Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Jackson's Birth Story
I don't think I ever posted.... so here it is!
4/30/09
I awoke around 6a feeling some contractions when I was 1 week & 1 day shy of my due date. I tried to get back to sleep thinking they would fade out. Well they didn’t so I got up around 6:40a & got a glass of water & got in the tub figuring I would try my hardest to get them to stop so I didn't have to endure it if it wasn't really labor. They were about 8-10 min apart when I got up. Mike went off to work a little after 7a & I was still in the tub. The contractions were not letting up in the tub & after drinking the water. I got out around 720a or so & timed the contractions. They ranged from 6-8 min apart & were pretty intense so I called Mike around 740a & said he should probably come back home. He'd just been at work for about 10 min. When he answered he knew it was it & he made some comment about how he'd just been telling his co-worker that he might have to leave shortly if I was really in labor. So it was a short call & he said he was on his way back. I then called my midwife, Margarett, to let her know what was going on. I asked if there was anything else to try that might stop labor if it isn't the real deal. She suggested I try to eat & then see what happens. I got a bowl of cereal & tried to eat some of it. It wasn't easy. I was stopping to concentrate during the contractions. I then called my midwife back & said I thought it might be the real thing but wasn't sure. I didn't want her to come all the way out & it not be but I was panting a bit when talking & I told her I was having to concentrate during the contractions so I thought it could be it & I’d like her to come check. She said she'd come on out after taking her kids to school (she was on her way to drop them off right then). I then got back into the tub & started listing to my hypnobabies on the ipod. The contractions were intense & I was worried about the ipod falling into the tub & I couldn't make myself concentrate on it anyway so I put it away. While I was in the tub I felt a large movement from Jackson in my tummy & then I heard a pop. At that point I had no idea what was going on, I thought he'd just moved in a funny way & caused a weird noise. But later I was leaking clear fluids when walking around & Anne noticed vernix in the water (little flecks of white stuff). But I didn't ever really gush so it was just a leaky tear in the bag of waters.
Thankfully all during this time Isabella is still asleep & I don't have to tend to her while in labor & home alone! Mike gets home relatively quickly (about 20 min later) & comes in to check on me. He is excited & says something about meeting the baby today but I am too busy to even get excited! Mike tries to call my sister Lyndsey to see if she can come stay with Isabella but she doesn't answer so he calls my other sister Jennifer. She is able to come & heads our way. (We talked about having Isabella present for the birth but wanted to play it by ear... this labor was a lot of work for me so I decided to keep her out- I wouldn't have been able to reassure Isabella that I was okay b/c I had difficulty talking. Shortly after this my midwife Anne arrives & she checks on the baby's heart rate (which was good) then Margarett comes soon after that. She offers to check my dilation to see what is going on & I say yes. She checks & I am a 5. (Wow! I was a 6 when I was first checked with Isabella after many many hours of labor.) So of course my midwives stayed. I rotated through various things (the shower, the tub, the bed, the toilet) trying anything & everything in hopes of it helping to reduce the intensity of the contractions. But there was none of that, only a slight distraction. Isabella woke close to 9a & Mike went to tend to her. While he was changing her diaper my sister arrived so she took over watching her (she got to play with her cousins so it was a fun morning for her!).
Mike was really helpful with getting hot water for the tub & getting a cold wash cloth for my forehead. My midwives faded in & out... helping when they could & staying in the background when Mike was helping. Anne did this really nice soft finger tracing on my back which was helpful. She also helped me to take big cleansing breaths (learned these in prenatal yoga as well) after the contraction was over to let go of it (I tend to hold on to them & make them longer than they should be). Prenatal yoga also helped me with my breathing... doing a soft humming breath during the contractions was helpful.
At one point the contractions came right on top of each other (guessing transition). I think I was on the bed on my side at this point. Then they slowed & I guess that is when I was nearly fully dilated. I felt kinda pushy when I sat on the toilet to pee on my next contractions & the toilet was not at all comfortable although my midwives encouraged me that it was a good place to be to get baby to come down. Then I got in the tub hoping to feel better. I had one contraction in the tub & it didn't feel better! I just wanted the baby out!!! So my midwives asked if I wanted to get on the birthing stool & they said he'd be born quickly if I got on there. I said yes I did want that but then another contraction came before I could get up so I had to stay. And it was during this contraction that Jackson was born at 1139am! He crowned for a looooong time (well 2 min Mike says) to help everything stretch so I wouldn't tear & that was torture! Margarett was very helpful during this part- very encouraging but also helping to protect from tears! I did tear a very small bit & didn't even need stitches b/c it was so minor... so that is better than last time (needed stitches w/ Isabella). I only pushed for about 10 min (where I pushed for 2 hrs w/ Isabella) so that was a very nice change! But pushing was more intense... I felt every contraction where with Isabella I never knew when I was having a contraction, I had feel my stomach to see when it went hard to know I was having one! So I have experienced 2 very different labor & deliveries!
After Jackson came out he was put up on my chest for me to hold. His cord was in a knot which was kind of neat (doesn't cause any problems). Mike then ran & got Isabella for her to come & meet her brother (still in the tub at this point). Then after she got to meet him, the cord was cut, placenta came out & Mike got to hold him while I got cleaned up & out. We then all got into our bed (Isabella came back again too) & relaxed. My wonderful midwife made me an egg & toast & I ate that in bed. Later Jackson was weighed & measured... 7lb 10oz, 20". He latched on good & nursed well.
From start to finish, this labor was only 5hrs & 40 min. A nice change from Isabella's several day slow going labor but a lot more intense. Loved being at home to have baby Jackson!
4/30/09
I awoke around 6a feeling some contractions when I was 1 week & 1 day shy of my due date. I tried to get back to sleep thinking they would fade out. Well they didn’t so I got up around 6:40a & got a glass of water & got in the tub figuring I would try my hardest to get them to stop so I didn't have to endure it if it wasn't really labor. They were about 8-10 min apart when I got up. Mike went off to work a little after 7a & I was still in the tub. The contractions were not letting up in the tub & after drinking the water. I got out around 720a or so & timed the contractions. They ranged from 6-8 min apart & were pretty intense so I called Mike around 740a & said he should probably come back home. He'd just been at work for about 10 min. When he answered he knew it was it & he made some comment about how he'd just been telling his co-worker that he might have to leave shortly if I was really in labor. So it was a short call & he said he was on his way back. I then called my midwife, Margarett, to let her know what was going on. I asked if there was anything else to try that might stop labor if it isn't the real deal. She suggested I try to eat & then see what happens. I got a bowl of cereal & tried to eat some of it. It wasn't easy. I was stopping to concentrate during the contractions. I then called my midwife back & said I thought it might be the real thing but wasn't sure. I didn't want her to come all the way out & it not be but I was panting a bit when talking & I told her I was having to concentrate during the contractions so I thought it could be it & I’d like her to come check. She said she'd come on out after taking her kids to school (she was on her way to drop them off right then). I then got back into the tub & started listing to my hypnobabies on the ipod. The contractions were intense & I was worried about the ipod falling into the tub & I couldn't make myself concentrate on it anyway so I put it away. While I was in the tub I felt a large movement from Jackson in my tummy & then I heard a pop. At that point I had no idea what was going on, I thought he'd just moved in a funny way & caused a weird noise. But later I was leaking clear fluids when walking around & Anne noticed vernix in the water (little flecks of white stuff). But I didn't ever really gush so it was just a leaky tear in the bag of waters.
Thankfully all during this time Isabella is still asleep & I don't have to tend to her while in labor & home alone! Mike gets home relatively quickly (about 20 min later) & comes in to check on me. He is excited & says something about meeting the baby today but I am too busy to even get excited! Mike tries to call my sister Lyndsey to see if she can come stay with Isabella but she doesn't answer so he calls my other sister Jennifer. She is able to come & heads our way. (We talked about having Isabella present for the birth but wanted to play it by ear... this labor was a lot of work for me so I decided to keep her out- I wouldn't have been able to reassure Isabella that I was okay b/c I had difficulty talking. Shortly after this my midwife Anne arrives & she checks on the baby's heart rate (which was good) then Margarett comes soon after that. She offers to check my dilation to see what is going on & I say yes. She checks & I am a 5. (Wow! I was a 6 when I was first checked with Isabella after many many hours of labor.) So of course my midwives stayed. I rotated through various things (the shower, the tub, the bed, the toilet) trying anything & everything in hopes of it helping to reduce the intensity of the contractions. But there was none of that, only a slight distraction. Isabella woke close to 9a & Mike went to tend to her. While he was changing her diaper my sister arrived so she took over watching her (she got to play with her cousins so it was a fun morning for her!).
Mike was really helpful with getting hot water for the tub & getting a cold wash cloth for my forehead. My midwives faded in & out... helping when they could & staying in the background when Mike was helping. Anne did this really nice soft finger tracing on my back which was helpful. She also helped me to take big cleansing breaths (learned these in prenatal yoga as well) after the contraction was over to let go of it (I tend to hold on to them & make them longer than they should be). Prenatal yoga also helped me with my breathing... doing a soft humming breath during the contractions was helpful.
At one point the contractions came right on top of each other (guessing transition). I think I was on the bed on my side at this point. Then they slowed & I guess that is when I was nearly fully dilated. I felt kinda pushy when I sat on the toilet to pee on my next contractions & the toilet was not at all comfortable although my midwives encouraged me that it was a good place to be to get baby to come down. Then I got in the tub hoping to feel better. I had one contraction in the tub & it didn't feel better! I just wanted the baby out!!! So my midwives asked if I wanted to get on the birthing stool & they said he'd be born quickly if I got on there. I said yes I did want that but then another contraction came before I could get up so I had to stay. And it was during this contraction that Jackson was born at 1139am! He crowned for a looooong time (well 2 min Mike says) to help everything stretch so I wouldn't tear & that was torture! Margarett was very helpful during this part- very encouraging but also helping to protect from tears! I did tear a very small bit & didn't even need stitches b/c it was so minor... so that is better than last time (needed stitches w/ Isabella). I only pushed for about 10 min (where I pushed for 2 hrs w/ Isabella) so that was a very nice change! But pushing was more intense... I felt every contraction where with Isabella I never knew when I was having a contraction, I had feel my stomach to see when it went hard to know I was having one! So I have experienced 2 very different labor & deliveries!
After Jackson came out he was put up on my chest for me to hold. His cord was in a knot which was kind of neat (doesn't cause any problems). Mike then ran & got Isabella for her to come & meet her brother (still in the tub at this point). Then after she got to meet him, the cord was cut, placenta came out & Mike got to hold him while I got cleaned up & out. We then all got into our bed (Isabella came back again too) & relaxed. My wonderful midwife made me an egg & toast & I ate that in bed. Later Jackson was weighed & measured... 7lb 10oz, 20". He latched on good & nursed well.
From start to finish, this labor was only 5hrs & 40 min. A nice change from Isabella's several day slow going labor but a lot more intense. Loved being at home to have baby Jackson!
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