Hunter Birth Story Part II

 If you missed Hunter's birth story part I, you can find that here.

This is Part II, picking up where we left off in the afternoon of November 15, 2019.

...

Since we had to drive right by the hospital on our way to get the kids from school, we decided that we would both go to get the kids from school and if my labor intensified, Hubby could always drop me off at the hospital either on the way to or from getting the kids from school.

As we drove past the hospital going to get the kids from school, Hubby said, “Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off right now?" 

 

At that point, my contractions were pretty regular, but they were only about 30 seconds in duration. I knew that for real, major active labor, they could get as long as 90 seconds long and I wasn’t feeling contractions on the top of my uterus, so I felt like we had time and I still had a long road ahead.  I was going with Hubby to get the kids.  Decision made.

 

When we were about a block beyond the hospital, I had a contraction that made me groan a little bit and Hubby made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was definitely dropping me off at the hospital on the way home.

I kind of shrugged my shoulders and said that I guess they could always triage me and send me home but they were probably just going to laugh at me because my contractions were so short in duration.  But, I realized it was probably the responsible thing to do to go get checked out but then Hubby would probably be coming back to get me to take me home after he took the kids home until my labor was more intense and the contractions were longer.

So, with a plan in place we began to text our children’s favorite babysitter to find out if she would be available to be at our home to meet the kids after school and stay for a little bit knowing that we were going to the hospital but we weren’t sure what the night would bring.

We picked up the three little kids from their school and I actually had to stop my conversations twice with two different teachers because I was having a contraction that I could not talk through.  I wasn’t making faces or groaning or anything, I just could not continue the conversation during the contraction, so I had to awkwardly hold up the finger and wait about 15 seconds of silence to continue the conversation and then explain, “Sorry about that -- just timing contractions."

We gathered our four children and headed back toward the hospital where Hubby dropped me off about 4 o’clock. Then he headed home with the four kiddos.

The nurses at admitting, did not take me to triage, they took me directly to a room and I specifically commented that I thought I would be going to triage.  I found out later that since I had two or three contractions during the process of walking from the front desk to my room the nurse knew there was no way I was going to triage.  The nurse appeased me by saying that they could always send me home, but she was thinking I didn’t need to go to triage, I should probably just go right to a room.

It took a little time to settle in, but by about 4:20, I had been examined and a midwife explained that I was 6 cm dilated, 80% effaced, with a bulging bag of water, the baby head was engaged at minus two station and they definitely were not sending me home.  Her words to me were, "You're not going anywhere, Sister!" 

 

I explained to the midwife that it was my goal to have (another) natural childbirth, which I had done three times before, but that I expressly did not want them to break my water.  My water broke with Tracey Ann to begin labor, but she was not born until almost 24 hours later.  The OB broke my water during active labor with both twins, and a midwife broke my water when I was in labor with Addallee.  In in the case of both the twins and Lee Lee, we made that decision because it would expedite my labor.  I really wanted to hang in and experience my water breaking on its own during active childbirth.  But, with that as my goal, there was no telling how long my labor would last, and I knew that.

 

Hubby had texted me several times to ask for an update and to let me know he had met the baby-sitter at home and the kids were settled in and they were excited to see her.  I texted Hubby with what the midwife had told me, and is soon as he heard 6 cm, he relaxed, stopped rushing, and asked if I wanted anything from home and if I wanted him to bring me any food.  

 

We both knew we could be in for a long evening and night of labor ahead of us.

 

To be continued...

Hunter Birth Story Part I

I can’t believe Hunter is already one month old. I really don’t know where this month has gone and yet he is so much more grown-up than the new born baby we had a month ago. I would like to start sharing the birth story of how Hunter came into the world before too much time passes.

I had been having contractions for six weeks prior to my due date. With Lee Lee, I began to have regular contractions on my due date in the early morning hours, and everyone had told me that with baby number four -- pregnancy number three -- first pregnancy after having twins, my labor and delivery was going to be fast and to not delay in getting to the hospital. So with Lee Lee, we did go into the hospital when I began having regular contractions and proceeded to hang out there for the next eight hours until she took her sweet time coming into the world.  Addallee‘s active labor and delivery was my longest of any of my kids.

With her  birth story as my most recent, and the details looming in my mind, I had told Hubby that I was having contractions, but I planned to ignore them until my water broke. I did not want to labor for so many hours at the hospital like the last time.

The week leading up to my due date with Hunter, I had more and more regular contractions, and even began timing some in the evenings.  But, I would always go to bed and labor would dissipate, and I would wake up the next morning ready for work with no active labor -- that was, until Thursday night, November 14.

I woke up Friday morning, November 15, and I was still having contractions that morning. Hubby took one look at my body language and demeanor during a few contractions, and he told me I should stay in bed and he was not going into work and he would take the kids to school. I did not like that plan, because every time I went about my usual routine, the contractions would diminish so I didn’t want to just lay in bed waiting on contractions that would have lessened had a gotten up and going.  We eventually made the decision that Hubby would not go into work but he and I would stay together to drop the kids off at school.

 

I did have to time contractions as we drove the kids to school but my active labor  dissipated throughout the morning, which I expected. Hubby and I dropped the kiddos at school, went to breakfast, got some work done, I went to a chiropractor appointment, and then we took a nice long walk.

Eventually, we went back home and I laid down for about 30 minutes before we would have to go get the kids from school. When I lay down, my labor began to pick up again and Hubby and I had to decide if he was going to get the kids from school by himself or if I was going with him. If I stayed home, and my labor intensified, he would be an hour away from me and I would be 30 minutes away from the hospital so my staying home with labor intensifying didn’t seem like the right call.

Since we had to drive right by the hospital on our way to get the kids from school, we decided that we would both go to get the kids from school and if my labor intensified, Hubby could always drop me off at the hospital either on the way to or from getting the kids from school.

 

To Be Continued...

Tracey Ann - Post Delivery

In the hours immediately following Tracey Ann's birth, there is so much I want to remember.

When my parents were FINALLY invited in (it took some time for my body to be repaired), they knew they had a healthy grandchild, but they didn't know if it was a boy or a girl yet.  Although they had been at the hospital for hours -- since around 4:00pm, they had not seen me at all since I left the house that morning.

Chris and I had made the decision very early on, that, as much as we love our parents, they would not be invited in the room during labor and delivery.  They were welcomed to be at the hospital, but the intensity of labor and delivery was reserved to just the two of us -- and the hospital staff.  Also, we knew that I was hoping and planning to give birth naturally, and that would be hard for my parents to see -- the amount of pain I was in, and I only wanted people around me telling me how well I was doing, and telling me I was doing great... not telling me that I was in too much pain, and to give up.  Were were very happy with our decision to reserve labor and delivery for just the two of us.

When my parents came into the room, I was holding Tracey Ann, and Chris called his parents on facetime.  They both heard the news at the same time...

I said that I wanted to introduce them to their new granddaughter, Tracey Ann Miller.

The next hour was a blur... everyone asking questions about how everything went and what we knew about Tracey Ann thus far.  The truth is, we hardly knew anything.  She hadn't even been weighed yet.  Our birth plan asked that she come right onto my chest after birth and be given the opportunity to nurse indefinitely.

They probably weighed and measured her about 45 minutes after she was born.  That was also when they took her little footprints, and when Hubby and my parents held her for the first time.

In addition to nursing, measurements, and holding our new baby, the next hour included calling Chris' siblings, facetime with my cousin, calling my childhood best friend, and calling my honorary aunt and uncle.  Chris and I had drafted an email that he would send out to our close friends and family the next day -- before the news went on facebook, but there were a very few special people that we called that first night she was born.

Calling Chris' siblings was a given and they had been kept informed through the grapevine that day as we went to the hospital, and when I started pushing.  My cousin had kept in touch with my parents that day and she couldn't wait to hear the news.

The other two calls that we made, were not planned, and surprised me that, in those first hours of Tracey Ann's life, that these were the people we called.  Of all of my friends throughout the years, I had to call my childhood best friend, Abbie.  Abbie and I talk once or twice a year, and we see each other every few years, and we always pick up exactly where we left off.  We know each other so well as adults because we understand where each other came from.  She lives in New York, and it was around 9:00 MST when I called.  Upon hearing our exciting news, the first thing she said was, "Oh my gosh, Brooke Sanden gave her daughter a middle name?!?!"  Only my dear friend, Abbie Rockwood would know me so well to say this.  She remembers the years and years I hated that I didn't have a middle name... and then the decision in high school when I thought it was kind of cool, and maybe I'd not give my daughter a middle name, too.

I also called my honorary aunt and uncle, Uncle Bill and Aunt Ginger.  These are the first people my parents called when I was born.  Of course, I was born a little after midnight, so my parents woke up Aunt Ginger and Uncle Bill around 2:00am.  Apparently I woke them up with this call too, but it was more like 11:00pm... they said they had just turned out the lights.

These were such a special few hours right after Tracey Ann was born.  So much joy, so much excitement.  Sweet Tracey Ann just kept nursing, and looking around at this beautiful new world she had entered.  She was so alert even from birth.

My parents left the hospital around 9:30pm... but the night's excitement was far from over.

Tracey Ann Birth Story -- Long Version Finale, Part 6

This is the finale of Tracey Ann's birth story... see the previous 5 parts here.

After 30-45 minutes of continued labor, and increasing urge to push, Dr. Katie checked my cervix and said that the swelling was not improving but  she was going to go ahead and let me push.  She said that I was going to have to work very hard to get the baby's head past my swollen cervix, but I was young, strong, and healthy, and she thought I could do it.

Despite all I learned about different pushing positions during my Bradley classes, I preferred to push laying on my back.  When I was finally able to push with the contractions, it felt good.  I was finally able to be active in the process of labor... although it took some time for me to really get the hang of pushing.

They instructed me to hold my breath and push with my diaphragm for ten seconds, then take another deep breath, hold it and push for another ten seconds, then repeat a third time.  Chris did the counting while I was pushing and this was the protocol they had us repeat with each contraction until the baby was born.

I pushed for about thirty minutes without much happening.  During this time, Dr. Katie took an ice cube and put it inside the finger of a rubber glove and pressed it to the swollen part of my cervix in between contractions.  With each contraction, she tried to push my cervix around the baby's head, but she didn't want to push too hard because I hadn't had an epidural, and she didn't want to cause me too much pain.

After about thirty minutes of pushing without much progress, Dr. Katie suggested I try to squat and push.  That only lasted maybe four contractions as both Dr. Katie and I did not like that position as well as my laying on my back.

Once I laid back on my back, I began to make more progress.  I finally figured out which muscles I needed to engage in order to push the baby... I don't know how anyone with an epidural ever figures out which muscles to engage in pushing.  Once I figured out which muscles to engage, things began to move more quickly and everything became more exciting.  Dr. Katie, Nurse Jackie, and Hubby would excitedly encourage me as I was pushing as they were starting to see the baby's head.

At this point, I had been pushing for about an hour (I started pushing around 6:30pm), and I kept looking at the clock thinking that I hoped I would have the baby by 8:00pm.  As Hubby and the hospital staff was getting more excited, I asked for a mirror to be set up, because I wanted to see what was happening.  I hadn't decided prior to labor if I would want a mirror or not.  I had seen several birthing videos at our Bradley class, and I didn't know how I would feel at that time.  It turned out, I wanted to see what was making them so excited.

As the baby grew closer and close to crowing, Hubby would get excited by what he was seeing and what was about to happen, and he would start counting faster and faster.  He was the one counting for each of my ten seconds of pushing, but he was getting excited, so his counting sped up.  I had to tell him several times to SLOW DOWN the counting because I knew I could keep pushing for a full then seconds, and I wanted to make that progress.

When the baby's head finally began to emerge and I really pushed it out, the rest happened very quickly -- probably only five seconds, but everything happened, for me, in slow motion.

I knew I was delivering the baby's head, but I also had learned that birth is a process -- sort of two steps forward, one step back... literally as the baby is born with each contraction.  When I was delivering the baby's head, I knew I still had the rest of the baby to deliver... and the next thing I knew the baby was on my chest.

What happened in those five seconds was that I delivered the baby's head, then Dr. Katie saw that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the neck and had suddenly tightened as I pushed the baby out.  Dr. Katie immediately worked to clamp and cut the cord (not in my birth plan... but it was necessary for the health of the baby).  Hubby, seeing that the doctor was about to cut the cord, knew that this was supposed to be his job, and put out his hand to take the scissors away from the doctor in an effort to help.  She quickly assured him, he would get a chance to cut something... but get out of her way.  Then she cut the cord and pulled the baby the rest of the way without any more pushing on my part because of the complication which arose (the umbilical cord around the baby's neck).

I heard some of what the doctor was saying, and definitely was aware that Chris tried to take the scissors from the doctor, but I wasn't aware of the actual complication of the baby being strangled by the umbilical cord (thank goodness!).  I would find out later that the baby's vitals had been so good throughout all of labor and delivery that they suspected that the cord just pulled tightly around the neck when I gave that big push to deliver the head.

Suddenly the baby was on my chest and all pain from the labor and delivery was over.  The nurse immediately came over and started suctioning the baby to make sure it was breathing and responding in a healthy way.

Hubby was a ball of emotions.  He was cheering me on, holding my hand, kissing me, crying, trying to keep his voice from cracking all while the baby was being born.  Once the baby arrived we were both so happy and overjoyed and proud of each other -- and we completely forgot that we didn't know if we had had a boy or a girl.

Thankfully the hospital staff knew that our birth plan included that Hubby would be the one to look at the baby and announce to me whether we had a son or a daughter.  The doctor then looked at Chris and reminded him that we didn't know what the baby was.  We both laughed, and were surprised to realize that we had forgotten.  We had so much joy in having our baby, we didn't care if it was a boy or a girl therefore, we had forgotten to check.

Chris looked at the baby on my chest and, through tears and a croaking voice, announced, "It's a GIRL!"

I couldn't believe it.  I was SURE we were having a boy.

Immediately after Hubby announced that we had a daughter, the nurse took the baby over to the warmer (not in our birth plan) because the nurse wasn't happy with her breathing yet.

She let our her first cry 59 seconds after being born... at 60 seconds, she would have had a lower APGAR score.  The hospital staff worked as quickly as possible to make sure that her airway was safe and clear and get her back to my chest as soon as possible.  I made my 8:00pm deadline... she was born at 7:56pm.

Meanwhile Dr. Katie worked to take care of my body what with the trauma of giving birth.  I actually had to ask the hospital staff to move the mirror that had been set up so I could watch the baby's birth... I didn't need to see the repair.

Without sharing too many details (I know... I've already shared too many details), I did have some complications because of the swollen cervix which led to a few complications in recovery, but I am SO grateful that our doctor honored my birth plan and let me have a natural delivery despite this complication.  I didn't even notice delivering the placenta -- the doctor had to tell me it was over... I never felt a thing.  I did feel the repair, and Dr. Katie said I could have some narcotics to help with the discomfort of the repair if I wanted it.  I had just endured natural childbirth in order to keep drugs out of my baby's system... I didn't need any narcotics to work their way into my first batch of breast milk.  I politely declined the offer of narcotics, and just kept breathing deeply, and focusing on my brand new baby during the repair.

Before the baby came back to my chest, the nurse asked if we had a name... and Chris and I looked at each other, and Chris said, "Is she Tracey Ann?"
I responded, "Yup.  I think she's Tracey Ann."

We then shared with the doctors and nurses why her name was Tracey Ann and for whom in our family she was named.

Tracey Ann came back to my chest, skin-to-skin, where I think she might have stayed for nearly the next hour.  She immediately began to nurse and she knew exactly what she was doing.  I was in awe of what she naturally knew what to do because I had no clue what I was doing, but she had no problems.  Chris put Josh Groban radio back on for us to listen to (which is what we listened to as I started my labor) so we came full circle.  I kept looking at Tracey Ann, and then looking up at Chris and having the same conversation over and over.
Me:  I can't believe I did it.
Hubby:  I knew you could do it.
Me:  I couldn't have done it without you.

I sent Chris out to see my poor parents in the waiting room to tell them that they had a healthy grandchild, and we would bring them in as soon as we could to tell them if it was a boy or a girl.

Well, that is our Tracey Ann's birth story.  I will post more about how we told our family that it was a girl, and about our hospital stay and first days as a family... but that is her birth story made possible by Bradley Childbirth classes, and my wonderful husband.

Tracey Ann Birth Story -- Long Version Part 5

Yeah... you can't say I didn't warn you.  "Long Version" is right there in the title of these posts I've been writing, and I've been trying to keep each segment a not-too-long readable length, but I really have to wrap up Tracey Ann's birth story.  Check out the first four parts of the story here.

Out of the bathtub, after four or so hours of intense labor, Dr. Katie checked my cervix and said I was dilated to ten centimeters, but there was a problem.  She said that the circle that was my cervix, the back was open at ten centimeters, but the front was swollen, and so it was not ten centimeters.

She cautioned me not to push, because that could cause the cervix to swell even more, which would make the opening less open that it was now.  She suggested I spend a little more time laboring, but encouraged me to try different positions.  So, I squatted at the edge of my bed, and got down on one knee and labored through more contractions.  At this point, I looked at the nurse and said something like, "I guess I have made it through the window of requesting drugs, haven't I?"  And she looked at me, sort of puzzled, and asked if I wanted drugs.  I said that no, I didn't, but if I was dilated to 10 cm, it was comforting to know that I made it through the window when I could ask for them.

I don't remember much about the labor during this time, but I remember, as one contraction began, Chris couldn't reach my back, which he had been lightly rubbing with every contraction, and so he lightly rubbed my neck instead -- really. bad. move.  I didn't have the words to say, "Hubby, please don't touch my neck right now."  Instead, I grabbed his hand with my fingers, and violently removed them from my neck while I verbally let out a sound that was an interesting combination of a growl and a roar.  My poor Hubby got the message, and did not try to touch my neck again during labor.  Come to think of it, I don't think he has touched my neck since.

The other thing I remember is that the doctor got an ice pack and held it in the small of my back during contractions.  She said, it was an old wives tale, that this could help, but she didn't see any harm in helping things along with a natural remedy.  Chris told me later something about the baby turning when Dr. Katie did this, and the baby was then in a better position to be born, but I don't remember any discussion to that effect.

After 30-45 minutes of continued labor, and increasing urge to push, Dr. Katie checked my cervix and said that the swelling was not improving and she was going to go ahead and let me push.

** Side note: I would later find out that this condition of a swollen cervix might have been cause for another doctor to recommend/insist upon an epidural and/or a C-section, but we were incredibly blessed with Dr. Katie allowing us to proceed with a natural birth despite this complication. **

I promise, the next post will be the birth story finale.

Tracey Ann's Birth Story -- Long Version Part 4

See the rest of the story in Parts 1, 2, and 3.

At 3:00, I wanted to try to labor in the bathtub.  This hospital was equipped with a really nice, deep bath tub, with jets.  They weren't set up for women to deliver in the tubs, but encouraged women to labor there.  In order to get in the tub, they had to take me off the pitocin, and the portable contraction monitor.  I was having very regular, strong contractions, so they were hopeful that these would continue after removing the pitocon -- they did.  Nurse Jacquie also said that she could bring a doppler in every so often to check the baby's heart rate -- but she was doing so well, that she didn't anticipate any problem with my laboring in the tub.

In the tub, I really got the hang of relaxing into my contractions, and definitely found my "zone".  The contractions were VERY intense, and I laid on my side in the tub with the jets going.  At this point, I was moaning through the contractions, and they were beginning to come two minutes apart (and lasting about 60-90 seconds apiece... so that left 30-60 seconds rest from the contraction ending to another one starting).

At this point, the most difficult part became wondering how long this was going to last.   I was in my zone and I was dealing with the contractions... but they were unbelievably difficult, and I wanted to know how many more I had to get through.  I could make it another hour... or more -- but another eight or more hours was not going to work for me.  When the contractions were getting especially difficult, Hubby told me to make it through six more contractions and they we would have the nurse check me.

Making it through the next six contractions were hard, but at least I was counting down... one more contraction closer to someone checking me.  Another contraction closer to someone checking me.  Then, even after I made it to six contractions, it was another two contractions before I was out of the tub and someone was there to check me.

I was seven centimeters.  So, back in the tub I went, this time laying on my other side.  (And this is when Hubby called my parents and suggested that they might want to come to the hospital... things were moving along.)

While I was in the tub, Hubby and I went back in the zone for some more time -- maybe another hour... maybe longer?  At this point, I was completely incoherent.  Hubby later told me that I was speaking as though I was drunk.  He said I was slurring my words and having a hard time finding the words that I wanted.  All I remember saying at all during this time were single words -- "Contraction."  "Count."  "Bubbles."

"Contraction" was what I said to let Chris know there was another contraction.  "Count" was what I said if Chris either wasn't counting for me... or if I couldn't hear him counting.  "Bubbles" was what I said for the bathtub jets.  A couple of times Dr. Katie or Nurse Jacquie came in to say something to us, and Hubby turned off the jets for me to hear what they were saying.  Every time a contraction came, I needed the jets back on.  I don't know that it was so much that they felt good, but the sound of them helped get me through the pain.  The hum of the engine and the stirring of the turbulent water turned out to help me relax along with Hubby's counting and rubbing.

Throughout the entire labor, but especially during this most intense time, Hubby was the liaison between the nurse/doctor and myself.  Various medical personnel poked their head into the bathroom from time to time, and Hubby always talked to them.  Sometimes he asked them questions I had asked him; sometimes he relayed what they said to me... but I was not the one having any real conversation or exchange of information with anyone at this point.

Eventually, the intensity of my contractions changed and I began to have the urge to push during the climax of my contractions.  At this point, I told Chris that I wanted to be checked again.  Dr. Katie came in to check me and said she would be able to check me best if I got out of the tub and onto the hospital bed.  So out of the tub, and onto the bed.

When Dr. Katie checked my cervix, she said I was at ten centimeters, but there was a complication...

Tracey Ann's Birth Story -- Long Version Part 3

For the first two parts of this incredibly long version of Tracey Ann's birth story, see Part 1 and Part 2.

Hubby and I arrived at the hospital around 10:00am, and I was still gushing water at times (traveling with a doggy accident pad), and no sign of contractions.

We had pre-registered with the hospital, so we arrived and began the process of settling in.  Our nurse's name was Jacquie and she was very sweet -- by the end of our journey, we were in love with her!!!  The next hour was spent getting into a gown, listening to the baby's heart rate on a fetal monitor, being hooked up to a mobile contraction monitor, getting blood drawn, and getting an IV port (heparin lock) inserted in case I needed any sort of IV at some point.

Our doctor, Dr. Katie, came in and said I was dilated 3 cm, and then we discussed our options for getting labor started.  She said we had three options.  As an aside, we LOVED our doctor.  There were 4 doctors in our practice, and, unless I had a C-section scheduled, whichever doctor was on call was going to be my physician.  As a result, the practice made sure that I had an appointment with each of their physicians in my last trimester of pregnancy.  During my time meeting all the doctors, I actually came to prefer Dr. Katie more than my original doctor, who I had seen for the past seven months.  Hubby and I were THRILLED, and praising God when we learned that Dr. Katie was on call when we arrived at the hospital, and would remain on call until the following morning at 7:00am.  Dr. Katie said was had three options to instigate my contractions.

1. Since the baby's heart rate was steady and healthy, we could try to induce labor naturally a little longer -- walking, nipple stimulation, etc.
2. We could start pitocin through my IV in an effort to jump start my body into active labor.  This would involve being hooked up to an IV, and the nurses monitoring the baby's heart rate periodically.  The hope here would be that after a low dose of pitocin that my body would jump-start into labor and I could be weened off pitocin and continue with labor naturally.
3. A mechanical apparatus that is designed to physically stimulate my cervix into opening thereby inducing labor.

At 11:00, we decided we would try to induce labor naturally for an hour or so, and we could always come back to one of the other options if our home remedies didn't work.  I started pacing around our room and a few minor contractions resulted, but when I stopped walking, the contractions always stopped.  At 12:30, we decided to rest and eat the lunch the hospital delivered because at 1:00, the doctor was coming back in and we were ready to try pitocin.

 At 1:00, Dr. Katie and Nurse Jacquie started a low dose of pitocin in my IV.  I started at 2 units, and they said they would increase the dose by 2 units every 15 minutes.  Well, that worked for the first 15 minutes, but by the time they returned at the 30 minutes mark, I asked if she could only increase by 1 unit.  Within 5 minutes of their starting my pitocin, my body definitely got the message to begin contractions.

I only made it up to 6 units of pitocin, and my body was in full-scale active labor.  When the pitocin first started, I was up and walking around, but within minutes, I was trying different laboring positions and Hubby had to begin his Bradley Coaching of trying to get me to relax during contractions.  Not to over-share, but the position that ended up working best for me for a little while was on the toilet.

In hindsight, these two hours with pitocin, and time on the toilet was the toughest part of my labor.  It was during this time that I told Chris I didn't really want to do this any more.  I told him that even with all the training I had had for natural childbirth, numbness was sounding really good right now.  He kept telling me that I was doing great, and that I could definitely do it.  I told him that even if I could do it... I DIDN'T WANT TO ANYMORE.  At one point I told him that we should get my Bradley teacher on the phone so she could remind me why I wanted to do this naturally.

It was hard to relax through the contractions on the toilet, and Chris and I were still finding our rhythm of what worked to get me through each contraction.  I was finding that I did best when Chris counted through the contractions.  Nothing fancy, just steady, slow counting through each contraction.  And, rubbing my back very lightly.  Also, the Josh Groban radio station on Pandora, and that was the combination we would find that worked the best -- counting, light rubbing of my back, and Josh Groban radio... but we were still figuring out that combination while I was laboring on the toilet with pitocin.

All I knew at this point was labor was not fun, and I didn't want to do it anymore.  I didn't know how long the labor would last, I was not comfortable, I was not able to relax like I had practiced, and I didn't care how much Hubby and I had practiced for a natural labor and delivery, I was ready to throw in the towel...

The Bradley Method

In time, I will be sure to post Tracey Ann's birth story.  I will probably post a long version, with a lot of details, and then a short version for the Cliff Notes population.  Before I post either of these, however, I need to talk a little about the Bradley Method of Husband Coached Childbirth.

Hubby and I were first introduced to the Bradley Method by friends of mine from college.  They were expecting their first baby long before Tracey Ann was a twinkle in her daddy's eye.  The wife is a nurse and talked our ear off about the benefits of the Bradley Method of childbirth. 

When hubby and I found out we were pregnant 10 months later, this couple was one of my first calls.  And, within a few weeks, a package with a lot of Bradley Method reading material had been delivered to me from this couple.

In no time at all, hubby and I were sold on the merits of the Bradley Method, and we had signed up for a twelve-week class in Carbondale the upcoming fall.

The Bradley method of childbirth is based the observations of a doctor from the 1950s who studied how animals give birth, without anesthesia and without Caesareans.  At a time in our history when nearly all women were majorly drugged, and/or strapped to the table in order to give birth, this Dr. explored the possibility of natural, un-medicated childbirth.

Not long into his studies, this doctor discovered the importance, not only of husbands presence in the delivery room, but as their wife's labor coach for women to give birth naturally.  This doctor's philosophy was that women can definitely give birth naturally, if they have learned what to expect and how to handle the discomfort.  Furthermore, their husbands are instrumental in coaching them through the process of labor and delivery.  The husband, after all, knows the expectant mother better than anyone and this child is a culmination of their love for one another. The best  coach for natural labor is the husband.  

In order to prepare for labor, both husband and wife need to undergo 12 weeks of classes to prepare.  Bradley Method classes include information about pregnancy and labor, practice of relaxation for labor, learning how to support the mother during labor, and preparation for the baby's arrival.

The philosophy behind the Bradley Method believes that if a woman can relax through her contractions, her uterus will do the job it's designed to do with less discomfort than when a woman tenses up with every contraction.  The husband is instrumental in helping the wife relax through these contractions, and serves as a liaison for his wife and the medical staff during her labor and delivery.

I will write about Tracey Ann's birth story soon, but before I do, I will say Chris and I were very incredibly pleased with our experience of labor and delivery with the preparation the Bradley Method classes provided us.  We went into labor feeling incredibly prepared, knowing how to support each other, and feeling knowledgeable about what things in labor are normal and what are cause for concern.

I was able to give birth to Tracy Ann without an epidural, and it never would've been possible without my husband and the Bradley Method we had studied.

If you're interested in additional information about the Bradley method visit this website or read the below book.