Birth Story #1

My first pregnancy was a very exciting one. I had never experienced pregnancy, so every new "stage" that I entered was an absolute joy to me. I had folks telling me how healthy and energetic I was for being pregnant....What?! Am I supposed to be sick? The only thing that I really dealt with during this pregnancy was low blood sugar and anemia. I had to relearn how and what to eat, making sure that I avoided sweets and increased my protein intake. My midwife also told me to take liquid chlorophyll and eat leafy green salads for my anemia.

I had chosen to have a midwife deliver me, so I went to their clinic for all of my appointments and the birth. When she checked my pelvis for size, she told me I would have no trouble delivering babies. It was all a new experience, but a very enjoyable one. We were hoping for a boy.

The day drew nearer to my due date which was July 31, 1997. I can remember on July 20th...the day of the full moon, hoping to go into labor. That night my husband and I went for a walk, walking up and down hills and such. That didn't work. I was somewhat disheartened but I knew that I wouldn't be pregnant forever.

On Saturday, July 26th, at 4:30 a.m. I woke up to my first contraction. I was excited, but went back to bed...I am not sure how long I slept, but I was able to go back to sleep. I had irregular contractions throughout the day. We were scheduled that day to clean the church, so that's what we did. I would stop for each contraction, but they still weren't regular at that time. My husband had some brush to haul off, so he and I drove separately to my folks house...Yes, with contractions I drove to my parent's house. (O; The contractions had begun to get more regular, but they weren't really strong yet. We had dinner at my parent's house...PIZZA, but I was getting more and more uncomfortable and was only able to eat one piece. I also took a hot bath at their house to help with the pain.

We headed home sometime around 9 or 10 p.m. and I continued to labor at home. I was having some bad back labor, quite painful, but my contractions were still not very close together. I got on all fours to help the back labor. I can remember rocking back and forth on my hands and knees, and having my husband rub my back (around the sacrum). Around 11:30 p.m. or so we decided it was best if we headed to the birthing center, my mom and sister had come over and they followed us there. Yes, we had called the midwife already, so when we arrived she was waiting on us.

I feel very blessed yet today to still have my mother and sister alive. As they were driving to the birthing center, they were nearly hit head on by someone who appeared to be drinking and driving. God was watching over them, for they arrived safely to the birthing center and were not hit by that driver.

We arrived to the birthing center at 12:30 a.m. There my midwife checked me and I was dilated to 4 cm., I still had a long ways to go. I was beginning to get really uncomfortable, so my midwife suggested that I get into the hot tub with jets. That was SOOOOOO relaxing, I absolutely loved the jacuzzi, in fact while I was in there I could hardly tell that I was in labor. But the time did come for me to get out and when my midwife checked me again I was dilated to 9 cm!!!!

I continued to labor in bed, never experiencing transition. At this time the contractions were coming about five minutes apart, and were pretty intense. However, I was sleeping in between my contractions and I remained calm and focused throughout the labor. Normally, I am a high strung individual, but when I am in labor or pain, I become quite calm and controlled. Unusual, I know. (O;

Finally, I was near 10 cm. with just a little lip that the midwife easily pushed out of the way. I was now able to push, and it felt so good to push. I relieved the pressure that I was feeling. I think I began pushing around 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. I pushed for a long time! I was still resting in between contractions nearly falling asleep, but when the contraction came again I would push. I pushed for nearly 2 hours, until the midwife threatened an episiotomy...then I pushed with all my might and the baby began to crown. Once the head was out, the midwife checked for a cord around the neck and the cord was around the neck twice....no wonder I had such a hard time pushing the baby out!!! Once the head was out, I gave a gentle push and out came baby at 6:57 a.m., Sunday morning, July 27th...the day before my birthday! What a great early birthday present!

The midwife had put a warm towel on my tummy and then baby, and my husband came over to reveal to me that we had a son! He weighed 6# 13 ounces and was 22 inches long. Once the cord stopped pulsing, my husband cut the cord. Then the midwife took our baby boy, rubbed in the vernix, and gave him to daddy while I delivered the placenta. When the midwife examined the sack, she made and amazing discovery! My placenta was very large, in fact it was a double placenta and there was a double sack as well. The midwife showed me the sack. The sack that my son was in, a line down the middle, and a sack next to where my son was. TWO SACKS!!! I was amazed and very grateful for the one son that I had. The thought of possibly having twins was quite amazing to me. What an awesome God we have!

I tore a little with the delivery, so the midwife put in a couple of stitches (one's that dissolve). I was able to nurse him almost immediately, but as a first time mother, I struggled to get him to nurse. I stayed at the birthing center for about 4 hours and then was able to go home. I don't remember much when we got home, except when I had to nurse him at about 12:30 a.m. I remember sitting up in bed, Indian style and dreaming that I was feeding my son peas and carrots!!! Oh, what the mind does when you are so exhausted. This feeding he actually seemed to "get it" that is, nursing, finally he was nursing well. I remember that I had struggled all day trying to get him to nurse.

My mom and sister came to visit me the next day, and brought me flowers and a balloon for my birthday. I think I had actually forgotten it was my birthday, but that birthday in particular, I felt very, very, VERY blessed!!! I have received a son from the LORD!!!

Blessings!
Heather