My Waterbirth

Well, hopefully I can get through this before Miss Halli needs me

On Friday the 15th of August, I had my Midwife appointment at 10:30am. We had
already scheduled an induction for the 17th if I hadn't gone into labor, as my
DH had some business commitments that he couldn't get out of.

At the appointment my midwife stripped my membranes at my request. We had
decided that if we could get things going on our own it would be better than
starting an induction from a dead stop. We figured it was worth a try, even if
we ended up needing to augment. My midwife agreed that it made sense, and
stripped my membranes, and then told us to go home and have sex. She suggested
taking castor oil as well. She recommended taking 2oz, and then 2oz 4 hours
later. We started home and stopped to get the castor oil. We went home and
followed both of her recommendations The castor oil was terrible! I threw
it up immediately after taking it. That made me mad! As if getting it down
wasn't bad enough, imagine how awful it was coming right back up! ick! I must
have kept a decent amount of it down though, as the diarrhea started about an
hour and a half later.

I started having contractions, but I could tell they weren't strong enough to
really do anything. A little while later we decided to go ahead and call my
Midwife (Bernie). She told us to go ahead over to the hospital. When we got
there they put me right into the birthing suite. It's a beautiful room with a
queen size bed, a jacuzzi bath tub, hardwood floors, etc. Bernie was there
within a few minutes after we arrived. I was checked, and hadn't changed much,
so we decided to get a tracing on the baby for 15 minutes, and then walk around
for an hour.

During that hour as we walked I was still joking a lot, and they kept telling
me that I was smiling too much, lol. I was checked again after an hour and had
changed some, but not a lot, so we decided to go ahead and start Pitocin. Here
is where I have to say how wonderful my midwife is! She agreed to start it
very slowly, and once I reached 5 cm (I was 3 at the time) turn it off and let
my body finish on it's own. SO different from my OB who increased it more the
further along I got! ugh!

With each contraction my DH was wonderful! He would rub my back or hips as I
rocked on my hands and knees or squatted. He would let me hang on his
shoulders as he held me. He whispered to me how well I was doing, and how much
he loved me. He's an amazing man!

I used the birth ball, which was wonderful at first, but as I got further along
the bouncing made the contraction hurt more when I sat on it. It worked much
better to lay over the top of it with my knees on the floor. I had a wonderful
team in Bernie and my DH. He would touch me to soothe me, and Bernie would
quietly tell me how I was doing perfectly working with the contraction, and to
picture my cervix opening up and letting the baby come out. I felt very
relaxed.

The contractions started to get stronger, and before I knew it (literally,
maybe 2 hours) I was 5 centimeters. We decided at that point to go ahead and
break my waters. The contractions immediately became stronger. At that point
we decided to fill the jacuzzi tub so that I could get in and relax with the
contractions.

I got into the bath, and at first laid on my back in the water. That soon
became very uncomfortable, as being on my back made the contractions hurt
worse, so I opted for hands and knees. Suddenly I got a strange contraction
that burned my hips so badly I wanted to scream! It literally felt like
someone had poured acid on my skin! With the next contraction I felt that
unmistakable urge to push! Bernie checked me and I was only 6 centimeters. I
tried to fight off the urge to push with each of the next few contractions. I
kept asking Bernie to check again with each one, as it was so hard not to push!
With each contraction I dilated a bit more. Within 5 minutes I was at nine
centimeters and Bernie asked me if I wanted her to try to stretch the cervix
over the baby's head. I said yes! I pushed through a contraction as she
stretched the cervix. With the next contraction the baby was beginning to
crown. I pushed slowly, as I reached down to stretch my perineum. I was
terrified of tearing again! I kept stretching it as I pushed and with the next
contraction Bernie told me that I had just delivered the head. It was an
incredible feeling to know that I had delivered my baby's head myself. No one
else had touched me at all from the point that she was beginning to crown.
With the next contraction the baby was born and my DH and I lifted her up
together! Bernie stood close by, and told us what to do, but never interfered
at all! She was wonderful! My DH and I together delivered our baby girl!

We stayed in the water for quite a while. We held the baby so that her body
was under the water to keep her warm. DH was holding her head while I held her
body. We just sat there for the longest time looking at our beautiful
daughter, telling her how much we both love her!

After it stopped pulsing DH cut the cord. Bernie commented on how it was the
thickest cord she had ever seen and she wasn't sure the cord clamp was going to
fit around it. It almost didn't! It took her pushing on it with both hands to
even get the clamp on! She said there was no way she was ever deprived of
oxygen!

Bernie had me hand the baby off to DH so that she and a nurse could help me out
of the bath and into bed. While Bernie checked me for any tears, DH and the
nurse weighed the baby. I had one small skid mark, that could have done
without a stitch, but we decided to do it anyway. It only took less than a
minute to be stitched, and they brought the baby to me. We got into the lovely
queen size bed and they put her against my bare skin and covered us up. Halli
started to nurse immediately. It was then that we realized that it had been
just about 4 hours from start to finish for my entire labor and delivery. What
shocked me even more is that from that first contraction that gave me the urge
to push at 6 cm, to our beautiful daughter being born, was only about 10
minutes! WOW!

A little while later all three of us were all in bed together cuddling with the
new baby that we had created together. It made it the prefect ending that we
were given the opportunity to deliver her ourselves. We couldn't have asked
for a more wonderful birth!

--
Amy~
Tre' (6/92)
Keelyn (6/95)
Peyton (10/00)
Halli (8/15/03)
bellybee (edd 8/03)

:: Well, hopefully I can get through this before Miss Halli needs me
::
:: On Friday the 15th of August, I had my Midwife appointment at 10:30am.
We had
:: already scheduled an induction for the 17th if I hadn't gone into labor,
as my
:: DH had some business commitments that he couldn't get out of.
::
:: At the appointment my midwife stripped my membranes at my request. We
had
:: decided that if we could get things going on our own it would be better
than
:: starting an induction from a dead stop. We figured it was worth a try,
even if
:: we ended up needing to augment. My midwife agreed that it made sense,
and
:: stripped my membranes, and then told us to go home and have sex. She
suggested
:: taking castor oil as well. She recommended taking 2oz, and then 2oz 4
hours
:: later. We started home and stopped to get the castor oil. We went home
and
:: followed both of her recommendations The castor oil was terrible! I
threw
:: it up immediately after taking it. That made me mad! As if getting it
down
:: wasn't bad enough, imagine how awful it was coming right back up! ick!
I must
:: have kept a decent amount of it down though, as the diarrhea started
about an
:: hour and a half later.
::
:: I started having contractions, but I could tell they weren't strong
enough to
:: really do anything. A little while later we decided to go ahead and call
my
:: Midwife (Bernie). She told us to go ahead over to the hospital. When we
got
:: there they put me right into the birthing suite. It's a beautiful room
with a
:: queen size bed, a jacuzzi bath tub, hardwood floors, etc. Bernie was
there
:: within a few minutes after we arrived. I was checked, and hadn't changed
much,
:: so we decided to get a tracing on the baby for 15 minutes, and then walk
around
:: for an hour.
::
:: During that hour as we walked I was still joking a lot, and they kept
telling
:: me that I was smiling too much, lol. I was checked again after an hour
and had
:: changed some, but not a lot, so we decided to go ahead and start Pitocin.
Here
:: is where I have to say how wonderful my midwife is! She agreed to start
it
:: very slowly, and once I reached 5 cm (I was 3 at the time) turn it off
and let
:: my body finish on it's own. SO different from my OB who increased it
more the
:: further along I got! ugh!
::
:: With each contraction my DH was wonderful! He would rub my back or hips
as I
:: rocked on my hands and knees or squatted. He would let me hang on his
:: shoulders as he held me. He whispered to me how well I was doing, and
how much
:: he loved me. He's an amazing man!
::
:: I used the birth ball, which was wonderful at first, but as I got further
along
:: the bouncing made the contraction hurt more when I sat on it. It worked
much
:: better to lay over the top of it with my knees on the floor. I had a
wonderful
:: team in Bernie and my DH. He would touch me to soothe me, and Bernie
would
:: quietly tell me how I was doing perfectly working with the contraction,
and to
:: picture my cervix opening up and letting the baby come out. I felt very
:: relaxed.
::
:: The contractions started to get stronger, and before I knew it
(literally,
:: maybe 2 hours) I was 5 centimeters. We decided at that point to go ahead
and
:: break my waters. The contractions immediately became stronger. At that
point
:: we decided to fill the jacuzzi tub so that I could get in and relax with
the
:: contractions.
::
:: I got into the bath, and at first laid on my back in the water. That
soon
:: became very uncomfortable, as being on my back made the contractions hurt
:: worse, so I opted for hands and knees. Suddenly I got a strange
contraction
:: that burned my hips so badly I wanted to scream! It literally felt like
:: someone had poured acid on my skin! With the next contraction I felt
that
:: unmistakable urge to push! Bernie checked me and I was only 6
centimeters. I
:: tried to fight off the urge to push with each of the next few
contractions. I
:: kept asking Bernie to check again with each one, as it was so hard not to
push!
:: With each contraction I dilated a bit more. Within 5 minutes I was at
nine
:: centimeters and Bernie asked me if I wanted her to try to stretch the
cervix
:: over the baby's head. I said yes! I pushed through a contraction as she
:: stretched the cervix. With the next contraction the baby was beginning
to
:: crown. I pushed slowly, as I reached down to stretch my perineum. I was
:: terrified of tearing again! I kept stretching it as I pushed and with
the next
:: contraction Bernie told me that I had just delivered the head. It was an
:: incredible feeling to know that I had delivered my baby's head myself.
No one
:: else had touched me at all from the point that she was beginning to
crown.
:: With the next contraction the baby was born and my DH and I lifted her up
:: together! Bernie stood close by, and told us what to do, but never
interfered
:: at all! She was wonderful! My DH and I together delivered our baby
girl!
::
:: We stayed in the water for quite a while. We held the baby so that her
body
:: was under the water to keep her warm. DH was holding her head while I
held her
:: body. We just sat there for the longest time looking at our beautiful
:: daughter, telling her how much we both love her!
::
:: After it stopped pulsing DH cut the cord. Bernie commented on how it was
the
:: thickest cord she had ever seen and she wasn't sure the cord clamp was
going to
:: fit around it. It almost didn't! It took her pushing on it with both
hands to
:: even get the clamp on! She said there was no way she was ever deprived
of
:: oxygen!
::
:: Bernie had me hand the baby off to DH so that she and a nurse could help
me out
:: of the bath and into bed. While Bernie checked me for any tears, DH and
the
:: nurse weighed the baby. I had one small skid mark, that could have done
:: without a stitch, but we decided to do it anyway. It only took less than
a
:: minute to be stitched, and they brought the baby to me. We got into the
lovely
:: queen size bed and they put her against my bare skin and covered us up.
Halli
:: started to nurse immediately. It was then that we realized that it had
been
:: just about 4 hours from start to finish for my entire labor and delivery.
What
:: shocked me even more is that from that first contraction that gave me the
urge
:: to push at 6 cm, to our beautiful daughter being born, was only about 10
:: minutes! WOW!
::
:: A little while later all three of us were all in bed together cuddling
with the
:: new baby that we had created together. It made it the prefect ending
that we
:: were given the opportunity to deliver her ourselves. We couldn't have
asked
:: for a more wonderful birth!

Thank you for your most detailed birthing experience. I felt I was in the
room with you.

Congratulations to you and your family.


~Carol Ann
www.lowcarblosers.com ~ Home of the Monthly Weightloss Challenge

uckjunk (Amy M.) wrote in message ...
Well, hopefully I can get through this before Miss Halli needs me

Thanks for sharing your wonderful birth story, Amy!...and welcome to baby Halli!


Catherine C.
grandmother to Brendan--11 months yesterday!

What a lovely birthstory, thanks so much for sharing it Amy,
and welcome again to little Miss Halli )


--
Andrea

If I can't be a good example, then I'll just have to be a
horrible warning.

Amy - what a wonderful birth story, thank you for sharing it :-)
Congratulations to your family, and welcome to Halli!

Elly
34 weeks today!
EDD October 6th



"Amy M." ha scritto nel messaggio
...
Well, hopefully I can get through this before Miss Halli needs me

On Friday the 15th of August, I had my Midwife appointment at 10:30am. We
had
already scheduled an induction for the 17th if I hadn't gone into labor,
as my
DH had some business commitments that he couldn't get out of.

At the appointment my midwife stripped my membranes at my request. We had
decided that if we could get things going on our own it would be better
than
starting an induction from a dead stop. We figured it was worth a try,
even if
we ended up needing to augment. My midwife agreed that it made sense, and
stripped my membranes, and then told us to go home and have sex. She
suggested
taking castor oil as well. She recommended taking 2oz, and then 2oz 4
hours
later. We started home and stopped to get the castor oil. We went home
and
followed both of her recommendations The castor oil was terrible! I
threw
it up immediately after taking it. That made me mad! As if getting it
down
wasn't bad enough, imagine how awful it was coming right back up! ick! I
must
have kept a decent amount of it down though, as the diarrhea started about
an
hour and a half later.

I started having contractions, but I could tell they weren't strong enough
to
really do anything. A little while later we decided to go ahead and call
my
Midwife (Bernie). She told us to go ahead over to the hospital. When we
got
there they put me right into the birthing suite. It's a beautiful room
with a
queen size bed, a jacuzzi bath tub, hardwood floors, etc. Bernie was
there
within a few minutes after we arrived. I was checked, and hadn't changed
much,
so we decided to get a tracing on the baby for 15 minutes, and then walk
around
for an hour.

During that hour as we walked I was still joking a lot, and they kept
telling
me that I was smiling too much, lol. I was checked again after an hour
and had
changed some, but not a lot, so we decided to go ahead and start Pitocin.
Here
is where I have to say how wonderful my midwife is! She agreed to start
it
very slowly, and once I reached 5 cm (I was 3 at the time) turn it off and
let
my body finish on it's own. SO different from my OB who increased it more
the
further along I got! ugh!

With each contraction my DH was wonderful! He would rub my back or hips
as I
rocked on my hands and knees or squatted. He would let me hang on his
shoulders as he held me. He whispered to me how well I was doing, and how
much
he loved me. He's an amazing man!

I used the birth ball, which was wonderful at first, but as I got further
along
the bouncing made the contraction hurt more when I sat on it. It worked
much
better to lay over the top of it with my knees on the floor. I had a
wonderful
team in Bernie and my DH. He would touch me to soothe me, and Bernie
would
quietly tell me how I was doing perfectly working with the contraction,
and to
picture my cervix opening up and letting the baby come out. I felt very
relaxed.

The contractions started to get stronger, and before I knew it (literally,
maybe 2 hours) I was 5 centimeters. We decided at that point to go ahead
and
break my waters. The contractions immediately became stronger. At that
point
we decided to fill the jacuzzi tub so that I could get in and relax with
the
contractions.

I got into the bath, and at first laid on my back in the water. That soon
became very uncomfortable, as being on my back made the contractions hurt
worse, so I opted for hands and knees. Suddenly I got a strange
contraction
that burned my hips so badly I wanted to scream! It literally felt like
someone had poured acid on my skin! With the next contraction I felt that
unmistakable urge to push! Bernie checked me and I was only 6
centimeters. I
tried to fight off the urge to push with each of the next few
contractions. I
kept asking Bernie to check again with each one, as it was so hard not to
push!
With each contraction I dilated a bit more. Within 5 minutes I was at
nine
centimeters and Bernie asked me if I wanted her to try to stretch the
cervix
over the baby's head. I said yes! I pushed through a contraction as she
stretched the cervix. With the next contraction the baby was beginning to
crown. I pushed slowly, as I reached down to stretch my perineum. I was
terrified of tearing again! I kept stretching it as I pushed and with the
next
contraction Bernie told me that I had just delivered the head. It was an
incredible feeling to know that I had delivered my baby's head myself. No
one
else had touched me at all from the point that she was beginning to crown.
With the next contraction the baby was born and my DH and I lifted her up
together! Bernie stood close by, and told us what to do, but never
interfered
at all! She was wonderful! My DH and I together delivered our baby girl!

We stayed in the water for quite a while. We held the baby so that her
body
was under the water to keep her warm. DH was holding her head while I
held her
body. We just sat there for the longest time looking at our beautiful
daughter, telling her how much we both love her!

After it stopped pulsing DH cut the cord. Bernie commented on how it was
the
thickest cord she had ever seen and she wasn't sure the cord clamp was
going to
fit around it. It almost didn't! It took her pushing on it with both
hands to
even get the clamp on! She said there was no way she was ever deprived of
oxygen!

Bernie had me hand the baby off to DH so that she and a nurse could help
me out
of the bath and into bed. While Bernie checked me for any tears, DH and
the
nurse weighed the baby. I had one small skid mark, that could have done
without a stitch, but we decided to do it anyway. It only took less than
a
minute to be stitched, and they brought the baby to me. We got into the
lovely
queen size bed and they put her against my bare skin and covered us up.
Halli
started to nurse immediately. It was then that we realized that it had
been
just about 4 hours from start to finish for my entire labor and delivery.
What
shocked me even more is that from that first contraction that gave me the
urge
to push at 6 cm, to our beautiful daughter being born, was only about 10
minutes! WOW!

A little while later all three of us were all in bed together cuddling
with the
new baby that we had created together. It made it the prefect ending that
we
were given the opportunity to deliver her ourselves. We couldn't have
asked
for a more wonderful birth!

--
Amy~
Tre' (6/92)
Keelyn (6/95)
Peyton (10/00)
Halli (8/15/03)
bellybee (edd 8/03)