BirthWise Maternity Care, LC

Gentle Births Happen at Home    

The Birth of Adrina Teresa

On Wednesday, May 26th I started having small, off and on backaches.  I told my husband that I might be in labor about 11:00 that night and went to bed hoping this was the real thing.  I got a couple of hours of sleep before the contractions started waking me up.  I timed them and they ranged from about 5-10 minutes apart and lasted anywhere from 30-45 seconds.  They weren’t too bad, but laying in bed seemed more uncomfortable so I went and leaned over the back of the couch which felt much better.  I was then able to doze a little between the contractions.  By 3:00 am the contractions were 5-6 minutes apart and I decided to call our midwife, Heather, to let her know things had started.  She said it indeed sounded like I was in labor and to call her again when I wanted her to come over.

             I tried to get some more sleep in bed, but it was getting harder to relax and I had to start concentrating more through the contractions.  I lost all sense of time around this point, but I woke up my husband and he started inflating the birth tub.  Soon the sun was up and I told my husband to call Heather and have her come over.  It was getting very difficult to get comfortable now and I was only experiencing the contractions in my back.

             When Heather arrived I felt very relieved and almost cried I was so happy to see her.  Her massages were wonderful and it was easier to relax.  I tried several different positions while laboring at this time:  in a rocking chair, on the toilet, in the tub and on the bed.  Heather decided to check me to see how things were going.  My cervix was still thick  and I wasn’t very dilated.  She also said it felt like the baby’s head was tilted to one side.  Heather had me walk up and down the stairs to help wiggle the baby’s head into position.  It actually felt fairly good to walk up and down the stairs, but I continued to have back labor.

             Heather decided to go home for a while.  During that time I got in the jacuzzi which was very nice.  I stayed in there for about an hour, wile my husband brought me drinks and played the piano, which I found very relaxing.

             When I got out of the jacuzzi, my husband was able to get soup down me, but my contractions soon got worse and everything came back up.  I talked to my mom over the phone and she helped me breath and focus more, but I lost that when we hung up so I told my husband to call Heather back over.

             When Heather got there she had me do some more exercises to help the baby get into position, but my back labor still continued.  My back started hurting so bad that I was having a very difficult time relaxing.  This is the time when my dear husband stepped up and became an amazing birthing companion.  He became very helpful and supportive.  I only wanted to hang on to him and Heather seemed to know this because she stepped out of the room.

             I then felt the need to take a hot shower.  Luckily my husband had just fixed our water heater, which made our shower have high water pressure if you turned it all the way on.  I finally was able to get some relief, if only for several contractions.

             When I got out of the shower I felt water gushing and told Heather my water had broken.  She checked me and said I still had the bag of waters bulging at the baby’s head, but it could have broken up higher.  My cervix was now very thin and I was at 5 cm.

             Within the next couple contractions the rest of my water broke with a huge gush.  After that my contractions changed a bit.  I got into the birthing tub and suddenly realized that the “breathing down” I had learned in my Hypnobirthing class took the pressure off my back.  I quickly went from 5 cm to 10 cm within the hour.  I felt the urge to push before I was complete, but only had to breathe through a couple of contractions before my cervix was gone.

             Pushing was intense, but much better than laboring.  My husband was still being the perfect birth companion, telling me how strong I was and that my body knew what to do and to go with it.

             My favorite pushing position was in a hands-and-knees position in the tub.  I would also lean over the side of the tub and hold onto my husband.  I also tried a sitting position, but didn’t like it as much.  Heather was very good at trying to get me into different positions and was respectful when I would say no.

             After a little over an hour of pushing, my beautiful daughter was born at 12:32 am on May 28, 2004.  It was very encouraging and exciting when I was able to reach down and feel her headful of hair when she was crowning.  I fell in love instantly and am very glad I had a homebirth!  I was very close to giving up right before my water broke.  I even told my husband to hit me over the head and give me a c-section after one really strong contraction, but I did it!  I owe Heather and my husband for giving me the perfect homebirth I wanted.