SM - Birth Stories

A natural birth in the hospital with a Midwife.
By: Mom

Lauren Christina Lea's Birth Story

      It was 4am in the morning of Monday, September 19th when I awoke to go to the bathroom. This wasn't unusual since I was about 2 weeks overdue with you! It was quite common for me to go to the bathroom during the night. Anyways I kept on getting up to go to the bathroom, and then I would get back into bed. I just couldn't get comfortable in bed and then I would get back out because I needed to go to the bathroom again! Finally I looked at the clock thinking that hours must have passed and it was only 4:30am! I realized at that moment that maybe, just maybe something was going on. Trying not to get too excited because I had been having prodromal labor for the past 4 weeks, I got back into bed and tried to get some sleep.

      I looked at the clock and it was 5:30am. I decided that it was time to let Daddy know that something was going on. Knowing that it was Monday morning and that he needed to go to work, I woke him up by saying "Don't be mad, but I think I'm in labor." He looked at me and responded "That's great!!!" We got out of bed and headed to the living room to begin our day. Daddy decided that he needed to get some coffee and breakfast from McDonald's. I wasn't hungry, but he got me some orange juice to drink. It was around the time that Daddy got back from McDonald's that the realization hit me that we were actually in labor! We both got really excited knowing that we were going to meet you very soon!

      At this point it was the early morning, the sun was beginning to rise and my surges (contractions) kept progressing in their regularity and in their strength. It was so exciting to know that this was it! I was excited to finally put all of my hypnobirthing to good use and to bring you into the world.

      Your Dad and I decided that we needed to call our doula, Eileen. We hired her to help out with our labor and birth. Before you were born we formed a special connection and she became an integral part of our birthing process. There were many women that had also hired Eileen whose due dates were close to mine. So when we finally called her she was already at another birth! I was really sad, but at this point I knew that I couldn't focus on that. Well to show you just how special Eileen is, she got another doula to cover the birth that she was at and she came to our house to help me labor! Eileen arrived around 9am when Regis and Kelly was on.

      Eileen arrived and we hugged. She said that she wouldn't have missed your birth for anything! It meant so much to me that she had come to your birth. After Eileen arrived we were watching television, at first we were watching Regis and Kelly and then we put in a DVD of King of Queens, our favorite television show. I was sitting on the birthing ball rocking back and forth, working through the surges, which were continuing in their regularity and their strength.

      Finally Eileen encouraged me to take a shower. So I got into the shower and it felt so wonderful to have the water soothe and relax me. I don't know how long I was in there, but it felt great! Since my surges had become more regular and were continuing to get strong, I was making very primal noises throughout each one. Eileen later said that it was as if I was singing you into the world! Anyway, the noises that I was making in the shower led both Eileen and I to believe that perhaps it would be a good idea for us to go to the hospital.

      It had been my goal all along that I would not get checked in to the hospital until I was 7 centimeters dilated. Eileen called Stephanie, our midwife, who was already at Good Samaritan Hospital for another birth. She said that she would tell the hospital that we were on our way and that she would reserve Suite 11 for us. Suite 11 had the one and only hydrotherapy tub. I told Eileen that I would only go to the hospital to get checked if Suite 11 was available...I guess it's a good thing it was, who knows what we would have done if it was occupied!

      It was about 11am when your dad, Eileen, and I collected all of our stuff and got ready to go to the hospital. Your dad and I got into the Jetta station wagon and Eileen got into her van. It was only going to take about 10-15 minutes to get to Good Sam from our house, since we could take back roads. As luck would have it there was a water main break right in front of the hospital, so we had to take an alternate route. When we were in the car I continued to work through each surge. At one point I opened my eyes to discover I had no idea where we were. I asked your Dad "Where are we?" He then reminded me about the detour. I was concerned because your Dad is notorious for getting lost and not asking for directions. So I said to him "Please tell me you know how to get there!" Thankfully he did and before I knew it we were pulling up to the hospital.

      We parked in the Maternity lot and then walked in the front entrance of Good Sam. I must have looked pretty far along in the labor process because once we walked in there was a man who really wanted to give me a wheelchair! I didn't need one so we kept on walking to the elevator. We went up to the Labor & Delivery floor and checked in at the nurse's station. The next thing I know I looked up and saw Stephanie's face! It was so nice to see someone familiar in a place that wasn't. Stephanie said "Hello" and told us how happy she was that we were in labor. It was at that moment when I leaned over to her and said, "I don't like hospitals." Indeed I do not like hospitals at all and had not been in a hospital as a patient since I was in kindergarten.

      Your Dad stayed at the nurse's station to fill out some remaining paperwork, while I went with Eileen and a nurse to Triage. It was in Triage that Stephanie checked me and said that I was 4 centimeters dilated. I was pretty disappointed with that, since I thought I was further along. Eileen said not to pay attention to the number and focus on what my body is telling me. I took that to heart and did just that. It was around that point that I no longer focused on the clock and it was then that time began to fly by!

      We got into our room, Suite 11, and the nurses began to set up the hydrotherapy tub. It took a while for the tub to be filled. During that time we turned off the lights and I continued to work through each surge. I was walking around the room and would occasionally use the bathroom. It was difficult for me to find a comfortable position because of the way that you were positioned inside me. So I wasn't ever in one spot for too long, before I found something new that worked for that surge.

      Finally the tub was ready! I got into the tub and it felt nice. Since I preferred to take a shower in life and rarely if ever took a bath, it felt nice to be surrounded by so much water. In many ways I felt weightless and the water really comforted me...for a while anyways!

      So I stayed into the tub and labored for a while. Eventually I started to get really warm in the water and around the time that I wanted to get out, I began to vomit. As you have probably learned by now, I absolutely hate to vomit, not that anyone likes to, but there are many things I would rather go through...so once that was done I got out of the tub!

      When I got out of the tub, I started to labor around the room. I moved from leaning on the bed and then going and sitting on the toilet. Everything was going really well. I had a couple of really neat moments around this time. Ironically both occurred on the toilet, which turned out to be my favorite place to labor, both at home and in the hospital. My first moment is this...I was about 18-20 weeks pregnant with you when I ran my first ever race. It was the Flying Pig 10k. It was an awesome experience and a huge accomplishment. During the race I knew that I would easily be able to "go natural" because if I could test my body's limits by running over 6 miles, then labor and birth would be really simple! Anyway I was sitting on the toilet thinking now how easy the race was and how I am totally going to do the 10k next year, if not the half marathon! The next moment is this...I was sitting on the toilet thinking how it would have been if I had an epidural at that moment. I knew from our hypnobirthing classes, as well as what I had seen on television, that women with epidurals-for the most part-did not feel anything. They could not feel the waves of surges and then when the time came they would not be able to know when it was time to push. So I sat there thinking that I was very thankful to be feeling everything and that I could not imagine not experiencing every moment of your labor and birth!

      So finally Eileen and Stephanie encouraged me to take a shower. To do this we had to walk down the hall by the nurse's station. In our birthing suite we did not have a shower because we had the hydrotherapy tub instead. I got into the shower and was surprised, for whatever reason, that it felt so good! The water on my back really relieved the pressure that I was feeling. So I stayed in the shower for a while and then eventually got out and went back to our room.

      Once we got back into the room I decided to sit on our birthing ball. It was at this moment that I said, "I feel something!" Just then the bag of waters broke! The water felt so hot because you and I were getting quite warm! It was such a unique feeling and just when I thought that all of the water had escaped there was more. Depending on how I would stand or squat more water would come out! I was really concerned about getting the floor dirty, which is silly, but tells you something about my personality! So everyone kept putting these special mats on the floor to catch the water. When I felt the water come I tried to be on the mats and I would apologize when I didn't make it on the mats.

      The water breaking was a good sign, as was me vomiting again, that we were getting really close to meeting you. Stephanie checked me and I was 9 centimeters! Hooray, only 1 more centimeter to go! I was so excited! It was just a little while longer and it was time to push.

      For a long time I was on the toilet. It was really comfortable for me there. Stephanie, Eileen, and even our nurse kept on checking on me. My sounds were becoming more intense and frequent. Since the lights were off and it was completely dark in the bathroom, they would occasionally bring in a flashlight to see if they could see your head. Finally Eileen and I think the nurse came in and said that they could both see just the tip of your head! Eileen suggested that I come off the toilet so that I could push. I did my best to convince her that I was fine on the toilet, which I was in my mind! She wanted me to come out of the bathroom to push and I was completely convinced that I could push you out on the toilet! I know that it sounds crazy to you now, but there was no doubt in my mind that I could birth you on the toilet!

      Eventually I gave in and got out of the bathroom. I went to the bed. At first I tried some different squatting positions and that was not comfortable for me at all. So then Stephanie and Eileen suggested that I try the squatting bar. The squatting bar was positioned on the end of the bed. To use it I would hang my arms over the bar and it would support me as I squatted and pushed. I really like the squatting bar, but unfortunately it was not making you come down further. So then for a while we tried me lying on my back with my feet propped up on the bar. After that I lay on my left side and began to really push. It was the most challenging part of the labor and birth process! There was a lot of quality pushing to do before you came out...when your head crowned I was laying on my left side. My left leg was pulled back and I was holding my right leg by my big toe and pulled it up to my forehead! I didn't know that I was that flexible, but at least for those moments in time I was!

      Your head crowned and then it was time for your shoulders to come out. Boy it was pretty challenging to get your shoulders to come out, but needless to say I did it! Then the next thing I knew the rest of your body flew out! It was the most incredible feeling in the world. I felt your stomach, legs, and then the very long umbilical cord. Feeling you come out was the most gratifying experience! Once you came out Stephanie caught you! Stephanie said, "He looks good! He's doing well!" To which I responded, "It's a boy? Is it a boy?" Throughout my entire pregnancy with you I was convinced that you were a girl. That stemmed from the dreams that I had which said that you were a girl! Your Dad came over and saw that you were a girl! Finally Stephanie announced that you were a girl! I began to cry and to thank God that you were here and healthy. The people from Pediatrics took you for a few minutes to check you out. "Peds" was called after the bag of water was broken because there was meconium in the water. Meconium is the black tarry stool that babies first have. Sometimes it can be a sign of distress, but for you it wasn't...I guess you just had to poop!

      So "Peds" checked you out just to discover that you were absolutely perfect. You scored a 7 and then a 9 (out of 9) on your Apgar test. The nurse, Katie, handed you to me and it was such a sweet moment. Your Dad was right there and so was Eileen. Your eyes were wide open and you were looking right at me.

      I guess as they say, the rest is history! Here are your official stats:

      I absolutely loved your birth. From start to finish it was just about 16.5 hours. And believe it or not it flew by! I loved the birth experience and it made me feel so close to you. I brought you into the world the best way that I knew how; completely drug free! This gave you the best start possible in life!