Yes, still going...Part 4

I spent the next hour getting stitched up and then x-rayed.  They had not had time to count the instruments and had to make sure nothing was left inside of me.  As they finished up the surgery they also came around and attached my patient bracelet.  Things had gone so fast that from Dr. Wasserman’s check to your actual birth was only 32 minutes!  I was taken over to recovery and spent almost 3 hours there, some of the time with Debby.  She and Kim were able to talk me through some of what happened and checked on you for me.  Daddy and Nancy came down to give me an update and let me know that you were doing great.  You had an IV, lots of monitors and were getting a little oxygen to help.  Quickly you were off the oxygen and just had room air being blown to help you breathe deep enough.  Daddy had some pictures and videos which I loved seeing as well.  I finally found out you were 9 lbs, 4 ounces and 21.5 inches long.  You were also B-, which meant no Rhogam for me and other than a rough start things were looking really good.  The worst news I got in recovery was that you were under a nothing by mouth order for the night.  I was furious that I wouldn’t get to nurse you even after I left recovery.  They wanted you to just be relaxed and stable before we tried anything, which is why you had an IV.  Kim and Debby and Nancy all explained it, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear.

After I was ready to move Kim and Lindsey took me to my room, but not without a stop in your NICU room!  You were actually the first baby to use the room as they had just opened their new NICU on Monday.  They had to do a lot of finagling to get my bed in your room with your isolet, but they did it.  I reached in to touch you and just started crying.  I mumbled something about not having even held you yet and Laura, your nurse said that we should change that.  A whole lot more maneuvering and they were able to get you out and into my arms, even with both of our crazy IVs, monitors, pain med dispensers and everything.  Daddy and I had our first pictures together with you and I was pretty much ready to stay there all night.  You were very quiet and relaxed which was good to see after such a stressful event just a few hours earlier.  After a time that seemed just too short I headed down to my room to pump and rest and you and Daddy spent the night together in your room.

Around 7am I called up to your room and was told that you were doing great.  You and Daddy were doing skin to skin and you had spent a bunch of time sucking on his fingers.  You were hungry and I was ready to feed you!  We were told a Dr. would be seeing you after 8 and we should be nursing sometime that morning.  Since you were such a healthy boy you were kind of pushed to the back burner and I had to throw a fit to get a Dr. in to see you.  When I was holding you you were bobbing and rooting and screaming at me to eat.  One of the hardest things I’ve done (and something I really kind of regret) was following the order to not feed you when you wanted it and I wanted to give it to you.  It was around noon when they pulled the cannulas out of your nose and then we had to wait to see how you would do with no help.  It was about 5:30 before we finally had the go ahead to nurse.  You were a total champ and latched on right away.  You wouldn’t make eye contact with me and I have no doubt that you did not understand why I had not cared for you earlier. 

We nursed all night long, every 4 hours or so.  Each time you’d feed for at least a half hour and everything looked good.  We met with the lactation consultant, Deanne and she had some great tips as well as noticed that you were tongue tied.  Your IV was off (we knocked it out during one of the feedings) and you were passing your blood sugar checks with flying colors.  You had your first bath that night and while we had planned to be there it was done while we got a quick hour and a half nap.  You also got moved to a regular crib and Kathy (one of your night nurses on Friday) was all on board with us to get you looking as normal and healthy as possible so they would release you to my room.  Dr. Bob was the neonatologist on that night and he was a character.  As morning came he let me know that he had planned to release you before he left at 8 am, but you had just a few times when your oxygen level dropped to 90 and they wanted you to be monitored a little longer.  Our next nurse told us that most babies are expected to stay at 90 or above, but for some reason they had you set to stay above 92.  I guess they just wanted you to be an overachiever from the very beginning!  The best news later Saturday morning was that you were continuing to do great and hadn’t had any more issues with your oxygen levels.  Just before noon we were told that you could come to my room as soon as the paperwork and such was done!  And right as we were told that Dr. Wasserman came up to the NICU and told me that he thought I was doing fine and he wanted to release me that night as well.  That way if you were ready we could maybe be home still Saturday night, but if they wanted you to stay in the hospital overnight then I could stay as a guest in your room, which was really my room on the Mom/Baby floor.  I was one grateful Mommy to have such good news from two doctors at the same time!

Daddy and I went down to have lunch while we waited for you to be ready to transfer.  It turned out that they were swamped and it took a few hours longer then expected, as did everything it seemed.  During the wait Grandma Schneider came to the hospital and got to hold you for the first time upstairs in your NICU room.  You and I kept up our nursing schedule and kept working on getting your latch to improve.  We were really excited when we finally got to ride down the elevator with you and settle into our room. 

Because Dr. Zukowski couldn’t come to St. Mary’s, Dr. Claudia Koch (whose office ordered the ultrasound for us) was going to be your fill in pediatrician.  Of course, she was not on that weekend, so the doctor covering for her told the neonatologists that they should discharge you when they felt you were ready using their instructions.  And Dr. Mario was not going to discharge you when he had just released you from the NICU.  We decided that Daddy would go home to see Garrett and Kelby and let Grandma Fuerniss take the van to come and meet her newest grandson.  I ordered our celebration dinner and Grandma helped me eat it when she got there.  We didn’t want to celebrate until you were in my room and then Daddy was already home!  Grandma and I talked for a long time about everything and then she headed home as well. You had a busy night as you had to pass a car seat test, have your hearing test and we were up nursing a lot as well.  I was one tired Mommy come morning, but was so glad when Dr. Bob came into our room and told me that you were ready to go whenever I wanted to head home.  I called Daddy (who was getting ready to come over already) and we all rejoiced that you were going home!  Even with your challenging beginning we were still in the hospital less time than Garrett and I were!

You were home around 12:30 on Sunday and met Garrett and Kelby who were still eating lunch.  Kelby took a nap and you and Daddy and Garrett all watched the Packer game while I napped on the couch.  It was great to be home and to have you be safe and sound in our arms!  Your entire story is not what we would have ever expected, but we are so grateful that things worked out well for you Evan Otto Schneider.  We are so happy to have you in our family!

Part 3

As we got the labor and delivery floor we meet Kim our nurse.  She knew we had a transverse baby and that Dr. Wasserman was either on his way or was in the hospital for us.  We got into our triage room right around 10 and she monitored you to make sure things were good.  We were going through the registration questions and just chatting until the chief OB resident came in to do an ultrasound.  As she did we discovered that you were back to a single footling breech position.  You foot was down, you bottom was jamming down into my pelvis and your head was bent down to your bottom.  Your spine laid on my right side and you were as squished down into yourself as you could possibly be.  The ultrasound hurt as she jammed it low to get a good reading on your foot, but I just figured it was because she was working hard to see things.  Turns out that was an indicator that things were moving along.  Dr. Wasserman came in to meet us and discuss our options.  His opinion was that we could do the version right there and then if it worked we could induce with a Foley or we could go home to try for a birth center birth.  Or we could try and wait until tomorrow and do the version then in a better environment.  Or we could just do a c-section right then or wait and do one in the morning (when Debby thought he’d be more optimal).  The version had risks that he explained, things like uterine rupture or placental abruption and if those happened we’d be going right into surgery.  I made it clear that I’d like to try for the version and try for a vaginal delivery if at all possible, but they gave us a minute for Daddy and I to talk about it with Debby and Coral while they stepped out.

I headed to the bathroom and had another strong contraction with pressure in my bottom.  Debby wanted me to get on the bed because she thought it would go away, but it was one that bothered me more than most had been.  As we talked it became obvious we needed to find out if I was moving into labor because if I was all options were off the table and we would be having surgery.  When Dr. Wasserman came in we told him to check me so that we’d know what options we had available to us.  They got me a sheet and he checked me.  I’ll never forget his mouth falling open as he said “She’s 9+ and I’ve got a foot.”  He turned to run and then turned back and told us that things were going to get crazy and move fast.  I just told them to go faster as I knew my body would be pushing in no time and I couldn’t do that to you without really hurting you.  I had a contraction right away and Debby climbed up on the bed and talked in my ear to get me to blow it off. Coral was at my feet telling me to “hehehehe” and Daddy came over to my side.  Kim announced “Everything off” and Coral grabbed my socks off in one motion, I took off my shirt and Debby took off my bra.  Your Daddy tried to lighten the mood by announcing that he was pretty fast at getting my bra off and we all just gave him a look and a “Michael!” as I was shocked that he’d think of something like that at the time!

The OB resident was yelling questions at me about previous pregnancies and Kim was asking about allergies and I just wanted to get moving faster.  I had to sign a consent form in the middle of a contraction and they yelled at me to just make an ‘x.’  I did sign my first name, but I doubt anyone could read it and they grabbed it before I could even try and sign my last name.  I know that as we rolled to the surgery suite the anesthesiologist’s assistant came and asked me about allergies and such as well.  I asked her a question that I don’t remember and she just looked me in the eye and said “All we are worried about right now is your safety and your baby’s safety.”  I remember having only two thoughts about everything happening, that I could NOT PUSH because I was afraid it would kill you and that I wanted them to GO FASTER because I still wanted to be awake so that Daddy and I could be there for your birth.  I knew there was a big possibility that I’d be put under and if that happened Daddy wouldn’t be allowed there either.  We had made a list of things we’d like to have if we did have a c-section and all those things were out the window when he discovered I was in full blown labor and we had no time to spare.

Daddy gave me a kiss as they rolled me through the doors and he waited and got dressed for surgery.  They got me onto the surgery table and as I sat up for the spinal my water broke and I had a really hard pushing contraction.  There was meconium in the water and they were now having to rush all over and not slip in the huge puddle on the floor.  I’m sure they thought I was crazy, but I was blowing like mad and yelling at myself to not push.  As soon as it passed I was taking long breathes for you and Dr. Habibi  was working quickly to get the spinal in.  I had one more big contraction and was trying so hard to hold still for him to work, blow off all the pushing urges and was yelling that I was pushing and not to push.  It was a crazy couple of minutes and I just wanted them to get Daddy in there and you out so that I knew you were okay. 

Before that contraction was even totally over I was down on the table and they were putting IVs in, blood pressure cuff on and bringing in Daddy and the woman who needed to draw labs.  She was a bit concerned because she didn’t know where to get a vein since they had so many things on me already and asked if she should come back later.  They got her to the side so that she could get a draw and they were opening me by the time she left.  Your actual birth was something that we didn’t see, although I swear I heard the tiniest noise from you as they brought you out at 11:12 pm.  They didn’t lower the drape as we had hoped because you were not in good shape once they saw you.  Dr. Wasserman had told me that he would bring you to me before you went to get checked out and he did, although very, very quickly.  As you were coming out he told me that he was going to brush my hand with you and he literally did just that.  I didn’t see your face, but got a glimpse of your trunk and legs, enough to think that I maybe saw something.  As you were over being attended to I kept saying “Did I see something?  Is it a boy?”  Finally someone answered that it was a boy and we announced that you were Evan Otto Schneider.  I wanted Daddy to go to you as had been planned, but they told him to stay by me.  I couldn’t see you at all, but knew that they must be working on you because you were not making any noise and they didn’t let Daddy come over. 

It turned out that they had to deep suction your lungs (they got out about 3 ccs of bloody mucous) and then intubate you.  They bagged you for 5 minutes and once they removed the tube you let us know that you were NOT happy with how things had been going.  Those angry cries were one of the best sounds I’ve ever heard!  During the entire time they were helping you I kept saying your name and trying to let you know that we were there.  I kept telling Daddy to talk to you too and he did, but he was also able to see what was happening and didn’t want to let me know all that he was seeing.  We both knew that it would work out okay, it just had to!  And we knew that you were in very capable hands.  Daddy says that he had a lot of confidence that you were okay because you were moving and fighting as they were helping you breathe. He did hear them say something about transport and that worried him, but then he realized you were just going upstairs, not to another hospital.  What a change to go from a perfectly normal, healthy pregnancy to an emergency delivery and a baby that wasn’t breathing in such a short time. 

After you were wrapped up and ready to head up the NICU they brought you over to me.  You were perfect!  No tubes or anything, just a little burrito baby held in the arms of a wonderful nurse named Nancy.  She took you and Daddy and you all headed out.  I have no doubt that we were where we needed to be and you had the team around you that was necessary, but I will always miss that you and I didn’t get those first precious moments together, sweet Evan. 

Things we learned later…the surgery suite we used was one that was no longer in use because of the huge remodel of the hospital.  It probably was cause for some of the crazed running around, but also meant that we had one that was open, was only steps from my triage room and didn’t mean a trip on the elevators to a different floor.  Every minute mattered.  Dr. Habibi was the best in the hospital (top 10% in the country according to Dr. Wasserman) and any other anesthesiologist would have put me under.  He took a lot of pride that he was able to keep me awake and still be so fast.  Dr. Wasserman told me he had to use ‘unusual maneuvers’ to get you out and Kim told us that you required a lot of pulling and force to come out.  I did my best to not push you out, but obviously my body was fighting me on that.  The stress of those contractions added to your distress and lack of oxygen and if we had not been where we were you probably would have not made it.  Your cord pH was 7.19 which is headed into dangerous territory.  Your apgar scores were 5 and 8.  When the surgeons heard those numbers the comment I overheard is that they expected the first set to be about a 2…you were much stronger than they expected!  The what ifs of the night scare me so much and I am so grateful that things turned out as they did and that you had such an amazing team there for you.  The prayers from around the country were heard and answered and for that we are so thankful!

Part 2

That weekend was really rough emotionally because I felt such a let down.  I wanted to meet you, was anxious to be done with labor and just couldn’t believe that everything faded away.  On Monday we saw Debby and I walked in and started crying…I hadn’t been very fun for Daddy to live with that weekend either.  She checked me right away so we could see where things were at.  I was 2 cm dilated and she worked on stripping my membranes to see if that would help things move along, which stretched me to a 3.  The only thing that made me hesitate at all was that Grandma Fuerniss was coming on Wednesday and I knew she’d be so disappointed to miss your birth by only a day.  We just decided to go with it and see what would happen.  That afternoon and evening I had lots of discomfort and contractions, but in the night they faded away and nothing happened. 

On Wednesday Daddy picked up Grandma and after she was settled with Garrett and Kelby we headed to Debby’s to have her strip my membranes again.  We were pretty relaxed and did a quick stop at Target to buy hand sanitizer for after you were born.  She was relieved to see me laughing and we were all hopeful that we’d be having a baby very soon if things worked out like they did with Kelby.  As she examined me her whole demeanor changed and you were moving really low into my cervix with sharp jabs.  I made a comment about a little hand grabbing her and she said that a hand would be fine.  That is when she told us that she felt like she was feeling a foot and your bottom and that we needed to get an ultrasound to confirm if you had turned breech.  Talk about a shock to our systems!  We knew if you were breech we’d be looking at a possible c-section if you wouldn’t turn back around and that time was of the essence since you could be ready to come at any time.

We were sent home with orders to keep me really calm, drink some wine, lay on the couch and not do anything to stimulate labor.  I was so grateful that contractions calmed down that night and I was able to sleep.  As the morning came the contractions were still very mild and almost non-existent.  Every time I’d have one I’d just pray for God to take it away and was so grateful when He did!  We had breakfast, spent the morning with Garrett, Kelby and Grandma and headed out to have an ultrasound mid-morning. 

Debby met us at the hospital and it turned out we were in the wrong area.  After getting where we needed to be we were taken in for the test right on time at 12:30.  Stephanie was a student so we were told that another tech would join us at some point.  When things got started she saw what she thought (and we all did too) was a hand down towards my cervix.  I started crying like crazy because we were pretty sure that you were head down if it was a hand.  I even told her she could be your fairy God princess!  Unfortunately as she kept going it became clear that you were not head down.  There was confusion as to exactly what position you were in…like an arched cat with head on one side and bottom on the other, spine up…like an upside down cat with spine on the bottom…total breech.  It was getting harder to figure out your position.  She got another tech in and she was able to get a few better readings on your position, but as she did you changed once again.  You started as a single footling breech and ended the ultrasound in the transverse position.  You are a mobile little guy, even as you were measuring big!  We saw that you had some hair and got a few pictures of you, but basically we knew we had to get things figured out quickly as you were not in an optimal position.

Debby, Daddy and I talked before we headed out.  We decided we wanted to do a version and needed it done ASAP.  Debby texted Dr. Wasserman who was in surgery all day and he said he’d let us know when he could do one the next day.  We talked about other options like just scheduling surgery, doing the version and inducing, doing the version and trying for a birth center birth and also the importance of keeping things very quiet until we knew what was going to happen. She also suggested taking Pulsitilla to help with unstable position so Daddy and I headed to Beans and Barley and then Outpost to get some.

When we got home we told Grandma what was happening and I laid down on the couch again.  We got the call that the version was scheduled for noon the next day and I just prayed we could hang on until then.  As the evening went on I was bothered by more and more contractions so I had some more wine.  After not drinking for so long I felt like a lush the last two days of pregnancy, even just having a couple of ounces!  After we ate dinner (really good lasagna out of the freezer) we put Garrett and Kelby to bed.  I gave them special big hugs and kisses and told them there was a chance that Mommy and Daddy could be gone to have the baby when they woke up.  I was bothered enough by the contractions that we called Debby and she told us to start timing them.  They weren’t coming that often (roughly 10 minutes apart) and most of them were only 30-45 seconds.  I’d have longer ones when I got up to use the bathroom, but Debby wasn’t concerned about those since they were caused by movement.  During the hour and half that we timed and kept checking in she talked to Dr. Wasserman and he told her that if I came in to call as he would join us at the hospital.  We were glad to hear that since he had yet to meet us and was not on call that night. 

After having two contractions that were further apart (about 15 minutes) but stronger and wrapped more around my lower back I was just not comfortable staying home.  I didn’t feel like this was it, but I didn’t want things to start moving along and for us to be on the road having you or for things to get really emergent since you were not in a good position.  I told Daddy to get my shoes and we called Debby to tell her we were heading in.  I specifically asked her if there was a reason to not go in and she said I should trust my feelings and she was heading in to be with us.  Fairly quickly we were on the road and I was laying in the back of the van as we headed to St. Mary’s.  I had two contractions on the way and one right as we got there, but none were terrible and I just kept hoping things would stay calm.  I called Coral on the way and she decided to come over as she thought she’d beat Debby there.  After not sleeping for over 24 hours we were surprised and grateful that she was willing to come over!  We had to go in the Emergency Room entrance as we got there just before 10 pm and I waited in a wheel chair as Daddy parked the van.  The guys were giving me a hard time that he had bailed on me because he took so long to get back to where we were waiting.  Gratefully, he came in the doors with our bag over his shoulder!  And Debby came in shortly behind him with Coral finding us once we were in our triage room.

Yes, it has been a year! And now Baby is 1

In honor our our littlest turning one I thought I'd break my year of silence and start posting his birth story.  It is totally fitting to do this over Thanksgiving because I am most thankful that things turned out so well.  He is a happy, healthy, walking, but not sleeping one year old!

My sweet boy what a wild ride you’ve given us!  Your birth story is one that will take a long time to fully absorb and it is not the story we would have wanted for you, but it is the one that is yours and we are so grateful that things happened as they did.

Our pregnancy was fairly uneventful other than a few physical things that bothered me.  I had to deal with carpel tunnel that got pretty bad as the pregnancy went on and there was an issue around week 35 when I suddenly could barley walk because of pelvic and hip pain.  But we dealt with these things and I started seeing a chiropractor and overall we just kept soldiering on towards meeting our newest family member.  You were due on November 8^th, but for some reason I really felt that you would be joining us in October.  There was no reason to believe that since Garrett was born the day before his due date and Kelby went 9 days past hers.  I think I wanted you to have your own birth month like everyone else in the family did and I didn’t want you to have to share it with me, our anniversary and Thanksgiving too.  When Halloween came and went we knew our little one had plans of their own and I resigned myself to the fact that you probably would cook well beyond your due date just like your sister!

As we crept through November I became more and more anxious to meet you.  We were having to make decisions about band jobs since Daddy didn’t want to get too far away in case anything happened.  He ended up giving up 3 jobs once we were past your due date because we just knew it could be any time.  And since things moved quickly with your sister Deb and Coral both wanted us to be prepared for a very quick labor and to be on our toes if contractions really got started.  Just after your due date (40 weeks, 2 day) we had an evening where I felt like the contractions were more rhythmic and like maybe something was brewing.  I always hesitate to make the call, but we finally decided to call Debby since she had made it clear that we should contact her at the first sign of anything.  I struggle to know exactly when things change from just the typical Braxton Hicks contractions that I have for months to something that might be more ‘real’ and mean baby is working on joining us. 

After we chatted she asked me to start timing things and just let her know if anything changed.  She also said we should put the kids to bed (just a bit early) and to get the van packed in case we needed to grab sleeping kids in the middle of the night.  As we got everything packed and ready to go the contractions got closer and were about every 15 minutes apart so she instructed me to head to bed and just rest in case I had a night of labor ahead of me.  We called Coral who was teaching a class and she was ready to head the birth center and spend the night in case we were headed in later.  However after an hour or so of resting the contractions all faded away and we ended up calling everyone and telling them to just go home and go to sleep.  You were parked for a while longer.

Baby is here!

I am thankful to say that our baby has arrived. HE was born on Thursday, November 17th at 11:12 pm. At 9 pounds, 4 ounces and 21.5 inches long it is hard to imagine how he had the room to flip breech at 41 weeks, 1 day, but somehow he did. At 41 weeks, 2 days we had an ultrasound to confirm breech and while it was being done he went from breech to transverse. We had an external version scheduled for the next day, but that night I couldn't get the contractions to go away (I'd been having them for over a week) and decided to go the hospital just to avoid having things move really fast (as they did with Peanut) and potentially putting him in danger because of his position.

When we got the hospital with our midwife and doula I did not appear to be in active labor and they monitored him and did another ultrasound that showed footling breech. The wonderful OB who was going to do the version had also come in (never had met us and wasn't on call that night) and decided that we could either do a version right there and then either induce or go home or if it failed then do a surgical delivery. As we discussed options we decided to check me as I'd had one contraction that really bothered me (and a few other small ones) and if I was in active labor we'd need to do a c-section right away. His mouth fell open as he discovered I was 9+ dilated. Needless to say everything moved fast and I just wanted it to move even faster as I knew he was in great danger. I learned very quickly how to blow through a contraction and not push as if my child's life depended on it, because it did. We had an amazing team and in the end our son was born with Mike and I both being present and awake for the birth.

Our sweet boy did not breath for himself and they bagged him for 5 minutes, but after that he bounced back quickly. He was in the NICU for about 40 (LONG, AGONIZING) hours and not quite to 3 days old he is home in my arms. I will have a most amazing Thanksgiving this year! From walking into triage at the hospital to his birth was just over an hour...and in that time we had monitoring and an ultrasound. When I say they moved quickly it doesn't even being to describe it. We even used an surgical suite that is no longer in use because it was closer and open...every single minute mattered in this situation and they treated it as such.

I'll be posting his birth story after it is written, but needless to say my three kids have given me three totally different ways of experiencing birth. I've had a completely natural, peaceful waterbirth, a vaginal hospital birth that was managed and involved pitocin, an epidural and episiotomy and a true emergency c-section. I am so grateful that all have worked out and cannot wait to write this latest birth story!

Thank you for your prayers!
Heather

Peanut's Birth Story--Part 4

And a long finish!


Daddy continued the trek to the center with me having contractions and laboring with my eyes closed. I did grab the phone and made a call to find out where Coral and Debby were since things were not slowing down as expected, but rather getting closer and stronger all the time. Based on our short conversations we would all be arriving at the center at approximately the same time. By this point I just wanted to be out of the van and be at the center. I was really working hard to try and relax, but was struggling to do so in the position I was sitting in. I had one moment of nausea that I was grateful to have pass quickly. There was also a moment where I got really emotional and choked up. I told Daddy that I’d told you it was time and really tried to stay focused on that phrase as I worked through each contraction. At one point we stopped at a red light and I told Daddy that he should feel free to push the boundaries of yellow lights. He promptly informed me that he had done that already!

One of the funniest things that was not funny as it happened was that as we got ready to turn left into the parking area an older man with a walker took one step into the driveway. We had to sit and wait for him to cross (oh, so slowly) and while we were waiting and I was having contractions a long line of cars was coming. Gratefully a very wonderful person let us through the line as soon as the gentleman was clear of the drive. We parked next to Debby who was unpacking her things and I immediately got out of the van and had another contraction against the side (right before 4:30). As soon as it was over I got into the birthing room and headed to the bathroom while Daddy and Debby got things unpacked. In the bathroom I was feeling overwhelmed, but told myself that by the time I felt this way with your brother I was only about 2 hours away from having him. I knew I could get through 2 hours for you too! By the time I got out of the bathroom Coral had arrived. I was having contractions very close together and felt like I was working hard, but trying to stay relaxed. I swayed and blew horse lips and danced with you. Daddy was behind me rubbing my hips and lower back though each and every contraction. Coral told us that after she saw me have two contractions back to back she immediately turned to the birth pool and realized it was too hot for me to get into. She turned the cold water on full blast and was also bustling around. Once Debby had everything ready she told me that I needed to climb on the bed so she could check me and take a heart beat reading from you and a blood pressure reading from me. I was not excited about having to lay down since there was no real break between contractions and I really preferred standing and swaying to manage the discomfort. I also told her I just didn’t want to hear I was a ‘3.’ Immediately Coral and Debby said “you won’t be a 3.” They knew I was a lot further along than that!

I got on the bed and Debby listened to you. As always you sounded great! Then she checked me and her exact words were “Honey, you aren’t going to believe it” and I thought the only thing I won’t believe is if she says I can push! Turns out I was at a 9 and when the next contraction hit your water broke and my body just started pushing. I tried to turn onto my right side and hold up my leg because I was pushing like crazy. Coral grabbed my leg on the next contraction and helped hold it and I just kept pushing and pushing. The only thought I had was that I wanted to be in the water and I started begging for it. Literally I kept saying “Please, please, please just let me get in the pool!” and after Debby was done they helped me get there. It was a wonderful relief to be in the water. Immediately the pain went down a notch and I was able to relax between contractions. It felt like things were very intense during each contraction, but that in between I would have a bit of a break and time to regroup.

In the water I was floating in and out of lots of different positions, but mostly I was on my knees and pushing straight down. Debby was very concerned since she couldn’t catch you if I didn’t lean back against Daddy or get onto my hands and knees. There just wasn’t room for her hands underneath me in the water, besides which she couldn’t see. She was also very concerned because she was having a hard time getting a read on you. Normally she listens to heart tones every 5 minutes, but she only got about 3 readings on you the entire time I was pushing (about 30 minutes). I was never worried about you, but it was obvious that she was concerned since she didn’t know how you were doing. Coral said I was in and out of many different positions and I know I often had my right foot down on the pool (one sided squat) while the left knee was down. I did get both feet under me at one point and I know I kept trying to go forward into hands and knees for Debby’s sake. Daddy just kept rubbing my hips and back wherever I told him/showed him to do so. He never got in the pool because there was never time for him to change!

It felt like pushing went so fast and compared to your brother’s birth, it did. In the end you were born all in one push! Your head and body all came out of me in one swoop at 5:27 pm on Thursday, June 17th. I felt like I went from a 100 (working so hard) to a 2. It just all seemed unreal how quickly it all just stopped and there you were! Debby commented that you torpedoed out of me in one rotation. I was leaning back so Debby had room to catch you and immediately you came up into my arms. My first comment as I saw you coming up out of the water was “It IS a girl!” since so many people had thought that you were. I was so excited to be able to meet my little girl!

You never cried as you came out of the water. In my arms you made a little noise, kind of like you were saying hi to us. Daddy was behind us and we were leaning against the pool. I said that someone needed to get the camera (again had not been out yet because of how fast things happened) and Coral was able to get some quick shots of the three of us. We didn’t think about it at first, but it is kind of neat that we are still connected in a few of them. Daddy got pretty emotional, which I didn’t realize since he was behind me. His first comment was that he’d get to walk you down the aisle someday. I quickly realized that he was awfully touched to be the Daddy of a little girl! Daddy cut your cord and Debby took you over to the bed to check you out and collect some blood for your blood test. You were 9 pounds, 6 ounces, 21 inches long and had a head 37 cm around. All in all you were a big, healthy baby girl! I also got out and headed to the bed to be close to you and to finish up delivering your placenta and get fixed up myself.

That night was wonderful. After we were both taken care of you nursed for over an hour straight. You were so peaceful. It is the word that all of us used for you over and over again. Coral told us that most water babies are quieter since they’ve had a gentler birth. You were wide awake for about 3 hours and we so loved the sweet time with you! After you fell asleep we had dinner that I had made and Coral baked for us. The chicken enchiladas were yummy and were followed up by some of the Birth Day cake I had made. Coral and Debby joined us for that and we all sang Happy Birthday to you! After Debby left Coral went into the other room and we finished calling Grandparents and Aunt Sarah. They were all thrilled that things had gone so well and tickled pink that a girl had entered our lives! We had a good night of sleep since you seemed to like sleep right away and headed for home about 9:45am the next day.

We went to pick up your brother at Grandma and Grandpa S’s house and told them your name. We wanted your brother to hear it from us as he met you so we kept them in suspense overnight! At their house he held you for the first time and he was so good with you. Gentle kisses on your head and kept saying “Baby” over and over again. After Grandma held you and everyone got pictures we headed home to settle in as a family. You have been a wonderful eater and sleeper and continue to be a peaceful baby. We are so thrilled to have you in our family and cannot wait to enjoy watching you grow. You are our sweet girl and we are grateful to be your parents.


Hope you enjoyed a peak into her arrival. I promise pictures soon. Her baptism is on Sunday so we are busy preparing for that...and more guests!
Heather

Peanut's Birth Story--Part 3

And the saga continues....


After lunch we laid your brother down and Daddy ran out to get some things. I laid down for a while and rested some more. At 2 pm I decided that I was going to go for a walk by myself and see if you and I could get things moving. We headed over to the cemetery and I walked as hard as I could. (Which was not very hard compared to most, but okay for me at 41 + weeks!) I didn’t get too far and a contraction hit. I headed to a tree, leaned against it and just relaxed my way through it. As it passed I started walking again. It was fairly warm in the sun so I just stayed in the shaded areas and learned fairly quickly to stay close to the big trees as they were good buddies during contractions. While I was walking I was talking to you my little one. I just kept chatting about whether you were a boy or a girl, my love for you and my desire to meet you as soon as possible. I ended up using the phrase “its time” over and over again. As in, it is time for you and I to meet and it is time for you to dance your way into this world. And the contractions seemed to be coming closer together and all were fairly strong so it seemed that maybe you agreed! I couldn’t help but wonder what the workers thought as they were landscaping and cutting grass and they kept seeing me swaying while leaning against the big trees. I had to be quite a sight!

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I knew that things seemed to be moving along and I headed home to Daddy. I decided that we should get things together, drop your brother off and head to the birth center. If things slowed down again (which I figured they would with the changes) then we could walk in the Falls or go out to dinner. Either way we’d be closer to where we needed to be and your brother would be taken care of. I wasn’t anxious and really didn’t think things were moving too quickly, but just felt like we should take the next step. When I got home I realized I’d been gone about 40 minutes and had about 8 contractions while at the cemetery. That meant they were about 5 minutes apart which was closer than I had thought. I told Daddy my idea and he decided to finish up a few things while I packed up the cooler. Shortly after we talked I realized that the contractions were still coming fairly strong and told Daddy that we needed to not waste time and get going. Again, I didn’t feel panicked I just felt like we needed to get moving. The timing worked out well since your brother woke up and we headed out the door by 3 pm. We had called Coral to let her know the plan and she said she’d head over the center to get the birth pool ready and we called Debby who was with her grandsons and she said she’d get moving towards the center soon as well. Our final call on the way out the door was to Grandma and Grandpa F's answering machine to let them know we were headed towards the center.

Once we were in the van I realized that I was going to be having contractions while we were driving. I do not know why this hadn’t clicked with me before, but since I didn’t have any with your brother I had not considered what that would be like with you. Turned out I wasn’t too fond of laboring sitting in a seat with my seat belt on as it made it really hard to relax through the contractions. We were joking around talking about the fact that we’d be able to bill for 2 days at the center since we’d be getting there in the evening and you would probably be born in the wee hours of the morning or sometime the next day. And as we were driving your Daddy started watching the clock to see how far apart the contractions were. We quickly discovered that they were getting closer together! When we were almost to the Marquette Interchange I saw that traffic was backed up on every interstate except the direction we were headed and I was so grateful that we could keep driving. The closer we got to your Grandma and Grandpa S's house the harder the contractions were coming. We had polka music playing and your brother was trying to sing along. Thankfully he thought many of my labor noises were just me singing too!

We were only a few miles from S’s house when I told your Daddy that I thought we needed to just go to the center and have them meet us there. I was feeling overwhelmed with the strength and number of contractions and just didn’t know how long I could keep laboring in the van. Since we were going to be driving right past their house we decided to drop your brother off, but Daddy called them and warned them that this would be a fast stop. We pulled up and they were waiting for us. I got him out of his seat while Daddy unloaded everything. Grandpa grabbed things from Daddy while I put your brother down to have a contraction against the van. He got upset because of all the commotion and having been put down, but Grandma picked him up right away. We pulled away from the house to a crying boy with stuff all over the lawn…it was literally a 3 minute drop off.


More tomorrow! Part 4 here.
Heather

Peanut's Birth Story--Part 2

The saga continues...read part 1 here

We had an appointment with our midwife on Monday, June 14th and discussed our options. Everything seemed fine and we weren’t worried about your health even though we were starting week 41 on Tuesday. Our biggest concern was that Aunt Sarah and the cousins were planning to come from Arkansas on the weekend and we didn’t know if they should. Also, starting on Sunday Daddy was going to be gone every day for a big part of the day doing festivals and libraries. If we got to week 42 and they started talking about induction we would have a real challenge on our hands. And even if things were going well I would be home with your brother and no vehicle if I went into labor. We had a three day window (Thur-Sat) that were quiet and we really hoped you would be here or come on those days. In the end you did just that!

At our appointment with Debby she gave us some B&B which was an herbal concoction that helps to encourage labor. Starting that day I took a dropper of it 5 hours in a row and pumped for 10 minutes each time to encourage the hormones that would help labor get going. I would feel contractions, but nothing too intense and they wouldn’t roll into anything once the 5 hours were up. We continued to walk a lot and do everything we could to encourage you to come. Daddy had a library to play on Wednesday and we decided that if you had not appeared by then we would strip my membranes that afternoon to see if that would help. Tuesday was the same as Monday and Wednesday was too, so Debby came over on Wednesday afternoon and proceeded with the plan.

When she stripped my membranes I was dilated to a 2 and over 60% effaced so we still had a ways to go. After she left I had a really strong contraction, but the rest of the evening was pretty normal. I baked a Birth Day cake to encourage you to come celebrate a birth day and we enjoyed a piece after dinner. After our walk we all headed to bed and as I laid down at 10 I started to have a few contractions, but by 10:30 they had stopped. I slept until 12:30 and was awakened by a contraction for the first time! The rest of the night I would dose off and wake up to contractions. Sometimes they came fairly often, sometimes I would only get 2 or so in an hour. They were all fairly intense and I would find myself waking up very tense. I just did my best to relax through them and didn’t do anything to wake up your Daddy. I was so hoping that they would continue and that things would move along!

At about 6 your brother woke up and I got up to get us breakfast. I decided to call Debby and let her know what was happening as well as get advice as to how I could encourage things along. She suggested doing the herbs and pumping, going for a walk and then resting as I didn’t get a lot of sleep that night. So, we did just that! We also called Coral (our doula and birth center owner) so she would know that something was happening, but nothing too urgent. As the morning continued I would have a few contractions an hour, all strong, but nothing seemed to be getting into a rhythm or progressing too quickly. We talked to Debby at noon and decided that if nothing had picked up I would take castor oil before 4 pm with the hope that it would kick us up enough to bring you. I was not looking forward to it, but since time was running low we thought we’d give it a shot.


More soon! Part 3 here.
Heather

Peanut's Birth Story

Or the post that has taken too long to get started! I've had multiple e-mails and even a comment now asking where the heck this has been. So without further ado...let the saga begin! (Seeing that it is 6 pages long, I'm going to break it up a bit.)


When telling your birth story where do I begin? Do I begin with my missing the newborn phase within weeks of your brother’s birth? Does it start when we officially started trying to have you around the time he turned one? Does it start when I took a test and thought it was negative only to realize the test was defective and that I still didn’t know if I was pregnant or not? Or when we finally got the positive that I’d been praying for? Or when the practice contractions started exactly as the third trimester began? Or when your due date came and went without you showing up? Or when I cried and cried as your Grandma and Grandpa F. came and went and you still hadn’t shown up? Or when I started to worry about the 42 week mark and we decided to try a few more methods to encourage you to come? Or when real contractions finally, FINALLY started coming but didn’t really seem to go anywhere? Or when you and I took a walk by ourselves in Mt. Olivet and talked and walked hard and kicked the contractions into a 5 minute pattern? Or when we were in the van and I realized I did not want to labor there and that we needed to be to the center as soon as possible? Or when we got there and time just flew by until you torpedoed out into the water? I’ll do my best to summarize your story my girl. It has been quite a ride!

Your Daddy and I always knew we wanted to have more than one child. I think siblings are a great blessing and your Daddy wanted his kids to have them since he never did. So there was never really a question that we would have another baby after your brother joined us. What surprised me was how quickly I felt myself wanting another child. Within months of his birth I was ready to try for you and by the time he turned one we were both excited about when we’d find out about you. It took a little longer than we thought it would, especially considering how quickly we found out about your brother. In the end your timing couldn’t have been better since it gave me the opportunity to be home with you both while Daddy worked hard playing libraries during the summer.

When we finally took a test one Sunday morning I was incredibly disappointed to find it not showing positive. Quickly we realized the control line didn’t show up either and that the test was probably bad. After we came home from church I thought I saw a little dot on the ‘positive’ line and told your Daddy that the test was mocking me. It took a few days to get another test and when we finally took it I was already pretty sure I was pregnant and I was! We were so excited and had the opposite reactions that we’d had with your brother. I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling and your Daddy was pretty shocked. I think the reality of learning that he’d be the father of two hit him all at once!

Our pregnancy was pretty normal and your journal will fill you in on lots of the day to day details. We knew we wanted to use a midwife and I hoped we’d be able to use Well Rounded Maternity Center. In the end it all worked out wonderfully for both.

We were really hoping you would arrive just before or right around your due date of Tuesday, June 8^th as your Grandma and Grandpa F. would be here. They came up on June 5^th to attend the wedding reception of my cousin and had taken off an entire week to be here. When you had not arrived before the 5^th your Daddy and I decided to invite Grandma to be at your birth if it happened while they were in town. While they were here they did all kinds of projects around our house, we went for lots of walks, Grandma and I went rummaging, she came to an appointment and heard your heartbeat and we all waited and waited. Your brother was born the day before his due date and we really expected that you would come around then too, but you had different plans. Grandma and Grandpa left on Saturday, June 12^th having not yet met you. I was so disappointed and I know they were as well. We had the best time with them and they loved being with your brother, but you were the star of the show and you didn’t make an appearance! You had very different plans.

To be continued soon, I promise! Part 2 here.
Heather