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A Christmas Story: The Birth of “Rocket Man”
earrefinnej
Posts: 447 ✭
I was at week 37 in my pregnancy when my midwife recommended I ramp up some treatments to encourage labor, including acupuncture and reflexology, both types of treatments I had also used for fertility in the first place. I scheduled 2 acupuncture appointments for week 38 and two reflexology appointments for week 39. My acupuncture appointments were very relaxing and gave me the best naps of my late pregnancy. By week 39, I was very uncomfortable in my pregnancy and was glad to be working towards welcoming our child into our lives. I had also started doing the Miles Circuit in week 37 to help optimize the baby’s position for an easier labor and delivery. On the day following my first reflexology appointment I started to get mild crampy contractions very occasionally. On Christmas Eve I made some pies for a Christmas gathering with family we planned, and the contractions continued in the evening, varying from every 20 minutes to every 2 minutes – very erratic. I felt like this was “false labor” and tried to get some rest. I woke up with more erratic contractions and worked with my hypnobirthing breathing and visualizations to calm myself and get some more rest.
On Christmas Day, I still had mild contractions and researched prodromal labor on the internet and felt like the description matched what I was experiencing. I was very uncomfortable and was hoping that if it was this “false labor” that it wouldn’t last for days or weeks as some women had indicated in their experiences. My mom and stepdad and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law joined us in the late afternoon around 4 pm for Christmas dessert. By this time I felt like I was in very early labor, again with mild erratic contractions. I could not eat, and knew I needed to drink more, but I also was uncomfortable sitting and was mostly standing or walking about the house while visiting with family and my favorite place to go was to sit on the toilet. My brother-in-law even brought over an exercise ball so I could open my pelvis a little on it, but I couldn’t sit down even on that. I couldn’t even enjoy the pie I had made (and I love pie!) I called the midwife shortly after 5 pm because my contractions had become really regular and very close together at 2 minutes with surges lasting about 30 seconds, but also very mild. She asked about my fluid intake and I admitted I hadn’t drunk enough water and she felt like I was dehydrated, so I should eat and drink and keep my energy up. I slammed some coconut water and Annette went out to get some Gatorade for me. I continued to get more uncomfortable, and decided to call my midwife again. She asked me if I felt crampy or pressure, and at that point it was just crampy. She recommended drinking a glass of wine, and taking a shower to feel better.
A few minutes later I called again to let her know that the sensation had become more like pressure. I had forgotten to time contractions, so I agreed to do that and get back to her. I timed a few contractions and confirmed they were coming every 2 minutes, but again, pretty mild – I could walk and talk through them. She recommended I start a shower. I let Annette know that it was time for everyone to leave, and we said our goodbyes to our guests a little after 6 pm – our dog went with Annette’s brother and sister-in-law because we thought we might be going to give birth soon. I stripped and got into the shower to enjoy the warm water and to relieve the discomfort. I was in the shower for about half an hour – it felt really good to be there and let it roll over my body as I experienced increasingly uncomfortable contractions. I wouldn’t say I was in pain at all, but I do recall thinking that I can manage this, because it will only last a short period of time, and I used some of my visualization and breathing techniques from hypnobirthing in addition to poses I had learned in prenatal yoga. Towards the end of my shower, I had started to make low guttural sounds, and had felt some relief of the pressure by squatting down. I then had my most intense contraction. When I squatted, I felt like I needed to have a bowel movement, and it was an urgent one. I got out and dried off, and went to sit on the toilet for relief and possibly to have a BM. At that point I had another intense contraction and my water broke right into the toilet. Annette was on the phone with the midwife and she confirmed that the sounds I made were real labor and that in 15 minutes we should make our way to the Birthing Inn where we had planned our birth. In another two minutes I had another intense contraction and I felt that more was happening than just laboring – I felt down between my legs and there was a soft bulge coming out of me – a head! Annette was still on the phone with the midwife confirming what was happening. She called 911 while still on the phone with the midwife. In the next contraction, our child was born into my hands. I didn’t push at all! The midwife instructed Annette to go have me lie down. I went over to our bed and examined our child as Annette had given me the phone after talking both to 911 and the midwife for a period of time. I checked for breathing – confirmed he was a boy! He was gurgling, not crying, and I didn’t have my glasses on so I couldn’t answer whether the cord was still pulsating or not. Annette ushered me to lay down, so I did reluctantly get on our clean bedsheets and was talking to the midwife with our son on my thighs. The medics arrived really quick and took our baby to make sure he was OK – suctioned out his mouth, got him to cry, and warmed him up in some blankets. We tried to convince the medics to transfer me to the Birthing Inn, but they wouldn’t do it – outside their protocol they said – so we were transferred to the hospital. Our son needed some TLC because he had gotten a little cold (probably because they didn’t have me hold him skin to skin right away) but was returned to me in the labor and delivery room where they were stitching me up (I had 3 second degree tears). He started nursing like a champ, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. He came into our lives with such a force, we’ve nicknamed him “rocket man” – his actual name is August Wayne – and we are so in love with him.
My midwife was totally taken aback about how fast my labor was, especially as a first time mom – she said this happens only to 3rd, 4th, 5th time moms in her experience. At a post-partum follow-up we found out that she had misunderstood me about how close my contractions were – she thought my erratic contractions were continuing and not regularly 2 minutes apart – so she may not have had the sense of urgency to get me into the Birthing Inn.
I don’t regret anything about the birth –it was relatively painless – it was the natural un-medicated birth I wanted, and our little man is perfectly healthy. I think Hypnobirthing helped me expect a calm labor and birth experience, and that in turn helped me to have that experience, even under the circumstances that were unplanned.
Here's a picture of our handsome man:
On Christmas Day, I still had mild contractions and researched prodromal labor on the internet and felt like the description matched what I was experiencing. I was very uncomfortable and was hoping that if it was this “false labor” that it wouldn’t last for days or weeks as some women had indicated in their experiences. My mom and stepdad and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law joined us in the late afternoon around 4 pm for Christmas dessert. By this time I felt like I was in very early labor, again with mild erratic contractions. I could not eat, and knew I needed to drink more, but I also was uncomfortable sitting and was mostly standing or walking about the house while visiting with family and my favorite place to go was to sit on the toilet. My brother-in-law even brought over an exercise ball so I could open my pelvis a little on it, but I couldn’t sit down even on that. I couldn’t even enjoy the pie I had made (and I love pie!) I called the midwife shortly after 5 pm because my contractions had become really regular and very close together at 2 minutes with surges lasting about 30 seconds, but also very mild. She asked about my fluid intake and I admitted I hadn’t drunk enough water and she felt like I was dehydrated, so I should eat and drink and keep my energy up. I slammed some coconut water and Annette went out to get some Gatorade for me. I continued to get more uncomfortable, and decided to call my midwife again. She asked me if I felt crampy or pressure, and at that point it was just crampy. She recommended drinking a glass of wine, and taking a shower to feel better.
A few minutes later I called again to let her know that the sensation had become more like pressure. I had forgotten to time contractions, so I agreed to do that and get back to her. I timed a few contractions and confirmed they were coming every 2 minutes, but again, pretty mild – I could walk and talk through them. She recommended I start a shower. I let Annette know that it was time for everyone to leave, and we said our goodbyes to our guests a little after 6 pm – our dog went with Annette’s brother and sister-in-law because we thought we might be going to give birth soon. I stripped and got into the shower to enjoy the warm water and to relieve the discomfort. I was in the shower for about half an hour – it felt really good to be there and let it roll over my body as I experienced increasingly uncomfortable contractions. I wouldn’t say I was in pain at all, but I do recall thinking that I can manage this, because it will only last a short period of time, and I used some of my visualization and breathing techniques from hypnobirthing in addition to poses I had learned in prenatal yoga. Towards the end of my shower, I had started to make low guttural sounds, and had felt some relief of the pressure by squatting down. I then had my most intense contraction. When I squatted, I felt like I needed to have a bowel movement, and it was an urgent one. I got out and dried off, and went to sit on the toilet for relief and possibly to have a BM. At that point I had another intense contraction and my water broke right into the toilet. Annette was on the phone with the midwife and she confirmed that the sounds I made were real labor and that in 15 minutes we should make our way to the Birthing Inn where we had planned our birth. In another two minutes I had another intense contraction and I felt that more was happening than just laboring – I felt down between my legs and there was a soft bulge coming out of me – a head! Annette was still on the phone with the midwife confirming what was happening. She called 911 while still on the phone with the midwife. In the next contraction, our child was born into my hands. I didn’t push at all! The midwife instructed Annette to go have me lie down. I went over to our bed and examined our child as Annette had given me the phone after talking both to 911 and the midwife for a period of time. I checked for breathing – confirmed he was a boy! He was gurgling, not crying, and I didn’t have my glasses on so I couldn’t answer whether the cord was still pulsating or not. Annette ushered me to lay down, so I did reluctantly get on our clean bedsheets and was talking to the midwife with our son on my thighs. The medics arrived really quick and took our baby to make sure he was OK – suctioned out his mouth, got him to cry, and warmed him up in some blankets. We tried to convince the medics to transfer me to the Birthing Inn, but they wouldn’t do it – outside their protocol they said – so we were transferred to the hospital. Our son needed some TLC because he had gotten a little cold (probably because they didn’t have me hold him skin to skin right away) but was returned to me in the labor and delivery room where they were stitching me up (I had 3 second degree tears). He started nursing like a champ, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. He came into our lives with such a force, we’ve nicknamed him “rocket man” – his actual name is August Wayne – and we are so in love with him.
My midwife was totally taken aback about how fast my labor was, especially as a first time mom – she said this happens only to 3rd, 4th, 5th time moms in her experience. At a post-partum follow-up we found out that she had misunderstood me about how close my contractions were – she thought my erratic contractions were continuing and not regularly 2 minutes apart – so she may not have had the sense of urgency to get me into the Birthing Inn.
I don’t regret anything about the birth –it was relatively painless – it was the natural un-medicated birth I wanted, and our little man is perfectly healthy. I think Hypnobirthing helped me expect a calm labor and birth experience, and that in turn helped me to have that experience, even under the circumstances that were unplanned.
Here's a picture of our handsome man:
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Comments
Also, I am insanely jealous of your labor/birth experience...that is pretty much the labor of my dreams. Lucky!
Lucky #10 - IVF!
Two sweet baby girls (IVF 2015, FET 2017)
And I second MNMommies- the whole process, as I read, I was jealous! I really appreciate reading all the birth stories.
Lucky Cycle 14: IVF!! Antagonist Cycle with Lupron Trigger
#2 IUI 12/22/13 clomid 50 mg day 3-7 BFN #3 IUI 12/23/13 BFN
#4 IUI 2/14/14 unmedicated BFN
April '13 - extra af - bfn ( i still think the smiley lied) reg. af - bfn
June '13 - bfn July '13 - bfn Aug '13 - BFN Sept '13 - another bfn Oct '13 - bfn
Nov '13 - well af showed a week early-BFN
Dec '13 - BFN Jan '14 - BFN
ah Feb '14 BFPPP!!!!! Expecting him to arrive around November tenth.
TTC No. 2 since Aug. 2014; IVF #1 - Cxld; IVF #2 - BFN