Zachary Jr birth story!
Alright, I am finally putting this together! This is all pieced together from my doula's notes and my memory lol.
Backstory
My original due date based on my LMP was August 15, 2011. I had 2 early ultrasounds (out of disbelief I was pregnant again so soon!) and they moved my EDD to August 25, 2011. My daughter Taylor was a c-section (posterior with brow presentation, I pushed for 4 hours with no avail) but I wanted to do a VBAC with my son if at all possible. I was risked out of my original midwifery practice (unless I wanted a section at 39w). I moved on the UW midwives and I didn't like them at all (but they were willing to do a VBAC) so I moved onto Dr. A. Richard Graham. I had interviewed other drs too but he was the best fit. I made that move in late 2nd trimester and I don't regret switching around for one minute. He came highly recommended from the ICAN board and I really felt a connection to him. He is considered an early pioneer of VBAC and comes with lots of experience and plenty of good judgment. As much as I wanted a VBAC, I wanted me and my son to be safe.
I was connected to our doula, Suzanne thesynergizer through the naturalbirth community as she was advertising her services for free in exchange for experience to get her DONA certification. I had been on the fence about having a doula in attendance for the birth but once I met her I felt like she would be a good addition to the birth support team. Over the course of a couple of weeks before my EDD, she was a major source of support during my multiple bouts of false labor. While my birth ended up being really quick, she was so helpful during my false labor, telling me that it would help my real labor go quickly and that the practice wasn't in vain.
My best friend Stephanie leogrrl8 was also an amazing support. The Sunday before he was born, she was walking the mall with me for 6+ hours when my false labor was starting/stopping. Her enthusiasm for this baby helped me not to get too discouraged.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
That night, Taylor (14.5 months, only child) had been diagnosed with chicken pox. That resulted in her not sleeping and being really uncomfortable and fitful. The night before we barely slept and I was bracing myself for another long night of no sleep. I had a breakdown with Zach at around midnight where I said that I had to get some sleep. Every time she'd cry, it'd wake Jr and he'd kick me like crazy and it would take 20 minutes to settle him down. I was just exhausted. Zach decided to take her out to our living room so that it would be quieter for me to try and get some sleep. I make a mental note that I owe him big time and try and sleep.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
I awake at 1:30 to a neighbor crying loudly (long story but it's something that had been going on for a month and it turns out it was a neighbor's family member that was staying with them to get help to be back on their meds.) Frustrated, I get up and use the bathroom and shut our windows (despite it being super hot in our condo) because I didn't want that noise to wake Zach and Taylor. I see them in the living room and Zach looks tired. Taylor is fussing. I go back to bed.
I wake again at 3am to strong menstrual cramps in my lower back. I recall doing the same thing on the same day of the week at the same time with Taylor before I went into labor with her. I go to the bathroom again and go back to sleep.
I wake again at 4am to contractions and cramping. Oh god, this is all too familiar. And the timing was not good at all. Although I was due the next day, Taylor's dr said if I could try and keep him in for another week, it'd be better for him. Well of course I'd be in labor not 12 hours later, that'd be our luck. I move into the living room to change positions (from laying to sitting) and time the contractions to see if this is finally the real thing and also to alert Zach.
When we tell this story to friends/family IRL, Zach will pipe in and say that when I came out to the living room, he thought it was because I was relieving him of Taylor duty so he could get some sleep. Which sounded like a nice idea but obviously that wasn't going to happen this morning. Poor guy :( He'd get small cat naps with her for like 10-20 minutes but she was just so restless :(
I timed my contractions on the couch and they were about 3-4 minutes apart lasting 60-90 seconds. I panicked. This is NOT a good time to be having a baby. Taylor wanted me to hold her and so I rocked her through some contractions before I had to put her down (out of her safety) and she started crying so hard. I felt awful but I couldn't risk dropping her. Zach took her into her room and was actually able to get her down into her crib where she fell asleep for 5 hours.
It's about 4:30 am now. While Zach was tending to Taylor, I started making phone calls. I called my doula Suzanne to put it on her radar. I told her that they were increasing in intensity and that I thought that this time it was for real. She said she would be right over. I called Steph, Erin, Olivia and my Mom. When I talked to Steph, I decided that she could meet us at the hospital when we got there. Erin came over to watch Taylor. Olivia and Mom just were a part of those who got to know when we were in labor. I'm very guarded about who gets to know because I don't want people to be waiting on me. I did that for Taylor's labor and it was the best decision ever since the whole experience lasted 51.50 hours.
*************
So now I am going to use Suzanne's notes and I'll put them in bold with my notes/thoughts below
I arrived at 5:29 a.m. You were leaning on your kitchen counter and breathing and swaying through your contractions. You were able to talk at the tail end of them.
Erin had arrived right before Suzanne so I was giving her instructions on how to care for Taylor. I then had Zach take over. I remember being thirsty and pouring myself a glass of pink lemonade, taking a sip and being all GROSS. I was still in disbelief that this was real.
By 6 a.m. you were vocalizing and moaning through the contractions and you mentioned feeling pain in your lower back.
I think I was on the bouncy ball because it was the only thing that felt good
At 6:26 your contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and you were moaning deeply, sometimes rising in pitch and starting to do some of your aye aye aye thing.
Stuff got real!
You asked Zach to call the hospital. You began to dry heave through the contractions and we left for the hospital.
I was adamant that I not labor at home for too long once I felt like labor was really strong. I did not want to have a baby at home and Taylor being home, sick, was stressing me out and I didn’t want her to hear/see me this way (earlier false labor freaked her out). I don’t like riding in the car when I’m in labor but I knew I had to get to the hospital before it got even worse. So off we went. It took awhile to get downstairs and to the car. I had a couple of good contractions on the way to the hospital.
We arrived at 6:50, right at shift change. you were checked into triage at 6:55.
I remember standing at the check in desk, head down, dealing with the contractions that were piling up. The front desk lady was nice.
Your text came in at 7:20.
Only Zach was allowed in the triage area. I remember trying to go pee and couldn’t. It took about 4 contractions to get out of the bathroom and into the triage bed to be checked. The nurse starts the cervical check and was having trouble finding my cervix. Then she announced “You’re 8 cm with bulging waters” and my first reply was “are you f-ing kidding me? 8 cm?” and she laughed and confirmed it and I was all “I want to kiss you, I feel so justified!” And I did! I thought I was a 5cm at the most, Zach didn’t think I was enough to be admitted. I texted the news to Suzanne. About 10 minutes later I get transferred to the delivery room and Suzanne was able to join us again.
On our way to the delivery room, the nurse asked “so was it your plan to go naturally?” and I recall telling her that if I was already 8cm, I don’t think I want an epidural but I asked if I could still get one for just in case. It was good to know I could have one but I decided to keep going. I also didn’t want it to stall my labor and I also didn’t want the added monetary expense (insurance only pays for so much). Gotta love my Accountant mentality!
When we moved to your room, you didn't want to get in the bed. You hung on me for support and started doing your grunt pushes.
I felt like my body was involuntarily pushing the baby. Nurse asked me to get into bed for another check.
At 7:45 the nurse checks you and finds you at 9 cm with bulging water still.
I’m at a 9cm? Holy crap this is going fast!!
The doctor broke your water and holds back the lip of cervix at 8:03.
I was so happy to see him. He asked if I wanted my waters broken and I told him yes. I wanted this baby to come out and I was so close.
I don't have times for awhile because i was holding your legs :-)
Zach and Suzanne continue to be an amazing support. I recall holding tight onto the handles of the bed and growling like a dinosaur. The breaks between the contractions are restful. I am pushing hard and trying to get the baby out.
Here’s the best part - I am having a lot of back labor and Dr confirms he’s posterior. He wants to try and turn him between contractions. His first try was successful and I instantly have relief in my back. Amazing! Baby descends more into my birth canal. Dr gives me a shot of local in my perineum to help him stretch it out carefully but also to be ready for an episiotomy. I consented to the shot and later a minor episiotomy and then my son was born!
Baby was born at 8:37 and was breastfeeding by 8:42
The second he was out of me, I exclaimed “I feel so much better right now!!” His apgars were 8 and 9, he weighed in at 8lbs, 20 inches with red hair. Zach cut the cord and baby was brought to me to nurse. I birthed the placenta soon after and it was examined really carefully to make sure everything was alright since this was a VBAC. It was so cool looking and I’m glad I got to see it this time! What an amazing organ! Dr stitched me up (which hurt so much!) and I was just in shock that I pushed a baby out of me, without drugs or surgery.
A couple pictures:
I feel amazing that I got the birth I wanted and I am glad that I met Suzanne and she was a great fit to be our doula. Everything really fell into place. Now the hard part is parenting 2 under 2!
Backstory
My original due date based on my LMP was August 15, 2011. I had 2 early ultrasounds (out of disbelief I was pregnant again so soon!) and they moved my EDD to August 25, 2011. My daughter Taylor was a c-section (posterior with brow presentation, I pushed for 4 hours with no avail) but I wanted to do a VBAC with my son if at all possible. I was risked out of my original midwifery practice (unless I wanted a section at 39w). I moved on the UW midwives and I didn't like them at all (but they were willing to do a VBAC) so I moved onto Dr. A. Richard Graham. I had interviewed other drs too but he was the best fit. I made that move in late 2nd trimester and I don't regret switching around for one minute. He came highly recommended from the ICAN board and I really felt a connection to him. He is considered an early pioneer of VBAC and comes with lots of experience and plenty of good judgment. As much as I wanted a VBAC, I wanted me and my son to be safe.
I was connected to our doula, Suzanne thesynergizer through the naturalbirth community as she was advertising her services for free in exchange for experience to get her DONA certification. I had been on the fence about having a doula in attendance for the birth but once I met her I felt like she would be a good addition to the birth support team. Over the course of a couple of weeks before my EDD, she was a major source of support during my multiple bouts of false labor. While my birth ended up being really quick, she was so helpful during my false labor, telling me that it would help my real labor go quickly and that the practice wasn't in vain.
My best friend Stephanie leogrrl8 was also an amazing support. The Sunday before he was born, she was walking the mall with me for 6+ hours when my false labor was starting/stopping. Her enthusiasm for this baby helped me not to get too discouraged.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
That night, Taylor (14.5 months, only child) had been diagnosed with chicken pox. That resulted in her not sleeping and being really uncomfortable and fitful. The night before we barely slept and I was bracing myself for another long night of no sleep. I had a breakdown with Zach at around midnight where I said that I had to get some sleep. Every time she'd cry, it'd wake Jr and he'd kick me like crazy and it would take 20 minutes to settle him down. I was just exhausted. Zach decided to take her out to our living room so that it would be quieter for me to try and get some sleep. I make a mental note that I owe him big time and try and sleep.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
I awake at 1:30 to a neighbor crying loudly (long story but it's something that had been going on for a month and it turns out it was a neighbor's family member that was staying with them to get help to be back on their meds.) Frustrated, I get up and use the bathroom and shut our windows (despite it being super hot in our condo) because I didn't want that noise to wake Zach and Taylor. I see them in the living room and Zach looks tired. Taylor is fussing. I go back to bed.
I wake again at 3am to strong menstrual cramps in my lower back. I recall doing the same thing on the same day of the week at the same time with Taylor before I went into labor with her. I go to the bathroom again and go back to sleep.
I wake again at 4am to contractions and cramping. Oh god, this is all too familiar. And the timing was not good at all. Although I was due the next day, Taylor's dr said if I could try and keep him in for another week, it'd be better for him. Well of course I'd be in labor not 12 hours later, that'd be our luck. I move into the living room to change positions (from laying to sitting) and time the contractions to see if this is finally the real thing and also to alert Zach.
When we tell this story to friends/family IRL, Zach will pipe in and say that when I came out to the living room, he thought it was because I was relieving him of Taylor duty so he could get some sleep. Which sounded like a nice idea but obviously that wasn't going to happen this morning. Poor guy :( He'd get small cat naps with her for like 10-20 minutes but she was just so restless :(
I timed my contractions on the couch and they were about 3-4 minutes apart lasting 60-90 seconds. I panicked. This is NOT a good time to be having a baby. Taylor wanted me to hold her and so I rocked her through some contractions before I had to put her down (out of her safety) and she started crying so hard. I felt awful but I couldn't risk dropping her. Zach took her into her room and was actually able to get her down into her crib where she fell asleep for 5 hours.
It's about 4:30 am now. While Zach was tending to Taylor, I started making phone calls. I called my doula Suzanne to put it on her radar. I told her that they were increasing in intensity and that I thought that this time it was for real. She said she would be right over. I called Steph, Erin, Olivia and my Mom. When I talked to Steph, I decided that she could meet us at the hospital when we got there. Erin came over to watch Taylor. Olivia and Mom just were a part of those who got to know when we were in labor. I'm very guarded about who gets to know because I don't want people to be waiting on me. I did that for Taylor's labor and it was the best decision ever since the whole experience lasted 51.50 hours.
*************
So now I am going to use Suzanne's notes and I'll put them in bold with my notes/thoughts below
I arrived at 5:29 a.m. You were leaning on your kitchen counter and breathing and swaying through your contractions. You were able to talk at the tail end of them.
Erin had arrived right before Suzanne so I was giving her instructions on how to care for Taylor. I then had Zach take over. I remember being thirsty and pouring myself a glass of pink lemonade, taking a sip and being all GROSS. I was still in disbelief that this was real.
By 6 a.m. you were vocalizing and moaning through the contractions and you mentioned feeling pain in your lower back.
I think I was on the bouncy ball because it was the only thing that felt good
At 6:26 your contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and you were moaning deeply, sometimes rising in pitch and starting to do some of your aye aye aye thing.
Stuff got real!
You asked Zach to call the hospital. You began to dry heave through the contractions and we left for the hospital.
I was adamant that I not labor at home for too long once I felt like labor was really strong. I did not want to have a baby at home and Taylor being home, sick, was stressing me out and I didn’t want her to hear/see me this way (earlier false labor freaked her out). I don’t like riding in the car when I’m in labor but I knew I had to get to the hospital before it got even worse. So off we went. It took awhile to get downstairs and to the car. I had a couple of good contractions on the way to the hospital.
We arrived at 6:50, right at shift change. you were checked into triage at 6:55.
I remember standing at the check in desk, head down, dealing with the contractions that were piling up. The front desk lady was nice.
Your text came in at 7:20.
Only Zach was allowed in the triage area. I remember trying to go pee and couldn’t. It took about 4 contractions to get out of the bathroom and into the triage bed to be checked. The nurse starts the cervical check and was having trouble finding my cervix. Then she announced “You’re 8 cm with bulging waters” and my first reply was “are you f-ing kidding me? 8 cm?” and she laughed and confirmed it and I was all “I want to kiss you, I feel so justified!” And I did! I thought I was a 5cm at the most, Zach didn’t think I was enough to be admitted. I texted the news to Suzanne. About 10 minutes later I get transferred to the delivery room and Suzanne was able to join us again.
On our way to the delivery room, the nurse asked “so was it your plan to go naturally?” and I recall telling her that if I was already 8cm, I don’t think I want an epidural but I asked if I could still get one for just in case. It was good to know I could have one but I decided to keep going. I also didn’t want it to stall my labor and I also didn’t want the added monetary expense (insurance only pays for so much). Gotta love my Accountant mentality!
When we moved to your room, you didn't want to get in the bed. You hung on me for support and started doing your grunt pushes.
I felt like my body was involuntarily pushing the baby. Nurse asked me to get into bed for another check.
At 7:45 the nurse checks you and finds you at 9 cm with bulging water still.
I’m at a 9cm? Holy crap this is going fast!!
The doctor broke your water and holds back the lip of cervix at 8:03.
I was so happy to see him. He asked if I wanted my waters broken and I told him yes. I wanted this baby to come out and I was so close.
I don't have times for awhile because i was holding your legs :-)
Zach and Suzanne continue to be an amazing support. I recall holding tight onto the handles of the bed and growling like a dinosaur. The breaks between the contractions are restful. I am pushing hard and trying to get the baby out.
Here’s the best part - I am having a lot of back labor and Dr confirms he’s posterior. He wants to try and turn him between contractions. His first try was successful and I instantly have relief in my back. Amazing! Baby descends more into my birth canal. Dr gives me a shot of local in my perineum to help him stretch it out carefully but also to be ready for an episiotomy. I consented to the shot and later a minor episiotomy and then my son was born!
Baby was born at 8:37 and was breastfeeding by 8:42
The second he was out of me, I exclaimed “I feel so much better right now!!” His apgars were 8 and 9, he weighed in at 8lbs, 20 inches with red hair. Zach cut the cord and baby was brought to me to nurse. I birthed the placenta soon after and it was examined really carefully to make sure everything was alright since this was a VBAC. It was so cool looking and I’m glad I got to see it this time! What an amazing organ! Dr stitched me up (which hurt so much!) and I was just in shock that I pushed a baby out of me, without drugs or surgery.
A couple pictures:
I feel amazing that I got the birth I wanted and I am glad that I met Suzanne and she was a great fit to be our doula. Everything really fell into place. Now the hard part is parenting 2 under 2!