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