Iris's Natural Birth- Bradley Method (long)

Sunday, January 10th was the day I woke up to contractions.  Rob and I were planning on getting up at 8:00 to go to church, but I was aware of light, intermittent pains in my abdomen at 5:00 or so.  I woke up and started wondering if I had dreamed them (I had woken up basically every day that week expecting to be in labor), then went back and forth between sleeping and waking for a couple of hours.  At 7:00, I got up to use the bathroom and had another contraction, which I was fully awake for.  I also discovered that I was bleeding lightly, so that kind of jolted me awake too.

I went back to bed with the intention of sleeping some more since I had been advised to sleep when I could in early labor- I would need to save my energy for later. I didn?t want to wake Rob, but when I came back to bed, he rolled over and asked how I was feeling, to which I blurted out, ?I?m having contractions!?  This woke him up very quickly!  We tried to sleep some more, but instead we just lay there talking.  I had to stop when I had a contraction to focus and breathe through it.

The previous night, we had finally finished the last of our thank-you notes from our choir for an a surprise baby shower in December (70 notes written in all!), and I was eager to get them out.  We decided that morning that Rob should go to church and leave the thank-you?s with someone to hand out.  While he was gone, I called our doula (Terra) and let her know that I was having contractions.  She was a church when when answered the phone, and she asked me if I could talk through the contractions.  I told her that I couldn?t talk through them (they were painful enough for me to need to relax and concentrate through them), but that they were all over the place- anywhere from 8 to 18 minutes apart.  She said she?d check in with me later, so Rob and I just hung around the house and relaxed for most of the day.  I did insist that we put up the co-sleeper that we?d been meaning to attach to our bed.  We would definitely need it when we got back from the hospital!  Then I made sure our bedroom was clean and took a shower.  That afternoon, we took a nap and talked to the doula again, who suggested that we take a walk since the contractions were still coming pretty far apart (6-10 minutes).  We also called my mom to let her know that it looked like today would be the day.  She was out taking a walk with my stepdad and according to Rob, she was very calm about it all.  She said to just keep her updated!

We headed out with the dog for a neighborhood walk at around 4:00, and within several minutes I had to lean against Rob to breathe through a contraction.  At this point, we were timing my contractions on my iPhone using Stage 1, a nifty little free app from iTunes.  I would keep the iPhone in my pocket until I felt a contraction coming on, then I?d get it out and hit ?Begin?.  Whew!  I bet we looked funny walking around our neighborhood!

We got back to the house at 4:30, and our doula came over soon after that.  She stayed with us for the next few hours, us chatting in the living room or dining room as my contractions came and went.  I had a great time talking with her in between contractions, although it was hard to keep up a conversation because the contractions interrupted us constantly.  My main coping strategy (which I had learned in the Bradley class) was to completely relax during a contraction, which made all the difference in the world.  I would completely go limp, leaning on Rob while he or Terra massaged my back or applied a heated rice sock to my back.  Later the rice sock felt better on my abdomen, since that?s where most of my pain was coming from.  I never had much back labor, luckily.

By 8:00 or so, the contractions were getting much more intense.  I was sitting on our exercise ball, supported by Rob and Terra, who would be talking me through the contractions, saying, ?Breathe, you?re doing great??  I decided around this time that Rob should probably take our dog over to our friends? who had agreed to watch him while we were at the hospital.  Rob came back quickly, and he started getting the last items for our hospital bag packed.

From the beginning, the plan was for me to labor as much as I could at home but get to the hospital when I was at the end of active labor, if possible.  I was starting to have the sense that maybe we should think about going to hospital but I didn?t want to jump the gun because I was afraid of being sent back home.  My friend Allison had been sent back because she was not far enough along, and I couldn?t imagine a worse fate than to have to turn around and go home (a 20-minute drive to the other side of town).  Terra asked if I felt like I needed to make my nest for labor, a term we had used in the Bradley classes we had attended, and I said, ?By making my nest, does it mean that I feel like I want to lay down??.  She said yes, so I agreed that I was ready to go to the hospital and get settled in before birth.

The ride to the hospital was rough.  I was not prepared for how difficult it would be to experience contractions in a moving vehicle!  Rob drove very slowly, thankfully, and we called my mom on the way to let her know that she needed to start driving to get here (My mom is a nurse midwife who lives 2 hours away.  She had arranged with her partners to cover for her when I went into labor so she could be with me)!  My stepdad answered the phone and told us that my mom was taking a bath, but that he would pass along the message.

We arrived at the hospital and had to pull up to the Emergency Room since the main entrance was closed (after 9:00 PM).  Terra helped me up to the birth center to be admitted while Rob parked the car.  There were several contractions that were very intense between arriving and being checked in.  As I was led back to the hospital bed to be looked at, I had a giant contraction and I was all of the sudden very overwhelmed and teary.  The whole hospital experience was very abrupt and jarring for me, and after coming from my own home, it was a shock to my system to be in the bright, sterile surroundings of the hospital (without Rob still).  I got changed into a gown and then the nurse took my blood pressure, which was extremely high (I think from the stress of being at the hospital!).  They took off my socks and were shocked by how swollen my ankles were.  I assured the nurse that my ankles had been swollen for weeks, but that my blood pressure had been normal at my appointments and my midwife hadn?t been worried.  The nurse told me that they would need to take my blood, and then do lab work because of the blood pressure, and that if my blood pressure stayed high I wouldn?t be able to use the tub like I had planned for labor.  Ugh!  That did not help to make me calm.

The good news was that the nurse in triage checked my cervix and determined that I was 5 centimeters.  ?So I don?t have to go home?? I asked.  She assured me that we were definitely staying at the hospital and having a baby!

We walked over to the labor and delivery room from the triage area, and the nurse told me they hadn?t been successful in getting a hold of my midwife.  She said, ?That?s unusual- usually we get a hold of her right away,? and told me that the doctor from her office would be available if they still couldn?t reach her.  I was assured that the doctor who was part of the practice would deliver my baby if the midwife couldn?t be there.

We got settled into the room and they put in my hep-lock (as opposed to an IV, which meant I wouldn?t be attached the entire time to an IV, and I could be more mobile) and took blood for the lab work.  I really worked to breathe and relax because of the blood pressure scare, which worked because when they took my blood pressure again it was normal.  At this point, Rob called my mom again to let her know that we were definitely staying at the hospital tonight.  My stepdad told him that she was already on her way.  Yea!

The nurse gave me the okay to get in the jacuzzi tub and Rob got in with me (he had brought his swimming trunks for the occasion).  I was surprised by the fact that the jacuzzi tub didn?t really ease my pain during contractions.  The real benefit, in my opinion, was that the warm water made me feel more relaxed between contractions.  We were able to sit and talk and relax in the tub for quite a while- 45 minutes is my guess.  The only irritation was that I constantly had to use the bathroom, due to all the water I was drinking!  Terra had been very insistent on me drinking water after every single contraction to stay hydrated (and to avoid needing IV fluids!).  That was great, but every time I had to get out of the tub to reach the toilet was a giant ordeal, and I had to have Rob help me in and out of the tub.  I was also getting really cold when I was out of the tub and I would start shaking violently.  I would get back in the tub and warm up just in time to have to use the bathroom again!  Finally I had enough and got out of the tub.

Terra suggested that I try and labor on the birth ball since that had worked so well at home for me.  I got into a position where I was leaning forward on the raised hospital bed, with Rob and Terra behind me and supporting me.  This worked for quite a while as the contractions intensified.  I?m pretty sure that this is where the ?transition? phase began- the intense, very painful time when it is very common to say ?I can?t take it anymore!?.  We had learned about the different phases in our Bradley birth class and I have to admit that the descriptions were very true.  I was listening for my mom?s voice because I knew she should be getting there soon (I admit that I had my eye on the clock).  Rob got a call on his cell phone from my mom, who was in the parking lot, then she arrived at my room shortly afterward.

This part was all a blur to me because of the pain.  I know that my mom, Terra, and Rob did an amazing job comforting me and making sure I was tended to.  I remember Terra asking where my hair bands were, and then putting my hair up for me.  My mom was using cool washcloths to soothe me- I know I kept complaining about how hot I was.  She also started applying pressure to my back, which felt good but not in the way I had imagined.  I remember Rob being an awesome Bradley Dad as he helped pinpoint areas of tension in my body.  By this point, all he had to do was touch my forehead or hands if he saw that they were clenched, and that reminded me to relax.  Around this time, my mom told me that my midwife had arrived.  I remember her coming through the door looking very very tired, and I felt such a sense of relief? I was going to have a midwife for my daughter?s birth after all!

I laid down in the hospital bed somewhere near the end because of the pain.  I remember the sounds I was making- loud, low groans that did not sound like me anymore.  It really was the only way to get through the contractions.  I started saying things like, ?It hurts too much,? and ?I can?t do this anymore,? and thankfully no one offered me pain medication.  I definitely would have taken it if someone had even suggested it!  Everyone in the room made sure to tell me what a great job I was doing, which maybe didn?t seem to have any effect on me, but it really encouraged me.  My midwife also said something at this point that helped so much between contractions.  I kept repeating how much it hurt, and she said, ?But Sarah, it doesn?t hurt now.  You?re between contractions.  Take this time to relax? don?t think about the next one.?  Somehow, hearing that from her really helped me.  I was writhing in the bed from the pain and just trying to get some relief.  My midwife checked me again and told me I was 10 centimeters but still had a little lip of cervix that remained.  She said I could start to bear down as the contractions came if I felt the urge.  I did feel the urge, but bearing down was really painful, more so than the contractions themselves.  My water still hadn?t broken, but the midwife said she could break my water if I wanted her to.  ?YES!?  I said- I definitely did.  She used a long hook- much like a crochet hook but longer- and broke my water, which felt like a very warm gush.

The most surreal moment of labor came when I was lying on the bed- it must have been after I was at 10 cm because I was starting to have these little breaks in between contractions (unlike transition, where the contractions were coming one after another).  I was closing my eyes to relax and as each contraction would taper off, I would drift off to sleep.  My mom said these little catnaps were about 20 seconds each.  I would wake up to the next contraction coming and open my eyes, and the most caring, sweet faces in the world would be looking at me, in total silence.  It was very dreamlike.

Then it was time to push.  While the pushing was the most painful part of the entire process (I resisted pushing at first because it hurt so much), it also seemed very short to me.  I thought I would want to push in an upright squatting position, so my midwife had the squat bar put on the bed.  After a few contractions, I changed my mind and wanted to lay back a little more in bed.  It was exhausting to try and stay upright as well as push effectively.  My mom and Terra each held a leg while I pushed with each contraction.  My mom ended up being the one who coached me through this part of the birth.  Since she is a  midwife, I was curious about what her role would be. She cheered me on and was very vocal about what a great pusher I was!  I had a mirror that I could look in, and I was able to feel the head as it descended (very soft, didn?t feel like a head to me!).  The excitement in the room kept elevating as the head was crowning, and I saw Iris?s head facing down as the head was out- amazing!  One more giant push, and her whole body was out- and being handed up to me!  Iris Amelia was born at 3:32 AM on January 11th, weighing 8 lbs 5 oz.  My doula said I pushed for 40 minutes.

It was beyond amazing as I looked at this screaming, wet pudgy creature and tried to process what had just happened.  Her hair was dark and wet, and her body was so alive with force.  We have a video that was taken in the moments after she was put on my chest, and Rob and I seem at a loss for words.  We want to say something, but we just stumble over the words.  All I could think of was, ?This is Iris, this is my daughter.?  Amazing.

I am so glad that we opted for an unmedicated birth? while it was difficult and sweaty and messy, I wouldn?t trade the experience for the world.  I am incredibly proud that I was able to do it, with the help of an incredible support team.