We will in this section read experiences from several of our friends on their birth experiences. Please note that all stories are real life experiences and a mix of birthing methods.
Story 1 First Baby:
I was only 20 years old when I had my first baby. I went to the doctor's, and I had already been a week overdue, but he didn't want to induce me. Instead, he stripped my membranes and sent me home.
By the time I had left the office I was having small contractions and didn't even really know. I traveled home to have a nap, as he told me I should. But during my nap I started feeling little cramping in my stomach and back. I didn't know if this was labor. Finally, after tossing around in bed for half an hour I decided to get up.
My fiancé made us dinner. I was trying to eat dinner and watch a movie, but my contractions were getting stronger and longer. I began to cry, not so much of the pain, but I was nervous. I had no idea what to really expect.
We called for my ride to take us to the hospital when my contractions were seven minutes apart. When we arrived it was 10 p.m. The nurses were very polite and showed me to the birthing room, where I changed my clothes. They checked to see how far I was dilated.
I was only 4 centimeters, so they told me I could walk or sit in the tub with jets. So there I sat for an hour. Finally, I wanted to get out. At least in the tub my body couldn't tense up as much and my contractions didn't hurt as bad. I got out, and it was about 11:10 p.m. I was 7 centimeters dilated.
My doctor finally arrived. My water had not broken by this time, so they decided to break it for me. Right after doing so, my contractions were really strong but nothing I couldn't handle.
The nurses were asking if I wanted any pain medication. I kept telling them no. Finally the nurse says, You know, if we don't give you anything for pain in the next minute, we can't give you any later on. But that was OK. I wanted a natural childbirth to experience and remember for a lifetime.
Finally, the time came where my doctor said the head was right there and that I could start pushing. So I did, with my fiancé standing right beside me holding my hand. After the second push I remember saying, I can't do this. But everyone around me gave me lots of encouragement to start pushing again.
As I did, on my fourth push the head was out. One more push and I would be done. So at that I delivered a beautiful precious baby boy weighing 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 inches long at 11:52 p.m.
Now I am expecting another in a week's time at 21 years old. I will be a proud mother of two, one boy and one girl, 15 months apart in age.
Story 2 First Baby:
I became pregnant with my first child in the summer of 1993. My husband (now ex) and I had attempted a reconciliation, and after a final breakup and filing for divorce, I discovered I was pregnant, due in April, 1994. Although not the best of situations, I was thrilled, as I had always wanted to be a mommy! I was sick every morning for about eight weeks, at which point the morning sickness TOTALLY disappeared. I have never felt better in my life than I did the rest of that pregnancy, and according to friends and co-workers, I positively GLOWED.
On April 8, my sister (whom I was then living with) and I had a few people over to play cards and socialize. Afterward, I was cleaning up the house and was so tired that I just laid down on the living room floor on a blanket and went to sleep. The next morning, as I was showering, I noticed some blood running down my leg. I called in and the doctor said to come on down to the hospital. I arrived, they checked me out (2 centimeters dilated), let me walk around for a while, then sent me home. One nurse told me, It's gonna be a few days, honey. I was so embarrassed. We went back home and ate and we watched some movies.
About midnight, I started feeling really strong contractions and we decided to start timing them. They went from 15 minutes apart to about five minutes apart in less than two hours! Sometime after 3 a.m., we left for the hospital (getting stopped on the way for running a red light)! The policeman let us go when he realized what situation we had going on! :) We arrived at the hospital at 4:10 a.m., I was checked, and the nurse declared that my baby was going to have a lot of hair! AHHHH, so much for any considerations of an epidural! Just a little over an hour later, at 5:28 a.m. on April 10, 1994, with only about 10 or 12 pushes, my beautiful daughter, Leah Deanne was born. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and was 19 inches long. I required just a few stitches and went home with her the next day!
My husband and I divorced shortly afterward, but she was then and is still, the love of my life and I love to recall my pregnancy with her and her birth!
Story 3 First Baby:
Story 4 Induced Labour:
My due date was December 25 (Christmas baby), but boy, oh boy, he had other things planned. Christmas came and went with no signs of Baby. Contractions were getting more frequent as the days went on. Gynecologist appointments were now moved to every second day.
Eventually at 42 weeks we went for another checkup and the doctor advised that Baby was fine but she was no longer comfortable with leaving him (Lady, please, imagine what I'm going through!). So we decided we were going to be induced instead. No worries on my part.
Date for induction was January 8, 2009. (Since December 27 I'd been in and out of hospital and became well known to the maternity staff of DMC).
I was pretty peed off with my boyfriend as he went out the 7th with buddies because he was not concerned about this baby's arrival, so as you can imagine we were not on speaking terms at all.
The morning of the 8th I felt huge, sore, uncomfortable, anxious, nervous and excited all rolled into one big spring roll. I went for a walk that morning while my boyfriend went to work, cleaned up a bit and re-packed my hospital bag. The day was spent answering calls and explaining to everyone that Baby had still not arrived but that I was being induced that night. My word, at 4 p.m. I decided no more calls and turned the ringer to silent.
I called my mom and by then I had had it with being this (42 weeks) pregnant!
My boyfriend came from work at 5:30ish and we started getting ready to go to hospital. We left at 7 p.m. and went through.
We got to DMC and went straight to my room. I was so happy when I saw that I was sharing with another mom whom I had met at antenatal classes, who was also 41 weeks and overdue. We then completed paperwork (he checked me in), had my vitals checked, monitored Baby and then to all our shock (both couples) the sister in charge came to say dads need to leave because visiting hours are over.
We both said our goodbyes and by now my mood had slightly changed toward him because the nerves started kicking in. The nurse advised that should there be any change to both of us dads would be called immediately.
At 8:30 p.m. I was induced with a tampon lookalike. I took a sleeping tablet (I just knew this little monkey was going nowhere) and tried to get some rest.
During my sleep the nurses had come and attached a monitor to my belly for Baby. I didn't even know that until I woke up.
At 3 a.m. I was woken by contractions and a lovely nurse who had advised me that I was in labor but that there was a slight complication. Baby had turned sunny side up and due to the contractions and induction his heart rate was dropping. I was officially in panic mode even though I knew we were safe at hospital and in her care.
My gynecologist was called (she was away on holiday) and she decided to drive back. She immediately told them to stop the induction (remove the thingie mabob) and let it progress naturally. All the while I was still feeling the contractions and yes, you get the picture.
At 4 a.m. I jumped into the shower because now I could no longer sleep or lie or sit or anything really. My partner in crime, on the other hand, was not induced and she woke up and started talking to me and keeping me company, thank goodness. The men in our lives were called to come down to hospital but they both took their own sweet time.
My doctor arrived at 5 a.m. and did a full check of everything. I was 4 centimeters dilated and she was not happy with the progress. It was too long since the induction began and she was uneasy. My boyfriend arrived shortly afterwards and we discussed the birth with the doctor.
She did another check and Baby's heartbeat was still low. We decided (our back-up plan) then and there we needed to have a C Section immediately. The time was now after 7ish.
I needed to walk. I was still in pain people. I was tired. I do not recall what happened for the next hour or so.
My boyfriend then decided he was hungry and wanted something to eat, so he went off to the cafeteria and I went for another walk. Minutes later a nurse approached me in the corridors and asked if I was Ms. Savage. I said yes and she said that my bed was ready to be taken through to surgery for delivery. Panic!
I then ran (in slow motion) back to the room only to find that my boyfriend was still missing. I called him and told him to hurry eating as they were here for us. He was there in seconds.
I was wheeled off to surgery. He left to get kitted up and I was being prepped (how unglamorous lying naked with things being pricked and prodded into your body while you're having to breathe through contractions). Fun times!
Then a summary: My boyfriend was brought in, I smelt slap chips (this was actually when they were cutting me), then my boyfriend stood up and I heard waaahhhaaa waaahhhaa. My munchkin punkin baby boy was born at 9:39 a.m. and handed to my boyfriend immediately, who then showed me my angel.
They were cleaned, suctioned, wrapped (Daddy then gave Athaan) and wheeled off (I mean baby). I then had a drip inserted (lost blood, needed iron) and then threw up.
Later I was taken back and made my boyfriend fetch my son! Holding him for the first time was the greatest feeling in the whole world
I was only 20 years old when I had my first baby. I went to the doctor's, and I had already been a week overdue, but he didn't want to induce me. Instead, he stripped my membranes and sent me home.
By the time I had left the office I was having small contractions and didn't even really know. I traveled home to have a nap, as he told me I should. But during my nap I started feeling little cramping in my stomach and back. I didn't know if this was labor. Finally, after tossing around in bed for half an hour I decided to get up.
My fiancé made us dinner. I was trying to eat dinner and watch a movie, but my contractions were getting stronger and longer. I began to cry, not so much of the pain, but I was nervous. I had no idea what to really expect.
We called for my ride to take us to the hospital when my contractions were seven minutes apart. When we arrived it was 10 p.m. The nurses were very polite and showed me to the birthing room, where I changed my clothes. They checked to see how far I was dilated.
I was only 4 centimeters, so they told me I could walk or sit in the tub with jets. So there I sat for an hour. Finally, I wanted to get out. At least in the tub my body couldn't tense up as much and my contractions didn't hurt as bad. I got out, and it was about 11:10 p.m. I was 7 centimeters dilated.
My doctor finally arrived. My water had not broken by this time, so they decided to break it for me. Right after doing so, my contractions were really strong but nothing I couldn't handle.
The nurses were asking if I wanted any pain medication. I kept telling them no. Finally the nurse says, You know, if we don't give you anything for pain in the next minute, we can't give you any later on. But that was OK. I wanted a natural childbirth to experience and remember for a lifetime.
Finally, the time came where my doctor said the head was right there and that I could start pushing. So I did, with my fiancé standing right beside me holding my hand. After the second push I remember saying, I can't do this. But everyone around me gave me lots of encouragement to start pushing again.
As I did, on my fourth push the head was out. One more push and I would be done. So at that I delivered a beautiful precious baby boy weighing 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 inches long at 11:52 p.m.
Now I am expecting another in a week's time at 21 years old. I will be a proud mother of two, one boy and one girl, 15 months apart in age.
Story 2 First Baby:
I became pregnant with my first child in the summer of 1993. My husband (now ex) and I had attempted a reconciliation, and after a final breakup and filing for divorce, I discovered I was pregnant, due in April, 1994. Although not the best of situations, I was thrilled, as I had always wanted to be a mommy! I was sick every morning for about eight weeks, at which point the morning sickness TOTALLY disappeared. I have never felt better in my life than I did the rest of that pregnancy, and according to friends and co-workers, I positively GLOWED.
On April 8, my sister (whom I was then living with) and I had a few people over to play cards and socialize. Afterward, I was cleaning up the house and was so tired that I just laid down on the living room floor on a blanket and went to sleep. The next morning, as I was showering, I noticed some blood running down my leg. I called in and the doctor said to come on down to the hospital. I arrived, they checked me out (2 centimeters dilated), let me walk around for a while, then sent me home. One nurse told me, It's gonna be a few days, honey. I was so embarrassed. We went back home and ate and we watched some movies.
About midnight, I started feeling really strong contractions and we decided to start timing them. They went from 15 minutes apart to about five minutes apart in less than two hours! Sometime after 3 a.m., we left for the hospital (getting stopped on the way for running a red light)! The policeman let us go when he realized what situation we had going on! :) We arrived at the hospital at 4:10 a.m., I was checked, and the nurse declared that my baby was going to have a lot of hair! AHHHH, so much for any considerations of an epidural! Just a little over an hour later, at 5:28 a.m. on April 10, 1994, with only about 10 or 12 pushes, my beautiful daughter, Leah Deanne was born. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and was 19 inches long. I required just a few stitches and went home with her the next day!
My husband and I divorced shortly afterward, but she was then and is still, the love of my life and I love to recall my pregnancy with her and her birth!
Story 3 First Baby:
My husband and I were eagerly awaiting the birth of our first born in November 1997. I went to my weekly appointment during my 38-week and was delighted when my doctor told me that I was 4 centimeters dilated and 90 percent effaced. It was a Thursday and the doctor told me, Hopefully, I'll see you this weekend. Needless to say the weekend came and went with no sign of labor, just an occasional contraction that I would feel once or twice a day.
Then at 3 a.m. on the morning of my next prenatal appointment I got up to use the restroom and felt a trickle that didn't feel normal. I wasn't sure so I went back to sleep, but when it happened again at 7 a.m. I called my doctor's office and they moved my appointment from 2:30 p.m. to 10 a.m. The doctor checked me and told me that I was in fact leaking amniotic fluid. Then he asked me if I had a high pain tolerance because I was dilated to 7 centimeters and completely effaced.
He immediately admitted me to the hospital where I spent the rest of the day waiting for something to happen. My contractions could be picked up on the monitor, but for the most part I had no discomfort. At 6 p.m. it was decided that since I had only dilated to 8 centimeters throughout the day that I would be given pitocin to help my uterus contract more efficiently. My water was completely broken and I was administered Pitocin at 7:30 p.m. That's when the fun started and all the nurses learned I didn't really have a high pain tolerance. I went from no pain to terrible contractions in a matter of 15 minutes, and of course it was too late for medication.
By 8:30 p.m. I was fully dilated and ready to push. My beautiful red-headed boy, John Henry, was born at 10:38 p.m. He weighed in at 8 pounds 13 ounces, and measured 22.5 inches long. All and all it was a very easy labor and delivery.
I am currently eagerly awaiting my second child. I hope this delivery goes as smoothly as my first.
Then at 3 a.m. on the morning of my next prenatal appointment I got up to use the restroom and felt a trickle that didn't feel normal. I wasn't sure so I went back to sleep, but when it happened again at 7 a.m. I called my doctor's office and they moved my appointment from 2:30 p.m. to 10 a.m. The doctor checked me and told me that I was in fact leaking amniotic fluid. Then he asked me if I had a high pain tolerance because I was dilated to 7 centimeters and completely effaced.
He immediately admitted me to the hospital where I spent the rest of the day waiting for something to happen. My contractions could be picked up on the monitor, but for the most part I had no discomfort. At 6 p.m. it was decided that since I had only dilated to 8 centimeters throughout the day that I would be given pitocin to help my uterus contract more efficiently. My water was completely broken and I was administered Pitocin at 7:30 p.m. That's when the fun started and all the nurses learned I didn't really have a high pain tolerance. I went from no pain to terrible contractions in a matter of 15 minutes, and of course it was too late for medication.
By 8:30 p.m. I was fully dilated and ready to push. My beautiful red-headed boy, John Henry, was born at 10:38 p.m. He weighed in at 8 pounds 13 ounces, and measured 22.5 inches long. All and all it was a very easy labor and delivery.
I am currently eagerly awaiting my second child. I hope this delivery goes as smoothly as my first.
Story 4 Induced Labour:
My due date was December 25 (Christmas baby), but boy, oh boy, he had other things planned. Christmas came and went with no signs of Baby. Contractions were getting more frequent as the days went on. Gynecologist appointments were now moved to every second day.
Eventually at 42 weeks we went for another checkup and the doctor advised that Baby was fine but she was no longer comfortable with leaving him (Lady, please, imagine what I'm going through!). So we decided we were going to be induced instead. No worries on my part.
Date for induction was January 8, 2009. (Since December 27 I'd been in and out of hospital and became well known to the maternity staff of DMC).
I was pretty peed off with my boyfriend as he went out the 7th with buddies because he was not concerned about this baby's arrival, so as you can imagine we were not on speaking terms at all.
The morning of the 8th I felt huge, sore, uncomfortable, anxious, nervous and excited all rolled into one big spring roll. I went for a walk that morning while my boyfriend went to work, cleaned up a bit and re-packed my hospital bag. The day was spent answering calls and explaining to everyone that Baby had still not arrived but that I was being induced that night. My word, at 4 p.m. I decided no more calls and turned the ringer to silent.
I called my mom and by then I had had it with being this (42 weeks) pregnant!
My boyfriend came from work at 5:30ish and we started getting ready to go to hospital. We left at 7 p.m. and went through.
We got to DMC and went straight to my room. I was so happy when I saw that I was sharing with another mom whom I had met at antenatal classes, who was also 41 weeks and overdue. We then completed paperwork (he checked me in), had my vitals checked, monitored Baby and then to all our shock (both couples) the sister in charge came to say dads need to leave because visiting hours are over.
We both said our goodbyes and by now my mood had slightly changed toward him because the nerves started kicking in. The nurse advised that should there be any change to both of us dads would be called immediately.
At 8:30 p.m. I was induced with a tampon lookalike. I took a sleeping tablet (I just knew this little monkey was going nowhere) and tried to get some rest.
During my sleep the nurses had come and attached a monitor to my belly for Baby. I didn't even know that until I woke up.
At 3 a.m. I was woken by contractions and a lovely nurse who had advised me that I was in labor but that there was a slight complication. Baby had turned sunny side up and due to the contractions and induction his heart rate was dropping. I was officially in panic mode even though I knew we were safe at hospital and in her care.
My gynecologist was called (she was away on holiday) and she decided to drive back. She immediately told them to stop the induction (remove the thingie mabob) and let it progress naturally. All the while I was still feeling the contractions and yes, you get the picture.
At 4 a.m. I jumped into the shower because now I could no longer sleep or lie or sit or anything really. My partner in crime, on the other hand, was not induced and she woke up and started talking to me and keeping me company, thank goodness. The men in our lives were called to come down to hospital but they both took their own sweet time.
My doctor arrived at 5 a.m. and did a full check of everything. I was 4 centimeters dilated and she was not happy with the progress. It was too long since the induction began and she was uneasy. My boyfriend arrived shortly afterwards and we discussed the birth with the doctor.
She did another check and Baby's heartbeat was still low. We decided (our back-up plan) then and there we needed to have a C Section immediately. The time was now after 7ish.
I needed to walk. I was still in pain people. I was tired. I do not recall what happened for the next hour or so.
My boyfriend then decided he was hungry and wanted something to eat, so he went off to the cafeteria and I went for another walk. Minutes later a nurse approached me in the corridors and asked if I was Ms. Savage. I said yes and she said that my bed was ready to be taken through to surgery for delivery. Panic!
I then ran (in slow motion) back to the room only to find that my boyfriend was still missing. I called him and told him to hurry eating as they were here for us. He was there in seconds.
I was wheeled off to surgery. He left to get kitted up and I was being prepped (how unglamorous lying naked with things being pricked and prodded into your body while you're having to breathe through contractions). Fun times!
Then a summary: My boyfriend was brought in, I smelt slap chips (this was actually when they were cutting me), then my boyfriend stood up and I heard waaahhhaaa waaahhhaa. My munchkin punkin baby boy was born at 9:39 a.m. and handed to my boyfriend immediately, who then showed me my angel.
They were cleaned, suctioned, wrapped (Daddy then gave Athaan) and wheeled off (I mean baby). I then had a drip inserted (lost blood, needed iron) and then threw up.
Later I was taken back and made my boyfriend fetch my son! Holding him for the first time was the greatest feeling in the whole world
Story 5 Induced Labour:
I was late by six days when my doctor sent me over for a stress test. On the way to the hospital I was contracting about every six minutes and they were quite uncomfortable. During the stress test they concluded that although the baby was fine I was 1 centimeter dilated and contracting every six minutes, so they gave me the option of going home until they picked up or just staying to be induced. I decided to stay because I was scared of going home and the pain getting much worse.
They gave me Pitocin and it started contractions that hurt a lot, but after about four hours the contractions slowed down to about every 10-12 minutes. So that's when they broke my water. Within a few hours I was begging for an epidural (which I was denied because I was allergic to lidocaine). I begged and even offered money for it, but nothing. All they gave me was Darvocet but it was not working. The pain was unbearable until she came out at 10 a.m., 16 full hours after the induction started.
I am now pregnant again and four days late. I am scheduled for induction at eight days late. I have checked with my family doctor and we have concluded I am not allergic to lidocaine, so the difference is that this time I am able to get an epidural if I want. And yes, I want it. I am nervous but nothing could be worse than getting induced and not being able to get drugs. So as long as I get an epidural I think I will be fine. It would also be good if it didn't take 16 hours this time. Maybe I could have her within half that time, like eight hours.
They gave me Pitocin and it started contractions that hurt a lot, but after about four hours the contractions slowed down to about every 10-12 minutes. So that's when they broke my water. Within a few hours I was begging for an epidural (which I was denied because I was allergic to lidocaine). I begged and even offered money for it, but nothing. All they gave me was Darvocet but it was not working. The pain was unbearable until she came out at 10 a.m., 16 full hours after the induction started.
I am now pregnant again and four days late. I am scheduled for induction at eight days late. I have checked with my family doctor and we have concluded I am not allergic to lidocaine, so the difference is that this time I am able to get an epidural if I want. And yes, I want it. I am nervous but nothing could be worse than getting induced and not being able to get drugs. So as long as I get an epidural I think I will be fine. It would also be good if it didn't take 16 hours this time. Maybe I could have her within half that time, like eight hours.
Story 5 Planned C Section:
I knew before I was ever pregnant that I would never be able to deliver a child naturally due to having a heart condition since birth. The stress and strain of carrying a child would be too much, let alone labor.
When I found out I was pregnant I had a mix of emotions. I was excited and absolutely petrified as I was not sure what my family or the baby's father would say. Plus, having always heard from my cardiologist that I shouldn't have kids didn't help.
I went immediately to my OB/GYN as well as my cardiologist and was labeled a high-risk pregnancy from the start. I wanted to go ahead and plan my C Section date, but the doctor kept telling me I had to wait until closer to my third trmester.
I was due March 15 (or 18, depending on which doctor you asked), and I was finally able to schedule my C-section for the morning of March 9 – a Friday, what better way to start the weekend and then his father could be there for the birth and the weekend.
At the end of February I was seeing my doctor weekly and had gone into the hospital twice with Braxton kickc contractions. The second time they sent me home and told me to rest, and then called me the next day and asked me to come back in and re-do the test I had done Friday. I was already at the hospital because my brother and his girlfriend had just had their baby early (we had the same due date), so I walked down the hall, did the test (which the doctor deemed fine) and went home.
Monday rolled around and I went to work to finish training the temp that would be filling in for me while on maternity leave. I got home late that day and had been absolutely miserable the whole day.
I was watching a TV show and eating dinner when my mother asked me if I noticed that I was having contractions. I said, "Yeah, yeah, they will just send me home. It's nothing." My mother continued to watch my stomach while I continued to watch the TV and finish my dinner of grilled salmon and green beans.
Eventually my mother said, "You need to call the doctor because your contractions are three minutes apart." I said, "OK fine" and I called. The nurse on the other end said to go to the hospital and then said, "Congratulations, you are having a baby," something that all the other times I had called had never been stated.
I finished my TV show and my dinner. Then I called my son's father and told him that he might need to meet me at the hospital, but I would call him and let him know.
We arrived at the hospital and the nurse called my doctor (who was not on call but had written in my chart to be called if I came in), who told her to check my cervix then and again in one hour and call her back. So they check and I was dilated
3 centimeters.
The nurse immediately hooked me up to a million machines and then came back in one hour to check again. This time I was dilated 4 centimeters and she went to call my doctor. She came back and said that I was going to be having a baby that night (it was 11 p.m. at this point) and to take off my jewelry.
I was shaking and broke out in a cold sweat (despite it being a million degrees in the room). I was completely prepared for a C-section, had read everything I could on it as well as taken a class, and yet I was terrified. My son's father arrived, as did my grandparents, and off I went.
I did the spinal, which was not bad at all, and I finally stopped shaking. My son's father came in. He was hyperventilating and needed a nurse of his own. At one point the assistant doctor had to get up on the table and sit on me to help get my son out, who was stuck due to his large size. It felt like an elephant was on my chest, and I remember not being able to breathe.
Shortly after my breath returned and my son was flashed up over the sheet that separated my head from the rest of my body. He was crying softly and then I heard him squeal at the warmer. They brought him over and he sounded like a lamb, with a constant "baa" sound, which continued for the next 38 hours (mostly due to his lungs being sticky from being early and a C-section baby). Other than the lungs and jaundice he was a healthy baby boy born at 12:42 a.m. on the 27th of February (a Tuesday, not a bad day either, really).
Thank God he was a C-section. The fact that he was stuck already says a lot. He was 8 pounds, 15 ounces, 21 inches with a giant head. He was and continues to be off the growth chart in all areas!
Story 6 Complicated Pregnancy:
When I found out I was pregnant I had a mix of emotions. I was excited and absolutely petrified as I was not sure what my family or the baby's father would say. Plus, having always heard from my cardiologist that I shouldn't have kids didn't help.
I went immediately to my OB/GYN as well as my cardiologist and was labeled a high-risk pregnancy from the start. I wanted to go ahead and plan my C Section date, but the doctor kept telling me I had to wait until closer to my third trmester.
I was due March 15 (or 18, depending on which doctor you asked), and I was finally able to schedule my C-section for the morning of March 9 – a Friday, what better way to start the weekend and then his father could be there for the birth and the weekend.
At the end of February I was seeing my doctor weekly and had gone into the hospital twice with Braxton kickc contractions. The second time they sent me home and told me to rest, and then called me the next day and asked me to come back in and re-do the test I had done Friday. I was already at the hospital because my brother and his girlfriend had just had their baby early (we had the same due date), so I walked down the hall, did the test (which the doctor deemed fine) and went home.
Monday rolled around and I went to work to finish training the temp that would be filling in for me while on maternity leave. I got home late that day and had been absolutely miserable the whole day.
I was watching a TV show and eating dinner when my mother asked me if I noticed that I was having contractions. I said, "Yeah, yeah, they will just send me home. It's nothing." My mother continued to watch my stomach while I continued to watch the TV and finish my dinner of grilled salmon and green beans.
Eventually my mother said, "You need to call the doctor because your contractions are three minutes apart." I said, "OK fine" and I called. The nurse on the other end said to go to the hospital and then said, "Congratulations, you are having a baby," something that all the other times I had called had never been stated.
I finished my TV show and my dinner. Then I called my son's father and told him that he might need to meet me at the hospital, but I would call him and let him know.
We arrived at the hospital and the nurse called my doctor (who was not on call but had written in my chart to be called if I came in), who told her to check my cervix then and again in one hour and call her back. So they check and I was dilated
3 centimeters.
The nurse immediately hooked me up to a million machines and then came back in one hour to check again. This time I was dilated 4 centimeters and she went to call my doctor. She came back and said that I was going to be having a baby that night (it was 11 p.m. at this point) and to take off my jewelry.
I was shaking and broke out in a cold sweat (despite it being a million degrees in the room). I was completely prepared for a C-section, had read everything I could on it as well as taken a class, and yet I was terrified. My son's father arrived, as did my grandparents, and off I went.
I did the spinal, which was not bad at all, and I finally stopped shaking. My son's father came in. He was hyperventilating and needed a nurse of his own. At one point the assistant doctor had to get up on the table and sit on me to help get my son out, who was stuck due to his large size. It felt like an elephant was on my chest, and I remember not being able to breathe.
Shortly after my breath returned and my son was flashed up over the sheet that separated my head from the rest of my body. He was crying softly and then I heard him squeal at the warmer. They brought him over and he sounded like a lamb, with a constant "baa" sound, which continued for the next 38 hours (mostly due to his lungs being sticky from being early and a C-section baby). Other than the lungs and jaundice he was a healthy baby boy born at 12:42 a.m. on the 27th of February (a Tuesday, not a bad day either, really).
Thank God he was a C-section. The fact that he was stuck already says a lot. He was 8 pounds, 15 ounces, 21 inches with a giant head. He was and continues to be off the growth chart in all areas!
Story 6 Complicated Pregnancy:
I was in the military when I found out I was pregnant with my first baby. I was, of course, very excited, and I did not expect to have any problems. I was in a military unit that had just stood up, and had never had a pregnant female before. I was treated no differently than any other soldier, and was not given any special treatment, nor did I expect any.
In the military, they give a pregnant woman something called a "profile." This states what that woman is allowed to do and not do. I was transferred from the motor pool to an office setting. I went to Physical training at 0630 every morning, and worked a normal day from around 0900 to 1800-1900 every day.
I noticed some bleeding when my first period was supposed to start, and this is how I found out I was pregnant. The next month the same thing happened, as well as the month after. After three months of bleeding when my period was due, I finally found out that I had a uterine cyst. The doctor told me that it would go away on its own, and not to worry.
I was put on a 40-hour-a-week work week to make sure that I did not miscarry. My unit did not adhere to the work week's schedule. I was working overnights and waiting until almost 2000 to go home every night.
At 5 months I got into a car accident and was in the emergency room. I had my first ultrasound and was told everything was fine.
At 6 months I married my baby's daddy, and everything was going well. My unit was still treating me terribly, but the baby looked good and healthy without any new medical problems.
At 27 weeks I started having some pains in my abdomen. I figured it was normal pregnancy pains and let it go. After three days of pain, my husband made me go to the hospital to get checked out. I went into labor and delivery and they told me it was probably nothing, but they would check me out anyway. To everyone's surprise, I was 1 centimeter dilated and having regular contractions. I was given a steroid shot to help the lungs of the baby, and medication to stop the labor. The medication worked great, and I was in the hospital for only four days.
I was discharged and sent back to regular work. Only two weeks later I was back to the hospital with regular contractions and I was dilated to 2 centimeters. The labor was stopped again, and I was sent home again and sent back to work again. I decided that I was not going to have that, so I persuaded a doctor to put me on bed rest. I was terrified of going back into labor.
Everything went very well until 36 weeks gestation. The baby stopped moving. I waited until my husband got home from work before I went to the hospital. Once I got to the hospital, they made me eat a sandwich, drink a pitcher of water, then sugar water, then caffeinated drink. The baby still did not move. They did an ultrasound for an hour and buzzed the baby several times. There was a heartbeat, but that was it. The decided to induce.
I was put on Pitocin but I did not dilate any. The doctor thought it would be best to break my water with the Pitocin. My waters were broken at 2 centimeters, and it was very painful.
After a few hours they decided to take me off of the Pitocin because my baby was not dealing with it well. I was in labor for 12 hours with the heartbeat of the baby declining every time I had a contraction. The change of shift was at 0900 and a senior OB doctor came on shift. He did an emergency C Section and my son was born at 0916 that morning weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces, and not breathing.
The doctors did not tell me anything while stitching me up, but invited my husband over to see his son. My son was blue and unresponsive, and not breathing. The cord had been wrapped around his neck, so every time I had a contraction, it strangled him more. The doctors told my husband that the baby probably would not make it.
He was rushed to the NICU and given oxygen and many other IVs. After only one hour, he was completely off of all oxygen and IVs. He went home with me in only two days.
He is now a very energetic 2-year-old, and I am 34 weeks pregnant with No. 2, with a few complications again, but nothing like last time.
Story7 Multiples:
In the military, they give a pregnant woman something called a "profile." This states what that woman is allowed to do and not do. I was transferred from the motor pool to an office setting. I went to Physical training at 0630 every morning, and worked a normal day from around 0900 to 1800-1900 every day.
I noticed some bleeding when my first period was supposed to start, and this is how I found out I was pregnant. The next month the same thing happened, as well as the month after. After three months of bleeding when my period was due, I finally found out that I had a uterine cyst. The doctor told me that it would go away on its own, and not to worry.
I was put on a 40-hour-a-week work week to make sure that I did not miscarry. My unit did not adhere to the work week's schedule. I was working overnights and waiting until almost 2000 to go home every night.
At 5 months I got into a car accident and was in the emergency room. I had my first ultrasound and was told everything was fine.
At 6 months I married my baby's daddy, and everything was going well. My unit was still treating me terribly, but the baby looked good and healthy without any new medical problems.
At 27 weeks I started having some pains in my abdomen. I figured it was normal pregnancy pains and let it go. After three days of pain, my husband made me go to the hospital to get checked out. I went into labor and delivery and they told me it was probably nothing, but they would check me out anyway. To everyone's surprise, I was 1 centimeter dilated and having regular contractions. I was given a steroid shot to help the lungs of the baby, and medication to stop the labor. The medication worked great, and I was in the hospital for only four days.
I was discharged and sent back to regular work. Only two weeks later I was back to the hospital with regular contractions and I was dilated to 2 centimeters. The labor was stopped again, and I was sent home again and sent back to work again. I decided that I was not going to have that, so I persuaded a doctor to put me on bed rest. I was terrified of going back into labor.
Everything went very well until 36 weeks gestation. The baby stopped moving. I waited until my husband got home from work before I went to the hospital. Once I got to the hospital, they made me eat a sandwich, drink a pitcher of water, then sugar water, then caffeinated drink. The baby still did not move. They did an ultrasound for an hour and buzzed the baby several times. There was a heartbeat, but that was it. The decided to induce.
I was put on Pitocin but I did not dilate any. The doctor thought it would be best to break my water with the Pitocin. My waters were broken at 2 centimeters, and it was very painful.
After a few hours they decided to take me off of the Pitocin because my baby was not dealing with it well. I was in labor for 12 hours with the heartbeat of the baby declining every time I had a contraction. The change of shift was at 0900 and a senior OB doctor came on shift. He did an emergency C Section and my son was born at 0916 that morning weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces, and not breathing.
The doctors did not tell me anything while stitching me up, but invited my husband over to see his son. My son was blue and unresponsive, and not breathing. The cord had been wrapped around his neck, so every time I had a contraction, it strangled him more. The doctors told my husband that the baby probably would not make it.
He was rushed to the NICU and given oxygen and many other IVs. After only one hour, he was completely off of all oxygen and IVs. He went home with me in only two days.
He is now a very energetic 2-year-old, and I am 34 weeks pregnant with No. 2, with a few complications again, but nothing like last time.
Story7 Multiples:
My husband and I had been trying to start a family for about two months when I noticed that I couldn't keep up with my usual routine at the gym. I felt like I just couldn't go on after 20 minutes and I signaled to my husband that we needed to leave. We thought this was really strange and I told him on the way home to stop by the store so we could get some pregnancy tests.
As soon as we got home, I ran to the bathroom and three minutes later I was staring at two lines on the test. I took two more and made my husband take one just to make sure they worked. I could not believe I was pregnant. I didn't feel pregnant at all, but when I thought about it more I realized that my breasts were a bit tender and I had been unusually tired lately. I really never believed it until the hospital confirmed it two weeks later with a blood test.
We went into our first ultrasound at 9 weeks gestation and my doctor jokingly said, "Well let's go find out if you're having twins." My husband groaned and said, "Don't scare me" and we all laughed. Two minutes later in the ultrasound room, we immediately noticed the two embryos side by side and the doctor said, "Well it looks like you are having twins." I was shocked and in total disbelief, but my husband had the feeling we were going to have twins because there are so many sets on his side of the family. (We found out two weeks later that his brother and his wife were expecting twins at the same time!)
So we spent the next couple of months getting used to the idea of becoming parents to not just one but two children at the same time. We bought plenty of diapers and started to get the nursery stocked up on all the goods.
I had a great pregnancy during the first trimester. Except for fatigue, I didn't experience any negative effects. I was lucky to not have any nausea at all. Right at the beginning of my second trimester I developed really bad pregnancy acne. I hadn't had acne since I was like 14 years old so I was quite upset about it especially since I was more expecting the "pregnancy glow" they all talk about. My doctor prescribed a good acne gel and the acne went away after a month.
My second trimester I got some energy back and I started showing but I also started swelling. My ankles and legs were huge by my 5th month and I was starting to get really uncomfortable. My doctor tested me for preeclampsia but it always came back negative. Swelling during pregnancy runs on my mom's side of the family so I figured there was nothing I could do about it except try to stay off my feet as much as possible. I was still working into my 8th month and by this point I was huge. I had gone from 130 pounds to 200 pounds in eight months! Most of the weight was swelling from the water retention. My skin was so tight I thought it was going to split!
At 32 weeks I went in for the routine steroid shots to mature the babies' lungs in case they came early, and when they put me on the monitor they noticed I was having contractions. I couldn't feel them but I guess they were big enough to be concerned about, so they checked me and I was 3 centimeters dilated, 90 percent effaced and my son's head was at 0 station. Basically he was ready to come out and I didn't even know it! My doctor decided to get me on the magnesium to try and stop my labor. I spent the next two days in the hospital filling up with magnesium and fluids. The magnesium was awful at first. It makes you feel really hot and a bit sick but I got used to it after a few hours.
My doctor released me after two days because I had gone down to 2 centimeters and the contractions stopped. It finally came back that I had mild preeclampsia now and I was put on strict bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy, but I was so glad that I did not give birth at 32 weeks.
At 34 weeks, 4 days I started having only what I can describe as the worst heartburn I have ever had. It felt like someone had poured acid in my stomach. I had contractions but I could only tell they were contractions if my tummy was hard. I didn't feel the actual tightening or any pain with the contractions. I had no idea I was in labor; it didn't feel like what people described as labor. I didn't sleep for two days and I suffered this constant "heartburn" the whole time. Nothing would take the pain away: Tums, milk, Pepcid, Pepto, nothing worked.
After two days of this, I told my husband that I didn't think I could take it anymore but I didn't want to go to the hospital for heartburn. I decided I had to tough it out. At 2 a.m., about one hour after I told my husband that I couldn't take it anymore, my water broke while I was lying in bed. I thought I was peeing my pants at first but the trickle never stopped. I told my husband that my water broke and "I guess I'm in labor." He kept asking if I was sure and I kept saying that I didn't know but we better go. (I just kept missing all the signs the entire way through my pregnancy!) What's funny is that as soon as my water broke, the "heartburn" completely went away.
I starting getting the real contractions about 15 minutes later when we were being admitted at the hospital. Oh boy, I had no idea they would be that painful. It was like the pain shifted from the heartburny upper stomach pain to low menstrual-like cramping, which felt totally different than the pain I had experienced the last two days. Labor pains are like menstrual cramps times 100. It started off bearable but after a couple hours, I couldn't take it anymore and I was only dilated to a 3.
I had to wait a while for my epidural so they gave me a little something to hold me off while I waited and that worked great. I finally got my epidural around 6 a.m. I believe and it was smooth sailing from then on. It took about 20 minutes to kick in and the nurses had to roll me onto my right side because my left side was the first to go numb. Soon I was totally numb and feeling great.
My husband and I took a much needed nap for a few more hours. I was checked again at 9 a.m. and I was 8 1/2 centimeters! The nurse told me that they would start prepping the operating room and getting me ready to go deliver. I couldn't believe it. I felt like I had just gotten there. Time was literally flying by.
At 10 a.m. they got me ready and wheeled me into the OR. They lifted me onto the delivery table and at 10:30 a.m. my nurse gave me brief instructions on how to push. On my next contraction we would try it. I watched the contraction monitor and got the go-ahead to push, so I pulled my legs back while my husband pushed my left leg against me and the nurse pushed my right. I couldn't feel anything so I had no idea if I was doing it right. I just pushed the way I thought I was supposed to. I pushed through another contraction and the nurse told me that we were ready and she was calling my doctor in to deliver.
Everything was so surreal. I felt like this was all happening to someone else. I took a moment to look around and notice what was going on. There were nurses everywhere and they were prepped and standing around their stations at the incubators, just waiting for these babies to make their arrival. I looked at my husband in his scrubs. He looked tired and scruffy from not shaving. I had never loved him more than I did in that moment. He was my rock. He helped me concentrate on my breathing and was counting for me, never missing a beat. He kept smoothing my hair back and telling me that he loved me. He asked me if I was ready and I told him I was and this was all really weird.
The next thing I know, my doctor was there in his scrubs and mask. He prepped me for delivery and the nurse kept me pushing when I was supposed to because I sure as heck had no idea. I couldn't even tell on the monitor but she somehow knew right when a contraction was starting to build. I pushed about eight times after my doctor got there and then he told me he could see dark hair and lots of it for such an early baby. I asked my husband if he could see it and he said he could more and more every time I pushed. I still couldn't feel anything and still had no idea if I was doing it right but apparently it was working so I just kept doing what I was doing.
Then all of the sudden my doctor told me to stop pushing and I felt and saw my son's head pop out. It didn't hurt at all but I could still feel it. That was weird. I looked at his little head and things were all starting to get real for me. I gave a little push and out popped his body. I could feel him move out of me and boy that is the weirdest feeling ever. He just slipped right out and I was finally looking at my son. I had waited so long to see him and he was adorable. At 11:16 a.m. my son came into the world. Such a handsome little man and I couldn't believe he was ours!
My doctor held him up for a second and showed my husband how to cut the cord and then they whisked him away. He cried immediately and sounded very healthy; he was just small. My husband and I both started crying at the sight of him. The nurse told us she wished she could've taken a picture of the look on our faces. She said it was precious. We were totally in awe at the sight of him. He weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces and I was officially a mom.
A few minutes later my husband brought him over to me and placed him in my arms. He was a little angel. My heart swelled and I fell in love. I cried and told him how much I loved him even though I could barely talk. He was a spitting image of my husband. He had dark hair and his eyes were all puffy from the birth and he was a tiny little guy, so light in my arms. I didn't want to let him go but I gave him back to my husband. I had another baby to deliver!
The nurse told me to start pushing again. I got through a contraction and the doctor said my daughter would be born on the next one. I felt her head pop out and the doctor unwound the cord from her neck. Luckily it was loose. I pushed again and at 11:26 a.m. my daughter was born. She was 5 pounds even. The doctor had to unwind the cord from around her body. She was all tangled up in it, but she came out great. The doctor held her up. She looked like my son to me at first. A perfect little angel. My husband cut her cord and off she went.
It took her a few extra minutes to cry. I had to ask if she was OK because we hadn't heard her cry but she was just fine. The next thing I knew my husband was holding both of them. He gave me my daughter. I just stared at her in complete shock that I was actually a mother of twins. I couldn't believe our luck. Our son looks like his dad and my daughter looks like me. Wow, it could not have worked out any better for us.
We stared at our children for a few more minutes and that's when I noticed the pain building. My doctor had been removing my placentas while we were busy with the babies and now he was pushing on my uterus and I could feel blood pouring out of me. He asked the nurse for a shot of something (can't remember) because I was still bleeding a bit. It was nothing serious but he wanted to get it under control just in case. I saw the nurse plunge the needle in my leg but luckily I was still numb there. I sure felt the doctor pushing on me, though. That was by far the worst pain that I had felt the entire labor and delivery.
The doctor washed me all up and stitched a small tear and then I got moved onto my recovery bed all in a blink of an eye it seems. They told me they were taking the babies to the NICU for observation and that they would possibly need oxygen and feeding tubes due to their prematurity. I got wheeled back to my room and I was on cloud nine the whole way. I was a mom! Our families were waiting anxiously in the room and we were greeted by lots of hugs, kisses and congrats. The families went off to see the babies in the NICU window and we realized how exhausted we were. The rest was a total blur.
All in all, the kids were healthy. Our daughter spent four days in the NICU but our son spent a long three weeks there due to not being able to eat enough on his own. They are 3 months old now and as healthy as can be. By the way, my brother-in-law and his wife delivered identical twin boys the very same day! What are the chances?
Story8 Home Birth:
When I discovered I was pregnant and went to my doctor, he asked the usual question "Where do you want to go..", meaning what hospital. When I said I wanted to have my baby at home he threw his eyes up to heaven, then gave me the standard lecture on how dangerous home birth was in his opinion.. "You're putting your baby's life at risk...", "What if something goes wrong?", "What if you have to have an emergency caesarean?" He knew me well enough to know that none of this would sway me in the least, and so gave me the telephone number of the Irish Home Birth Association.
I called them and got names and telephone numbers of independent midwives. I called the first one on the list, Kate Spillane, who also happened to be the one nearest to where we live. Kate was able to take me on - we were in business! She made her first visit when I was about 12 weeks pregnant and stayed for hours. We got on really well, but - most importantly - I knew I could trust this woman to help safely deliver our baby.
At first, Kate made monthly visits to our house. Then fortnightly visits, then weekly for the last few weeks. Each visit she would answer any questions, offer advice, check everything was OK and let us listen to the baby's heartbeat with the "Doppler". Her manner was so confident and reassuring, I always felt that giving birth at home would be the right way for me.
At about seven months into the pregnancy, Kate was a little worried that the baby was sitting breech. She suggested that I go for a scan, just to make quite sure that "he" was head down. Before I had the scan, I was sure I was carrying a boy. The doctor asked if we wanted to know what sex the baby was and I instantly said "No!". But as he was pointing out body parts on the monitor to Ken, I heard him say "his leg", which convinced me this was a boy.
Our baby was due on Tuesday 19th November 1996. I felt sure that the arrival wouldn't be much longer after that date because I was so big, and had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks. The pool was set up in our front room, looking kind of useless without water. I bought some Christmas tree fairy lights and hung them up in the room. We scrubbed the house from top to bottom. In the hope that something might shift, I scrubbed the kitchen floor, on my knees, a couple of times. I insisted in scouring out the fridge, tidying cupboards, cleaning under the bed. Ken would mutter"...the baby's probably not going to be born under the bed, you know..."
At 6am on the morning of that actual Tuesday, I got up to get something to eat, While standing in the kitchen I felt a trickle down my leg and a splash on the floor. I moved a few steps. Another few splashes. I giggled to myself because I was so excited. I knew that something was finally happening. I woke Ken and told him my waters had broken and we hugged each other. I thought that maybe this baby would be born before the day was out, and called parents and family to tell them the news. At about 9am I called Kate, and Ken called work to say he wouldn't be coming in for a while. Kate told us to relax and enjoy the time together and call her again when I started having regular contractions. That day there was a huge storm with raging winds and thunder and lightning. I thought it was an appropriate sign for the birth of a baby. We wrapped up well and went for a long walk in the pouring rain. I had a constant trickle of amniotic fluid, one or two weak contractions and lots and lots of kicks, but nothing else. Kate called later on to see if there was any news and didn't seem remotely bothered by the fact that the baby wasn't showing any signs of moving. She said she wouldn't call to see me because the temptation to examine (to see if I was dilated) would be too great, and once she had examined me we would be on a time limit until labour began. I put a little vest and babygro on the radiator to warm up.
By the end of the day I was feeling really disappointed, and was tempted to stay up and see if labour might start rather than going to bed. We decided the sensible thing was to get some sleep.
Wednesday came and still nothing happened. We watched videos, read newspapers, did the crossword. Went for another walk. Again I had one or two contractions about 40 minutes apart, then nothing. I still had a steady trickle of clear fluid but I knew this wasn't labour. Kate called a couple of times. Each time she'd tell me not to lose heart, that this does happen from time to time, and the baby would arrive when he was good and ready. The cats were delighted - we were at home all day so they had lots of laps to sit on.
Thursday arrived. I started making cookies and before I knew it I had turned out 10 dozen. They'd do for the visitors, I thought. I scrubbed the kitchen floor again. After that, more walking. We tried to vary the route in case we started to look suspicious walking up and down outside the prison near where we live. More videos. More crosswords. More TV. I knew that if I was having a hospital birth I would have been induced and the baby would probably have been born by now.
By Friday we were starting to despair. From time to time I would get worried, especially when people called and said "Are you sure that this is OK?" But I instinctively knew that things were OK. The baby was still kicking away and the fluid was still clear. I never considered going in to hospital. It just wasn't an option, unless there was a serious medical reason. Kate still stayed away, phoning regularly. She suggested I talk to another of her patients who had a similar experience, to keep my hopes up. We walked and walked, taking different routes every time we went outdoors.
By Saturday, we were getting fed up of crosswords and had watched most of the watchable videos in the video shop. We started playing computer games, just for something new to do. We drove to the Phoenix Park and climbed the biggest hill - Magazine Fort. I would have gone roller skating if I thought it would help.
Day 6, Sunday, arrived. I got up at about 9am and went to the bathroom. I was horrified to see that the fluid was now a pale green colour, and realised that this was probably meconium. My heart sank as I thought this would probably mean hospital if this baby wasn't born soon. I rang Kate, who still sounded remarkably calm. She said she'd be over in an hour and a half. Then at about 12am I had a couple of contractions, and then a couple more. They were regular, and a little stronger than the Braxton Hicks. I knew I was in labour. We lit the fire and put some essential oils in the burner.
Kate arrived and listened to the baby's heartbeat, which was strong and regular. For the first couple of hours, the contractions were like period pains. Not particularly painful, just gripping sensations, about twenty minutes apart most of the time. I stood during each contraction, hanging out of Ken, while swinging my hips. Kate monitored the baby's heartbeat regularly using the hand-held Doppler. When things didn't seem to be progressing much, Kate suggested that I go to bed and rest for a while, in case we were in for a long one. Ken and myself went up to bed and lay down. I did rest for a while, but couldn't sleep. We switched on the Christmas tree lights and put on some music. I had lined up a few favourite CDs of new age-ish relaxing music.
At about 5pm the contractions stepped up a gear and began to be quite painful. I was up again and walking around. I tried leaning over the kitchen table for a while. Sometimes I bent one knee and sort of half-squatted during contractions. Kate decided it was time to start filling the pool. None of the hosepipe connections fitted the kitchen tap, and for a while there was a lot of running up and down the stairs until Ken finally managed to attach the tubing onto the shower hose. The hot water immersion had been switched on full for six days, so there was one full tank of scalding water to get us started. We had a plastic bubblewrap cover which sat on top of the water as the level rose, to keep it warm. After the tank had reheated we filled the pool up a little more and decided that the level looked about right.
I got really emotional at one stage when I realised that this was it. I just felt so happy to be having a baby and that Ken was there with me for the whole journey. I hugged and kissed him and told him how much I loved him. The contractions started coming closer together and were a lot more painful. I was starting to make a lot more noise! Kate said that she'd examine me and see if it was OK for me to get into the pool. I couldn't believe it when she told me that I was only 1cm dilated. I knew that I should wait until I was at least 5cm, but because I was in so much pain Kate agreed that I could get in for a while and see what happened. The water felt so unbelievably good, it was like a hot bath after running a marathon. I sank down and closed my eyes and felt completely safe. I could sit leaning against the side of the pool between contractions and then flip over onto my knees when I felt a contraction coming and hold on to Ken who knelt or sat up against the outside of the pool. The water supported my weight and made it so easy to move around. Every so often I realised the music had finished and asked for more "Whales in the Forest, or whatever it's called..."
I have no real idea of how much time passed until Kate said that it might be better if I got out of the water for a while, as I seemed to be stuck at one part of the labour without progressing. This was one of the worst parts of the labour - I didn't want to move and, once I stood up, the pain bearing down on my cervix was excruciating. I stayed bent over at a 90 degree angle and Ken and Kate helped me get out of the pool and onto the floor. Ken then sat on the sofa and I knelt on the floor between his knees and put my head on his lap. The contractions felt much more painful out of the water. Kate suggested putting on some clothes and going for a short walk to speed things up, but I knew that was completely out of the question. I just didn't want to leave the safety of the house and I hated the idea of leaning up against walls in our cosy little neighbourhood, yelling during contractions!
I don't know how long I spent in that position - maybe an hour - before Kate examined me again. The examination was quite painful and seemed to take ages. I knew from the fact that she wasn't saying anything that the news wasn't good. "...Well, you're much more effaced", she said. In other words I wasn't more dilated. Eventually she agreed that I could get back in the pool again. Even though I wasn't dilating, something was definitely happening. The contractions were getting more and more painful and I seemed to get more fuzzy-headed as time passed. Once back in the pool most of the rest of the labour was a haze through the pain.
I was feeling really hot and very drowsy between contractions and began vomiting at regular intervals. Kate and Ken fetched bottles of glucose drinks from the fridge for me to sip between throwing up, and fed me teaspoons of honey. Every so often I looked at the clock and wondered - hoped - that my baby would be born before the day was out The contractions were incredibly painful, but there was always a break between each one, right to the end, so I always knew I'd have a break to recover before the next one started.
Midnight passed and Monday arrived. Even though I was practically delirious from the pain, I was still very sensitive to everything that happened in the room. Ken wasn't allowed to leave my side - if he moved I panicked. I gazed into the fire most of the time, and stared at a matchstick and a little piece of white plastic that were on the floor. I roared and yelled during contractions. At one point, face buried in the side of the pool, I could hear Ken and Kate whispering over me, Ken asking if this was normal and did Kate think I was OK.
I spent most of the time on my knees, hanging onto Ken who kneeled up against the outside of the pool. In this position I could spread my legs out behind me in the pool, so that I was almost floating in the water. Every so often Kate would ask me if I could stand up so she could monitor the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler, but I knew I couldn't bear the pain of standing up. She didn't press, but just asked if the baby was OK and I'd say "he's fine". I knew "he" was OK, I never felt at any stage during the labour that the baby was in distress or trouble.
I said "Oh God..." a LOT! In my mind, all I could think of was "Never, NEVER again....", but I wouldn't say it aloud, in case someone might hold me to it. Only one time can I remember thinking I wish there was something they could give me for the pain, but I knew medication was simply not available so I didn't bother asking. At about 2am I said "I want to go home..." in a whingey voice, while Kate and Ken laughed at me. I was at home, in the best possible place I could be, but I just wanted to get away from that pain. I realise now this was probably transition, as it wasn't too long before Kate said it was time to push. I had started involuntarily pushing already, but I was so out of it I didn't notice this happening. One of our cats, who had been curled up on the sofa until now, jumped up and started vomiting everywhere. I think she was in shock!
However painful the contractions were previous to this, pushing felt much, much worse. I managed two pushes with each contraction and could feel the head moving down but halfway through the third push the contraction subsided and the baby seemed to spring back each time. 3am passed. Kate coached me all of the time. Each contraction she kept saying "he'll be born with this one, we're nearly there!". But he wasn't, and I was starting to despair. Kate tried to get me to feel the head just before crowning, but I was oblivious to what was actually happening. I think I had forgotten that I was actually having a baby. I heard her say "it's going to be a big stretch Ruth, a very big stretch". I continued to push and felt a kick on my bottom and a gurgling noise that a baby makes coming from behind me. I didn't even realise that the baby was out - shot out behind me under the water, and was scooped out by Kate. I couldn't believe it! I started to laugh and laugh and laugh! I was completely overjoyed - it was a baby!
It was 3.40am and the baby we had been expecting - a dark, curly-haired boy - turned out to be a huge red-haired girl. She had big chubby cheeks and really fair skin and she opened her eyes and just looked around, taking it all in, without so much as a whimper. Kate tried to pass her to me and I had to stand up out of the water to lift my leg over the cord, because it was so short I took her into my arms and looked at Ken, who had tears in his eyes and we laughed and laughed and the room was filled with an enormous energy and noise. We hugged each other and stared at Hazel. That moment of sheer disbelief at what had just taken place was without comparison. I just couldn't believe that this baby had come out of me - there was now another person in the room. After a while Kate turned up the lights in the room, and clamped the cord. When it had stopped beating Ken cut it. There was a knock on the front door and we stopped in total silence and looked at each other. Who on earth was going to knock on our door at 4am? Ken shouted out "who is it?" and the voice was that of our next door neighbour, who wanted to know if I was OK. He hadn't even known that I was in labour but his dog kept howling every time I roared. I shouted back "it's OK, we're just having a baby!" and he left.
Once the cord was cut, I handed Hazel over to Ken and stood up out of the water to deliver the placenta. I just coughed and out it came (and it's still in a lunchbox in our freezer...) I stepped out of the pool and then realised how shaky I was feeling. The blood drained from my head and I began to feel quite faint. Kate covered the sofa with sheets and wrapped a duvet around me and I laid down. Hazel was weighed and it became clear - along with the short cord - just why things had progressed the way they did. She was 9lbs 10 ozs, and 22 inches long. My first thought was, how will I ever have another baby if it might be bigger than this one... Ken handed Hazel back and she latched on straight away - I nearly hit the roof! This baby wasn't wasting any time!
I was feeling weaker and weaker and kept saying I had to lie down. I knew I had lost a lot of blood, the birthing pool was like an abattoir. They managed to get me onto my feet and shuffle me upstairs to bed. Once I was lying down things didn't seem too bad. We took the clothes that had been warming on the radiator for six days, and started to dress Hazel. Of course she was far too big for them! Even the nappy seemed small as Kate said "this thing is like a bikini on her...!". Once we had sorted out something for a Hazel-sized baby, Ken and myself snuggled up in bed together, with Hazel in the middle and it felt like she had always been there. We gazed at her and how perfect she was. She slept, but we were too excited and exhausted to rest.
I presumed I probably had some sort of a perineal damage. Kate examined me and, in her usual non-alarmist way, said "just a small tear". She went to rest for a while and left us alone for an hour or so with our little treasure. Later on she came back to repair the damage. Of course I asked how bad it was, and Kate got Ken to have a look. He put on a brave face and lied, even though I'm sure he went pale in the face when he looked. Kate wouldn't say how many stitches, but I lost count after about 10. It seemed so unfair that I should have to experience any more discomfort after all that pain and in a way it was one of the worst parts of the birth. Once daylight came we started making calls and our families began to arrive by lunchtime.
A local newspaper recently did a short interview with me about my birth experience, but the article that appeared was heavily edited. To read it you would think that having a home birth was a piece of cake. It would be unfair to mislead people like that. I can't lie and say that unmedicated childbirth wasn't painful for me. It was extremely painful. But I now know that the kind of labour I had - waters breaking six days before labour, 16 hour labour, big baby, short cord, slow dilatation - would definitely have meant a c-section in a hospital setting. I couldn't imagine ever having a baby anywhere else than at home. I am immensely proud of my experience and I wouldn't swap it for the world.
Story9: Vaginal after Ceasarian (VBAC):
Story 10: C-Section after a C-Section:
This was the birth of my second child and also second c-section. I had planned throughout the whole pregnancy to try of a VBAC. In the later part of my pregnancy I developed gestational diabetes. That put a very big kink in my plans.
Everything was going fine up until about the 34th week. About midnight I was awaken by my water breaking. I was very frightned being that it was a month early and being a boy, that the lungs might not be developed. I went right away to the hospital and my labor started immedialtely, I was very excited thinking I was going to deliver. But no sooner did my excitement start it stoped when my son moved out of the birth canal. This went of for a couple of hours and with no improvement my doc suggested another c-section and I agreed.
The section seemed to go as normal with no problems. It was a couple hours later when my blood pressure droped to 50 or 40. This was of some great concern and I was given alot of fluids to bring my pressure up and it worked. After a nights sleep the nurse came in the next morning for the dredded first walk around the halls. My cathader was removed and I began to sit on the side of the bed when everything began the spin around and I couldn't breath. My heart was racing and I was very scared. When I lay back down things didn't improve and was immediatley put on oxygen. It was decovered that I had blood clots that had settled in my right lung and was mostly blocked.
I was taken to ICU and put on a blood thinner and some antibiotics. I also had lost a lot of blood and my count was at 6. So I was given 2 blood transfusions to help this along. Finally after 4 days I was able to move back to Maternity to be closer to my son. The nurses were wonderful they would bring my son to me in ICU at anytime day or night when I was up to seeing him. I had been in bed now for about a week and I was beginning to swell from the fuild colecting around my insecion. I was swelled larger than when I was pregnant from the top of my belly to the middle of my legs. As I began to walk more this improved.
I was finally able to come home along with my perfect son about a week later. But the swelling was terrible and my incision burst open 3 times from all the fluid trying to come out.
It had been 8 weeks now since my ordeal and things are looking up for me and improving daily but slowly. My son is healthy which was a blessing in its self. I will have to continue to take blood thinners for about 6 months and that should take care of the problem. I give God all the credit for taking care of me because without him I don't think I would be around to raise my 2 beatuiful boys.
I personally wouldn't want another c-section, but i do know that alot of the time they are necessary but I would chose it.
As soon as we got home, I ran to the bathroom and three minutes later I was staring at two lines on the test. I took two more and made my husband take one just to make sure they worked. I could not believe I was pregnant. I didn't feel pregnant at all, but when I thought about it more I realized that my breasts were a bit tender and I had been unusually tired lately. I really never believed it until the hospital confirmed it two weeks later with a blood test.
We went into our first ultrasound at 9 weeks gestation and my doctor jokingly said, "Well let's go find out if you're having twins." My husband groaned and said, "Don't scare me" and we all laughed. Two minutes later in the ultrasound room, we immediately noticed the two embryos side by side and the doctor said, "Well it looks like you are having twins." I was shocked and in total disbelief, but my husband had the feeling we were going to have twins because there are so many sets on his side of the family. (We found out two weeks later that his brother and his wife were expecting twins at the same time!)
So we spent the next couple of months getting used to the idea of becoming parents to not just one but two children at the same time. We bought plenty of diapers and started to get the nursery stocked up on all the goods.
I had a great pregnancy during the first trimester. Except for fatigue, I didn't experience any negative effects. I was lucky to not have any nausea at all. Right at the beginning of my second trimester I developed really bad pregnancy acne. I hadn't had acne since I was like 14 years old so I was quite upset about it especially since I was more expecting the "pregnancy glow" they all talk about. My doctor prescribed a good acne gel and the acne went away after a month.
My second trimester I got some energy back and I started showing but I also started swelling. My ankles and legs were huge by my 5th month and I was starting to get really uncomfortable. My doctor tested me for preeclampsia but it always came back negative. Swelling during pregnancy runs on my mom's side of the family so I figured there was nothing I could do about it except try to stay off my feet as much as possible. I was still working into my 8th month and by this point I was huge. I had gone from 130 pounds to 200 pounds in eight months! Most of the weight was swelling from the water retention. My skin was so tight I thought it was going to split!
At 32 weeks I went in for the routine steroid shots to mature the babies' lungs in case they came early, and when they put me on the monitor they noticed I was having contractions. I couldn't feel them but I guess they were big enough to be concerned about, so they checked me and I was 3 centimeters dilated, 90 percent effaced and my son's head was at 0 station. Basically he was ready to come out and I didn't even know it! My doctor decided to get me on the magnesium to try and stop my labor. I spent the next two days in the hospital filling up with magnesium and fluids. The magnesium was awful at first. It makes you feel really hot and a bit sick but I got used to it after a few hours.
My doctor released me after two days because I had gone down to 2 centimeters and the contractions stopped. It finally came back that I had mild preeclampsia now and I was put on strict bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy, but I was so glad that I did not give birth at 32 weeks.
At 34 weeks, 4 days I started having only what I can describe as the worst heartburn I have ever had. It felt like someone had poured acid in my stomach. I had contractions but I could only tell they were contractions if my tummy was hard. I didn't feel the actual tightening or any pain with the contractions. I had no idea I was in labor; it didn't feel like what people described as labor. I didn't sleep for two days and I suffered this constant "heartburn" the whole time. Nothing would take the pain away: Tums, milk, Pepcid, Pepto, nothing worked.
After two days of this, I told my husband that I didn't think I could take it anymore but I didn't want to go to the hospital for heartburn. I decided I had to tough it out. At 2 a.m., about one hour after I told my husband that I couldn't take it anymore, my water broke while I was lying in bed. I thought I was peeing my pants at first but the trickle never stopped. I told my husband that my water broke and "I guess I'm in labor." He kept asking if I was sure and I kept saying that I didn't know but we better go. (I just kept missing all the signs the entire way through my pregnancy!) What's funny is that as soon as my water broke, the "heartburn" completely went away.
I starting getting the real contractions about 15 minutes later when we were being admitted at the hospital. Oh boy, I had no idea they would be that painful. It was like the pain shifted from the heartburny upper stomach pain to low menstrual-like cramping, which felt totally different than the pain I had experienced the last two days. Labor pains are like menstrual cramps times 100. It started off bearable but after a couple hours, I couldn't take it anymore and I was only dilated to a 3.
I had to wait a while for my epidural so they gave me a little something to hold me off while I waited and that worked great. I finally got my epidural around 6 a.m. I believe and it was smooth sailing from then on. It took about 20 minutes to kick in and the nurses had to roll me onto my right side because my left side was the first to go numb. Soon I was totally numb and feeling great.
My husband and I took a much needed nap for a few more hours. I was checked again at 9 a.m. and I was 8 1/2 centimeters! The nurse told me that they would start prepping the operating room and getting me ready to go deliver. I couldn't believe it. I felt like I had just gotten there. Time was literally flying by.
At 10 a.m. they got me ready and wheeled me into the OR. They lifted me onto the delivery table and at 10:30 a.m. my nurse gave me brief instructions on how to push. On my next contraction we would try it. I watched the contraction monitor and got the go-ahead to push, so I pulled my legs back while my husband pushed my left leg against me and the nurse pushed my right. I couldn't feel anything so I had no idea if I was doing it right. I just pushed the way I thought I was supposed to. I pushed through another contraction and the nurse told me that we were ready and she was calling my doctor in to deliver.
Everything was so surreal. I felt like this was all happening to someone else. I took a moment to look around and notice what was going on. There were nurses everywhere and they were prepped and standing around their stations at the incubators, just waiting for these babies to make their arrival. I looked at my husband in his scrubs. He looked tired and scruffy from not shaving. I had never loved him more than I did in that moment. He was my rock. He helped me concentrate on my breathing and was counting for me, never missing a beat. He kept smoothing my hair back and telling me that he loved me. He asked me if I was ready and I told him I was and this was all really weird.
The next thing I know, my doctor was there in his scrubs and mask. He prepped me for delivery and the nurse kept me pushing when I was supposed to because I sure as heck had no idea. I couldn't even tell on the monitor but she somehow knew right when a contraction was starting to build. I pushed about eight times after my doctor got there and then he told me he could see dark hair and lots of it for such an early baby. I asked my husband if he could see it and he said he could more and more every time I pushed. I still couldn't feel anything and still had no idea if I was doing it right but apparently it was working so I just kept doing what I was doing.
Then all of the sudden my doctor told me to stop pushing and I felt and saw my son's head pop out. It didn't hurt at all but I could still feel it. That was weird. I looked at his little head and things were all starting to get real for me. I gave a little push and out popped his body. I could feel him move out of me and boy that is the weirdest feeling ever. He just slipped right out and I was finally looking at my son. I had waited so long to see him and he was adorable. At 11:16 a.m. my son came into the world. Such a handsome little man and I couldn't believe he was ours!
My doctor held him up for a second and showed my husband how to cut the cord and then they whisked him away. He cried immediately and sounded very healthy; he was just small. My husband and I both started crying at the sight of him. The nurse told us she wished she could've taken a picture of the look on our faces. She said it was precious. We were totally in awe at the sight of him. He weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces and I was officially a mom.
A few minutes later my husband brought him over to me and placed him in my arms. He was a little angel. My heart swelled and I fell in love. I cried and told him how much I loved him even though I could barely talk. He was a spitting image of my husband. He had dark hair and his eyes were all puffy from the birth and he was a tiny little guy, so light in my arms. I didn't want to let him go but I gave him back to my husband. I had another baby to deliver!
The nurse told me to start pushing again. I got through a contraction and the doctor said my daughter would be born on the next one. I felt her head pop out and the doctor unwound the cord from her neck. Luckily it was loose. I pushed again and at 11:26 a.m. my daughter was born. She was 5 pounds even. The doctor had to unwind the cord from around her body. She was all tangled up in it, but she came out great. The doctor held her up. She looked like my son to me at first. A perfect little angel. My husband cut her cord and off she went.
It took her a few extra minutes to cry. I had to ask if she was OK because we hadn't heard her cry but she was just fine. The next thing I knew my husband was holding both of them. He gave me my daughter. I just stared at her in complete shock that I was actually a mother of twins. I couldn't believe our luck. Our son looks like his dad and my daughter looks like me. Wow, it could not have worked out any better for us.
We stared at our children for a few more minutes and that's when I noticed the pain building. My doctor had been removing my placentas while we were busy with the babies and now he was pushing on my uterus and I could feel blood pouring out of me. He asked the nurse for a shot of something (can't remember) because I was still bleeding a bit. It was nothing serious but he wanted to get it under control just in case. I saw the nurse plunge the needle in my leg but luckily I was still numb there. I sure felt the doctor pushing on me, though. That was by far the worst pain that I had felt the entire labor and delivery.
The doctor washed me all up and stitched a small tear and then I got moved onto my recovery bed all in a blink of an eye it seems. They told me they were taking the babies to the NICU for observation and that they would possibly need oxygen and feeding tubes due to their prematurity. I got wheeled back to my room and I was on cloud nine the whole way. I was a mom! Our families were waiting anxiously in the room and we were greeted by lots of hugs, kisses and congrats. The families went off to see the babies in the NICU window and we realized how exhausted we were. The rest was a total blur.
All in all, the kids were healthy. Our daughter spent four days in the NICU but our son spent a long three weeks there due to not being able to eat enough on his own. They are 3 months old now and as healthy as can be. By the way, my brother-in-law and his wife delivered identical twin boys the very same day! What are the chances?
Story8 Home Birth:
When I discovered I was pregnant and went to my doctor, he asked the usual question "Where do you want to go..", meaning what hospital. When I said I wanted to have my baby at home he threw his eyes up to heaven, then gave me the standard lecture on how dangerous home birth was in his opinion.. "You're putting your baby's life at risk...", "What if something goes wrong?", "What if you have to have an emergency caesarean?" He knew me well enough to know that none of this would sway me in the least, and so gave me the telephone number of the Irish Home Birth Association.
I called them and got names and telephone numbers of independent midwives. I called the first one on the list, Kate Spillane, who also happened to be the one nearest to where we live. Kate was able to take me on - we were in business! She made her first visit when I was about 12 weeks pregnant and stayed for hours. We got on really well, but - most importantly - I knew I could trust this woman to help safely deliver our baby.
At first, Kate made monthly visits to our house. Then fortnightly visits, then weekly for the last few weeks. Each visit she would answer any questions, offer advice, check everything was OK and let us listen to the baby's heartbeat with the "Doppler". Her manner was so confident and reassuring, I always felt that giving birth at home would be the right way for me.
At about seven months into the pregnancy, Kate was a little worried that the baby was sitting breech. She suggested that I go for a scan, just to make quite sure that "he" was head down. Before I had the scan, I was sure I was carrying a boy. The doctor asked if we wanted to know what sex the baby was and I instantly said "No!". But as he was pointing out body parts on the monitor to Ken, I heard him say "his leg", which convinced me this was a boy.
Our baby was due on Tuesday 19th November 1996. I felt sure that the arrival wouldn't be much longer after that date because I was so big, and had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks. The pool was set up in our front room, looking kind of useless without water. I bought some Christmas tree fairy lights and hung them up in the room. We scrubbed the house from top to bottom. In the hope that something might shift, I scrubbed the kitchen floor, on my knees, a couple of times. I insisted in scouring out the fridge, tidying cupboards, cleaning under the bed. Ken would mutter"...the baby's probably not going to be born under the bed, you know..."
At 6am on the morning of that actual Tuesday, I got up to get something to eat, While standing in the kitchen I felt a trickle down my leg and a splash on the floor. I moved a few steps. Another few splashes. I giggled to myself because I was so excited. I knew that something was finally happening. I woke Ken and told him my waters had broken and we hugged each other. I thought that maybe this baby would be born before the day was out, and called parents and family to tell them the news. At about 9am I called Kate, and Ken called work to say he wouldn't be coming in for a while. Kate told us to relax and enjoy the time together and call her again when I started having regular contractions. That day there was a huge storm with raging winds and thunder and lightning. I thought it was an appropriate sign for the birth of a baby. We wrapped up well and went for a long walk in the pouring rain. I had a constant trickle of amniotic fluid, one or two weak contractions and lots and lots of kicks, but nothing else. Kate called later on to see if there was any news and didn't seem remotely bothered by the fact that the baby wasn't showing any signs of moving. She said she wouldn't call to see me because the temptation to examine (to see if I was dilated) would be too great, and once she had examined me we would be on a time limit until labour began. I put a little vest and babygro on the radiator to warm up.
By the end of the day I was feeling really disappointed, and was tempted to stay up and see if labour might start rather than going to bed. We decided the sensible thing was to get some sleep.
Wednesday came and still nothing happened. We watched videos, read newspapers, did the crossword. Went for another walk. Again I had one or two contractions about 40 minutes apart, then nothing. I still had a steady trickle of clear fluid but I knew this wasn't labour. Kate called a couple of times. Each time she'd tell me not to lose heart, that this does happen from time to time, and the baby would arrive when he was good and ready. The cats were delighted - we were at home all day so they had lots of laps to sit on.
Thursday arrived. I started making cookies and before I knew it I had turned out 10 dozen. They'd do for the visitors, I thought. I scrubbed the kitchen floor again. After that, more walking. We tried to vary the route in case we started to look suspicious walking up and down outside the prison near where we live. More videos. More crosswords. More TV. I knew that if I was having a hospital birth I would have been induced and the baby would probably have been born by now.
By Friday we were starting to despair. From time to time I would get worried, especially when people called and said "Are you sure that this is OK?" But I instinctively knew that things were OK. The baby was still kicking away and the fluid was still clear. I never considered going in to hospital. It just wasn't an option, unless there was a serious medical reason. Kate still stayed away, phoning regularly. She suggested I talk to another of her patients who had a similar experience, to keep my hopes up. We walked and walked, taking different routes every time we went outdoors.
By Saturday, we were getting fed up of crosswords and had watched most of the watchable videos in the video shop. We started playing computer games, just for something new to do. We drove to the Phoenix Park and climbed the biggest hill - Magazine Fort. I would have gone roller skating if I thought it would help.
Day 6, Sunday, arrived. I got up at about 9am and went to the bathroom. I was horrified to see that the fluid was now a pale green colour, and realised that this was probably meconium. My heart sank as I thought this would probably mean hospital if this baby wasn't born soon. I rang Kate, who still sounded remarkably calm. She said she'd be over in an hour and a half. Then at about 12am I had a couple of contractions, and then a couple more. They were regular, and a little stronger than the Braxton Hicks. I knew I was in labour. We lit the fire and put some essential oils in the burner.
Kate arrived and listened to the baby's heartbeat, which was strong and regular. For the first couple of hours, the contractions were like period pains. Not particularly painful, just gripping sensations, about twenty minutes apart most of the time. I stood during each contraction, hanging out of Ken, while swinging my hips. Kate monitored the baby's heartbeat regularly using the hand-held Doppler. When things didn't seem to be progressing much, Kate suggested that I go to bed and rest for a while, in case we were in for a long one. Ken and myself went up to bed and lay down. I did rest for a while, but couldn't sleep. We switched on the Christmas tree lights and put on some music. I had lined up a few favourite CDs of new age-ish relaxing music.
At about 5pm the contractions stepped up a gear and began to be quite painful. I was up again and walking around. I tried leaning over the kitchen table for a while. Sometimes I bent one knee and sort of half-squatted during contractions. Kate decided it was time to start filling the pool. None of the hosepipe connections fitted the kitchen tap, and for a while there was a lot of running up and down the stairs until Ken finally managed to attach the tubing onto the shower hose. The hot water immersion had been switched on full for six days, so there was one full tank of scalding water to get us started. We had a plastic bubblewrap cover which sat on top of the water as the level rose, to keep it warm. After the tank had reheated we filled the pool up a little more and decided that the level looked about right.
I got really emotional at one stage when I realised that this was it. I just felt so happy to be having a baby and that Ken was there with me for the whole journey. I hugged and kissed him and told him how much I loved him. The contractions started coming closer together and were a lot more painful. I was starting to make a lot more noise! Kate said that she'd examine me and see if it was OK for me to get into the pool. I couldn't believe it when she told me that I was only 1cm dilated. I knew that I should wait until I was at least 5cm, but because I was in so much pain Kate agreed that I could get in for a while and see what happened. The water felt so unbelievably good, it was like a hot bath after running a marathon. I sank down and closed my eyes and felt completely safe. I could sit leaning against the side of the pool between contractions and then flip over onto my knees when I felt a contraction coming and hold on to Ken who knelt or sat up against the outside of the pool. The water supported my weight and made it so easy to move around. Every so often I realised the music had finished and asked for more "Whales in the Forest, or whatever it's called..."
I have no real idea of how much time passed until Kate said that it might be better if I got out of the water for a while, as I seemed to be stuck at one part of the labour without progressing. This was one of the worst parts of the labour - I didn't want to move and, once I stood up, the pain bearing down on my cervix was excruciating. I stayed bent over at a 90 degree angle and Ken and Kate helped me get out of the pool and onto the floor. Ken then sat on the sofa and I knelt on the floor between his knees and put my head on his lap. The contractions felt much more painful out of the water. Kate suggested putting on some clothes and going for a short walk to speed things up, but I knew that was completely out of the question. I just didn't want to leave the safety of the house and I hated the idea of leaning up against walls in our cosy little neighbourhood, yelling during contractions!
I don't know how long I spent in that position - maybe an hour - before Kate examined me again. The examination was quite painful and seemed to take ages. I knew from the fact that she wasn't saying anything that the news wasn't good. "...Well, you're much more effaced", she said. In other words I wasn't more dilated. Eventually she agreed that I could get back in the pool again. Even though I wasn't dilating, something was definitely happening. The contractions were getting more and more painful and I seemed to get more fuzzy-headed as time passed. Once back in the pool most of the rest of the labour was a haze through the pain.
I was feeling really hot and very drowsy between contractions and began vomiting at regular intervals. Kate and Ken fetched bottles of glucose drinks from the fridge for me to sip between throwing up, and fed me teaspoons of honey. Every so often I looked at the clock and wondered - hoped - that my baby would be born before the day was out The contractions were incredibly painful, but there was always a break between each one, right to the end, so I always knew I'd have a break to recover before the next one started.
Midnight passed and Monday arrived. Even though I was practically delirious from the pain, I was still very sensitive to everything that happened in the room. Ken wasn't allowed to leave my side - if he moved I panicked. I gazed into the fire most of the time, and stared at a matchstick and a little piece of white plastic that were on the floor. I roared and yelled during contractions. At one point, face buried in the side of the pool, I could hear Ken and Kate whispering over me, Ken asking if this was normal and did Kate think I was OK.
I spent most of the time on my knees, hanging onto Ken who kneeled up against the outside of the pool. In this position I could spread my legs out behind me in the pool, so that I was almost floating in the water. Every so often Kate would ask me if I could stand up so she could monitor the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler, but I knew I couldn't bear the pain of standing up. She didn't press, but just asked if the baby was OK and I'd say "he's fine". I knew "he" was OK, I never felt at any stage during the labour that the baby was in distress or trouble.
I said "Oh God..." a LOT! In my mind, all I could think of was "Never, NEVER again....", but I wouldn't say it aloud, in case someone might hold me to it. Only one time can I remember thinking I wish there was something they could give me for the pain, but I knew medication was simply not available so I didn't bother asking. At about 2am I said "I want to go home..." in a whingey voice, while Kate and Ken laughed at me. I was at home, in the best possible place I could be, but I just wanted to get away from that pain. I realise now this was probably transition, as it wasn't too long before Kate said it was time to push. I had started involuntarily pushing already, but I was so out of it I didn't notice this happening. One of our cats, who had been curled up on the sofa until now, jumped up and started vomiting everywhere. I think she was in shock!
However painful the contractions were previous to this, pushing felt much, much worse. I managed two pushes with each contraction and could feel the head moving down but halfway through the third push the contraction subsided and the baby seemed to spring back each time. 3am passed. Kate coached me all of the time. Each contraction she kept saying "he'll be born with this one, we're nearly there!". But he wasn't, and I was starting to despair. Kate tried to get me to feel the head just before crowning, but I was oblivious to what was actually happening. I think I had forgotten that I was actually having a baby. I heard her say "it's going to be a big stretch Ruth, a very big stretch". I continued to push and felt a kick on my bottom and a gurgling noise that a baby makes coming from behind me. I didn't even realise that the baby was out - shot out behind me under the water, and was scooped out by Kate. I couldn't believe it! I started to laugh and laugh and laugh! I was completely overjoyed - it was a baby!
It was 3.40am and the baby we had been expecting - a dark, curly-haired boy - turned out to be a huge red-haired girl. She had big chubby cheeks and really fair skin and she opened her eyes and just looked around, taking it all in, without so much as a whimper. Kate tried to pass her to me and I had to stand up out of the water to lift my leg over the cord, because it was so short I took her into my arms and looked at Ken, who had tears in his eyes and we laughed and laughed and the room was filled with an enormous energy and noise. We hugged each other and stared at Hazel. That moment of sheer disbelief at what had just taken place was without comparison. I just couldn't believe that this baby had come out of me - there was now another person in the room. After a while Kate turned up the lights in the room, and clamped the cord. When it had stopped beating Ken cut it. There was a knock on the front door and we stopped in total silence and looked at each other. Who on earth was going to knock on our door at 4am? Ken shouted out "who is it?" and the voice was that of our next door neighbour, who wanted to know if I was OK. He hadn't even known that I was in labour but his dog kept howling every time I roared. I shouted back "it's OK, we're just having a baby!" and he left.
Once the cord was cut, I handed Hazel over to Ken and stood up out of the water to deliver the placenta. I just coughed and out it came (and it's still in a lunchbox in our freezer...) I stepped out of the pool and then realised how shaky I was feeling. The blood drained from my head and I began to feel quite faint. Kate covered the sofa with sheets and wrapped a duvet around me and I laid down. Hazel was weighed and it became clear - along with the short cord - just why things had progressed the way they did. She was 9lbs 10 ozs, and 22 inches long. My first thought was, how will I ever have another baby if it might be bigger than this one... Ken handed Hazel back and she latched on straight away - I nearly hit the roof! This baby wasn't wasting any time!
I was feeling weaker and weaker and kept saying I had to lie down. I knew I had lost a lot of blood, the birthing pool was like an abattoir. They managed to get me onto my feet and shuffle me upstairs to bed. Once I was lying down things didn't seem too bad. We took the clothes that had been warming on the radiator for six days, and started to dress Hazel. Of course she was far too big for them! Even the nappy seemed small as Kate said "this thing is like a bikini on her...!". Once we had sorted out something for a Hazel-sized baby, Ken and myself snuggled up in bed together, with Hazel in the middle and it felt like she had always been there. We gazed at her and how perfect she was. She slept, but we were too excited and exhausted to rest.
I presumed I probably had some sort of a perineal damage. Kate examined me and, in her usual non-alarmist way, said "just a small tear". She went to rest for a while and left us alone for an hour or so with our little treasure. Later on she came back to repair the damage. Of course I asked how bad it was, and Kate got Ken to have a look. He put on a brave face and lied, even though I'm sure he went pale in the face when he looked. Kate wouldn't say how many stitches, but I lost count after about 10. It seemed so unfair that I should have to experience any more discomfort after all that pain and in a way it was one of the worst parts of the birth. Once daylight came we started making calls and our families began to arrive by lunchtime.
A local newspaper recently did a short interview with me about my birth experience, but the article that appeared was heavily edited. To read it you would think that having a home birth was a piece of cake. It would be unfair to mislead people like that. I can't lie and say that unmedicated childbirth wasn't painful for me. It was extremely painful. But I now know that the kind of labour I had - waters breaking six days before labour, 16 hour labour, big baby, short cord, slow dilatation - would definitely have meant a c-section in a hospital setting. I couldn't imagine ever having a baby anywhere else than at home. I am immensely proud of my experience and I wouldn't swap it for the world.
Story9: Vaginal after Ceasarian (VBAC):
Story 10: C-Section after a C-Section:
This was the birth of my second child and also second c-section. I had planned throughout the whole pregnancy to try of a VBAC. In the later part of my pregnancy I developed gestational diabetes. That put a very big kink in my plans.
Everything was going fine up until about the 34th week. About midnight I was awaken by my water breaking. I was very frightned being that it was a month early and being a boy, that the lungs might not be developed. I went right away to the hospital and my labor started immedialtely, I was very excited thinking I was going to deliver. But no sooner did my excitement start it stoped when my son moved out of the birth canal. This went of for a couple of hours and with no improvement my doc suggested another c-section and I agreed.
The section seemed to go as normal with no problems. It was a couple hours later when my blood pressure droped to 50 or 40. This was of some great concern and I was given alot of fluids to bring my pressure up and it worked. After a nights sleep the nurse came in the next morning for the dredded first walk around the halls. My cathader was removed and I began to sit on the side of the bed when everything began the spin around and I couldn't breath. My heart was racing and I was very scared. When I lay back down things didn't improve and was immediatley put on oxygen. It was decovered that I had blood clots that had settled in my right lung and was mostly blocked.
I was taken to ICU and put on a blood thinner and some antibiotics. I also had lost a lot of blood and my count was at 6. So I was given 2 blood transfusions to help this along. Finally after 4 days I was able to move back to Maternity to be closer to my son. The nurses were wonderful they would bring my son to me in ICU at anytime day or night when I was up to seeing him. I had been in bed now for about a week and I was beginning to swell from the fuild colecting around my insecion. I was swelled larger than when I was pregnant from the top of my belly to the middle of my legs. As I began to walk more this improved.
I was finally able to come home along with my perfect son about a week later. But the swelling was terrible and my incision burst open 3 times from all the fluid trying to come out.
It had been 8 weeks now since my ordeal and things are looking up for me and improving daily but slowly. My son is healthy which was a blessing in its self. I will have to continue to take blood thinners for about 6 months and that should take care of the problem. I give God all the credit for taking care of me because without him I don't think I would be around to raise my 2 beatuiful boys.
I personally wouldn't want another c-section, but i do know that alot of the time they are necessary but I would chose it.
