My due date was September 14, 2015; exactly ten
years after I asked for my husband’s number. Although it would be a great story
to tell should my baby come on that day, I was hoping the baby wouldn’t wait
too long because I was ready to have my regular body back. My pregnancy went
well overall but I wanted the heartburn to end and I missed being more active.
At the clinic, our manager, Marj, would say, “as long as you don’t have the
baby before September 1st.” That was the day that we would take our photo for
the Holiday cards. That was a very busy day at the clinic and when I got home,
I promptly took a three hour nap, which was much longer than my usual naps. An
hour after I woke up, I began having some low back pain. I wanted to try to
walk it out so I went for a walk with my husband and our dog. Whenever the dog
would do her business, I would take the opportunity to do some squats and try
to get my pelvis together. As we walked along, my husband and I took turns
answering the question of what makes a good parent. We encountered a woman who
asked when the baby was due. I replied “any day now” not realizing that the
process had already begun. When we got home and a surge of back pain came back
with a heaviness to the front of my pelvis, I said, “This back pain is weird.
It comes and goes.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I knew that I
had been actually experiencing contractions. My baby was coming!
I emailed my midwife and went to bed so that I
would be well-rested on labor day. However, the back pain paired with my
excitement kept me from sleeping until 8:30am the next morning. When I woke up
two hours later, the contractions were not coming regularly anymore and I was
exhausted. I called the clinic and they moved my appointments to Dr. Ho’s
schedule and I was scheduled to be seen by Dr. Walker and Yoevita. I did not
intend to have “back labor.” After their treatments, I felt relaxed. The
back pain was gone and the contractions were coming at regular intervals again.
That night I slept as the contractions came and went.
Thursday morning, the 3rd of September, I woke
up and knew that it was going to be labor day. I was going to have my baby! I
had no appetite at all but managed to eat an egg and a potato anyway because I
knew I would need the energy. For the rest of the day, I had broth and
chlorophyll in water while I labored. When the contractions started getting
more uncomfortable, my husband helped me with the tools he learned from
Patricia Madden’s class called “Tips and Tools for an Active Birth.” Around
4:30pm, his help with the contractions was not enough and I asked him to fill
the birthing tub. At 4:45, I asked him to call Hope, our midwife. When she
arrived, I had been in the tub for a few minutes and got tremendous relief from
it. I was so happy to have it and the idea of being in a hot tub in my living
room was really fun for me. My contractions were still coming regularly so I
was confident that I wasn’t relaxed to the point of stalling my labor. The tub
put me in such a good mood that my midwife was a little doubtful that the baby
was coming soon rather than later.
The contractions were gradually getting closer.
Hope would check on baby’s heart beat periodically and when the contractions
were about a minute and a half apart, the baby’s heart rate was elevated to
180-190. She asked me to get out of the tub. The baby’s heart rate was still
elevated. She was getting concerned and said we may have to transfer to the
hospital. I didn’t answer. I was hoping the baby’s heart rate would normalize
at any moment. She had me lie down and checked dilation. She also took my
vitals. There was no sign of infection and the heart beat was steady and not
decelerating. Decelerations would indicate that the heart was failing. There
was no perceptible reason as to why my baby’s heart was beating was so fast. It
was as if he was getting a workout. Somehow I felt calm and that everything
would be ok.
“We might have to go in,” she said. I was
trying to visualize grabbing the packed bag and my wallet. Trying to see myself
step into the night air and going to the car. Trying to accept the possibility
of leaving. I wasn’t going to move in that direction until my midwife said we
had to. I started praying over and over again. Laying on my back and on my side
was very uncomfortable and practically intolerable so I changed positions. On
my knees, I hoped that this position would help my baby’s state. Still high. I
cried out, “Why?”. My husband and my sister came to me and laid their
hands on me and prayed. Hope was monitoring the baby’s heart rate and it
started to go down though it was still too high. After another contraction,
Hope asked me how I felt and what my intuition or gut feeling was. I said I
felt fine. I got up and took a few steps. Then she said, “You’re so close. I
feel like you could have the baby right here.” That was a ray of hope and I ran
with it. I felt hot so I stepped outside and came right back in for another
contraction. The cool fresh air felt wonderful though and I felt better. The
next time she checked the heart rate it was just above normal. I was so
incredibly relieved I almost wanted to cry. My water broke shortly after that
and when she checked the heart rate it was calm and healthy! Back on track!
Labor was gradually getting more intense all
the while and I was starting to be ready for it to be over. My husband’s love
and support nourished me. This experience was making our bond even stronger.
Throughout the labor, Hope was never more than an ear shot away. She was never
overbearing and let me be free to listen to my body. She gave me guidance and I
felt secure with her nearby.
After what felt like a lot of pushing, I was on
my hands and knees when our baby was born at 10:35 pm. It’s a boy!
The moment that I had my son is the single most
joyous and beautiful experience of my life.
The memory of it fills me with such gratitude.
Though my husband was a little skeptical of a home birth in the beginning, he
now says that he can’t picture it any other way. We don’t want to leave the
area now until we’re done having babies with the hope that they can all be
delivered by our midwife Hope, into the serene and loving space of our home.
No comments:
Post a Comment