Elli’s Birth Story

(spent a portion of her birthing time at her sister's rehearsal dinner!)

Well, I figured I'd better get to writing Elli's birth story, or
I'll forget most of the details. So, here's the story of Danielle's
birth. I apologize in advance for the length... I'm a very detail
oriented person and didn't want to leave anything out. :)

Monday, May 22, 2006 I went to see Dr. Savage for my 36 week
appointment. She said everything looked great, I was dilated a
little more than 1 cm, and I was 50% effaced. However, the baby
wasn't head down yet. She wasn't too concerned and said we'd just
wait to see how the baby was positioned at the next appointment
before we worried about what actions to take.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 I went to my 37 week appointment. This time I
was 3 cm and 80%, and the baby was in a perfect anterior vertex
position. Dr. Savage noted that my cervix felt very soft and
speculated that once my surges started, this would be a fast
birthing. She also said she wouldn't be surprised to see me in the
hospital before my next appointment. I was hoping to hold off a few
more days, though. My sister, Lindsay, was getting married on
Thursday and I just wanted to make sure I made it to the wedding and
the reception.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006 Dave woke up a little… um, playful, and I
indulged him, figuring it would probably be the last time for a
while. Later in the morning I lost a good portion of my mucus plug
and noticed some light pink spotting. I didn't really pay much
attention to that because the same thing happened with Kathryn three
full weeks before she was born. I went to a different appointment at
3pm. For the hour I was in that appointment I thought I recognized 5-
6 surges. I didn't think too much about them because they weren't
really that strong and they were covering a very small area. I only
felt tightening very low, in the front. I had to leave my meeting
early to pick up Dave from work by 4:30. During the half hour drive
to his work, I felt another 2-3 surges, and another one started as
he got to the car. I told Dave what I'd been feeling and made him
drive, in case they started getting stronger. We decided not to
worry about them for the time being because if I had calculated
correctly, the surges were about 12 minutes apart and not intense
enough to keep us from going to my sister's rehearsal dinner.

We left Dave's work and drove 40 minutes to my sister's apartment
where we were planning on meeting everyone before the dinner. When
we arrived, I lay down on the couch for a while to see if the surges
would stop. They weren't getting any stronger or any closer
together, so I figured they were probably just brought on by stress
and if I relaxed they'd go away. I also went to the bathroom while
we were there and lost the rest of my mucus plug, along with more
blood. By the time we left Lindsay's apartment around 6:30pm I was
pretty sure the surges were increasing in frequency but not
intensity. I didn't really want to time the surges but I was pretty
sure they were about 8-9 minutes apart.

We got to the rehearsal dinner just before it started at 7pm. I
quickly found the bathroom (right outside our banquet room!) and lay
down on a couch in there for a few minutes. I really wanted to enjoy
dinner and be there with my family, so I got my light switch to
center and went to join the party. During dinner, I had to make
several trips to the bathroom. My digestive system had started to
flush itself in preparation for the birth. By now, I knew this was
really IT, but I still wanted to stay for the dinner, and I was sure
I still had time.

Dinner ended by 8:30 and people started to mingle. I told my parents
we were leaving and heading to the hospital. They offered to take
Kathryn and bring her down later that night or the next day. We
gratefully accepted their offer and headed for the car. During the
drive back down to Provo, I listened to one of the birthing day
guides on my MP3 player, and Dave timed my surges. I would touch his
arm whenever one would start and whenever one would end. He then
called out how long each one was and how long between the beginnings
of surges. By now they were 2-4 minutes apart and 40-60 seconds
long. Dave said I seemed really calm. He said he thought I'd fallen
asleep and that when he looked down at me, even during the surges,
he thought I looked really peaceful.

We got to the hospital about 9:30 (good thing I'd thought to bring
our hospital bags!!). Dave grabbed the hospital bag and then helped
me out of the car. I had two surges between the car and the
elevator. I just stopped Dave and leaned my head on his shoulder
while I focused on staying in center and on directing my anesthesia.
The nurses checked me in and had me change into the hospital gown.
The nurse did a pelvic exam about 9:45 and said I was 5 cm and 90%.
I was so relieved that the surges I had been feeling were actually
doing something. The nurse finished asking a bunch of questions,
most of which I let Dave answer for me, and left the room for a
minute. By now it was 10:00 pm. Dave said he had to go to the
bathroom and that he'd be right back. I felt another surge start and
told him to wait, but I said it so quietly that he didn't hear me.
During that surge I felt a pop followed by a gush of fluid. I don't
remember the rest of that surge at all. I'm pretty sure that the
HypnoBabies affirmations I had listened to had really programmed my
brain to feel a rush of anesthesia when my membranes released. I
wasn't consciously thinking about that at the time, but as soon as I
felt the pop, I didn't feel any more of that surge.

The nurse came back in the room a minute later and I told her that
my membranes had released. She said she wasn't surprised and checked
the color of the fluid. Dave called my parents and his parents to
update them and let them know we'd be having a baby in a few hours.
I told the nurse I wanted to sit on a birthing ball as soon as
possible. She said she'd have someone bring one in and I could get
on it as soon as she got my IV started (I was GBS + and had to have
the antibiotics). In the meantime, she asked another nurse to come
in and help her get the room ready for delivery. Dave was really
surprised at this and commented that with our first baby we'd been
in the hospital for 12 hours before they prepped the room. The
second nurse explained that because this was my second un-medicated
birth and my membranes had already released, they were all expecting
a baby very soon. That comment really encouraged me. The surges had
started to get more intense and it was becoming harder to focus.
Knowing that they were really accomplishing things helped me relax a
bit more.

The first nurse finished with the IV and I moved to sit on the ball
and put my head on the bed. Unfortunately, the bed wasn't locked in
place and it rolled away from me when I first leaned against it.
Dave locked it for me and made sure I was in a comfortable position.
I complained that I was cold (the nurse apologized for the
antibiotics being cold) and Dave put a blanket around my shoulders.
He also began to massage my neck and shoulders with our massage oil.
I kept telling him things to say and do to help me relax. I told him
to use the "relax" cue and to "take me to my special place." As the
nurse left she told Dave to get them if I felt anything was
changing. During the next surge, I thought I felt kind of "pushy." I
wasn't sure though so I didn't say anything. Two or three surges
later I felt the same thing only stronger. I told Dave to get the
nurses because I thought I needed to push. I also told him that my
head was really hot and I needed a cold compress. He got the nurse
and dampened a paper towel for my head. The nurse came in and had me
climb on the bed so she could check me. I was only 8 cm, but she
told me to stay on the bed because she didn't want gravity to help
at this point. She said the doctor was on her way but we needed to
give her time to get there. (10:30pm at this point) I did my best to
avoid pushing because I really didn't want my cervix to swell.
However, within two surges my body started bearing down on its own.
Whoever compared this feeling to food poisoning was dead on. I
honestly couldn't stop my body from pushing my baby out. These two
surges were the worst to deal with. I didn't want to be on the bed,
but I couldn't move by myself. I asked Dave to hold me and he leaned
down and put his arms around me. I actually sobbed into his shoulder
while I tried to focus on getting through each surge. I vaguely
remember Dave talking to me the whole time, I was aware that he was
describing my special place for me and in-between surges I was
briefly able to visualize what he was saying.

Right about this time (around 10:40pm) the resident doctor came in
and began to introduce himself, explaining that he would deliver my
baby if my doctor didn't make it in time. All I could say was that I
needed to push. The nurse quickly checked me and said I was complete
and at a +2 station. One nurse began to help the doctor get his
smock and gloves on while the other nurse watched me bear down
during the next surge and then called out that the head was
crowning.

The doctor finished getting ready and got in position to catch the
baby. Just then I felt what must have been the "ring of fire." I
thought the doctor was trying to pull the baby out or something
because everything felt SO tight. I said "ouch" and tried to slap
the doctor's hand away. Dave told me later that the doctor hadn't
even touched me. I also told the doctor not to cut me, he promised
he wouldn't. I was so concerned about tearing that I decided to just
let my body do all the work and not force it. It took an incredible
amount of self-control to wait for the next surge, which seemed to
take forever (probably only a minute or two). When the next surge
came, I allowed my body to bear down on its own and the head was
born. The cord was around the baby's neck so the doctor quickly
pulled it off and suctioned everything out. The rest of the body
slid out easily with the next surge and the doctor put our beautiful
daughter on my stomach. I noticed that the doctor was preparing to
cut the cord on his own and I managed to say something like "Dave…
cord… Dad cut." The doctor looked at Dave and told him it was kind
of slimy. Dave said he didn't care and took the scissors from the
doctor.

I got to hold my baby for a few minutes before the nurses insisted
on taking her. They were concerned about her breathing because the
cord had been around her neck. My doctor walked in while the nurses
checked the baby. She said she'd come as quick as she could but
hadn't expected that I would be THAT fast. She apologized for not
making it in time. I didn't mind… we hadn't exactly given her much
notice.

I had torn slightly, but it only required a stitch or two, much
better than my tear from my first. After the placenta had been
delivered and the doctor stitched me up, everyone left the room and
left Dave and I alone with our new precious daughter. I was able to
nurse for a minute or two on each side and we got to enjoy our new
baby for an hour or so before family started showing up and before
they moved me to recovery.

So, Danielle was born at 10:53pm on Wednesday, May 31, 2006, exactly
one year and one day after her older sister. She was 6 pounds 5
ounces and 18 inches long. I didn't actually get to finish the
HypnoBabies course. I got a little behind and was supposed to finish
the first week in June. However, HypnoBabies definitely helped get
through my birthing. I know I didn't practice nearly enough, but I
could tell that the practice I had done really had trained my
subconscious. The pregnancy affirmations were especially helpful. I
wish I'd been able to listen to the birthing day affirmations, but I
didn't want to start that until my sister's wedding was over, for
fear it would start my birthing time. As it turns out, I wasn't able
to attend my sister's wedding anyway. Little Danielle came on her
birthday, and not when anyone else wanted her to come. Oh well, Dave
was able to attend the wedding and he took a video camera to the
reception and filmed a lot of it for me. I was able to see the first
dance, the cake cutting, all the speeches, the bouquet toss, and the
drive off into the sunset.

Anyway, HypnoBabies definitely helped me relax during the first 7
hours of surges. The last hour was infinitely more intense than the
first 7 and much more intense than anything I'd experienced with my
first baby. However, because I was able to relax so well during the
first seven hours, I was well rested and though at times the last
hour was agonizing, I never thought to ask for drugs and I never
doubted that I would be able to handle the pressure. I also feel
that HypnoBabies gave me the "okay" to walk, talk and keep my eyes
open during the birthing. This made it so much easier to ask for
what I needed (cold compress, blanket, birthing ball, etc…). I
actually felt a little demanding. Dave said that he didn't mind
being ordered around because he felt like he was doing something to
help, and he definitely wasn't bored. I had my headphones around my
neck the entire time we were at the hospital, but I never actually
put them on. I just wanted to hear Dave's voice at that point.
Overall, I wish I'd practiced more diligently. Now that I have the
HypnoBabies home study, I'll be able to start much earlier next
time, and I'm sure I'll be more prepared.

I love being a mom!!!

Emily
Mommy to Kathryn, our "Ryncess" 5/30/05
& Danielle, our "Elli-roo" 5/31/06