The Birth Story!

“There is a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are strong.”

– Laura Stavoe Harm
 

So I found it really interesting that I procrastinated on posting the 'Preparation' blog-- since our son arrived the next day!!! I think it's a pretty good birth story (definitely not how I expected things unfolding but perfect in how it did!) and I'm still a bit in shock at the whole experience :)!

On Saturday night, Kelvin and I attended Open Door's Holiday party at the Arcata Community Center. We got to catch up with many friends from work (nice since I've been off and out of the loop for a week) and enjoyed dinner which included lasagna and salad. Molly and Nina, two of my prenatal colleagues also term, were both there and "undelivered" too.  There were no signs from my body that anything was brewing. In any case, we headed home between 10 and 1030 pm and tried to go to sleep.

Around 1130 pm, I started having what I'd describe as cramps. They were anywhere from 5-10 min apart and I kept going back and forth to the bathroom, at first thinking I had some GI upset (that lasagna!) but then realizing that I was probably going into labor!

I turned on my hypnobirthing tracks and listened to the sections getting you through 30, then 60 and 90-second contractions.

Around 130 or 2 am, I told Kelvin that I think things were getting more intense. I was still spending a lot of time in the bathroom, kneeling over the birthing peanut ball I got and the cool tub, or lying on the floor. Kelvin joined me and started using the contraction app tracker to check the contraction frequency.  We filled and I got in our bathtub (pics omitted for decency!) with warm water and some lavender essential oil which really helped me cope with the pain (hydrotherapy is great for labor!). Pepper joined us and made herself cozy on the bathroom floor, too! :)

 

By close to 4 am (I found that time did really fly when I was trying to breathe through contractions!), I was trying to examine myself to see if I thought I was really in "active" labor (6 cm+) and ready to go to the hospital.  With everything I've read about natural childbirth during this pregnancy, I was hoping to try to do a birth without meds if I could tolerate the pain, recognizing that there was no way to know how it would affect me (and yes, there was pain, not just an "intense sensation or surge" like Ina May Gaskin, a renowned midwife, likes to say), so my goal was to be strong yet open and flexible! I didn't want to go to the hospital too early in labor. However, on my self-exam, I could feel the baby's head and a bulging bag of water and so thought it was time to head the 5 min over to Mad River. I called the birth center before heading in as a heads up, letting them know I "thought" I was in active labor and needed an objective person other than myself to check my cervix :)

Boy, I'm glad we didn't wait longer at home. I had about 3 contractions between our door and the hospital door a mere mile or so and 5 min from our house, and barely made it into the triage bed before my water broke all over the place (with clear fluid, thankfully). It seemed like it took forever for me to get my weight and vitals taken, put on the monitor, and examined, but the nurse told me at 0445 that I was 10 cm, fully dilated, and definitely a "keeper"! I was relieved yet anxious at the same time as I knew pushing was ahead.

They luckily wheeled my bed into rather than having me walk to one of the true labor rooms, and I was not very aware of much of anything as I think I had my eyes closed and was death-gripping the bedrails. However, we got settled, and although I didn't get a saline lock IV or any time for meds, epidurals, or the like, Kelvin did have time to get out and put up the decor we had packed for the "event," including white Christmas lights, the dreamcatcher and birth affirmation flags from my Blessingway the previous weekend, and the essential oil diffuser.  He turned on my "labor playlist" on iTunes which included some mellow chorales as well as Christmas music and some peppy pop, all of which set a nice mood.

K insisted on this "labor selfie" (in between contractions, I was actually able to smile!)

Eloi, my colleague on call and neighbor, arrived soon after to coach me through pushing, which was definitely hard work! I felt like I was being a bit wimpy, not wanting to "push into the pain" as I often tell my patients.  It was definitely intense. But I could definitely feel his head descending, and even reach down to feel my progress.  I pushed for about an hour or so, with questionable effort but at least I buckled down, cooperated, and did it :)

At 615 am, about an hour and a half after reaching the hospital and 7 hours after the first contractions started, our son "Iver" was born! I think he came out to a Christian worship song "Trading My Sorrows" (we didn't time things quite right as Handel's "Hallelujah chorus" from The Messiah played a few minutes before Iver came out!). We had not picked the name beforehand but rather had a short list to narrow down when we met him. His name is a Scottish and /or Scandinavian name which means "archer" or "bowhunter," and we used my maiden (and current middle) name as his, too.   He came out screaming with Apgars of 9 and 10 and was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen! He was born on the Winter Solstice which perhaps is lucky in some way? :)

first cry

I was incredibly emotional when I first held him to my chest!

Eloi was amazing! I couldn't have asked for a better cheerleader in the second stage and she also took great care to repair my tear!

Family of three!

Iver was incredibly alert at birth!

giving us the bird :)

Getting weighed! He was 7#2 oz, 3238g, and 19 1/4 inches.

First baby exam

Proud papa

 

Feeling more human, a few hours later

I had an absolutely miraculous and perfect birth experience!  I am so thankful for a mercifully fast labor (don't think I could have done it "naturally" if I was in active labor for more hours or days!), uncomplicated delivery, and healthy baby boy!  

“Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers. Strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”
- Barbara Katz Rothman

Happy birthday to Iver, happy Winter Solstice, and Merry early Christmas to us!