Birth story excerpt

Here is a excerpt from a birth story of patient we cared for:
“Anyway, we get to the parking deck and I quickly decide that there’s no need to walk around the parking deck, that they were still consistent and not slowing down. Since it was 1am we had to go through the emergency room exit and they had me get in a wheelchair to ride up to L&D (ugh… sitting is not comfortable!), but as soon as I got to L&D they let me back up. And they were awesome (yeah for NE AL Regional Medical Center!!) they waited til I was between contraction to have me lay down to check (and I was at 6cm! yeah – it was 1:20am at this point so Thursday morning now) and let me right back up… even for the 20 min mandatory fetal monitoring on admittance they allowed me to stand! (hooray!!!!) (let me just say I totally totally understand why women who “have to” or are forced to/encouraged to lay on their backs get an epidural — that issooooooooooo uncomfortable! – but once back upright much better. The position that my body kept putting itself in (there’s really no other way to describe it) was standing up and leaningover something. Katie (doula) and Keith took turns pressing my hips together —— This brought a similar comfort as it did with connor’s labor – although with connor I had lots of back pain and I wasn’t having any this time…. It was only uncomfortable below my belly button— increasingly uncomfortable, to be honest, but very localized to that region. Nonetheless, the hip compression(and the occasional rebozo) still felt really nice.

So they got the labor tub filled up and I got in… and it was HOT! (course I’m a big wimp when it comes to water temp and it couldn’t have been more than 102, but boy it felt really hot… so I only got partially in (ha!)) — I got on my knees and hung over the side of the pool (so basically the same position that I’d been in the whole time) — I kept thinking to myself “I need to change positions maybe, I don’t wanna slow things down my staying in one position” and every time I thought that I’d think “okay, I’ll change next contraction” and this cycle repeated itself and I never did change positions.Haha.. They were coming pretty quick (I have no idea really – you lose all track of time when in labor) but def getting stronger and really burning that region of my uterus below my belly button….Katie and Keith rotated the hip compressions while the other kept a fan on my face and wiped my face with a towel and gave me my water bottle between nearly ever contraction (drinking water while laboring —- awesome! Ice chips are ridiculous!). Then I thought “Okay, by the time I get to transition the pool will have cooled down enough that I can turn over and get a little more in the water”….. In walks the doctor – this was just thrilling to me! I was really really glad that he was there b/c I felt 100% comfortable with his views on birth and even though the hospital was being great, I really wanted it to be him instead of another OB. I glanced up and exclaimed “It worked!” –meaning the membrane stripping. He laughed and agreed. And then I had one more contraction……… a big one……. And I felt like …… well, I felt,for lack of better words, like I had to poop! Which, you know what that means —-à URGE TO PUSH! Wowzers, that was an incredible feeling, like you cannot stop it!

so a quick flashback to connor’s birth – which I’m now realizing that I never had an actual urge to push with him —– I had thought I did a few times so Ihad gotten checked several times.. 8cm, 9 1/2cm, nearly but then with cervicall ip (frustrating)…. And so once the cervical lip was gone (which I had those few contractions on my back — owwww owwww owwwww!!), then I was instructed(or at least ‘permitted’) to push….

Patrick’s however, was totally different…. I was still thinking that I was waiting for transition so I could get in a different position when the doc had walked in (great timing doc!). and after that brief greeting, one contraction, and then wowzers pushing was happening!!!!! Actually more precisely, crowning was happening! – now, hospital policy is that it’s a labor tub,not a birthing tub, so I needed to get out. (ha) which was actually fine with me, although Ineeded some help… I got on my feet (still leaning over) and remember the flurry of activity – gloves going on – doc reaching underneath just in case — Keith standing in front of me, Katie to the side… Someone said, “Okay, can you just put your legs over” to which I giggled and said sarcastically “I have legs??!?!” So Keith bear hugged me and lifted me out of the pool (my hero!) with Doc underneath in case. I then (in between contractions apparently (and thankfully)) hopped onto the bed and got back on my knees and leaned over the head of the reclined bed. Two contractions, pretty high pitched screaming honestly, rim of fire, and out barreled my 9lb8.1oz big ol Mr.Patrick! 3:37am (a little over 2hrs since we’d gotten to hospital). I rolled over and got him up on my belly (his cord was a little short so that’s about as far as he could go) and laid the resort of in a daze… I couldn’t believe he was already here (well – already as far as labor, not as far as duration of pregnancy hahaha)… I really had been thinking I’d have hours of labor left before I’d be getting to hold him, yet there he was! And lots (well, compared to connor) of black hair.. and boy, oh,boy, REALLY long fingernails – he looked so clean since all the vernix was gonesince he was so mature in the womb.. and big!. Soon after an (yes, again another nerd statement is coming) absolutely beautiful looking placenta was delivered. Haha… then I got to scoot him up and get a closer look and see all his beautiful lil details. Thanks to the baby-friendly status of the hospital there was nothing going on except him on me (no weights or baths or removal or anything… just awesome) —- well, one thing going on was stitches,but skin-on-skin with baby wasn’t interrupted so I barely noticed that. For 2 hours I just held him, nursed him, looked at him… my parents and connor came into see him (mom was planning to be in the room when he came, but… ummmm…. Refer to the paragraph above – kinda took me offguard so I didn’t know to tell her to come in from the waiting room …oops)… after the 2 hours I had to get up to pee! (I had probably had 1million gallons of water during the labor and after) ha… so I let them weigh him, measure him, and do his footprint and and vitamin K – I’m a big fan of vit K!) and that was it… no fuss about anything else and then he was back on me and we headed to the recovery room where westayed til the next afternoon sleeping, nursing, and taking one zillion pictures of course!

Soooo soooo sooooo super fantastic!”