Elijah's birth story
I was attended by my husband David, my mom Gale (who had flown over from the States and arrived 24 hours before I went into labour!), the home birth team midwife and a student midwife.
How it all started:
I woke up at 5am on Wednesday June 30 (which was 40+5) with contraction/needing to use the toilet. Went back to bed and fell asleep, so obviously nothing much was happening yet. Woke up again at 9am with contraction/needing to use the toilet. Went back to bed afterwards but contractions didn't go away this time.
Around 11am we walked up the street to do the weekly cleaning job for our neighbour - Mom and David did the cleaning and I sat on the couch and had contractions. Got back and had some lunch. Was increasingly uncomfortable during contractions even though it was early labor, so spent the afternoon bouncing on the birth ball in the living room trying to stay distracted. I was also in denial about being in labor because I've read so many birth stories where the labor has started/stopped/started/
stopped and I didn't want to get too focused or too excited too soon! All the pain was in my lower back so I was really uncomfortable. David did a marvelous job holding me and letting me lean against him during the contractions. We timed the contractions for a long time and found that they were 4-8 minutes apart and lasting at least a minute each. I was becoming increasingly hazy in the breaks between contractions and felt like I was zoning out. I was also extremely shaky between contractions - my body was shaking uncontrollably.
I had had fond intentions of spending early labour baking a birthday cake for our baby (well, not for him - for ME! doesn't every woman's mind run to chocolate cake while she's in labour?!?) but found that from the very start the back pain was too intense for me to spend more than a minute or two on my feet at a time. So that plan got scrapped. . . I was VERY attached to my birthing ball and wasn't comfortable doing much of anything else!
early labour
At some point David decided to go ahead and start filling the birth pool. We were using a Birth Pool in a Box (the smaller size - which fit me just fine and I'm 5' 9") which we borrowed from our friends the Harams, and we'd had it inflated and sitting in our living room for a couple of weeks at this point. David now filled it with hot water figuring that it would be sitting for several hours and would have plenty of time to cool off before I was ready to use it - and he was right - brilliant of him to think ahead like that! I was still in denial about being in labor, and in fact (amusingly) was slightly irritated when David posted a facebook status saying "Katie is in early labour" - I was determined not to get too excited or hopeful until I was sure that it wasn't a false alarm!
an inside joke: I gave David these rubber duckies as a gag birthday gift (he loves taking a relaxing bath) and he teased me all along about putting them in the birth pool with me during labour. so here they are, waiting for action!
After this had been going on for few hours, we phoned maternity assessment, and they contacted the homebirth MW, who then phoned me to see how things were going. I wasn't sure what to tell her because I didn't know what my body was doing - the contractions were irregular and sometimes would be really intense and other times I couldn't tell when they started or stopped because they merged together, so I was having trouble timing them. She advised that I phone her back when the contractions were 3 every 10 minutes.
So we kept timing the contractions. . . we played some Boggle with my mom and I lost horribly because I couldn't concentrate. I was still bouncing on the ball - mostly sitting upright and leaning forward but sometimes I would kneel on the floor and rest my upper body on the birth ball to take the weight off my lower back. Eventually the contractions were getting intense enough and I had a "show" at 5:30, so we phoned maternity assessment and the MW arrived around 7 or 7:30. By the time she arrived, my contractions had gone completely irregular and I was having great difficulty timing them accurately because they were not well-defined. So she told me she thought I was still quite early on in labor. She offered to do an internal examination to see how far along I was but I didn't think that would be encouraging, so I declined (it was in my birth plan that I didn't want any internal exams unless it was necessary). So the MWs decided that since it was still so early on, they would leave and go get some rest and I could phone them to come out when I needed them.
getting ready to play Boggle with my mom
So after 8pm, when the MWs left, I settled down to cope as best I could with the contractions. Our friends the Harams were going to be dropping by and I didn't want to go upstairs and lie down until after they had come by. So I stayed in the living room and kept bouncing. I watched a bit of "Total Wipeout" on Iplayer to try to distract me but couldn't concentrate very well because I was really uncomfortable during the contractions. At this point I decided I was ready to start using the TENs machine for pain relief. David and my mom got it sorted and put it on my back, which took a while to sort out, and I found it quite useful. Then the Harams arrived to see how things were going and they offered to pick up things from the shop for us, so then I decided to wait to go upstairs until they came back with the things from the shop. As a result, I ended up not going upstairs until midnight, when David and I decided to try to lie down and get some rest in between contractions. I was desperately tired and wanting to get off my feet which is why I was willing to try lying down. We knew it was going to be a long night!
As soon as we went upstairs things ramped up. I knew that coping with the contractions while lying down was going to be more difficult, which is why I had waited until after I was using the TENs machine to try it. Sure enough, the contractions became REALLY intense and within 20 minutes of lying down they were also becoming more frequent. We had stopped timing the contractions hours before, so that we wouldn't get discouraged by seemingly "slow" progress, but David could tell by my body's reactions to the contractions that it was time to start the stopwatch again! He was brilliant at holding me and reminding me to relax. The pain was excruciating - it was ALL back labour and I felt like I was being swallowed by the pain. I was forced to begin vocalizing (moaning and saying "ow") during contractions to stay relaxed and control my breathing. It was so painful and very difficult to cope, but we persevered for an hour and a half until the contractions were coming fast and furious. Then David had the fun job of getting me out of bed and back downstairs. I had three contractions on the way down the stairs! By now it was about 1:30 or so in the morning.
We knew it was time to phone for the midwives again, but by the time we got them on the phone I couldn't speak through the contractions and David told them to come out. I transitioned back onto the birthing ball - I spent the next hour or two alternating between sitting upright and leaning forward onto cushions on the back of a chair, and kneeling on the floor leaning over the ball and resting the weight of my upper body on it. I was still using the TENs for pain relief but I knew that soon I would be ready to get into the pool, because the TENs machine was no longer helping as much with the pain. However I was determined to wait until I couldn't bear it anymore before I got in - I think I was afraid that the warm water would slow my contractions down and I would be in labor even longer as a result!
The midwives arrived around 2:30am. I was so focused that I basically ignored them. The contractions continued to be regular (but I have no idea how frequent) and very painful. At some point not too long after they arrived I vomited - definitely a sign of transition. Not too long after that, I decided it was time to get into the pool. My body was so tired and sore from constantly bearing my weight (no matter how I was using the ball) and the back labor was excruciating. I got into the pool, and it was amazing!! It was very soothing to my strained muscles. it didn't do much for the labor pains (I didn't expect it to, honestly) but simply not having to bear my own weight, and being able to move freely around, was a massive improvement.
I'm not sure exactly how long I labored in the pool. Mostly I was stretched out leaning back and resting my head against the side of the pool. My mom and David were brilliant about holding a cold cloth on my forehead and rubbing my shoulders gently and encouraging me to keep my arms relaxed during a contraction. At some point the pool needed to be topped up slightly with hot water to keep it warm enough.
Not too long after that, I suddenly felt really weird. I changed position so that I was facing the side of the pool and kneeling upright. I said to the midwife, "I can't tell whether my body is telling me I need to throw up or I need to push!" She laughed and said, "You wouldn't be the first woman to puke her baby out!" Just then I vomited - and my body switched into MASSIVE, unmistakable pushing mode. It was the most incredible experience. The urge to push was absolutely uncontrollable and involuntary. I wasn't expecting to be very noisy, but I did end up moaning and yelling quite a bit (but not screaming - I kept the noises deep so that it wouldn't expend energy) - I simply couldn't help making noise, it was completely involuntary and helped me push! David was sitting next to the pool facing me, close enough that I could hold onto him as I leaned over the side of the pool.
pushing (and resting in between contractions)
I really appreciated the fact that the midwives let me labour without interference, but at the same time they were very supportive and coached me through it. It buoyed me up to hear them say things like, "You're doing an amazing job pushing that baby out!" I don't know exactly how long I pushed for - it was about half an hour, definitely not more than 45 minutes from start to finish. The midwives checked the baby's heartbeat using a water-proof doppler every five minutes, but it was very non-invasive. I found that the whole way through the labour they were careful to give me my space so that I could stay focused and concentrated. I cannot stress enough how important this was to me!
here you can see the midwife monitoring the baby's heartbeat while I laboured. . . my mom is on the right.
When the baby's head started crowning, I was mentally prepared for it and used deep breathing to gently ease his head out, rather than pushing. I was SO determined not to tear! My waters broke and the midwife had been monitoring me closely using a mirror on the bottom of the pool (watching the baby's head appear and recede with each contraction) and knew that I was close to delivery. There was fresh green meconium in the waters and she told me so, but said "The baby's heartbeat is fine and you are going to have him out in a couple of pushes, so you're good to go!" Again, this was fabulously encouraging to me. I cannot stress how much I appreciated her level-headed approach to the situation. (There was NO way I was going to get out of the pool at this point anyway. HA!)
Two contractions after my waters broke, I pushed the baby's head out. . . shoulders came with the next contraction, and then the rest of the body followed. It was an immensely gentle birth. The midwife caught the baby and the cord was wrapped twice around his neck so she immediately unwrapped it and handed him straight to me. We got out of the pool immediately because the temperature had dropped during while I was pushing and wasn't warm enough anymore. They wrapped us up with towels and my husband and I sat on the floor and cuddled him. Our baby boy, Elijah Carter, was born healthy and absolutely beautiful at 5:25am on Thursday July 1 (which was 40+6) after 24 hours of labour. Because the waters hadn't broken until just before he was born, his head didn't have the squished look of some newborns. He was 7lbs 9oz. And he had a full head of hair.
midwife unwrapping the cord from his neck and handing him to me
just born
The cord stopped pulsating pretty quickly and the midwife then cut it. The placenta was delivered naturally 7 minutes after Elijah was born - completely effortlessly. I lost an average amount of blood and only had the slightest of abrasions - no tearing at all. Elijah had his first feed within 20 minutes of being born and has been a champion nurser from the very start. I was so happy that the midwives were in no hurry to take him away from me to weigh him or anything. They left us alone on the couch to cuddle for a long time.
And that is the story of our birth - everything went smoothly, exactly as I had hoped it would, it is a beautiful and still awe-inspiring memory for me and I am very, very, very thankful for the excellent care of the homebirth team midwives here in Glasgow. The fact that they supported me in my desire to have a completely natural, drug-free, non-invasive labour (no VEs or anything) absolutely made my day and helped me to stay positive and focused throughout the entire experience. And we are so blessed to have Elijah added to our family!
he immediately went for his fist/thumb! here he is snuggled up with his grandma
our new family snuggling together :)
P.S. I already put up a lot of photos in the two previous posts - so check them out if you haven't already, and more will be coming soon! :)
