Emily's birth story (late)

All the birth stories on this newsgroup helped me tremendously while I was
pregnant. I'll share mine, in hopes that it might help someone else.

There are not enough words in our language to describe what it was like
bringing Emily into the world. Hopefully I've been able to give a bit of the
flavor of it to anyone who may be interested.

The bloody show that started on Sunday May 23rd brought with it more frequent
Braxton- Hicks contractions, but still nothing coordinated or consistent. I
called the midwife on Monday, who assured me it was all normal, and meant
nothing about when I was going to have the baby. I probably shouldn't have
asked - I think it influenced what she told us later! But I am getting
ahead of myself.

Monday night DH and I had to run a few errands. It was on one of those
errands that I felt my first, slightly different contraction - like a very
sudden and very powerful menstrual cramp. Hm. I wasn't sure - it might
have been indigestion, after all. I said nothing to DH. When we got back
to our hotel room, I started idly noting the times of my contractions again,
and noticed pretty quickly that they were becoming much more consistent -
7 to 20 minutes apart. Hm. At this point (about 9:00 pm) I mentioned to DH
that things seemed to be changing a bit, although we knew from our childbirth
class that this stage was likely to go on for a long time. Still, he made
sure our bags were organized, and right by the door so we could grab them
without thinking.

At 10:00, he took over timing my contractions. 3-6 minutes, and some of them
were getting interesting. The birthing center had told us to call when I
couldn't talk though a contraction and they'd been 2-5 minutes apart for an
hour. I couldn't talk through them, but it had nothing to do with pain - I
just felt the need to focus while they were happening. I could communicate,
if necessary; but it required effort. DH, being no dope, called the midwife at
about 11:30. Perhaps because I'd asked about the bloody show earlier in the
day she was reluctant to tell us to come in; she said they'd probably have to
send us back. DH said (and thank heaven for the man's persistence!) that was
just fine; but we were coming in NOW and they could check.

It was an hour's drive to the birthing center. I still wasn't in real pain,
although the contractions had taken on a real all-encompassing quality. I
felt tired, and fairly relaxed; although I tended to communicate in single
words. When we got to the birthing center I was beginning to get a little
uncomfortable. They brought me into the examining room and put me on the
table - and let me tell you, lying flat was NOT making me happy. That was
the first real pain of the night. The second was the cervical exam. They
were pretty shocked - I was 5-6 cm already! (I guess I shouldn't have been
so calm. Of course, that passed pretty quickly.)

I'd elected to take the antibiotics for GBS (I was positive), so they put in
the hep lock and told me they'd give me the IV in the tub. At this point it
was about 12:45. As they were filling the tub, DH helped me get undressed -
one of my only clear memories of the night was him taking off my socks for
me. I waited on my hands and knees, which was marginally more comfortable
than lying on the table. When the tub was full they helped me up - and I
wasn't too cooperative; moving wasn't much fun at that point! - and I've
never been so glad to get into water in my LIFE. It eased things immediately.

Good thing, too, because shortly after that the serious stuff kicked in. I
hadn't been vocalizing at all before then; but I moved on to yelling pretty
fast. DH stuck with me through each one, smoothing my hair back, rubbing
my shoulders, and just letting me know he was there. Somewhere transition
happened, but I missed it - all I knew is one minute I was having plain ol'
horrible pain, and the next minute I was having horrible, boy-do-I-need-to-
push pain. The midwives asked if I wanted to have the baby in the tub. I
asked if it was safe, and they said yes; so I gratefully accepted. Nobody
was getting me out of that tub.

Except, of course, even floating in the tub doesn't take full advantage of
gravity; and Emily was a stubborn little thing. They had me kneel in the
tub for a while - have I mention that changing positions for any reason really,
really hurt? - and then they suggested setting up the birthing chair. What?!?
I was thinking. Get out of the tub? Are you people INSANE?? But I did,
with help, and walked into the next room with half a baby head hanging out
of me.

DH sat behind me, and I leaned against him in between contractions. During
contractions I tried to remind myself that the feeling of being ripped to
pieces was normal, that I should go with the pain, relax my muscles, all that
good stuff. Pretty damn hard to do, frankly, when everything in my body was
saying "You know? Let's just put her back for a while and be pregnant a
little longer." I was SO tired, and I said so - DH said that's how he knew
we were close. The midwives - three of them there at this point - kept telling
me to "push through the whole contraction." That moment was as close as I
came to actually swearing at someone. "YOU push through the effing
contraction," I wanted to snarl at them. I didn't want to push through the
contraction; I did not want to have anything to do with the contraction.
I did not want to encourage it, I wanted it to GO AWAY.

But somewhere along there I did push, and suddenly something gave. I felt a
brief relief from pressure, and then an odd, uneven sensation of passing
something bumpy - her shoulders, of course. And then someone handed me a wet,
bloody creature, whom I clutched to my chest while they suctioned her mouth
and nose. "Breathe for Mommy," I told her, over and over; and in about ten
seconds she did. And then screamed. And thus was Emily, at 3:46 am.

They helped us move over to the bed, where I lay with her as they waited for
the placenta. I remember having the presence of mind to observe to DH that
all the back pain I'd been having for months had completely vanished. (I
still had too many endorphins to recognize the pain that had replaced it,
though!) After the placenta, they gave Emily to DH while they stiched me
up. No pernieal tears, but two small labial ones - really, I got off
remarkably easily.

So I did it naturally, as I'd wanted to, without pain medication. I must
confess, though, that if I'd been in a hospital, I'd have asked for an
epidural - the only thing that kept me from it was that they'd have had to
transport me from the birthing center, and the only thing I could imagine
that was worse than the pain I was in was the pain of having to move! I've
never felt such pain in my life - but it was odd; the whole thing felt almost
dream-like. When I wasn't having contractions, I could easily have dozed
off. Mentally, I had retreated somewhere pretty inaccessible; it wasn't like
I had much influence over what my body was doing at that point anyway. It
became a simple, basic task that needed to be accomplished; and nothing else -
myself, other people, even reality - mattered one bit. Emily was coming,
and Emily came.

Thanks to all who have read so far!

Liz
and Emily Grace

--

"No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and
spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable - and we believe they
can do it again." -- John F. Kennedy, 6/10/1963

Elizabeth H Bonesteel wrote:

But somewhere along there I did push, and suddenly something gave. I felt a
brief relief from pressure, and then an odd, uneven sensation of passing
something bumpy - her shoulders, of course. And then someone handed me a wet,
bloody creature, whom I clutched to my chest while they suctioned her mouth
and nose. "Breathe for Mommy," I told her, over and over; and in about ten
seconds she did. And then screamed. And thus was Emily, at 3:46 am.

Thanks for posting your story Liz, it's very well written and really
swept me along with you. Welcome to Emily Grace, congratulations to you!

"Elizabeth H Bonesteel" wrote in message
...
All the birth stories on this newsgroup helped me tremendously while I was
pregnant. I'll share mine, in hopes that it might help someone else.
snip

What a beautiful story, Liz. Thanks for posting it.

I was wondering how you were doing. Did you work out the latch problems you
were having?

Donna

"Elizabeth H Bonesteel" wrote and I snipped:

But somewhere along there I did push, and suddenly something gave. I felt
a
brief relief from pressure, and then an odd, uneven sensation of passing
something bumpy - her shoulders, of course. And then someone handed me a
wet,
bloody creature, whom I clutched to my chest while they suctioned her
mouth
and nose. "Breathe for Mommy," I told her, over and over; and in about
ten
seconds she did. And then screamed. And thus was Emily, at 3:46 am.

Wow, beautiful. Congratulations!

Thanks for sharing,
-Patty, mom to Corinne (6y) and Nathan (4y)
and stepmom to Victoria (14y)

"Elizabeth H Bonesteel" wrote in message
...
All the birth stories on this newsgroup helped me tremendously while I was
pregnant. I'll share mine, in hopes that it might help someone else.

There are not enough words in our language to describe what it was like
bringing Emily into the world. Hopefully I've been able to give a bit of
the
flavor of it to anyone who may be interested.

snip

What a beautiful birth story Liz ... Congratulations and welcome to little
Emily.
Amanda

--
DD 15th August 2002
1 tiny angel Nov 2003
EDD 19th August 2004

Great story and congratulations! I like reading these because it helps me
prepare for our big event.

--
M~Elizabeth

To thine own self be true

Congratulations, that is a beautiful story. My second daughter is Emily
Grace also so I am sure that your daughter is as beautiful as her name!!

Cali


"Elizabeth H Bonesteel" wrote in message
...
All the birth stories on this newsgroup helped me tremendously while I
was
pregnant. I'll share mine, in hopes that it might help someone else.

There are not enough words in our language to describe what it was
like
bringing Emily into the world. Hopefully I've been able to give a bit
of the
flavor of it to anyone who may be interested.

The bloody show that started on Sunday May 23rd brought with it more
frequent
Braxton- Hicks contractions, but still nothing coordinated or
consistent. I
called the midwife on Monday, who assured me it was all normal, and
meant
nothing about when I was going to have the baby. I probably shouldn't
have
asked - I think it influenced what she told us later! But I am
getting
ahead of myself.

Monday night DH and I had to run a few errands. It was on one of
those
errands that I felt my first, slightly different contraction - like a
very
sudden and very powerful menstrual cramp. Hm. I wasn't sure - it
might
have been indigestion, after all. I said nothing to DH. When we got
back
to our hotel room, I started idly noting the times of my contractions
again,
and noticed pretty quickly that they were becoming much more
consistent -
7 to 20 minutes apart. Hm. At this point (about 9:00 pm) I mentioned
to DH
that things seemed to be changing a bit, although we knew from our
childbirth
class that this stage was likely to go on for a long time. Still, he
made
sure our bags were organized, and right by the door so we could grab
them
without thinking.

At 10:00, he took over timing my contractions. 3-6 minutes, and some
of them
were getting interesting. The birthing center had told us to call
when I
couldn't talk though a contraction and they'd been 2-5 minutes apart
for an
hour. I couldn't talk through them, but it had nothing to do with
pain - I
just felt the need to focus while they were happening. I could
communicate,
if necessary; but it required effort. DH, being no dope, called the
midwife at
about 11:30. Perhaps because I'd asked about the bloody show earlier
in the
day she was reluctant to tell us to come in; she said they'd probably
have to
send us back. DH said (and thank heaven for the man's persistence!)
that was
just fine; but we were coming in NOW and they could check.

It was an hour's drive to the birthing center. I still wasn't in real
pain,
although the contractions had taken on a real all-encompassing
quality. I
felt tired, and fairly relaxed; although I tended to communicate in
single
words. When we got to the birthing center I was beginning to get a
little
uncomfortable. They brought me into the examining room and put me on
the
table - and let me tell you, lying flat was NOT making me happy. That
was
the first real pain of the night. The second was the cervical exam.
They
were pretty shocked - I was 5-6 cm already! (I guess I shouldn't have
been
so calm. Of course, that passed pretty quickly.)

I'd elected to take the antibiotics for GBS (I was positive), so they
put in
the hep lock and told me they'd give me the IV in the tub. At this
point it
was about 12:45. As they were filling the tub, DH helped me get
undressed -
one of my only clear memories of the night was him taking off my socks
for
me. I waited on my hands and knees, which was marginally more
comfortable
than lying on the table. When the tub was full they helped me up -
and I
wasn't too cooperative; moving wasn't much fun at that point! - and
I've
never been so glad to get into water in my LIFE. It eased things
immediately.

Good thing, too, because shortly after that the serious stuff kicked
in. I
hadn't been vocalizing at all before then; but I moved on to yelling
pretty
fast. DH stuck with me through each one, smoothing my hair back,
rubbing
my shoulders, and just letting me know he was there. Somewhere
transition
happened, but I missed it - all I knew is one minute I was having
plain ol'
horrible pain, and the next minute I was having horrible,
boy-do-I-need-to-
push pain. The midwives asked if I wanted to have the baby in the
tub. I
asked if it was safe, and they said yes; so I gratefully accepted.
Nobody
was getting me out of that tub.

Except, of course, even floating in the tub doesn't take full
advantage of
gravity; and Emily was a stubborn little thing. They had me kneel in
the
tub for a while - have I mention that changing positions for any
reason really,
really hurt? - and then they suggested setting up the birthing chair.
What?!?
I was thinking. Get out of the tub? Are you people INSANE?? But I
did,
with help, and walked into the next room with half a baby head hanging
out
of me.

DH sat behind me, and I leaned against him in between contractions.
During
contractions I tried to remind myself that the feeling of being ripped
to
pieces was normal, that I should go with the pain, relax my muscles,
all that
good stuff. Pretty damn hard to do, frankly, when everything in my
body was
saying "You know? Let's just put her back for a while and be pregnant
a
little longer." I was SO tired, and I said so - DH said that's how he
knew
we were close. The midwives - three of them there at this point -
kept telling
me to "push through the whole contraction." That moment was as close
as I
came to actually swearing at someone. "YOU push through the effing
contraction," I wanted to snarl at them. I didn't want to push
through the
contraction; I did not want to have anything to do with the
contraction.
I did not want to encourage it, I wanted it to GO AWAY.

But somewhere along there I did push, and suddenly something gave. I
felt a
brief relief from pressure, and then an odd, uneven sensation of
passing
something bumpy - her shoulders, of course. And then someone handed
me a wet,
bloody creature, whom I clutched to my chest while they suctioned her
mouth
and nose. "Breathe for Mommy," I told her, over and over; and in
about ten
seconds she did. And then screamed. And thus was Emily, at 3:46 am.

They helped us move over to the bed, where I lay with her as they
waited for
the placenta. I remember having the presence of mind to observe to DH
that
all the back pain I'd been having for months had completely vanished.
(I
still had too many endorphins to recognize the pain that had replaced
it,
though!) After the placenta, they gave Emily to DH while they stiched
me
up. No pernieal tears, but two small labial ones - really, I got off
remarkably easily.

So I did it naturally, as I'd wanted to, without pain medication. I
must
confess, though, that if I'd been in a hospital, I'd have asked for an
epidural - the only thing that kept me from it was that they'd have
had to
transport me from the birthing center, and the only thing I could
imagine
that was worse than the pain I was in was the pain of having to move!
I've
never felt such pain in my life - but it was odd; the whole thing felt
almost
dream-like. When I wasn't having contractions, I could easily have
dozed
off. Mentally, I had retreated somewhere pretty inaccessible; it
wasn't like
I had much influence over what my body was doing at that point anyway.
It
became a simple, basic task that needed to be accomplished; and
nothing else -
myself, other people, even reality - mattered one bit. Emily was
coming,
and Emily came.

Thanks to all who have read so far!

Liz
and Emily Grace

--

"No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and
spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable - and we believe
they
can do it again." -- John F. Kennedy, 6/10/1963

"Elizabeth H Bonesteel" wrote in message
...
All the birth stories on this newsgroup helped me tremendously while I was
pregnant. I'll share mine, in hopes that it might help someone else.

Liz
and Emily Grace

Congratulations! Thanks for the post, it was worth reading ) And well
done.

Jen
TTC#1
M/C2

In article ,
Thanks for posting your story Liz, it's very well written and really
swept me along with you. Welcome to Emily Grace, congratulations to you!

Thanks. :-) She was worth it all.

Liz


--

"No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and
spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable - and we believe they
can do it again." -- John F. Kennedy, 6/10/1963

In article ,
Donna wrote:

What a beautiful story, Liz. Thanks for posting it.

Thanks, Donna. :-)

I was wondering how you were doing. Did you work out the latch problems you
were having?

Sort of, but not really. I'm fighting a losing battle, I think, and I
hate that. I was so worried about her birth - it necer occurred to me
I'd hit problems bf'ing. But she's growing, and she still gets as much
breat milk as we can stuff into her; so I guess it's not a total failure.

Liz

--

"No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and
spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable - and we believe they
can do it again." -- John F. Kennedy, 6/10/1963