Now that Jacob is about to turn EIGHT years old, I am finally writing down his birth story! Obviously I am not going to remember all the details or everything that I was thinking at the time, but I will do my best. Here it goes.....
I remember taking some natural supplements for maybe a couple of weeks or so before the birth. I knew he was going to be "big", so I didn't really want to go past my due date.....but I wanted to wait until I went into labor and not be induced, for my first time! So finally, 4 days after my due date, something finally worked! I don't remember where I read this at the time because I can't find it anywhere now, but I had read that sometimes rubbing the inner thighs vigorously will stimulate contractions. I can't remember if we tried it unsuccessfully before then or not (I don't think so), but it definitely worked this time. I immediately started having some contractions, but nothing major and nothing intense. This was in the evening, so I just went to bed.
I woke up on the morning of the 10th with contractions that I KNEW were the "real thing". It was about 5:30 AM, so my husband called in to work and stayed with me all day. :) So far the contractions were definitely bearable, so I was kind of enjoying it at this point, as it was my first home birth and the first time I went into labor on my own, but I definitely couldn't sleep through them.
Again, I don't remember many details now, so this will be short.
I know at some point, my parents came to get the other two kids so I wouldn't have to worry about them. I would probably have wanted to keep them there if I had the decision to make NOW, but at that time, being my first home birth, they were only 2 and 4, so I'm sure they were happier at my parents' house.
Labor progressed, but the contractions never really got regular, as I expected them to. Sometimes they would be just a few minutes apart (maybe 5 or so), then they would be 20 minutes apart. Some lasted 45 seconds while others lasted 2 minutes!!!! I learned afterwards (at some point) that this can be a variation of "normal" for many women. I wish I'd known that before! The only thing the "professionals" ever tell you is to wait until they are 5 minutes apart and last for 1 minute each! I know with my first two inductions, I wasn't considered in "regular, active labor" until they were steady contractions, with the same amount of time between each contraction and all lasting about the same length of time. And the pitocin really did it for me too. Ouch! But this labor was not text book.
So as the day went on, these contractions DID actually have a pattern. One interval was 15-20 minutes, lasting close to 2 minutes long, and the next interval would be between 2-5 minutes, lasting about 45 seconds. So I would have one long and intense contraction and then one shorter and more bearable (I could breathe and relax through!) contraction. This went on for HOURS, of course, and they did get a little closer together and more intense.
I had the "fishy pool" to birth in, and I LOOOOOOVED it! At least my head did. My body didn't seem to do well with it. I had always heard that contractions were less intense and more comfortable in the water, because it was a natural pain reliever, but I reacted exactly the opposite. When I tried to get in the water 2 or 3 times, I didn't last long because my contractions got MUCH more intense, and they were all back to back. I didn't have time to relax at all! :( It must have been the last time I was in the water, my bag of waters broke.....first time on its own! I was so relieved about that. It looked good (the midwife was there by this point), so no concerns with it.
Shortly after this, I tried laying on the bed, since the water didn't work for me. Oh, I hated that bed! It was not comfortable at all! Actually, by this point I don't think any position was very comfortable! The one good thing I remember about laying there though was that the midwife actually taught me how to relax, how to truly relax during a contraction. She would just watch my eyebrows, and any time I would start to tighten up my face even the slightest bit, she would rub my forehead and softly say, "No, no, no, shhhhh.....relax. Breathe slowly and deeply." I didn't think it was possible, but I got it! And WOW, it really did work! It was extra challenging for the longer, more intense contractions, but I did it! That was encouraging!
I have to add here, we had no idea what was going on outside of our house. We knew there was a storm coming, but we weren't watching the news or calling anyone to keep up with it. There were storms all the time, so no big deal! We were inside where it was safe and warm! Well, sometime that afternoon the tornado sirens had gone off!!!! My husband ran to the other room to turn the TV on. I'm glad we were not in the path, but the tornado was only a couple of miles north of us! In November!!! And to this day, the midwife remembers and laughs about that. :) I think it is funny that I brought a little "tornado" into the world on a day when we had a tornado in our town! Haha!
It was probably around this time (sometime in the afternoon) that she checked me, since it seemed the baby hadn't even dropped yet. Sure enough, he was still very high (she could barely touch him), and she wasn't feeling his head. Uh, oh! What does that mean? She said she thought she was feeling his butt! Oh no!!!! So she called the other midwife, and a little while later she arrived and confirmed it. He was breech with his butt down.
So now we had some other things to consider. By now I was VERY discouraged and just plain TIRED. My options were to deliver breech at home, which wasn't really looking like a good possibility for me, or deliver breech at the hospital or a c/s at the hospital. I remember the midwives going outside to talk about it themselves (what was that about?!), and then ultimately it was my decision. At this point though, I just wanted this baby OUT!
By now it was dark, and the ride to the hospital was horrible. I felt every.single.bump. I was still hoping to deliver him breech, and they even hooked me up to pitocin to help "regulate" those contractions (!!!), but as they were about to start it, they did a quick ultrasound and determined he was probably over 10 pounds. I was so tired of them messing with me while having intense contractions, and fearful of him being breech AND big, that I gave in to a c-section. It was only a few contractions later that the spinal anesthetic took effect and I could finally relax. Ahhhhh!!!!
The next thing I remember is being cut open (I couldn't see it though, I just thought it was so strange!) and seeing my baby as they lifted him up to my view. I think they brought him to my face so I could kiss him. Yep, he was a BIG baby for sure! :) He weighed in at 10lbs. 3 ozs. with a 14 1/2" head! I can't really say I have any regrets about the c/s, but I do often wonder if I could have birthed him vaginally if I had hung on just a little longer. I also think that *maybe* the contractions were different and he didn't drop just because of the position he was in. That is all in retrospect, and I will never know for sure.
This was my 3rd baby, and we had become more and more "crunchy" by this time, so I made sure my husband knew to stay with the baby at all times. "Don't let him out of your sight, and don't let them do anything to him without our permission!" I was even barking out orders while being sewn up! Haha! So they laid him on the warming table to wipe him off, take measurements, APGAR, etc. and while my husband was just doting on him, he didn't notice that they gave him eye drops. I couldn't see because everyone was standing around him and blocking my view. I was a little disappointed in my hubby, but I was mostly frustrated with all the routine things they do with babies without permission. The eye drops were just not necessary, and now he wasn't going to see clearly for a while, not to mention the glossy wet eyes in all the pictures. So annoying!
Fast forward a little while (not sure how long), and once I woke up from recovery, I was able to hold my new precious baby boy!!!! I remember waking up and seeing everyone from my church there while I was laying in bed. That was a little.....awkward, but it was nice to know they cared. They all doted over him and mentioned his thick, black hair and that he already needed a hair cut, etc.
I really don't remember a whole lot about he hospital stay after that, but I do remember at one point, probably right after birth, they gave him a bottle of formula *without my permission* just because he was big and I was sleeping. Again, so frustrating!!!! They just do whatever is routine without considering that not every mother wants the routine things done! They also gave him a pacifier, and in the beginning, I did not want him to have any artificial nipples.
So the birth did NOT go as I had planned or hoped, but the rest of the hospital stay was fine. Most of the nurses were wonderful, and we had a very nice, large room to ourselves. I knew my kids were in good hands at my parents' house, so we just relaxed and enjoyed our new baby while being served food, snacks, etc. Still no complaints about that! Ha!
Jacob was born on a Wednesday night. By Sunday I noticed a slight wheeze when I breathed deeply. I thought it was strange but so harmless that I didn't say anything at that time. By the following Wednesday, I could hardly breathe, and I felt like I was going to DIE from just walking across a room! I was diagnosed with pneumonia and given strong antibiotics, which caused me to have to "pump and dump" for a week. Jacob had formula during that time, which killed me, but I knew it would only be temporarily. I went on to nurse him for exactly a year (I would have gone longer if I could have), so I was happy about that!
Of course, if I were in this situation again, I would probably have done things differently, and I could have continued nursing, but I was pretty bad and scared at the time, and I knew we'd both be okay once we got past this. I felt completely better in just a couple of days! I felt in my gut that it was a reaction to the spinal anesthetic, but I didn't really know for sure. Fast forward to my 2nd c/s, it was done by another doctor, hospital and anesthesiologist, and I did not have that reaction. Fast forward again to my 3rd c/s, I was back with the first doc/hospital/anesthesiologist and it DID happen AGAIN! Thankfully I recognized that little wheeze immediately, but I was still in danger with all the swelling and extremely high blood pressure. I was hospitalized overnight this time, but all was fine. So I really feel it had something to do with the spinal anesthetic, but I may never know for sure, hopefully because I won't have to deal with that again!
I think that's about all I remember......more than I thought I would! Even though he was not born the way I wanted, there is nothing I can do to go back and change that, so I am just so thankful he was very healthy (and still is!) and was such an easy baby. With my two preschoolers, he almost got ignored in the beginning because he was so quiet! Wow, things sure have changed! ;)
I remember taking some natural supplements for maybe a couple of weeks or so before the birth. I knew he was going to be "big", so I didn't really want to go past my due date.....but I wanted to wait until I went into labor and not be induced, for my first time! So finally, 4 days after my due date, something finally worked! I don't remember where I read this at the time because I can't find it anywhere now, but I had read that sometimes rubbing the inner thighs vigorously will stimulate contractions. I can't remember if we tried it unsuccessfully before then or not (I don't think so), but it definitely worked this time. I immediately started having some contractions, but nothing major and nothing intense. This was in the evening, so I just went to bed.
I woke up on the morning of the 10th with contractions that I KNEW were the "real thing". It was about 5:30 AM, so my husband called in to work and stayed with me all day. :) So far the contractions were definitely bearable, so I was kind of enjoying it at this point, as it was my first home birth and the first time I went into labor on my own, but I definitely couldn't sleep through them.
Again, I don't remember many details now, so this will be short.
I know at some point, my parents came to get the other two kids so I wouldn't have to worry about them. I would probably have wanted to keep them there if I had the decision to make NOW, but at that time, being my first home birth, they were only 2 and 4, so I'm sure they were happier at my parents' house.
Labor progressed, but the contractions never really got regular, as I expected them to. Sometimes they would be just a few minutes apart (maybe 5 or so), then they would be 20 minutes apart. Some lasted 45 seconds while others lasted 2 minutes!!!! I learned afterwards (at some point) that this can be a variation of "normal" for many women. I wish I'd known that before! The only thing the "professionals" ever tell you is to wait until they are 5 minutes apart and last for 1 minute each! I know with my first two inductions, I wasn't considered in "regular, active labor" until they were steady contractions, with the same amount of time between each contraction and all lasting about the same length of time. And the pitocin really did it for me too. Ouch! But this labor was not text book.
So as the day went on, these contractions DID actually have a pattern. One interval was 15-20 minutes, lasting close to 2 minutes long, and the next interval would be between 2-5 minutes, lasting about 45 seconds. So I would have one long and intense contraction and then one shorter and more bearable (I could breathe and relax through!) contraction. This went on for HOURS, of course, and they did get a little closer together and more intense.
I had the "fishy pool" to birth in, and I LOOOOOOVED it! At least my head did. My body didn't seem to do well with it. I had always heard that contractions were less intense and more comfortable in the water, because it was a natural pain reliever, but I reacted exactly the opposite. When I tried to get in the water 2 or 3 times, I didn't last long because my contractions got MUCH more intense, and they were all back to back. I didn't have time to relax at all! :( It must have been the last time I was in the water, my bag of waters broke.....first time on its own! I was so relieved about that. It looked good (the midwife was there by this point), so no concerns with it.
Shortly after this, I tried laying on the bed, since the water didn't work for me. Oh, I hated that bed! It was not comfortable at all! Actually, by this point I don't think any position was very comfortable! The one good thing I remember about laying there though was that the midwife actually taught me how to relax, how to truly relax during a contraction. She would just watch my eyebrows, and any time I would start to tighten up my face even the slightest bit, she would rub my forehead and softly say, "No, no, no, shhhhh.....relax. Breathe slowly and deeply." I didn't think it was possible, but I got it! And WOW, it really did work! It was extra challenging for the longer, more intense contractions, but I did it! That was encouraging!
I have to add here, we had no idea what was going on outside of our house. We knew there was a storm coming, but we weren't watching the news or calling anyone to keep up with it. There were storms all the time, so no big deal! We were inside where it was safe and warm! Well, sometime that afternoon the tornado sirens had gone off!!!! My husband ran to the other room to turn the TV on. I'm glad we were not in the path, but the tornado was only a couple of miles north of us! In November!!! And to this day, the midwife remembers and laughs about that. :) I think it is funny that I brought a little "tornado" into the world on a day when we had a tornado in our town! Haha!
It was probably around this time (sometime in the afternoon) that she checked me, since it seemed the baby hadn't even dropped yet. Sure enough, he was still very high (she could barely touch him), and she wasn't feeling his head. Uh, oh! What does that mean? She said she thought she was feeling his butt! Oh no!!!! So she called the other midwife, and a little while later she arrived and confirmed it. He was breech with his butt down.
So now we had some other things to consider. By now I was VERY discouraged and just plain TIRED. My options were to deliver breech at home, which wasn't really looking like a good possibility for me, or deliver breech at the hospital or a c/s at the hospital. I remember the midwives going outside to talk about it themselves (what was that about?!), and then ultimately it was my decision. At this point though, I just wanted this baby OUT!
By now it was dark, and the ride to the hospital was horrible. I felt every.single.bump. I was still hoping to deliver him breech, and they even hooked me up to pitocin to help "regulate" those contractions (!!!), but as they were about to start it, they did a quick ultrasound and determined he was probably over 10 pounds. I was so tired of them messing with me while having intense contractions, and fearful of him being breech AND big, that I gave in to a c-section. It was only a few contractions later that the spinal anesthetic took effect and I could finally relax. Ahhhhh!!!!
The next thing I remember is being cut open (I couldn't see it though, I just thought it was so strange!) and seeing my baby as they lifted him up to my view. I think they brought him to my face so I could kiss him. Yep, he was a BIG baby for sure! :) He weighed in at 10lbs. 3 ozs. with a 14 1/2" head! I can't really say I have any regrets about the c/s, but I do often wonder if I could have birthed him vaginally if I had hung on just a little longer. I also think that *maybe* the contractions were different and he didn't drop just because of the position he was in. That is all in retrospect, and I will never know for sure.
This was my 3rd baby, and we had become more and more "crunchy" by this time, so I made sure my husband knew to stay with the baby at all times. "Don't let him out of your sight, and don't let them do anything to him without our permission!" I was even barking out orders while being sewn up! Haha! So they laid him on the warming table to wipe him off, take measurements, APGAR, etc. and while my husband was just doting on him, he didn't notice that they gave him eye drops. I couldn't see because everyone was standing around him and blocking my view. I was a little disappointed in my hubby, but I was mostly frustrated with all the routine things they do with babies without permission. The eye drops were just not necessary, and now he wasn't going to see clearly for a while, not to mention the glossy wet eyes in all the pictures. So annoying!
Fast forward a little while (not sure how long), and once I woke up from recovery, I was able to hold my new precious baby boy!!!! I remember waking up and seeing everyone from my church there while I was laying in bed. That was a little.....awkward, but it was nice to know they cared. They all doted over him and mentioned his thick, black hair and that he already needed a hair cut, etc.
I really don't remember a whole lot about he hospital stay after that, but I do remember at one point, probably right after birth, they gave him a bottle of formula *without my permission* just because he was big and I was sleeping. Again, so frustrating!!!! They just do whatever is routine without considering that not every mother wants the routine things done! They also gave him a pacifier, and in the beginning, I did not want him to have any artificial nipples.
So the birth did NOT go as I had planned or hoped, but the rest of the hospital stay was fine. Most of the nurses were wonderful, and we had a very nice, large room to ourselves. I knew my kids were in good hands at my parents' house, so we just relaxed and enjoyed our new baby while being served food, snacks, etc. Still no complaints about that! Ha!
Jacob was born on a Wednesday night. By Sunday I noticed a slight wheeze when I breathed deeply. I thought it was strange but so harmless that I didn't say anything at that time. By the following Wednesday, I could hardly breathe, and I felt like I was going to DIE from just walking across a room! I was diagnosed with pneumonia and given strong antibiotics, which caused me to have to "pump and dump" for a week. Jacob had formula during that time, which killed me, but I knew it would only be temporarily. I went on to nurse him for exactly a year (I would have gone longer if I could have), so I was happy about that!
Of course, if I were in this situation again, I would probably have done things differently, and I could have continued nursing, but I was pretty bad and scared at the time, and I knew we'd both be okay once we got past this. I felt completely better in just a couple of days! I felt in my gut that it was a reaction to the spinal anesthetic, but I didn't really know for sure. Fast forward to my 2nd c/s, it was done by another doctor, hospital and anesthesiologist, and I did not have that reaction. Fast forward again to my 3rd c/s, I was back with the first doc/hospital/anesthesiologist and it DID happen AGAIN! Thankfully I recognized that little wheeze immediately, but I was still in danger with all the swelling and extremely high blood pressure. I was hospitalized overnight this time, but all was fine. So I really feel it had something to do with the spinal anesthetic, but I may never know for sure, hopefully because I won't have to deal with that again!
I think that's about all I remember......more than I thought I would! Even though he was not born the way I wanted, there is nothing I can do to go back and change that, so I am just so thankful he was very healthy (and still is!) and was such an easy baby. With my two preschoolers, he almost got ignored in the beginning because he was so quiet! Wow, things sure have changed! ;)
