Jill's Story- 10 lbs., 2 oz.- Home (3rd Child)

10 lbs., 2 oz.

Home

Mother's Height: 5' 8"

How was your pregnancy?

Uneventful.  My third son was born "late" at 41 weeks, 4 days.

How did you feel about your upcoming birth?

Relaxed

Description of your birth experience: 

I worked that morning (with my husband) but felt like that was going to be the day.  We picked up the kids around 1:15 pm, and a few contractions started as we hit the freeway on our way home.  We got home around 2pm, filled the birth tub, and I got in.  Told the kids to leave me alone for a little bit because having them bouncing around was annoying me.  The labor was intense, but manageable.  Around 3pm, my eldest son called my mother to let her know we were having a baby - she came over at 3:35, just as we pulled our third son up out of the birth tub into my arms.  My husband and his big brother cut the cord.  He was very happy and looked around at his new family very intently.

It was very quick, a little bit hard, like working out when you feel physically drained, but not what I'd call painful.  Just as before, I had one very intense contraction that was painful, but that was it.

After having a peaceful, quiet, intimate birth with #2, it felt slightly like a crowd with my husband, 3 midwives, my mom, and 2 older kids there.  It was a joyous family occasion - a gift for the family, but not necessarily an "ideal" birth for me.

How did you feel after the birth (first month)? 

Like I was crazy!  Wet, bleeding, tired, wanting to do more.  I was impatient to recover from the birth in a few days, and didn't want to give myself a few weeks.

How did you feel six months after the birth? One year? Now? Great.

*What did you learn from this birth?   That all births are different, regardless of how many kids you have.  They don't start the same, go the same, or end the same.

Any words of wisdom to impart? 

You aren't going to birth over and over again.  You will probably only have a few children. Give yourself the gift of whatever you desire for your birth, regardless of cost, and regardless of who thinks they want to be there.  Be princess for a day.  Make your birth what you want.  Build a team to make it happen.  Dream BIG! 

Jill's Story- 9 lbs., 14 oz.- Home (2nd Child)

9 lbs., 14 oz.

"HOME!"

Mother's Height: 5' 8"

How was your pregnancy?

Uneventful.  My second son was born "late" at 42 weeks + 1 day

How did you feel about your upcoming birth?

Nervous, excited, peaceful, really wanting a natural birth

Description of your birth experience:

I went into labor at 9pm and called the midwife.  My husband filled a tub with warm water and I got in.  We talked and laughed and kissed.  It was one of the most romantic moments of our 20 years together.  The midwife assistant arrived, and I had a painful contraction - the first one that was like all the other ones from my first birth on Pitocin.  Then I felt the head move through my cervix!  I got out of the tub and laid down on the couch through a few more contractions, not painful, just hard work.  My water broke so I got up off the couch and kneeled on the floor in front of the couch.  My older son woke up and my husband went and got him.  He patted my head and back through the last few contractions.  The baby was born into my midwife's arms, and she passed him through my legs so I could see - we had a boy!!  He fussed a tiny bit and snuggled into my arms.  He was born at 12:10 am.  My husband and my older son cut the cord together.  My older son fell asleep that night holding his baby brother around the hips.  It was one of the sweetest memories of my life.

How did you feel after the birth (first month)?

Strong, elated, confident, happy, peaceful.

How did you feel six months after the birth? One year? Now?

That was the best birth experience of my life!  I wanted to shout from the rooftops about my perfect birth!  It was wonderful, virtually pain free, happy, joyous, romantic, peaceful.

What did you learn from this birth?  

I can do anything.  The bleeding was not my malfunction, it was because I was overdosed with drugs for no reason.

Any words of wisdom to impart?

Trust and surrender.  Women in my family have given birth vaginally since the beginning of time.  I am merely one in a line of healthy, capable women.

Jill's Story- 9 lbs., 4 oz.- Hospital (1st Child)

9 lbs., 4 oz.

22 inches long

14.5 inch head

Hospital

Mother's Height: 5' 8"

How was your pregnancy? 

Uneventful.  My son was born "late" at 41 weeks + 1 day

How did you feel about your upcoming birth?

Excited, nervous, desired a natural birth

Description of your birth experience: 

I went to the hospital with my waters broken and contractions 90 seconds apart around 7:30am.  After 5 hours of "not progressing well enough" (but they never checked my progress, so I'm not sure how they could say that), I was put on a Pitocin drip.  After a few hours of being over-medicated and in complete agony, I begged for an epidural from a woman that told me I wasn't in labor, and consulted my chart to announce I was 2cm (which is what I told them I measured a week before my water broke).  I was given an epidural and everything stopped completely.  I felt nothing.  After several more hours I was told I could push, but I couldn't feel anything at all.  I begged for them to turn down the epidural so I could feel to push, but they refused.  I laid there spread-eagled in front of several strangers being encouraged to PUSH!!!, but couldn't feel anything.  After an exhausting 2-3 hours, my son was born by episiotomy, was whisked away by someone from the NICU who told us he was in trouble because of his low Apgar.  A few minutes later they gave him back to us and said he was fine.  They never explained that part.  It was 8:44 pm. 

That night around midnight they got us into a room.  I hadn't eaten all day and requested food, but they said the kitchen was closed and I couldn't get a meal.  About 2 hours later I started passing large clots - the first one was the size of a football, and several more were to come over the next 36 hours.  They yelled at me for not walking around - it was my fault I was clotting.  I was actually starting to bleed out slowly.  A day later the nurse told me it was time to go home, and I panicked.  I couldn't stand or walk, I was passing clots, and I was starting to get very weak.  I felt I would die at home.  I begged for medical help.  She sent in a resident who made me feel like a piece of meat on the table.  He ordered stat IM drugs to help my uterus contract and help the bleeding.  Over the next 12 hours the nurse forgot my subsequent doses of medication.  They tried to draw blood to get an iron count but had enormous trouble finding any vein at all in my arms.  I finally went home a few days later, not feeling very well at all.  I should have had a transplant due to my blood numbers, but they apparently forgot.

They refused to give me more pads to wear in my underwear, and gave me adult diapers instead.

How did you feel after the birth (first month)? 

Anemic, tired, humiliated, ashamed, incapable of birthing, raked over the coals

How did you feel six months after the birth? One year? Now?

Six months later and one year later - scared of birthing. 

Now, I feel like I was duped and taken advantage of by a system that couldn't have cared less for me.  I still feel ashamed of the time I was laid out on the table in a diaper and some strange resident opened my diaper and stuck his hand inside me without even talking to me.

What did you learn from this birth? 

The hospital is a bad place for a healthy pregnant woman.  They easily could have killed me if I hadn't complained about how bad I felt.

Any words of wisdom to impart?

Sorry, not from that experience

Lynette's Story- 9 lbs., 3 oz.- HBAC

9lbs, 3oz 

21 inches

Home Birth
 
Mother's Height: 5' 6"

 
My Pregnancy: Physically I was pretty good, although I suffered from anemia quite a bit due to an inability to tolerate pre-natal vitamins. So, I didn't get any excercise and was tired a lot, also couldn't sleep and had a lot of muscle spasms. At least it wasn't morning sickness : )
 
How did I feel about the upcoming pregnancy? Although I wanted a second child very much, I was scared to death about the upcoming birth. My first was born with an unplanned cesarean, and I was terrified. I spent a lot of the pregnancy depressed, mostly because of the fear of birth in retrospect. Because I didn't gain a lot of weight in the beginning of the pregnancy and because the ultrasounds had shown her to be small for age, I had myself convinced that my baby would be petite, unlike her brother that was 8lbs., 12 oz. and 2 weeks early. The pregnancy was just stressful. We moved. I was always fatigued. I was scared. The 20 week ultrasound showed a cyst in her brian that could indicate a genetic disorder, that if present would mean she would never see 5 years old. There were none of the other indicators though, and we decided to forego further testing, as nothing therapuetic could be done except terminate the pregnancy anyway. Despite protests from family and friends and grudging support of my husband, I decided to VBAC at home.
 
The Birth Experience:

The birth was awesome. I have to say it was one of the best things in my life. It was difficult. And in the middle I clearly remember wondering why I had wanted to do this. That I could have had an elective c (since I'd had the first by cesarean) and didn't have to feel any of this. I could have told the midwife that I wanted to quit (getting into the car and sitting there while being driven to the hospital would have been another story) but I couldn't bring myself to tell my husband that after I had petitioned so hard for the home birth. And it only took 9 hours (I got up at 3am and was holding the baby at 12 pm). I only pushed for 45 minutes according to the midwife, but I didn't remember it being that long. It seemed like I only pushed a few minutes.
 
The baby came out with her hands up by her head, protecting her beautiful face, I assume : ) I did have some tearing. but that made her big head, even bigger! She wasn't as chubby as her big brother, but when I see a 6 lb newborn they look so impossibly small, as neither of mine were ever that small when I could hold them. 
 
How did you feel six months after the birth? One year? Now?

Immediately after the birth I was exhausted but exultant. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to vaginally birth, regardless of the child's size. But I did, and the second the baby was out, I thought, okay that wasn't so bad. Now, because I was so out of shape, I need to lay down. Of course I needed to birth the placenta and get a few stitches and a shower, but I was ready to relax.
 
The next 2 weeks were difficult. More difficult than the first two weeks after the cesarean, honestly. I couldn't sit comfortably, and I couldn't stand for much more than 10 minutes without discomfort. It took a while to heal. The fecal and urinary incontinence were also very demoralizing. But they healed, just more slowly than I would have wanted.
 
At 6 months out, I'd definitely say the vaginal birth was way more healed than the cesarean. I felt back to normal! I had muscle tone in my abdomen (which I didn't have with the cesarean) and things were pretty much back to normal physically.
 
What did you learn from this birth?

I learned that there is no easy way out of being pregnant : ) Some people are lucky and have easy births, but I think for most of us, it is a big deal. I was glad the midwife didn't mention the size of the baby to me before I had the birth. It may have just added to my worries. But in the end, I don't think even if she was smaller it would have made a big difference. The hard part was getting to the pushing, and then the rest was easy. Having supportive care providers is essential. They make all the difference in the world.
 
Any words of wisdom to pass on? 

Trust yourself. Trust your instincts. Birth where you feel the most comfortable, and trust in a higher power. Sometimes things are not in our control. We have to make the choices we feel are best, and then learn to accept everything else. There is nothing else we can do. And birth, and the rest of our lives, have a tendency to play out a differently than our plan. It just is. 

Oh, and exercise. I really think that makes a world of difference. I wish I had been more active.

Kim's Story- 10 Pounds- Birth Center

10 lbs

23 inches

14 1/2 inches

Birth Center

Mother's Height: 5'9"

How was your pregnancy?
Well, I loved the thought of being pregnant and being all aglow, but I had morning sickness the first three months.  I didn't like the feeling of anything touching my belly so clothing was always difficult.  I didn't do so well pregnant.  I definitely was not "all aglow".

How did you feel about your upcoming birth?
It was my second birth so I had pretty normal feelings.  I didn't know how I was going to get through the experience of giving birth again, but I couldn't wait to hold my baby.

Description of your birth experience:

I awoke at 6 am with pangs, my husband drove me to the hospital which was an hour away.  They told me I had time and to relax.  My doctor was jogging and would come asap.  I took a shower and the nurse came in to check me.  She became extremely shocked when she realized I was dialated to 10 and ready.  At this point my pains were strong and I was inconsolably crying for my mom, who was on her way.  The doctor came in and then I went blind with all of my senses becoming increased.  I could hear the door open again and cried out if it was my mom.  Nobody answered me because they didn't realize I couldn't see.  I called again for my mom and she was by my side.  I felt like I was giving birth to a brick...one of those blocks you use for the foundation of a house. 

And then my son was born at 8am exactly.  My doctor said he was absolutely perfect, and he was.

I was losing a lot of blood and almost fainted.  I was white as a ghost, but my doctor took care of everything and I didn't need any intervention.  My doctor thought he was a good 8 lbs but the nurse argued he was bigger as he was put on the scale.  Wow!  10 lbs!  We had no idea he was so big since I never let my doctor give me an ultrasound.  I guess it could be a good way of not letting the doctor know how big your baby might be:)  I was a healthy mom so he didn't push me into to doing it.

How did you feel after the birth (first month)?

I rested a lot.  I tried not to leave the house for the first three months with each of my children.  I would tell people this rule of mine and they were less likely to bother me about venturing out with my baby.  I still needed to head to town once a week and that was hard because it was an hour away.  Those days were stressful and long.

I also remember the nurses telling me before I left the hospital that if I had a blood clot larger than a golf ball to call the hospital.  Well, while in the shower, I delivered a tennis ball size clot.  I called and they said it was okay.

How did you feel six months after the birth? One year? Now?

I had actually retained placenta and my doctor didn't catch it for 7 months.  Everytime I ran up the stairs with a laundry basket I would bleed a little.  I had a D&C and was fine.  Other than that I was fine. 

What did you learn from this birth?

I was worried about having another large baby.  My grandfather was 13 lbs and my brother was 10lbs 10oz.  While in the market, pregnant with my next child, the produce man told me a secret.  He and his wife always had intercourse when she was wanting to go into labor. 

 So, upon the due date of this next pregnancy my husband and I had intercourse and I went into labor at midnight that night.  It worked but it was my longest labor, lasting until after 4pm that day.  But she was only 8lbs 6 oz.  Yeah!   And perfect of course...my doctor told me so.

Any words of wisdom to impart?
I can't say my 8 lb 6oz  birth was that much easier than my 10 lb birth.  Actually, my 8 lb 9oz birth was my hardest.