Goody

Goody's Birth Story

On Friday the 6th, which was to be my last day of work at the
office, I left early because things were slow, and my husband wanted
me to go out to dinner with him. We walked to the restaurant because
I had mentioned to him that I would like him to start going on
evening walks with me every day until the baby was born. We had a
nice dinner, I ate a huge prime rib and baked potato, which surprised
me because I didn't even think I was hungry! Then, right in the
middle of dinner, I had to excuse myself for an *immediate* bowel
movement. That really should have clued me in to what was coming,
because I am normally very regular in that department. After the
walk home from dinner, we settled in for a night at home, only I
couldn't really "settle". I listened to most of a Hypnobabies
session (I can't remember which one), but got up instead to do some
straightening around the house. About 10:30, I was overwhelmed by
the desire to bathe our yellow lab, but my husband talked me
into "waiting until tomorrow". So at about 11:00, I went to sleep on
the couch, since lately I had been unable to sleep comfortably in the
bed.

At 12:42, I woke up and looked at the clock, and remember
thinking, "Oh good, I can have the baby now. I'm officially on
maternity leave." And then went back to sleep. At around 2:30,
something woke me up. I remember just feeling a sense of urgency,
like I have to get up now! And when I stood up (probably the fastest
I've gotten out of bed in months), my water broke and poured down my
legs. I checked the color and smell, all clear! I cleaned myself up
in the bathroom and went to wake my husband. He was a little
disoriented at first, ready to leave right then! I calmed him down a
little and asked him to pack the rest of the stuff in the bag. Once
my water broke I started feeling what I guessed were pressure waves.
They were very mild, just a tightening sensation, and were coming
every 3 minutes, and lasting about 30 seconds. I called the midwife
and she suggested waiting until the intensity level changed. So I
took a shower and then laid down on the bed again. Not 5 minutes
after the shower, the intensity level did change. I had 2 big surges
in a row, and the second one was accompanied by a twinge of push
urge. So I called the midwife back and we agreed to head to the
birthing center, a 25 minute drive from our house. I listen to the
birth day affirmations on the drive. I remember being more concerned
about my husband speeding than anything else, and told him several
times, please don't go too fast. The ride seemed to take no time at
all.

When I arrived at the birth center at about 4:30 AM, I changed
into a nightgown and the midwife checked me. I was already at 7,
almost 8 centimeters! This was going to be a breeze. I breathed
through some waves on the bed and tried to listen to the rest of the
birth day affirmations, but decided to jump on to the easy first
stage, since that stage was almost over! After a while, the midwife
suggested the tub, and I thought that sounded like a good idea. I
really did feel wonderful in there, the be weightless in the water.
It was sort of a physical version of how the Hypnobabies sessions can
make me feel. During each wave, I would turn my switch "off" and
just float through each one. After a little while, I decided to get
out, and this is where things get a little blurry. I remember the
waves getting more intense, and then I started asking questions
like "when do I get to the pushing part?" and then I started throwing
up. I remember thinking, this must be transition. But then it just
kept going, and going. So different than the first stage. Finally,
the midwife suggested letting her check me and I agreed. I was at
9+, practically complete, but she said she could feel a bulge in the
bad of waters. I remember thinking that what strange since my water
had already broken, and each vomiting session was accompanied by a
gush of fluid. But, hey, she'd done this before and this was my
first time. She suggested that if she could rupture the bulge with
the amni-hook that it would probably get things rolling again. I
agreed. She stayed inside me trying to rupture the bag during 3
waves, which were now coming virtually on top of one another.
Finally, amidst my pleading for her to stop, I saw a look of
realization come across her face. Then she said it. It's not
membranes, it's a bottom. The baby was Frank breech.

She said that we're going to do a hospital transfer, as her
practice does not deliver breech babies. I asked her what were they
going to do, and she answered 99.9% of the time they do a C-section. I said
ok, and stood up to let my husband dress me. It didn't even cross my
mind to be upset. At this point, whatever is best for the baby took
over, and I knew she wasn't going to come out the way she was
turned. I already had the suspicion that something wasn't quite
right before I knew she was breech. At this point, the waves were
getting to be unbearable, and the 5 minutes ride to the hospital was
not a fun one.

Once inside, which they tell me was at about 7:30 AM, I was whisked away to labor and delivery. I had to ride backwards in the wheel chair because the pressure waves wouldn't cease. Just one after the other. It was all a big whirlwind of nurses giving orders
and bright lights and forms to sign, but it all happened so fast. I remember
being so relieved that the doctor on call was my normal OB/GYN, I had
switched from her to the midwife once I knew my pregnancy was normal
(another long story). She is a wonderful, caring doctor and very
respectful of natural childbirth. Anyway, before I knew it the
epidural was in, and the surgery had begun. At 8:13 A.M., they
pulled little Goody Pearl from inside me as my husband watched. She
weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. It was all over
in less that 6 hours from waking. What a night!

I spent the next 2 days rooming in at the hospital with Goody while
I recovered. I had declined anti-biotics for Group B strep, so they
were insistent on watching her as well, although they did not insist
that she receive any anti-biotics unless she showed signs of
infection. We are both home now; Goody is healthy and back up to
her birth weight and I am recovering nicely. I know I still have
some issues about the birth to deal with. But for the most part I am
okay. I have the most precious part, my little girl. I can't imagine having gone through this without the peace and calm state of mind that Hypnobabies allowed me to have. Nearly the entire first phase of childbirth was pain-free. I honestly believe that had she not been
breech, Goody would have come into the world via a completely pain-
free experience. Thank you Hypnobabies and to everyone who answered any of my
questions during this pregnancy. I'll be back for the next baby!

Kandy