Aiden's birth story

I have been praying from the beginning of this pregnancy to be blessed with a natural child birth.  I was induced with Mason, and it was not pleasant, I came too close to a caesarean for comfort, and I didn't want a repeat of that experience.  As time has gone on, it's become more urgent for me.  My midwives urged me to be induced at 42 weeks, but I made the decision to wait an extra week for induction, wanting to give him as much time as possible.  My mom had me 3 weeks late, and my sister's second was three weeks late, so there was some precedent for it.  I felt the baby just needed a bit more time.  As the time got closer to the date, our prayers became more urgent and intense.

I was grateful to be able to make it to Jeremy's wedding last Friday, which would have been less than certain if Aiden had been born early in the week, but I was uncertain as to what would happen.  Mike had given me a blessing promising a birth free of complications, and I was doing my best to maintain that faith, but doubts kept creeping in, especially with all the false alarms I kept having, when labor seemed to be starting, and then stopped.

Sunday morning, I woke up around 5 and went to the bathroom, and on the way there, I had quite a bit of fluid drip.  I thought perhaps my water had broken, but apparently not, because there was nothing else the rest of the day.  But I had had trouble falling asleep that night, and wasn't able to get back to sleep that morning.  I was having some contractions, and I ended up throwing up, so I made the decision not to go to church.  Mike went and took Mason with him, but came home early after being lectured by my uncle (leaving Mason at church with Auntie April in charge).  My Aunt Liz came over and gave me a foot massage, then we went to my in-laws for dinner, after loading the car up with our hospital bags and Mason's bag.  I was scheduled to check into the hospital at 5 pm for induction.

Before dinner, my father-in-law gave me another blessing, with the help of Mike, Jeff, and Mike's grandpa, who was visiting for the wedding.  We ate dinner, said goodbye to the family and Mason, and went to the hospital.

When we got here, there was a bit of mix-up, they apparently didn't know we were coming, so we had to wait awhile for them to prepare a room.  I spent a lot of time walking around, because it seemed to be having a good effect on my contractions, but around 8, I had to get in bed and stay there for 2 hours after they inserted the Cervidil, which is supposed to help the cervix get ready for labor.  They were planning on removing the Cervidil at 5:30 am, and then start the pitocin at 6.  The nurse brought me an Ambien to help me sleep, and before we went to bed, Mike prayed that things would start on their own before the pitocin was needed.

I woke up at 4 am, needing to pee, and then I couldn't get back to sleep.  I had some contractions (probably all night long) and felt that labor was starting.  By 5 am, I was sure of it, and when the nurse came in, she confirmed that things were starting.  No pitocin needed!  I was thrilled!  We texted Mike's brother around 5:30 to tell him that if Alexis was going to be there, she needed to come soon.  He decided to drop her off before work, which was a good choice.  She was there around 6.

The nurse checked my dilation, I had dilated to a 3, was still 75% effaced, and the baby's head was moving down.  She monitored me for twenty minutes, then took me off the monitors and brought in a birthing ball.  I asked about the Jacuzzi tub, and she said they preferred I wait until I was dilated to a 4 or 5 to use that, as it might relax me too much.  A bit after 6, I was in so much pain, that I asked the nurse again, and she said it was ok, so long as I didn't spend more than half an hour at a time in the tub.

Of course the tub took awhile to fill up sufficiently, so I wasn't able to get in it until about 6:30.  I remember, I was practically whining to Mike, the pain was so bad.  The tub helped a lot, but it was still extremely intense, and I started wondering if I was cut out for natural childbirth.  I felt that if this was going to be going on for hours, I would have to ask for drugs, which made me feel I had failed.  And that maybe I hadn't prepared properly.  I was feeling very down, and very wussy.  And I was afraid I was setting a bad example for Alexis, I had hoped this would have been a good experience for her.

Around 7, which was the time I would have had to get out for a bit, I started feeling like I needed to go to the bathroom, and couldn't stop the urge to try to have a bowel movement in the tub.  It was the strangest feeling. I knew, intellectually, that the urge to push felt like needing a bowel movement, but I couldn't believe that it was time to push.  I got out, and went to the bathroom.  Every time I got back off the toilet, I would get back on when another contraction started.  Mike reminded me that it sounded like I needed to push, and I told him there was no way.  Finally he insisted on calling the nurse, and when she came in, she shocked me by telling me that I was now dilated to a 9 and yes, it was time to push.  All that was left was a bit of a lip over the baby's head.

I have to tell you, this made me feel a WHOLE lot better.  I had been feeling so wimpy, and the whole time, I was going through transition, and my body was booking through the labor process, so of COURSE it was painful, and of course I started thinking I needed pain meds.  I think most people feel a desire for meds during transition.

She called in a doctor and another nurse and they started getting stuff ready.  Someone said that if I wanted my midwife to be there I'd have to hold on, and I asked where she was.  When I was told she was at least half an hour away, not counting rush hour traffic, I said I wasn't waiting.  I couldn't NOT push when the urge came, and I wasn't waiting for that long.  I stood by the bed, pushing with the urge for several minutes, until my legs started to give out, then was on the bed without the stirrups.  It was interesting, I didn't feel the "ring of fire" with Mason, I didn't feel anything at all when pushing him out because of the epidural.  So I was surprised how quickly I could feel the head moving down, how quickly the "ring of fire" started, although it was obviously much more intense when he crowned.  I was actively pushing for about 17 minutes, and he was born at 7:55 am.  My midwife came in 3 minutes later.  She later said the nurses would be reminded about what to do when a patient is in that much pain.

Thermometers are mean!

He was (relatively) clean, there was a bit of meconium on him, and some blood, but they were able to put him up on me right away.  I held him for at least half an hour before deciding to let them weigh him, then got him back with just a diaper and nursed him for a bit.  He weighed 9 pounds, 4 ounces, and was 22 inches long.  I had a second degree tear which was stitched up quickly, and that was it. 

Mike having me taunt the IV machine I never had to use

It's funny, Aiden pushed it as close as he could go.  An hour longer and I would have been on the pitocin.  And then, when he decided to some, he came FAST!  I was so grateful that I was able to do this labor on my own, without the pitocin.  I had started to wonder if there wasn't something wrong with me, that I couldn't labor without the help of pitocin.  I thanked my Heavenly Father last night for letting me have this birth work the way I hoped, and even faster than I had hoped.  I had figured it would go faster than the (two days!) labor with Mason, but didn't think it would be THAT fast.

So here are some pics of the cute baby to sum up my adventure.  Sooo worth it!

Pregnant pictures

Mike decided to take some pregnancy shots.  Here I am at 37 weeks.

Mommy's day in the hospital

I had my regular prenatal appointment scheduled for 2:45 on Tuesday July 3rd, and directly afterwards I was supposed to go over to the hospital to finish pre-registration for the delivery of my baby.  I felt bad that it was going to go so long, since my visiting teacher was taking a turn driving me, but she said it was all fine.  Her teenage daughter came over with her to stay with Mason (who was napping) so we wouldn't have to deal with him.

The first issue was that when I got to the office, I had to fill out the insurance information for the office again, since it was the first of July, and apparently everyone has to fill everything out again in July.  I didn't know about it, so I was called back to my appointment late since they had to wait until the paperwork was done.

Then, when the midwife went to feel for the baby, she couldn't find his head down where it had been last week, and was pretty certain it was high up to the left.  She sent the nurse to ask the sonogram lady to make room for me so they could double check while she finished my regular check up.  That was the only thing that went quickly, she was ready for me as soon as my midwife was finished.

They did the ultrasound, and sure enough, the baby was transverse.  Transverse means the baby is lying sideways in the belly, and you can't really deliver a transverse baby naturally unless it turns during labor or beforehand.  They have a procedure they can do to turn the baby by manipulating the belly from the outside (called a version).  As part of the ultrasound they checked how much amniotic fluid I had to see if a version would be feasible, and apparently my fluid levels were really high, which explains how the baby turned in the first place.

So then I had to wait for the doctor who specializes in the version to come and check me out.  At this point I was late for my pre-registration appointment, so they called over to the hospital to let them know I'd be there later.  When the doctor finally showed up, he asked if we could do the version that same day, and when I said yes, they arranged for me to go do the pre-registration appointment first.  My midwife warned me that I could be at the hospital for up to three hours, so when I left the appointment and headed to the hospital with my visiting teacher, I told her what was up, and that I didn't expect her to wait around all that time.  We decided that she would leave me at the hospital, go get her daughter and Mason and take them home, and then we'd get Mason later.  I called Mike at work and told him what was going on, and we decided that we would play it by ear.

I went to the hospital and my visiting teacher hung around til the nurse showed up, then left.  That appointment went quickly, since I have delivered at that hospital before.  Then I was sent down to the cafeteria to eat something, since they had to do a fetal non-stress test first, which works much better if you've eaten, since it encourages the baby to move around.  It was about four thirty when I was done eating.  Then I sat for 30 minutes or so until they got me into the triage room for the test.  I had to wait about an hour for the doctor to show up, he had been in the middle of a delivery.  I called Mike to let him know I wouldn't be ready for him to pick me up on the way home from work, and arranged for him to go get Mason.

When the doctor came, they gave me a shot directly into my vein of a drug meant to relax my uterus so they could manipulate the baby into position.  It was the WEIRDEST feeling I have ever had!  It had an affect on me like a very strong stimulant.  My head was spinning, my heart rate was very accelerated and I was shaking, which lasted about an hour.  Once it took effect, it took the doctor about 30 seconds to move the baby into position.  He had a sonogram machine right there so he could make sure of the positioning.

When he was done, they plugged me back into the machine to make sure the baby hadn't been adversely affected by the procedure, and he decided I should get a Rhogam shot, just in case.  For some reason, the hospital has a policy that if they need to know your blood type for any procedure, they have to type your blood.  I don't understand why, it's on file in the midwives files, so why they can't just pull that, I can't understand.

Anyway, I had to wait for the nurse to come draw my blood for them to check the type.  When she finally showed up, I figured I could have Mike come get me, because they said the blood typing shouldn't take more than 30 minutes or so.  So I called him to come, but when he was there, we still hadn't heard from the lab, so I had to send him to my mother-in-laws house to wait, since it was close, and Mason wouldn't be allowed into the triage room.  Shortly after that, the lab sent up that there were some antibodies in my blood stream, and before I could get the Rhogam shot, they had to verify what the antibodies were.  I guess they were concerned that the antibodies could be the kind you get from having an adverse reaction to the baby's blood getting into your blood stream.

By the time they had figured out the antibodies and sent the order for the Rhogam, it was around 9.  I called Mike, and he was talking about how Mason was getting very tired.  We had no way of knowing how long it would take at this point, and Mike couldn't exactly drive him home to bed and then come get me.  Mike's dad offered to let him stay there, and when his mom got home, we decided to go with that, since the next day was the fourth of July and we'd be going over for a barbeque anyway.  So I told Mike to get Mason comfortable and come to the hospital.

He showed up a little after 9:30, and sat around waiting for me to be ready.  It took awhile for me to finally get the Rhogam shot because the pharmacy entered the information into the computer wrong, and the nurse needed to scan it before giving it to me.

The last straw for me was when the resident doctor came to check on me to release me.  He looked at the strip from the machine and saw that I had been having contractions the whole time I was there.  I hadn't felt them at all, and it isn't unusual to have contractions for a couple weeks before going into actual labor, but he seemed to think it was an issue, and that I should stay for another half an hour for observation.  I was NOT in favor of that, and the nurse supported me.  She told me that I could tell him no, that I was leaving, and that is what we did.  So as soon as she got the release paperwork, Mike and I left.  At around 10:30.  I had been in that stupid room for about 5 hours.

We didn't get home til after 11, and I got to bed very late.  I was grateful that Lorrie had suggested us leaving Mason there, because Mike and I both slept in this morning, him til about 9, me until 11.  Not continuous sleep for me, what with having to empty my bladder every few hours, and having a cold.  All I can say is, I'm glad that it's over, and I am going to do everything I can to encourage the baby to stay head down the way he is supposed to be.

Second pregnancy

I found out about a month ago that I am pregnant with our second child!  We are so excited!  The timing makes me laugh, the baby is due a week before Mason turns two.  I wasn’t really looking forward to another summertime baby, it was the hottest of my life!  But you can’t control everything.

Since Mike has only just finished school and doesn’t have a full time job yet, we don’t have maternity coverage, and I had to apply for Medicaid for the medical care.  We do have private insurance, but it is virtually impossible to get maternity coverage on a private plan. 

Anyway, as part of my application for Medicaid, I had to go get a pregnancy test from a doctor or somewhere to turn in to prove that I am pregnant.  Most places I looked into charged for the test, not a whole lot of money, but 20- 40 dollars more than I wanted to pay, so I decided to go with the free option.  It was one of those aggressively Christian places, and I had an interesting experience.

They had me pee in a cup, then pulled me in a room to ask me a list of questions about my pregnancy, and intentions regarding the baby.  It is one of those places which is largely intended to help people with unplanned, unwanted pregnancies make choices about it, so they had a long list of questions that were mandatory, even though I had explained my reason for being there was to get a pregnancy test to turn in.

Anyway, one of the questions was about what I thought of the Savior and what my relationship was with him.  I think the lady asking the questions had decided I wasn’t Christian, and that I didn’t understand Christ at all.  She seemed to feel sorry for me, especially after I made it clear that I was perfectly happy with my religion, and where it is taking me.  They had me watch a movie, which I felt was very manipulative, talking about how we are all lying, stealing, adulterous murderers.  I almost wished I had just gone ahead and paid for a test somewhere else.  But these services do serve a good purpose, and they do have other resources to help provide necessities that I might take advantage of if I need to.

Anyway, I got the Medicaid approved, and had my first appointment with my midwife on Monday.  She was concerned about the accuracy of the due date they had given me, because apparently my cycles aren’t as regular as they could be, so she decided to have me go get a sonogram to check the due date based on the baby’s development.  I was fine with that, it’s always cool getting to see an ultrasound!  So, I got to see the baby, it was upside down, and I could sort of see arms and legs.  I can’t find the pictures, or I would post them here, I brought home three of them, but I haven’t seen them since I got home.

Anyway, things are going well here.  One adorable baby boy walking, talking, playing, and cuddling, and one adorable one inch baby growing and soon kicking, flipping, and punching!

My beautiful baby

So I have a baby now and he is absolutely beautiful!

It was a tough thing. I was induced Tuesday morning at 6, and went all day, getting to maybe a three. They broke my water and everything, but not much happened, so they turned off the pitocin and I went to sleep.

Wednesday morning at 5:30 they plugged me back in, and it started working very quickly. By noon I was in a lot of pain. My midwife came in and said she'd check me at 3, and hopefully by then I'd be a five and they could take me off the pitocin and let me labor normally.

Well, that didn't work. I was still a four, and by then I was exhausted and in so much pain, I couldn't stand it anymore. I just wanted it to end.

My midwife highly recommended an epidural, because she felt that I would have to have a c-section if things didn't improve. I didn't really want to, but Mike gave me a blessing and we decided it was the right thing to do. So around 330, They got me started on the epidural.

Then things started getting scary. A couple of hours later, I was just a five, and my midwife was getting concerned because Mason's heart rate was dropping after the good contractions, which could mean he was having problems. So she called the doctor who does c-sections, and told us we might have to have one for the baby's safety.

I was devastated. I started crying, I couldn't hold it back. Mike was having a tough time too, but he gave me another blessing, in which he promised everything would be ok. So I held on to that and prayed like crazy.

The next time they checked me, I was a six, so they said we might be able to manage it. And when the doctor came and checked me, he said I was an eight (although my midwife did not agree with that) and to keep going, just watching things. The next check, which I'm not sure when it was, I lost track of the time, she said I was ready! Everyone was so relieved!

I had to use the stirrups, because I had absolutely no control over my legs. It was pretty funny, actually, because my midwife had trouble with the stirrups. So I started pushing with my contractions, and they ended up using a vacuum to get him out faster, because they were worried about the baby's heart rate, and I pushed through about six contractions, then he was out!

He was a mess! The fluid at that point had a lot of meconium (aka baby poop) in it, so they had to take him and clean him up, but he is absolutely gorgeous! He latched on right away when I breastfed, and he is so sweet. He likes to cuddle, he cried when they brought us breakfast, but he wasn't hungry, he cuddled with me for a minute and then went to sleep.

I am so grateful that I got induced, and that it worked out so well. I started to think I'd made a mistake getting induced, but all the meconium in his fluid, which could have caused problems if he had inhaled it, and the fact that his placenta was aging verifies to me that he needed to be born. We are blessed that things went so well.

Mason Gordon, born 9:58 pm on July 28th, 2010. 8 pounds 6 ounces, 20 inches.

Baby stuff

I had my most recent appointment Wednesday. I seem to have capped out on my weight gain, I didn't gain any weight. The baby is breach currently, but I have some things to do to get him to flip. Today, I lay down with a bag of cold corn on my high belly and a warm pac on my lower belly, the idea to encourage him to flip. I don't know if he did, but he did react to the cold and pushed against it.

Here is a new picture of me.


My feet are flabby. It's very annoying. They flop a bit when I walk. I eat a lot these days too. Today at work, someone brought four containers of strawberries, and I ate almost a full one myself. They were very yummy.

Baby update

I've been meaning to put the ultrasound pictures up for awhile. Here they are!




It's amazing the things they can figure out looking at the ultrasounds. I would not be able to see as much as they can. Of course it takes training.

My mom has been bugging me for a pregnancy picture. I thought I'd start with a pre-pregnancy picture, and I found a couple of pictures from the wedding to use for comparison. Nice huh? You can kinda see my belly in these pictures. Now here's one taken last Sunday: Wow baby boy, you are making Mommy fat!

Anyway, I am now starting to walk funny. I'm not waddling yet, but it's a sort of wobble. The baby is getting more active, and I feel him almost every day. Mike felt him a couple of weeks ago, but hasn't been able to much since, he isn't violent enough to be felt much outside of my belly.

I'm really hungry lately, I eat a lot more than I used too. Whenever we go out to eat I want meat. It used to be that Mike and I would split a dinner, but now I am too hungry and have to get my own food. Besides, Mike isn't a huge fan of steak, and I want that a lot.

I get tired a lot and very quickly. And I get short of breath if I walk to quickly or when I walk upstairs carrying laundry. My husband is very good about taking care of those problems for me. He rocks!

And I have heartburn almost every night. Ouch! It is not fun.

Other than that, things are going ok for me. I'm not sick anymore, and I am adjusting to being pregnant nicely.

And my husband is a great guy. He has done a lot to help me. One day I sent him a text letting him know I was having a hard time, and he made dinner, and got me a special treat for dessert.

I am due July 16th, but I assume the baby will be late, so I;m guessing late July, hopefully not as late as August.

Pregnancy update

So I am at this weird point, where I have to eat every two hours. I'm not sick or anything, I just get hungry all the time. It feels really weird. I need to replenish my snacks at work.

Also, my slacks are all just about out because they are getting so tight, and my big coat is getting tight on my belly when I zip it up. I still don't have any cool side shots or anything, there is nothing to see there, but I am getting bigger.

And I am tired a lot. Mornings are really bad. I wasn't sure I'd make it through the day this morning, but felt a bit better after lunch.

I have an appointment for an ultrasound on March 2nd, so hopefully we will know then if it's a girl. That's what we think it is, but we'll see. I think that's about it for now. When I start having a pregnant profile, I might post a pic or two. For now, I like my wedding picture.

Being pregnant is funny

It's funny, I've been learning some things about pregnancy that make me laugh at times.

First off, everyone who knows I am pregnant is always asking me how I am feeling. Everyone. At work, at church, even people I barely know. And they ask me every day and every time I see them. It's pretty funny, you'd think I was going to break.

My co-workers won't let me carry anything. Not that we carry around huge loads or anything, but I have to be careful about using the cart when I go get more files, or I get yelled at.

Also, I have to be careful about what I do sometimes. After my appointment with my midwife, I went to call Mike to talk to him about the ultrasound appointment. I figured he was out of class, because I had his morning schedule confused. He was in the middle of class, and he answered the phone because he was worried something might have happened, since he knew I had an appointment that morning. I laughed a bit, and apologized for messing up his schedule in my head. Fortunately it wasn't during lecture or anything. Another time, he texted his mom asking her to call soon about something urgent, and she got worried, thinking something was wrong with me.

Then today, at work, I banged my knee pretty badly one my desk. I grabbed it and made some "Ouch" noises, because it hurt really bad, and one of my coworkers, Mary, got a little freaked out. She said, "What's wrong? Are you ok?" in a somewhat, not panicky, but definitely worried voice, until she got a good look at me, and said, "Oh, it's just your knee." I just about died laughing after that. People are really careful with you when you are pregnant, I guess she thought something had gone wrong.

Being pregnant is funny sometimes.

A few thoughts on childbirth

Now, by no means do I claim to be an expert. I have yet to have my first child. But I have some thoughts about the process of childbirth.

I have always felt that having a baby is a part of life, and something that most people can do without too much help. But I grew up hearing horror stories from my mom and her friends about their labor and about how the doctors treated them. I always hoped that by the time I was having kids, the doctors would lay off some.

When I found out I was pregnant, my sister sent me some books on natural childbirth, talking about things like the differences between midwives, ob-gyns, and family practitioners, and about different interventions doctors practice. I read one of them, and took notes about some of the things I didn't want to have happen, and went to my first appointment with my doctor, who had been recommended to me by a couple different girls, one from work, one from church. I hoped for a good interview, and that they'd be flexible.

Unfortunately, it was no good. My doctor was not in the least flexible. She was not supportive of the idea of not using drugs ("90% of women get an epidural, and those who wait until later have a harder time of it"), she was not supportive about the idea of birth plans ("they never work, the ones who come in with birth plans are more likely to have problems") and she was insistent that I had to have an IV, which I do NOT want.

Now she may have felt she was being reasonable, but she wasn't. The note about the epidural's being worse for those who wait until later was true, but I know why from some of the reading I've done. Basically, an epidural slows things down, and people who wait are farther along when they finally get one, which messes things up. As for the "birth plans never work," to me that seems a self fulfilling prophecy. If the doctor doesn't like birth plans, she makes that clear to the patient, which makes her more nervous, and the doctor will be more likely to be looking for problems to prove her point. As for the IV, I know they couldn't force me to have one, since they have to have patient consent, but I don't think I will be in any condition to argue with the doctor while I am in labor.

So I decided to look into different options. I was talking to one of my coworkers about the problem, and he told me his mother is a doula. He gave her my number, and she called me and gave me a list of different midwives and practitioners in the area who are more inclined towards natural childbirth. I met with one of the midwives on Wednesday, and it was night and day. I didn't even have to ask about the things I had concerns about, as they listed off their policies, they covered every single item that had bothered me about the doctor. I felt so much better after I left. I didn't realize before how much my doctor's visit had brought me down.

Anyway, I would recommend midwives to anyone who is expecting. Midwives are available in hospitals, birthing centers, and for home birth, and they are a valid option, and more likely to go with your wishes. Don't feel like an ob-gyn is your only option.

The love of a mother?

The other morning, my husband made some comment about the special bond between mother and baby while I was puking in the bathroom. It made me laugh, because I do not love throwing up. I thought about it for awhile, and realized that if anything, the vomiting was teaching me how little control I have over anything in my life, which is important, since I will not be able to control my child. I think it's important to realize that, because I've been on my own for so long and used to doing things my own way.

Later I was thinking about it more, and I think in a way, he may have been right about the mother's bond thing. One thing we learn is that sacrificing for others is the best way to both show love, and to increase love for others. So, I almost wonder if part of why pregnancy is so miserable physically is to help create that bond early on, and to get mothers used to sacrificing for their children.

Random thought of the month.

Pregnancy

Yes folks, I am pregnant. I don't know for sure how far along I am, my sister say, according to a calendar her midwife gave her, that I am due sometime in July, but we'll see. My first appointment is tomorrow with a nurse.

So far, I have had nausea just about everyday all day, though no actual toilet worshiping yet. But today was a new twist- heartburn. I have never had it before, but I understand now why they have all those heartburn commercials. I should go get some Tums. But I think the nausea is harder to deal with, it makes me not want to do anything at all.

Oh, and none of my jeans fit me anymore, although my work slacks all still fit just fine. My jeans fit me tighter to begin with anyway. And I couldn't eat as much for Thanksgiving without feeling sick, but in a different way than when you normally feel like you ate to much. It was weird.

Mike and I went to Wal-Mart on Saturday and bought me goodies to keep in my desk at work so I wouldn't be tempted by my neighbors chocolate when I needed to eat something. We got dried apricots, cheez-its, goldfish, animal crackers, craisins, unsalted peanuts, and we had saltines at home. They have helped stave off the worst of the nausea.

I am excited though, despite all the misery. I am going to have a baby!