Silas Kilian's water birth story (long)

coco2787 · September 2013

I found out I was pregnant on November 12, 2012. My estimated due date was July 25^th, 2013.

On the morning of July 25^th I had my 40 week appointment at the birth center. Appointment went normally, baby sounded good but still somewhat high in my pelvis. I was doing fine, feeling pretty normal. I had been having some cramping off and on in the last couple days, but mostly when I exerted myself too much (I had been doing a lot of unpacking). They were inconsistent, irregular, and not painful. I didn’t think much of them since I know cramping can happen days or weeks before true labor starts. I started losing my mucus plug on the morning of the 25^th which continued throughout the day. I also didn’t think much of this because it isn’t always a sign of imminent labor. By late night on the 25^th I was having contractions that I could actually feel, but they were irregular. Around 8 am on July 26^th I was awoken by a painful contraction. I attempted to go back to sleep because if this was labor I wanted to get as must rest as possible. I figured I would have 20-30 minutes between contractions and would be able to at least doze. Unfortunately, they started coming about 10 minutes apart right away and were too painful to sleep through. I stayed in bed trying to relax and hoping I would get some longer breaks. Within an hour they were 5-10 minutes apart lasting about a minute. They still weren’t super painful but I couldn’t get comfortable in bed and knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep. I ate some cereal and lounged around and timed my contractions which were closer to 5 minutes apart, until about noon when I woke Sam up and told him I was pretty sure I was in labor.

Over the next 3 hours I worked through contractions, trying different positions to make them more bearable. They were painful but not excruciating by any means. Around 3 I had an intense contraction that made me throw up. After that I called the midwife, who told me to call back in 2 hours, or sooner if things progressed quickly. Contractions continued to come steadily for the next two hours and were on average 5 minutes apart and a minute long. I worked through them as best I could, I found that being on all fours and leaning over the arm of the couch was the most comfortable. I managed to get half a turkey sandwich down, but ended up throwing that up too. Called the midwife back around 5 and told updated her, and she told me that if I felt ready I could head to the birth center and she would meet us there. I decided to go even though contractions weren’t excruciating yet; I didn’t want to wait until they were or I knew the car ride would be hell. We got some last minute items together and headed out around 5:30. The car ride wasn’t too horrible, and we arrived at the birth center around 6. The midwife checked my cervix when we arrived (I was so worried I hadn't made much progress) and I was fully effaced and almost 4 cm. I was so relieved I wouldn’t have to go back home.

For the next few hours we lounged around, working through contractions and trying to get some food down. Unfortunately, everything I ate came back up at some point. Around 9 the midwife checked me again to see if we should start antibiotics for B strep and I was at 6 cm. After 4 failed attempts to get an IV in me, (I have tiny veins and was dehydrated at this point) she gave up and we decided to use an antibacterial wash instead. I was disappointed mostly because she was going to give me some IV fluids as well since I wasn’t keeping anything down.

Labor and contractions continued to steadily progress, and at about 10:30 I was throwing up (again) and felt a pop and a gush as my water broke, probably from the pressure of my heaving. After that contractions got noticeably more intense and closer together. My midwife suggested I get in the tub for a while, which sounded good. The next several hours are kind of a blur. I labored between the tub and the bed as things intensified. During transition I threw up a lot, often in the middle of contractions, making it hard to catch a breath. The midwife would check the baby’s heartbeat after this happened to make sure he was tolerating everything okay. He sounded perfect every time. I started feeling pressure around 2:30 and had the urge to push during some contractions. Active pushing started around 3:30, and was extremely intense. There was a lot of involuntary yelling during this time; the pressure was awful.

The midwife put fresh water in the tub and I got back in for the final stage. Around 4:20 am he started crowning and my midwife told me to reach down and feel his head. I felt soft hair and it kind of freaked me out, it’s weird to feel that coming out of you. The pain of him crowning was incredible, and it was taking a long time to get his head out. Because it was taking so long for his head to come out the, at one point the midwife had to reach into the tub and push his head back in because she didn’t want it to be compressed for too long. She warned me she was going to do it, but I wanted to cry after all my hard work. The last thing anyone would want in this situation is to put the baby back in. She assured me it would come back out easily with the next contraction, which it did. After about two more pushes the midwife suggested I get on my hands and knees for the final push and to help move him into a better position. I was given the go ahead to push between contractions but I did not have the strength to do it; I knew I would have to wait for another contraction to push him out.

With another contraction his head was finally out and the midwife told me that with the next push I would have my baby. I tried to stay calm and breathe while I waited for the next contraction, which seemed to take forever to come. Finally, I felt the urge to push again and at 4:43 am, out he came. I reached down and pulled him out of the water and on to my chest. He didn't even cry, he just stared and me and looked bewildered. Everything in those moments was very surreal; it was hard to believe he was here. His head was slightly bruised and pinched in one spot from him crowning for so long, but other than that, he was perfect.

7lbs 14.5 oz

20 1/4 inches

Labor and delivery was the hardest thing I've ever done, but it was worth it and I wouldn't have wanted to do it any other way. At no point did I feel like I HAD to have pain medicine and I never let the thought that I couldn't do it cross my mind. I held him skin to skin right away and delayed cord cutting. Natural childbirth is an amazing experience and was proof to me that we are all stronger than we might think we are.

Here's a picture if you made it to the end