Jessica Helen was born on 1/12/09 at 12:12 a.m. Central time, two days after her "due date." ?She weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 19.5 inches long.
Around 2:30 p.m. Central time on Sunday 1/11, my water broke. ?Around 4:30 pm, I had my first noticeable contraction. ?By about 6:00 pm, I was having regular contractions that were uncomfortable enough that I was changing my position. My husband started casually keeping track of them, and by 7:00 or so, we were amazed that they had been regularly coming every 5 minutes or so.
I decided to call my midwife. While talking to her, I had one contraction, but it was milder than most of the ones I'd been having. She encouraged me to labor at home awhile longer. She told me that I should wait for the contractions to take my breath away.
I decided to lie down on our bed for awhile. My husband brought me juice, water, and dry toast. It wasn't long before I was moaning through some of the contractions. I decided to call my midwife back a little after 8:30. I was surprised that she seemed to be discouraging me from leaving for the birth center again. (Later, she told me that typically the moms get adamant that they are going to the hospital NOW, and so she doesn't tell them when the time is right. However, I was looking for direction...) I had 3 contractions 3 minutes apart while talking to her, and she then conceded that she thought we should get on our way to the hospital.
Then, finally, the baby's head was so close to being born. My midwife warned me that if I felt burning, that I should breathe through the contraction in order to ensure that my tissues stretched slowly rather than tearing. I did feel some mild burning, so I did this. But, after a few contractions, the burning was still there. I told my midwife what was going on and she told me that I might have to just go ahead and push through it. I gladly did.
As the baby's head crowned, my midwife told us that she had light hair. It took a bit longer to push her ears out, but soon I felt her whole body sliding out. I was so excited, saying, "My baby, my baby..." One of our caregivers scooped her up and handed her to me. I checked her out and said, "It's a girl!" Then they put her on my chest, and she started crying loudly immediately. She soon settled down and opened her eyes. She scored a perfect 10 on her Apgars. She stayed on my chest for awhile and even started nursing while still in the tub.
After a bit, our caregivers had my husband check the cord to see if it was still pulsating. It had stopped, so they clamped it and let him cut the cord. Then they took my baby girl to dry her off and dress her for us.
I only had a superficial tear, and my doctor thought that maybe I didn't really need any stitches, but my midwife said it would be better to give me a couple to ensure that I healed without any problems. So, he gave me two.
I am now a natural childbirth fanatic, because this was the mostI am still somewhat on a high from the whole experience. I am amazed at what my body did in birthing and how efficiently it did it. I am amazed by little Jessica Helen. And, I am amazed and thrilled at how awesome of a dad my husband is.?
Re: A Very Long Birth Story for a Relatively Short, Ideal Natural Birth
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