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3rd Trimester
silverflowers
member
Birth story: Au Natural with a twist ending (very long)
silverflowers
member
Birth Story
July 4:
My due date came and went. At about this time, there was so much anticipation from my friends and family that I was already beginning to feel 2 weeks overdue. Yet I remained very patient. My midwives ran NST tests and Bio-Physicals to make sure baby was doing ok. Everything showed she was healthy and we decided to let things continue to progress naturally. No rushing an induction.
July 9:
Approaching the 41 week mark. No loss of mucus plug. No bloody show. Barely 20% effaced and only a fingertip dilated. Hmmm... time to reach into our bag of tricks. Midwives had me increase my Evening Primrose Oil to four capsules vaginally. They also started me on a black cohosh tincture, breast pump 3x a day, walking and red raspberry leaf tea. I had been having many contractions for weeks, very mild with some cramping, but no pattern. Sometimes they would come on rather strong and steady for a few hours, only to disappear and return days later. Frustrating.
July 12:
Midwives did internal exam and tried "wiggling" open the cervix a bit. I had a low-lying placenta, with the tip just barely touching the cervix OS, so they did not want to disturb it by sweeping the membranes. It worked. Came home and lost my mucus plug and contractions continued but stayed mild and irregular.
July 14:
Midwives felt my cervix was ripening enough to try castor oil.. They gave me a neat castor oil recipe to try. That evening I went to the store with my husband and bought all the ingredients. Castor oil, chocolate ice cream and milk. Mixed in to a nice shake that tasted pretty good. The oil mixed in nicely with the ice cream. I took it at 6 p.m. that night and waited... by 8 p.m., I could feel the effects working on my digestion, which wasn't that bad. By 8:30, I had some REAL contractions... the kind that had a definite beginning, peak and end. Felt like a rush or a wave vs. the BH general tightening across the belly. Finally!! I grabbed my iPhone and began timing with the Contraction Master app. They were around 6-8 minutes apart, some lasting a minute or longer. Yay! I told myself not to get too excited and just keep busy. I tidied up the house and went to bed. Contractions continued regularly throughout the night, but I was able to sleep through most of them.
July 15:
Woke up at 6 a.m. still feeling contractions. I felt encouraged that they didn't fade away during the night like they usually do. I went to the bathroom and noticed I had bloody show. YAY! Finally! I timed my contractions more and found they were 3-4 minutes apart. I called the birthing center and the midwife said it sounded like early labor. I told my husband to call in to work cause he wasn't going in that day. We drove to the birthing center which was 30 minutes from our house. The contractions were intensifying to where I had to focus more and breathe through them. We arrived and the midwife checked me. I was 70% effaced but only 2 cm. Hmm... ok. Not bad. But I figured I would be further along. The midwife suggested I go home and do more walking with rest/naps in between. She expected to hear from me again that afternoon. So the husband and I texted our parents to keep them on standby and drove to Starbucks for breakfast. We walked and window-shopped for over an hour. Then my husband noticed I seemed really normal, too normal. "Are you having any more contractions?" I stopped and realized it had been quite a while since my last one. Bummer. We drove home and I took a long nap. Woke up that afternoon and welcomed MIL who drove up from Corpus Christi. We planned to have her stay with us the first week our daughter was born and decided to have her come up at the first sign of labor. We continued throughout the day as normal but I was bummed the contractions never returned.
July 16:
I returned to the birthing center for another quick NST and went shopping with MIL that afternoon. Suddenly I was hit with a really hard contraction out of nowhere. I let out a "whhoooo!" and doubled over as it rushed in. DH and MIL both held my elbows as I leaned on them. As it faded, they both looked very surprised and we all decided to go home. We watched tv for a while and I fell asleep in DH's lap. At 6:30 p.m. I sprung up from another strong contraction. Ouch! That hurt. Over the next 2 hours, they kept coming. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply through each one. DH and MIL started timing... 4 minutes apart, 90 seconds long. We went for another walk at our dog park for about 1 hour. We came home and continued timing... 2-3 minutes apart, 60-90 seconds long and intensifying. I called the midwife and she told me to meet her at the birthing center later that night.
We arrived at 10:30 p.m. where she checked me at 2 cm and 70% effaced. Still... ugh! But she felt my contractions were strong and close enough to officially admit me to the birthing center. She had DH and I walk the halls for a while. We walked and squatted with each contraction. DH coached me through each one, telling me to breathe and relax my shoulders whenever I would tense up. We returned to our room where DH and I decided to catch some zzzz. I was able to drift off a little but when the contractions came, I couldn't stand to be lying down. I sprung out of bed and spent some time on the toilet. Oh, that felt so good. DH started the shower and had me stand under the hot water for a while. He held me as I squatted during each contraction while the hot water poured over me. I felt like I was in heaven in the shower and didn't want to get out.... until the nausea hit. DH helped me dry off and on to the birthing ball where I bounced and rocked for about 2 hours. The midwife had me eat some light food and drink RRL tea to stay hydrated. Being mobile while laboring was important to me, and eating and drinking helped me avoid being strapped to an IV.
Time to get back in to bed. I knew sleeping was the best thing I could do. I didn't want to get all the way to the end of my labor only to have no energy to push, so we snuggled in. Since I couldn't tolerate laying down, every time a contraction rushed in, I would turn over on to my hands and knees in the bed and rock through every rush. This felt great! I moaned and let out low roaring sounds as the tightening peaked and faded away. Then I turned back over and slept. I was amazed how my body just naturally sank into a deep sleep in between contractions.
July 17:
At 4 a.m., I felt another contraction rush in. I flipped to my hands and knees, rocked my pelvis and let it pass. Suddenly I felt very sick and vomited all over my pillow. I felt more was coming so I stumbled to the bathroom and finished vomiting in the toilet. The midwife came in and checked the bed. My husband exclaimed I had a double-blow-out. I came back in to the room only to see not only did I vomit, but my water broke all over the bed. It was clear and no meconium. The midwife examined the fluid and confirmed it was in fact my amniotic fluid. She checked me at 4 cm and 70% effaced.
From here the contractions were closer and stronger. I alternated between the toilet, the ball, the shower and even tried the tub for a while. I would get uncomfortable quickly in every position and change to something else. My mind was spinning but I kept telling myself to keep going, that I was almost there. Time really seemed to be flying. It was hard to believe I had been laboring for 12 hours already. It felt like 3 hours. My mind was in this zone and I felt like I was tuning the outside world out.
By 10 a.m. I was sure I was in transition. The contractions were incredibly rough and close together. I spent the rest of labor in bed sleeping in between while DH keep a heating pad pressed in my back for every rush.
By noon, I told the midwife I felt like my body was trying to push. It really felt like I was going to poop out the baby at the peak of each contraction. She checked me and said I was only at 5 cm, 70% effaced and at a -1 station. WHAT THE F@*@*?!?! How could that be? The midwife felt like baby was stuck and my body was working too hard to get her out. She had been monitoring the heartbeat with a dopplar intermittently all throughout labor, but this time she got very concerned. "This doesn't sound right," she said. The assistant in the room asked if the machine was picking up my heart beat instead of the baby's because it was really slow, about 60 bpm. Sadly, It wasn't me... it was the baby. She monitored the heart rate through about 4 contractions and determined the baby's heart rate was dangerously low. Poor baby wasn't tolerating these contractions. I don't blame her, they were killing me too. The midwives told me we needed to transfer asap. I cried. There goes the natural birth I pictured. But within about 2 seconds, I snapped into gear and was determined to do whatever necessary to save my baby.
The midwives called the hospital and briefed the on-call OB and staff of my situation. DH and my family scrambled for our bags and we were off to the hospital only 3 minutes down the road. The midwives had everyone on standby and had my files ready to transfer over for a quick and smooth transition. As I was being wheeled to Labor and Delivery, we interrupted a hospital tour for pregnant couples. About 20 sets of soon-to-be moms and dads witnessed me being rushed through all huffing and puffing and DH in a panic. You could see all their faces drop. I hated being a spectacle and I didn't want to frighten them. I actually told myself not to have a contraction in front of all these people and was very thankful I didn't.
I had a swarm of nurses hooking me up to every machine imaginable. My DH pressed his face in to mine and encouraged me through every contraction. I was screaming and hating the nice lady asking me questions and checking me in. The doctor checked the monitor and said there's a chance I could still have a vaginal delivery, but highly suggested a narcotic or epidural to help me. Labor could potentially go on much longer and the rest from the epidural might help it progress. I considered it. But not 30 seconds later, the baby's low heart rate convinced everyone we needed an emergency c-section. I cried again and DH reminded me how great a job I did. For a second, I felt like a failure, but I soon realized this was out of our control. I knew this was the right choice and that this intervention was completely necessary. Suddenly I got a rush of confidence. Let's do this!
2:15 p.m.
I was escorted in to the OR and the staff was quick to get me the spinal block and prepped for surgery. DH held my hand, kept kissing my forehead and telling me how much he loved me. He cried when he told me we were just about to meet our baby. I couldn't believe it. Before I knew it, I heard the nurse behind me exclaim "wow, she has a lot of hair!" I was shocked and didn't realize they had already cut me open.
At 2:25 p.m., my darling Zoe Abigail was born at 7 lbs, 12 oz and 20.5 inches in length. She had a tight nuchal chord wrapped around her neck twice. I was later told this kept her from descending or allowing me to efface/dialate correctly. She was pale and needed oxygen. The doctor didn't want her to breathe right away for fear of meconium. I could barely see around the curtain as the staff at the table worked vigorously helping her breathe as they cleaned her. DH wheeled his chair over to see her and turned back to say she had my ears. DH later told me the sight of her made him very scared because she wasn't breathing. So he came back over to my side and kept encouraging me. Within a few seconds we heard her first cry. I lost it and began sobbing... but I was so happy and relieved and couldn't believe I was actually hearing her voice. I told DH to go see her and he did. They brought her up to my face and I will never forget that first sight. I pressed my face up to hers and kissed her. She was absolutely PERFECT! Her APGAR scores were 5 at one minute and 9 at five minutes.
DH said bye to me as he went with Zoe to be cleaned and examined. I was stitched up (which felt like forever) and brought to the recovery room where I slept. I awoke to DH and the nurse handing me Zoe a few hours later. They said she was hungry... they weren't kidding. She latched on like a champ and breastfed for over 30 minutes. The bonding time I was so worried losing in a c-section about was fully restored as I fed her. What an amazing high!
We stayed in the hospital for the next several days. Recovery went incredibly well and I was up and walking by day 2. They let her room in with us, which gave me full access to feed her on demand and bond with her and my husband. My milk came in at 2 days postpartum and by discharge, she gained back 5 ounces of her weight (after losing 6). She was monitored in the NICU for a short time just to confirm nothing was wrong with her heart, but she proved to be healthy and strong in every aspect.
Now we're home adjusting to life with this precious child. EVERYTHING is different and I am loving every minute with her. I can't stop staring and marveling at this life we just made. I've lived my whole life without my daughter, and now I can't imagine my life without her. I never knew love for someone could be this intense and deep. And I melt every time DH spends time with her. This is the most amazing experience.
Overall, I feel wonderful about our birth experience even though it took a twist at the end. DH and I prepared for a natural childbirth but always knew to be ready for an emergency just in case. I'm glad we had that mental preparation, otherwise I can easily see how I could have felt cheated out of the experience we so longed for. I was thrilled to be able to labor in the manner we wanted at the birthing center. That was the best experience. And when the time came to transfer, I felt confident this was the right choice. Of all the interventions we so carefully avoided, we felt this one was very necessary and were thankful for the wonderful trained staff who were there to help. I wouldn't change a thing.
I think the next time around, we will definitely go for a VBAC. Having seen both sides (the au natural and the emergency c-section) I know very well we can trust the doctors and midwives caring for us that things will go wonderfully, no matter which direction our birth takes us.
Good luck ladies. The fun is about to start. You will forget every frustration about your pregnancy once you hold that LO in your arms. God bless!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Birth story: Au Natural with a twist ending (very long)
What a wonderful story, an incredibly positive outlook on your part, and an absolutely gorgeous daughter!
You give me hope as I am someone who has had early labor start and stop several times now in the last week, and I keep wondering if things are going to progress!
Congratulations to you and your new beautiful family!
She is absolutely adorable! I am so glad that the midwife noticed something was wrong right a way
GL to you.
Oh btw I just love the 2nd picture of Zoe where she is smiling...it is so cute. I know it makes everything you went through worthwhile.
Zoe is gorgeous. Congrats and GL!
Such a wonderful birth story. I'm so glad the MW recognized the danger & immediately transferred you. You had such a great outlook on the whole situation. I can only hope to be as strong as you were.
Zoe is gorgeous !!!
I loved the pics you posted. Thank you for sharing.
I really really enjoyed reading that. As someone who hopes for a natural birth but is trying to mentally prepare for the alternatives - your story gives me a sense of relief. Thank you so much for posting that!
Your little Zoe is BEAUTIFUL and her mommy is quite the warrior enduring labor as long as you did!
I sat here at my desk at work crying like a baby reading this! Beautiful story!