Wednesday
Aug312011
Theresa's Birth of William
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 5:04PM This birth story was used by permission from Theresa's blog:
Mostly crunchy, slightly mainstream mommy, oversharing about her life (on the INTERNET at least), since 2010.
Our not so perfect birth story, and our perfect little boy
I shared our birth story on Facebook two days after Will was born. Here it is again...
"When you're having a baby, everyone tells you that you have to be flexible, because things won't go as planned. Boy, was that ever true for me!
I had a perfect pregnancy. I mean, sure, I had nausea and vomiting for 5 months, but Diclectin took care of that problem. Other than that, everything went so smoothly. I was so proud of my body and what it could do and was doing so well! The baby inside me was thriving, and I was hardly phased. I looked great, and I felt great, and I loved every minute of it.
I had every reason to believe that my labour and delivery would be just as smooth. I had a midwife take care of me, and she was going help me to deliver my baby naturally (no drugs, and vaginally). I could have even planned to do all of this at home. I seriously considered it, but thought I'd see how the first one went, and maybe try it next time.
I had my last day of work on Sunday (March 7). I kind of thought I might be pushing it (2 weeks before my due date), but they say the first baby is more likely to be late, and I didn't want too much time at home before the baby came. I always kind of worried that my baby would come a lot earlier...
So, I worked Sunday morning, and about an hour after church, I felt a trickle. I didn't really think about or realize what was happening. About half an hour later there was another one. I suddenly realized what might be happening, but since it was such a small amount I figured I would just go home, and go on with my day. Our care group was coming over that evening, so I needed to clean my house and make some food!
As I was vacuuming, at about 5:30pm, it was quite clear that my water was broken, as there was a pretty big gush this time! So, I called my midwife, and she said I could wait 24 hours to go into labour, and then we could take it from there.
So, I went on with my evening. Finished cleaning, made food, had people over, and had a great time! I was trying to induce labour naturally, and was really hoping it would happen. I went to bed early, and when I woke up in the morning, not in labour, I started to get that sinking feeling. Things were not going to go as planned.
We went to the hospital that morning for a Non-Stress test, to see how the baby was doing. The baby was doing great, so the midwife tried to stretch out my cervix to try to get things going. (By the way...that was excruciating!)
We went home and waited a few more hours for labour to start. I finally applied for Mat leave - one of the things on my list to do while waiting for the baby to come. There were about 20 more things, but oh well! We even gave it a few more hours, against doctor's orders.
But, nothing was happening, so we went to the hospital in tears for an induction. I knew that induced labour was extremely painful and difficult to deal with, and I knew this would be the first in a series of interventions that I did not want. I cried. A lot.
So, by 5 or so, they started the Oxytocin drip. By around 7:00 I was finally beginning to feel some contractions. They weren't too bad for a couple of hours, but then they started to get really intense. I laboured for hours through very very intense contractions. I was already starting to get exhausted. The nurses checked me, and I was only dilated 3-4 cms. That was another blow to my already broken heart.
I was really convinced that I did not want an Epidural, so I asked for Morphine. They gave me some, and all it did was make me drowsy and confused, with the same amount of pain. Not good.
So, I broke down and asked for an Epidural. They gave it to me, and it took about an hour to take effect. So, all in all, painful labour from 7:00pm - 3:30am. After the Epidural started working, I felt wonderful. I couldn't feel the horrible contractions. They checked me, and I had dilated to 6-7cms. So, then I just slept, and hoped that in the morning I might be ready to push!
Of course, by morning, nothing had changed. They had leveled out the Oxytocin to a level that was causing strong contractions, but discovered that in spite of that, things were not moving along. They did not want to increase the amount of Oxytocin when the contractions were strong enough to do their job.
All through this, the baby was totally happy, handing the contractions and medications like a champ. He was, however, facing sideways, which may have contributed to my cervix not dilating properly.
Once they realized that things were stuck, they recommended a C-section. Thankfully the baby was happy so it wasn't rushed or pushed on me. I called my midwife to come so I could hear her opinion. I asked my doula about her experience with C-section. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I knew that the longer I waited, the more likely it was for infection to set in and cause major trouble either with me or the baby.
So, they prepped me for surgery, and once again, I was crying. Andrew was crying. It was extremely disappointing. I didn't understand why my body, which handled everything else so well, couldn't figure out how to get the baby out. I lost a lot of faith in my body that day.
The surgery started, and I was still crying on the table. I heard them talking about where my organs were, and felt them tugging on my body.
Then, at 11:16am, our son, William Arthur, was born.
They showed him to us (we were shocked that he was a boy! Tons of people, people who are usually right about these things, were predicting girl), they weighed him and did the Agpar scores, and all that jazz (Will got a 9 out of 10 on the score. Yes, I'm already a proud parent!). Suddenly all the tears (at least sad tears) were gone. Our son was here, and he was healthy and beautiful.
Ever since that moment I've hardly thought about the events leading up to it. When I look at him and care for him, it doesn't really matter anymore. I still cry when I do think about it, because I remember how terrible everything felt. But it really was all worth it.
I'm starting to regain some confidence in my body since then too. I have been recovering really well from the surgery. I was only in the hospital for 2 days. I've been producing tons of colostrum for my baby (the nurses were amazed, and telling other patients about it), so he retained enough weight to be able to come home as well.
We've only been home a few hours, and the pain of surgery is obviously still with me. The exhaustion of labour, surgery, and caring for a newborn is very real. But I can move on, because our not-so-perfect birth story still gave us our perfect little boy. Thank you Lord for your blessings in our life!"
"When you're having a baby, everyone tells you that you have to be flexible, because things won't go as planned. Boy, was that ever true for me!
I had a perfect pregnancy. I mean, sure, I had nausea and vomiting for 5 months, but Diclectin took care of that problem. Other than that, everything went so smoothly. I was so proud of my body and what it could do and was doing so well! The baby inside me was thriving, and I was hardly phased. I looked great, and I felt great, and I loved every minute of it.
I had every reason to believe that my labour and delivery would be just as smooth. I had a midwife take care of me, and she was going help me to deliver my baby naturally (no drugs, and vaginally). I could have even planned to do all of this at home. I seriously considered it, but thought I'd see how the first one went, and maybe try it next time.
I had my last day of work on Sunday (March 7). I kind of thought I might be pushing it (2 weeks before my due date), but they say the first baby is more likely to be late, and I didn't want too much time at home before the baby came. I always kind of worried that my baby would come a lot earlier...
So, I worked Sunday morning, and about an hour after church, I felt a trickle. I didn't really think about or realize what was happening. About half an hour later there was another one. I suddenly realized what might be happening, but since it was such a small amount I figured I would just go home, and go on with my day. Our care group was coming over that evening, so I needed to clean my house and make some food!
As I was vacuuming, at about 5:30pm, it was quite clear that my water was broken, as there was a pretty big gush this time! So, I called my midwife, and she said I could wait 24 hours to go into labour, and then we could take it from there.
So, I went on with my evening. Finished cleaning, made food, had people over, and had a great time! I was trying to induce labour naturally, and was really hoping it would happen. I went to bed early, and when I woke up in the morning, not in labour, I started to get that sinking feeling. Things were not going to go as planned.
We went to the hospital that morning for a Non-Stress test, to see how the baby was doing. The baby was doing great, so the midwife tried to stretch out my cervix to try to get things going. (By the way...that was excruciating!)
We went home and waited a few more hours for labour to start. I finally applied for Mat leave - one of the things on my list to do while waiting for the baby to come. There were about 20 more things, but oh well! We even gave it a few more hours, against doctor's orders.
But, nothing was happening, so we went to the hospital in tears for an induction. I knew that induced labour was extremely painful and difficult to deal with, and I knew this would be the first in a series of interventions that I did not want. I cried. A lot.
So, by 5 or so, they started the Oxytocin drip. By around 7:00 I was finally beginning to feel some contractions. They weren't too bad for a couple of hours, but then they started to get really intense. I laboured for hours through very very intense contractions. I was already starting to get exhausted. The nurses checked me, and I was only dilated 3-4 cms. That was another blow to my already broken heart.
I was really convinced that I did not want an Epidural, so I asked for Morphine. They gave me some, and all it did was make me drowsy and confused, with the same amount of pain. Not good.
So, I broke down and asked for an Epidural. They gave it to me, and it took about an hour to take effect. So, all in all, painful labour from 7:00pm - 3:30am. After the Epidural started working, I felt wonderful. I couldn't feel the horrible contractions. They checked me, and I had dilated to 6-7cms. So, then I just slept, and hoped that in the morning I might be ready to push!
Of course, by morning, nothing had changed. They had leveled out the Oxytocin to a level that was causing strong contractions, but discovered that in spite of that, things were not moving along. They did not want to increase the amount of Oxytocin when the contractions were strong enough to do their job.
All through this, the baby was totally happy, handing the contractions and medications like a champ. He was, however, facing sideways, which may have contributed to my cervix not dilating properly.
Once they realized that things were stuck, they recommended a C-section. Thankfully the baby was happy so it wasn't rushed or pushed on me. I called my midwife to come so I could hear her opinion. I asked my doula about her experience with C-section. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I knew that the longer I waited, the more likely it was for infection to set in and cause major trouble either with me or the baby.
So, they prepped me for surgery, and once again, I was crying. Andrew was crying. It was extremely disappointing. I didn't understand why my body, which handled everything else so well, couldn't figure out how to get the baby out. I lost a lot of faith in my body that day.
The surgery started, and I was still crying on the table. I heard them talking about where my organs were, and felt them tugging on my body.
Then, at 11:16am, our son, William Arthur, was born.
They showed him to us (we were shocked that he was a boy! Tons of people, people who are usually right about these things, were predicting girl), they weighed him and did the Agpar scores, and all that jazz (Will got a 9 out of 10 on the score. Yes, I'm already a proud parent!). Suddenly all the tears (at least sad tears) were gone. Our son was here, and he was healthy and beautiful.
Ever since that moment I've hardly thought about the events leading up to it. When I look at him and care for him, it doesn't really matter anymore. I still cry when I do think about it, because I remember how terrible everything felt. But it really was all worth it.
I'm starting to regain some confidence in my body since then too. I have been recovering really well from the surgery. I was only in the hospital for 2 days. I've been producing tons of colostrum for my baby (the nurses were amazed, and telling other patients about it), so he retained enough weight to be able to come home as well.
We've only been home a few hours, and the pain of surgery is obviously still with me. The exhaustion of labour, surgery, and caring for a newborn is very real. But I can move on, because our not-so-perfect birth story still gave us our perfect little boy. Thank you Lord for your blessings in our life!"
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