Category: Birth

What’s Your Birth Story, Mom?

Katharine Dutton
 I was due September 13, 2011 with my youngest son. After a few weeks of false labor, I woke up September 12th at 7 am with horrible stomach pain, but I couldn’t time them so I assumed they were just because I ate too much candy the night before thanks to my intense craving for heath bars. My husband told me to call the doctor to be safe and they told me to come down for a checkup. I got in the car with my husband, I was driving as he doesn’t have his license at the moment, and we began our 30 minute drive to the doctors office. I had been checked a few days before and was only 1 cm dilated.About halfway there the pain became noticeably worse and could be timed to every 3 minutes, but I had to keep driving. Somehow I was able to drive through the contractions to the doctors office who told me I was now 3 centimeters and in active labor and sent me to the hospital. I labored at the hospital for about 8 hours when the doctor came in to check me and told me I was about 7 centimeters but it would be awhile so just to relax. A half hour later I told my husband to go get the nurse because I felt like I had to push. The nurse came in telling me I wasn’t ready to push that I still had awhile before I would be 10 centimeters. My husband insisted on having the doctor come check. When the doctor checked I was more than ready to push and the staff started rushing to get things ready for my son to enter the world. 6 minutes after I began pushing, Colton Albert Dutton arrived at 5:01 pm on September 12, 2011.

What’s Your Birth Story, Mom?

Alicia Dixon

The birth of Emily Rose 24/6/2012 

After my 41 week prenatal appointment, I felt anxious and pressured. I’d just tried to have a rational discussion with my obstetrician as to why I would not consent to induction and it was made clear that I was stubborn and irresponsible in her eyes. 
I went home to go over my affirmations, particularly the one about only my baby knowing when it was the right time to arrive, and I edited a picture of my very pregnant belly with the quote “who would think of tearing open the chrysalis as the butterfly is emerging” . I also reassured my baby that I was very ready to meet her, and decided to relax in a clary sage bath before bed.

4am the next morning I awoke with those very familiar surges that were coming around 8 mins apart and decided to get up and sit in the lounge.
By 7am I told my partner to go to work but be on call because I was pretty sure this was it. ( we had plenty of pre labour from my due date onwards but this felt differently)
I managed well on my own until he returned from work at about 3, by which time the surges were around 5 mins apart. I decided to call my sister and started to work out care for my older girls. At about 4.30pm I decided to go to the hospital to check things out.

Once I got in the car everything stopped. No more surges just a very tired mum and the midwife at the hospital confirmed what I was dreading. I was only 1cm. I wasn’t even in labour although it felt very similar to my other two labours. The midwife offered a stretch and sweep and although I had been against them due to being positive strep b I agreed. I was sent home but was back again by 1am with waves coming on ontop of another. Another examination revealed 1 was at 5cm, so I leant over the bed rocking my hips for about 20 mins. 

When I announced that I wanted to push the midwife asked me to climb on the bed so she could see where we were at but as soon as I lay down my body took over and started pushing. It was unreal that I could not stop even if I had to! I decided that lying down was uncomfortable and climbed off the bed in a effort to get into a better position which I thought was all fours, but once standing my body took over once again And 20 mins later Emily rose came into this world weighing 4.78kg, 52cm long and a 37cm head! No pain relief, no tears no stitches just an amazing feeling of accomplishment! Apgars were 9 and 9 and my big alert princess snuggled in eagerly for a feed for the next hour or so ( and hasn’t really stopped since!)

I really am a firm believer that babies come when they are good and ready and that unless there are medical issues your body won’t produce a baby too big for you to birth. I think the main thing to remember that normal birth is not a flawed process and with a little trust and surrender our bodies will do what they were made to do!

What’s Your Birth Story, Mom?

Briana Alessandrini

My first baby (Izabella) went so well 15mins pushing, no pain, very easy so when i got pregnant with a second I didn’t think anything of it. As time went on i got to 19weeks woke up one morning and was bleeding, being worried I went to the hospital where they told me its normal nothing is wrong. So for the next couple weeks i kept on bleeding unsure of what was happening but knowing in my heart something was not right. One morning as im getting breakfast ready for my daughter I noticed what i thought was juts pee as the day went on it kept happing, again not thinking nothing of it cause the hospital told me I was fine don’t worrie. When my husband came home I brought it up to him and showed him what was happing, he got very worried and before I knew it I was back in the hospital where they told me my water had broke. At this time i was only 24 weeks and unsure my son would make it. I stayed in the hospital for two weeks hooked to monitors all day and night, then one night i was playing go fish with my husband and it happened! Nurse and doctors came rushing in telling me my sons heart had stopped and before i knew it i was in the or being put under. Logan was born at 1pound 7ounces 3months premature stayed in the NCIU for 3 months then came home! Now he is almost 1 and 13 n half pounds!!He crawls and gets around just find and is now learning sign language!!

What’s Your Birth Story, Mom?

Sherry Blamer

On october 29 i started having contractions. so me and my fiance drove to the hospital we were gonna deliver at. we got there too early so i had to walk around to dialte to a 3. then after we checked in i walked the room we stayed in laboring. at four in the morning at 7 centimeters opted for an epidural. i really wanted an all natural birth though suffered a tail bone injury the month before and it didnt help. even though it wasnt in my plan 10 hours later i had a beautiful baby girl on october 30 at 1:15 pm weighing 8 pounds 8 ounces and 21 inches.

What’s Your Birth Story, Mom?

Sabrina Schieber

i was in labor since saturday may 5th, 2012. the hospital wouldnt admit me because my contractions were irregular. it was monday may 7th when my water broke. i had just sat down in the kitchen and once i asked my mother-in-law what was for dinner i felt a chill and then my water broke, that was at 4:50pm. i was scared. i called my husbad, who was out of town, and told him it was time. his mother drove me to the hospital. when i was finally admitted it was 5:40pm. my contractions were still irregular so they gave me the medicine to get it to speed up. i decided to get into the jet tub and once i did my contractions started to become regular. i handled them pretty well until around 11pm when i got the epidural. by 4:50 i was pushing. i wasnt very nice during it. but at 5:40pm tuesday may 8th 2012 i had given birth to my son tavis alexander schieber. he weighed in at 9lbs 10oz. 21.25” long and his head was 14”. im glad to have my tas manian devil.

What’s Your Birth Story, Mom?

Anne Barr

My twin 1s (Hollie) waters broke at 29 weeks exactly, followed by labour, the doctors managed to stop it and discharged me the next day. At 30 weeks exactly twin 2s (Georgia) waters broke but no labour. On the 14th of Janurary 12 I woke at 5.30am ready to push, when we got to hospital the monitors told the doctors I was in false labour as the contractions weren’t strong enough. They said they would monitor me till 5pm then send me back home to my other 2 children. At 3pm i started to doze so my partner went for a coffee only to come back and find me panicked. He got the midwofe who finally agreed to check me, Hollies bum (she was breech) was on its way! Because she was breech I had to consent to a c section and take all the pre meds. When it came to go the doctor asked me if I would like to deliver naturally which I was over joyed about but the condition was it had to be in the surgical delivery suite due to both babies positions. When we got up there I thought I could finally push but we had to wait for the NICU staff and travel incubators to arrive which took 45 mins. Once they arrived so did Hollie at 4.30pm weighing 2lb 15oz and she screamed!! We didn’t think they would be able to cry as they were so early so it took me especially by surprise and made me cry. I didn’t get to see her or hold her but my partner took a pic for me. Georgia was still up in my robs transverse and was not moving for anyone, she was clearly comfy! The doctor pushed her down and turned her round which although uncomfy wasnt painful, it took half an hour to do it but she still wasn’t coming to meet us. It got to the 45 minute mark and doctor said it was c section time so I asked for another 15 minutes as she wasn’t distressed and he agreed. She wasn’t budging so he tried breaking what little waters she had left and Georgia arrived at 5.30pm weighing 3lb 1oz. She didn’t cry like Hollie as she needed a little help breathing and because of that I didn’t get a picture of her either. It was scarey giving birth that early but the birth itself was perfect given the circumstances. They are both now happy 6 month olds xxxxx

What’s Your Birth Story, Mom?

Jessica & Jenavecia

The first time we met.

I was so anxious for her to arrive that I went to the hospital twice thinking I was in labor once a week before my due date and then again 2 days after- since I was already there, I asked if I could go ahead and be induced but, of course not. My due date was December 16, 2011. I had been 1 centimeter dialated and 50% effaced for 2 weeks prior to my due date which made me think she was almost here. Little did I know, that I would be wating another week and a day past my due date to see her.

Before inducing labor.

On Friday December 23rd, 2011 at 5 o’clock a.m., I was set to call L&D to see if there were any available beds for me to be induced. My fear was that I would have to wait even longer. I let out a sigh of relief when the nurse told me to come on in at 8:30 a.m. 3 more hours wasn’t too bad. I had already taken my shower so, I ate and made sure everything was packed (which it was because I had packed everything almost a month prior). It came time to leave so, we dropped our pup off at my parents’ house to play while we would be away and then headed to registration.

Me, Bill, and my mother sat in the waiting room for a good 30 minutes. We were then joined by my uncle todd who made the wait shorter with his jokes. When the check-in lady called me she called out for “the pregnant lady” to come to her station because the guy at the desk forgot to get my name. After being registered, I was wheeled up to the room and passed my cousin Leticia getting off her shift, I believe it was L&D #2. I had two nurses because one was trainng to work in L&D. The nurse named Jo called me sweet little pet names a lot when I was in there.

After all the poking and prodding, they were instructed to administer my pitocin around 9 a.m. I was still 1 cm but, about 70% effaced at the start. The pain wasn’t too bad at first, just a little uncomfortable. Only an hour or so into it, I asked for the drugs but, we saved the good stuff for later. I had contractions for a few hours and they checked me every hour with no progression. Granny Vonn visited around this time.

So, around noon my contractions were strong enough that Dr. Johnson wanted to put the balloon in there to open my cervix. After about 4 hours, I had dialated to 5 cm and still 70% effaced. She did not want to break my water yet because Jena’s head was not pressing on my cervix and she did not want her umbilical cord to come before her or get tangled.

In hopes that Jena would drop lower, I decided to go ahead with the epidural around 5 p.m.The anethesiologist was great and it went smoothly. Around this time, Jimmy, Ted, Kay, and then Bill’s mother Hope and Deanna visted us. Around 7 p.m. Dr. Johnson checked me again and found that she had dropped a little so, she decided to go ahead and break my water. It was the weirdest feeling ever.Leticia had visited again before her next shift.

Every hour I was being checked and nothing had changed except the severity of the contractions, they were full force and I should have progressed. At 11 p.m. the Dr. asked me if I would like to go ahead and have a c-section or wait an hour to see if I progress. At this time, Jena’s heart rate dropped for the first time and only time. She gave me a few minutes to decide.

I decided that I could wait no longer. After making this decision, I felt a lot of pain caused by the fear of the surgery. I think my epidural had worn off and I felt the full blow of contractions as I was being prepared to go to OR and as I was being wheeled there, I felt like I was going to die.

As I was placed in the hallway of the OR, I felt worse. At this time, Bill had to go outside to get some fresh air and let the door shut behind him so he was locked out and had to run all the way around the building and find his way back. As he was getting scrubbed out, it was time for me to go into the OR. As soon as I entered that room, I told them I was nervous and then composed myself and the pain lessened so I could get my spinal tap. They let me get up and sit on that small table. As I my epidural was being removed and being replaced with a spinal tap, the staff attached arm rests to the side of the table. I felt like I was about to be crucified as I layed down.

Apparently, they were pinching me really hard and asking me if I felt it and I didn’t so went ahead with the surgery. It was weird because I couldn’t feel or move my legs. They strapped my arms down just incase I felt the urge to move them, they also put massaging things on my legs for circulation. Bill came in and sat by my head, when he entered they had already started so, he saw stuff. He didn’t pass out! That’s an accomplishment for him because he is sissy about blood and needles. I didn’t feel them cut me open. The only thing I felt was them pushing on me and pulling Jena out.

Apparently, Jena still did not want to come out of there. Bill said the nurse was pushing all of her weight down on my chest as the Dr. was oulling her out. I could hear her little wails before they had even taken her out. I knew she wasn’t out yet because I heard them talking about how big she was and how she was being stubborn. At 12:42 a.m. on Christmas Eve she was born. They had finally got her out and I could hear her cries, which weren’t very loud at all.

Finally!

The nurses wiped her off, weighed her, wrapped her up, put a tobbogin on her, and brought her to Bill and I. We both kissed her and they took her off to finish her stuff. Bill had to leave before they put me back together and sewed me up and he looked again and I won;t describe what he saw but, he still didn’t pass out. I was taken off the table and put on a bed.
This was now my time to rest. I was taken to a post-op room and was the only one in there. Here I would be monitored until I could move my toes again. This only took about an hour or so. They changed my gown and stuff. Then I was wheeled to my room where they broght Jena to me a few minutes later.

The first time that I had attempted to feed her, she latched on immediatley.After eating, she was taken to get her first bath. Bill was good about holding her and getting her when it was time to eat. She only left our room to check-in for shift changes and tests. She stayed with us a lot because she was breastfeeding and I didn’t want her to go. As soon as it was time to get her, I had Bill go get her when the nurse would allow it. Only one or two times did they force me to let her stay in the nursery so I could rest; the percocet and motrin helped a lot.

After a whole day, it was time to get out of bed and walk around. A lot of family and friend came to hold Jena. From my side it was of course my parents, Granny Vonn, Papa, Aunt Geaorgia and Diane, Uncle Mike and Aunt Christa, Leticia, Aunt Paula and the boys, and Uncle Danny. From Bill’s side it was his Mom, Aunt Tracee, Aunt Dana, Kay, Kellee, Deanna, and Ted. But, Bill’s brother, Jimmy, was the first. Of our friends, Karleen visited first and called my mom a baby hog and the came back later with her boyfriend Matt. Chris, Kevin, Amber, and Sarah also visited. an old friend from high school, Chelsea, took Jena’s blood from her foot.
By Monday December 26th, I was ready to leave. We had missed Christmas but, we didn’t mind. We had our own Christmas at the hospital and a special present, Jenavecia Yvonne Johnson.

What’s Your Birth Story, Mom?

Katie Sneed

I have 2 beautiful daughters, a 3 year old named Kylie Lynn, and a 2 month old named Lorraina Hope. After a total of 7 pregnancies (including one ectopic that required emergency surgery, and the removal of my left tube) they are the only living babies I have.
I had/have a hormonal disorder, where when I would get pregnant my progesterone level would raise like it was supposed to, just long enough for me to get to about 8-10 weeks or so with each pregnancy and then it would drop back down causing me to miscarry. But every doctor I went to couldn’t figure out what was wrong, until I went to Dr. Riggan.
He put me on progesterone supplement pills until I was 22 weeks with my daughter Lorraina. If it wasn’t for him, I would have had one more pregnancy with one less baby.
I worried every minute of every day of my pregnancy, even all the way up to 35 weeks, thinking that something was going to go wrong.
Finally, I was 39 weeks, going to the hospital to be induced. Still worried of course, but it had subsided quite a bit. I was in labor for 13 and a half hours when finally it was time to push. As soon as her head was out, my husband was getting ready to cut the cord, but the doctor had to cut it because it was wrapped around her neck. At first I wasn’t too worried because I know that that kind of thing happens, but after he cut the cord and she was out, she wasn’t crying and was quite limp. Even after the doctor shook her, trying to get some sound out of her but nothing came. So the nurses took her over to the bed and rubbed her down and sucked her mouth out, all the while, I’m looking over at her, praying to God that she would breathe. When finally, I heard that first cry, and the weight of the world was lifted off of my heart.
She is now 2 months old, weighing 11 pounds 13 ounces, and in the 90% on her weight, happy and healthy.