Well it's about time I got around to doing this. Actually, it's about time I just gave myself the time to do this. I wanted to share my story because it's unique, which is an unfortunate commentary on how messed up the process of having babies in this country is. Of course that's just my opinion, I may be wrong (thank you Dennis Miller for that statement).
Addison is (let me check the calendar) 14 weeks old now. I wanted to initially start this while I was still prego to share our story, but again that time factor got in the way. So let me re-cap my experiences during the pregnancy. This wasn't a fully planned trip we went on, which makes it an even greater blessing in my eyes. I found out I was pregnant at the end of May 2009. I didn't have health insurance of any kind and was deep in the running of our Chiropractic clinic. Being self employed I quickly realized how expensive insurance was going to be with maternity coverage. In the ball park of $260/month with a minimum 2000$ deductible. So catastrophic only it was. (There's another lesson in there for another time, but the quick n dirty is there's always a cash price... always.)
I knew I didn't want a traditional hospital birth and really wanted to have a water birth. I had no idea how I was going to make this happen. Well one quick search on the internet answered all of my concerns. The Charleston Birth Place! They had it all and all the way I wanted to do it. I had started pre-natal vitamins right away that I purchased from the health food store. Adding in pre-natal DHA is also a must. So my first pre-natal appointment wasn't until the end of July. Why do you ask? Why not I say. I was healthy and young with no medical conditions. I had enough symptoms of pregnancy and the pee stick confirmed it for me, twice. If I were to go the traditional route I would have had an ultrasound immediately to confirm the pregnancy. Well guess what? That pee stick is just as valuable, matched up with all my symptoms, there was no need for an unnecessary test.
All of my pre-natal appointments were a wonderful educational experience. I was educated about all the body changes, emotional changes, preparation for the birth and caring for a newborn as I progressed through the pregnancy. Oh, and the cost... Did you know that a low risk, run of the mill hospital birth will cost your insurance company nearly $30k?!! Birth center cost... just a little more than 10% of that. I had one ultrasound to check on the size of the baby and tell us the sex.
Leading up to the birth we were coached on what to do once I was in labor. That included laboring at home as long as possible. None of this going in once contractions get intense stuff.
So now what you've all been waiting for... the delivery...
So, my calculated due date, which was a crap-shoot estimate at best, was January 20th. The due date calculated based on her size when we had the ultrasound done ended up being the 13th. My first weekly appointment where they checked to see if I was dilated I was at 2cm. Several days before the 13th I started doing things from the list "how to encourage labor", and I started to notice changes after trying a couple of things. So there I was... the morning of the 13th, a Wednesday. I had been taking off the mornings that week so I could rest as much as possible. I was going to take each of our 3 dogs on a short walk (well more of a waddle for me). I was having some discomfort in my lower back and was hoping the walking would help. When I went to take the final dog (QP) on her walk our youngest furry child, Ladson got out. This part few people have heard.
Ladson of course didn't care that I was 9 months pregnant and decided to go over behind the neighbors house and run like a crazy dog along the fence with their dog. I couldn't get him to come to me and figured the only way I was going to be able to get him back to the house would be to physically grab him. After two failed attempts at the grabbing part I had to tackle him. Yes, tackle. I'm sure you're wondering how that all turned out. Well, lets just say my knees we muddy and I laid on him mainly with my chest. I'm sure this kind of physical activity isn't recommended on the "how to encourage labor" sheet but I'm pretty sure it's what actually kicked things off. Within 20 minutes I was feeling cramping in my lower abdomen. Ladies... like menstrual cramps. I was a little concerned at first so I figured I'd eat and relax to deiced what to do next. The cramping would come and go and I timed it to be about 15 minutes apart. I then realized that I was in early labor. This was accompanied by some bleeding (sorry this may be were the TMI starts), which again kinda worried me. I decided I would go by the birth center to ask them.
By the time I got to the birth center I had been having the cramping for at least an hour. The midwife there said that it should be fine considering I was full term. After that I headed to the office :) I was planing to have one more week before being gone from work so there was a lot I needed/wanted to tie up if I was going to be haven' a baby that night. I got into the office around 2pm while everyone was still at lunch and my plan was to be out of there by 5. Ha... out by 5... Here's the quick n dirty... We had a new patient in addition to a very busy afternoon. Dr. Jenkins got a little behind and I jumped in to help direct patients around and do some soft tissue work on people to keep them happy. Yes, I was still experiencing the cramping/contractions, and they were getting slightly more intense and frequent. I was on my feet moving from 4-6. I remember stopping at one point to talk to a patient who's wife was also pregnant. He asked when was I going to be having the baby and I told him "probably tonight".
When I finally got a chance to stop the bleeding had returned and the cramping was now slowing me down when it came on. This was about 6:45. I asked Matt to get me some food on his way home as I hadn't eaten since 12 and that I was going to go get in a hot bath to relax.
The bath felt great and helped me wash the afternoon away. Once I got out though... whoa momma... things kicked up a notch! I tried to eat a little and quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. The cramping was now enough that I HAD to stop when it came on, and then the nausea. It started when each cramp would build and before I knew it I was vomiting. Before long I was vomiting with each cramp. I also was unable to stand with the cramping, but the vomiting was by far the worst. I would get the chills, then get hot. All of this was likely from the massive amount of hormones being dumped into my system as labor really kicked in. Matt was great helping me at this point. He kept trying to get me to eat a little saying that even if I digested a little it was better than nothing. He also started using the coaching method (The Bradley Method) we had studied up on in preparation for labor. It was great and really helped me.
I stayed like this for about an hour at the house before we called the birth center. I had to have an IV for anti-biotic because I was strep-B positive, so they told us we should go ahead and come on in. Without the vomiting I could have labored at the house for at least another hour, maybe two. Matt had quite a time trying to get me dressed and out of the house (I was still in my lime green bathrobe from my bath). So with a puke bowl in tow I finally made it to the car. We got to the birth center around 10pm and Leslie (midwife extraordinaire) was there waiting for us. I'm sure I looked pretty pathetic by then. She checked me and I was 5cm. I was so dehydrated she had a really hard time getting an IV in. After she was able to get in one bag of anti-biotic I was still vomiting so she gave me anti-nausea medication which gave me a welcome break. At some point in here I said "I'm not having fun yet". The funny thing was after nearly two hours of puking with every contraction it took me several contractions without puking before I realized I was ok. Matt even had to tell me I didn't need the emiss basin I had been using. The medication also made me a little groggy, so even though it was impossible for me to sleep I felt like I could rest a little in between contractions.
From this point on I have no concept of time at all so I have had to rely on Matt for a time line of how things progressed. I labored in the bed and stayed at 5cm for quite a while. Matt brought me a snack and we tried to get me hydrated. I did ask to brush my teeth at one point :) I finally made it to 10cm probably some time around 2am. By 2:30 we moved to the birthing tub. It felt so good to get into the water. Matt got in with me to help support me. Our goal was to birth in the tub. I had to have another round of the anti-biotic so I had to be "tethered" to the IV. Leslie told me when I had the urge to push I had the green light to do so. Matt did a great job while we were in the tub helping to support my body weight. I labored in the tub for about an hour without progressing much. I honestly don't think I was pushing effectively. I was pushing right when the contraction would start because it helped lessen the cramping with the contractions.
They got me out of the tub to get me moving to help speed things along. They had me walking a little around the room, sitting backward on the toilet so I could lean into the tank/wall, and then finally in the bed. I worked on pushing for about 2 more hours. After a while Leslie realized that I wasn't waiting for the contraction to peak to push. Once I did that I started to feel Addison move down much more. Then I think I finally made the body connection to push more effectively. I was just bearing down more or less; I needed to be pushing like I was doing the most intense crunch ever; duh! Adding these two things in really helped A LOT. I could feel my body actually moving the baby down more and more. It seemed like it took forever. By this time I was physically exhausted after not eating and all the puking. I said out loud a couple of times "I can do this!" but was thinking "OMG she's not coming out! They're going to have to send me to the hospital!". Matt reminded me I also said "we just need to get her out"...ha!
As she was coming down I was working REALLY hard to keep the pushing up. There was really no rest period at this point which was good because it meant I was really close to birthing her. The only time through out the entire labor I experienced anything close to what I would call pain was right as she was crowning. This was the point where Matt said he was thinking "Holy F'n S! This is really happening! There's really a person coming out!" LMAO!!
And yes, there was really a person coming out. A little warm, gooey person got placed on my chest and I was totally amazed! My first statement was "I'm too tired to cry". I was soooo tired. I could barely move my arms to bring them around her... thankfully I was laying down. My second statement: "Her skin is so pretty". She opened her little eyes and looked at me and I just melted. I was just so amazed that she was here and I could touch her. She was real! She didn't cry at all, just opened her eyes and looked at me. We laid there for a little while, then they cleaned her up a little and gave her back so she could nurse for the first time. Then she got weighed and measured; 7lbs 10oz, 20.25". I got cleaned up, which was a definite struggle being so weak. Matt made a run to Dunkin Doughnuts for us and then got some daddy time in. We rendezvous back at the bed. We placed her in the bassinet and were left alone to sleep. Matt literally passed out next to me within seconds. He had been awake for more than 24 hours. I slept for about an hour. When I woke up I looked over at the bassinet. I couldn't see her but the whole gravity of what had transpired hit me and I finally cried a little :) After resting for a couple of hours we were told we could go home any time. So we did. We were home by 3pm. All in a days work.
Addison is (let me check the calendar) 14 weeks old now. I wanted to initially start this while I was still prego to share our story, but again that time factor got in the way. So let me re-cap my experiences during the pregnancy. This wasn't a fully planned trip we went on, which makes it an even greater blessing in my eyes. I found out I was pregnant at the end of May 2009. I didn't have health insurance of any kind and was deep in the running of our Chiropractic clinic. Being self employed I quickly realized how expensive insurance was going to be with maternity coverage. In the ball park of $260/month with a minimum 2000$ deductible. So catastrophic only it was. (There's another lesson in there for another time, but the quick n dirty is there's always a cash price... always.)
I knew I didn't want a traditional hospital birth and really wanted to have a water birth. I had no idea how I was going to make this happen. Well one quick search on the internet answered all of my concerns. The Charleston Birth Place! They had it all and all the way I wanted to do it. I had started pre-natal vitamins right away that I purchased from the health food store. Adding in pre-natal DHA is also a must. So my first pre-natal appointment wasn't until the end of July. Why do you ask? Why not I say. I was healthy and young with no medical conditions. I had enough symptoms of pregnancy and the pee stick confirmed it for me, twice. If I were to go the traditional route I would have had an ultrasound immediately to confirm the pregnancy. Well guess what? That pee stick is just as valuable, matched up with all my symptoms, there was no need for an unnecessary test.
All of my pre-natal appointments were a wonderful educational experience. I was educated about all the body changes, emotional changes, preparation for the birth and caring for a newborn as I progressed through the pregnancy. Oh, and the cost... Did you know that a low risk, run of the mill hospital birth will cost your insurance company nearly $30k?!! Birth center cost... just a little more than 10% of that. I had one ultrasound to check on the size of the baby and tell us the sex.
Leading up to the birth we were coached on what to do once I was in labor. That included laboring at home as long as possible. None of this going in once contractions get intense stuff.
So now what you've all been waiting for... the delivery...
So, my calculated due date, which was a crap-shoot estimate at best, was January 20th. The due date calculated based on her size when we had the ultrasound done ended up being the 13th. My first weekly appointment where they checked to see if I was dilated I was at 2cm. Several days before the 13th I started doing things from the list "how to encourage labor", and I started to notice changes after trying a couple of things. So there I was... the morning of the 13th, a Wednesday. I had been taking off the mornings that week so I could rest as much as possible. I was going to take each of our 3 dogs on a short walk (well more of a waddle for me). I was having some discomfort in my lower back and was hoping the walking would help. When I went to take the final dog (QP) on her walk our youngest furry child, Ladson got out. This part few people have heard.
Ladson of course didn't care that I was 9 months pregnant and decided to go over behind the neighbors house and run like a crazy dog along the fence with their dog. I couldn't get him to come to me and figured the only way I was going to be able to get him back to the house would be to physically grab him. After two failed attempts at the grabbing part I had to tackle him. Yes, tackle. I'm sure you're wondering how that all turned out. Well, lets just say my knees we muddy and I laid on him mainly with my chest. I'm sure this kind of physical activity isn't recommended on the "how to encourage labor" sheet but I'm pretty sure it's what actually kicked things off. Within 20 minutes I was feeling cramping in my lower abdomen. Ladies... like menstrual cramps. I was a little concerned at first so I figured I'd eat and relax to deiced what to do next. The cramping would come and go and I timed it to be about 15 minutes apart. I then realized that I was in early labor. This was accompanied by some bleeding (sorry this may be were the TMI starts), which again kinda worried me. I decided I would go by the birth center to ask them.
By the time I got to the birth center I had been having the cramping for at least an hour. The midwife there said that it should be fine considering I was full term. After that I headed to the office :) I was planing to have one more week before being gone from work so there was a lot I needed/wanted to tie up if I was going to be haven' a baby that night. I got into the office around 2pm while everyone was still at lunch and my plan was to be out of there by 5. Ha... out by 5... Here's the quick n dirty... We had a new patient in addition to a very busy afternoon. Dr. Jenkins got a little behind and I jumped in to help direct patients around and do some soft tissue work on people to keep them happy. Yes, I was still experiencing the cramping/contractions, and they were getting slightly more intense and frequent. I was on my feet moving from 4-6. I remember stopping at one point to talk to a patient who's wife was also pregnant. He asked when was I going to be having the baby and I told him "probably tonight".
When I finally got a chance to stop the bleeding had returned and the cramping was now slowing me down when it came on. This was about 6:45. I asked Matt to get me some food on his way home as I hadn't eaten since 12 and that I was going to go get in a hot bath to relax.
The bath felt great and helped me wash the afternoon away. Once I got out though... whoa momma... things kicked up a notch! I tried to eat a little and quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. The cramping was now enough that I HAD to stop when it came on, and then the nausea. It started when each cramp would build and before I knew it I was vomiting. Before long I was vomiting with each cramp. I also was unable to stand with the cramping, but the vomiting was by far the worst. I would get the chills, then get hot. All of this was likely from the massive amount of hormones being dumped into my system as labor really kicked in. Matt was great helping me at this point. He kept trying to get me to eat a little saying that even if I digested a little it was better than nothing. He also started using the coaching method (The Bradley Method) we had studied up on in preparation for labor. It was great and really helped me.
I stayed like this for about an hour at the house before we called the birth center. I had to have an IV for anti-biotic because I was strep-B positive, so they told us we should go ahead and come on in. Without the vomiting I could have labored at the house for at least another hour, maybe two. Matt had quite a time trying to get me dressed and out of the house (I was still in my lime green bathrobe from my bath). So with a puke bowl in tow I finally made it to the car. We got to the birth center around 10pm and Leslie (midwife extraordinaire) was there waiting for us. I'm sure I looked pretty pathetic by then. She checked me and I was 5cm. I was so dehydrated she had a really hard time getting an IV in. After she was able to get in one bag of anti-biotic I was still vomiting so she gave me anti-nausea medication which gave me a welcome break. At some point in here I said "I'm not having fun yet". The funny thing was after nearly two hours of puking with every contraction it took me several contractions without puking before I realized I was ok. Matt even had to tell me I didn't need the emiss basin I had been using. The medication also made me a little groggy, so even though it was impossible for me to sleep I felt like I could rest a little in between contractions.
From this point on I have no concept of time at all so I have had to rely on Matt for a time line of how things progressed. I labored in the bed and stayed at 5cm for quite a while. Matt brought me a snack and we tried to get me hydrated. I did ask to brush my teeth at one point :) I finally made it to 10cm probably some time around 2am. By 2:30 we moved to the birthing tub. It felt so good to get into the water. Matt got in with me to help support me. Our goal was to birth in the tub. I had to have another round of the anti-biotic so I had to be "tethered" to the IV. Leslie told me when I had the urge to push I had the green light to do so. Matt did a great job while we were in the tub helping to support my body weight. I labored in the tub for about an hour without progressing much. I honestly don't think I was pushing effectively. I was pushing right when the contraction would start because it helped lessen the cramping with the contractions.
They got me out of the tub to get me moving to help speed things along. They had me walking a little around the room, sitting backward on the toilet so I could lean into the tank/wall, and then finally in the bed. I worked on pushing for about 2 more hours. After a while Leslie realized that I wasn't waiting for the contraction to peak to push. Once I did that I started to feel Addison move down much more. Then I think I finally made the body connection to push more effectively. I was just bearing down more or less; I needed to be pushing like I was doing the most intense crunch ever; duh! Adding these two things in really helped A LOT. I could feel my body actually moving the baby down more and more. It seemed like it took forever. By this time I was physically exhausted after not eating and all the puking. I said out loud a couple of times "I can do this!" but was thinking "OMG she's not coming out! They're going to have to send me to the hospital!". Matt reminded me I also said "we just need to get her out"...ha!
As she was coming down I was working REALLY hard to keep the pushing up. There was really no rest period at this point which was good because it meant I was really close to birthing her. The only time through out the entire labor I experienced anything close to what I would call pain was right as she was crowning. This was the point where Matt said he was thinking "Holy F'n S! This is really happening! There's really a person coming out!" LMAO!!
And yes, there was really a person coming out. A little warm, gooey person got placed on my chest and I was totally amazed! My first statement was "I'm too tired to cry". I was soooo tired. I could barely move my arms to bring them around her... thankfully I was laying down. My second statement: "Her skin is so pretty". She opened her little eyes and looked at me and I just melted. I was just so amazed that she was here and I could touch her. She was real! She didn't cry at all, just opened her eyes and looked at me. We laid there for a little while, then they cleaned her up a little and gave her back so she could nurse for the first time. Then she got weighed and measured; 7lbs 10oz, 20.25". I got cleaned up, which was a definite struggle being so weak. Matt made a run to Dunkin Doughnuts for us and then got some daddy time in. We rendezvous back at the bed. We placed her in the bassinet and were left alone to sleep. Matt literally passed out next to me within seconds. He had been awake for more than 24 hours. I slept for about an hour. When I woke up I looked over at the bassinet. I couldn't see her but the whole gravity of what had transpired hit me and I finally cried a little :) After resting for a couple of hours we were told we could go home any time. So we did. We were home by 3pm. All in a days work.
Leslie said that the vomiting likely pushed the baby down a little too fast and she got stuck behind my pubic bone. This was one of the reasons why I wasn't able to get her to move down while in the tub. I actively pushed for about 3 hours, with the last hour being the most intense. My labor from start to finish was 18 hours. Not bad for a first timer.
So there it is... our story... womb to world. No drugs, no cutting, no medical intervention, and no PAIN! I truly believe that most women can have the same experience I did if they just change their preconceptions about labor and delivery. Addison was considered fairly big for someone my size and we did it the true natural way! Many details are left out for the benefit of the masses, however no part is off limits if there's a burning question you have. Hopefully it wasn't too boring for y'all ;)
Two reading recommendations for birth preparation; 1- Hypnobirthing, 2- The Bradley Method.
Two reading recommendations for birth preparation; 1- Hypnobirthing, 2- The Bradley Method.
