| Went to see B today for her one day postpartum. She looked great, said she felt wonderful. All the kids (except for the baby, of course) were at Gramma's, so the house was quiet and peaceful. Both mom and dad were hungover with baby love.
I managed to get a new laptop computer out of the birth - traded a small part of the fee for it - an Apple, no less! I was enamored with the thought of accessing the internet from the couch with no wires - I can't wait to get the computer!
OK...now for the full birth story....
So, B's water broke Wednesday afternoon, but she had been having prelabor and stop-start labor for a week about. It was very frustrating to her - her longest labor was her first, which was four hours. Really, all four times before, her water was broken for her and bam! Her babies just came quickly. So, it's hard to not compare this next labor with the four other experiences. This being her first homebirth, and her last baby, it's not surprising that things were different.
When I went out to see her yesterday, it was my intention really to just listen to baby and talk to her about starting to take her temperature throughout the day. After hearing her frustration, presenting her with options, we decided that it would be best to get things going. She was tired and wasn't wanting another night of no sleep.
We did some herbs, and I felt like baby was posterior, and this was the issue with the stop and start labor (posterior babies do not have their heads well applied to the cervix, so labor starts, but cannot continue because of the lack of head pressure on the cervix). So, she did five minutes knee/chest, then five minutes on her side, five minutes rest. After a half hour or so of this, he turned! Yeah! Now, we just needed some good contractions to get things going....
B was hesitant to use the breast pump to get things going, as her nipples are very sensitive during pregnancy. It wasn't appealing at all. But, when she was getting serious about getting labor going, it was tried. And, wouldn't you know it? It was the one thing that really worked well.
She originally planned on birthing downstairs, but with her daughter, her sister-in-law, and three midwives, I think she really craved privacy. So, she spent most of her labor upstairs, walking through the contractions. She was pissed that she was never allowed to walk through the contractions with her four other labors - she said it helped so much. She also used combs (for accupressure) and said that they helped with the pain alot (so much so that her husband felt really useless for awhile).
One of us went up every hour or so to check on her, listen to baby, and find out if she needed anything. At one point, she started acting like she was pushing, so we all came upstairs, ready for the birth. After awhile, the contractions spaced and it was obvious that the birth wasn't imminent. I asked if she wanted some privacy, and she admitted she did. We left them alone again.
Back downstairs, we ate (alot!), chatted and waited. Her moans got louder and louder and then there were some serious pushing happening. She was standing at the end of her bed with her husband supporting her behind her. She was frantic that the baby wasn't going to come out and it was hurting so bad. I did some rectal counterpressure (really soothing for many women during the birth - especially for those with hemorrhoids and/or a fear of pooping during the birth) and we all just watched her push. Small words of encouragement were coming all around me - from my apprentice, my assistant, her husband, myself. "Yes, yes - you're doing so well, B"...."Great job, B, you're really bringing the head down well...we can see the head"..."Stretching so nicely"....
Her 12 year old daughter was behind me, watching the birth. The head started crowning and she pushed his head out so slowly. "Do you want to touch his head?", I asked her, thinking that this would help her come back into herself. "NO!" She screamed. Then, his head was out and his shoulders were out. She was off in another world. I told her, "B, reach down with your hands - he's almost out..reach down and get your baby" (or something like that). She told me later that her eyes flew open and that this touching of her baby helped her center herself so much. The baby came out so quickly then that I nearly dropped that slippery boy and immediately handed him up to mom. She kept saying, "I did it! I really did it!" The father told me today that he had never got to see any of his children right after the birth. This was really amazing to him and he said he loved touching his son's head - all wet with fluids and vernix. He said it was an amazing experience to do that.
B sat down on an ottoman that they had there and we waited for the placenta. The placenta came out easily and smoothly - she lost very, very little blood.
Today at the visit, the father admitted that he wishes he could go back in time and relive the birth all over again - and re-do all four of their others. He said that it was worth three times as much as I charged for the birth.
The baby had a nice size head and chest and I think it took so long because of the molding of the head. I also suspect that he had a hand or two up by his head for awhile during labor (because she had incredible pubic bone pain and it took awhile for him to come through the cervix). She had two small splits in her upper labia, but she said today that she cannot feel them at all. Baby is nursing well and was amazingly alert when I went to visit them. They are both thrilled with the experience, which makes all the time waiting and wondering so worth it. She said it was nice to sleep with her new baby with no interruptions from nurses checking her uterus, taking her blood pressure, or telling her she wasn't nursing right.
One of the father's sisters (stepsister) is in residency for OB/GYN. She believes that all babies should be born by cesarean. She didn't know about the homebirth plans, but I'm wondering if she'll ever see the video. *Gasp* - a fifth time mom with ruptured water for two days having her baby at home - standing up!
Oh, his name is Lachlan. :) He's absolutely gorgeous. It is a serious blessing to do this work. I feel distinctly like the longer I do this, the more it feels like a ministry of sorts. What hope I have for the world. Hope for the future, hope for the treatment of children and the integrity of family. I definitely feel the presence of God when that baby is emerging. It's so deep and intense. I'm incredibly lucky, and I hope I never lose that feeling of being so fortunate. |
