A birth story

Yesterday Brynn was 40 weeks and 3 days old. She has officially been out as long as she was in the womb. So in honor of this occasion this is the story of Brynn's birth in all it's glory.  I wrote in a few weeks after she was born and truthfully it starts to get a little blurry Friday afternoon so my mom and Kyle might need to clarify some of the deatils! If you don't like medical birth terms feel free to skip it. The story is really for myself, Kyle and Brynn if she someday wants to learn all the details. I thought it would be best to store it out on the internet in case someday my computer dies. 

The short version? Brynn was born a healthy and beautiful baby on June 15th. The end. 

The long version:
The Wednesday before Brynn’s birth there were thunderstorms throughout the metro and like the last big storm over Memorial Day weekend I had contractions off and on overnight. To keep myself busy I made some strawberry muffins that required whipping egg whites into “stiff peaks”. It was actually a bread recipe that my mom gave me that I modified for muffins. Since I didn’t want to wash my electric mixer I did it by hand resulting in contractions! I read in my Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth that arm wrestling can strengthen contractions and whipping egg whites for 20 minutes has the same effect! I had read to ignore early signs of labor and get as much sleep as possible so that’s what I tried to do.  I was up at least every hour trying to get comfortable and moaning through the contractions, loud enough to wake Kyle up. When he’d asked if I was having contractions I lied ::sorry!:: so he would sleep some more. Around 630 I finally told him the truth and just like I thought he couldn’t go back to sleep! At that point the contractions slowed to every 20-30 minutes so I signed into my work computer before our 920AM 40 week midwife appointment.

At the appointment everything checked out normal, BP was great, no concerning symptoms and I had progressed from a “1-2 cm” to 2 cm. I was still 90% effaced and the baby was at a +1 station (aka really really low). I asked for my membranes to be swept again as they were the previous week to see if that would get things progressing. For those who are curious this is when the provider uses sweeps a finger between the bag of waters and cervix. There is some limited research that it can help get labor moving but only if your body is ready. After the appointment we stopped by Southdale to walk as it was still raining outside and if contractions continue while you walk it’s a good sign that it’s “real” labor. I got a decaf iced coffee and we did a few laps. At home I signed back into work while sitting on my birth ball until the contractions starting coming at a regular basis around noon. I timed them on my iPhone and they were coming between 7-10 minutes. I worked until about 2PM when I could no longer focus on work between contractions. I texted my co-worker and started to focus on my contractions. They continued to increase in frequency and with more strength so Kyle convinced me to call the nurse midwife line when they reached every 5 minutes. The nurse said she’d relay the message and the midwife on call would call me back. Two hours later the contractions were coming between 3 and 4 minutes so I called back in. I was able to manage them with ease using my exercise ball to lean on in our bed.

The nurse said to head into the hospital and she would call ahead for me. Kyle and I packed up our things and headed in! I couldn’t believe the next time we’d be home would be with a baby! On the way to the hospital my contractions spaced out and I became nervous that they would send me home. After parking in the ramp I actually asked Kyle to drive home because I was convinced they’d send me home and they were not painful enough! I wanted to go home and go for a walk to see if they would pick up. Luckily Kyle convinced me to go in as shortly after we arrived the maternity floor closed to new admissions and we would have had to find a new hospital had we showed up an hour later. I can only imagine the stress that would have put on me! Triage was full (probably because of the storm the night before!) so they sent me to a room for evaluation, the nurse checked me and I was 3cm dilated. They sent me to walk the halls for an hour, so Kyle and I walked while I stopped about once/lap to use the handrail during my contractions. There was another couple walking the halls with us. While I stop approximately once per lap to breath through the contraction the other mom sped past me in some sort of power walk. I remember looking at her thinking “how can you walk that fast??”. Needless to say they got sent home.

After an hour I was checked again and was now 4cm so I got to stay! The next couple of hours involved answering questions between contractions and getting settled into a routine. The nurse brought me a birth ball which I used in a variety of positions including the bed.  We put on my positive birth affirmations track (from my Hypnobabies course) and I listened to the 60 minutes of affirmation on repeat. The contractions continued to come on a regular basis and increased in their intensity. The most painful part turned out to be something I didn’t expect which was contraction in my upper thighs. Afterwards I searched for this thigh contraction that I hadn't come across and I guess it can happen, luckily it said this is not a guarantee to happen next time as each labor can be different. The contraction would move in a wave ending on my thighs which made it hard to move during the contraction. Kyle and my mom did a great job coaching me through the contractions and massaging my upper thighs. At times they each massage one thigh as I worked through the contraction. I labored through the night using the ball and tub. I wish they had large tubs that you could immerse your whole body in versus just the standard size and for my next birth I’ll be sure to seek out a place that offers this.  My cervix slowly progressed as well reaching 6 cm around 3AM (I think).

At this point I was really tired having not slept that well the night before and would fall asleep between my contractions but I felt so close to 7cm which usually means transition and in my mind I knew once I reached transition that I could do it! I continue to move around through the contractions but nothing I did seemed to make a difference. I tried kneeling, sitting backwards on the toilet (sounds odd but a lot of labor techniques recommend it!), the birthball and simply laying down as I became more exhausted. I had Kyle and my mom remind me to drink and eat but I had no real appetite. Around 430/5 my midwife came in again and offered to check my progress and to my dismay I was still at a 6. I asked what we could do and she offered to break my water. I read a lot of natural birth stories to help prepare myself for labor and a common theme was that once your water was broken (particularily if it’s artificially broken) labor become way more intense. At this point I was exhausted and could fathom having to deal with contractions that were more intense. I talked it over with Kyle and he agreed it was time for an epidural. I guess I’m still disappointed that an epidural was necessary for me to deliver Brynn but at the same time having a healthy baby was goals. Later Kyle told me how relieved he was I decided to get it!

After getting an IV placed and receiving my mandatory bag of fluids Dr. Dondlinger the anesthesiologist was called to place the epi. He was really good (and a really polite doctor I might add!) and it was placed quickly and worked well. I slept for a few hours and woke up to the next change of shift and new midwife who was on-call.  Around 9 Vida, the new midwife came in and offered to check my cervix. At this point I thought for sure I would have made progress. All the birth stories I read that involved epidurals resulted in the fact that  the mom would finally rest and her cervix would dilate. As it turns out I was not in this group and I had no dilated at all. AT ALL. I was disappointed to saw the least but hoped. As I learned later the reason I struggled to dilate beyond a 6 had nothing to do with my innabilty to relax but Brynn’s position. Vida then brought in an exercise ball shaped like a peanut. Apparently they had just received them the week before and they were supposed to help you dilate and they worked best with women who had epidurals. I spent the rest of the day being turned side to side with the peanut between my legs eating popsicles and watch Modern Family on the iPad. Slowly I dilated to a 9 but then paused sometime around 6PM. My uterus was getting tired and my contractions were not as strong so they started a low dose pitocin (another thing I had hoped to avoid because it can lead to extra strong contractions which sometimes the baby doesn’t tolerate and you end up with an emergency c-section). At this point my epidural was wearing off and I was feeling contractions in strips down my belly and my thighs. I would try to roll to the side I was feeling the pain to help move the medication but it was no longer helping and the nurse let me know that I had essentially used up all my epidural time. The benefit was I could now move myself around the bed and after essentially being at the mercy of the nurses the last 12 hours it felt nice to help at least move myself in bed.  

Around 7:45ish (my memory is very blurry at this point!) Vida came back in for another progress check but I was still at a 9. She let me know she felt a lot of “caput” which is essentially the babies head was getting a bruise due to mal-position. The reason I hadn’t been dilating was that Brynn’s head wasn’t putting pressure on my cervix like it was suppose to. She made a few adjustments and decided to let me push to see if we could move the last part of the cervix out of the way. This has some risks as if you push too soon the cervix can swell which will require a c-section. But I was lucky and she was able to push the cervix away (with some force I might add!).  She looked at the nurse and said it’s time to push!

I. Was. So. Excited.

For the first time in a long time that day I smiled (mostly there had been tears as I feared for a c-section and felt guilty for getting the epidural).  I gave a few more practice pushes and Vida gave the green light to remove my catheter (too much information? haha..well childbirth is not very glamerous)! This was another positive sign as they would only take it out if I was making progress with my pushes. Then the real pushing began. I'd push with each contraction initially not noticing much change but Vida was pleased with my progres. I pushed on my side with my mom and Kyle’s support.  We turned on music on my phone and the only CD I had downloaded on my iTunes was Mishka, which for those who don’t know is a reggae artist. I’m not sure which song Brynn was born to but it was one of his! It created quite the relaxing..and somewhat tropical vibe to the birthing suite! Soon Brynn moved down into the birth canal and there was immense pressure/pain. Now I would never compare this part of my labor to a natural labor but I’m fairly certain the epidural was doing little to nothing at this point. Not only could I move my self around...I could feel everything. I started to question whether I could do this and asked for more epidural medication (which I was refused of course as it was too late in the game). They reminded me to use my hypnobabies techniques and my breathing techniques in between pushes. It literally felt like she was going to fall out there was such intense pressure. 

Eventually you could see a tiny part of her head and they brought in a mirror. I thought the mirror would be more motivating that it really was. I should note one of the benefits of using midwives (or at least the group I used) is that they are there with you the entire time you push (and check in frequently during labor) unless another mom is closer to delivery. It’s nice to have their constant support. As I pushed Brynn’s head rotated in the birth canal putting her into a better position to deliver. Vida was apparently impressed at this rotation as I remember her saying that it was neat to see her rotate as I pushed. Two and half hours later Brynn was born. I didn’t see her leave me as my eyes were closed as I pushed but when I opened them they laid her “tiny” screaming body on me.

I was so glad it was over. 34 hours later and it was over.

The pain and pressure were gone and almost instantly (I am not joking...the pain was gone in an instant) I was full of this euphoria thanks to a flood of hormones. Brynn rested on my chest as the nurses cleaned her up and Kyle cut the cord. She spent the next hour with me nursing before they weighed her and did her eye ointment. Then the grandparents came in to see her for the first time. We eventually moved to another room and laid down to rest around 3 AM.

A few thoughts for the next time (which shall not take place for a long time):

• Have birth partners come in shifts so they get some sleep  (But thanks to my mom and Kyle for staying up with me all night long!)
• Stay home as long as possible
• Drink more fluids
• After I got my bag of fluid (1000ccs) to get my epidural I felt better so I might try to get fluids next time if I feel exhausted.
• Labor in a tub or at least have a large one available.
• Have someone take pictures during and after labor. After 34 hours of labor I think we were lucky to grab the camera and get some video (albeit a little blurry). This thing is there is really no shame when it comes to childbirth and even though you really don’t look your best (hello puffy face and double chin!) you’ll want the pictures eventually.

Here is a video from her first day of life. As noted above please ignore the puffy double chin and sweat I'm sporting and focus on what is Brynn minutes old.