My first two births - 2003 and 2005
I've written the birth stories for my last three babies, and they are posted on here, but I never did my "pre-BellyBelly" babies, so I thought I'd get whatever I can remember together here.
Our first baby was born in August, 2003. DH and I had married in 2001, and immediately hoped for a baby, but it took us more than a year to conceive. We were beginning to think that it just wasn't ever going to happen for us. I remember taking the pregnancy test, at home by myself, while DH was at work. I wasn't really late, since I have an irregular cycle, but I just felt that something was up. I almost fainted when that second line came up. I checked it over and over again, and it was definitely there - strong, clear, and unmistakable. I was really, truly pregnant! I was immediately thrilled and afraid at the same time. So excited to be having a baby, so terrified that something would go wrong. I wanted to let DH know, of course, but he was working with his dad, and I didn't want everyone to know yet. I walked into town and bought a little soother and wrapped it up to give to him when he got home. He was so surprised and happy - he cried. We made a doctors appointment to confirm the pregnancy and check everything over. I saw my family doctor until 20 weeks, and then I transferred to another GP who did deliveries. I didn't really want an OB, but I wasn't sure about midwives yet, so I figured this was a happy medium. I really liked my doctor, and she was friendly, common sense, and easy going. I was quite worried that I would end up like my mother, who had all c-sections. I read everything I could to prepare myself, and studied "What to Expect When You're Expecting" religiously. ;) We had our first ultrasound at 21 weeks, and learned we were expecting a baby girl. I had suspected as much all along (the only time my guess has ever been right!). We chose a name for her, and got the baby room ready.
Spring rolled into summer, and it was hot. (August is late summer here in Canada.) The pregnancy had gone very smoothly, but I was big and uncomfortable, not sleeping well, achy, and ready to be done. But I figured, with this being my first baby, that I would likely go overdue, so I wasn't getting to anxious yet. My due date, Friday, August 8, came with no sign of anything happening. We called up some friends that evening (they answered the phone with great excitement, hoping for news!) and asked if we could come for an evening visit and some distraction. We sat outside around a fire and had coffee and toasted marshmallows. Went home and to bed for a restless night on my part. Tossed and turned all night, and finally fell asleep around 4:00am. At 6:00ish I woke up with my first contraction. And it was the real thing, I was sure. There was no mistaking it, in my mind. Five minutes later, there came another one. Five minutes?! Really?! That's not supposed to happen yet! But that's how they were. I woke DH up and told him I was having contractions. He was instantly wide awake. :) I got up and moved around a bit and the contractions kept coming, still 5 min apart, and steady. I could talk through them though. We called the hospital, if I remember correctly, and they said I could come in and be checked. I decided to have a bath, and when I got out, just after I got dressed, in the middle of a contraction my water broke. :doh: I gathered up some towels to sit on, and all the stuff we had packed ("What to Expect" has quite a list.....) and we headed off to the hospital, super excited that this was the day! It was about 9:00 when we left, and the hospital was 30 min away. We checked in to one of the "good" delivery rooms - with the nice bed, the shower, and the rocking chair, got into the lovely hospital gown, and hauled in all our bags. I think the nurses probably chuckled at us. The books said to pack playing cards and books to read, and we had - thinking we'd be sitting there for hours and hours needing distraction. The books didn't know that our hospital doesn't offer epidurals though. ;) As labour became more intense, I began to wonder when on earth I was supposed to begin playing cards or reading.
Anyways, upon arrival, they examined me and said I was about 2cm, with baby sitting nice and low. Only 8 more to go, I thought. Great! I'm on my way! The books said first babies take 12-15 hours, so we figured we were in for a full day. But things moved along quickly. DH and I walked the hospital hall over and over, and the contractions came faster and stronger. I could only make it part way down the hall and I'd have to stop and lean over something and moan and breathe through the contractions. After a little while, I didn't want to walk anymore - it was too much. We went back to our room and the nurse suggested I try the rocking chair for a little while. I hated it. I felt crunched and trapped, and I couldn't get away from the pain. I rocked through a few contractions, because she wanted me to, but I had to get out. I started to panic. I know now that I was beginning to go through transition, but at that time, I was on the verge of losing control. DH did his best to help and encourage me, but I imagine he was feeling pretty overwhelmed and scared too. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't cope, and I couldn't get away. The nurses stuck with me, told me I was doing well, told me to breathe for the baby, told me I was getting close. I got up on the bed, hoping to find a position that was better, but nothing helped. I was losing it, crying, panicking, begging them to please, please, please just make it stop. They suggested that it might be a good time to try a nubain shot. Fine. Shoot me. Anything. So, the shot was prepared (its a narcotic pain reliever) and they stabbed me in the leg. And within seconds I was calm. I went from a crying, screaming, writhing, wreck to calmly lying on the bed in no time flat. DH chuckled a little (I can only imagine how relieved he was too, really!) and said "I think it's working!". I can remember thinking that as a pain-reliever, this stuff sucked, but it totally relaxed me. The contractions still hurt, but I just didn't care anymore. I began pushing very shortly after that. They raised the head of my bed, and put my legs up in the stirrups. Awkward, but hey, I didn't care. It was about 12:40 or so, I believe, and we had been at the hospital only 3 hours! So much for our day of reading and playing cards.... I never really felt a strong urge to push. I was probably starting to grunt through the contractions, and they checked me and said I was fully dilated, but I never experienced that overwhelming urge that some women talk about. I pushed when they told me to, and how they told me to, and after 45 minutes, and some incredible burning and stinging, my baby girl was finally out! 1:25pm. They laid her on the warming table right beside my head, but to be honest, I couldn't even look over there yet. I was exhausted, and shaking and freezing. I was just so glad to be done! The nurses wrapped me up in blankets from the warmer - heavenly! - and DH took our daughter - so tiny in his big hands - and snuggled with her while I was cleaned up. If I remember correctly, they gave me an oxytocin shot and delivered the placenta immediately. All was well. A quick check for tearing, and I just about kicked the doctors teeth out. OUCH!!! But thankfully there was just a little graze. No stitches required. I was very surprised! I took our baby girl - all 6lb 14 oz of her - and put her to my breast. She took to nursing like a champ! Latched on beautifully, and nursed for about 45 min or so. DH started calling family, and then they brought us down to the maternity floor. DD nursed VERY frequently - almost constantly. She kept me up pretty much all night long, and it seemed like every time I laid her down, the nurses would come in, wake me up to check me, and tell my baby was rooting, and I should feed her again. They were worried about us because we had taken no prenatal classes. (I'm the oldest of 8 kids, and had been studying nursing when DH and I got married, so I didn't think we needed it.) Needless to say, we were happy to head home the next morning! DD was a very fussy baby from the get-go, screaming inconsolably for hours. We tried all kinds of things - diet changes, gripe water, peppermint tea, chiropractor visits, car rides.... Eventually she outgrew it, but remains a somewhat high stress child! We were thankful that she was our first, and that I could nap whenever I got the chance!
Name: Elyse Charlene, for my mom.
Weight: 6lb 14oz
Length: 19.5 inches.
Apgars: 9 and 9.
Total labour: about 7 hours.
Our second baby was born in November, 2005. Once again, DH and I were beginning to wonder if DD1 was ever going to have a sibling! She was over a year and a half when we learned we were expecting again. I don't remember so much about my pregnancy with her, except that we had one scare early on, when I had some bleeding around 7 or 8 weeks. The doctor checked my hormone levels a couple times, and reassured me that my numbers were going up and all appeared to be well. I saw my family doctor again, until 20 weeks, and then transferred to the same GP who had delivered Elyse. I had a feeling we were having a boy this time around and really hoped that our 20 week ultrasound would confirm it. However, they couldn't tell us anything at that ultrasound. What?! I thought they could always tell! Around 36 weeks, our doctor said she believed the baby was still breech, and that I should think about what I wanted to do. I could see about having an external cephalic version done, if I wanted. There was no one in the area who would deliver a breech baby vaginally. Well, I was pretty determined to avoid a c-section (again, I remember my mom going through it, and it didn't look like any fun at all!) so I started researching my options. We tried to find a chiropractor who could encourage the baby to turn, but had no luck there. (this is when I found BellyBelly, by the way.) So I told my doctor I'd like to go for a version, if that's what it would take to get this baby head down. Off I went to the "big city" hospital for a consult with the OB there. A resident came and felt my tummy and said, yep, definitely breech. They did an ultrasound to confirm it, and lo and behold, baby was head down. :) Hey - can you tell me what this baby is? Sure, we'll check for you. But just as they were about to check, the computer shut down. I guess we're not supposed to know. Anyways, my due date was December 3, and I figured I'd probably deliver on or close to it, as I had with DD1. But come late November, I was again aching and exhausted, and I didn't want to be pregnant any more! November 26, a Saturday night, I can remember doing dishes at the sink and crying because my back hurt so much and I was so tired. Contractions started that night, or technically, early the next morning. Once again, I woke up to steady, unmistakeable contractions, about 5 min apart, went to the bathroom and noticed bloody show. Yep, it's really happening. Well, since DD1 had arrived in 7 hours, and second babies generally come faster, we figured we'd better hurry! It was about 2am, I believe, when I woke up. By 3am we had DD bundled up and in the car on the way to DH's parents' house. Dropped her off and headed in to the hospital. I think we probably arrived around 3:30, and checked in to the same delivery room as before. Excellent. :) Not nearly so much stuff with us this time - just the essentials. And DH and I started walking the halls again. The nurses encouraged me to rest, since it was the middle of the night, and I was only about 2-3 cm dilated. But I wanted to get things over and done with, so we persisted. Contractions continued, but didn't seem to be intensifying. I tried the shower for a while, which felt wonderful, and sat on the bed rocking and breathing while DH dosed. Around 7am, our doctor came in to see how we were doing. I was about 4-5 cm at this point, and a little disappointed. I figured we'd go much faster than with our first. She offered to break my water, and I asked how she thought things would go after that. I was remembering the pain and panic of DD1's birth, and didn't want to repeat that, if I could! She said she expected that the baby would be here within an hour if she broke my water. Well, that sounded good. But that hour would probably be one heck of a ride. So I said, OK, please break my water, but before you do it, I want that nubain shot! And that's how it went. Once again, they gave me the shot in the leg (that's a really painful shot, by the way!) and then my doctor broke my waters during a contraction, around 7:45. I felt the warm gush, and immediately things picked up. Contractions became close and intense and I moaned and rocked through them. DH was wonderful, holding my hand (brave man! I think I just about crushed it!) and encouraging me. It was just under an hour later when I began to feel like pushing. The nurses checked me, and sure enough I was fully dilated. There was none of the panic and loss of control of last time. Pain, yes, definitely, but I never felt like I was losing it. Again, I didn't feel that strong need to push, so the nurses coached me through, and after about three pushes, our second baby, another beautiful girl, was born, at 8:45 in the morning on Sunday the 27th. Once again, she was laid beside me, and I was feeling too weak and exhausted and shaky to pick her up yet! (a girl?! What happened to my intuition?!) Again, the wonderful warm blankets were brought out, and again, I escaped with only a minor graze. (those do sting though!) My 7lb 10 oz little lady took to nursing immediately, just like her sister, but, unlike her sister, was calm and easy going right from birth. She slept wonderfully our first night, and the nurses left us alone, since this was my second baby. The transition from being a mother of one to being a mother of two was challenging for me - I wasn't used to dividing my time, and DD1 wasn't used to sharing me, but this baby made things as easy on us as she could. After this birth, I knew I could go drug-free if I wanted to, and began to look into midwifery and homebirth for our next baby, whenever he/she would come along.
Name: Marieke Linda, after DH's mom.
Weight: 7lb 10oz
Length: 20.5 inches
Apgars: 9 and 9.
Total Labour: about 7 hours.
Our third baby's birth story, our first home birth, is posted here: https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...r-birth-49801/
