5 hour, Med-free, hypno Birth (LONG)

Here are the details of my second daughter?s birth.

On Friday, September 24, 2010, 6:30pm, I got a acupressure massage from a woman who had a reputation for putting women into labor.  I was 40 weeks and 4 days along.  I had the massage, then went home.

Saturday morning, I woke up around 4am.  I went to the bathroom and came back and laid down.  I started to feel contractions.  They were more intense than my ?starter? contractions had been the previous weeks.  I started to time them and they were all over the place ? 6, 7, 9, 12 minutes. 

Around 6:30am, DD1 came into the bed.  I went into the bathroom and played on my phone while just sitting on the toilet.  The contractions lowered in intensity, but I stayed in there for about a half-hour.  

When I came out, DH asked me if we were going to have a baby today, and I told that yes I thought so.  He told me to call my parents and I called them and woke them up at 7:30am. I told them that I was having contractions, but they were fairly sporadic.  It was up to them if they wanted to start getting up and moving (5 hour drive), but I thought this was it.

DH and DD1 were still in bed and I tried to cuddle with them, but DD wanted nothing to do with me.  L  They got up and were in the bathroom while I started making breakfast in the kitchen.

I called my doula around 8am and told her that things were progressing and to give her a heads up.  I told her that the contractions were sporadic, but around 5 minutes apart.  She asked what our plans for the day were, and I told her that we were thinking of going to an air show at the nearby airport.  She said to go ahead and go and call her when things changed.

About now, DD had a MAJOR tantrum on the potty.  DH and I looked at each other, like, oh please not today!  I went into her and talked to her and calmed her down and got her in a better mood.  In the middle of it, I had a contraction and had to pause while talking.  I closed my eyes and DD kept saying, Mommy wake up! 

At 9am, I posted on Facebook that it was Birthing Day.  DD and I were watching Dora in the living room.  I was loading the Hypnobabies tracks my ipod that I wanted to listen to.  By this time, the contractions were getting to the point where I needed to focus on them.  I called my parents and told them that if there were any doubts, that they needed to definitely come.  They were almost ready to leave.

I told DH that I was retreating to my bedroom with my birthing ball, Hypnobabies tracks loaded, my Hypnobabies quick reference guide, a PB sandwich and some water. 

I called my midwife and I told her ?I am going to have a baby today!?  I was so happy that I didn?t have to go to the hospital for an induction.  She told me to call when the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart.  I started out on the ball, and every time the contractions started, I leaned my head against my bed and listened to my Hypnobabies and used my light switch. It was helpful in relaxing, but there definitely was no loss of sensation.

Around 9:30am, DH said we should call my doula again.  I called and she listened to me have 2 contractions.  I told her they were about 5 minutes apart, and she later told me they were 4 minutes apart.  She said she had to take a shower and she?d be right over (30 minute drive).

At this point, I had to focus on the contractions intensely.  My back started hurting so I needed DH to rub my back during each contraction.  He was getting flustered because DD was calling him, he was trying to get himself ready, deal with the dogs, etc. 

We called my doula as she was pulling into the driveway.  She came in while I was in the middle of a wave.  I was now laying on my birth ball on my knees.  I said ?hi? very pitifully, and she said Hi back very calm and quietly, just watching me.  She came over to me and another one hit me. DH and she rubbed my back.  At this point the contractions were about every 3 minutes and lasting about 1 minute long. 

I started crying and told her I couldn?t do this much longer.  I was now vocalizing with each contraction, and asked DH to bring a towel because I could feel my bag of water bulging inside.  She told me that it would take as long as it took to labor my baby out.  Of course, at the time, I only vaguely realized I was in transition.  My bottom lip was quivering every time I contracted and I felt like I would throw up.  By this time I had torn the headphones off my ears ? the hypnobabies tracks were more distracting than anything.

The ONLY way I was making it through was by focusing only on that one contraction.  If I started to think about future contractions while in one, then I tensed up and freaked out.  But I kept telling myself to relax, "Peace" and focused on the "wave" of each.   

My doula told DH that we needed to go now.  He ran around and tried to get everything ready.  My doula had only been at the house maybe 10 minutes before we were in the car.  We got into the back of the minivan and DH loaded DD up.  The music was blaring kids music and I told DH to ?turn that effing music OFF!?  Only the first of several f-bombs to be dropped in the next hour.

The car ride was excruciating.  My back was in so much pain, which confused me since I knew she was in a great position.  My doula told me that it was because the baby was so low, she was pressing on my bones.

My doula told DH to go some crazy way to the birth center.  They missed a turn and ended up going down a road with many lights, and down a very curvy back road.  It was awful.  I had about 5-6 contractions in the car.  Almost towards the end, I told my doula that I was pushing.  She said that was fine, just do what my body wanted.  She told me that I was very relaxed, my hands and face were relaxed and that I was doing a great job.

We pulled into the birth center (around 12:20p) and luckily my MW was there already.  I burst in and made a beeline for the birthing room.  But MW told me I had to go to the exam room first.  I said ?do I really? I?m pushing.?  She moved me to the birthing room and after about 2 more contractions, they go me situated so that she could examine me.  I was fully dilated and baby was at a +3.  MW went outside and called the birthing assistants, who luckily were nearby.

At some point, I was on my side and DH tried to ask me if I wanted DD there. My doula told me to open my eyes and look at him, and I remember thinking ? you expect me to make a decision at this point??  I told him yes, then no, I didn?t want her to see me like this.  I was vocalizing loudly at this point, and I was afraid of scaring her.  I told my doula that I was hurting, and she told me that if I wanted I could push my baby out right now.

I asked about the tub and they started to fill it up ? it was so freaking slow!!  I had been pushing with every contraction, and when the tub had about 6 inches of water in it, I got it.  There were bars on the side for me to grip and I used those while kneeling in the tub.  They wanted me turned around, and eventually I did so they could listen to the baby. 

DH had brought in DD and they were sitting quietly next to the tub.  In between a contraction I told her, remember I said that Mommy would make funny noises?  And she laughed and said Yes.

Around this time, the pain was getting very intense, mostly due to my trauma from DD?s birth.  It was burning and so I knew the baby was close.  It was hurting at the top opening of my vagina and my midwife told me to put my hand there, but I just couldn?t.  I had to hold onto something, which ended up being my doula?s ankles.  She had gotten behind me on the edge of the corner tub and I was leaning against the tub and her.  She talked to me throughout the whole thing and kept telling me to open my mouth when I was pushing.  I guess I was getting too shrill and not getting enough air.  In between, I was breathing very fast, and she had to remind me to slow my breathing down.  They gave me some water, which was very needed.

I was almost crying in pain because I was almost to the ring of fire, plus my trauma issue.  At some point, I told them to get this baby out!  My midwife told me that with the next contraction I just needed to bear down and push.  I did that about 4 times in the one contraction.  I could feel the baby?s head was right there.  The last contraction, I pushed and she crowned, then her head came out and then her body!  She shot out so fast!  The midwife grabbed her and brought her to me.  I held her in a daze and saw her hair, her face.

Everyone said how beautiful she was.  My doula told me that her very round head was the reason for the back labor.  She did not have a cone head at all.  She was born at 12:41pm ? 20 minutes after we got to the birth center.

Within 5 minutes my MW said that the placenta was ready.  She had me feel to see that the cord had stopped pulsating and Dh and DD helped cut the cord.  I handed Zoe to DH and I delivered the placenta in one push.  It was much easier than the baby!  More squishy!

They cleaned me up and got me to the bed.  Zoe came to me and we did skin to skin and she started nursing within 10 minutes.  I was still in extreme pain and MW checked me out and said I had a 2^nd degree tear.  She gave me two shots of lidocaine (which I didn?t feel at all) and took her time stitching me up. 

Things slowed down considerably.  Everyone gave us time with Zoe, and we just nursed and talked.  DD was watching TV in the family waiting room.  Eventually we ordered lunch, and then I took a shower. 

We left for home about 4:30pm, which was so nice to be able to be in my own house.

Things that were great:

-          My doula's support.  DH was getting pulled in several directions at home trying to take care of me, finish packing our bags, taking care of the dogs and DD.  She was very calming to me and kept me calm.  She was esstential, especially with having no one able to care for DD (our back up care wasn't available).

-          Hypnobabies ? It really did work for the beginning and active stages.  I was able to use the cues to focus.  During transition, it helped me focus on the pain and to really relax, but I had to use my own thoughts for this.

-          The birth center ? Everything was the way I wanted it, which allowed me to relax.

-          Coming home ? it was so much nicer to sleep in my own bed, relax in our house.  DD1 was able to be in her own space with both Mommy and Daddy there. 

-          DD watching the birth.  She was so curious, not scared at all about the noises I was making, or the pain was in.  After Zoe was born, she looked at me and said ?she came out of your vagina!?  We?ve talked about it since and I am so happy that she was able to see the birth and understand where Zo? came from.

Things that sucked:

-          back labor.  It was excruciating and unexpected since I knew Zoe was in a good position.  It was worse than the contractions, and I feel I would have been able to handle things better without it.  The uterus pain would have been much more manageable.

-          The car ride to the birth center.  On the way, I told my doula that this was why I wanted a home birth, but DH nixed the idea.  He wanted to be closer to the hospital in case something happened.  Of course, I never expected to be going through transition in the car.

-          The ring of fire and my pain issue.  The pain issue really intensified the pushing phase, and I felt none of the relief that most women talk about.  I was scared about the pain I was feeling and rushed through the process to get her out, tearing in the process.

Thanks for reading!