam was very adamant about not having my water broken. So, we went home and within 30 minutes the contractions became stronger and I could no longer talk through them. We stayed home for two hours and then went back (the hospital staff had bets that we'd be back in one hour).
I went in the tub for a good hour, but preferred the birthing ball for the majority of the time. I was side lying for a little bit, but then used the bar over the bed to have gravity on my side. Ultimately, she was born with me leaning over the b all. I found it most useful to push when my body felt the urge to push, which the nurse was very supportive of. We did have a great nurse who was very relaxing and supportive of our birthing plan. Not once was an intervention suggested or an IV ever given. Adam was also fantastic and was by my side the entire time either rubbing my back or talking me through the contractions. All in all, it was what we hoped it would be like. Our nurse said we were the first successful Bradley method birth she had seen in a long time, so we thank you Coral.
Susan and Adam Mildren, Milwaukee
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Midwife & Doula Were Fantastic
Joshua David was born Friday September 10th at 1:29 am and is very healthy! I had a natural birth, a very fast, natural birth. Thursday morning I was already dilated to 4 cm. I had painless "Braxton Hicks" contractions all day that were regular and kept getting closer together. I stayed at work until the afternoon, took a nap, went on a long walk, etc. We stayed active...not sure if it was "realy labor" since the contractions were just like I had been feeling for months (non painful abdominal tightness, except they were coming regularly). Water borke at 10:30 pm and I pretty much entered right into transition with good contractions not more than 3 minutes apart or so. We got to the hospital at 12:50 am and he was born after a few pushes. Midwife Ann Ledbetter and doula Brandy Brey were fantastic. The Bradley method did help in helping me to relax between contractions and to stay moving! I'm very glad we took the class. Thanks, Coral
Labor Went Anything But According to Plan
After all was said and done, Eli and I are great and healthy, but my labor went anything but according to plan.
First of all I went 2 weeks past my due date which was becoming an issue because we were having a hospital birth and most hospitals want to induce you at 41 weeks 5 days or sooner. I REALLY REALLY didn't want that to happen so I tried everything: walking, sex, herbs, acupuncture, acupressure, hypnosis, stripped membranes, castor oil 3 times... NOTHING worked. Finally on June 16th I was to go in and be induced at 8 am. I went into labor naturally at 6:30 am. Go figure.
Paul and I labored at home until about 6 pm when our doula came over to help as things became more intense. At about 9 pm my contractions were about 3 minutes apart where they stayed for another 7 hours. At that point the pain was sooooo intense that I just couldn't take it any more and nothing was changing. At 4 am we finally went to the hospital.
I was having back labor, and when people say it hurts they are NOT kidding. It was like nothing I've ever felt before. After a stint in the hospital's tub to try and control my pain from the back labor I just couldn't take any more and I got an Epidural. After I got the Epidural I was able to rest for about 5 hours. I had already been in labor for quite a while and needed to get my energy back for the next phase of labor,.
At about 2 pm I was given Pitocin to get my contractions, which were still 3 minutes apart, closer together. It didn't take long for thing to get moving and then the Pushfest began. Eli was not only still posterior but in a military presentation which means his chin was not tucked down but was pointing up (face presentation). His forehead was pressing firmly on my tailbone and boy could I feel it. The Epidural had almost no effect other than to allow me enough relief to keep pushing.
After 4 hours of pushing he finally made his grand entrance. (After an Episiotomy, of course, because his shoulders were stuck and we didn't want him to have shoulder dystocia.) It was A LOT of work, but totally worth it.
I guess what I'll say is that my midwife Eileen told me at the beginning of my pregnancy that it is good to be flexible with your birth plan because you just don't know how things will turn out. I remember thinking that was just plain silly because I was going to be able to have a completely natural labor and delivery no matter what. Hmmmm, I guess I learned that people with over 20 years of experience might know what they are talking about!!!!
Corrine & Paul, Milwaukee
First of all I went 2 weeks past my due date which was becoming an issue because we were having a hospital birth and most hospitals want to induce you at 41 weeks 5 days or sooner. I REALLY REALLY didn't want that to happen so I tried everything: walking, sex, herbs, acupuncture, acupressure, hypnosis, stripped membranes, castor oil 3 times... NOTHING worked. Finally on June 16th I was to go in and be induced at 8 am. I went into labor naturally at 6:30 am. Go figure.
Paul and I labored at home until about 6 pm when our doula came over to help as things became more intense. At about 9 pm my contractions were about 3 minutes apart where they stayed for another 7 hours. At that point the pain was sooooo intense that I just couldn't take it any more and nothing was changing. At 4 am we finally went to the hospital.
I was having back labor, and when people say it hurts they are NOT kidding. It was like nothing I've ever felt before. After a stint in the hospital's tub to try and control my pain from the back labor I just couldn't take any more and I got an Epidural. After I got the Epidural I was able to rest for about 5 hours. I had already been in labor for quite a while and needed to get my energy back for the next phase of labor,.
At about 2 pm I was given Pitocin to get my contractions, which were still 3 minutes apart, closer together. It didn't take long for thing to get moving and then the Pushfest began. Eli was not only still posterior but in a military presentation which means his chin was not tucked down but was pointing up (face presentation). His forehead was pressing firmly on my tailbone and boy could I feel it. The Epidural had almost no effect other than to allow me enough relief to keep pushing.
After 4 hours of pushing he finally made his grand entrance. (After an Episiotomy, of course, because his shoulders were stuck and we didn't want him to have shoulder dystocia.) It was A LOT of work, but totally worth it.
I guess what I'll say is that my midwife Eileen told me at the beginning of my pregnancy that it is good to be flexible with your birth plan because you just don't know how things will turn out. I remember thinking that was just plain silly because I was going to be able to have a completely natural labor and delivery no matter what. Hmmmm, I guess I learned that people with over 20 years of experience might know what they are talking about!!!!
Corrine & Paul, Milwaukee
Pre-Eclampsia Success Story
We wanted to quickly share with you the events that unfolded after our pre-eclampsia email....
My blood pressure went up so I progressed so fast through the labor that my doctor almost missed the birth!
It was a fabulous experience. I was so proud of myself and of Mark for making it through such a crazy 5 hours.
After our baby boy was born, they found out that my liver counts had drastically changed and that I needed to be put on Magnesium Sulfate for 24 hours. That was not fun at all, but I was still able to breastfeed so that was good. The baby had to be readmitted to the hospital due to his bad jaundice a day after we got home. I was so upset! Now he is on phototherapy at home and we are hoping his levels go down soon so we can take him off this machine.
Thank you for all you did to educate us. We used everything we learned!
Natalie & Mark W in Brown Deer
My blood pressure went up so I progressed so fast through the labor that my doctor almost missed the birth!
It was a fabulous experience. I was so proud of myself and of Mark for making it through such a crazy 5 hours.
After our baby boy was born, they found out that my liver counts had drastically changed and that I needed to be put on Magnesium Sulfate for 24 hours. That was not fun at all, but I was still able to breastfeed so that was good. The baby had to be readmitted to the hospital due to his bad jaundice a day after we got home. I was so upset! Now he is on phototherapy at home and we are hoping his levels go down soon so we can take him off this machine.
Thank you for all you did to educate us. We used everything we learned!
Natalie & Mark W in Brown Deer
No Induction Necessary
Good News! I did it and n0 induction necessary! We went in Tuesday night for the induction (the baby had some decelerations when they were monitoring my contractions Tuesday during the day so they had us check-in Tuesday night instead of Wednesday mornings so they could monitor the baby). They started the Cervadil about 7 pm and nothing was really happening. I fell asleep around midnight and woke up at 3:20 am with pretty strong contractions about 8 minutes apart--no big deal.
They started to get stronger so I woke Ryan up about 4 am. he quickly realized my contractions were more like 2 minutes apart and we called the nurse. When I got to the hospital at 5 pm the evening before I was 2 cm dilated, when they checked me at 4:15 am I was 5 cm and when they checked me again at 4:30 am I was 8 cm. They called the doctor and he made it right about 5 am (just in time, I definitely could have started pushing earlier if he had been there). It only took about 3 pushes and she was born at 5:19 am--totally natural.
Vera Lynn was 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 1/2 inches. They let us come home Thursday afternoon so we're happy to be home with Wyatt, who loved being a bit brother (at least so far). I can't even begin to say how much better I feel five days out--my recovery has been smooth sailing. And breastfeeding has been going way better too!
Everything went really great and all the stuff from yoga and the Bradley classes really helped, especially when I was waiting for the doctor to arrive and couldn't push. :)
Keri D in Menomonee Falls
They started to get stronger so I woke Ryan up about 4 am. he quickly realized my contractions were more like 2 minutes apart and we called the nurse. When I got to the hospital at 5 pm the evening before I was 2 cm dilated, when they checked me at 4:15 am I was 5 cm and when they checked me again at 4:30 am I was 8 cm. They called the doctor and he made it right about 5 am (just in time, I definitely could have started pushing earlier if he had been there). It only took about 3 pushes and she was born at 5:19 am--totally natural.
Vera Lynn was 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 1/2 inches. They let us come home Thursday afternoon so we're happy to be home with Wyatt, who loved being a bit brother (at least so far). I can't even begin to say how much better I feel five days out--my recovery has been smooth sailing. And breastfeeding has been going way better too!
Everything went really great and all the stuff from yoga and the Bradley classes really helped, especially when I was waiting for the doctor to arrive and couldn't push. :)
Keri D in Menomonee Falls
A Thanksgiving Blessing
I woke up Monday, 11/22 and thought I was in labor, but ended up just having sporadic contractions all day Monday, all day Tuesday and Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, Eric and I were driving to work and he suggested I call our midwife to talk about the situation. The contractions were still irregular, varied in intensity and never very strong. However, she told me to go home and rest, that things might start to progress and if not, it was one more day off for Thanksgiving. After taking two naps during the afternoon the contractions kind of stalled out. But when I got up around 7 pm to have dinner things started to progress. By 10 pm the contractions were getting stronger, but still erratically spaced. By 12:45 am the back pain with each contraction was severe enough that I couldn't talk on the phone and Eric had to call the midwife.
We arrived at the birth center a little before 2 am. Jan confirmed what Eric and I already suspected, my back pain was so severe because little girl was posterior. She had been correctly positioned up until the last few days before she was born. On a positive note I was already 4, almost 5 cm dilated and almost completely effaced.
I'll be honest I wasn't dealing with the pain very well, especially with the awful back labor. Eric was amazing; there to comfort me, press on my back to help alleviate the pain, and constantly reminding me to relax when I found myself tensing during a contraction. The only other thing that seemed to help was when I got in the tub. Eric told me afterward my entire body relaxed when I got in the water. That was the first time I was able to get any rest and actually slept a bit between contractions, even when they were only a minute or so apart.
When it came time to push, we found out she had rotated and was now anterior, but her head was asynclitic, or tilted slightly, making it more difficult on both of us. However, at this point I was so happy I got to push. I knew I would get to meet our baby soon, the contractions weren't as bad, the back labor was gone and I could finally put my desire to tense up to good use by pushing. I was out of the tub during this stage and spent an hour and a half pushing from six different positions. Finally, at 7:27 am our beautiful Lyra was born.
I was honest from the beginning that the pain scared me tremendously. But thanks to Coral and Jan and everything we learned, Eric and I got to have the labor and delivery we had hoped for. I got to move around, use the tub, and push from the positions I wanted. Jan and the birth center provided the perfect, warm and welcoming atmosphere for Lyra's arrival. And it's amazing how quickly you forget the pain when you see your baby for the first time.
Tiffany & Eric Wait, Cedarburg
Monday, January 3, 2011
Just a Bit of Stadol in Transition
C. & I want to let you know that we had our daughter--8 lbs 6 oz, 21 inches--on 7-8-10 after 24 hours of natural labor and delivery (well, I got 2 mg of Stadol at transition--which I think relaxed me enough in between contractions to get to 10 very soon after!). We couldn't have done it without taking the Bradley course--and thank you again for the rice sock, it was definitely utilized!
I don't know what my doc did (we delivered at Froedtert), but I didn't see any residents, or medical students and--no capped IV! I was able to get in the shower for as long as I wanted, and get in the whirlpool tub while I was in very active labor. She stayed after her clinic in the afternoon and actually sat in my labor room and coached for about an hour (I think). She stayed for the delivery as well which was so amazing.
We stayed at home for about 12 hours ( and C. kept saying "I think we should go in--I think we should go in), and then I was ready to go in. I was 6 cm. It was the optimal hospital experience. Unfortunately, right after delivery, I hemorrhaged and required an IV, 2 bags of Pitocin (among other things to help my uterus contract) and then 2 units of blood. We though it was so ironic that we did it with minimal intervention and them wham! Thank you again for sharing your expertise and knowledge with us--it was truly invaluable.
S. & C. in Wauwatosa
PS--C. did not once ask me "what do you want me to do?" :)
I don't know what my doc did (we delivered at Froedtert), but I didn't see any residents, or medical students and--no capped IV! I was able to get in the shower for as long as I wanted, and get in the whirlpool tub while I was in very active labor. She stayed after her clinic in the afternoon and actually sat in my labor room and coached for about an hour (I think). She stayed for the delivery as well which was so amazing.
We stayed at home for about 12 hours ( and C. kept saying "I think we should go in--I think we should go in), and then I was ready to go in. I was 6 cm. It was the optimal hospital experience. Unfortunately, right after delivery, I hemorrhaged and required an IV, 2 bags of Pitocin (among other things to help my uterus contract) and then 2 units of blood. We though it was so ironic that we did it with minimal intervention and them wham! Thank you again for sharing your expertise and knowledge with us--it was truly invaluable.
S. & C. in Wauwatosa
PS--C. did not once ask me "what do you want me to do?" :)
At Home Until Transition
I am happy to say that yesterday, June 22nd at 4:06 am I gave birth to a healthy baby girl. her name is Caliana. My birth story is a bit unique. The whole labor from start to finish was 6 hours long! Can you believe it? I couldn't imagined it going any better. :)
I was at home for about 4 hours when I realized I was in transition. That is when I asked my Mom and my doula to come over. I even called a friend nearby in case I needed to get to the hospital before they arrived. I called the doctor and told her I was in transition. I don't think she took me entirely serious until we finally got to the hospital and the nurse said I was 10 cm dilated and completely effaced. I was practically crossing my legs not to push.
We waited 15 more minutes for the doctor to arrive and in 4 pushes she was out and on my chest! I was in the hospital for a total of 40 minutes before she arrived.
I just wanted to say that the whole time I was at home by myself I was looking at all my notes from class and that really helped. I don't know that things would have gone so well had it not been for all that you taught me. Thank you and I can't wait for you to meet her. :)
Ashley in Milwaukee
I was at home for about 4 hours when I realized I was in transition. That is when I asked my Mom and my doula to come over. I even called a friend nearby in case I needed to get to the hospital before they arrived. I called the doctor and told her I was in transition. I don't think she took me entirely serious until we finally got to the hospital and the nurse said I was 10 cm dilated and completely effaced. I was practically crossing my legs not to push.
We waited 15 more minutes for the doctor to arrive and in 4 pushes she was out and on my chest! I was in the hospital for a total of 40 minutes before she arrived.
I just wanted to say that the whole time I was at home by myself I was looking at all my notes from class and that really helped. I don't know that things would have gone so well had it not been for all that you taught me. Thank you and I can't wait for you to meet her. :)
Ashley in Milwaukee
No Time for Drugs
We wanted to let you know we had our baby last night. He arrived this morning at 1:28 am, 2 weeks and 6 days early, but he is 19.5 inches, 7 lbs 2.2 oz. both mom and baby are doing well.
We barely made it back from Superior after house hunting for the weekend. Water broke at 10:30 pm. First contraction was about 11 pm and baby was here at 1:28 am!
We called the hospital around 11:15 pm or so and her contractions were about 1-2 minutes apart, but only lasted about 30-45 seconds. The hospital said to wait. She was getting more uncomfortable with about 1 minute between and fairly long contractions. Honestly, it was so fast, we couldn't really time them as I was getting everything else ready to go. We got to the hospital ER about 12:30 am and she felt like pushing in the car. Got the OB triage and they measured and found zero cervix so we got whisked upstairs, not even time for a bracelet on mom or anything. She started pushing right away and the baby came very quickly with two tears, but one was very small and just 1 stitch in that one. She didn't have any drugs, although there really wasn't any time for them even if she would've wanted any thing.
It was a pretty hectic day and weekend with looking at roughly 25 houses for our move north in August, a 9 hour drive home due to construction, traffic, and a blown tire and then a labor that was only 2.5 hours. All is well though!
K. and J. in West Allis
We barely made it back from Superior after house hunting for the weekend. Water broke at 10:30 pm. First contraction was about 11 pm and baby was here at 1:28 am!
We called the hospital around 11:15 pm or so and her contractions were about 1-2 minutes apart, but only lasted about 30-45 seconds. The hospital said to wait. She was getting more uncomfortable with about 1 minute between and fairly long contractions. Honestly, it was so fast, we couldn't really time them as I was getting everything else ready to go. We got to the hospital ER about 12:30 am and she felt like pushing in the car. Got the OB triage and they measured and found zero cervix so we got whisked upstairs, not even time for a bracelet on mom or anything. She started pushing right away and the baby came very quickly with two tears, but one was very small and just 1 stitch in that one. She didn't have any drugs, although there really wasn't any time for them even if she would've wanted any thing.
It was a pretty hectic day and weekend with looking at roughly 25 houses for our move north in August, a 9 hour drive home due to construction, traffic, and a blown tire and then a labor that was only 2.5 hours. All is well though!
K. and J. in West Allis
April 15th Baby Better than Tax Refund
We would like to introduce our little Abi. She was born at 2:44 am on April 15th, and is way better than any tax refund! She is 7 lbs 1 oz and 20.5 inches.
We did have to be induced to start labor and keep contractions going, but we were still able to do a natural birth. Kris did a great job and we never could have done it without the classes. In fact, Abi has already told us that she misses hearing your voice every Saturday morning. :)
Matt & Kris in West Allis
We did have to be induced to start labor and keep contractions going, but we were still able to do a natural birth. Kris did a great job and we never could have done it without the classes. In fact, Abi has already told us that she misses hearing your voice every Saturday morning. :)
Matt & Kris in West Allis
Parent's Advice--Stay Flexible
One piece of advice--stay flexible with your plan. Make sure to keep the top of your plan the big picture--everyone safe so that you can focus on the important part. As we learned, plans are only as good as the situation and your ability to adapt them. That said, even though almost every part of our plan went out the window, we wouldn't change anything and it was a wonderful experience. Coral--you were right, feeling listened to (the hospital staff [St. Mary's, Mke.] was phenomenal at every turn--on top of the amazing nurses, every time something deviated from our plan they came in and talked to us about it to make sure it was OK) and a great coach (Derek was perfect) makes all the difference.
So after our due date we were trying EVERYTHING on the list to induce labor. While on the breast pump Monday, 4/5 my water broke. It was clear with some pinkish blood. I was super excited (although embarrassed when right afterwards the doorbell rang with some guy selling door to door meat--I answered with my legs crossed and a blanket wrapped around my top--awkward). Unfortunately, labor didn't start. All afternoon, evening and night I tried to start labor. Sleeping, walking, bouncing, breast pump, etc.
Mid-day Tuesday we decided it was time to go to the hospital and tell the doctor since it was coming up on 24 hours. At 3pm I was still not effaced an only 1 cm dilated, -2 station. They put in Cervidil for 12 hours and I rested. By 10 pm I was having contractions fairly regularly but spaced apart--not yet active labor. They started the Pitocin at 1:30 after the Cervidil feel out.
By 4 am I was having intense contractions 1 minute long, 2 minutes apart. I stayed really calm and my ritual was to know how many deep breaths it took for one contractions and breathe them slowly and count them down so that I'd remember that it would end soon. Once I couldn't count out loud Derek counted them for me.
By 7 am I was 2.5 cm and 50% effaced. The downside to this is that because of the need to be induced I was on continual monitoring and an IV and every time you move at all some alarm goes off that one of your tubes isn't working well and you have to stay still while they futz with it. Our plan really derailed at 7:30 pm--they upped the Pit and my contractions started coupling--which was OK with me--but not with them. The only way to stop that is to up the PIT more--so they did. I started having all the symptoms of transition and threw up with each deep breath--on top of that, the contractions never really ended--they peaked each minute, then went to about half strength, then peaked again.
I got to where between not breathing and not getting any recovery I just couldn't do it--especially since I figured I was still just starting active labor. I decided that drugs would be necessary eventually since I figured I had several hours of this left) so to start them then. I got the epidural at 8:30 and fell immediately asleep for 1/2 an hour in total exhaustion. Once I woke up things were great and by 10 pm I was 7.5 cm, totally effaced, and 0 station. By midnight, fully dilated.
I started pushing at 2:30 am and she was born Wednesday the 7th at 7:10 am (yes that's just under 5 hours--but that's because with the epidural she flipped posterior and I couldn't push for very long in that many positions (although still did hands and knees, and sitting on a bedpan on the end of the bed to simulate a toilet--with Derek regularly suggesting changes)--it wasn't that bad.
At 7, the attending came in and said--all right lady here's the deal--you have 10 minutes to push this baby out or we need to vacuum extract or C-section. I got her almost all the way out, but it took one small pull with the vacuum to make her whole body fit out. I think that having them describe the options helped stimulate things to go a bit faster. By the end of the pushing I had a fever and her heart rate had stopped decelerating and was really fast so I was on antibiotics and she got checked by NICU right away. They quickly decided she was OK and put her on my chest while they sewed me up. She rooted and made suckling faces right away. She came out alert, eyes open and looking around. She was 6 lbs 12 oz and 20.5 inches.
Thank you all for your support and companionship--and Coral a bazillion thanks for helping us to feel so prepared and calm about the whole experience--we couldn't have done it without you.
Kelly, Derek in Milwaukee
So after our due date we were trying EVERYTHING on the list to induce labor. While on the breast pump Monday, 4/5 my water broke. It was clear with some pinkish blood. I was super excited (although embarrassed when right afterwards the doorbell rang with some guy selling door to door meat--I answered with my legs crossed and a blanket wrapped around my top--awkward). Unfortunately, labor didn't start. All afternoon, evening and night I tried to start labor. Sleeping, walking, bouncing, breast pump, etc.
Mid-day Tuesday we decided it was time to go to the hospital and tell the doctor since it was coming up on 24 hours. At 3pm I was still not effaced an only 1 cm dilated, -2 station. They put in Cervidil for 12 hours and I rested. By 10 pm I was having contractions fairly regularly but spaced apart--not yet active labor. They started the Pitocin at 1:30 after the Cervidil feel out.
By 4 am I was having intense contractions 1 minute long, 2 minutes apart. I stayed really calm and my ritual was to know how many deep breaths it took for one contractions and breathe them slowly and count them down so that I'd remember that it would end soon. Once I couldn't count out loud Derek counted them for me.
By 7 am I was 2.5 cm and 50% effaced. The downside to this is that because of the need to be induced I was on continual monitoring and an IV and every time you move at all some alarm goes off that one of your tubes isn't working well and you have to stay still while they futz with it. Our plan really derailed at 7:30 pm--they upped the Pit and my contractions started coupling--which was OK with me--but not with them. The only way to stop that is to up the PIT more--so they did. I started having all the symptoms of transition and threw up with each deep breath--on top of that, the contractions never really ended--they peaked each minute, then went to about half strength, then peaked again.
I got to where between not breathing and not getting any recovery I just couldn't do it--especially since I figured I was still just starting active labor. I decided that drugs would be necessary eventually since I figured I had several hours of this left) so to start them then. I got the epidural at 8:30 and fell immediately asleep for 1/2 an hour in total exhaustion. Once I woke up things were great and by 10 pm I was 7.5 cm, totally effaced, and 0 station. By midnight, fully dilated.
I started pushing at 2:30 am and she was born Wednesday the 7th at 7:10 am (yes that's just under 5 hours--but that's because with the epidural she flipped posterior and I couldn't push for very long in that many positions (although still did hands and knees, and sitting on a bedpan on the end of the bed to simulate a toilet--with Derek regularly suggesting changes)--it wasn't that bad.
At 7, the attending came in and said--all right lady here's the deal--you have 10 minutes to push this baby out or we need to vacuum extract or C-section. I got her almost all the way out, but it took one small pull with the vacuum to make her whole body fit out. I think that having them describe the options helped stimulate things to go a bit faster. By the end of the pushing I had a fever and her heart rate had stopped decelerating and was really fast so I was on antibiotics and she got checked by NICU right away. They quickly decided she was OK and put her on my chest while they sewed me up. She rooted and made suckling faces right away. She came out alert, eyes open and looking around. She was 6 lbs 12 oz and 20.5 inches.
Thank you all for your support and companionship--and Coral a bazillion thanks for helping us to feel so prepared and calm about the whole experience--we couldn't have done it without you.
Kelly, Derek in Milwaukee
Sinai--a Good Experience
Hi. I had emailed you a while back about where in Milwaukee to birth. I ended up going with Sinai... and was SO impressed. I was transferred [from midwives] to the high risk doctors because of gestational diabetes and they ended up breaking my water at 40 weeks and 4 days. I labored with no drugs. I had a great nurse who left about an hour and a half into labor. She was replaced by an equally good nurse who stayed with me most of the time, rather than being uninvolved, and in all truth would have made a great doula--a stop above, a hundred steps above the average nurse. She encouraged me to walk around, change positions, save my energy, shake my booty, etc. She assured me that my baby knew what he was doing and that his movements (which were hurting me) were helping to bring him down and that he was working hard to come out. When I was in transition and trying to tell my doula that I wanted a "walking" epidural the nurse sided with my doulas and told me that my labor would be done soon and that getting an epidural would be pointless. She did other great things too but it's a bit hazy.
My experience with the doctors, especially the resident doctors who were the ones mainly involved was also great. They said they had never let the cord stop pulsing before they cut it but that if that was what I wanted they didn't have any objections. The two docs just sat and watched as I was squat pushing and let me, my nurse, doula and hubby alone until the very end when they came to catch the baby. They immediately put baby in my arms and weren't in a big hurry to take him away. They didn't push the issue of shots for baby...they didn't push any issues actually.
I was pretty happy about their excitement for breastfeeding, as well as their view in episiotomies, which was that there better be a darn good reason to do one, if it ain't saving a life what's the point (maybe not every one's view but the two docs I worked with felt that way).
So thank YOU so much for your recommendation. Mary in Milwaukee
My experience with the doctors, especially the resident doctors who were the ones mainly involved was also great. They said they had never let the cord stop pulsing before they cut it but that if that was what I wanted they didn't have any objections. The two docs just sat and watched as I was squat pushing and let me, my nurse, doula and hubby alone until the very end when they came to catch the baby. They immediately put baby in my arms and weren't in a big hurry to take him away. They didn't push the issue of shots for baby...they didn't push any issues actually.
I was pretty happy about their excitement for breastfeeding, as well as their view in episiotomies, which was that there better be a darn good reason to do one, if it ain't saving a life what's the point (maybe not every one's view but the two docs I worked with felt that way).
So thank YOU so much for your recommendation. Mary in Milwaukee
Peaceful Mama, Peaceful Baby
We did it! More specifically, S. did it while I help back tears of joy and amazement. What an incredible experience we had bringing our baby into the world on Friday, May 21st. Mom and baby are both doing wonderful. And I'm pleased to report that the birth was 100% natural. No high fructose corn syrup, no pesticides, wait...I'm getting carried away with the natural thing. Sorry.
The labor was about 12 hours. We arrived at the hospital around 4 pm. The contractions were about 3-1-1 a that point and S. was 4 cm dilated. We went through whole variety of different positions, relaxation techniques, used the whirlpool tub, etc. Each hour S. was becoming another 2 cm dilated. By around 7:30 she was ready to push. Just over 40 minutes later, baby made her entrance. S. did an amazing job pushing and I wasn't half bad either (said while patting myself on the back). The hospital staff was supportive of our birth plan and , I have to say, completely blown away by what S was able to do. She made it look easy. You should have seen her. It brought me to tears to see here realize her dream. I'm a proud husband and father, that's for sure!
We can't wait for you to meet our little 7lb 5 oz, 20 inch juggernaut. She's beautiful and healthy. Both S. and I agree that without your guidance this wouldn't have been so wonderful. Thank you for giving us such an unforgettable, magical experience. We can't thank you enough. C. in Milwaukee
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