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November 2014 Moms
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The Birth of William Isaac - Positive Birth Story! (long)

highbornhunterhighbornhunter member
in November 2014 Moms

I woke up early on the morning of November 5th having more contractions.  This was nothing new, had been happening on and off for a week or so.  My NST appointment was scheduled for 10:30 that morning.  I had my cervix checked and I was at 3 cm, 80% effaced.  Passed the NST with flying colors, Dr. O’Malley said I could deliver at any Time.  At about 2 PM, Tim (my husband) and I went for a walk around the mall, and I had Chinese food.  My contractions started to get more intense while walking and when we were eating.  I came home and got into the bathtub and listened to music for a while and sang along with some of my favorite chick rock (Melissa Etheridge, Adele, etc – ladies with alto voices who really belt it out)The contractions were becoming longer, stronger and closer together just like they talked about in birthing class.   I called my doctor’s office and let them know what was going on and they said to come in.   The contractions got even stronger in the car. I called my doula, Kim, from the lobby of the hospital because the contractions were strong enough I felt very sure that I would not be going back home that night. We also called my parents who are 4 hours away so they could start on their way to us. 

My doula got to the hospital when we were in triage/assessment, at 5:30 PM.  When they did another pelvic exam, I was at 4 cm and 95% effaced.  We were quickly moved to a birthing suite.  My midwife was Charley and my nurse was Bethany.  They were great about not making me stay on monitors, so I could move and change positions freely.  They just came and checked the baby’s heart rate about every hour.  I labored in the tub first with Tim rubbing my lower back.  During contractions in the tub, I stared at the bubbles.  Then I labored on the bed in modified child’s pose on the birthing ball.  Other labor positions I tried were standing by the bed and leaning against the birthing ball, sitting on the ball, and leaning over the back of the bed.  Something that helped me feel really loved and supported was that I had Tim put my music from my Ipod on, and the first song he played from my birthing playlist was “our” song – Arms, by Christina Perry.  Sharing that memory with our doula made me feel good and connected to Tim and to our baby.  I felt nauseous at times; it came and went in waves.  A red and white peppermint (my favorite) from my birthing bag helped a lot with that. 

Around 8:30 I said to Kim that the contractions were really long and intense and I was starting to think about the code word we had set up for me to say if I wanted an epidural.  (Whovians/Geeks on this board will appreciate that the phrase was “Bad Wolf”)  I asked for more reinforcement and encouragement.  An epidural wouldn’t have given me what I wanted anyway.  All I really needed was just a little more of a break between contractions.   This was also when I started to take long deep inhales and make long deep OM sound on the exhale.  I figured out that the end of the contraction was rarely more than 5 breaths away, usually only 3.  So as I finished each exhale I would think “Okay, 3 more – Okay, 2 more, etc.”  That really helped through the most intense part of it.   They checked my pelvis again at 9:45 PM and I was at 7 cm.  Kim notes that I seemed to get a burst of energy around that time. I was getting a break between contractions and I said “on the positive side, the nausea went away!” At 10:30 PM, my mom and dad finally got there.  My mom came into the birthing suite and stayed with me through a few contractions.  I remember being so happy to see her, and smell her perfume.  I told her she smelled like home.  She was getting teary and I told her if it was too much she could go back out.  She said it was easier going through it herself than watching me go through it. 

My water broke at 10:45 after a pelvic exam – 10 cm!  Pushing was hard; at first I wasn’t holding my breath long enough or pushing long enough.  I felt the burning sensation of his head coming down and it scared me.  I remember beating on TIM’s chest while he held me.  TIM, my doula and the midwife helped me get calm and centered again.  I had to push through that burning sensation, on the other side of it; I was going to meet my baby.  The midwife let me know they like to see 30-40 seconds of pushing per contraction; otherwise it was going to take a very long time to get him out.  I asked my husband to count while I pushed.  That helped a lot and listening to him count gave me something to focus on, a specific goal to work towards.  We had been joined by another nurse, Brittany at this point.  From my doula’s notes: “The new nurse, Brittany was in awe of Suzanne’s strength.”  I remember Brittany and Bethany both being impressed with how calm I was. 

William Isaac was born at 12:11 AM.  He cried and was pink almost immediately. I saw him and said “he’s huge!” (not really - he was 7 lbs, 6 oz - 19 1/2 inches) There was some meconium present when my water broke, so he was checked over quickly by the NICU doctor while the midwife started to give me stitches for a small tear.  Then they put him on my chest, and he breastfed for the first time.   I felt so many things, happy, energized, strong.  I feel more love for Tim and William every day.  Watching Tim with our son is amazing.  I never had any doubts he would be an amazing father, and he’s even more loving and wonderful than I thought.  Pro tip for the delivery suite from DH to your husbands/partners/coaches - Take your shoes off. He said he was more comfortable, his footing was better and able to get into better positions to rub my back.  

If you are still reading at this point, thank you!  I share the story hoping to inspire you who have yet to meet your babies. 

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