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Gwendolyn's Birth

Hi Ladies- Here's my birth story. I will tell you up front that I lost focus in the car during transition and there is mention of p**n after that. Overall though a great experience and I am SOSOSOSO Happy that I had a successful drug-free VBAC!

On Wednesday October 24th I awoke at 3:45 with Pressure waves (PW's). They we're uncomfortable and I started timing them 7 mins apart. They stayed this way for 4 hrs and then started to fizzle out. I sent my husband off to work with strict instructions to keep his cell on! All morning I had PW's on and off but nothing too major. By 11:30 am they had stopped completely and I just had some lower back pain. I spent a few hrs with my mom and left my son there to nap while I went home to put in a load of laundry. About 2:30 the PW's started again 10-12 mins apart and they seemed very disorganized. By 3:30 I decided Jim needed to come home from work and I called the doula and gave her a heads up that I thought this was it. Jim came home and took a shower while I puttered around the house.

At 4:30 I decided to lay down after literally pacing around all day I was feeling tired. Dh laid in bed and I listened to my birth affirmations while he went through the baby name book in a last effort to come up with a boy name. Things started getting intense at this point. I was hesitant to believe this was REALLY it b/c of how things had progressed and stopped earlier that morning. Plus the fact that I had no mucus plug or bloody show.

After 20mins or so lying in bed I decided that I needed to get up and move around I sat on my birth ball walked around my yard and finally decided to take a shower. That's when everything changed maybe this was it to YEAH this is IT! I called our doula to come over. My mom stopped to get some overnight things for Noah and took one look at me panting and pacing and said "you guys better not wait around here to long." I talked to my good friend Natalie for a few minutes before Karen (our doula) arrived. Karen came in we talked a few minutes and she was timing my PW's which we're suddenly 2 minutes apart.

It took 20 mins to get out the door b/c The PW's we're so close together and too intense to move through. The car ride to the hospital was awful. This is where I lost focus with my Hypnobabies. I listened to my 1st stage track but had to pause it during each PW b/c the noise bothered me. I said to myself or out loud I think over and over relax relax relax- I just kept chanting it the whole way there. Jim was a little panicked and was driving about 85mph.

We got to the hospital at 8pm Jim pulled up in front of the door parking illegally and got me inside and up to L&D. The nurse who greeted was great asked if I was Lindsay and said they we're all ready for me. She took us in the L&D room helped me to the bathroom and helped me get into the hospital gown. They put me on the monitor to check the baby- doing great, they did an internal said I was 8.5 baby was at 0 station. Then they said they needed to draw bloods nice nurse was drawing bloods I told her I didn't want an IV and she said that's fine
will just do your heplock.

ENTER MEAN NURSE- I don't remember all that much except her trying to talk me into the epidural which I was REALLY wavering on. She said something about if I didn't get the epi and needed a c/s I would have to be put under general anesthesia and I would miss the whole birth. I told dh she was scaring me and he marched out to the nurses station and got me a new nurse and I never saw mean nurse again.

Of course I was saying I wanted the epi but Jim kept reminding me that this was not in my plans and I didn't want it it was just the pain talking. I told him "F*** the plan I'm changing the plan." The nurses we're insistent that I get my heplock in since I wasn't getting an epi. Anyway 4 nurses and 8 sticks later I had finally had the heplock in. I knew that I wasn't going to get the epi even though I was asking for it I already was feeling like I could start pushing I think I went from 8.5 to complete in about 15 mins. In my mind I was rationalizing and trying to talk myself out of wanting the epi telling myself if I got the epi I would have another c/s. It was just so intense I remember trying to climb up the back of the bed and telling Jim to "get me out of here" not sure what that was
supposed to mean!

My dr came in checked me and said it was too late for an epi anyway I was 10cm (as I suspected) & baby was coming down. This is when they discovered that my water hadn't broken yet, I guess it was very tight against her head and the nurse originally thought it had already broken. So they broke my water.

He said "you are just going to have to do this there's no more time. You are already past the hard part and your going to be ok now" He went to get ready and I was in a complete panic knowing I had no options other than somehow get through this, push out a baby (knowing this is where I had failed in my ds's birth) or miss it completely and have a c/s under general. Karen and Jim kept telling me over and over that I could do it, I was already doing it and I was almost done.

By now I was already pushing a little on my own and the nurse gave me a great pep talk. Told me I was doing great and that they we're going to help me push and it would all be over soon. I kept being reminded to breath. I kept asking how long I was going to have to push (knowing that I pushed for 3hrs with Noah and I knew I didn't have it in me to that again). They told me it was all up to me. A few times I know I was close to passing out as the room was spinning and getting dark. Dr. G. Kind of pulled me back into focus Sternly saying "Lindsay listen to me you've got to focus don't let you're eyes roll around in your head you're going to pass out and then we're going to have problem. You're almost done just focus and breathe." It helped being talked to that way not like
being yelled at but I think at that point I needed someone to be a little firmer with me to bring me back down to earth.

Pushing at this point was so painful my back hurt more than anything I have ever experienced and I felt like bones we're grating together. I could feel her head moving between my tailbone and pelvic bone. I pushed on my side about 10 times on my side and then they checked the baby's position I asked where "he" was and she said "plus plus plus and he made the turn under the pelvic bone." Once her head had made the turn we switched to pushing on my back with dh holding me. As much as I thought I wanted to avoid this position it was so much easier at that
point.

I was so relieved I was past the point where I had got stuck with Noah at 0 station. With this emotional roadblock past everything changed I got excited and happy!! Pushing felt 10x better and I was able to close my eyes and relax completely almost falling asleep between ctx. Jim sat on the bed next to me and supported me for every push. All of a sudden it got a little chaotic and they told me to stop pushing and breath through it the dr was getting everything ready and hold the baby's head in and waiting for me to stretch out a little. The dr did a great job of coaching the pushing so I didn't tear too bad (only 4 stitches) but it was so hard to resist the urge to just get her out.

When her head came out the cord was tightly wrapped around her neck twice and she was very blue, The dr. had to cut the cord right then and suction her and then the rest of her came out she took a few seconds to cry and I asked what she was and Jim said she's a girl!

She was up on my chest all gooky and slimy and it was a great moment. She was born at 9:18pm just one hour and 18 minutes after arriving at the hospital and about 40 minutes of pushing. Gwendolyn Sandra was 6lbs 2oz and 18inches and so beautiful!

This was truly the greatest experience of my life and I am soo happy that I had the chance to experience a normal birth- even happier that I got to experience it without drugs. The Hypnobabies program got me through my whole high risk pregnancy and helped me keep my BP under control, It got me all the way through my birthing time until
transition in the car. My original plan was to get to the hospital before transition so I would be all settled and able to focus. Things just went too fast and I wasn't prepared for how quick I would go from 7 mins to 2mins apart. Also I think the Hypnosis kept my discomfort to a level where I really kept questioning whether or not it was baby time so I kept thinking I had a lot more time than I really did. I expected that we wouldn't have the baby until sometime the next morning. They really aren't kidding when they tell you your birthing time will be easier & faster! So even though there was quite a bit of pain involved at the end I'm glad that I used Hypnobabies and I will use it
again for my next baby.

Best of luck to all you mommies getting ready to give birth!! I honestly can't wait to do it all over again!

Lindsay