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It's Wednesday, May 27, almost a week since the birth of my son, Nathan Ryan, on May 21, 1998 at 2:32 PM. The sun is shining, and the air is filled with the sounds and smells of spring, but I am still focused on the miracle of Nathan's birth and his presence in our lives. I had learned a lot from the birth of my daughter, Kyra Elyse, almost exactly 2 years prior (May 20, 1996). For though her birth was a joyous occasion because of her arrival, the labor and delivery itself was difficult and complicated. The latent phase of labor lasted 16 hours (prodromal labor), and I did not pace myself well. I was so excited and anxious that I did not relax. We went to the hospital too early and got sent home. After being home only a few hours, my water broke, and we were back in the car to the hospital. I thought the pain was excruciating and asked for an epidural immediately upon arrival. Kyra was posterior (sunny-side up), and the back pain was terrible. I was only 4 cm and I didn't think I could bear the pain through 10 cm plus pushing. Along with the epidural, I got the usual IV and blood pressure cuff (what sadist created those automatic bp cuffs? Do they really have to be that tight?). And I had to be flat on my back with the baby monitor around my belly. The epidural took the pain away, but I was slow to dilate. After several hours, I was finally at 10 cm and the pushing began. Two hours of pushing later, nothing had changed except that I was exhausted. The nurse looked nervous and went to get the ob/gyn. (My regular ob/gyn was on vacation, so I met this doctor in delivery.) He checked me and said that Kyra was now transverse (sideways) and her head was stuck on my pelvis. To try to get her to turn, they shut off the epidural, gave me pitocin, and told me to lie on my right side. It was very difficult to go from almost no pain to severe pain, and I cried and told my husband (Larry) that I was going home and he could deliver the baby. After an hour of this, Kyra did turn, they restarted the epidural and had me push. It was 30 hours since I had begun labor and my pushing was fruitless. Kyra's heartrate started to drop, so the doctor inserted an internal monitor, did a big episiotomy and used forceps to get her out. It was wonderful to see her! She was beautiful, even with a bruised head from hitting my pelvis and a red spot from the internal monitor. She was alert with big blue eyes. I nursed her right away. Overall, I was elated that my baby arrived safely, and I felt very grateful to have avoided a C-section. Nevertheless, I went over and over my experience and wondered how it could have been different. In August 1997, I found out that I was pregnant again. Hurray!!!! The first six weeks were bliss; then morning sickness set in. Ugh. It was nothing like I had experienced with Kyra, and it lasted through the whole pregnancy (though it got better over time). I decided this time to use a midwife, hoping to avoid the extent of the medical intervention I had experienced with Kyra and thinking that I would receive more attention because her patient load was so much smaller than an ob/gyn's. Alyce was wonderful from the start. She always took time to answer my questions and explained things carefully and thoroughly. As we got closer to my due date, Alyce, Larry and I reviewed my experience with Kyra and talked about ways to make this next labor and delivery better. I decided to try to avoid pain medication because I thought that had slowed things down and prohibited me from laboring in comfortable positions. I also decided to stay home as long as possible, so I could be free to position my body in anyway I wanted without monitors or blood pressure cuffs, etc. My due date came and went, but on Kyra's second birthday dinner I began to feel labor pains. (I credit the jalepeno poppers I ate at dinner!) I went to sleep early, thinking I would need my rest if this was the real thing. I awoke at 1AM to sharper contractions that were 10 min apart and lasted about 30 sec. I went downstairs to the computer, paid bills and wrote e-mail. At 4 AM, I went back to sleep. At 6 AM, I woke Larry so that he could walk with me. We walked around the neighborhood, and the contractions began to get stronger and closer together. I ate a light breakfast, then took another walk. I called Alyce at 10 AM, and she told me to conserve my energy and get in the tub. I rested my head on the edge of the tub and tried to sleep after each contraction. I spoke with Alyce every 30 min (thank goodness for cordless phones!). By 11:30 AM, the contractions were 3 to 5 min apart and 30 to 45 sec. I had strong pain in my lower back, especially if there was any body weight on it at all (ie, no sitting or leaning back). By 12:20 PM, I was beginning to have trouble handling each contraction and thought we should head to the hospital. Alyce called just then, and we agreed to met her there. We arrived at the hospital at 12:45 PM. I guess I was a sight, pacing and talking to myself, because several people asked if "she" needs a wheelchair. "I'm fine," I said, "I'm just in labor." Once on the LD floor, the nurse said, "We need a room immediately for a very active Mom." I thought, "Who's she talking about? It can't be me. I've got a long way to go!" They put me in an LDR and began filling out forms. I was able to talk between contractions and even joked with the nurse. During each contraction, I would squeeze Larry's hands to pieces and sway back and forth. Alyce arrived and checked me. I was 7 cm at 1 PM. I couldn't believe it! I was in transition. I asked to go into the tub. Alyce had a portable baby monitor, so she was able to listen to the baby's heartbeat while I was in the tub. After 1 hour, I felt a strong urge to push (I had never felt that with Kyra.). Time to get out of the tub. I was at 10 cm! I lied down on the bed, but the pain in my lower back was not manageable. I asked to push on my hand and knees. After 20 min of pushing, I could feel the baby's head crowning, but his heartrate was dropping, and Alyce said we had to do an episiotomy to get him out. I had to lie on my back for the rest of the delivery. I agreed reluctantly. After the episiotomy, the baby came out quickly. Like Kyra, he was posterior (sunny-side up) and that explained the back pain. When his shoulders were delivered, I pulled him out and up onto my belly. He looked wonderful! I asked, "Is it a boy or girl?" Nobody knew because his belly was on mine! Larry cut the cord, and when we picked him up, it was clear that he was Nathan Ryan (not Mariah Jordan, our girl's name). I delivered the placenta, Alyce stitched up the episiotomy, and I nursed him after that. He latched right on. I had such an incredible sense of well-being. I had delivered him into the world and both of us were healthy, though exhausted! I guess what I've learned from all this is that there are many options to having a baby. And though there are complications that are out of our control, we can make some decisions ahead of time in order to try to meet our expectations. Clearly I was more prepared the second time around, both physically and mentally, having already experienced the birth process. Overall, the bottom line is that I have been blessed with two healthy, beautiful children. I couldn't be happier. Unless there was a third?...
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