Birth Story

Birth Story 2

Madeline’s Birth Story Part 2: Happiest baby on the block

After the epidural (that I immediately regretted getting), we settled in to take a nap. It was 4 a.m. at this point, and my husband needed some sleep – I however sat in bed, staring up at a full moon, kicking myself for giving in to the stadol induced stupidity. The epidural wasn’t even done well, my left side was all tingly – nothing like the last time where I could move my legs. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep. For two hours I rested, and then about 6 I started to feel a lot of pressure…

My water then broke. After I told the nurse, she checked me and I was suddenly 6cm! At this point, I told my husband to call my mom and tell her it’s almost time. When he told her my water broke and I was 6 she squealed “We aren’t going to make it!” and hung up. 2 minutes later, I was complete. The doctor wasn’t there, but a very nervous and excited looking resident was — and the nurses started setting up for delivery.

Now this part is always amazing to me, how when the baby is about to come and your body just takes over — the epidural was almost all worn off so I could feel some pain, but my hypnobabies training kicked in and began to breath the baby out. With each contraction, I just let my body do the work and with every breath I could feel her head — and the pressure of it — moving down and…

Suddenly I was crowning. At this point Erin gave me “permission” to push. Halfway through the first push, my doctor came in, looked down and exclaimed:

“GREAT JOB! That’s the way to do it!” and gave me a smile and a thumbs up. Now you would think a woman delivering a baby would be annoyed by this, but I was in such a state that I actually laughed along with him. He called the resident over, who was already all suited up, and instructed him to catch. 2 pushed later, I grabbed her from between my legs and from the residents grasp.

She didn’t cry. She wasn’t blue, but she didn’t cry — you know the first thing she did? She picked up her little head off of my chest, looked up at me while I was telling her how much I loved her, and …smiled. Then, as I was helping dry her off, she wailed a few a times. After that, when her daddy started talking to her she turned her little head and gave him a grin too! Nope, I wasn’t still on the Stadol – she actually didn’t stop smiling the whole day:

Smiling at Papa

Smiling at nanny

All Smiles!

We stayed overnight one more night, and then was home the next day. I’m not one for hospitals, and I was very anxious to see Logan again! How did he handle meeting the new baby? Stay tuned for Part 3!

Here is Part 1 if you missed it!

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Birth Story 1

Madeline’s Birth Story Part 1: The first 3 hours

Madeline was born after only 6 hours of labor and 3 pushes. 3! The doctor didn’t even have time to glove up, and she was delivered by a very surprised resident. I came in at 3cm , my water broke spontaneously at 6cm and then 3 minutes later I was complete. And, yes, I did get induced.

At my appointment on Tuesday, my doctor and I decided that my body – and I -was done being pregnant.  He told me to come in Wednesday night at 11pm to be induced. “All you’ll have to do is be touched with the gel and it will throw you into active labor”, he told me. Little did I know how very true that would be!

Wednesday – I had been having contractions off and on the night before, and all day that day – but I didn’t feel like they were doing much. They were pretty regular, but I was still functional. I started listening to my Hypnobabies Birthing Day Affirmations, which put me in a great mood while making the contractions stronger. They kept me relaxed and looking forward to the induction as I played and snuggled with L as much as I could before we took him to his grandma’s house.

At 6pm, we decided it would be a good idea to drop L off at his grandma’s early so that we could go out to dinner, relax and get our energy up for what we thought would be a long night ahead. We went to Applebee’s, and I loaded up on some steak, potatoes and veggies, YUM! My husband was more nervous than I was so I tried to get him to order a beer – but when we came home after dinner, he had a little snip of scotch to take the edge off instead. We had 2 hours to hang out and relax at this point, so we took advantage. At about 9:30, a strange hush of relaxation set over both of us. I played my birthing day affirmations again while we got everything ready to go.

We got to the hospital about 10:45 – Now, my mom used to work in the unit, so I was able to use her pull to get the same room L was born in and the nurse I wanted. This made the induction decision feel better, Nurses do all the work so having the right ones to help you through is important – who knows who I would of gotten if I had just came in spontaneously! They settled me in, hooked me up to the monitors and low and behold – regular, quite strong contractions. “You aren’t feeling those?” Erin – my awesome nurse – asked me. “Well yeah, but they don’t hurt, I just stretching and pressure.”. She and my husband looked at the monitor and each other – apparently my hypnosis had kicked in because they were spiking pretty high.

Erin left, and my husband sat looking at the monitor. I would tell him when a contraction was starting, and he would tell me how strong they were registering. It was pretty surprising, and I made sure to keep everything relaxed through the contractions. Face, hands, pelvic floor… after monitoring the contractions, At 1 a.m. they inserted the gel, and by 1:25 the contractions became harder but still manageable. They checked me at 2, and I had dilated to a 4. I asked if I could walk around a bit and Erin took me off the monitors – “If the contractions get too hard, hop back into bed and call me.”

Last time I was in labor, I felt better walking around and out of bed, but this time the walking made the contractions intense. They were starting to get painful, she was moving down fast. But, I made myself walk around for an hour because I knew the gravity would help. Using the same relaxation and hypnotic suggestion I made it through. At 3:15 I hopped back into bed and called the nurse. I told her how intense they were getting. She watched the monitor and I was spiking at 3 times the intensity than I was at the beginning. Being in bed actually felt better, though, and she checked me. Still at 4, but the baby had moved down quite a bit.

While lying there for a little while, I was working beautifully through contractions, but I started feeling some anxiety. I think the fact that things were moving sooo fast freaked me out a little. Only 3 hours in, and I was farther along than I was last time, the contractions felt like they were working, and I knew I would be having this baby SOON. So, to take the edge off a little, I asked for Stadol.

Stadol is funny. What it feels like to me is getting drunk really really REALLY fast. I was relaxed. I could still feel the contractions, and had to concentrate through them, but I wasn’t in pain. But, like being drunk, Stadol can take away your ability to think straight and while in the stupor of the Stadol , I convinced myself that an epidural wouldn’t be so bad. I didn’t want to start throwing up violently like I did with L, and since everything was moving so fast, I knew that if I didn’t ask for it NOW then I would miss my chance. I didn’t need it. I really didn’t. And in hindsight, this is the one thing I regret…

Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss Part Two!

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The Best Day of Our Lives…A baby birth story

4 day old L

After only 6 hours of labor, L was born on May 5th, 2009 at 12:22pm. He weighed 7lbs, 0oz and was 19 inches long.

Today is his first birthday, and we are off to the zoo! But first, I wanted to share with you L’s never before seen (on MaM) birth story.

We went in at 8pm on Monday night to be induced because of high blood pressure. My mom and sister met us at the door, and Matt and I walked in very excited and with huge grins. They settled us into room 718 (Matts lucky number) and after answering a series of questions they hooked me up to the monitors. Little did I know, I had already begun contracting. I couldn’t feel them of course. After we found this out, a very nervous nurse tried to put in my saline lock. Swearing that the veins on the top of my hands weren’t straight enough, she tried to put it on the side of my hand and blew a vein. That hurt like crazy! But then, figuring the nurse was just nervous, my mom came up and quickly popped it in, no questions asked.

At 10 I received the gel. This made the contractions easier to feel, but still only pressure, so I put on my hypnobabies easy first stage track on my ipod, laid back and tried to get some sleep. I didn’t sleep though. I was way too excited.

Around midnight, the contractions became a bit harder and the bed became my nemesis. My next nurse, Erin, came in, hooked me up to the IV and helped position me on my side so I could feel a bit more comfortable. It didn’t work. The pressure became a pain sensation in my back because of the bed. At 2am, I received another dose of the gel. I began then having contractions one right on top of each other, coupling and tripling, and I asked Matt to watch the monitor and let me know when one was starting, and when it had peaked. The monitor looked like the letter M over and over, as I wasn’t getting a break in between the contractions, which at this point were a little bit harder – but I could only feel it in my back. We called in the nurse, and she helped me focus on my breathing to get through the coupling. At 3am when my hour was up, I asked if I could walk around. The nurse very graciously let me off the monitors since Logan was looking so good, and I could walk.

Walking felt sooo much better than being in bed. The pain went away, and my contractions only became pressure. During each contraction, Matt helped me breath and we alternated between slow dancing, and the rocking chair. The nurse would come in every 30 minutes to doppler and check L during a contraction, but mostly left us alone. She was very very understanding, and agreed that the gravity was helping me more than being confined to the bed. Walking around with my husband, slow dancing and him holding my hand while helping me breath was the best. Matt felt apart of the process, and that he was helping, and I couldn’t help but feel the love he was feeling for me during each contraction. This time was very romantic in a way, and I feel that without it, I couldn’t have gotten through what was next.

My mother called around 5 to say she was on her way back up to the hospital, and at 5:30 I was put back on the monitors and checked. I went from 1cm to 2cm and 80% effaced. I didn’t feel discouraged though, as I knew that first time moms efface before they dilate. At 6, the nurse began the pitocin. I was more afraid of the unknown than the pain, and was afraid the pit was going to make it unecessarily harder than it needed to be. This was the only time I lost focus and began to cry. Not from the pain I was having with each contraction, only from anxiety of the unknown. My husband and mom helped me regain control. I was then offered stadol to be able to rest a little bit before the ‘real labor’ started. I talked it over with my mom, and decided that if I was to have the energy to get through it, I needed it. The stadol got rid of my anxiety, and I was able to refocus on my breathing. My contractions became stronger, and I began to shake. I knew my cervix was changing.

From 6am to 9am, real labor had indeed started. I shivered and shook, and breathed through each contraction making sure to focus. I tried to use my hypnobabies techniques as much as I could, but could not use my light switch as often as I had hoped. I made sure my body was relaxed through each contraction, starting with my hands and feet, then face and pelvic floor. I breathed in deeply through my nose, and blew out as slowly as I could. At 8am, I began making this low ‘ooooooh’ noise while breathing out, and it helped me gage the strength by myself without someone looking at the monitor.

At 9 I was checked again, and I was 100% effaced at 4cm. I celebrated by throwing up. What a great sign! My new nurse, and now hero, Marilyn came in and we discussed the option of an epidural at this point, as the stadol was gone (it only lasted really, about 30 mins and only helped my anxiety). I decided it was a good idea. I needed to get some sleep at this point, I had been up for almost 24 hours. The anestesiologist came in, and Matt helped me lean over. The doctor had to stop a few times while I had contractions, and threw up again, but I did not feel a thing. I laid back, and about 5 minutes later my legs were numb, but not to the point I couldn’t move them for exams or feel touch. It was perfect. I still felt the pressure of each contraction, but not to the strength I was feeling it before. Matt laid on the futon, and we all settled in for a nap.

Around 11, I woke up to a lot of pressure – I could feel L pushing with his feet on my ribs and his head on my cervix with each contraction. It was so much pressure I felt as if he were going to crawl out of there on his own! My mom and nurse came back in, and when I told them they both sang “we love pressure!!” and Marilyn checked me. In the span of an hour and a half, I had gone from a 4 to a 9 with a lip and +1 station. I was amazed! I thought it would take hours more to get to this point. We all became very excited, and I noticed the epidural was not quite as strong as before. My mom called my dad and sister and they came up to the hospital within minutes. My contractions were intense at this point, and the epidural had worn off, but I still managed to talk to everyone between them. Noon came along, and this changed, and I entered transition. I had to focus through each contraction, and my body began to push on its own. Marilyn checked me, and I had more of a lip on my right side so she positioned on my right so the weight of L’s head could help get rid of the lip, and Marilyn could slip my cervix over his head with my next contraction. We did this and I started pushing.

Marilyn called the doctor, and then started coaching me to push him down and out while we waited for the doctor to arrive. I pushed very very very hard, and breathed in between. No one was counting, and I was able to push when I felt like it, with each contraction, and direct my own pushing. I pushed 4 times , and he began crowning. At this point, Marilyn coached me through grunt pushing, so that I wouldn’t tear so badly, and to ease L’s head out. I did 3 of these kinds of pushes (you push and let air out at the same time so you don’t push too hard) and the doctor arrived. After informing me that we were done pushing this way, he took over and directed me to push hard through each contraction again – this is the only part I was not happy with later – and 3 pushes later, at 12:22, L was born!

L was immediately put skin to skin with me, and as they were drying him off and sewing me up (that last round of pushing cause 3 2nd degree tears!) I was able to hold him and look into his big eyes! L reached up at me through his amazing cries, and I held him there for 15 minutes. Matt was beside the bed and able to talk to him and look at him through this too, and Logan recognized our voices immediately. We told him how much we loved him, and how glad we were to see him and cried. I was so happy. I told L that all the work was worth it, and I was his Mommy, this was his Daddy. I breast fed him for 45 minutes about 30 minutes after birth, and after Daddy held him for the first time. His apgars were 9-9.

We were able to leave and go home when L was 24 hours old. Our total hospital stay, 35 hours.

Happy Birthday little man. This was the best day of our lives, and we are still so completely in love with you!

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‘L’ is here! (Finally!) – Baby Birth Announcement

Wow! It has been quite a month!

Well, on May 5th (Cinco DeMayo) ‘L’ was born! He was 7 pounds 0 oz, and 19.5 inches long. After only 6 hours of labor, he was born at 12:22 pm. During the labor, my hypnosis kicked in – and even though I could feel pain and still opted for the epidural so I could rest a bit, I never lost control – and had a wonderful joyful experience. My pain management was mainly breathing (they gave me small dose of the epidural, so by the time I was 9cm and waiting for 10 it was gone!) and talking myself through it. I also couldn’t have done it without my wonderful nurses, and my supportive husband.

I wrote L’s birth story after so I didn’t forget a thing.

‘L’ is a wonderful baby, very calm and very observant. He’s so very happy to be here too, and is already giving us lots of smiles! We couldn’t have asked for a better baby. He sleeps really well at night too, last night he slept for 6 hours straight before waking us up for a diaper change and a feeding! Then, he slept for 4. 10 hours of sleep for new parents! Wow! Even though, the first night with him wasn’t horrible either, we have been sleeping pretty well for the last 10 days. Every 2-3 hours isn’t bad at all!

He also already has his own Flickr album! He looks more and more like daddy everyday – he definitely has his daddies eyes. He’s a cute little cutie!

We are loving parenthood right now, and getting into the groove with things. Tomorrow, I will be trying to take some newborn photos of him – We bought a new Nikon D60 and I want to push it and see what it can do (most of the Flickr set was taken on auto). I also have a ton of energy, and am really happy to not be pregnant anymore! It’s so nice to be able to get up out of bed easily now! And being a mommy is so rewarding. I can’t wait until he isn’t just a bump on a log! But I will, because I don’t want him to grow up too fast!!

So far ‘L’ likes: Boobies, kisses, sleeping on daddy, smiling at mommy, and when Matt and I sing/talk to him. And he likes his kissaluvs contour diapers and thirsties covers! We also use prefolds, but he really likes the kissaluvs better. Cloth diapering is awesome. I really recommend it, especially during this economy, when saving money on diapers can go a long way! You do laundry anyway when you have a baby, might as well wash diapers too!

I am going to try and blog more this year, and document as much as I can since I will be a SAHM this year. Logan is 10 days old as of this writing. And we are so so so blessed to have him in our lives.

How wonderful life is, now you’re in the world.

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