Length of labor (not pushing)
15 hours
Length of pushing
10 minutes
Who was with me
My husband, 6 year old, Mother in law, a midwife and 1 assistant.
What I would do differently next time
Not be upset with my Midwife in transition. . .though she didn't know it.
What I did to prepare for birth
Ate very healthy, excersised, took the best prenatals and herbal teas, and of course hired the best care provider in the area; a certified professional Midwife.
How my birth happened
Not soon enough I thought at first. I simply did not know my dates, and was just big, but was pretty sure I was two weeks off in the end. I made the mistake of having a Doctor back up my midwife, and he demanded my midwife to do all sorts of tests to me in the hospital to make sure the baby was still fine every few days. He even went so far as to say if I didn't go into labor on the exact day I should if my dates were off, that he was scheduling a c-section. So for two weeks I was stressing out but to no avail. An ultrasound was scheduled for the very day of the c-section, and it was my first. That day, as is usual for me, I went into labor. With no mercy, the tech laid me on the table in full labor, and continued to prod. Telling me that my baby would weigh about 11 lbs. yeah right! I was so disgusted! She didn't even offer to give us the pictures afterwards. (And we were a little distracted to remember to ask.) Well, I went home, and called the Midwife, who had been with me a lot of the day already. We went on to have a relaxing birth. . .too relaxing. I got into my nice jetted tub in mid labor, and it stalled my labor. So my midwife told me I should get out, sit on my ball and walk. (She was feeling the pressure from the doctor still.) Well, first I walked, then, totally exhausted I stood at a door jam. My midwife all the time listening for the baby's heart rate, told me that the baby needed to be born soon, and she thought it was a short cord from the sounds of it. So she gave me an option of an emergency transfer to the hospital, 15 minutes away) or to try my best to have the baby fast. I was in transition at the time, and I was not about to give up on a natural birth for my baby after all I'd gone true to have it already! So I declined got back into the tub, and started to push with every contraction, whether I felt like it or not. The birth went uneventfully from there, and he came out 9 lbs. 14 ounces and just as healthy as can be. He needed less oxygen than my first hospital born baby needed as a matter of fact. Midwives will often give oxygen just as a precaution even when the color is ok, but my babies being red heads looked pale to the Midwives I guess. After a nice time of clean up for us both, we were pampered and fed (baby nursed) given tinctures for afterpains, and everyone was buzzing around cleaning and making phone calls for an hour or so. After which, we all settled down to get some needed sleep, as he was born shortly after midnight.
Lessons learned
- Trust my body and don't listen to Doctors.
