Kimberly's Story- 10 lbs., 4 oz.- Birth Center
Friday, August 1, 2008 at 3:15PM 10 lbs., 4 oz.
21 inches
Birth Center
I was blessed to have found a wonderful midwife & birth center, so as my due date approached there was no talk of induction or anything but walking, having sex, etc.
We knew my baby was on the big side, but when my midwife mentioned 8 lbs, etc., I was not worried. I just "knew" that all would be well.
My midwife did suggest that I could get an ultrasound to confirm that all was well. She referred me to a wonderful OB who was also her backup. He did a biophysical profile, all looked great.. although (his words) he again mentioned a big baby. Again, I was not worried at all.
As 41 weeks came, I saw an acupuncturist, and went on long walks every day. Talked to the baby about moving down, and that it was time to come out. I had another biophysical profile and this time the OB really talked about the size of the baby, he estimated the baby to be a little over 9 lbs. AND gave me only a 10% chance of a vaginal delivery! Again I was not concerned at all, I knew all would be well. My midwife was totally on board with me and after calming my husband down a bit, I made an "agreement" with all: that if they gave me the weekend (I would be 42 weeks and 4 days on Monday), I would go in to be induced Monday morning. Well, after two acupuncture treatments I began labor on a Thursday morning. My labor and birth were "textbook".
Labor began at 7am. We got to the birth center for my normal appointment at 11am. I was 4 centimeters!. Hard labor began at about 1pm, and then of course I lost all track of time. I labored in water for a bit, moved around a lot, but enjoyed resting on the bed between contractions. I pushed for about 2 hours, with lovely rests in between contractions that were sometimes several minutes long, and my baby boy was born at 9:16pm.
He weighed in at 10lbs 4oz.. and 21 inches!!! and I did not tear at all!
Again, I was so blessed to be in such a perfect, supportive environment. The baby did not look big at all! The midwife had one of her assistants confirm what she was seeing on the scale. we all laughed and when the midwife had the backup doc on the phone we announced the final weigh in and the Doc said "I love to be proved wrong!"
Since there was no tears I "healed" very quickly, I actually stopped bleeding after 6 days. I felt myself, only more tired of course very soon, I really don't feel as though there was any "recovery" period at all.
All along talking about "big babies" did not bother me. Women today really struggle with trusting that their bodies will grow a baby that they can birth. As moms who have done it, and now as a doula working with Moms, we need to really support moms in trusting that they can birth the baby that they grow, and that their bodies will OOOOPPPEEEENNNN !