Saturday I had several crampy contractions. I had had a few Fri. as well. But Saturday I had many more. Twyla had called me Saturday night just to see how I was feeling. And I let her know about the contractions. Told her maybe in the next couple days he would be coming. She asked if I would be comfortable if Anjie came to take pictures so she could practice her birth photography. I told her that would be great and that I would love for her to do that. And that was that.
I woke up Sunday Morning about 1:45 with a crampy contraction. I had had several the day before and knew they weren’t Braxton Hicks but knew it didn’t necessarily mean that I would be having my baby that day or the next or the next. I went to the bathroom and came back to bed. I had more contractions and I was timing them to be a minute long by counting in my head. I never got an actual time for how close they were. But they were too close for comfort. So I got up and walked around a little. I woke Hyrum up to have him time them. When I told him I needed him. His thought was, “what you need my help out of the bed? Why do I have to get out of bed? “He got out to time them for me and I asked him to call my mom because I was pretty sure this baby was going to be coming and I wanted her to be there to watch our toddler so we could leave when we decided we were ready...
Hyrum informs me that my mom is not answering her cell or house phone and neither is anyone else that lives with her. Before we could even time anything I felt a trickle of water come down my leg and I thought my water was leaking. I don’t know if it really was. But I got overwhelmed because now I am 100% sure I am in labor and I was a little bit scared/unsure of what was ahead of me. So I tell Hyrum I think my water is leaking. I tell him to “Call my Mom, call Twyla (my doula), call Chris my midwife), pack all the last minute stuff I wrote a list last night, and zip up all the bags and get them in the car! He asks me what I want him to do first.
While I am giving him orders I jump in the shower because I read that can help to relax you and ease some of the pain. I’m in the bath and I am trying to call Chris my midwife. I get her voicemail and I start to panic because I thought the only time you get Chris’s voicemail is when she is at a birth. So I am thinking great Chris is at another birth and she is not going to answer her phone and I don’t even know another midwife.
So Hyrum is trying to call my mom from both our cell phones and is not getting an answer. I am calling Chris and not getting an answer. So we leave a semi-panicked message for both of them. Hyrum calls Twyla and didn’t really know what to say. So he hands the phone to me and I start to cry because I am panicked. I tell her I want to meet her at the birth center as soon as she can but that I can’t get a hold of Chris or someone to stay with my little boy. I think she told me she would make some phone calls.
Hyrum tells me his brother is on his way to come stay with Axel our three year old. I am getting out of the bath and drying off between contractions to try and help pack the last stuff in the bags. But by the time I dry off another contraction comes. So I was really just drying off to get back in. When I hear that my brother in law Joe is on his way I get out and get dressed. Twyla calls back and tells me Angie has a key to the birth center and they will both meet us there as soon as they can and that she will keep trying to call Chris.
Now that Twyla is helping I feel a little relieved. Hyrum gets all the bags in just as his brother and wife and baby show up. I have them give me a priesthood blessing and we are on our way to the birth center which luckily is only about 10 minutes away. On our way we pass my mom who finally answered her phone thinking it was the first time we called her. Oh if she only knew the chaos that preceded her arrival.
Anjie had been waiting for us at the birth center for awhile and thought that we had decided to go somewhere else. Which I wondered if we would have to go the hospital when we couldn’t get a hold of Chris, which I was not happy about the thought of going to the hospital and ending up with who knows what Dr! The hospital was the last place I wanted to go!! I just knew inside of me that I did NOT want to go the hospital. When we get to the birth center I am asking Anjie (who is also a doula), what should I do? What should I be doing? And I think she said, “Well what do you want to do?” And I’m thinking I have no clue, you are a doula can’t you tell me some magical thing to do so I can’t feel these contractions? She was so calm and I was still trying not to freak out a little.
Then Twyla arrived and she hadn’t been able to get a hold of Chris either I could see the concern on her face. She made a joke about her and Anjie delivering the baby. But looking back I don’t think she was joking. She went to find Chris’s assistants phone number back in Chris’s office. In the meantime l decide I want to get in the shower because that seemed to help a bit before. Anjie got it all going for me and she came in and was putting counter pressure on my back. At first I was like this isn’t even helping. But I was kind of expecting the counter pressure to take all the pain away. So I had a reality check and just tried to breathe through them. I moved to my hands and knees and Twyla came in and let us know she got a hold of Tina and that she was on her way. It’s a really good thing that Tina had been one of Chris’s patients because Twyla had found her phone number in her old patient chart. When I heard that Tina was on her way I was not concerned that Chris may not come I was just glad that at least Tina was. I had a flood of relief when I first got the birth center and knew I had someone who knew what they were doing who could help and support me. Because after the first hour of contractions at home with neither my husband or I really knowing what to do I needed support and encouragement from a legitimate source. When I heard Tina was coming I was even more relieved knowing that someone would be there who was more familiar with the medical aspect.
From that point on I think everyone was a little more relaxed. I know my concern went out the window. Tina got there about 3 AM. Maybe 45 min. after I had gotten there. Twyla and Anjie and my husband had all been helping press on my hips and back. They did this for me for probably 95% of my contractions I bet. And they did a really good job. A couple of times I told them the contraction was over and they would stop and I would realize it wasn’t over , they were just doing such a great job that I seriously couldn’t even feel the contraction. Tina checked me and said my water bag was bulging and I was complete. Boy was I relieved! I had been checked three days before at my appointment and I knew I had been dilated to a four. Up to this point I had no idea if I had dilated more or if I was progressing or not and had forever to go still or what.
I had felt the bag before Tina got there and I thought it was his head. My water broke and I pictured this pink water balloon just exploding out of me and popping as it hit the tub. But they tell me that didn’t happen. Everyone else thought after my water broke that it was going to be pretty quick. So I moved out of the shower, I really didn’t want to move it seemed too hard. But I knew it was a good idea to change positions. Hyrum was feeling woozy because he had seen some blood in the shower. I think one of the ladies got him a drink and he sat down. For about 5minutes we tried some other positions on the bed and with the ball. But I really just wanted to be on my hands and knees. They tell me this is where I hit transition. All I wanted to do was get in the pool. One because the water really helped me relax I am not sure if this was more mental or physical or both. I kept looking over at the pool yearning to get it. I think I asked a couple of times if I could get in the pool. At first it seemed like they didn’t really want me to. But I guess we had used up a lot of the hot water in the shower so the pool wasn’t as full as they normally would fill it. But I didn’t know any different. I didn’t know how full the pool usually was.
I got in the pool and I had heard that you don’t get into the pool until you are really close because if you get in too early it can slow your labor down. So I am thinking, okay I am getting in the pool and in 5 minutes this is going to be over and my little guy will be here. But that was not the case. I tried some other positions, but I felt the best when I was on my hands and knees with counter pressure. They kept telling me I was doing a great job and that I was almost there and I was close. I didn’t believe them because in my mind almost there meant 5mintues more max!
Hyrum was sitting in a rocking chair at the edge of the pool recovering from seeing the blood. He was holding my hands and I was squeezing his so hard, he thought I was going to break his thumb. I was feeling like it was taking forever and I couldn’t tell if progress was being made. And I didn’t know if they were telling me it was and telling me I was doing great just to keep me going even if I really wasn’t progressing. When they would tell me I was almost there, I would say, am I really? Are you just saying that? At one point I said, “I don’t know if I can do this.” What I really meant was I don’t know how much longer I can do this. I just wanted someone to say, you only have this much longer, or you only have this many more contractions. I knew there was an end in sight but I wanted a definite number. It was getting pretty intense. But Twyla calmly said something like, “what do you mean, you are doing this!” I told myself she was right and I was repeating to myself I can do this, I can do hard things. My husband had printed me a poster of affirmations for the birth, and the ladies would move it around the room for me so that it was right in front of me and when I was doubting or thinking anything negative I would read something off of it.
The babies’ heart rate went down at one point and they gave me oxygen and I was asking is everything okay? Is something wrong, is something wrong? But I flexed my back or something and it helped his heart rate to go up. It seemed like Twyla was only holding the oxygen for me for a few minutes but the chart said it was on for10 min. I asked if I should be pushing. I kept waiting for someone to tell me what to do. Because the only birth I know was Axel’s hospital birth where they tell you how long to hold your breath and they are pushing on your stomach with all their weight.
I think Twyla asked if I felt like I needed to push. And I did. I pushed for most of the time I was in the pool. But I think I started early. Beause when I really needed to push it felt a lot different. I could tell I was progressing. There was definitely a change. There wasn’t a whole lot of water in the pool so when they could tell I was really pushing they asked if I wanted to move to the bed. I didn’t really want to move anywhere, but I stood up to get out and things started getting really intense and moving fast. I thought things were intense before this point. But this is when things got really crazy intense. I think the baby finally moved down when I stood up.
The Doulas told Hyrum to get in the pool to help me out but I wasn’t going anywhere. I kind of just hung from Hyrum’s arms while he held me up like a ragdoll because it felt so much better. While I was pushing I learned why they call it a ring of fire. Because it was really burning! I reached down with my hand and felt his head. Hyrum held me up as long as he could while I pushed really hard. It was probably the longest most intense 4 minutes of our lives. Hyrum did a really good job of supporting me and telling me I could do it. We both ended up sitting in the water and I was leaning on Hyrum and he was supporting me. They told me, “he has dark hair”. And I couldn’t believe he was really almost her and it was all coming to an end.
Little Tyden 8 lbs 2 oz 20.5 inches long was born sunny side up. He had been posterior and that’s probably why it took 20 min instead of 5 after I got into the pool. I was so relieved that it was over. And I was so excited that he had dark hair. I held him and I asked Hyrum if he wanted to hold him. Tina had to remind me that he was still connected to the cord. I kept expecting someone to take him from me maybe because I didn’t get to hold my baby Axel until 30 min after he was born because the dr. wouldn’t let me hold him until he was done stitching me. We waited until the cord stopped pulsing then Hyrum got to help cut it and hold him.
Out came the placenta and we got out of the pool. And I am telling you Anjie and Twyla and Tina just pampered me. They helped me get cleaned up and in bed. Braided my hair for me, brought me drinks and food, took lots of wonderful pictures. There was always someone right there to help me with whatever I needed. I really just wanted to take at least one of them home with me. Anjie and twyla both caught lots of precious moments on camera. And even though Chris didn’t make it until well after Tyden was born I wouldn‘t change a thing, although I wouldn’t mind getting rid of the initial panic of not being able to get a hold of people.
Everything turned out so perfectly and I am so happy I was educated and brave enough to take this route. I would recommend getting a doula to anyone having a baby! And I can tell you from firsthand experience that Twyla and Anjie are both awesome! You are probably wondering where Chris was. She was at home sleeping with her little grandson who had turned her phone to silent so he could play games on it because grandma fell asleep before him. When she got up Sunday morning she had a load of texts and missed calls and messages from all of us. She got there a few hours after he was born. She was just beside herself that she had missed it. When she got there she was so embarrassed. This was the first time in over 40 years that she had totally missed the phone call. She stitched me up because that was the only thing Tina wasn’t comfortable doing. I thought Tina was Chris’s nurse, but she is actually a midwife in training. This was her first solo catch. And she did a great job! And now everyone involved has a great birth story they will never forget, and I have an amazingly sweet little boy too!
I feel absolutely blessed that I was introduced to the Powerful Birth Group and that it helped me to further educate myself and offer support and encouragement especially when I felt like all I was getting was negativity and silence from others. It was an answer to my prayers. I feel truly blessed to have had this experience and am so grateful that I wasn’t at a hospital in a bed on my back. Because Tyden didn’t drop down until I stood up and I probably would have been told I wasn’t progressing and most likely would have ended up with a c-section. Which was my biggest fear during this pregnancy. I feel truly blessed and know that all the coincidental happenings during this pregnancy and labor were not coincidence at all but divine intervention.
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