Lara’s Birth Story

Born 10:50 AM March 25, 2007

First Baby to Pete and Larysa

I thought that I would give birth past my “guess date” as my mother and sisters had all been late.  During week 39, I ordered the “Baby Come Out” Hypnobabies CD.  I tried walking, love making, eating pineapple, etc. every few days that week.  All it got me was a bad case of Braxton Hicks contractions that would fizzle out after a few hours.  Little did I know that she would enter this world on her exact due date!

Saturday night I took a nap on the couch, practically the only place where I could fall asleep anymore.  I awoke at 11:30 PM with a contraction.  I thought, “that was weird that a Braxton Hicks would wake me up”.  I found my husband asleep in front of the TV.  He heard me, woke up, and made his way to bed.  I also went to bed to try and get more sleep but it wasn’t possible.  I finally woke Pete up around 1:30 thinking that it may be the real thing!  The contractions were more intense but very manageable. We had planned on staying home as long as possible, so Pete and I tried to cap nap between contractions.  I listened to my hypnobabies CD’s while we laid down in bed.  Eventually I couldn’t lie down anymore, and I stood at the edge of the bed while I leaned on Pete. 

Around 3-4 am, I didn’t want to stay at home anymore.  We were going to a great hospital with a home-like setting in the labor rooms.  Things were more intense (every few minutes) and I wanted to get myself comfortable in the hospital.  Pete called my sister to let her know we were on the way. We packed up the car and drove the 5-10 minutes to the hospital.  Each time I had a contraction I asked (told) Pete to slow down! 

We checked in and I was in a small room while they checked my progress.  I was disappointed to find that I was only 3-4 cm.  This was a small hospital and the nurse mentioned that all the labor and delivery rooms were full.  I did not want to deliver in this tiny, white, small room! Their L&D rooms were so nice.  Luckily, one woman had just delivered and all I needed to do was wait for them to clean up.  I spent the time walking the halls while my husband and sister were there for me while I leaned on them during each contraction. 

The hypnobabies made me calm and focused.  I listened to the Birthing Day Affirmations over and over and over again.  It was my favorite and so positive. 

After a few hours, I realized that the baby was faced the wrong way.  The pain in my back was immense compared to anywhere else.  Pete tried the “belly lift” a few times but to me it felt like it made things worse.  (As I look back, I realize it probably wouldn’t have worked for me anyway.  The baby was always very low and engaged the wrong way.  I will look into other strategies for the next baby).  I tried to get in the tub to relieve the back pressure to no avail.

My husband says that after I got out of the tub (around 7 am), it was like a switch turned on.  When I had previously been cool and collected, I was now a wreck.  I moaned loudly with each contraction and had Pete and my sister press on my back as hard as possible.   I have never felt pain like that in my life.  It was almost like my spine was being bent the wrong way.  Wait…it was!  I tried different positions and sitting on a birth ball.  Eventually I settled to all fours leaning over the headrest of my bed.  At around 9 am I had it.  When they checked my progress I was 7 cm but that wasn’t enough for me.  I asked for the epidural.  Because this was a small hospital, they didn’t have an anesthesiologist in house.  He lived 45 minutes away.  I told them to call him.  Knowing that he would be there is 45 minutes gave me a goal.  I calmed down and focused on each contraction.   They checked me again in 30 minutes and I was ready to push.  I guess I wasn’t getting medication after all! 

I pushed for about 45 minutes.  I found the traditional curled up on your back position to be the most comfortable.  I spent most of my time making deep grunting sounds while pushing but eventually moved to holding my breath and pushing at the end.  I felt like I was ripping my skin open to push her out, but I wanted her out! I ended up getting 2 stitches with two very small tears.  I was very glad I didn’t get the epidural in the end.  It was worth seeing such a healthy, alert baby in my arms.  They put her on my chest as soon as she was born. It was the most amazing feeling and she was so beautiful. She stayed there for a while and we practiced (not very well) breastfeeding.

Pete’s Perspective:

I was watching the elite 8 in the NCAA tourney.  I had special interest because I had picked Kansas to win and actually had a shot of winning a pool I was in going into the weekend.  However, they played like crap and lost.

As Larysa mentioned, I fell asleep downstairs and she woke me up to go upstairs.  After I was asleep for a couple hours Larysa woke me up.  I was not too happy because I had a few beers during the game and would have enjoyed the sleep.  I said, “Just relax, I’m sure it’s not the real thing.”  Larysa gave me quite an evil stare so I woke up and tried to help.

After a couple hours of trying to sleep, while being interrupted by Larysa telling me to do things we finally went to the hospital.    Once we got there they got us into a waiting room and I went to fill out some paperwork.  Since it was 4AM and I was still a little out of it, the paperwork was another fun item on the checklist.  I managed through that, even though I put the wrong date on a couple papers.

I went back into the delivery room and Larysa was doing great.  She continued to stay focused on relaxing and her breathing.  The first 6 hours she was in complete control and this was by far the slowest time of the birth.  I remember thinking, c’mon lets move along here.  After she was dilated about 6cm, things really kicked into high gear.  I was doing a lot more work trying to keep Larysa relaxed and calm.  It was very difficult to see her in such discomfort, and there wasn’t much more I could do.

She got through the birth while giving me a headlock the entire last 2 hours.  Even though my neck was sore for 4 days, it was worth it to help her out.  Larysa did an amazing job and delivered Lara that Sunday Morning.  I remember seeing Lara for the first time and trying to keep back the tears.  She was so beautiful and the whole process was amazing.  The 12 hours were unbelievable and I couldn’t be happier or more proud with my wife. 

From the birth my wife continued to show me how lucky I am.  She proved she is an excellent mother and that she would do anything to provide the best for our family.

Things I was glad I did:

§         Exercise and yoga throughout pregnancy (also the occasional massage)

§         Hypnobabies: although it wasn’t pain free, it made the pregnancy relaxed and made about ½ of the birth very manageable.  I think if I didn’t have the back labor, all I would have felt would have been pressure.

§         Red Raspberry Leaf tea: the last few weeks of pregnancy I had a cup a day.  I had a strong concoction early in labor and one right after the baby was born.  Very few after pains.

§         Perineal massage: I learned what stretching in that area would feel like and I only had 2 very small tears.

§         Birthing in a family centered – natural – small hospital.  They were great!

§         Not getting any drugs (although I would have disagreed with this point during late labor!)

Things to do differently next time:

§         Hypnobabies: practice finger drops and getting myself centered on cue.  This would have been good to practice during Braxton Hicks.

§         Research back labor options: there must be more relief options out there and next time I want to be more prepared.

§         Take more advantage of the nurses in the hospital!  They are there to help and I will have plenty of time to do it all by myself at home.

§         Relax more in the last week or two of pregnancy.  I was so focused on getting birth started that I didn’t appreciate my last few weeks sans baby.

§         Take off work at least a month before the due date.  I only took off 1 week before.  I was so uncomfortable that week that it I really didn’t get to spend time relaxing and getting things done for me.