Shoshana's Birth Story

I suppose Shoshana's birth story starts 11 days before she was actually born. I had my weekly appointment with my midwives (at Alma Midwifery- I can't recommend them highly enough!) the day before my "due date" (appt was on 7/2). At that appointment they checked my cervix and I was 50% effaced, dilated 1.5 cm, and she was at zero station. So, things could definitely happen any day... But, they didn't.

I was planning on giving birth at Alma's free standing birth center (a converted turn of the century craftsman) and my midwives would let me have an out of hospital birth up to 43 weeks (as long as baby and I remained healthy, of course). Shosh was happy just camping out in my ute, so I got to hurry up and wait.

39.5 weeks pregnant

During this time my parents were having Judah stay at their house about half the week (the days Bill had to be at work at day) because I was just not ambulatory enough to chase after a very quick and energetic 2 year old. I missed him a ton when he was gone, but felt bad for him when he was home with just me be side I couldn't get down on the floor and play with him and my patience wasn't exactly at it's highest level. Bill did (and always does) a fantastic job of being dad during that last month. He and Judah would go on daily adventure to parks or on hikes in the morning while I stayed home and slept. 

So that was our life those last few weeks.  Oh, and did I mention we had just moved into a new house in June? Boxes were everywhere and I was little to no help when it came to unpacking (fyi, we still have tons of boxes, they have just been moved to places where I don't have to state at them all the time). What a fun time, huh? 

The week passes. Still pregnant. Still waiting. Still answers questions about when I'm going to be induced (umm, never). The next Monday (7/8) I had an ultrasound to check on Shosh. She scored an 8 out of 8 on their criteria (things like movement, heart beat, and what not). The next day I had my 41 week appointment. I was now 60% effaced, 3 cm dilated, and still at zero station. My apprentice midwife  swept my membranes to try and help bring on labor naturally (at Alma you get 3 midwives- the lead midwife who works at Alma, and an assistance & apprentice- who are both completing their clinicals through a local midwifery school, The Birthing Way).

41 weeks

The next day I started having bloody show (worst term ever, I know). But that was it. I was hopeful each morning that today would be the day, but as the hours passed I resigned myself to more waiting. 

On Friday (7/12) I had another ultrasound to check on Shosh again. Yet again, she scored an 8 out of 8. She was healthy and content just chilling. During the ultrasound she was sucking on her arm and hand a lot. It was pretty cute. 

My lead midwife and I decided that I would come in on Saturday so she could sweep my membrane again. She also suggested that I use my breast pump for about an hour beforehand in an effort to bring on contractions. With that in mind, we were all really hopeful that labor would happen on Saturday. Therefor, we made arrangements for Judah to stay at my parents house so we could get a good nights sleep (as the night before we slept like shit because he was up multiple times). We also decided to go out for a nice yummy meal with Bill's youngest sister, Emily, and her boyfriend, Victor (who was flying back home to Australia the next day). 

We had a reservation at Urban Fondue for 9 and gorged ourselves on cheese, meat, and were part way through the chocolate course when Bill told a joke. I laughed. And, whoops, peed a little (or so I thought). I got up and excused myself to head to the bathroom. I was surprised to find that it was not just a little pee (shit like that happens when your pregnant, deal with it), but a lot. Like so much that the crotch of my jeans was all wet. I thought it was odd as I had just gone pee a little bit earlier, and usually if a laugh pee escapes it is minimal at best, and Bill's joke wasn't even that funny, and the weirdest part is it didn't feel like I had accidentally peed when it happened- it just felt like I was all of a sudden wet down there. Any guesses as to what had happened? Anyone? Bueller? Yup, that was my water breaking, but at the time the thought didn't occur to me in the least (it had happened so differently with Judah. It broke when I was in full on labor and was really obvious. And, as soon as my water broke with him it was time to start pushing him out). Anyway, I was embarrassed about peeing so much, but felt lucky that you couldn't see a wet spot  on my jeans. So I returned to dinner and we pretty quickly finished up and headed home. 

We left the restaurant around 11 and got back to our house by 11:20. I wasn't feeling phenomenal but chalked it up to the huge rich meal I had just eaten. At 11:47 pm, I texted as much to my lead midwife, who then called me to talk and advised I take a hot shower, drink a bunch of water, and see if the possible contractions stopped or got more intense. She asked me if I had been leaking any fluids and I promptly told her no (because pee doesn't count and I was still in denial that the leak had been anything but). I followed her advice and continued to down water and took a nice hot shower. Afterwards, the contractions had not gone away and they had gotten to the point where I could whip out the app on my iphone and start timing them. They were lasting around 20 seconds and were anywhere from about 3 to 7 minutes apart. I called my midwife again and let her know what was going on; it was now 12:22 (here's to my call log so I know the precise minute of the call). She wanted to know if I wanted to continue to labor at home or come in to the birthing center. I could still breath/sway through my contractions without much issue, so I decided to keep going at home. She let me know that when I did decide to come in that it would take 30-45 minutes after the call for all the midwives to be at the birth center and ready for me. We were also keeping in mind that this labor could potentially go pretty quickly as Judah's labor was only 8 hours start to finish, and I had been walking around 3 cm dilated all week.

During this time, Bill was buzzing around the house preparing things, just in case we ended up going in. He would come into the bedroom where I was laboring. I would give him another task (get me water, put our bags in the car, get our snacks and drinks together, write out directions for taking care of our dogs for his sister, who would be dog-sitting for us, etc). He would disappear for a while and then eventually end up back in the bedroom looking lost and stressed, where I would give him another task to complete.

My contractions continued to progress. Then, during a contraction a barfed. A HUGE barf (thanks to my huge dinner). That was sign enough for me that it was time to head into the birth center (with Judah I barfed a TON, so I thought that I would pretty much be barfing from here on out. Luckily, it was one and done this time). I called Jamie (lead midwife) at 12:45 and let her know I wanted to come in. At that point my contractions were averaging 40 seconds and anywhere from 2 to 4 minutes apart (so much for 1 minute contractions, 5 minutes apart, for 1 hour- which is the textbook timing of when you are suppose to head in to the hospital or what have you).

We left the house at 1 am. Before we left Bill went downstairs to let Emily and Victor know we were heading off (yep, they were spending the night and had just been downstairs in the guest room chilling while we were upstairs in labor/running around like a chicken with its head cut off, side eye to Bill). I assumed my contractions would slow down in the car ride to the birth center, because that is what had happened with Judah (plus, it is a really common experience). However, this time, they did not slow down. At all. I had at least 4 contractions during the 15 minute car ride. Which was awesome, because car contractions are the BEST. You are stuck in one spot and can't do a damn thing except wait for them to be over. Grumble. Grumble. The whole car ride was even made that much better due to the fact that I had to give Bill direction to the birth center as we drove (he had been there multiple times, but always coming from our rental in North Portland, never from our place which was in the South East).

We arrived at the birth center around 1:20 and Jamie was there to meet us out front. We didn't even bother taking in the bags. I just wanted the essentials: my water bottle, my barf bucket (even though I hadn't used it again, it was safety blanket), and Bill carried in my purse. We went in to our room (the Fern Room) and my midwives had it all set up. The lights were dimmed, they had put candles out, the tub had water in it. I took about one second to register how nice and soothing the whole set up was (so much more welcoming than a hospital!). Then I told them all it was too damn hot. Turn on the fans, the AC, and bring me ice and cool washcloths. I was not messing around. I knew what I wanted! They obliged immediately.

I then took off my clothes (I was hot! And planning to get in the tub). They checked on baby using the doppler. I then went in the restroom to pee/have a contraction. When I came out I told them I wanted them to check my dilation, so I got up on the bed and was at 10cm! So I got in the tub. Had some water and had Bill put more cool washcloths on me. Then I readjusted my position and felt like it was time to push. I would say I pushed her out with 5-10 contractions. It was less than 10 minutes total of pushing! She immediately went to my chest and after a little bit I had to get out of the tub so they could check my bleeding. That was definitely a bit awkward as I had not yet delivered the placenta, which means her umbilical cord was still attached to her and to the inside of me. We had to be careful not to put any strain on it as I got out, assisted by all three midwives. I definitely needed the help as the tub was giant and kinda of tricky to get out of normally, let alone when you have just delivered a baby, that you are holding, that is still attached to your ute. Awkward!

We moved to the bed where they checked me out. No tears! Yay! And I delivered the afterbirth. We let the umbilical cord pulse out and then Bill cut it. Shoshana was born at 1:41 am, early Saturday morning (though it certainly felt like Friday night to us!) on July, 13, 2013.

   

Since we didn't bring our bags up, that means my cameras were all still in the trunk of the car for her birth. I took these with my iphone while they were examining Shosh shortly after she was born. The lights were still dimmed and the candles lit, which is why these are so underexposed. 

That means, we were only at the birth center for 20 minutes before she was born! And the total time from when I first started having contractions to birth was only about 2 and a half hours. We thought my labor/delivery would be quick but we were not anticipating it to be that quick! To put that into perspective, that is less time than it takes to watch any of the Lord of the Rings movies.

I was happy with how it all turned out. Of course, the most important part was that it ended with a healthy baby girl and healthy mama. But, more than that, I got to have the birth I had hoped to have with Judah (his birth story is here). This time around we knew that my body's reaction to being pregnant/labor was high blood pressure, so I took herbal tinctures for almost my whole pregnancy to combat it, as well as, took liquid calcium magnesium, and epsom salt baths, and various other little tricks here and there to help keep it down. I also knew there were things I did not want to do this time around. With Judah, I labored a ton on the toilet, and barfed a ton, and screamed "IT HURTS" so often/loud during pushing (even though it was only 20 minutes) that my throat was sore for days afterwards, and had an episiotomy/tore (I massaged my perineum with evening primrose for few weeks before she was born to help prevent tearing). I hoped not to repeat those things... so I didn't! I definitely labored a bit on the toilet (especially early on when I thought I might just be having a food baby), and, as mentioned earlier, only barfed the one time, and when it came to pushing I was way more zen about it. I think the biggest factor was just that it wasn't my first time and I knew what to expect. It also helped that instead of focusing on the pain and screaming, I envisioned Shosh traveling down the birth canal with each push. And when she hit the ring of fire, I knew what was happening and knew that meant she was so very close to being born.

We stayed at the birth center until Monday and it was so nice! It was seriously like a bed & breakfast, with a bonus birth thrown in. There was always a postpartum doula in the house to look after us (and check vitals every so often). They switched shifts every 8 hours. They made us food, plus we got take-out for one meal a day. They had a big book of take out menus that we got to choose from, then the doulas took our orders and went and got the food. Far superior to hospital cafeteria food! They were also there to help us with whatever we needed, but we were pretty low maintenance, since this was baby number 2 we knew how to handle the regular newborn needs. However, the first night right after she was born and we went to sleep, she ended up having a big old meconium poo all over our sheets, blankets, and us. We had the doulas come in and they changed the sheets and cleaned her off. We were both super tired and could only manage cleaning ourselves at that point.

The big ass tub in which Shosh was born.

Isn't the Fern room cute? It was our favorite of all the rooms, which were all cute in their own way.

My parents brought Judah in that same day in the afternoon. I was very happy that he got to meet his sister on the day she was born. He was adorable and very excited about her. We had to be careful to make sure he was gentle enough (he is much better now and no longer needs constant reminders to give her GENTLE touches). I was kind of surprised he knew right away that the baby in my arms was Shoshana, after all, it is a pretty abstract concept to a 2 year old going from having Shoshana in mama's belly to being a baby out in the world. But, he got it with no problem. He no longer thought there was any baby in my belly (or his, because he was sure we were both carrying her throughout my pregnancy). He also thought her umbilical stump was her penis (hilarious!) and wanted to know where her belly button was. We tried to explain it to him, but for the first couple of days he was so sure that it was her penis.

Emily also came by and met Shosh that first day (after she dropped Victor off at the airport). The next day my friend, Joy, came in the morning and later in the day Emily came back along with Alice, another of Bill's sisters.

Emily and Shosh

3 out of 4 of the Monroe siblings

Our little lady and her daddy

On Monday before we checked out I got an hour long massage. That's right. A massage. For an hour. Right there at the birth center. It was a very nice way to end our already relaxing stay.

Shosh is listed on the first line of the last section.

For realsies, this is the last birth story post. This time with pictures!

At long last, photos from Judah's birth!

In case you missed it here is the first, second, and third part of his birth story.

This is the one and only picture from The Birthing Inn. What a pretty room. And look at that nice big tub for a water birth. Sigh, if only, if only. Hopefully when it comes time for baby number two my blood pressure can not freak out on me. The other two women in the room are my doula and my midwife. The waste basket on the bed would be my barf bucket. Awesome.

Goodbye, cute comfortable room. Hello, hospital room and gown. And this would be where my ideal birth plan said, "adios, suckers!" Still went all natural though, boo-ya!

A very new Judah. Still all purple and covered in meconium and all sorts of gross birth goo. Bill and I both really enjoyed how he had one continual crease from one eye over the bridge of the nose and along the other eye. He reminded us of:

They could be long lost twins, right?

I got to have skin to skin with Judah right away. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long. His temperature was a bit low. So they put him under a heat lamp and did a quick once over to get rid of his poo coating. Thankfully they were able to do it right in the room. Not once at the hospital was Judah taken out of my room.

Bill was a bit emotional (of course he was).

After I was stitched back together we were moved from the labor and delivery room to our postpartum room two floors down. Judah's little bassinet thing was right next to my bed. Even with having him so close it was hard for me to get him in and out of his bassinet. I couldn't do it from my bed and moving around was still very difficult and painful for me. The nurses were a big help and during the day Bill was as well. At night, not so much. He slept in a cot in the room, but he might as well have been back at our house. He was out cold during the night. I tried waking him up when I needed help either with Judah or getting myself to the restroom, but I was out of luck. Good thing the nurses were just a buzzer away.

He was so little (although, he sure didn't feel like when I was pushing him out).

I made it the entire first day with out changing Judah's diaper. Not on purpose, just happened to work that way between the nurses doing tests or monitoring (and changing him while they were at it) and Bill also changed him once of twice. As you can see, Judah found my execution somewhat lacking.

All ready to go home after an overnighter in the hospital.

I was so glad that we only had to stay 24 hours at the hospital. The nurses were very helpful, but it was so much nicer once we were at home. I think I only slept a few hours at most while at the hospital. Once we got home a nap was in order asap. It was so much more restful to sleep in my own bed than the hospital bed that would shift its alignment as to prevent bedsores (because, you know, bedsores happen in 24 hrs or less. Right.). It did it constantly and always with a not so pleasant mechanical whirring. Nothing like being thiiiiiis close to falling asleep only to be awakened by your bed. moving. on its own.

Bill was a natural. But I never had any doubts that he wouldn't be.

Somehow is three and a half months Judah went from this:

To this:

He's not so modest these days.

He's a wee bit bigger now.

Pregnant? Get a doula!

Part way through our pregnancy Bill and I decided to get a doula. Boy, was that the right decision.

Super early in the pregnancy we interviewed a few local Tacoma doulas, but weren't sure if we really wanted one or not, so we put the whole thing on hold. Then a few months later we revisited the reasons to get or not get a doula.

We decided to go for it because:
-we found out that at The Birthing Inn that the birth assistant is not there for the whole birth and there is only one birth assistant on duty even if there are two births going on.
-we figured that if we something ended up going wrong (which it did) we would want a doula to go with us to the hospital
-there might have been other reasons too, but those were the main two that convinced us that it was the right choice.

We hired Jessica, who we had interviewed in the beginning. We liked Jessica from the start because she was very down to earth and chill.

During the pregnancy we met up a few times, talked or went for walks. Then near the end we were in daily contact. It was so great having her to ask all these questions. I would share with her what was happening with my body and she would let me know what it meant and what to do. She was very knowledgeable and I alleviated my nerves on a daily basis.

The day I went into labor we were in contact pretty much constantly. She met us at the Birthing Inn and came prepared with a whole bag of tricks and drinks and the whole shebang. Too bad my labor went so quickly we didn't get to use them! Although, the drinks came in very handy. I downed those Gatorades after I finished pushing that baby out.

Jessica was super great during labor. She was such a calming and peaceful presence. Not only did I appreciate all her help and soothing words and actions, but so did Bill. He definitely felt more at ease with her there. When we had to transfer to the hospital she was right there with us every step of the way. She stayed with us throughout labor and hung out with us in postpartum until we were ready to be on our own. She also came and checked in with us after we brought baby Judah home to go over everything and see if there was anything we needed.

When it comes time for baby number two, there will be no hesitation. Jessica will be our doula from day one (or, you know, week 4)!

Judah's Birth Story: part three (the final installment! sort of)

So, there I was pushing away (in case you missed it- part one & two)...

Pushing. Screaming. Crying. Overheating. Pushing some more.

This goes on for some time (well, it felt like forever, but in reality wasn't actually that long).
I am minimally aware of my surroundings at this point. Every now and then I hear people telling me I'm doing a good job. Or to take deep breaths.

Then I hear the midwife saying that he's going to come out on the next push. Hallelujah! That is what I wanted to hear. What I didn't hear is that he HAD to come out on the next push because he heart rate was dropping. I must say, I'm pretty glad I didn't hear that part.

The next contraction comes and I PUSH and I feel a little release of pressure and then BLAM-O a big release of pressure. Judah was out. Next thing I now he is on my chest and I just cannot believe I now have a baby. What I missed in my daze was that I had an episiotomy at the last second (the first little release of pressure) because Judah was coming out with his hand up by his face (superman style, if you will). I also was unaware that when he first came out he was super purple and not moving/making noise. Bill was all too aware of all these things. It felt like forever to him from the time Judah came out to the time he took his first breath. That was a very scary time for Bill. When Judah started to wail, Bill started to cry and collapsed onto the floor (which was all gross with my blood and guts- according to him anyway). From that position on the floor he called his parents and tearfully told them Judah was here and it was all alright.

With Judah on my chest we let the cord pulse out before Bill cut it. I was surprised that his cut was made pretty far down. Someone else (the midwife? a nurse?) made the cut close to his body. I was able to hold Judah for a little while, but his body temperature was low so they had to take him away and put him under a heat light. Bill went with him (this all happened in the labor and delivery room, just a few feet from the foot of my bed). They also cleaned the meconium out of his orifices and did a preliminary cleaning of the rest of him (there was definitely still poo stuck in his hair, ears, fingers, whathaveyou).

While Judah was warming up and getting cleaned, they gave me a shot of pitocin, a drug used to induce labor in most cases. I was receiving it so that my contractions would keep going and I could get my placenta out quickly. It needed to come out asap, because I was bleeding quite a bit and my midwife wanted to stitch me up. Not only was I bleeding from the episiotomy, but I also tore. In several places. Inside and out. They gave me shots of local anesthesia to numb me up, but I gotta say, that shit still hurt. I definitely could feel her sewing me back together.

Judah was born at 5:37am after only 24 minutes of pushing. My blood pressure returned to normal as soon as delivery was over. It was a pretty quick and intense labor (well, I think so anyway). All in all, I spent about an hour at the Birthing Inn and an hour at the hospital (half of that in the freaking waiting room of the freaking ER). We stayed at the hospital until 11am the next day (it's hospital policy that you stay at least 24 hours).

Although things did not go according to our birth-plan, at least they went quickly. There was no time to debate our choices, or mourn that this wasn't what we had wanted. It all happened so fast that we just went with it. And, in the end, we did get what we wanted: Judah.

Oh, did I mention that when we first found out we were pregnant Bill and I talked about how cool it would be if Judah was born on the solstice? Looks like he was listening. Of course, later on in the game we definitely took back that wish and instead were hoping for before the due date rather than after. But our boy wasn't having it. He waited until the solstice and was born with the sun. I started pushing at 5:13, the exact time of the sunrise on the longest day of the year. Pretty crazy, no?

Hmmm, well I think that might be it. Except for pictures (no gross ones, I promise). Those will come another day. And, with that, I guess I finally have finished Judah's birth story (5 weeks and 2 days later).

Judah's Birth Story: part duex

When I left you I had been having bloody show all day Monday (part 1).

I was also having some contractions throughout the day, but that was pretty much par for the course. However, around 9pm I started having more and more contractions. They were a bit stronger than the ones I had been having previously, but still didn't feel distinct enough to time. Still, I was getting a bit excited and hopeful that it was really starting to happen. I had been in contact with my doula all day about what was going on. She encouraged me to try to get some sleep, because as the contractions intensified I would not be able to sleep... But, I was a bit too amped up to sleep (Bill was able to snooze for a bit). I tried to sleep, I really did, but I kept feeling contractions and they were just a bit too intense to really sleep through (and like I said- I was pretty amped up). 

Around 11 pm I completely gave up on sleep and decided to go downstairs and try to watch a movie. Bill went downstairs with me.  We got all set up for a movie, but it never happened. By that time the contractions were coming on stronger and we were timing them. At birth class they tell you how at first they are like 15 min apart, then 10, and on down, and then when they are 4 (or 5) minutes apart and lasting for a minute each it is time to go in. I never so much had that nice clear countdown. When we started timing them they were anywhere from 2 minutes to 6 minutes apart and lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute and a half. They still weren't super duper intense as I was able to facebook and play Words with Friends on my ipod.  Still, we decided to call the midwives and check in. She advised us to wait until they were averaging a minute in length and then call her again. So we kept going.

By 2 am they were really starting to come on strong. And then I started barfing during contractions. So much fun! About that time they were averaging a minutes in durations, so Bill called back the midwife. It was 2:45 by that time. She said for us to meet her at the Birthing Inn at 3:30. Bill let my mom know we would be going soon and I let our doula know. We didn't quite get out of the house when we hoped, because I was too busy having contractions and barfing to get going. We ended up leaving the house a little past 3:30 and got to the Birthing inn about 3:45am.

I was checked as soon as we got there. I was at 5cm and 90% effaced. So I still had 5 more cm to go... The midwife also listened to Judah's heartbeat, which was right where it should be, and took my blood pressure, which was not where it should be. It was high. Which is definitely not normal for me. Throughout the pregnancy I maintained pretty low blood pressure. High blood pressure is something you get booted from the Birthing Inn for, because it can require medicine and whatnot that they don't have there. My midwife decided we would keep laboring (and barfing) at the Birthing Inn continue to monitor my blood pressure to see if it would go back down. It didn't. Which meant I had to transfer to St. Joe's, a local hospital. 

So we all piled back into our cars to drive to St. Joe's. It is only about a 10 minute drive, but that was the longest 10 minute drive I have ever experienced. It sucks balls to have contractions in the car. You can't really move around, you are just stuck there in your seat. It is lame. During the ride I talked to Bill about how I wanted to have some drugs when we got to St. Joe's. Our birth plan had been to be drug free, but dammmn it hurt. And I was envisioning that I still had a whole day ahead of me of these contractions. I didn't want an epidural, just something to take the edge off a bit. 

When we got to St. Joe's we went to the ER to check in (as we had been instucted by our midwife. She had sent over our info and said we would check in and they would send us right up). They did not. We checked in and they are asking us all these questions. Bill is trying to explain that we are from the Birthing Inn and they should have our info. But they are still asking all these gd questions. And I am leaning on the counter, barfing into my bucket, trying to recite my social security number. The check in ladies tell us the labor and delivery people are on their way. But they sure seemed to be taking their sweet ass time. I'm telling them that it hurts and are they absolutely sure they are on their way? They tell me they are and ask me if I think the baby is coming. I tell them I have no idea (since I've never had a baby before) but that it hurrrrrrts. After at least 15 minutes a nurse finally appears to wheel me up (labor and delivery is on the 14th floor). 

We get up to my labor and delivery room and they begin to hook me up to a machine to monitor my blood pressure and the fetal monitors (the belt kind) that measure Judah's heart rate and my contractions. At that point I have to pee (I had been doing a lot of my contractions on the toilet, because all that pressure just made me feel like I had to pee). So I go into the bathroom, pee, have another contraction and hear a *POP*. That pop would be my water breaking- pretty convenient that I was sitting on the toilet, eh? It turned out there was meconium in my water, which can mean the baby is in distress, but it can also be pretty common for babies that are late (Judah was 5 days late).  At that point they had me get onto the bed and checked me again. Boom! I was at 10 cm and fully dilated. It was go time! It was 5:13am, which happens to also be the exact time of the sunrise on the longest day of the year. Pretty cosmic, huh?

Anyway, I'm asking for drugs. But my midwife is telling me there is no time for drugs. I guess it is somewhat common to think you really do need those drugs while you are in transition (that time when you are fully ready to go, but not pushing yet- as in the entire time I was in the car and standing downstairs in the ER). It is a pretty intense time. But, yeah, as it turned out there was no time for drugs.  I  did not have hours and hours and hours of contractions to work through. I was ready. It was pushing time.

I was screaming and grunting and yelling about how it hurrrrrts. I kept asking if they could see his head yet, and they had to keep saying no. Sad panda. The midwife asked me if I wanted to her to position a mirror down there so I could watch. I did not. I just wanted to have my eyes closed. It just seemed so bright in that room. I couldn't handle all the light. I'm sure it was a totally normal amount, I was just really sensitive to it. I was also super hot. Whenever I had a contraction I started overheating. I had been having ice packs and cool wash clothes on me for hours. I was able to stay well hydrated despite all my barfing, so I did not have to be hooked up to an IV. So, there I am pushing away. Screaming. Crying. Pushing. The nurses, my mom, Bill, the midwife, and my doula are all offering words of encouragement but I don't really hear any of it. However, I did hear one thing. A nurse saying, "Okay, we are all ready for the cesarian!" I lose it. I say, "WHAT?!? I'm having a c-section?!?" My midwife reassures me that that is not for me. They couldn't cut that baby out of me if they wanted to- he was almost here. I guess that stupid nurse had not been in my room, but just talking super loudly right outside me door.

Coming soon: part three...

Judah's Birth Story: part 1

Judah's birth story is getting broken into parts, because if it didn't I would never get around to writing it. Even now, I am writing while Judah is nursing. Blogger has a setting where you can email a special address and it will be the post. So that what is I am trying today. Here's hoping it works. I'm typing this out with my thumb on my iPod- so if there are more errors than usual let's blame autocorrect. Also, since this post is an email that means no photos. Later, I swear.

Part one of the story will last as long as breastfeeding Judah does. Anyones guess how long that might be, we have already nursed over five and a half hours today and its only 8:15.

So anyway, on Monday, June 20th, things started to happen for reals. But, of course, I had no way of knowing it was for real since I been having pre-labor signs for over two weeks at that point. Still, I was hopeful. I started the day by having bloody show, which only increased during the day instead of dissipating like it had in the past. Bloody show can mean labor will start imminently or it could still be days away. So, I went through my day as usual. My mom and I ran a bunch of errands around town. Sadly, I never took a nap. Something I would come to regret later.

And... Judah is done. Which means so is this post.

Sent from my iPod

Part 2
Part 3