Precipitous {Josie's Birth Story Part III}

 With Anne Marie on her way, Kimberly began filling up the birth pool and I asked Kevin to give me a priesthood blessing. The blessing said that my body would do what it needed to and would work well to bring my baby to our home safely. Once that was done, I headed to the bathroom to empty my bladder and put on a sports bra and swim shorts for the pool.  Once I was sitting on the toilet I was hit by a huge contraction that seemed to come out of nowhere. I immediately started vocalizing through it and Kevin and Kimberly rushed to the other side of the bathroom door, asking if I was ok. I was not sitting down again on ANYTHING and I quickly threw my clothes on and got out of the bathroom, hoping to get to the birth pool before another contraction hit. Just as I reached my bedroom another hard contraction hit me. DANG IT! I braced myself by holding on to my bedroom dresser while Kim did counter pressure on my back. Kevin said "Are you sure you want to wear those swim shorts?" I wasn't going to give him an answer in the middle of a contraction, and I was also a little annoyed that my choice to wear swim shorts was once again being questioned. They allow for shareable pictures, and are fairly easy to get off, so I didn’t see the problem. Plus I figured I had plenty of time before they would need to come off. I got in the tub which had a few inches of warm water in it, and welcomed the relief it offered. I got on my knees and leaned over the back side of the tub with my head resting, and arms dangling over the sides. Another contraction came and I let Kim know so she could get my back. I tried really hard to relax, but they were so strong and I was having hard time just getting on top of them.

 

The pressure came like high tidal waves overtaking my body, and having me race to top in an attempt to catch my breath. I had practiced hypnobabies for weeks just like with Dallin's birth, but I couldn't seem to use the techniques because they were so strong and close together. I was thinking “How in the world am I going to get through hours of these contractions?”  What had I gotten myself into? Kevin was kneeling in front of me outside of the birth pool, and I looked up at him and said "this is REALLY REALLY hard, but I can do it." Although I was telling him, I was really trying to convince myself. I needed some reassurance that I could handle these crazy contractions, and I had begun praying in my mind at the peak of each one. “Please help me,” “Please help me,” I pleaded silently to my Heavenly Father.  Just like with Dallin's birth, there came a moment when my heart really reached out to all the pro-epidural moms, and I once again understood why they didn't want to feel what I was feeling. I renewed my respect for them and their choices, and once again wondered if I was crazy for choosing to feel this.

It was likely in those short moments of doubt that I was in transition, and it came and went just like that. The following contraction came with an added urge to push. Kim noticed, and asked if I thought my water had broken. I said no. She then called Anne Marie who was 15 minutes away at the time. She told Kim that the student midwife would be there soon as she lived closer to us. It was 11:22pm. The next contraction had amazing pressure traveling down my body, and suddenly I felt an "open" sensation. It was as if Josie's body had quickly dropped down onto my cervix causing it to dilate to a 10 all at once. "Something just opened!" I said out loud, wondering what the heck had just happened. I reached my hand down, and my fingers met a silky smooth water balloon like surface. I knew immediately it was the amniotic sac, and started tugging my swim shorts off frantically. Kim and Kevin helped me, and then she sent Kevin to go open the front door for when the midwives arrived. After he opened the door, he went to go get one of the pots of boiling water from the stove so he could put it in the half empty birth pool. Reality still had not hit him that this was it. He came back into the room, and Kim said "Come here and catch your baby!" Then he dumped the water he had into the pool, ran back to the stove to turn it off, and came back into the room.

She had felt the bulging bag herself with Josie’s head behind it, and asked him feel. Kevin was a little confused as he felt something soft and really squishy when he was expecting a firm head.  “What is that coming out?” he asked aloud, which immediately set off an alarm in my mind.  The fear of a cord or foot, or something that isn’t suppose to be there washed over me and I immediately asked Kim if the baby was OK. She replied that everything was fine. On the very next contraction I felt the burning “ring of fire,” and Josie’s head emerged without any effort on my part. I was just there for the ride as my body was taken over by powerful surges that were bringing my baby to me. I was in such shock, going from “I don’t think I’m in labor yet,” to “my baby's head just came out.”  I guess part of me figured that my body would continue to do the work and so I waited, until Kim reminded me that I needed to push and get Josie’s shoulders out. Everything felt so tight, and the thought of pushing was a little intimidating. Kevin was up by my face at this point, and cheered me on telling me to give a good push. I braced myself and began my first active push. I felt Josie’s body come down and out quickly and fluidly. It was yet another amazing sensation that I hope to never forget. It was as if she did a somersault out of my body and into the water. There were three pushes total, and Josie was born.

 Kim immediately guided Josie through my legs in the water, and I reached down and grabbed her. Our next movements were somehow perfectly choreographed as I pulled her up out of the water, and turned to sit down, while Kim pulled the amniotic sac off of Josie’s head. She had been born in the caul, meaning my water had not broken until after she was born. I had heard of this when reading birth stories, but I didn’t know that it only happened in 1 out of every 1000 births. Some believe it to be a sign of good luck, or a special blessing on the baby. Josie immediately took a breath and began crying loudly and pinking up. Josie May was here, she was perfect, and I couldn’t help but be in shock from what had just transpired. It was 11:29pm on Saturday December 29^th 2012.

 

 

“I just had a baby!” I exclaimed. Kevin grabbed the video camera and  began filming. Kim handed me a towel for Josie, and then brought Brenna in to meet her new sister.

 

 

Brenna came in with tired eyes, but immediately perked up as she kneeled on our bed and gazed at me holding her tiny sister. She didn’t say a word, but seemed entranced by it all. Minutes later Nikki (the student midwife) walked into our bedroom and immediately began checking us out. She checked to see if the placenta was ready to come out, but nothing came when I pushed. A few minutes later Anne Marie arrived and immediately began checking Josie’s heart rate and making sure all was well with the both of us.

 

Since the placenta had not been delivered yet, I was still experiencing some rough contractions. Anne Marie asked if she could cut the cord, which I was fine with as long as it had stopped pulsing. She had me feel the cord, which was completely limp and no longer pulsing, and so I agreed.

 

 

 Kevin came over and cut the cord, and then took Josie to do skin to skin while they helped me figure out what to do about birthing the placenta.

 

 

They offered to help me out of the pool, but I was happy to deliver it there. Within a few minutes I started shaking, and figured I should probably get out of the cooling water and get warm. With Dallin, the placenta had already detached and was sitting right at my cervix after he was born. It took a tiny bit of traction from the midwife before it came out. This time was different. It had not detached, and I was having awful pains from all the cramps trying to bring it down. After about 55 minutes, some position changes, and drinking some herbal tea my midwife had brought, the placenta finally came out and I felt so much better. I found it funny how it took so much more time and effort to deliver the placenta then it did to push out Josie.

I rinsed off in the shower, got some clean clothes on, and was honestly feeling quite good minus the pesky after pains. They are definitely worse with each pregnancy. I had a minor 1^st degree tear that my midwife fused with some Derma bond, and then I was ready to nurse Josie. Once she finished eating, she was measured and weighed.

 

 

At 7 pounds 14 ounces,  and 18 inches long, she was my biggest baby yet. Anne Marie did a full newborn exam, while Kim made me a peanut butter and honey sandwich, and we sent Brenna back to bed.  Poor Josie had pooped at some point and had meconium up her back and in her hair somehow. Other than that, she had a clean bill of health.

 

 

I noticed that the tops of her ears were flat, and not curled, which I was told showed that she was in fact a little early. Both midwives studied the creases on the bottoms of her feet, and found the same thing. She was truly a 38 week baby. While we weren’t expecting her until January, she had plans of her own.

Kim started pumping the water out of the pool and into our shower drain, and had it deflated and packed up in no time.  She and the midwives cleaned up, took out all the trash from the birth, and threw any towels that were used in the washer. I had Kevin take a quick picture before they left. I wanted one with our awesome birth team in it, although Kevin (who was the best labor/birth partner I could have asked for) was the one behind the camera.

 

Dr. Anne Marie (midwife), Nikki (student midwife), Kimberly (doula)

 

At about 2:30 am on Sunday December 30^th, my midwives and doula left, and it was just the three of us in our bedroom. It was a little odd as we looked at each other and thought, "That’s it?!" We don’t have to do anything else? The whole birth process was so quick, beautifully simple, and left us with a healthy mom and baby. I couldn’t have felt more blessed as we tucked ourselves in bed for the night. Our family of five was now a family of six.

In Conclusion:

What a blessing to have 4 healthy children, and to have experienced 3 very different births! From an intervention filled c-section, to a drive through natural vbac in the hospital, to an intervention free home birth, each one teaching me something new. Ever since I learned about natural birth and home birth, after my c-section, it became a dream that some day I might be able to experience one. I will admit that part of me expected it to be some romantic experience, although that was not the reason I chose it. Now that my dream has come true, I can say that our home birth was not the romantic experience I thought it would be. What made it great though, wasn't necessarily that anything was added to the experience, but that nothing was taken away from it. Josie's birth was so simple, straightforward, and driven only by the nature of birth. There was no manipulation, and no requirements or expectations to be met. I didn't have to change environments abruptly, or work with people I didn't know. I was on my own turf, and the only people present were those that I had a great relationship with and that supported me 100%. The most powerful person in the room wasn't a medical provider, or hospital protocol, it was me. So I guess the best part for me, was that her birth was let alone to be whatever it needed to be. My body, and her body were respected, and supported to do what they needed freely, and without criticism or fear, and that's what made it beautiful.

 

(Brenna's depiction of Josie's birth from her winter vacation book assignment that she did for her Kindergarten)