SM - Birth Stories

A natural birth at a hospital with an Ob/Gyn
By: Mom

On fine Memorial day, Jason and Tree are at Sam's club to get things for the new house. Jason decides, "let's eat up first, then shop".

So, Tree parks the cart alongside the table. While they were sitting and eating their HUGE pizza, one of the cashiers made off with their cart.

*Annoyed* "Jason, that dude just stole our cart." says Tree.

*Calmly* " We can get another one. It's no big deal." says Jason. (little did they realise they wouldn't be needing a cart)

For just as Tree was finishing up the last two bites of her pizza, she feels warm, wet, steady, gentle trickles running down her leg.

*Thinking* ' I still have to pee; I'm NOT peeing my pants..... NO, IT CAN'T BE!"

She peers down to the floor and looks at a clear pool of water slowly, & steadliy collecting underneathe her seat. The back of her dress is drenched.

"OMG, Jason. My water broke."

*Very calmly (as if this happens to him daily)* " Well, call your Doula and see what she says."

They get up to leave, and Tree's apologizing profusely. "I'm so sorry. We didn't get anything we came for, and now we're having to leave.

Jason - "What are you apologizing for? It's okay."

Tree - "OMG, my dress is so wet. This is soooo uncomfortable. I wonder if people think I pee'd myelf. This dress doesn't show my pregnant belly as well as my other dresses do."

Jason - "Oh I'm sure people will know your pregnant & your water broke."

They get in the car and Tree calls her Doula. She then calls her sister, to meet them over at the house with clothes. Since she hadn't moved any clothes over the the house yet. Jackie shows up with my grandmother's dress (hehe), and helps me into that.

Both the Doula and Dr. Bowen tell Tree to go ahead and go to the Hospital.

They get to the Hospital, and the contractions are coming closer together, and a little more intense. However, they still just feel like bad menstral cramps. Nothing major......Yet.

It's 2:30 something....Tree is put in Triage. They waited about a half hour for a nurse to come in and check how far along she is. THIS is where the real pain begins. That pelvic exam to see that Tree is already 10 cm dilated, was excruciating. And it's all down hill from there. However, Tree is thinking this whole time. I have to POOP. I need to relieve that pressure. I'll not be in near as much pain, if you please just give me an enema.

She was promised an enema, that was until they found out how far into labor she was.

She tried the Hypnobirthing CD. Contractions coming to close and hard to focus. Can't breathe properly, and all Tree wants to do is poo.

Well, according to the nurse "honey, that's not poop. All that pressure you feel down there is from the baby."

Awe man. No enema for Tree. Oy! And OW!!! She starts out laying on her side. Very uncomfortable. Okay, well if it looks like we're going all the way, may as well squat like we wanted. So she tries getting on all 4's. Damn hospital staff strap this baby monitor on her belly. GREAT, more pressure. This is NOT helping the pain. Grrr. Funny thing though about this pain. Tree is thinking about how much she still DOES NOT want that epidural in her back. (Arriving at 10cm dilated, no matter what Hospital, she wouldn't have gotten an epidural at that point anyway)

So, the contractions are worse now. Feels like a monstrous poo that just cannot be passed, and this damn baby monitor is really killing her. That's the cherry on top of it all. She pleaded with them to take it off.

Nurse - "No honey, it has to stay on at least 15 minutes".

Jason is trying his damnedest to console her, to no avail.

Jason - "You're doing good. You're strong. You can have this baby naturally. The baby is the perfect size. (something like that...it's a blur; however very encouraging) It just didn't calm her down.

For 1, she's panic stricken. No Doula yet & no Dr. Bowen. And she's feeling like taking a poo. So was does she do? She starts to push, just a little. Wow, she can feel the head down there now. HOLY FUCK. Uh oh!.

Tree wants to push but is afraid. She needs to get a move on so she can get relief. And poor Jason in all of his wonderful efforts of trying to console her, stroking her face trying to talk and calm her down. To no avail. There's no one here to catch the baby. So, she's afraid to push FOR REAL. Every other contraction she pushes just a little. It feels a little better, but not a WHOLE lot better to push.

Finally the Doula, Super Mel. shows up. Starts with the massage and coaching Tree on her moaning. Believe it or not, this actually does help a little.

Doula - "Low moan."

Okay, so this is helpin a little more, and Tree changes back to lying on her side. Still pleading to have the monitor removed. - Nurse - "Just a few more minutes hon."

Somewhere out of the shadows, a nurse shows up with aromatherapy massage oils. OH HEAVEN. It doesn't stop the pain, but these little things definitely take the edge off. Tree is in just as much pain as before, only is really starting to calm down now. Forgetting that the Doula won't catch the baby, but she's feeling more comfortable about really pushing now. So, she starts pushing.

At this point Tree feels, & the Doula see's "oh, I think I just saw part of the head"

Soon, Dr. Bowen is in the room. Don't recall what exactly he said, whatever it was, he sounded more like a Native Medicine man than a Dr. Totally helps take more of the edge of. Now the Doula's helping with perineal compresses. That deifnitely helps, as every other push the baby's head is stretching things, causing a slight burning sensation.

Pushing takes a lot of energy, and Tree's running out of steam fast. So, she decides to save her good pushes for when the baby is moving with the contractions (which is like every other contraction). She can feel the baby kicking to get free.

Alas, the pain is so great, and this could be her last push because she is too tired. So, disregarding the growing burning sensation from the stretching skin as the baby's head makes way, she gives one final push. Out pops his head. Ah, that was cool, but the baby's still in there.

Still in some discomfort, and very eager "OMG, what's left....what's left?" says Tree.

Jason - "The baby's shoulders still have to come out."

So, with that, one more quick push and she feels EVERYTHING release. Baby, and remaining amniotic fluid, and lots of blood.

It's 4:37 pm. Tree was admitted around 2:30 pm. Hmmm, a 2 hour labor. Not bad, not pain free, but quick enough that if she had it to do all over again, she wouldn't change a thing

Nicodemus Zachariah was 4 pounds, 4.8 oz. And no, he is NOT circumcised. Good god, he's a premie, and don't have much there to cut.

By the way, she only got 2 stitches. Nico simply left a slight paper cut like tear. No episiotomy required.