10/28/08 birth story...
This is the birth of baby A. Mom is a close friend of mine. Tues morning I went to a doc appt with her. She was 6 days post. Her doc gave her a cervical ripenor and they monitored her for 45 minutes and then sent her home. She was having some back pian by the time she got home. About 4 she calls me and is in alot of pain, all in her back. She said it sometimes came around to the front. I said, "are you telling me that you're having pain that starts in the back and comes around to the front?" She said, "no, it's only done that a couple of times." I asked her if she wanted me to come over. She said no, that she was going to relax a little and then she had to go pick up her daughter. I told her we were going to a chiro appt and to call me back in about an hour, or if anything changes, we also talked a little relaxation breathing, that sort of thing.
She went up to her babies room, turned off all the lights, rubbed some lotion on her belly, and thought about her baby. She then realized that the pain she was having had started to come from the bottom and wrap around. She was having contractions, about 3 in 10 minutes. She called her friend to ride w/ her to pick her daughter, got home and told her hubby it was time to go. My family and I had went to our appt, and were in the walmart parking lot when her hubby called telling me it was time, they were in the parking garage of Memorial. I tell my husband to go, he starts to turn right, I tell him to go left to Memorial, he says, "don't you need your doula bag?" I told him to just get me there! This mother has a reputation of precipitous births.
I got to the hospital, at the desk on the baby floor I told them who I was looking for, I said, "I'm not sure if she's in triage or what." The lady behind the desk said, "Oh no, we sent that young lady straight to a birthing suite!" I was thinking that this wasn't looking good.....I found her room and when I went in she was in a lot of pain, having hard, fast contractions. She didn't want to be touched so I tried to talk her thru them, help her not to hold her breath or tense up too much.
When I got there I had to go to the bathroom, (lol) really bad, she went thru another contraction and I thought I had a second to run in there. I got to the other side of the bed and she had another one coming. They were even closer. When she got there at 6:05, she was between 5-6. She said something felt different and that she had to pee. They checked her again, she was between 7-8. Then she started to feel like she had to puke. I'm thinking that I can hardly believe it's happening this fast again. We get her to the toilet where she get's quiet and really relaxed for a couple of minutes. Something changes and she loudly tells us she needs to get back in the bed now that he's here!!"
They checked her, and said she just had a lip of cervix left. She starts saying she's going to push. She siad, "am I allowed??" She had never felt that urge w/ her 1st one. The doc wasn't in the room yet, but the nurse said she had caught 38 babies. (!) The nurses told her to do whatever she had to do and were trying to get her into a better position and then the doc comes in. He has dad and I take a leg and push up, she pushes once, we see the head, she pushes again, the head is out, she pushes again and the body is out! All 9lbs, 5 oz of him. :) She delivered at 6:35!! (never did get to go to the bathroom.....)
This mother is such an amazing mom. She worked so hard staying healthy during her pregnancy. It was tough on her at the end because of how fast her 1st birth was, none of us knew what to expect this time around. But she did an awesome job of listening to her body and her instincts. All are healthy and breastfeeding happily:) Thank you for including me in this beautiful process again!
Birth Stories..
This is the birth story of my most recent client, we're going to call her J. She had a history of birthing quickly, so we were trying our best to be on the ready even more so than normal. She also had a history of going early, and this was her 3rd birth.
On a Monday evening J called with steady rushes and said she was going to go to the hospital to get checked and would call me back if they decided to stay, this was about 9 p.m. I wasn't at home at the time, but went home, told dh and tried my best to not stare at the phone. I finally went to bed on the advice of a fellow doula and got a call back at 11:30 saying that she was home and was staying home, only dilated to 4 and her rushes had stopped. In shear disappointment, but knowing that it would happen when baby was ready, I went back to sleep.
A week and a day latter as I am just o/o the shower getting ready for church I get the call at about 9 a.m. I grab my doula bag and head o/ the door, wet head and all. I prayed the whole way up, really wanting to do a good job for her. It took me a good 25 minutes to get there. As I found my way into the L & D ward her and her sister were also just walking in. J walked up to the desk, leaned on the wall and started swaying. She asked for a room with a tub in it and they walked us down the hall. Her rushes were pretty regular at 4-5 minutes apart and lasting a good 60 to 90 seconds long.
While the staff did their standard set up getting her vitals and hooking her up to the monitor for their 30 minute strip I met our nurse. She was excited that J had a doula. She said "I love doulas!" She also shared with me that she had all her babies in a birth center and that we couldn't possibly have gotten a better midwife for the kind of birth J wanted. I was so thankful. Knowing that one thing J was concerned about was us not having to fight with the staff about her wishes. She had a really bad experience with that when she had her 1st baby.
Our nurse took J's birth plan and said that she would read it. This staff was incredibly respectful of her wishes. J had tested positive for strep b, which meant that she had to be hooked up to an IV and given antibiotics. B/c of her quick history, they were a little concerned that they wouldn't get the antibiotics into her soon enough for the hospital staff not to treat the baby as well.
She labored standing and leaning on the bed for about an hour. She was quiet, but still talking in between her rushes. I think it was about this time that her rushes became stronger and closer together. She decided she wanted to get into the tub. At check in she was dilated to 6 cent. J and her hubby spent about 2 and half hours in the tub. He sat on a stool next to her, they had their faces close together, it was very sweet and intimate. Even though I felt like I wasn't doing anything for them, I knew that my place wasn't in that room.
J made a lot of progress in the tub. She went from 6 to 8. The midwife came in and told her that they needed her to get out and let them monitor the baby and that they could check her. She didn't really want to move, but the midwife talked her out and she moved back to the bed in between her rushes. The midwife suggested that she climb into the bed on all fours and they adjusted the bed for her. She did this for about 20 minutes and then said she wanted to sit down.
She was very introverted at this point. We helped her get as comfortable as she could. Her hubby rubbed her hair out of her face and held her hand. I rubbed her lower back during her rushes. About half way through this time she said she felt like she was going to be be sick. Hubby and I found something in case she did. Her mother had arrived and took a guess that she was at about 8 cen b/c she was nauseous. This was definitely transition. Midwife came in and said the same thing about nausea and being 8 centimeters. They checked her and confirmed it. The staff left us again and we continued at what we were doing. I asked her a couple of times if she wanted to change positions, she declined. I kept rubbing, she kept progressing for about the next hour.
The midwife came back in and told J that if she wanted to keep progressing slowly like she was that was fine with her, that she was doing a great job, but that if she wanted to get this baby down that she needed to get out of the bed. I told her that I had asked a couple of times, to which she stated, "oh honey, at this point we don't really ask any more." I wanted to laugh, but the atmosphere in the room wasn't for laughing at this point. The midwife waited for J and hubby to decide. They also discussed birthing positions. The nurse left to get the birthing bar. J's hubby encouraged her that it was "time to get this baby down," the midwife took J's leg and hubby encouraged her out of the bed from the back.
The staff left us again, J wrapped her arms around hubby's neck and they swayed. I took my place at her back when she needed it. About 10 minutes into it, J started feeling pushy. I went to get the nurse, and everyone got all of the medical things set up. The midwife was trying to get an answer about how J wanted to birth. It was awesome for me to see this, I had up to this point never heard a caregiver ask these kinds of questions. The midwife told J she could do it standing up if she wanted to. J decided to get back into the bed. They hooked up the birthing bar b/c her hubby had said she had watched videos of births like that. J took one pull up to the bar and then went immediately back down onto her bottom. It looked like it was too intense, too quickly for her. She decided to just push on her bottom, with her dh at her back and me and the nurse holding her legs. J pushed for a couple of minutes and then they put the oxygen mask on her b/c baby's heart rate seemed lower during the pushes. Midwife and J were an incredible team in pushing, midwife instructed small, grunty pushes about half way through which helped get baby's head out slowly without tearing.
In all, it took her about 5 minutes to push her gorgeous little baby girl out. I don't think I have ever seen a father as excited as he was. His face practically glowed. He had the biggest smile.
Mom was awesome in her knowledge and her passion about this birth. She was prepared and committed. I am so thankful that she found me. It was great to get to know them and visit them after the birth too.
On a Monday evening J called with steady rushes and said she was going to go to the hospital to get checked and would call me back if they decided to stay, this was about 9 p.m. I wasn't at home at the time, but went home, told dh and tried my best to not stare at the phone. I finally went to bed on the advice of a fellow doula and got a call back at 11:30 saying that she was home and was staying home, only dilated to 4 and her rushes had stopped. In shear disappointment, but knowing that it would happen when baby was ready, I went back to sleep.
A week and a day latter as I am just o/o the shower getting ready for church I get the call at about 9 a.m. I grab my doula bag and head o/ the door, wet head and all. I prayed the whole way up, really wanting to do a good job for her. It took me a good 25 minutes to get there. As I found my way into the L & D ward her and her sister were also just walking in. J walked up to the desk, leaned on the wall and started swaying. She asked for a room with a tub in it and they walked us down the hall. Her rushes were pretty regular at 4-5 minutes apart and lasting a good 60 to 90 seconds long.
While the staff did their standard set up getting her vitals and hooking her up to the monitor for their 30 minute strip I met our nurse. She was excited that J had a doula. She said "I love doulas!" She also shared with me that she had all her babies in a birth center and that we couldn't possibly have gotten a better midwife for the kind of birth J wanted. I was so thankful. Knowing that one thing J was concerned about was us not having to fight with the staff about her wishes. She had a really bad experience with that when she had her 1st baby.
Our nurse took J's birth plan and said that she would read it. This staff was incredibly respectful of her wishes. J had tested positive for strep b, which meant that she had to be hooked up to an IV and given antibiotics. B/c of her quick history, they were a little concerned that they wouldn't get the antibiotics into her soon enough for the hospital staff not to treat the baby as well.
She labored standing and leaning on the bed for about an hour. She was quiet, but still talking in between her rushes. I think it was about this time that her rushes became stronger and closer together. She decided she wanted to get into the tub. At check in she was dilated to 6 cent. J and her hubby spent about 2 and half hours in the tub. He sat on a stool next to her, they had their faces close together, it was very sweet and intimate. Even though I felt like I wasn't doing anything for them, I knew that my place wasn't in that room.
J made a lot of progress in the tub. She went from 6 to 8. The midwife came in and told her that they needed her to get out and let them monitor the baby and that they could check her. She didn't really want to move, but the midwife talked her out and she moved back to the bed in between her rushes. The midwife suggested that she climb into the bed on all fours and they adjusted the bed for her. She did this for about 20 minutes and then said she wanted to sit down.
She was very introverted at this point. We helped her get as comfortable as she could. Her hubby rubbed her hair out of her face and held her hand. I rubbed her lower back during her rushes. About half way through this time she said she felt like she was going to be be sick. Hubby and I found something in case she did. Her mother had arrived and took a guess that she was at about 8 cen b/c she was nauseous. This was definitely transition. Midwife came in and said the same thing about nausea and being 8 centimeters. They checked her and confirmed it. The staff left us again and we continued at what we were doing. I asked her a couple of times if she wanted to change positions, she declined. I kept rubbing, she kept progressing for about the next hour.
The midwife came back in and told J that if she wanted to keep progressing slowly like she was that was fine with her, that she was doing a great job, but that if she wanted to get this baby down that she needed to get out of the bed. I told her that I had asked a couple of times, to which she stated, "oh honey, at this point we don't really ask any more." I wanted to laugh, but the atmosphere in the room wasn't for laughing at this point. The midwife waited for J and hubby to decide. They also discussed birthing positions. The nurse left to get the birthing bar. J's hubby encouraged her that it was "time to get this baby down," the midwife took J's leg and hubby encouraged her out of the bed from the back.
The staff left us again, J wrapped her arms around hubby's neck and they swayed. I took my place at her back when she needed it. About 10 minutes into it, J started feeling pushy. I went to get the nurse, and everyone got all of the medical things set up. The midwife was trying to get an answer about how J wanted to birth. It was awesome for me to see this, I had up to this point never heard a caregiver ask these kinds of questions. The midwife told J she could do it standing up if she wanted to. J decided to get back into the bed. They hooked up the birthing bar b/c her hubby had said she had watched videos of births like that. J took one pull up to the bar and then went immediately back down onto her bottom. It looked like it was too intense, too quickly for her. She decided to just push on her bottom, with her dh at her back and me and the nurse holding her legs. J pushed for a couple of minutes and then they put the oxygen mask on her b/c baby's heart rate seemed lower during the pushes. Midwife and J were an incredible team in pushing, midwife instructed small, grunty pushes about half way through which helped get baby's head out slowly without tearing.
In all, it took her about 5 minutes to push her gorgeous little baby girl out. I don't think I have ever seen a father as excited as he was. His face practically glowed. He had the biggest smile.
Mom was awesome in her knowledge and her passion about this birth. She was prepared and committed. I am so thankful that she found me. It was great to get to know them and visit them after the birth too.
