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Maddy's Birth Story By Stephanie |
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Birth Stories -
Homebirth Birth Stories
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Monday, 24 November 2008 10:51 |
Madeleine Rose
17.5 inches 5 lb 9 oz (at 2 days old) 37 weeks
Beautiful long reddish blond hair and gray-blue eyes
Maddy is our 5th child, and was our 10th pregnancy. The first 4 kids were born in the hospital, all with progressively less intervention. So, when it turned out that our one available OB in town was very much into medicallizing birth, we started doing research.
Knowing that birth is meant to be a natural process, one that a woman's body is designed to do with minimal intervention in most cases, we decided to try an unassisted birth. I found a wonderful mailing list - CBIRTH - that has so many good women on it..and some great husbands, too! By the 8th month of pregnancy, my husband and I were both convinced that barring any trouble, we would do fine.
This pregnancy was a slightly difficult one...bleeding from weeks 4-12, I was more tired than normal, we bought a new house, older kids had trouble at school...and then I started dilating/effacing at 31 weeks. Oh, boy. I ran to the Web and started researching premature births - we had to decide when we would have to go the hospital for the baby's safety. We ended up deciding that if real labor started before March 18th or so (36.5 weeks), we would go in.
I started having Braxton-Hicks at 15 weeks, and they just kept going, and going, and going..There were a few times I thought for sure it was real! At 33 weeks, I was at 2+ cm and starting to efface. At 34 weeks, I was at a definite 3cm. By 35 weeks, I was at 4 cm and 60% effaced...on to 36 weeks, and I was at 4-5 cm, and still around 60%. On March 19th, I was at 5+ cm and having real contractions...kept my husband and kids home that day! On the 20th, I was at 6-7 cm, and still contracting...this was getting pretty old by now, and getting frustrating and painful. We decided that we would go in Sunday (the 22nd) if we hadn't gone into labor by then.
The morning of the 21st, I woke up at 7 or so, with a string of contractions that wouldn't let up...and I really had to use the bathroom. When I got a short break, I managed to get up and use the bathroom. Contractions went to 7 minutes apart or so, and I decided to take a nice hot bath. I figured if they stayed 7 apart or less, I'd believe it was finally real labor. At 7:30, the phone rang...one of my husband's co-workers calling to see if we had the baby yet. John told him "not yet", and then came in to see how I was doing. After timing contractions for a few minutes, he went to get his book, our sodas, his watch, and our cigarettes. (Yep, that's a no-no) He sensed that we were in this for the long run:-)
At 9:00, I started really having to concentrate...not too painful yet, but definitely intense. John added hot water to the tub, rubbed my back, we talked...The other kids were up by now and were watching movies. (The 2 year old wasn't too happy when I wouldn't go in and watch with him) I'm pretty sure they ate breakfast too.
Right around 10:45, things started going - fast and furious! As is normal for our daughters, Maddy was presenting face up. This made the back pain very close to intolerable - John was putting all his physical strength into rubbing my back for me. We were both in tears, the kids were getting dressed so we could go the hospital...If we'd been paying attention to my past births, we would've realized that this was the dreaded transition! And therefor almost to the end...
At 11:05, I had a small break from the contractions (Thank You, God!). I checked my dilation, and felt the bag bulging halfway down the vaginal canal. I started laughing, because that meant it would be very soon! I had John check, and he felt it too. All of a sudden another contraction started and WHOOSH!! the water broke! That was immediate pain relief, and I really relaxed then...finally I could enjoy labor again! Another big contraction and I HAD to push...I tried not to, once...and once again...but there was no stopping it. Maddy was born at 11:07 a.m. on March 21st, flying through the water right into her Daddy's arms:-)
She was a little purplish, but started perking up fairly quickly. She wasn't too interested in breathing yet, so after a couple minutes we suctioned her nose gently..she decided that breathing was better than that! We cuddled in the tub, nursing and getting to know each other, for an hour or so. We then went into the bedroom to lay down. I started having some pretty nasty contractions again, but the placenta was happy where it was. I wasn't though, so I gave one of those mighty pushes and it came out nicely. Finally, I was done and could really relax.
John washed me with nice warm water, put a clean chux pad under me, and took the placenta to the bathroom to examine later. He then dialed my mom's number, and handed me the phone so I could talk to her for awhile. (He did so wonderfully during this whole pregnancy and birth - I'm very blessed) Maddy and I napped for awhile with Timmy (our 2 year old), who was so ready to nurse! It had been a long day for him too, since he was used to nursing at least 3 times by 2:00! John made a great steak dinner for us all, and cleaned out the tub.
The placenta was fine, though it looked like there might have been an area where it started detaching/hemorrhaging slightly before the birth. We buried it in the yard, and will plant something there this year. At 6 weeks, Maddy has grown so much! Almost 7 pounds, and 18.5 inches long. She can hold her head up pretty well, and is trying to turn over. She does eat all the time, but I guess that's good for a little baby:-) I have recovered well also.
I hope our next birth goes as well, though hopefully not another posterior baby! We may have the local midwife next time also, since she's licensed now and has some good reliable references finally.
Feel free to comment, question, or get more info on the CBIRTH list:
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