My
water broke early on the morning of Saturday, April 6, 2002. It wasn't much,
just a trickle, and there were no contractions yet. So I got up and went to
some garage sales and spent the rest of the day straightening the house,
resting, and playing with the kids.
Contractions
started at some point during the day, but never got regular. I continued
leaking fluid and having irregular baby hugs until Sunday night, the 7th. By 9
pm they finally settled into a rhythm of about 10 minutes apart. A thunderstorm
began brewing outside and I knew it was going to be a wild night. As we lay in
bed, contractions began getting stronger, while outside lightning flashed and
thunder boomed. I felt myself being drawn into the storm....there was such a
sense of primal earthly power laboring in the dark alone while my husband
slept.
By
1:45 am they were strong enough that I needed to get up and move around a bit.
I woke Kyron up around 3 am needing his help. We turned on a dim lamp in the
bedroom, and prepared the bed with plastic covers and sheets. I had planned on
laboring in an inflatable pool if it felt right, but after getting in the
shower I realized I wanted away from the water during contractions. Kyron was a
bit relieved that he didn't have to fill that pool after all!
By
5:30 am Connor, our four-year-old, woke up and joined us. Kyron couldn't take
care of him and me both, so I called my mother and she was here by 6:30. By
this time, I needed everything I had to stay focused and relaxed. I remember
thinking that I would probably labor on for several more hours, not giving
birth until maybe by afternoon. I've always had long labors, so I was mentally
prepared for it.
Around
7:30 I hollered out to my mom, "How do you know when you're in transition?" She
was quiet for a moment then answered, "I don't know, sweetie." (She knew I was
there, but she knew I didn't want to hear it.) Kyron said, “Honey, I think
you’re in transition now.” No I couldn’t be, I argued, “If I were in
transition, I wouldn’t be talking sensibly to you right now!” I also remember
feeling so in tune with what was going on in my body, I could actually feel a
pulling sensation at my cervix during these strong contractions. I’ve never
been aware of that before. I also found that if I dropped my jaw and moaned a
low, deep OOOooooohhhhhh, during these intense hugs, I could feel a connection
between my mouth and my cervix. I tried just blowing through a contraction
once, and it was absolutely painful, in fact, I couldn’t catch my breath. So,
back to deep moaning.
At
some point I told Kyron it was time to wake up our 7 year old, Audrey. She
stayed in the room for a while watching, and during a rest I asked her if my
moans scared her. She smiled and said no. Then things really picked up and I
could feel that strong pressure on my tailbone along with that familiar out of
this world stretching sensation. I was on my knees at the side of the bed and I
told Kyron, “It CAN’T be time for the baby yet, it hasn’t been long enough!” I
felt inside of me and couldn’t feel a head yet, which actually relieved me. I
was in such denial that birth was so imminent! A couple hugs later and I
started feeling that urge to panic – I knew that feeling and it meant birth was
moments away. I felt inside once more and this time felt a head just a couple
inches inside!
“Momma!
I can feel the head!” I yelled. She and the kids filed into the hallway so they
could see the birth. I had to get off my knees, so I stood up, turned around
and sat on the very edge of the bed with my feet apart, planted on the floor. I
leaned back a bit and supported my weight with my arms behind me. Kyron got on
the floor between my legs and suggested I move into a better position, perhaps
in a squat. A fearsome voice that I hardly recognized as my own
screamed/shouted “NO!!” Wild horses couldn’t move me at that point. He tried
again, this time trying to reason with me that he didn’t think the baby would
be able to come out the way I was sitting, and my legs weren’t far enough
apart…etc. I was barely able to get out the words, “YES!!! NOT MOVING!!” One
push and I heard Audrey exclaim “I see the head!” With the next push his head
was out! A rest for a moment, then I told Kyron, “Get ready, it’s coming!” and
his body slid out quickly. Kyron immediately handed the baby up to me. He began
breathing and gasping at that point and I started bawling, I was SO HAPPY!
I
looked down and saw he was a boy, and laughed – I was convinced he was a girl
all along! The cord was very short, so I couldn’t put him to the breast just
yet. I held him for a while, then felt the urge to push the placenta out within
about 15 minutes. I handed the baby to Kyron and stood up while holding a bowl
between my legs. A huge placenta came out within minutes, but not all the way.
It stayed attached by the membrane. So we decided to be patient and hopefully
it would detach on its own in a few minutes. After 20 minutes, it was just too
awkward. So we cut the membrane, leaving an inch or so hanging out.
To
make the placenta story short, that piece remained firmly attached up there for
24 hours. And during that time I kept having unbelievably painful, long,
afterpains. I took a high dose of homeopathic silica that evening, and by the
next morning, I was able to work the piece of retained placenta out. After
that, my afterpains stopped.
I
did tear in two places, but it has healed on its own now.
After
the excitement and rush of having the baby settled down, I looked out and
noticed the storm had died, and the sun was breaking through the clouds. We
have a profusion of wisteria vines covering our oak trees in the front of the
house, and the storm had blown millions of purple petals onto the ground and
driveway. But Audrey had a more poetic explanation. After cleaning myself up
and settling into bed with Zane, Audrey came bouncing into the bedroom
exclaiming, “Mom! The fairies knew our baby was coming last night and they
covered our driveway in flowers to welcome him!”
I
have already had two midwife assisted births, and this was my first unassisted
birth. It was also by far the smoothest, most enjoyable birth I’ve ever had. I
decided I wouldn’t check dilation because I didn’t want to ever feel
discouraged, and I also felt that it might’ve kept me from being completely in
tune with my body. I also decided not to time any contractions – I didn’t want
to be focused on a clock; again, something that may have taken me away from my
body. I believe that played a key role in making my labor fly by so fast. And
just being able to labor in the dark, on my own, without attendants making
suggestions or bustling in the background made this birth a sacred event. If I
could do this birth all over again, I wouldn’t change a single thing...except
for maybe putting another piece of plastic over the side of the bed – I got
blood on my brand new bedskirt. ;)
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