~~October & November 2010 Arrivals & Birth Stories~~

Arrivals and Birth Stories posted here......no comment thread please.

October 2010 Arrivals

August 22nd
Melissa (honeybee1983) Naomi, 5lbs 8oz, 18.5", 4:07pm

September 20th
Carole (kellmommy01) Magalie, 5lbs 8oz, 18.25", 7:43pm

September 25th
BuckeyeK Alaina (Lainey), 6lbs 13oz, 19", 3:40 am
Melanie (elaniemay), Emma Mackenzie, 6lbs, 19.5", 9:14 am
Erin (TiggersMommy), Teagan Tesla, 7lbs 6oz, 20", 8:54 pm

September 26th
abacaxi, Rowan, 7lbs 3oz, 19.75", 4:10 am

September 27th
Wendy (ange84) Ronin Frances, 6lbs 8oz, 46cm, 3:28 am

September 29th
Leah (mommieleah) James, 6lbs 15oz, 19.75", 10:07 am
Angela (AngeBH) Amelia, 6lb, 18", 2:04am

October 1st
Sarah (Rubber_da_glove) Tobey Jack, 7lbs 8oz, 10:47 pm
Christa (MomW) Clara Lucille, 6lbs 4oz, 21", 3:48am

October 4th
Ashley (newlywed630) Chloe Amelia Lee, 7lbs 12oz; 20", 11:40am
Shannon (mom2tictacs) Maggie, 6lbs 13oz
October 6th
Anna (AnnaRO) Lyla Klaire, 7lb 3oz, 18 1/2", 7:02am

October 7th
Kat (Katieswantsababy) Charlotte Rosemarie

October 8th
janijanis, Lucas, 5lb 6oz, 7:40 a.m.

October 9th
Mona (KittyRN) Simon Alexander, 7lbs 11oz, 21", 2:33pm

October 10th
Cherrychip, Isabelle Grace, 5lbs 11oz, 19.5", 1:00pm

October 11th
Laurene (butterflykissesx6) Delaney Elizabeth Dorine, 9lbs 8oz, 22.5", 3:46pm

October 15th
Poodlemom Morgan Rose, 8lbs 2oz, 20", 8:35am

October 18th
Joy (jolly11sd) Odin Emmett, 9lbs 2oz, 2:15pm

October 19th
Kathy (horsemomma) Josie, 8lbs 9oz, 21.5", 3:08
Justine (jperry5683) Nathaniel James, 8lbs 7oz, 21", 4:41pm

October 23rd
Lauren (laurensmitty1982) Natalie Hazel 7lb 6oz, 21.5", 4:22am
Roma (romaroma) Aubrey Marisa 8lb 4oz, 21", 10:11am

October 24th
Stacy (Tanned Mommy) Sophie Grace, 5lb 12.8oz, 18 1/2", 8:29am

October 27th
Veronica (Vstarr) Lucas Daniel, 6lbs 1oz, 19.5", 10:01am
Candace (StateChick) Charles Wade (goes by Wade), 7lbs 15oz, 19", 12:30am

October 29th
Dawn (devermee) Landon Michael, 9 lbs 2 oz, 21 inches, 3:47pm

November 2nd
Jackie (alwayssmile) Aiden, 8lbs, 7.9oz, 20 1/4", 10:23 pm

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eternaldarknss19

November 2010 Arrivals!

I'll add arrivals as i see them. If i have missed yours PM me the details and ill add you to the list.

~July~
July 15th
'
Heidi [sp00n]-
Ethan,1 lb. 5 oz at 23 weeks. (EDD Nov 9th)


~October~
Oct 3rd

Grenet [Greda]-
Kaylie,Born at 1:18pm 5 lbs & 8 oz. And 18 & 1/2 long. <br>Brian,Born at 1:21 pm. 5 lbs & 12 oz. And 18 & 1/4 long(EDD Nov 4th)

Oct 13th

[gottharf]-
Brian, Born at 5:54pm.5 lb. 9 oz. Height: 19 inches
Micah, Born at 6:02pm.6 lb. 2 oz. Height: 20.5 inches

Tiffany[azmamax5]-
Zoey, 7 pounds 14 oz At 35 weeks 6 days (EDD Nov 11th)

Oct 14th

Vanessa [pairpeepers]-
Liam, Born at 4:47, 5 lb 10oz.
Ezra, Born at 4:48, 5lb 5oz At 36 weeks 3 days (EDD Nov 8th)

Oct 22nd

Meagan [MV111110]-
Jacob, 6lbs 14oz, 19" long At 38 weeks, 1 day (EDD Nov 11th)

Oct 24th

[jenzy1989]-
Gavin, 8 lbs 1 oz 21 inches long.

Oct 29th

Maddi [Pog Froo]-
Meki, Born at 2:58am 7lbs 5oz. (EDD Oct 28th)

Oct 31st

Shameia [shamma]-
Baby Girl, At 7:00am (EDD Nov 10th.)

~November~

Nov 1st

Carol [auroraroseny]-
Brady, 7lbs 4ozs and 21 inches long. (EDD Oct 31st)

Jamie [Jamielee2010]-
Cayden, Born at 8:09Pm 6 lbs 15 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. (EDD Nov 4th)

Nov 2nd

Ryan [hopeotbemomof3]-
Hayden, Born at 8:17 am 8 pounds 6 ounces and 20 inches long (EDD Nov 3rd)

Nov 3rd

Brandy [Topaz_Stars]-
Jillian, Born at 7:21Am 5.8 lbs and 19 1/2 in.
Jocelyn, Born at 7:32Am 5.11 lbs and 19 in. (EDD Nov 16th)

Nov 4th

Katie [katiekat1227]-
Benjamin, Born at 12:46 8lbs 14oz 20 1/2 inches long.

Jenny [PeanutGirl]-
Eleanor, Updates to come! (EDD Nov 5th.)

Georgina [gj204]-
David, Born at 10:30Pm,6lbs 15oz and born at 37week 4days. (EDD Nov 15th)



Nov 8th

Lauren [LaurenTA]-
Corinne, Born at 4:17 pm. 8 pounds 3 ounces and 21 and a quarter inches long. (EDD Nov 4th.)

Christine [Christne]-
Damon, Born at 8:50am 7 lbs 13.6 ounces and 20 3/4 inches long.(EDD Nov 14th.)

Nov 11th

Tisha [hotdiggit]-
Coraline, Born at 9:21Pm 6lbs (EDD Nov 12th)

Nov 12th

Jacquie [Jaxie]-
Luke, Born at 7:35Am 8lbs. 13 oz., 19 1/2 inches long. (EDD Nov 9th)

Nov 17th

Alexandria [CaBlondie918]-
Brooke, Born at 10:47Am (EDD Nov 14th)


Nov 18th

Merissa [UnexpectedAgain]-
Crystal, Born at 2:54Am 6 lbs 6oz, 19 1/2 inches long. (EDD Nov 14th)


~December~



Link to November Birth Stories---->>>http://www.pregnancy.org/bulletinboa...=november+2010

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October 2010 Birth Stories

Naomi's Birth:

I had been feeling "off" for a few days. Just very tired (not like me) and I had been having lots of bouts of nausea, vomiting and upset tummy. Contractions had been increasing in strength and number over the same few days, but nothing really regular had occurred up to that point. Sunday morning I woke up after sleeping in. I was actually feeling great, so I decided to take a nice long shower and just have a wonderful relaxing sort of a morning. During the shower I started feeling this pinching sort of pain feeling in what seemed like my bladder. Instantly I thought I was coming down with a bladder infection, but I didn't have any pain or problems with urination, so I just wasn't sure. After I finished up my shower, I headed downstairs and snuggled up on the couch to see if I would feel better. Contractions started up at 8:30 am, almost as soon as I sat down on my couch. I figured they wouldn't end up being regular at all, but I quickly started noticing a pattern to my contractions. They were about 8 minutes apart at the time. I began noticing that strange pinchy feeling coming in my 'bladder' with each contraction (later I realized that the feeling was not my bladder, but my cervix dilating and effacing!), and at the same time I started feeling a lot of pressure and pain around my c-section incision area. I figured this HAD to be due to a bladder infection! They can cause contractions too, afterall. So I just kept laying low, trying to get them to go away, but they just kept getting stronger, lasting longer and getting closer together. After a couple of hours, they were 3-4 minutes apart and HURTING! So off to the hospital we went. They put me on the monitor and I was really "cranking" out the contractions, they said. They also checked my blood and urine and I had no infections, so that was not the problem there. I was really in labor! The dr. on call came to see me and said that he wanted to just keep me there monitoring me for a little bit to see what happened. I was 34 weeks exactly, and the policy at my hospital is that they do not try to stop labor at 34 weeks and beyond, because it's really not effective to get you much longer, and the side effects of the medication to stop it are not good for mom or baby. He said that if my cervix made any changes it would prove to him that I was really in labor and we would go ahead and deliver the baby. :shock: My husband and I really were not expecting a baby that day, so hearing 'deliver the baby' was pretty crazy! I just thought I KNEW that we would not be having her that day though because I had been on bedrest for the past 14 weeks for having constant contractions and I had had pretty much ZIP cervical change. So the nurse did the first cervical check and I was at half a centimeter (just like my last appointment). She said she would be back in an hour....so I labored. When she came back and checked me again, I was at 1 centimeter! I was completely shocked! I guess one centimeter doesn't tell them too much though, since some women can walk around at 1cm for a long time, so the dr. wanted to wait one more hour and just see if I made any more change...so I labored. When the nurse came back to check me, I was a 2!! :shock: I was completely FLOORED!! My husband and I just looked at each other and we knew then that we were having a baby that day. The dr. came in and verified that yes, I was indeed in labor, and that he was going to go ahead and do the c-section right then!! It was almost 3:30 at that time. I had been in labor for 7 hours. After that, everything went REALLY fast! The dr. immediately went downstairs to the OR and got ready for the c-section and my nurse came in and got me ready. Then off we went and we were in starting the surgery before 4pm. Here is where it got ugly. I had this strange feeling that the anesthesia wasn't working. As the anesthesiologist was checking me, I was telling him I could wiggle my toes and move my legs a bit. I could even feel my nurse putting in my catheter! He assures me though that it was fine and I had plenty of meds. So they started the surgery. I could not feel the initial cut into my skin, so the dr.s were convinced that I was fine with the meds, but once they got inside to my uterus, I could feel EVERYTHING. It was horrific. I was in sooo much pain. I was crying and screaming. The anesthesiologist was trying to give me more drugs, but having a hard time. At one point he asked the surgeons if they could give me a local dose of meds and they said "On her UTERUS?! NO!!" So there was not much they could do. The anesthesiologist ended up having to put me out so they could finish the surgery. I was only still awake long enough to hear Naomi being born. I remember nothing else. I feel pretty cheated about that, that I could not enjoy my daughter's birth...still bitter. :( I woke up in the recovery room a bit later and I was crying and in terrible pain. I was asking the nurse what happened and she told me that I had had my baby. They kept pumping me FULL of morphine to get the pain to go away, and finally I felt better. The dr. came in after that and chatted with me about the surgery. He asked if I had had an infection after my last daughter was born and I said no. He said he was completely shocked and clueless as to what happened then, because when he went in to do the surgery there was so much scar tissue, that my entire uterus was attached to my abdominal wall. :shock: He had to scrape all that out of there and fix it up. Now it makes sense why I had soo many contractions every time I would move! I would use my abdominal muscles even just a tiny bit and my uterus would freak out too since it was attached!! He says it was a really good thing we did the c-section then because it had actually been really dangerous for me and baby to be pregnant! sheesh! So yea, that's my part of the story, recovery has been really hard, naturally! I am still on meds now at 5 days after surgery, when normally for me, I wouldn't need them anymore once I get home, but I am feeling better with each day. I am so thankful to be alive too and happy that nothing bad happened to me or the baby.

Now onto baby:
Naomi was 34 weeks gestation when she was born on Sunday August 22nd 2010 at 4:07pm. She was 5lbs 9oz and 18.5 inches long. She did struggle to breath at first because she was FULL of gunk in her lungs. They sucked her out and took her over to the nicu right away. She was on oxygen overnight, and the dr.s really thought they would need to intubate her to help her more. She was given an hour to change, and miraculously, she DID! She began breathing a lot better and stopped wheezing!! We were sooo relieved and grateful to God! So began the next busy week. She started out on the oxygen and meds, IV, heating isolette, etc. We thought it would be a long while before she could come home, but turning that corner in her breathing really made a HUGE difference for all of her recovery it seemed! She was off the oxygen the next day, into a regular crib the next night and feeding with nipples (breast and bottle) the next day! It is now five days past her birth and she is doing AMAZINGLY well! She is almost up to full feeds, which means, probably by tomorrow she will be going off IV and then it's just a short step more to coming HOME! We can't wait to get her here with us so we can stop going back and forth to the hospital and just enjoy her! We are so thankful she has done so well! She is such a trooper and soo adorable! We are very much in love already! :)

Pics:

Last Belly Pic
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...l/Naomi001.jpg

Birth
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...l/Naomi003.jpg

Bright eyes
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...l/Naomi005.jpg

Tiny little peanut!
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...l/Naomi014.jpg

Daddy and baby bonding
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...l/Naomi053.jpg

Cutie
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...l/Naomi057.jpg

Teagan Tesla's Birth Story

EDD: October 5th, 2010
Arrival: 8:56 pm September 25th, 2010 (38 weeks, 4 days)
7 lbs 6 oz
20 inches long
34 cm head circ

Friday night, the 24th of September, seems like a reasonable place to begin our birth story. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for months and although I was pretty sure she had dropped and I had lost the tiniest bit of mucus plug the day before, I did not think she was coming any time soon. My mother's and both grandmothers' pregnancies had all gone very late so I was preparing for the long haul. After work on Friday, we met up with my Dad and his girlfriend, Barbara, for dinner. They were driving through town on their way to San Diego and my Dad wanted to see my big preggo belly and join us for what could be (and was!) our last grownup dinner for a while.

Dinner was excellent and it was really nice to see my Dad and Barbara. They had decided to stay in a hotel that evening rather than using our guest room/nursery. I was desperate for a swim so we hit up the pool at their hotel after dinner. Even though the pool was a little cold it was heaven! My only regret this pregnancy was not swimming more! I sat on the upper most step of the hot tub for a bit, which felt marvelous on my hips. After our swim we said goodbye and headed home. On the way home we contemplated just how hard it would be to sneak into local hotels just to use their pools ;).

At 3 am, I awoke to a big GOOOSH of warm liquid. I thought to myself, "nah couldn't be." The next big goosh a few seconds later confirmed that my water had indeed broken. Izzy was sleeping in the guest room (he has back issues that make sleeping on our pillow top painful sometimes), so I called out to him. He was fast asleep and, oddly enough, dreaming that our little one was a boy with dark hair and that we were in a birth center in Egypt. The dogs heard me yelling first and started barking, which woke Izzy up and sent him running into our bedroom. I calmly told him my water had broken and asked him for a towel. He ran off and returned with one of our nice towels so I asked him to go get an old one. I was a little scared to check the color of the fluid so I asked him to do it. He was so nervous! He said he thought it was clear but he couldn't tell for sure (our sheets are yellow) so I looked down and was relieved to see that it was completely clear. I wrapped myself in the towel and hopped to the bathroom where I had several more gooshes.

I started having my first "real"? contractions a few minutes later. They were different from my Braxton Hicks contractions in that my entire belly got hard and the discomfort sensation was, well ... different. I called my birth center's answering service and received a call back from the Judy, the MW on duty, at 3:15 am. We chatted and she recommended that because I was GBS negative and had clear fluid, that I wait and call back at 7 am even though it is generally their policy to see women within an hour or two of their water breaking. This was the first of many times that day I was grateful to have chosen to be seen by midwives as an OB would have wanted me to rush in instead of going back to bed to get some rest.

Before trying to get back to sleep, we finished packing our bags and Izzy made a little labor nest in the back of the car for me. The thought that we would soon be meeting our daughter had both of us excited. I remained calm while Izzy battled a black widow spider, which had taken up residency near our blender (of all the nights, seriously). My contractions were coming about every 5-10 minutes, lasting about a minute each and were really easy. So, back to bed we went.

At 6:15 am, my contractions were still coming about 5 -10 minutes apart, the sun was up, and I couldn't sleep any longer. I called my mom and told her what was happening. After she wished me luck I went to the bathroom and lost a large amount of my mucus plug. Izzy appeared to be sleeping soundly so I fixed myself an English muffin and emailed my boss to ask him to take care of an experiment I was planning to finish that morning. This was also my way of telling him I'd be going on maternity leave a week earlier than we had planned. At 6:45 am, I woke Izzy up, called my Dad to let him know that we wouldn't be able to make it to breakfast, and whipped out my breast pump to see if I could get my contractions coming a little stronger. I pumped for about 10 minutes on each breast and to my surprise got a full ounce! It also brought my contractions closer together and made them a little stronger. But, as soon as I stopped they slowed back down again.

At 7 am, I called the birth center again and got Fran (I really like Fran) this time. She asked us to meet her at the birth center at 8 am. After feeding the dogs, we headed out. My contractions were still easy so I didn't need my labor nest and just sat up front with my facemask on so I could stay in my happy place despite Izzy's propensity towards aggressive driving :P. When we arrived, Fran showed us to our room (the big birthing suite :)), checked my vitals and did a quick NST, which we passed beautifully. She then did my first cervical check and found me to be 3 cm dilated but not fully effaced. My contractions were still about 5 minutes apart so she suggested we go for a walk. We walked to Starbucks (~1.5 miles roundtrip) to get Izzy a coffee and we picked up a sandwich (which, Izzy says, was horrible) and yogurt parfait (which was OK) as well. During our walk, my contractions picked up to about 2-2.5 minutes apart and they were slowing me down noticeably although I could still talk through them. The whole walk I kept thinking to myself, "let's get to 5 cm by the time we get back!"? I'd worked up a sweat and wanted to rinse off when we returned to the birth center at 10 am so I hopped into the shower.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...t/img_6408.jpg
My last belly pic

At 10:30 am, my Dad and Barbara stopped by on their way out of town to wish us luck and give us a really sweet card. By this time my contractions had spaced out to about 6-7 minutes but were still as strong. Fran mentioned that we were, unfortunately, on the clock and I had to be showing signs of progress by about 3 pm (12 hours post-rupture) if we wanted to avoid a transfer. I understood the gravity of the situation but my Hypnobirthing training helped me to stay calm. I knew that letting the threat of transfer get me worked up would ultimately lead to a transfer. Izzy, on the other hand, was suffering (silently) with this news. So, with the threat of a transfer looming, we whipped out my breast pump and got those contractions back up to 2-3 minutes apart by 11:15 am by pumping on each breast for 10 minutes. About this time I felt the urge to poo (yay!) and had a few really good contractions while on the toilet. We spent some time pacing my birth suite and the patio outside.

At 1:15 pm, my contractions were stronger but had spaced to about 4-5 minutes apart. Fran could tell my contractions were stronger by feeling my stomach. So, she held off on another cervical check and went to check what herbs she had while we tried laboring in different positions. I found that I didn't like the birth ball one bit. I was feeling all my contractions in my stomach and sitting on the ball forced my to engage my abdominals, which I did not like because I could not relax my muscles. Between contractions I would pace and when one hit I would sit in the rocking chair or straddle a chair on the patio. Again my Hypnobirthing training helped me to relax and sink into each contraction while imagining my cervix thinning and opening.

At 2:30 Fran checked me and I was 4 cm but still not fully effaced. She brought us some homeopathic black and blue cohosh and asked me to alternate between the two, taking 3 every 15 minutes and then 3 of each on the hour. Neither Izzy or I are strong believers in homeopathics but I took them as I figured they certainly couldn't hurt. Izzy kept referring to them as my sugar pills, which made me laugh. He was getting pretty nervous about a transfer but he was such a good birth partner he didn't let on that he was nervous one bit. Instead, he took charge and helped me pump again. This time I pumped both breasts simultaneously for 5 minutes on 5 minutes off, which definitely made my contractions stronger and gave me the urge to poo again.

At 3 pm, my contractions were stronger still and Fran trusted that I was progressing but wanted me laboring harder so she suggested we walk the halls as it was too hot to walk outside (we do live in Tucson!). So, we did laps around the birth center until about 4:15 pm. We walked at a fairly fast clip and I would hang on Izzy when a contraction hit. During one of my laps I started to feel nauseous and ducked into a bathroom. I didn't puke in the bathroom but did puke in a trash can as I was walking out. Yay for puke was all I could think! At 4:15, we tried the breast pump as my contractions had spaced yet again. After a round or two I felt nauseous again and puked. Although I knew this was a good sign, I do not handle puking very well so I decided to lay down for just a little while. Fran asked me how I was feeling and I told her I just to stop chasing labor already! I really wished I would just reach the point where my body would take over. While I was lying down my contractions got even stronger and became more frequent. After this point, we stopped timing them.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...t/img_6412.jpg
Listening to my Hypnobirthing tracks at the beginning of real labor

At 5:30 pm, I was finally feeling like I needed to do something to help manage my pain during contractions and I could no longer talk through them. I asked the nurse (a different Judy) to get me a heat pack. At this point, I favored sitting on the toilet with the heat pack on my belly. I think this is also when I started to make a little noise during contractions. I was finally beginning to understand why women might want to get an epidural but this was not an option for me at the birth center. The tub was beckoning me but Fran said (and I knew) that I should wait until I was at least 5 cm and fully effaced to get in or else my contractions might space and this would be a problem as I was on that awful clock. At 6:30 pm, I asked to get into the tub. Fran started it filling and checked me. I was indeed 5 cm and fully effaced, hooray! So, I got in. Holy cow did I love that tub! The moment my belly hit the water I questioned why any woman would ever want to give birth without a tub!

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...t/img_6416.jpg
Loving the tub

Things start to get a little blurry from here on in. Thankfully, Izzy faithfully took notes for as long as he could. His 6:30 pm entry says, "Erin got into tub. Fran checked first 5cm, 100% effaced. She looks pretty." As I labored in the tub he fanned me to keep my head and neck cool. I rested on my hands and knees against the wall of the tub and made long huuuuuuuh groans with each breath out during contractions. Making noise really helped me to keep my breathing slow and steady and to let my body stay relaxed.

Judy (nurse) let us know that she would soon be relieved by another nurse, Fania, and that the new nurse would be in to check my vitals in about 15 minutes. As Judy was leaving, I felt myself pushing a little. I was worried that I was pushing too soon so I let her know. She told me to just do what felt right and went to talk to Fran who was with another soon-to-be mom. My pushing sensations went from momentary to lasting the full length of my contractions pretty quickly. Fania arrived about the same time as Fran came back to check in on me.

At some point Fran came in to tell us that the other mom needed her but that she had called her backup MW, Judy. Judy arrived shortly after and came in to check on us. She filled the sink with ice and brought ice-cold towels for Izzy to put on my back. I fell in love with Judy at this moment. I remember thinking to myself that this had better be transition because I wasn't sure if I could handle it if things were going to get much more intense. After a few particularly intense contractions I momentarily thought that heading to the hospital for an epidural didn't sound like a bad idea. But, I kept that thought to myself and concentrated even harder on relaxing. At 7:15 pm, Judy asked me to turn around so she could check me and I had made it to 8 cm. Woot, this was indeed transition! Judy asked Izzy if he had brought a bathing suit so he could get into the tub. Rather than searching for his suit, he jumped into the tub in his underwear. I remember wondering why he wouldn' grab his suit but I suppose time was of the essence at that point. Izzy was a little worried that Judy's hands-on techniques would annoy me but I didn't care one bit because she had brought me those heavenly ice-cold towels. Izzy was also worried I might bash my face into the tub as I looked a little precariously perched in the tub. He asked if my arms were getting tired and if I needed help supporting myself. Apparently, I responded that I didn't care if my arms got tired. He asked me if I felt like I was going to fall. I forcefully said I was fine and asked that the flow of heavenly ice towels not stop. Fran checked me one last time and announced that I was complete and baby was at about 0 station! Oh sweet relief, I thought, as I began to bear down with my pushing sensations. I've heard many women say that pushing feels good. I'll say it felt right or at least better than not pushing.

Somewhere in here Judy took off. I was still on my hands and knees with my butt pointed toward Fran and she asked me to flip over if I could. I wasn't sure how I felt about that so I asked if I could stay put. Fran said it was fine but she mentioned that if I were to birth in my current position I would need to keep my butt (and baby) low in the water and flip over before bringing her up out of the water. I remained in this position for a few more contractions and then asked if she thought it might help (as in bring the baby down) if I flipped over and she suggested that I flip over now as she thought it might help me push more effectively. She helped to reposition me and I found that in my new position I could use the power of my legs to push against the opposite side of the tub while holding myself up with my arms. It was then that I could feel the baby moving down. Each contraction brought me closer and closer to meeting my little girl. I felt like my pushing was accomplishing more and at 8:45 pm I could feel the baby beginning to crown. Fran had been sitting at the edge of the tub and asked me to tell her when I felt stinging. I responded that I WAS feeling stinging during the next contraction. Fran asked Izzy to call for Fania because we would be needing warm blankets soon. This got me really excited but I guess it didn't show.

My contractions then spaced out from being nearly right on top of one another to maybe 4-5 minutes apart but much more intense, which I welcomed. It gave me time to relax and regroup in between contractions and allowed the baby to stretch my perineum. Izzy (who was sitting beside the tub not wanting to get back in and get in my way) says my belly looked really crazy and I was breathing heavily. For a few contractions I felt like the baby' head was right there! Fran said I could reach down and touch it. I did quickly as I was supporting myself with my arms. I felt a squishy little blob and asked if she had hair. Izzy said she did (but didn't tell me what color is was)! After maybe 7-8 contractions of her head almost making it's way out I decided that this needed to end NOW. When the next contraction hit (thankfully it was very long) I bore down with all my might the entire time and pushed out the head. Fran helped maneuver my perineum over the head as Izzy jumped into the tub. Fran told me that the baby would be here with the next contraction. When it hit, Fran helped the baby turn and at 8:56 pm, the whole body slipped out into the water. It was the most exquisite feeling I have ever felt in my entire life. All the pain was gone and suddenly there was a baby, covered head to toe in vernix, with dark wavy hair (we were expecting a blonde!) lying on my chest. I lifted the baby's leg and asked Izzy if she was indeed a girl (his dream had me worried). When I saw girl parts I turned to look into her eyes and said, "Hello, Teagan."? Teagan didn't cry but made little chirpy grunting noises as she tested out her lungs. I rubbed her back. She was so sticky! Izzy was crying. We kissed and stared at the new little person we had just brought into the world.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a..._6418_crop.gif
Meeting Teagan

The tub water was bright red but I didn't care one bit. With the help of Izzy, Fran, and Fania, I stepped out of the tub and carried Teagan over to the bed to deliver the placenta. With Teagan on my chest and Izzy by my side we bonded as a new family. My last few contractions had spaced out so much before Teagan arrived and I wasn't having any at all so Fran asked Fania to prep a shot of pitocin to help get the placenta out. They told me later that they were worried I might be hemorrhaging because of the amount of blood in the water. I didn't feel the shot at all and within 10-15 minutes I felt a contraction and pushed out the placenta with little effort. Fran announced, "it's a placenta!"? and put it in a bowl beside me. Only then did she clamp the cord and Izzy cut it.

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Cutting the cord

Fran asked me to turn to assess my tearing. With Teagan still on my chest covered in warm blankets and with a little help from Fania, I swiveled to the edge of the bed and propped my legs up on a chair. Fania declared that she had never seen anyone move so quickly. While I marveled at the little wonder squirming on my chest, Fran gave me a few stitches to repair some minor labial tearing. To my delight my perineum was completely intact. She commented that the reason there may have been so much blood was due to the tear.

Fran showed us the placenta (those things are cool!) and left shortly afterwards (she had been there as long as we had and had delivered two babies). The three of us laid in bed as a new family. Teagan was rooting around so I put her to my breast and she latched on immediately. What a powerful suck reflex she has! Her little eyes darted around taking everything in. We made a few phone calls and after about an hour and a half I wanted to get up and shower so that I could begin to feel human again. Izzy held Teagan while Fania helped me out of bed and insisted upon hanging out while I showered. I think she was terribly afraid I might faint. After I rinsed off, I curled up in bed and Izzy and Fania weighed and measured Teagan. Teagan kicked her hands away while she tried to get her length measurement!

Teagan was super alert and we nursed several times in her first few hours. I asked Fania to help me pee. She brought me tucks pads, dermoplast, and a peri bottle. Then she brought us microwave lasagna for dinner and we settled in for the night (as much as two new parents possibly can). Teagan fussed quite a bit that first night and we got very little sleep. She finally settled down around 6 am just in time for Fania to come in and tell us our pediatrician would be coming by shortly for her first checkup. After the doctor checked her briefly, Fania brought us bagels for breakfast. While we ate bagels we made the final decision on her middle name, Tesla. Slowly, we packed up and were ready to leave around 8 am. After chatting with Fania and Judy (nurse) for a little while we headed out to begin our new life with our beautiful daughter.

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Heading home

Sept. 25, 2010 @ 3:40am
Alaina

37w2d
6 lbs 13 oz
19 inches

I still feel a little bit like my birth story happened to someone else. At my 37 week appointment, my blood pressure was a bit elevated. I had pre-e with DD, so they decided to be proactive. I had to do a 24 hour urine and turn it in on Friday, when my BP was 144/94. We decided to do bedrest for the weekend.
Saturday at 1:30am I woke up and felt a bit crampy. I went to the bathroom and back to bed. I laid in bed and thought I might be having contractions, and sort of started timing them. They were happening every 2 minutes but not lasting very long. I thought I might be getting some sort of stomach bug. At 1:50am I got out of bed and told DH I thought I might be having contractions. I went downstairs and he went back to bed. I found an online contraction timer and started timing my tightenings. They were happening every 1 1/2 minutes but only lasting 30-45 seconds. I thought maybe early contractions, because I thought they weren't strong enough, & they weren't lasting long enough. By 2:15am I was leaning on the couch breathing deeply through them and thought it was time to wake up DH. I still thought I was in early labor, because I was just breathing and swaying through them, and they weren't really painful, just uncomfortable. I had been using Hypnobabies, but didn't even think about getting out my mp3's. Maybe I was subconsiously using relaxation techniques? DH and I worked on finishing packing, called the doula, my midwife's office, and my mom to come stay with DD. By 3:15am ish we were ready to go. I went to the kitchen, had a contraction againt the counter, then walked around to the other side of the counter and had another. I knew then that we weren't going to make it. We got out to the garage and I couldn't get in the car. Contractions were one on top of the other and I couldn't sit. Thankfully we called our doula and she recommended kneeling on the front seat facing the back of the car leaning on the seat. That worked, but it was very hard to hold on while DH drove. Within 5-10 minutes, I felt the baby move down during a contraction. My body was totally in charge, I was not in control at all with the baby's movement downward. I told DH I was pushing and couldn't stop. He drove for about 5 more minutes before my blowing through contractions turned into grunting/loud vocalizing and I told him he HAD to stop. He pulled over and called 911. My body pushed the baby out within about 10 minutes total time from that first push. A state trooper arrived pretty much as the baby crowned, and just watched while I yelled to DH that the baby was coming. My water broke somewhere in there, then DH caught the head and with the next push the body was out. None of it - the contractions, the pushing, the ring of fire or the delivery were really that painful, just intense. I think it was my hypnobabies training, even though I didn't get to actually listen to the program or even consiously use the training.
The EMTs arrived just after she was born. They clamped the cord and DH cut it. Alaina and I rode in the ambulance to the hospital while DH followed with the car.
I tore pretty badly in two places, and the repairs actually took longer than the labor and delivery, and I am pretty sore and swollen. Thank goodness for our doula during the repairs - she was awesome and really helped me focus and relax (no drugs then, either - just lidocaine injections to numb). I HIGHLY recommend a doula - sooooo worth it in every way. We are both doing very well, so far Lainey is a good sleeper and nursing ok, although her mouth is small and we are having some issues getting her to open wide enough & I'm a bit sore.

I was so happy to get my drug free, all natural VBAC, it was awesome! Other than delivering in the front seat of the car, I wouldn't change any of it! The car is a mess, the front seat looked like a murder scene but most of the stains came out.

Tobey Jack
01-10-10
7lb8
10.47pm

It started at 6.45am in the 1st October. I got up to go to the bathroom and as soon as I got back into bed I felt a gush. I went back and say on the toilet and it just kept gushing. I asked DH to sniff the bed to make sure I hadn't pee'd myself and I hadn't.

I wasn't having any contractions or cramps so I put on a pad and got on with my morning before phoning anyone. Me and DH sorted about Alexander getting him dressed and fed. I sorted out the rest of my packing and phoned the hospital. I was told I would need to come in and get assessed.

We took Alexander to my mums and my dad took us to the hospital. They confirmed that my waters had broken and I was having mild contractions but I could hardly feel anything. At 11.30 I got discharged and told to come back if the pain got bad. If nothing happened then I was booked in for induction at 7.30am on the 2nd. When I left at 11.30 I was 2cm and "soft"

I phoned my dad and we went back home. As soon as I got in the car I stared to get contractions. I could still breath through them and they were far apart so we all went home and had some lunch. While I was eating the pain started to pick up and was becoming difficult to breath through so I phoned the hospital and told then I was coming back. I rang my dad and he fetched me and off we went.

On the way it was starting to get really painful, when we got to the hospital my dad was in a panic listening to me shout and reversed into a wall He didn't do much damage to the car but it was typical of him to do something like that.

I got back into the hospital at 2.30 and had 5 contractions from the entrance to the delivery room and it was only a 30 second normal persons speed walk, but I had to keep stopping.

I was introduced to my midwife and she examined me and said I was 5cm and easily stretching to 6am. I got straight on the gas and air and it was bliss I baby was monitored and the HB was quite low during contractions and they were pretty sure the cord was around his neck. Although the contractions were close and very painful I was feeling pretty good. I made it back to the hospital just in time as there is no way I would have lasted any longer at home without pain relief.

Around 5pm I asked for some diamorphine to take the edge off the pain as I was starting to feel like I couldn't go it any more. I was examined and told I was 7cm and could stretch to 8cm and they went ahead and I got the drugs. They didn't completely stop the pain but it made it just that bit more manageable.

At 7pm it was time for midwife change and I was passed into the care of another lovely midwife. She put baby on a HB monitor as it HR was getting quite low during the contractions. It was partly because of the diamorphine making the baby sleepy but she seemed a bit worried. I told her to do what ever was needed to get the baby out safe was fine with me.

At 9pm she checked again and I was 10cm but I had a lip at the front of my cervix. I lay on my left side and the babies HR started to pick up and I started getting the urge to push. I rolled back onto my back and put my feet in styrups for something to push on. She checked again and said I was ready to push. This was around 10pm.

As soon as I was ready to push the contrax started to slow down. They started to come only one ever 5 mins although with each one I could easily push. When it got to about 10.40pm the midwife said she would give me 10 more mins of pushing before she would put me on a drip to speed things up again. As soon as she said that his head slid right down and popped out. DH was totally freaked out by him moving round by himself getting his body ready to be delivered and his cord was around the back of his neck but she couldn't get it off because he was holding onto it really tight. So I pushed one more time and out slid his body out and let go of his cord. He was flopped right onto me and he was searching for boob right away He's a super nurser unlike Alexander was and I'm so happy

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Ronin Francis Noel S_______
Birth weight 6lb 8oz (2995g)
Length 46 cm
Born: 27/09/2010 at 3:28am

Well we go back a week from today for the start of Ronin's birth story. I felt absolutly fine and was making a huge to do list for the week to keep me occupied. I had no signs of anything happening at all. I was watching tv and hubby called for me to pick him up and on the way in I noticed I had a bit of a cough like I get when I am having issues with my asthma, but thought nothing of it, maybe that there was a small change int he weather coming or it was just hormones. I came home with hubby got his tea and fed the cats before I went to bed. I noticed the cats weren't scarfing their dinner down like normal, but I just thought it was because they are never really fussed on loaf style food which is what they had for the night. In hind sight heir behaviour was really abnormal though and hubby said when he came to bed they were both lying right next to me watching me very closely.

Anyway, I went to bed around 10ish and Lyle came in around 12:20am and cuddled up. I lay there for about ten minutes and then decided I needed to go to the toilet. I sat up and had a small gush. I swore and told Lyle I think I had just peed myself, which he thought was quite funny until I got another small gush and realised it was probably my water breaking. I told him and he asked if he had time for a shower and I said to go for a quick one while I rang the hospital to let them know I was on my way, that bubby had been breech for a few weeks and I thought my water had broken. During this time I had another gush and asked Lyle to bring a towel because a pad wasn't going to cut it any longer. I waddled around the house with a towel between my legs getting dressed and grabbing the bags and the last few bits and pieces and then drove to the hospital (yes I drove myself to the hospital). All the way there I had a few more gushes, but nothing else. We pulled up at the hospital and went in, by the time I got to the door I was having some uncomfortableness which I guess was the start of contractions and by the time they let us in (doors locked and had to be buzzed in) and by the time I got to the maternity ward the uncomfortableness was full blown contractions and becoming very unpleasant, and this was maybe a 5 minute walk. I was given a classy pad for my waters and the midwives checked bub's position and found he was still breech so they did an internal exam to check the cord wasn't presenting and rang down to get theatre ready for me. I didn't even ask how dilated I was because once they found he was breech I knew it didn't matter it was an immediate c section. They put the catheter in at this point and I was in tears because I had to have the c-section. The doctor came in with the consents and I signed them while contracting. The contractions went from nothing to very close together very quickly, but I never bothered timing them because of the c-section, but they were much closer than 5 minutes apart, maybe 2 or 3 minutes at the most, some of them may not have even been that far apart. It felt like someone was trying to push my pelvis in two and like I was having really bad cramps in the very tops of my legs and pelvis area. The midwives sent me for a shower for pre op and got me ready. I saw the pad they had given me and I had lost my mucous plug onto it at some point. Once they were ready I was pushed down to theatre crying the whole time. Lyle was with me the whole time until we got to the doors and then he was sent to get into scrubs and had to wait while I was given the spinal. They said they would put the spinal in between contractions and I plainly told him he had better be quick because that was a very small window of oppurtunity. He started putting it in at the end of a contraction and before he was finished another one had started. I was shivering and crying but got through the needles and was set for surgery. Lyle came in and sat next to me and was reassuring me this was what was best for bub. He was watching what was happening in the light above us because he couldn't see over the drape and they annouced bub was coming out. Lyle looked up and said "It looks like a rabbit, but thats not a tail. We've got a Ronin". I think I cried a little bit then, I wasn't expecting a boy, and truth be told if bub had been a girl would have had the same reaction as I wouldn't have been expecting a girl either, it's like this was the first time the whole pregnancy had felt real.
He cried very quickly and peed on the floor of the room even before he started to cry. The midwife took him to wrap him up and make sure he was ok and bought him straight to us as quickly as she could. It was really hard for me because I couldn't hold him, but Lyle was and he was right up at my face. He was as the midwives put it a typical breech and his little legs wouldn't stay down so we had his feet sticking up as well. The midwife asked how big we thought he was and I said I thought maybe 8 pound something and she agreed. They finished up the surgery and had to give Ronin to Lyle and he took him out of the room while they transferred me to another bed and got me sorted, the wheeled me out to the hall where the midwife immediatly placed Ronin on my chest for skin to skin and to feed. He found his way very quickly and the midwife was surprised at how well and how quickly he had latched. We went back to our room and settled in for a few hours and then let family and friends know around 5:30/6 am that we had Ronin. They weighed him (mind you he had been feeding for awhile at this stage) and he came up 6lb 8oz which surprised us all. Hubby had to come home because he had work and wanted to try and get some sleep before he started his shift. Poor guy only got a half hour then did a full day at work, and came to see me in his break.

I have to take Ronin for an ultrasound when he is six weeks old to check for hip problems because of him being breech. I'm hoping everything is ok, but it's a long time to dwell on the what if regarding an issue.

I had some rough days in hospital, especially Thursday when the baby blues hit really hard and I was in tears for a few hours. I was referred to mental health and have to have follow up with them for a bit because they are a little concerned about PND for me. Ronin has been feeding like a champion from the start. I am struggling with the whole sleep when the baby sleeps thing and also sleeping in general now I am home because of the incision and I have never been able to sleep on my back, I found last night I still can't lay flat so have a few pillows piled up behind me. I am also struggling with the amount of things I can't do myself, at this stage I have someone staying with me all the time, either my Mum or my MIL, but not sure if my MIL is coming back tonight or not, so it may be I am alone tomorrow for the first time.Another rough day was Tuesday, my room was right next to one of the labour suites and I could hear the woman in labour, which made me sad because I couldn't have a natural birth myself. It was a bit rough on me, but I guess is something I will probably work through with mental health.

I don't know if I forgot anything in there, it's hard to remeber it all because of all the emotions and fear I had as well as the speed everything happened.
And just because, another photo, taken today of Lyle, Ronin and I

Rowan’s birth story
9-26-10
7 pounds, 3.3 ounces, 19.75 inches

I started having contractions on Thursday evening, and by 2:30 Friday morning they had become stronger and were only 7 minutes apart. I finished packing the hospital bags and put them by the door. I kept timing them, because my doctor told me not to go to the hospital until they were either 5 minutes apart or my water had broken. The contractions got farther and farther apart. They ended up lasting all day and all night on Friday, but never became regular.

By Saturday late morning I started timing the contractions again. They were still irregular but they had gotten much stronger. I tried walking, but I couldn’t walk through them. I tried sitting on an exercise ball, but that didn’t help and Ryan was afraid I was going to fall off and hurt myself. Finally, at about 4:30pm, I had three contractions that were 5 minutes apart. That was what I had been waiting for, so we went right to the hospital.

I was taken to triage and monitored. The contractions were between 4 and 5 minutes apart, but I was only 2cm dilated, so the nurses told me to walk around for an hour then come back to get checked again. I tried, but I couldn’t walk very far and had to keep sitting down. Then every time I stood back up, it triggered another contraction. After 45 minutes, I went back to triage and they checked again. Now I was 4cm dilated and they decided to admit me. A nurse named Carla was assigned to me, and she came to get me and take me to labor and delivery. On the way there she asked when I wanted to get my epidural, and I said “now, please.”

So Carla gets me to my room and immediately sets up an iv and antibiotics (I’m GBS positive). Then the anesthesiologist came in and gave me my epidural. It didn’t hurt at all going in. Almost immediately I started feeling better. Ryan was watching the monitors, and then he commented what a big contraction I had just had - and I didn’t feel a thing. I felt so much better and so much more relaxed then I had in days. A few minutes later Carla put in my catheter, and then the epidural machine started blaring an alarm, and another nurse came running in, and the baby’s heart rate apparently briefly dropped (I don’t think it really did, I think the monitoring belt slipped when I turned to see why the machine was screaming at me). They immediately put an oxygen mask on me and called for the doctor. It turned out that the machine had a low battery and needed to be switched out. And there was nothing wrong with the baby either.

My water broke at about 1:15am on Sunday. I was lying on my side, and then all the sudden I heard a noise that sound like "blurp...splash". I called out to Ryan and told him I thought my water broke, and he lifted the blankets off of me to see that I had soaked the bed. Carla had put an absorbent towel under me earlier, but my water had overshot it and pretty much got everywhere but on the towel.

I can’t remember how dilated I was at that point. I know that I didn’t have to start pushing until about 3:30am. When Rowan’s head started to come out, I was able to reach down and feel it. Carla kept stopping me from pushing so that the head could stretch me out, so I was just pushing every other contraction. The doctor (unfortunately not my regular doctor, since this wasn’t her weekend on call) arrived at about 3:50, and at that point Rowan’s head was partially out. After another push, the doctor realized that there was something blocking her and that I was going to tear. I gave permission for an episiotomy, she snipped me, and on the next push Rowan’s head and hand and arm came out - if she hadn’t had her arm jammed up by her face, I wouldn’t have torn or needed to be cut. They suctioned her mouth, and then with the next push, she was all the way out. I was able to hold her for a minute (long enough for me to get vernix all over my hands and arms).

I don’t know when the placenta came out - I never even saw it. Ryan cut the cord, and then they took Rowan over to clean her off. Ryan went and sat back down on the couch. I thought he was trying to stay out of the way, and I told him to go look at the baby. He said he couldn’t right then, and that’s when I (and the nurses) realized that he was about to pass out. One of the nurses brought him some juice, and then he went over to watch them clean and measure the baby. She weighed 7 pounds, 3.3 ounces and was 19.75 inches long. Several of the nurses commented that they couldn’t believe that I had a baby that big, since my belly had been so small, but she was actually a little smaller than my doctor had predicted.

Finally, I have a minute to sit and write this

On September 20, as planned, I went into the hospital to be induced. I thought I was 37 weeks by then, but turns out I was 36w6d. No biggie, my doctor was on call that day and I wanted him to be the one to deliver her

I got checked by the gynecologist, I was dialated to 2.5 cm, 70% effaced, so my cervix was nice and ready. We started the pitocin at 9:50 am and I got hooked to monitors. for a while, it just felt like nothing was happening, really. I had contractions, but nothing to call home about, you know? I ate lunch (I was starving!) and we waited some more. I walked a bit, went on the birthing ball a bit, but all in all, it was boring Good thing I had a good book! DH was playing with his iPhone and my dad was reading as well (my dad was there for the birth, he promised me he would after I lost Oli. He lives and work in New Caledonia, near Australia, so it was a big deal that he would be here...so glad he was there )

After lunch, at around 1:30 or so, my doctor ruptured my membranes to get things going a bit faster. I was dialated to a 4 by then...not much progress! Walk some more, birthing ball some more, all the while the nurses kept cranking up the pitocin to make my contractions a bit more powerful. I didn't eat dinner, as I thought I would for sure have her soon, and I didn't want to throw up all over the place

I don't really remember when I asked for the epidural, it was after dinner, because the contractions were now every 3 minutes and I just knew that when things would get into high gear, it would go really fast and I didn't want to wait until it would be too late. So I had the epidural and all was right with the world again

Around 7:30, I was hooked on monitors and I started to get concerned about Magalie's heartbeat. She was recovering from the contractions, but not as fast as I would have liked. Contractions were on top of each other, lasting 2 minutes each. Then, at 7:41 (Jonathan took a picture of the clock), her heartbeat was not just what it should have been. She was going from 60 during a contraction, then she was shooting back to 200, hen falling back to 60-70 and not going back up...I rang and my doctor came in the room. I told him I didn't like her heartbeat, he took a quick look at the monitor, shoved a hand up my ladie's parts to see where I was at. I was at a 9 by then, but he told me we would get her out now. By then, 5 other people came running in the room, so I guess he pulled on the emergency bell, but I didn't really see anything. My dad got out of the room (I didn't want him to see the pushing part), I was crying and praying she was ok. I just knew that I couldn't survive losing another baby, I am just not strong enough, so I was crying and waiting to push. My doctor put his gloves on and told me to push her out...not sure if I was fully dialated by then, but it didn't really matter as I was pushing for my life. I pushed twice and she was out, 2 minutes exactly after I rang...at 7:43.

I had a placenta abruption during labor, and that is why her heartbeat was so erratic. I was bleeding pretty heavily. I had a huge blood clot in my uterus and another one in the placenta. They made blood tests on Magalie once I had her and we were very lucky that she got out before the bleeding could do her any harm. She was perfectly healthy. As for me, I bled a lot, and after I made sure she was doing ok, I started to get concerned about myself. Having two doctors looking between your legs and saying things like: She HAS to stop bleeding now, there is way too much blood, etc. is a bit disturbing when you realize they are talking about you!

I eventually stopped bleeding (obviously) without too much damage. Magalie got out quickly enough that she didn't have time to have problems for the bleeding, thank God. She got out weigh in at 5 lbs 8 oz and measuring 18.25 in. She is a tiny baby, and sooooo beautiful! We love her to pieces. She is such a good baby, we are very lucky to have her.

Will try to add pics when I figure out how to do it from my phone.

Thanks for reading!

Birth story for Chloe Amelia Lee P.

Born 10/4/2010
weighing 7 lbs 12 oz; 20 inches long
Monday the 4th I was scheduled to have a repeat c section. Throughout my entire pregnancy I had issues with my blood pressure, so early on I decided that a repeat was the best way to go for having my little girl. Sunday night, I could not sleep. The thought that my baby girl would be in my arms was way too exciting. I talked to Glenn all night long, keeping him awake too. He could not sleep either anyway. I had pretty bad heartburn too, I could not relive it since I was unable to eat/drink anything past midnight. So come Monday morning, I was very tired but even more excited.
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We got ready to leave our apartment at about 7:30. Everything was packed and ready to go, that morning, it was a little cold outside. It was a beautiful day that day. Perfect day to have a baby. We got into our car and started to go get Glenn and Trevor some breakfast, our car mad e a odd noise and to our luck, we had a flat tire. Luckily, it was just low and not flat. We had to be in labor and delivery at 8 am so, really we had no time. God was really looking out for us that day. So, we continued down the road. We dropped Trevor off with my Mom and went on our way to the hospital to get checked in. We got into labor and delivery right on time, something that is not usual for us. We were late to our own wedding. The nurse checked me into room number 2 and started getting things set up for my c section. I peed in a cup and she shaved me and got my Iv in. She was done by 8:30 so we just had to sit and wait until 11 to have the c section. I remember Glenn making the comment that it would take forever since we had over a hour to just sit there. That time went by really fast. It seemed like maybe 30 minutes when it turned 10 o'clock. Glenn's dad had told him earlier that day that would like to come and visit at 10 so we figured our family would start showing up soon. We really did not have very many visitors, that was good thing though. I was starting to really get nervous, and having that time with my husband to just talk me thru it all was so nice. He was amazing, held my hand and reminded me that everything was going to be fine. Glenn's dad and sisters showed up around 10:30, they only stayed for a minute so it was not too bad. My mom said she was going to be there by that time, so I was excited and wanted to give Trevor a kiss before we went back into sugery. The nurse came in all dressed up and so did the anistioligist. Glenn and I started to get nervous so he started calling my mom asking where Trevor was. They decided to stop off and get breakfast beforehand, so Glenn just asked them to hurry up. Trevor made it just in time to give me a kiss before I was wheeled back into surgery. Glenn looked so happy that I was able to do that, for some reason I was upset because I did not think they would make it there in time. Glenn made it happen though, like I said he was just being amazing.
Glenn dressed up in his scrubs and they put a cap on my head. They wheeled me back into the operating room and that is when everything started to get going. The anistioligist really was the main person there, doing everything. I sat on the table and leaned forward to get the epidural put in. It was really simple and not too painful. The numbing shots were really all I felt, from any of the needles anyway. As he was putting the medicine in, it kinda burned a little and it also shot pains down my back. The pains were not too bad and totally manageable. My feet started to get hot and so did my legs and butt. I was layed down and he let the medicine do its job first. He tested me with a cold piece of metal to see if I could feel anything. He put the metal on my head, and I could feel that. Then he put it where my c section would be proformed and I could not feel the coldness of the metal there. My blood pressure started to get low so he tilted the table and gave me something to help stablize it. I was getting sick, and feeling a little dizzy, all from the low blood pressure. He got it back up very quickly though.
My ob walked into the room and he also tested me to see if I could feel anything, I do not know what he used to test me. He then started on with my c section. I felt fine, and I was remaining as calm as I could be. I wanted to remember everything, and experiance my last birth.
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Once my ob had started my surgery, they brought my husband in. As he walked into the room, he looked nervous. Once he saw me smiling at him, he looked like he was put at ease. I really was in a great mood and so excited. I remember I kept telling Glenn that I loved him, and that I could not believe our daughter would be here soon.
As far as my surgery goes, it went pretty fast. My ob went thru my old c section opening, and he said there was a lot of scar tissue. Once he got thru that, I remember him yelling clear fluid. I knew that meant my water was broken and that it was good. I started to get really excited. I told Glenn she would be here soon. The anistioligist told asked him if he wanted to see her come out and he looked excited and said yes. He was not able to do this with Trevor so, I guess he was happy to be able to see Chloe "come out". Not soon after my water was broken, the anistiolgist told Glenn to look. I remember him gasping and he saw his daughter come out. He said "oh my God" and Chloe started to scream. I started to cry and Glenn looked like he was about to cry and he said "she is beautiful". They lowered the screen and I saw my ob holding her in his arms. She looked so tiny, and so sweet. They put the screen back up and then I just layed there and listened to her cry, I was crying too. My ob told me “this is what you want to hear (baby crying so loud)”.
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The nurse brought her over to me and I kissed her a lot then I told her I loved her and they took her to the nursery. Glenn got a lot of great pictures for me.
I got up in recovery and this time it was so much better. I was happy and since I knew what went on, I was fine. I remember thinking I should get some sleep but then I was way too excited. Glenn must have made sure no one visited me because no one came back there. This is what I wanted. I told Glenn he could go be with Chloe. I was fine. They actually brought her in once I called the nursery :). I was able to just sit there and hold my little girl and it was amazing. I started to bf her and she latched right on. Glenn came back with Trevor and we just sat there and enjoyed our little girl.
Chloe, you are perfect! I love you so much, I still thank God every single day for bringing you into my life. You have daddy wrapped already and he LOVES you too. I could not ask for a more perfect family.
We came home wednesday night and It has been great being home. Chloe seems to like it here alot more than she liked the hospital.
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we went by my moms first before going home. lol this pic was funny
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first bath at home
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Chloe is great she nurses pretty well but is still falling asleep at the breast a lot. I got my pump for when she sleeps past a feeding and I got 1oz and 1/2 out this morning, not much but I am proud. I am still in a lot of pain from birth and bf causes pain too..but Its not too bad. Trevor loves his sister and keeps kissing her and trying to help. Glenn has been amazing and has took care of everything. I am falling in love with him even more! He even left me a liitle love note on my laptop telling me how great i'm doing :D She went to her first pedi. apointment yesterday and is 7lbs 7oz so not too bad. We all (except Miss Chloe of course :)) got our flu shots too.
I hope everyone is doing well!!

Clara Lucille
October 1, 2010 3:48am
6 lbs 4 oz
21 inches

I had my36 week doctor’s appointment on Thursday September 30th and I was 35 weeks +5, had my GBS swab done and that’s about all. We chatted a little bit and I made the rest of my appointments for the pregnancy and then I left. Grady and I went to Walmart and did some shopping.

Got home around 2 o’clock and was heading to the bathroom when all of a sudden I started leaking fluid all over. At first I thought I had just held my pee way too long and standing up was causing me to pee myself, but I completely soaked my pants and it was dripping. I headed to the bathroom, sat down and it just leaked and leaked and leaked. I tried to get Grady to go get my phone, but he brought me a tractor instead, he had no idea what I was talking about. I finally got up and got the phone myself, called hubby, and told him to head on home. I called my mom to let her know she was gonna have to come get Grady and then I called the doctor’s office.

I wasn’t having any contractions at the time so I was really hoping they would let me stay home for a while, but they wanted me to come in because she was so early. I didn’t have anything packed so it still took a while to get ready. I had actually made a list of things I wanted to bring to the hospital, but it didn’t have everything listed. I kind of took my time packing to stall so I didn’t have to get to the hospital too early as my original plan had been to labor at home as long as possible. I had to unload the washer and grab a bunch of stuff for Clara. In the meantime, we got Grady to lay down and take a nap and mom showed up so we headed off to the hospital. I had hubby stop by Hardee’s so I could get a curly fry since my gestational diabetes had limited my diet for a couple months, and at this point I figured what the heck, it was delicious!

We hit the road and I had hubby drive sort of slow cause I still didn’t want to get there too soon. It took about 45 minutes to get to the hospital. I went up to L&D and got checked into triage. The nurse asked if I was still leaking and I wasn’t so she swabbed my hoo ha for fluid and it was inconclusive. She said it’s not that she didn’t believe me, but they took another swab and sent it to the lab. In the meantime they hooked me up to the monitor to check contractions and Clara’s heartrate. Everything was going smooth. Contractions weren’t very close and not strong at all, very early labor BH kind of contractions. At this point I just knew I needed to get up and walk, but couldn’t til I was checked in. About an hour later the results came back from the lab and it was + for amniotic fluid. The nurse checked me and I was dilated to almost a 3 and my cervix was very thick. I knew I had a lot of work to do, but I was very excited to be at a 3! I was actually still pretty excited that I had went into labor on my own as my other 2 kids were induced and it was just really cool to have the experience of a very exciting water breaking moment.

I got to my room, got hooked up to the monitors but I was tethered to the stationary monitor for the moment. I knew they had portable ones so I knew eventually I’d be able to move around. I wouldn’t lay in the bed, I just stood next to it. The nurses took my vitals and told me I’d have to have antibiotics every 4 hours because my GBS was just done that day and they wouldn’t have the results. I wasn’t a fan, but I did understand so no big deal. The nurse I had, I didn’t care for and finally at 7pm the shift changed and I got my new nurse. I LOVED her! I got an RN and an OB Tech and they were both fantastic. The RN had her 1st 2 kids all natural and understood what I was looking for in my birthing experience. The OB Tech was young and energetic and so incredibly sweet and helpful.

I had already had 1 round of antibiotics at 6:15 and it only took about 30 minutes to run through. My new nurse, Cindy, got me hooked up to the portable monitor and set me and hubby free to walk the halls. She understood that I wanted to just be free to labor however I wanted with little interruption from them. I asked for water, but was told it was only ice chips from here on out. I was totally bummed, but when I went to the bathroom I would drink out of the faucet, gross I know, but I swear it kept me going! We walked and walked and walked and walked some more. I swear we walked over 10 miles by the end of all of it. And of course I kept updated on pregnancy.org and facebook when we would go back to the room to let Scott take a break from all the walking. At this point, the contractions were strong tightenings, but the more I walked the closer and more stable they would become. I would go back to the room and sit down to rest and they would practically disappear, which was a nice relief, but I knew I had to just keep moving. At 1 point I got a charley horse in my left calf and we had to take a break so Scott could rub it out. I had been having contractions about every 3 minutes at that point, but when I laid down they went away. I wasn’t worried though cause I needed that break and I knew that getting back up would kick them back in.

The nurse said they weren’t going to do cervical checks on me since my water was ruptured and I was so early, which was fantastic cause I didn’t want them anyway. She said at midnight Dr. Meyer would come in and check me. We kept walking until then. At 11:00pm I was getting worried cause the contractions were still really easy and about 3 minutes apart lasting about 50 seconds. If I took a break, so did they. I swear as midnight approached I practically jogged the halls to get it going. Dr. Meyer came in about 12:15, check me and I was 3 cm and 75% effaced. He said that was great that I had thinned, but he wanted to talk about a little pitocin to get me more dilated. I had a heplock that they hooked the antibiotics to when it was time, but beyond that I was not getting any fluids and that’s how I wanted to keep it. I told him to give me til 6 am and we could discuss it again since I was on the clock with ruptured waters and a preemie. I really had no intentions of doing the pitocin at 6 am either, but it bought me some more time. He said that was fine, no big deal, he’d come back at 6 or sooner if I needed him. It was absolute torture for me to lay in that bed while he was checking me, I have no idea how I labored in it the whole 21 hours with my daughter!

We walked and walked and walked some more. Very shortly after Dr. Meyer left we were walking and I noticed the contractions were changing. In the beginning it was the top of my uterus tightening a whole bunch and they were getting to be really tight. Now it was the bottom of my uterus and there was actual pain with it. I was excited about that, but also scared cause I knew I was on my way to getting some more pain. Those contractions kept up to the point that I couldn’t keep walking the halls and I didn’t need to cause even sitting didn’t make them go away. They were still 3 minutes apart and about 1 minute long. They weren’t as bad as pitocin contractions, but not as easy as the ones I’d been having. I was in some pain but still very excited. I know it sounds weird, but that’s how desperate I was to avoid an induced or augmented labor. Pitocin is something the devil invented, I’m pretty sure!

We ended up laboring in the room for the rest of it. I would sit on the couch and Scott would stand in front of me during a contraction and I would grab him around the waist and rock my hips and try to remember to breathe. He was great, he would get in my face and remind me to breathe and tell me it was almost over. Just before 2am the OB tech noticed I was in a lot of pain through the contractions so she asked to check me. I managed to get into the bed after talking myself into it, but it took a few contractions to get there. Not because I couldn’t, but because I knew it was going to hurt to lay down. She checked me and I said I was a 6 and 90% effaced. I practically jumped out of bed when she was done. I had Scott put a blanket down on the floor by the bed and I knelt on it and put my head on the bed. Within 2 or 3 contractions I started moaning and ended up on my hands and knees and I could feel my body pushing. It was amazing and scary all at once cause I’ve never felt my body push without me doing it myself. The tech grabbed the nurse and she talked me into bed cause she pretty much knew what was going on. She checked and sure enough I was complete and involuntarily pushing. She started getting the bed broken down and getting out the delivery equipment. I pushed for about 3 pushes laying on my back and I was freaking out. I couldn’t keep it together! I finally got on my hands and knees on the bed and pushed that way while they were working on their stuff. She got everything all ready to go and called the doctor. They put the squat bar up so I could hang onto that and squat while I was pushing. Dr. Meyer knew about my back problems and wanted me to push in whatever position felt good because he was worried about my back causing me problems. I pushed for a while with the squat bar and got tired on my feet. I ended up laying on my hands and knees with my head down at the end of the bed and my butt facing away from the doctor. He was so calm, he just let me do my own thing as he just patiently waited.

I kept my eyes closed through most of it, but had a sense of who was there. I wasn’t dealing with the contractions very well at this point. When they would start it was so incredibly painful. The nurse was trying to count and get me to purple push, but at that point I had the listening skills of a toddler. I just kept doing what felt right to me. The contraction would start and I would yell for my nurse, Cindy and she would get in my face and help me breathe. Then when it would pick up she would help me remember to push, of course I wasn’t pushing like she wanted me to. She wanted me to push through the count of 10, take a breath and push another 10 and take another breath and push through 10. I would take a breath, push as long as I could, maybe 8 or so and pant a couple times and my body would start pushing at that point so I would just let it do the work, which felt great, and then I never made it past the count of 5 on the 3rd push. I don’t think I ever pushed through all 3 counts til the very end. I was still kneeling with my butt the wrong way and my dr was trying to encourage me to switch positions cause I was getting no where. I finally got my butt facing him, but my nurse wanted me to flip over to my back and I just couldn’t vocalize to anyone just how much I didn’t want to do it, so I just kept shushing them and telling them no. They finally got me to flip around and grab the bar again and stand up, but it took a little while cause my feet were asleep. At that point I grabbed the bar, beared down as hard as I could and pushed. I think they were counting but I wasn’t paying any attention to them. I could feel her moving down and it felt good! I was still doing well between contractions, but as they were rising and when they were going down was the worst.

Side note: Apparently I was quite the riot while I was pushing cause I was making ridiculous comments some of which I don't remember but everyone else does. I told Dr. Meyer I would pay him double if he would reach up there, grab her by the ears and yank her out. He said he would, but it would hurt a lot worse. Then I said next time, I’m having a kitten so I don’t have to work so hard to get it out. Another time I looked up and looked over at the table with the medical instruments and saw a shot glass and asked “Is that a shot glass? And if so, who gets to do the shot, me or the doctor?” I begged for an epidural or any drugs they could scrounge up, knowing full well I deep down didn’t want one and couldn’t have anything anyway. I also told them that I wasn't pushing anymore until they got me some water, yeah, like I had a choice! Dr. Meyer recognized it as the ramblings of a mad woman and just patiently waited for me to calm down between contractions/pushing.

My 1st pushing urge came about 2:15 and I delivered her at 3:48 so this all happened in that span. While I was hanging onto the squat bar I felt her move way down and Dr. Meyer felt her too. It was at that point that he said something about it being a butt coming out and not a head. I was too involved in what I was doing to care, but I looked right at him and could tell he was freaked by it. At that point he said we have 2 choices: we could either get anesthesia in here and do a c/s or and at that point I wanted whatever the or was. The or was I had to do what he said when he said it and he would get this baby delivered. All of a sudden my ears started working and I just focused in on what he said. He had me lay down as he ordered the nurses to go get a really long forceps called a Piper. I was still pushing cause I had no choice, my body was still in charge. The nurses were having a hard time finding what he wanted and he was getting aggravated. I kept pushing and could feel that nothing was happening and he informed me that he was holding her in and not letting her out til he had what he needed, but I couldn’t stop pushing so he just held her up there while I pushed. He finally got what he needed and then told me that he was going to cut me. I started to argue, but realized the gravity of the situation and just let him. I don’t know if it would’ve been necessary and neither did he, but I didn’t want to take the chance and neither did he. He told me to push and I did, with all my might and felt her slide out. He told me to just keep pushing to get her head out and I did. It was hard because there was no contraction, but I could tell by his voice that I needed to do it and do it quickly so that’s what I did. The immediately took her over to the warmer next to my bed. I thought I would be upset because I wanted her right after she was born, but I could tell something wasn’t right and I just watched as they told me what was going on. Dr. Meyer stood with me waiting on my placenta and telling me what was going on with Clara. She wasn’t very responsive so they were deep suctioning her. Within a few minutes they said she was fine and they were just going to keep her there to keep helping her, but they kept reassuring me that she was indeed going to be okay. Within about half an hour my placenta released and before Dr. Meyer could say anything to me I got a very tiny contraction and pushed on my own and out it popped. He showed it to me and explained what all it was and then went on to stitching me up. They brought Clara over to me and put her on my bare belly and put blankets over us. I was so happy to finally have her and so happy she was okay. Dr. Meyer stitched me up, which hurt, but I was so involved in Clara that I didn’t pay much attention to him.

After he finished up, Clara and I just laid there together getting her all nice and warm from my body heat. I think I realized around this point that at some point during the pushing I had gotten so hot I had ripped off my gown cause I was laying in bed naked and it only then dawned on me. I was on cloud 9, I had my baby in my arms and I had just delivered her!!!!! BREECH none the less!!!!!

I put her to the breast and she latched on pretty quickly with a great latch. She sucked and sucked and it was great. I was worried that she wouldn’t be able to nurse well since she was so early, but she is a champion nurser. We laid there and she stayed latched on and nursed on and off for about 45 minutes. They let me just keep her there with me til I was ready to let her go to the nursery to get cleaned up and checked out. I think it was about 5 or 5:30am before I was okay with giving her up. They brought me in some food and then I went down to the nursery to be with her. Her temperature was low so they put her in the warmer. Before I would’ve said that I didn’t want her to be in there any longer than necessary and I would’ve wanted her just to have skin to skin to warm her up, but for some reason it really didn’t bother me. I went back to the room and got cleaned up while she was gone. They didn’t keep her very long. They brought her back to me and I just snuggled her and nursed her all morning. I couldn’t sleep, heck I could barely sit still. I was exhausted deep down, but I was on such an adrenaline rush that I was sure it would take me a week to settle back down.

There were parts that didn’t go as I had planned, but I had such an amazing team of nurses and such an amazing doctor that understood what I wanted and tried very hard to get me all of it. They knew how important my birth was to me, but also how important my darling girl was, so they kept both things in mind instead of making my wishes take a backseat to their needs as medical professionals. I’m still on a high!!!

The stitches hurt the first day and I still can’t sit directly on them, but that is nothing compared to the pain I go through with a c-section and they are already feeling better than they did yesterday. I know some people that can stand up and be doing everything quickly after a c/s, but I don’t heal from them that quickly so I’m glad I don’t have to worry about it this time. I got my VBA2C, but not just that, I got to experience a very natural birth. I can’t wait to do it again……..wait, I just shifted wrong and felt my stitches again, okay, maybe I can wait a while, but I will forget this pain just like I did my c/s pain after my other kids :) All of my births have significance, but Clara’s birth was a very healing experience for me because I was informed and was able to consciously take charge of my care.


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