Ketzia's birthday: another birth story! (complete with photos)

Since I know some of you will be interested, here is Ketzia's birth story!  This post is lengthy, and detailed (but not in a bad way).  This was my second homebirth/waterbirth. You can read about Elijah's birth here: http://katie-kette.blogspot.com/2010/07/elijahs-birthday-our-birth-story.html

I was attended by my husband David, my sister-in-law Sarah, our midwife Kate and her assistant Jill.  My fabulous mother-in-law Pat and other sister-in-law Anna, as well as Sarah's husband Tim, did a great job babysitting our active 18-month-old boy, Elijah during the labor so that I didn't have to worry about him and David could support me.

Ketzia's birth story really has been a journey across several continents.  We found out we were pregnant in the spring, in Zambia where we live.  We immediately started thinking ahead to our end-of-year plans, thankful that we already intended to be traveling to the UK and the States at the end of this year, so we could work out the logistics to have the baby where we would be supported by family.  In the meantime we arranged for prenatal care in Zambia.  In the Lord's providence our friend Christine who has so generously opened her home to us during our occasional visits to Lusaka is a doctor/gynecologist and I became her patient!

Because of homebirth laws, we planned to settle with David's family outside of Philadelphia and have the baby there.  It would be remiss of me to not mention Sarah's willingness to have us live with her for a couple of months, not only opening her home but also supporting me in every way in the planning and preparation for my homebirth in her home!  We can't express how much this means to us.  In the Lord's providence we were able to use the marvelous Kate who was Sarah's midwife for the homebirth of Thomas this past summer.  And Sarah also had a birth pool and all the supplies, so we were all set.  Amazing!

So Kate, my U.S. midwife, and I were in correspondence via email.  Every time I had a prenatal appointment with Christine, my doctor in Zambia, I sent all the reports to Kate so that she could add them to my file.  I am thankful for technology which allowed me to be well-cared for.  In mid-October we left Zambia and I was given all my medical paperwork by Christine and a certificate of good health which allowed me to fly.  In the UK I had another check-up with a doctor and received another certificate of good health.  On the 9th of November I traveled with Elijah to the States to spend a few weeks with my parents, and on the 5th of December we ended our travels and settled in Philly with David's family to await the baby's birth.

My "due date" was December 22nd, but I had a feeling that Bump would decide to arrive early.  We certainly hoped that this would be the case, since it would start the birth certificate/passport paperwork process a bit earlier. 

On the evening of Sunday the 11th of December, I started having regular Braxton Hicks contractions around 6:30pm or so, which carried on for several hours.  They were so regular and so distracting that I honestly thought I might be in early labor.  After pacing around the house for a couple of hours, it was bedtime and I was so tired.  I decided to go to bed, figuring that if this was "real" labor, I should get some rest before things ramped up, and if it wasn't, then I would get a badly-needed good night's sleep.  Sure enough, the contractions went away after I lay down.  I had never had a "false alarm" with Elijah so I found this an interesting experience.  It was clear that the baby had "dropped" so the week started with me feeling like labor was probably imminent and could start at any time, even though I wasn't due for more than a week.

At the end of that week, during the night on Saturday (or rather, in the wee hours of Sunday morning) I woke up needing to use the toilet, and had a contraction.  It was a real contraction and I could tell right away.  However, I didn't have a watch so I had no idea what time it was (so I don't know when labor officially started). I went back to bed and fell back asleep, but continued to have contractions.  Since I had no way of timing them, and I was sleepy, I don't know how frequent they were, and I was able to drift off in between.  But I didn't get much more rest that night.  The contractions continued, and around 7am I woke David and told him, "I'm not sure I'm going to make it to church this morning - I'm having contractions."  Eventually I went downstairs to get some breakfast, feeling it necessary to get some nourishment and thinking "This might be it" -- but at the same time, I was still debating about going to church that morning!  I had a difficult contraction while in the kitchen and didn't manage to get any breakfast other than a yogurt and some orange juice.  David came in and found me kneeling over the birth ball during a contraction and said, "YOU are not going ANYWHERE!  Get back upstairs and rest, you're in labor!"  So I went back upstairs and didn't come back down for a few days.  :-)

David told me I should go ahead and call our midwife, Kate, to give her a heads-up since she lives a full hour's drive away, so I did.  Then I settled in the bedroom with the birth ball and focused on staying comfortable.  I ended up spending the majority of the labor in just one position - kneeling on the rug on the floor and leaning my upper body on the birth ball. Sitting wasn't comfortable because it put too much pressure on my stomach and if I rested my body weight on the ball it helped me relax during the contractions.  I realized that things were moving faster than expected, and so David had to scurry around to finish preparing the birth pool.  It needed to be inflated a bit more, so I spent more than an hour of labor trying to focus through contractions while David was in the same room endlessly inflating the birth pool with a horribly noisy pump!  Then he had to get the hose hooked up to the shower head and start filling the pool.  He also had a lot of phone calls to make... to his mom to ask her to come help us instead of going to church, to his sister Anna who lives in Delaware so that she could leave church and come up, to my parents to let them know I was in labor...

using the birth ball... birth pool filled and keeping warm

I called Kate back and told her to come.  I had lost track of timing the contractions but they had been coming every 6 minutes and sometimes a bit closer.  Then I got David to hook up the TENS machine to help me with the contractions.  I used the TENS machine during my labor with Elijah and found it to be SO helpful, and was surprised to learn that the maternity TENS machine is virtually unknown in the States!  So I purchased one in the UK and brought it along with me.  It definitely helped take the edge off the contractions and keep me focused.

The house started to scurry with people but I was in a zone.  I felt nauseous and vomited once and thought "Am I in transition already?"  I vomited during transition with Elijah.  Kate arrived.  Sarah and David were in and out of the room and bringing me water bottles, etc.  The assistant midwife, Jill arrived.  I just kept hitting the "boost" button on the TENS machine!

Time kept passing.  I wasn't wearing a watch so still had no idea what time it was, and didn't mind that.  Eventually I could tell that the TENS machine wasn't helping as much with the contractions anymore.  My fear is always that I will get into the birth pool too soon and slow down my labor, so with Elijah I had waited until I couldn't cope with the contractions any longer before I got into the birth pool and the timing had been perfect.  I intended to do the same thing this time, so I felt that was my "cue" that I could transition into the birth pool.  I had been kneeling on the floor for hours so was looking forward to a change.  I took off the TENS machine and got into the pool.  Unfortunately I still couldn't sit comfortably so was unable to labor like I did with Elijah.  I stayed on my knees and rested my head on the side of the pool.  Sarah and David were excellent at rubbing my shoulders, holding a cool washcloth on my forehead, and encouraging me to stay relaxed.  I was only in the pool for a couple of minutes before I started sounding "pushy."  Kate encouraged me to just listen to my body and push if I felt ready.  So I did.  Unlike with Elijah, when I experienced the "fetus ejection reflex" which was uncontrollable and involuntary, this pushing experience was totally different -- my body was telling me to push, but I had to do all the work.  It was exhausting.  What I found hardest to cope with was the searing pain in my lower back.  It was excruciating.  And it didn't necessarily go away between contractions. 

but it wasn't all bad!  :-)

I pushed for more than two hours.  It was an entirely different labor than Elijah's (I only pushed 40 minutes maximum with him).  I was tired, very tired.  At the very end, as Ketzia was being born, I was struggling to keep my focus because of the horrible, horrible pain in my pelvis and lower back which was making it impossible to breathe.    I just kept thinking "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  I did it!  My waters finally broke only a couple of contractions before she was born (as with Elijah -- part of the reason for the excruciating back pain). 

Ketzia Anne Lachman was born at 1:24pm on Sunday, December 18th after less than 11 hours labor (no idea how long it actually was).  Her cord was wrapped around her neck once but Kate skillfully untangled her so quickly that I didn't even realize it until someone told me much later.  Ketzia was not breathing at first so Kate immediately gave her supplemental oxygen for a few minutes.  I was holding Ketzia, tickling her feet and calling her name and rubbing her back and she started moving and making noises.  Kate was holding the oxygen mask over her nose and Jill was checking her heartbeat. She immediately starting getting her color and was fine!  She "pinked up" beautifully and starting nursing within minutes, as soon as I got out of the birth pool.  She has been a great nurser from the very start, and a very contented baby. 

Jill on the left, Kate on the right

There were plenty of hands to help and after getting settled in bed with Ketzia I was brought food (glorious food!) and after a good long while and a good long feed Ketzia was weighed and measured and cleaned up and dressed.  She weighed in at 8lbs 10 oz (a full pound bigger than Elijah at 7lbs 9oz)  and 20 inches long.  I was able to take a shower and felt amazing.  My recovery has been so much easier and quicker than it was the first time around! 

me fresh out of the shower, Ketzia with Aunt Sarah

 me having something to eat, Ketzia with Mutti

Ketzia with her daddy

 

Ketzia with Aunt Anna

 Ketzia meeting her big brother!

resting after a big day!

We are so thankful to the Lord for working all the details out, in His providence.  For providing us with skilled caregivers both here and in Zambia throughout this pregnancy.  For protecting Ketzia and myself during the bout with malaria when I was 19 weeks pregnant.  For sustaining me throughout all the travels during the last trimester of my pregnancy.  For allowing us to be with family.  For giving us a safe and peaceful birth in the comfort of our (temporary) home.  And for our beautiful, healthy little girl.

David has posted even more photos on Facebook for those of you who would like to see more... as well as an explanation of the significance of her name.

Elijah's Birthday: our birth story (complete with photos!)

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!  :)