Written by Christine, to share with all of you!
As requested, however, I just wanted to share a little bit about my birth with you:
Connor Michael was born October 3rd 2011 (about 6 days after my due date) at 2:45am. I started having some small contractions the morning of the 2nd. I took about a 2 hour walk that morning. Then, my husband and I ate a hearty lunch and relaxed while we watch the Steeler’s game. By around 5:30 pm, my contractions were making a regular pattern of about every 5 minutes, so we alerted the Midwives and headed to Magee. When we arrived, I was around 4 cm dilated and very mobile. Upon my request, they released me to walk around the hospital and then check in at around 9pm. By 9, my contractions were becoming more intense as I checked into my birthing suite. Within the next couple of hours, I approached my midwife and told her that my pain was at about a 7, and I was worried because if I was still at 4 cm, and potentially looking at another 12+ hours of labor, I wasn’t sure if I could do it without an epidural. I was starting to feel lethargic.
She checked my cervix and said that I was at 6 cm and that the head was bulging. She told me that I was making excellent progress. I remembered what I had learned in my Lamaze class; most women ask for an epidural around 5 cm, thinking that the pain is at about a 5. However, at that point, the pain is really at about a 7. They have no idea how close they are if they would have just followed through with a natural birth plan. So I didn’t ask for an epidural and just continued to breath in the positions that were most comfortable to me… kneeling with my upper body resting over the bed, doing a supported squat, or relaxing into child’s pose.
When the contractions became more intense, the midwife suggested water therapy and I asked about the hot tub. She said that I was actually the first person to use it in a month, but she immediately had it cleaned out for me. When they placed me in the water, it helped me to relax, and I naturally sat in cross-legged position throughout Transition. With the help of the water, I went from 6/7 cm to 10 in about a half hour. My water broke in the hot tub and I was ready to push. At that point, they took me back to the birthing suite, where I pushed in side lying position. After about 45 minutes of pushing, Connor was born! I remembered your tips from breastfeeding class, and I asked that they not wash Connor’s hands before placing him on my tummy. He came out sucking like crazy on his hands. When they placed him on my belly, it didn’t take much coaxing for him to find my nipple and nurse for about 15 minutes.
Overall, it was a really beautiful birth and it was everything that I could have hoped for. The midwives at Magee and the labor nurses on duty were amazing. My husband was an absolutely phenomenal support person. He even remembered some tricks that I had told him from your class… like to coach me to do “horse lips breath” if whenever he saw my jaw tense up (I have TMJ dysfunction.) Between all of the yoga and my childbirth classes, I felt totally prepared and confident because I was educated about and understood what my body was trying to accomplish… I knew I could TRUST MY BODY AND GO THROUGH THE PROCESS WITHOUT FEAR… which was really my biggest goal above all else.
So that is about it! Thank you for all of your help and I’ll see you with #2 🙂
Many congratulations to Christine on her lovely birth with Connor!
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