Josiah 10/15/2009
 
On the evening of October 8th, Jocelyn thought, “Well, I guess I was wrong! Not today, apparently!” She was disappointed because she was sure that God had told her the baby would come on the 8th, even though her official due date was the 15th. Not 45 minutes later (around 8:00pm), Jocelyn felt her first real contraction. God surely must have a sense of humor. She called me (her doula) for some advice, and then began timing the contractions. Later, she called the midwife who encouraged her to try to get some rest and to wait until the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, lasting a full minute, before coming down to the birth center.

Jocelyn and Steve met up with me at the birth center around 3:00am. When the midwife did her exam, they found out that Jocelyn was 4cm dilated and 100% effaced. That was good news because it meant early labor was over (usually the longest phase). But Jocelyn was a little disappointed. She thought she’d be farther along than that, and she wondered if she should’ve stayed home a while longer.
We walked the halls for a while and tried several other things to help her cope with the contractions, but they were getting so strong that they were making her nauseous. The midwife suggested she try getting in the tub. When she did, the warm water felt so good that Jocelyn stayed there until after the birth. Steve sat close by holding her hand and encouraging her.

About two hours after getting to the birth center, Jocelyn’s water broke. At that time, she was only about 5-6cm, but then things began to happen quickly. Within 30 minutes, she was complete and ready to push. For the next hour, that’s all she did. It was the most difficult part of her labor. But even though it went slowly, she was able to avoid an episiotomy (which surely would have happened at a hospital) and had no tearing at all.

Josiah was born at 7:04am in the water and immediately placed in Jocelyn’s arms. He was 7lbs, 13 oz and is 19" long. He had a full head of dark hair, and he cried just a little bit as he looked around the room. Steve cut the cord, and then Jocelyn moved over to the bed. Steve made the phone calls while Jocelyn began to nurse for the first time. Then, after a couple of hours sleep, Steve and Jocelyn went home with their precious baby boy.
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Aubryn 09/26/2009
 
Jennae was due with her fourth baby on October 3rd. Because her third child had been delivered by C-section, she had chosen to schedule this birth as a c-section as well on Monday, September 28th. However, around noon on Friday the 25th, Jennae noticed some contractions which were a little different than the Braxton-Hicks contractions. She didn't think much of it, though, because they were very irregular and eventually they stopped completely. By 8:30 that night she was exhausted and decided to go to bed earlier than normal. (Many mothers experience an usually great night of sleep the night before going into labor.)

Jennae slept soundly until 2:30am when she was awoken by more contractions. Even though this was her fourth baby, she did not immediately know that she was in labor. (Just like all women, each labor is unique.) So Jennae went downstairs to get some water and a snack. (Many times, false labor contractions will stop when you eat, drink, move around or take a bath.) Once Jennae was in the kitchen, she decided to straighten up. She thought that if the baby was going to come early, she wanted the kitchen to be clean. So she spent the next two hours sweeping and mopping the entire downstairs area.

During this time, she continued to notice her contractions but they were not unbearable, so she didn't even bother timing them. (Once again, it is very common for a women to have a strong "nesting" urge and a burst of energy before labor.) By 5am, Jennae decided to try to go back to bed and get some more sleep. Unfortunately, by this time the contractions were too strong for her to sleep through them. That is when she decided to sit at the computer and start timing them. At this point, they were still fairly irregular, ranging between 7-10 minutes apart.

When Daniel woke up, she let him know what had been going on and they decided to call the hospital. Jennae was still not completely convinced that this was real labor, so she decided to take a bath to see if the contractions would stop. Meanwhile, Daniel told her that the hospital recommended she wait until the contractions were 2 mins. apart and so strong that she could not talk during one. This advice is typical for a woman planning a vaginal birth, but Jennae wondered about following that advice for a woman planning a c-section. At any rate, her contractions became suddenly much stronger after she got in the bath, so she and Daniel started making plans to go to the hospital. This was around 8am.

Jennae got in the shower to rinse off and started having contractions so strong that she had to stop what she was doing in order to cope with them. However, this did not stop her from taking the time to dry her hair after getting dressed (I couldn't help laughing about that) while Daniel was getting the boys ready. Their oldest daughter was already at Gramma's house, and the two boys would be going to the neighbor's house.

As they were going through the garage to get into the car, another contraction hit. Jennae had to stop and lean forward a bit until it was over. Her son noticed this and was asking her what she was doing, if the baby was kicking or if she had to go to the bathroom, but she couldn't answer him. When the contraction was over she told him yes, that she did have to go to the bathroom and went back inside. This is when she had the first urge to push and she realized that time was short.

It was a 20min. drive to the hospital and then a long walk through the corridors to the maternity ward. Daniel tried to get a wheelchair for Jennae but she insisted that walking was much more comfortable than sitting, even though she had to stop every time a contraction hit. When the nurse had gotten Jennae into a room, Daniel left to go park the car. While Jennae was in the bathroom trying to change into her hospital gown, she had to call the nurse for help because she was feeling the urge to push again. The nurse had to quickly help her get changed out of her clothes and into her gown so she could check her cervix. It was about 9:35am when the nurse discovered that Jennae was completely dilated and ready to deliver.

This news was a big shock to Jennae. She was not prepared to hear that she was completely dilated, and she wondered how this would change her plans. She asked the nurse if she was going to get an epidural now (in preparation for a c-section), but the nurse said no. There was no time for an epidural or a c-section. She would have to deliver naturally. Jennae was not mentally prepared for this possibility and she started to get a little scared, but everything happened very fast after that.

The nurse called for assistance and they wheeled Jennae on her bed down to the delivery room. When Daniel came back upstairs he found Jennae's room empty, but fortunately he did not miss the birth. The nurse was still trying to get an IV into Jennae when she started pushing. After the first push, she told the doctor that she could feel the baby's head. He told her that the baby was very close and it would only take one more push. This gave Jennae the courage to give one really good push even though it was painful. But once the baby was out, the pain was gone.

Aubryn was born at 9:44am (only 20 mins. after getting to the hospital) weighing 6lbs. 15oz. and very alert. She nursed well and Jennae felt great other than some slight cramping feelings. In a few days, they will be able to go home and Jennae will be back to normal in no time (compared to the long recovery after a c-section).

Congratulations on a beautiful birth!
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Sarah Kathleen 10/06/2008
 

At 23 years of age I was pregnant with my second child.  The first pregnancy had, unfortunately, ended in a miscarriage the year before, but I was not discouraged.  This pregnancy had not had any problems except for some back pain, and that was to be expected since I had been in a serious car accident at age 16 and broken my pelvis in three places.

Near my expected due date my husband and I had been to Lamaze classes and taken the “tour” of the hospital so we would know what to expect. We thought we were all ready, but are you ever really ready for that first delivery? One night I began having some more intense lower back pain, but didn’t really think anything of it. I went to bed as usual and slept fitfully throughout the night. The next morning I noticed that I still had the back pain, but I continued my usual routine until about 10:00 AM, when the contractions started. They were not very severe, but I timed them and they were 7 minutes apart and regular, so I called my doctor. He told me that since this was my first delivery, I probably had several hours to go yet, but to keep timing the contractions and go to the hospital when they were 5 minutes apart.

Well, by 1:00 PM I was at the hospital already, still not in a lot of pain, but the contractions were 4 minutes apart and regular. They admitted me to the delivery ward and put me in a private room where only my husband could visit. I was given all the usual prep, but had an advantage in that a very good friend worked in labor and delivery and kept coming in to check on me. She wasn’t married yet and was as excited about my baby as I was! The doctor was taking his time coming to see me because he thought I would still be there for hours. He waited until after his office hours were over at 5:00 before coming to the hospital. When he came in to see me shortly after 5:00, he checked and I was fully dilated, so he broke my water and they took me directly to the delivery room. He almost missed my delivery because after a very short transition my beautiful baby girl was born at 5:25 PM.

The delivery was not difficult for me at all, so my mother was very surprised to see me in the recovery room already talking about having another baby! It wasn’t until she knew that the baby and I were all right that she shared with me that the doctors had told her, after I had that car accident at age 16, that I would probably never be able to have children! She had kept that secret for 7 years, through my miscarriage which she thought proved the doctors right, and had never shared it with me. I don’t think I would have believed her anyway. I was born to be a mother and now have 3 wonderful children to prove it.


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Harrison Jude 10/04/2008
 

Harrison Jude arrived September 2, 2007, weighing in at 10 lbs, 7 oz, and 22 inches, he is our "little" man   :)


Here are the details.  I had a wonderful out of hospital birth. No, not at home... my husband wouldn't let me do that! We had him at the Fruitful Vine Birthing Center. www.fruitfulvine.com 

 
It was so nice to have a totally natural childbirth. I highly recommend it! Now I wish I had done it with the other two. We took Bradley classes (www.bradleybirth.com) and they are great at preparing you to have a totally natural childbirth. It was much easier than I had imagined it would be. It was so nice to labor in the garden tub with jets, in the shower, and to be able to walk around outside and see beautiful trees and feel the wind blowing and get fresh air. It was also nice to be able to eat and drink during my labor and not to be on my back in a hospital bed in a hospital gown with an IV and a monitor, etc feeling like such a patient. I wore my own clothes and it was so much more comfortable. I had a doula, which I highly recommend, and she massaged me and supported us wonderfully during the entire labor and delivery. I came home 3 hours after the birth and it was so nice to be at home!
 
One of my biggest surprises (I was coming from a background of having had 2 prior induced labors with an epidural) was that it didn't hurt to actually deliver. That was my greatest fear (besides the contractions). I was really afraid that without an epidural, it would be very painful to push a baby out. I was determined to do it, though, after several of my friends were so convincing with their birth stories. Especially those friends who had had prior hospital births with an epidural and then had a natural childbirth and said that they liked their natural birth better. When it was time to push, I had an uncomfortable feeling in my back and I relayed this to my midwife. She said, yes, it is uncomfortable because you need to push the baby out! I did and of course it didn't hurt to deliver (I actually didn't feel a thing vaginally) and my back discomfort was immediately relieved. I had a 10 lb 7 oz baby boy with no epidural and only a very mild abrasion/tear. I was so amazed after having had 2 very uncomfortable episiotomies in the hospital with smaller babies! I remember how bad the pain medicine and epidural made me feel. Very itchy, numb, yucky feeling. I like the natural feeling much better.
 
As for the contractions, they never got as bad as I had imagined they would be. I never went through a bad transition. The contractions were very manageable and I kept telling myself "they are going to get worse when I go through transition". Then I felt a burning sensation in my vagina, told my midwife about it, she checked me and said "the head is right there! It is time to push". I couldn't believe it was already time (even though I had been in labor for about 10 hours). I couldn't believe it, because I had not gone through the typical transition type behaviors yet. My husband tells me that I actually went to sleep and snored during contractions right up until the time to push. He couldn't believe how relaxed I was. 
 
God is so good to give us such a sweet blessing as a baby. This is such a sweet time together as a family. It is so nice to have a slow unhurried pace for once. The two older boys love the baby and fight over who will get to hold him next. They can't seem to get enough of him. I am enjoying the help! My husband is being super sweet and taking care of everything else so I can just rest and nurse the baby.  I am so blessed!

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