Myles' Birth Story

Here it is! It's only taken me seven weeks to write, but for anyone interested here is Myles' birth story.

FYI- This story may be too much info for some, and maybe graphic I don't know. But don't say you weren't warned!

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Lost plug and had bloody show at 3:30 am and started getting menstrual cramp type contractions at 4 am. Told Jorge around 6 am what was happening but that nothing was strong, so I fell back asleep. I later found out that he wasn't able to fall back asleep and texted his family that things were getting started (he told them my water had broken, it hadn't). To be clear, I did feel (not hear) a "pop" of some sort that I assumed would've been the amniotic sac breaking because when I got up from the bed liquid and the bloody mucous came out. It wasn't a lot, but as a first timer I wasn't sure. 

Went out to the mall for some last minute necessities that were on the checklist from Simona (our midwife), then went over to his parents house for carne asada for Mexican Mother's Day. No progression, and contractions were very spread out and I was able to go about my day.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Continued with contractions but weren't very strong and not consistent at all. Went to noon mass and then went out to eat with my family and grandma at Bj's to celebrate Mother's Day. Very hot outside that day, but was nice having one more outing before the baby which could be any day now. The rest of the day was just very relaxing. Came home and changed into comfy clothes, did some cleaning and laundry and no progression once again.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Officially 39 full weeks. Went in for the midwife appointment and she checked my progress. I was 1cm dilated, 50% effaced, -1 station.

They said it could be one day or one week, but was guessing things would start moving along in the next two days. Mom and I went shopping to fulfill the "What to bring to the birth center" list. We spent a few hours walking around Walmart, and I had to stop a few times once contractions were going, but still nothing very strong. 

Tuesday: May 12, 2014

Nothing really happened all day. Still had contractions but not strong enough to stop talking through them. My mom and I made another shopping run to Costco, but nothing else happened during the day.

Here we go! In bed by 10pm, and contractions started getting very consistent while lying down. Had to wake up Jorge and we stayed up all night/morning timing contractions and he helped me breathe through them. This was the first time that the contractions started getting very uncomfortable and I was unable to talk through them now. I was averaging 4-7 minutes apart. We texted Jeanette (our wonderful doula) and she planned on coming over in the morning.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

9:30am -  When Jeanette arrived she assessed me upon arrival.  Waves (contractions) ranging from 3-9 minutes apart.  Mucus plug still being released at this point, every other time I sat down to pee some would show. She did some positioning and rebozo sifting through some contractions which felt okay, wasn't uncomfortable at all.  After some time laboring she advised both me and Jorge to try and rest if possible. 

From here on out are Jeanette's notes because my memory is all over the place! 

9:50am - Mother resting.  Left side positioning. Monitoring contractions. 

Contractions during rest: 5-12 minute intervals. 2-3min length. (Heather- since Tuesday night, whenever I was lying on my left side, I felt like I wasn't getting a break in between contractions, and they were just one on top of the other. Nonstop. I couldn't stay in that position, it was too uncomfortable and painful.)

11:25am - Woke up from nap.  Used restroom.  Mucus plug light, still releasing. Light lunch (peanut butter and jelly sandwich/watermelon.)  Using a 24oz tumbler to measure water intake. Light walking around neighborhood after lunch. Timed 3 contractions 6 minutes apart.

Active contrations subsiding slowly after 3:30pm. Check FHR (average 138) (Heather- I took a shower sometime around here because I thought it would help me relax. Well it did a little too well. It seriously stalled my contractions.)

Friends and family started to arrive.  Rebozo sifting was done.

8:45pm - Quick assessment done before leaving client's home.

*** Pain scale average DAY 1 :5-6/10***

(Heather- At this point I was feeling very discouraged that the contractions had slowed down so much and were no longer consistent. I really had the feeling that the baby was coming today.)

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Went to bed around 10ish and once again around 10:30, contractions started up as soon as I was lying down. Consistent and stronger. Jorge was planning to go to work, so I held off waking him up until I was sure they would stay consistent, and they did. We were up and I was laboring on the birthing ball, leaning against the couch, and hanging onto Jorge while standing. We knew Jeanette had work at 4:00am so emailed her the update, she said she was coming back over. Here are her notes again:

(RECIEVED EMAIL FROM Jorge REGARDING PREVIOUS CONTRACTIONS @ 2:50am)

3:20am - Recieved call from Jorge, Client had 3 contractions during conversation lasting what seems to be 1.5-2 mins.

4:30am- Assessment upon arrival. Waves ranging 2-5 minutes apart. 2-3 mins in length.

(Heather- I know there's a big gap in time here where it may seem like not a lot was going on. Well it was. I was having seriously strong contractions and laboring in different positions and trying different things to ease the pain.)

10:10am - Called and updated midwife about client progress.  Midwife has then informed me that she will be arriving to do a home visit/check between 12:30pm and 1pm.

(NOTE:  Contractions seem to be more frequent once client changes into a different labor position.  Legs starting to feel tired and achy due to this.  Reverse squat positioning (toilet) most uncomfortable, but was able to labor in this position for at least 20 minutes) (Heather- this position sucked. I didn't feel like I was able to be there for twenty minutes, looking back I felt like I was only there maybe five minutes at most. Starting to get delirious at this point!)

 

1:45pm - CNM arrived.  Both parents did assessment in the privacy of their room.  Nurse midwife proceeded to break the amniotic sac due to bulging, and was also able to administer enema during check.  Advised parents to come by birthing center at 5pm to check progress. (Heather- I was dilated to 4cm at this point. After she broke my water, the contractions seriously picked up. Closer and stronger. I definitely underestimated the power and strength of what contractions would feel like!)

(Using 24 oz tumbler for water. At least 12 oz of BLUE gatorade with ice was consumed. Light lunch of Miso soup and steamed white rice.)

(Heather was able to go into a warm shower twice today)

4:40pm - Left for birthing center.  Contractions are between 2-4 minutes.  Very uncomfortable positioning during car ride. (Heather- VERY UNCOMFORTABLE!)

5:05pm - Vaginal assessment upon arrival. 100% effaced, 4-5cmD.  CNM suggested for us to go back and labor at home for a few more hours and to come back at 8pm.  Heather did not want to be at home, and felt like she was able to concentrate better at birthing center and requested to stay. (Heather- At this point, I really did not want to do another car ride and felt that if I left again I wouldn't progress. I thought maybe being in that environment it would help me focus and labor better. After all, I had barely dilated only 1/2cm in three hours!)

7:30pm - 8cmD.  Allowed for Heather to labor in the birthing tub. (Water temp between 93 & 94 degrees). (Heather- I really thought being in the tub was going to help ease the pain, and it really did nothing for me. It didn't make anything worse, but I almost felt helpless in the tub because I couldn't find a comfortable position during the contractions and felt like they were in control of my body, and I was just along for the ride. I was never really able to just give in and let my body do it's thing, I wish I was able to.)

Progression in tub, but CNM advised to get up and out and labor outside of tub. CNM also advised for client to try using restroom to release bladder.  Waited about 30mins after med was given to help release urine before doing quick catheter insertion. (I believe it was sometime around this point that Simona saw that there was still a lip if my cervix that wasn't letting me dilate fully. So on one of the contractions she had me push a little and she manually pushed it back...that hurt!)

9:30pm : Practice and active pushing. (Heather- FINALLY! I really felt like once the pushing started I felt like I was getting somewhere. Not only did it relieve the pain of the contractions, but I really felt like this was the final leg of the race and I could see the finish line!)

10:45pm :  CNM advised for Heather not to bear down anymore and just to rest. (Heather- They said she left for me to rest for 10 minutes...I heard 30! I was lying on my right side and tried to rest. Through the contractions I wouldn't push hard, but I still needed to counter the contraction pain so a little pushing felt okay. They told me afterwards that between each contraction I would fall asleep and start snoring! I don't snore! Lol, but I honestly didn't know I fell asleep at all, I was exhausted and it was coming up to over two whole days of labor with maybe 3-4 hours of sleep.)

11:20pm:  H.O.  can not find comfortable positioning during rest period and request to just continue active pushing (on bed).

NOTE:  Heather did very well progressing labor and pushing on her back with wide legs.  We tried getting into an all fours position and she stated that she didn't feel this position was doing anything for her. (Heather- It honestly was the best position for me. I expected going into labor and trying the squatting position, on the birthing stool, and all fours but none of those felt comfortable or like they were working. The bed was just the most comfortable for me.)

Friday, May 16, 2014

12:20am - After recieving a sudden burst of energy, baby was starting to come way down and was able to stay down. Very progressive pushing.  After crowning, nurse asked Heather if she would like to move into tub or stay on bed.  Heather was ready to deliver on bed, but CNM assured her that she would be able to make it into the tub before baby was born.  Heather and birth team were able to safely transfer from bed to birthing tub. 

(Back to my own notes)

This was it! Before getting into the tub everyone mentioned that they could see tons of hair on the baby! I could just picture it. So they had me reach down and touch the top of his head. As soon as I did, I was so ready to get him out and meet him already!  While transferring to the tub I honestly felt like his head was already out. I somehow got into the tub and maybe four pushes later he was out. I definitely felt that ring of fire everyone talks about, but instead of letting his head stay there I kept pushing as hard as I could so it wouldn't last long! Once his head was out Simona (our midwife) unwrapped the cord that was around his neck, and with the next push he was out and she picked him up, did a few pats on the back to stimulate him and placed him directly on my chest! 

Right then and there the pain subsided and here was this little miracle we had been waiting for. It wasn't until one minute after he was on my chest that we looked to see if he was a boy or a girl, and it was a boy! After a few minutes they clamped the cord and Jorge made the cut to separate mama and baby. After that, they had Jorge take off his shirt so they can do skin to skin contact with the baby as I was getting out of the tub. I was walked over into the exam room where it took an hour to deliver the placenta (which they said was huge). I began to nurse him right away, but didn't last long because he fell asleep after maybe five minutes. I had a slight tear in my labia (I didn't feel a thing) but she stitched and cleaned me up before heading back to the birth suite. 

Back in the room they had cleaned up the tub/bed and they had me sit up and eat some food while our family came in to see him. Let me tell you, they were all super nice and excited and didn't say anything about how I looked...I was a MESS! OMG. I hadn't seen myself in the mirror until I got home (3 hours later) and can't believe how swollen my face was, and bloodshot my eyes were. I was exhausted, and it showed! 

Well like I said, three hours later I was ready to go home (now 4 am) and finally get some rest with this beautiful new angel. I was overcome with emotions (those damn hormones stuck with me for a while. Two weeks at least), but I was excited to hold him in my arms and start this new journey. Right then and there, I was also just excited to be able to sleep...and sleep I did, for about two hours until he was hungry ;)

I know this story is super long, and I'm sure I left out so many details of labor and who was there helping me. All through the days family and friends were there to help me any way they could  (massage, get food for me, etc.). All of that was much appreciated. I was seriously delirious and may have forgotten most of labor now, but know there was a lot involved in helping me cope! And for all of that I say THANK YOU! 

All in all, it was such a memorable experience. It was definitely the hardest, most painful time in my life, but by far the most rewarding. I was able to have a drug-free, natural water birth and wouldn't have changed my choices about how I wanted to deliver. I do want to mention that about three times that I can remember) I held on to Jorge and just broke down saying I couldn't do it anymore. I was exhausted and just about ready to give up. Jeannette and I had a safe word that meant I couldn't do it anymore and that I wanted to transfer to the hospital. I clearly remember the last time I almost gave in. She looked me directly in the eyes and asked "what do you want to do? We know what's right across the street. But what do you really want?" Well I wanted a water birth, and I wanted to do it naturally. I was then focused once again and ready to make it to the finish line (by the way, the metaphor where they tell you childbirth is like a marathon is totally accurate. I'm sure during that race I would want to give up a few times before hearing some encouragement and believing in yourself once again to make it to the finish!) 

Myles is a very healthy, alert, and amazing baby. Worth every single ounce of pain I experienced. Overall grateful for having the opportunity to have a child, and a healthy one at that. Now looking forward to all we have to experience in the future!

-Heather Ortiz, new mama