Feeling reflective this week, maybe it is because my baby is 3 months, maybe it is because I am uber emotional this week, and maybe just because I always enjoy remembering the birth of all my babies.
This week we are going to do a walk down memory lane with my birth stories of each kid. Starting with Madeline. As some of you might know Darren and I decided to have home births for each of our kiddos so far. We have immensely enjoyed them! While each one had it own story and uniqueness they all had been a joy!
With no further interruption I give you Madeline’s birth story: (Unedited, straight from my sleep deprived day after account) (Katherine is our Midwife :))
Madeline’s Birth Story
Madeline was due August 18th 2013. However, Marissa did not start having labor signs until August 21st. On Wednesday August 21st in the morning Marissa started having some back pain. Marissa and her mom went to water aerobics that morning at 9:30am, yet when they got there Marissa noticed some bleeding so they called the midwife, Katherine Zeiman, to check and see if everything was ok. Katherine had Marissa come into the office at 10:00am to get checked. During the check Katherine said Marissa was almost 3cm dilated, the cervix was soft and ready, the baby was effaced and the blood was ok. Marissa then went to nanny for the Hanbergs, and at 1230 started having time-able back pain. They started out 40 min apart and each lasted between 60-90 seconds. By 2:00pm the back pain was 30 min apart and still 60-90 seconds long. Darren came at 3:30pm to relieve Marissa so she could go home and take a nap. By the time Marissa got home the back pain was between 20-25min apart and still the same length. Marissa was able to nap for about an hour. About 7:30pm the back pain was advancing and was now 15 min apart still lasting 60-90 seconds. Marissa decided it was important for Darren to stop by and get food before coming home, so when Darren got off he stopped by and got food and arrived home about nine. When Darren got home, he noticed that even though Marissa was doing fine the back pain was more intense than he had thought. Marissa tried to eat some pad thai but immediately felt nauseous. By 9:30pm Marissa was feeling the contractions in her abdomen, Darren went into coaching mode to help Marissa relax through the contractions. By 10:30 the contractions were between 5-7 min apart lasting between 55-75 seconds. Shortly after at 11:00pm Marissa and Darren went down stairs to prepare the pool for relaxation. Marissa’s contractions at the point increased in frequency to 4-5 min apart. Between contractions Darren was setting up the pool, filling up water glasses, giving Marissa water and wiping her head with cool cloths, and trying to time contractions to see where we were at. By 12:45am Darren decided to call the Angela who we had hired to be the Doula. Angela arrived at 1:30am to be an extra set of hands and knowledge during the laboring process. When Angela arrived it seemed like Marissa’s contractions had changed in intensity and timing. The contractions were now 2-3 min apart and more intense than before. At 1:55am Angela called Katherine to let her know the progress and have her come to the house. Katherine’s assistant Jessica arrived first around 2:45am, when she got there she immediately noticed that Marissa was having a urge to push and called Katherine to give her a heads up Jessica immediately started organizing supplies to be ready for the birth. When Katherine arrived about 3:00am she check in with Marissa to see if she was really having an urge to push and then checked Marissa cervix to see if it was ok to push. Marissa, Darren and Angela continued coaching through contractions while the team finished setting up. She gave Marissa the green light and we got into a good pushing position on a birthing stool by 3:20am. Katherine’s midwife partner Jill arrived about that time as well. Marissa pushed at this point for about 30 min and Madeline was born at 3:54am. She was put immediately on Marissa’s chest and the birthing team dried her with warm cloths while Marissa was holding her. Madeline found her way to the breast at this peaceful time. Katherine waited until the chord had stopped pulsing to clamp it, Darren then got to cut the chord. The birthing team had Marissa give a few more pushes, then stand up and push one more time and the placenta was born. After some good bonding time and moving to a more comfortable position Madeline was weighed and measured. Madeline weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 20 inches long, her head was 34cm in circumference. Total active labor time 6hrs, 30min of pushing, followed by a beautiful home birth. Marissa tore a little and had 13 stitches however the thought of the stitches was way worse than the stitches them selves, she is way too visual haha
Funny moments:
Pool volume > hot water heater volume = cold pool
Birthing moms favorite word being “sorry!” followed by “sorry sorry sorry!”
Turns out that at 1:00am during labor Marissa actually can squeeze your fingers pretty tight.
No matter how many times people say its ok to call them in the middle of the night you still feel bad when you call them at 1:00am
Katherine arrives and checks Marissa, her reaction goes something like this “oh wow! Look at how far you have come! I don’t know how you are doing this”
Right after birth, Marissa “she is so slippery someone help me!! I need hands, I need hands!”
Marissa tore a little and had 13 stitches however the thought of the stitches was way worse than the stitches themselves, she is way too visual!
Madeline was the most silent little content baby when she came out, breathing just great but not a peep.
