The almost-complete birth experience... :) -- LONG!

Hi, everyone -- just a quick birth story while my mom's holding the baby...


I guess Dirk posted the news that we had Micah on Sunday. As you know,
Saturday early morning I started contractions -- they got stronger and
stronger throughout the day, and our midwives came over to our house
around 6. By then, Dirk had set up the birthing tub and called some
people to tell them that we could be having the baby. I wanted to stay
out of the tub as long as possible, to 'save' it for transition, but when
the midwife came and examined me, she said I could go in any time. The
contractions were bad but not horrible, and the tub was FANTASTIC -- I
highly recommend laboring in the water!!!

Well, that went on until about 2 in the morning. I was fully
dilated/effaced and according to Rox (midwife) had already gone through
transition, but my water hadn't broken, and she did another exam and the
baby hadn't engaged at all (she could feel the waterbag bulging, but no
popping). She didn't want to break the water at home since he was still
so far up, in case the cord came down, so we had to transport.

We got to the hospital, and luckily the doctor on call had the reputation
for being the most natural-birth-friendly (he even was a backup for some
other homebirths) -- he was great, and didn't push any drugs or
interventions except for breaking the waterbag. I labored for another 4
hours, but nothing happened -- the baby wasn't even at station 5 or
however you call it. They decided not to do pitocin since my contractions
were strong enough on their own to push the baby down if he had wanted to
come, so they went for the C-section.

Micah James popped out at 7.44 AM, weighing 8 pounds 15 ounces and
screaming his head off. I was very out of it; I could tell Dirk was
holding my hand and holding the baby and crying -- but I felt like I
couldn't breathe and was suffocating on the table. Apparently they gave
me the baby but I can't remember that!!

They took us back up to recovery, and then later that day my heartrate
went way (200 bpm) and stayed there for about 2 hours -- so back
downstairs I went, this time to ER where they gave me a drug that stopped
my heart and another one that restarted it. It was a very eventful
day...

Sooooo, I got almost the complete birth experience from the hippy home
birth and water labor to the C-section hospital stay. I did manage to
avoid the epidural and didn't get to push, though, so I guess that'll have
to wait for the next one!! Even though things didn't go as planned, I
would still *highly* recommend home birth -- I guess my story illustrates
its relative safety even with the risk of an emergency C-section. At the
same time, I am very grateful for the hospital -- everyone there was so
nice and the doctor was great, and because we had a 4-day stay, we got
lots of support, breastfeeding advice from the nurses (most of it
contradictory), multiple visits from the lactation consultants, and didn't
have to organize our meals.

And best of all, we have our little boy -- he's got reddish coppery hair
(definitely a first in a Japanese-American family!! haha), gorgeous dark
grey-blue eyes (for now) and he's absolutely beautiful. He even came at a
convenient time, the day before my mom got here -- although in everything
else, he's been very stubborn and wants to do things his way!

Thanks for all your help these last 9 months...

Oh, and there are some photos at http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~dirkr/BabyMicah/


Em
mom to Micah, Nov. 14

Congrats again on the birth of Micah! It is fun to read two different birth
stories-on the same birth

So did you get to push? I can't tell by either story whether you had a
trial of pushing or not....

Warmly,
Kelly
#4 2/12/05

"emilymr" emily@xxxxxx wrote in message
lkaboutparenting.com...
Hi, everyone -- just a quick birth story while my mom's holding the
baby...


I guess Dirk posted the news that we had Micah on Sunday. As you know,
Saturday early morning I started contractions -- they got stronger and
stronger throughout the day, and our midwives came over to our house
around 6. By then, Dirk had set up the birthing tub and called some
people to tell them that we could be having the baby. I wanted to stay
out of the tub as long as possible, to 'save' it for transition, but when
the midwife came and examined me, she said I could go in any time. The
contractions were bad but not horrible, and the tub was FANTASTIC -- I
highly recommend laboring in the water!!!

Well, that went on until about 2 in the morning. I was fully
dilated/effaced and according to Rox (midwife) had already gone through
transition, but my water hadn't broken, and she did another exam and the
baby hadn't engaged at all (she could feel the waterbag bulging, but no
popping). She didn't want to break the water at home since he was still
so far up, in case the cord came down, so we had to transport.

We got to the hospital, and luckily the doctor on call had the reputation
for being the most natural-birth-friendly (he even was a backup for some
other homebirths) -- he was great, and didn't push any drugs or
interventions except for breaking the waterbag. I labored for another 4
hours, but nothing happened -- the baby wasn't even at station 5 or
however you call it. They decided not to do pitocin since my contractions
were strong enough on their own to push the baby down if he had wanted to
come, so they went for the C-section.

Micah James popped out at 7.44 AM, weighing 8 pounds 15 ounces and
screaming his head off. I was very out of it; I could tell Dirk was
holding my hand and holding the baby and crying -- but I felt like I
couldn't breathe and was suffocating on the table. Apparently they gave
me the baby but I can't remember that!!

They took us back up to recovery, and then later that day my heartrate
went way (200 bpm) and stayed there for about 2 hours -- so back
downstairs I went, this time to ER where they gave me a drug that stopped
my heart and another one that restarted it. It was a very eventful
day...

Sooooo, I got almost the complete birth experience from the hippy home
birth and water labor to the C-section hospital stay. I did manage to
avoid the epidural and didn't get to push, though, so I guess that'll have
to wait for the next one!! Even though things didn't go as planned, I
would still *highly* recommend home birth -- I guess my story illustrates
its relative safety even with the risk of an emergency C-section. At the
same time, I am very grateful for the hospital -- everyone there was so
nice and the doctor was great, and because we had a 4-day stay, we got
lots of support, breastfeeding advice from the nurses (most of it
contradictory), multiple visits from the lactation consultants, and didn't
have to organize our meals.

And best of all, we have our little boy -- he's got reddish coppery hair
(definitely a first in a Japanese-American family!! haha), gorgeous dark
grey-blue eyes (for now) and he's absolutely beautiful. He even came at a
convenient time, the day before my mom got here -- although in everything
else, he's been very stubborn and wants to do things his way!

Thanks for all your help these last 9 months...

Oh, and there are some photos at http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~dirkr/BabyMicah/


Em
mom to Micah, Nov. 14

Oh my, I loved the pictures. I totally sympathized with Micah in the
picture where he cries. Adorable little boy

Mona & Sina

emilymr wrote:

Hi, everyone -- just a quick birth story while my mom's holding the baby...


I guess Dirk posted the news that we had Micah on Sunday. As you know,
Saturday early morning I started contractions -- they got stronger and
stronger throughout the day, and our midwives came over to our house
around 6. By then, Dirk had set up the birthing tub and called some
people to tell them that we could be having the baby. I wanted to stay
out of the tub as long as possible, to 'save' it for transition, but when
the midwife came and examined me, she said I could go in any time. The
contractions were bad but not horrible, and the tub was FANTASTIC -- I
highly recommend laboring in the water!!!

Well, that went on until about 2 in the morning. I was fully
dilated/effaced and according to Rox (midwife) had already gone through
transition, but my water hadn't broken, and she did another exam and the
baby hadn't engaged at all (she could feel the waterbag bulging, but no
popping). She didn't want to break the water at home since he was still
so far up, in case the cord came down, so we had to transport.

We got to the hospital, and luckily the doctor on call had the reputation
for being the most natural-birth-friendly (he even was a backup for some
other homebirths) -- he was great, and didn't push any drugs or
interventions except for breaking the waterbag. I labored for another 4
hours, but nothing happened -- the baby wasn't even at station 5 or
however you call it. They decided not to do pitocin since my contractions
were strong enough on their own to push the baby down if he had wanted to
come, so they went for the C-section.

Micah James popped out at 7.44 AM, weighing 8 pounds 15 ounces and
screaming his head off. I was very out of it; I could tell Dirk was
holding my hand and holding the baby and crying -- but I felt like I
couldn't breathe and was suffocating on the table. Apparently they gave
me the baby but I can't remember that!!

They took us back up to recovery, and then later that day my heartrate
went way (200 bpm) and stayed there for about 2 hours -- so back
downstairs I went, this time to ER where they gave me a drug that stopped
my heart and another one that restarted it. It was a very eventful
day...

Sooooo, I got almost the complete birth experience from the hippy home
birth and water labor to the C-section hospital stay. I did manage to
avoid the epidural and didn't get to push, though, so I guess that'll have
to wait for the next one!! Even though things didn't go as planned, I
would still *highly* recommend home birth -- I guess my story illustrates
its relative safety even with the risk of an emergency C-section. At the
same time, I am very grateful for the hospital -- everyone there was so
nice and the doctor was great, and because we had a 4-day stay, we got
lots of support, breastfeeding advice from the nurses (most of it
contradictory), multiple visits from the lactation consultants, and didn't
have to organize our meals.

And best of all, we have our little boy -- he's got reddish coppery hair
(definitely a first in a Japanese-American family!! haha), gorgeous dark
grey-blue eyes (for now) and he's absolutely beautiful. He even came at a
convenient time, the day before my mom got here -- although in everything
else, he's been very stubborn and wants to do things his way!

Thanks for all your help these last 9 months...

Oh, and there are some photos at http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~dirkr/BabyMicah/


Em
mom to Micah, Nov. 14

congrats. welcome baby micah. what a sweet little thing

nice pics - see what you mean about his colouring! not really like either
of you!

christine

"emilymr" emily@xxxxxx wrote in message
lkaboutparenting.com...
Hi, everyone -- just a quick birth story while my mom's holding the
baby...


I guess Dirk posted the news that we had Micah on Sunday. As you know,
Saturday early morning I started contractions -- they got stronger and
stronger throughout the day, and our midwives came over to our house
around 6. By then, Dirk had set up the birthing tub and called some
people to tell them that we could be having the baby. I wanted to stay
out of the tub as long as possible, to 'save' it for transition, but when
the midwife came and examined me, she said I could go in any time. The
contractions were bad but not horrible, and the tub was FANTASTIC -- I
highly recommend laboring in the water!!!

Well, that went on until about 2 in the morning. I was fully
dilated/effaced and according to Rox (midwife) had already gone through
transition, but my water hadn't broken, and she did another exam and the
baby hadn't engaged at all (she could feel the waterbag bulging, but no
popping). She didn't want to break the water at home since he was still
so far up, in case the cord came down, so we had to transport.

We got to the hospital, and luckily the doctor on call had the reputation
for being the most natural-birth-friendly (he even was a backup for some
other homebirths) -- he was great, and didn't push any drugs or
interventions except for breaking the waterbag. I labored for another 4
hours, but nothing happened -- the baby wasn't even at station 5 or
however you call it. They decided not to do pitocin since my contractions
were strong enough on their own to push the baby down if he had wanted to
come, so they went for the C-section.

Micah James popped out at 7.44 AM, weighing 8 pounds 15 ounces and
screaming his head off. I was very out of it; I could tell Dirk was
holding my hand and holding the baby and crying -- but I felt like I
couldn't breathe and was suffocating on the table. Apparently they gave
me the baby but I can't remember that!!

They took us back up to recovery, and then later that day my heartrate
went way (200 bpm) and stayed there for about 2 hours -- so back
downstairs I went, this time to ER where they gave me a drug that stopped
my heart and another one that restarted it. It was a very eventful
day...

Sooooo, I got almost the complete birth experience from the hippy home
birth and water labor to the C-section hospital stay. I did manage to
avoid the epidural and didn't get to push, though, so I guess that'll have
to wait for the next one!! Even though things didn't go as planned, I
would still *highly* recommend home birth -- I guess my story illustrates
its relative safety even with the risk of an emergency C-section. At the
same time, I am very grateful for the hospital -- everyone there was so
nice and the doctor was great, and because we had a 4-day stay, we got
lots of support, breastfeeding advice from the nurses (most of it
contradictory), multiple visits from the lactation consultants, and didn't
have to organize our meals.

And best of all, we have our little boy -- he's got reddish coppery hair
(definitely a first in a Japanese-American family!! haha), gorgeous dark
grey-blue eyes (for now) and he's absolutely beautiful. He even came at a
convenient time, the day before my mom got here -- although in everything
else, he's been very stubborn and wants to do things his way!

Thanks for all your help these last 9 months...

Oh, and there are some photos at http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~dirkr/BabyMicah/


Em
mom to Micah, Nov. 14

emilymr wrote:
Hi, everyone -- just a quick birth story while my mom's holding the baby...



snip
And best of all, we have our little boy -- he's got reddish coppery hair
(definitely a first in a Japanese-American family!! haha), gorgeous dark
grey-blue eyes (for now) and he's absolutely beautiful. He even came at a
convenient time, the day before my mom got here -- although in everything
else, he's been very stubborn and wants to do things his way!

Thanks for all your help these last 9 months...

Oh, and there are some photos at http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~dirkr/BabyMicah/


Sorry about the section, but welcome baby Micah! Many congratulations!


Mary

"emilymr" emily@xxxxxx wrote in message
lkaboutparenting.com...

And best of all, we have our little boy -- he's got reddish coppery hair
(definitely a first in a Japanese-American family!! haha), gorgeous dark
grey-blue eyes (for now) and he's absolutely beautiful. He even came at a
convenient time, the day before my mom got here -- although in everything
else, he's been very stubborn and wants to do things his way!

Thanks for all your help these last 9 months...

Oh, and there are some photos at http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~dirkr/BabyMicah/

He's a gorgeous baby, Em. Congrats. Sounds like he's going to keep you on
your toes!

Sorry the birth didn't turn out the way you wanted, but you really sound ok
with it all. Congrats again.

JennP.

emilymr wrote:

Hi, everyone -- just a quick birth story while my mom's holding the baby...


Congrats on the birth! I love the pics. He's so cute!

scary! Congratulations on the arrival of Baby Micah.

Thanks!! No, I never got to push... he never engaged. Our midwife did say
that for the next one, I could choose to try natural labor/trial of
pushing. We asked her yesterday what would have happened if C-section
wasn't an option (ie in the good old days..) -- and she said he probably
would have died. It's such a sobering thought and makes me so grateful
every time I look at him.

Em

Thanks!! No, I never got to push... he never engaged. Our midwife did
say
that for the next one, I could choose to try natural labor/trial of
pushing. We asked her yesterday what would have happened if C-section
wasn't an option (ie in the good old days..) -- and she said he probably
would have died. It's such a sobering thought and makes me so grateful
every time I look at him.

I'm confused, if he was high up, could you not have pushed to try and get
him to engage? Though I expect that with the strength of the contractions he
would have descended if it were possible for him to do so.