This is the story of my first child's birth (Caitlin). It's written by my dh as though she wrote it herself. There's more to it (like pre-birth story stuff) but this is the labor part as taken from her webpage:

My expected due date came and went and everyone was very anxious for me to come out and meet them. Every day that my daddy went to work he had to have someone on standby who was willing to come in and work for him if Mommy went into labor. It's a good thing he did because about 12:30 in the morning of December 4th, while my daddy was working, Mommy woke up to go to the bathroom and realized there was blood there and her back was really aching (I was in a posterior position - facing Mommy's tummy instead of her back). So she called one of the midwives to see what to do and she suggested that mommy try to go back to bed and get as much rest as possible. Well, she tried this for about 5 minutes, but realized that this pain was different than what she had felt before - it was much stronger. Mommy contacted daddy at work at 1am and daddy decided that he had better come home although mommy was still not sure though that I was really on the way (she was beginning to think I had something against her and would never come out!). By 1:30am daddy was home and he could tell from the moment he walked through the door that this was really it. Mommy was sitting on the couch in the dark, just staring ahead of her with a concentrated gaze on her face. Daddy knew from what he had learned in the Bradley classes that this was well past early first stage labor. Mommy told him that he had better call the midwives and start filling the portable hot tub.

By 3:30am the first midwife arrived. She checked mommy who was already 4-5 centimeters dilated. The next midwife arrived a half hour later and mommy was 5-6 centimeters dilated! She was moving fast. The midwives were great. They made themselves at home, got everything ready, and made it easy to let things procede quietly and calmly the way my parents wanted it. Mommy decided to move to the tub and labor there, where she stayed most of the time through the rest of the labor. When mommy was 10 centimeters dilated, her body started to push without her but she still had a bit of a lip on the cervix to get rid of. The midwife told her she could go ahead and give a little push to see what happens, and when she did that, she felt a 'pop' and realized that her water had broken. Everything looked good and mommy got to the point where she could really start pushing, so she did that for awhile in the tub. Unfortunatley her muscles were really strong and even though she was pushing down, her muscles stayed tight so that I couldn't come through very easily. The midwives suggested moving out of the tub, so that we could get gravity to help us out. She moved to the bathroom and did most of her pushing sitting down on the toilet (I know, everyone tells her this sounds funny, but this really is one of the best positions to push in). They were there for awhile and the midwives even went and made Daddy a grilled cheese sandwhich and a pear. They really took good care of my parents during the whole thing (they even did a load of laundry for them before they left - I told you they were great)!

After about 4 hours of pushing, mommy moved to the bed and the midwives said that I was about to come out. They asked her if she wanted to move back to the tub so that I could be born there, but by this point she just wanted to meet me! So mommy decided that I'd be born on the bed. Soon my head came out, and daddy rushed down to catch me. At 10:19 in the morning I fell into his hands & he lifted me to mommys belly and layed me down on my side. I came out all pink, clean, and crying just like a movie-baby. The cord was short and was wrapped between my legs and up my back and so daddy announced "I think it's a girl!" Mommy lifted up my leg and said "Yep, it's a girl!" Everyone was so happy that I was finally there (especially mommy - what a relief!). Daddy was kind of surprised to see that I was a girl because he had really started to think that a boy was on the way. I had been born with one of my hands up next to my face - it was a tight squeeze! The midwives took blood out of my umbilical cord and the placenta and my parents had it saved at a special blood bank in case I should ever need a supply of my original stem cells. After that, mommy delivered the placenta, and I was weighed and measured. I came out weighing 8 pounds and 8 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long! Not bad for a first baby!

(Total length of labor was 9 hours 45 minutes long. We think now that the baby was not posterior even though I had back labor. We (I) think that her having her hand up to her face (compound presentation) caused the back labor due to her elbow pushing on my back. She also was born with an asynclitic presentation (head tilted to the side) which probably, in combination with the compound presentation, caused such a long 2nd stage. Little booger. Had I been in the hospital I'm thinking a c-section would have been pushed if not ordered.)

This is the story of my second birth - our daughter Allie. This birth followed 2 miscarriages within the previous year. It was very important to me that I really be the one to birth this baby. I think I needed to regain a sense of power over my body - if that makes any sense at all. Anyway, here ya go:

My water broke around 9:15 pm on November 1st, 2003, 5 long days after the due date of my second child. I was lying in bed about to go to sleep when I felt a somewhat painful pop then another and a small leaking of fluid. I said to Brendan, "I think my water just broke." He helped me to the empty bathtub where I stood for a bit waiting for a big gush of fluid to come out. Only small amounts came out at a time. I moved to the toilet and waiting a bit longer. Still only a little bit of fluid would occasionally come out, and diarrhea started (this is common in labor and happened with my first as well). I had my husband call the midwife. She asked if the fluid was clear (it was) and if contractions had started yet (they had not). She suggested I try to get some sleep and she would go to bed early anticipating that she'd have to get up later that night to make the 30 minute trip to our home.

About 15 minutes after my water broke I finally began to feel contractions. They weren't overwhelmingly painful at first, but they definitely hurt. I tried to lie down in bed in the classic Bradley side-lying position, but found this so painful that I couldn't bear it. Brendan set up some pillows at the foot of the bed for me and I sat there for awhile, moving to the toilet now and then. Meanwhile, he began filling the tub we had rented. We knew that our hot water would run out long before the tub was filled so he threw 4 pots of water on the stove and began heating the water.

After feeling about 3 contractions he asked if he should call Beah (our midwife) back. I said I wanted to time a couple more, just to be sure. With my first labor, I had severe back labor and was never able to feel the contractions well enough to time them (they were definitely there, but I found it hard to tell when one would start). This time they hit me hard and strong, along with the painful ache in my back that I had experienced before. The contractions were varying in length from about 3 to 5 minutes apart so I consented for him to call her back. It took her about 15 minutes before she got our page, but then she was on her way. We let her know we'd leave the front door unlocked.

My plan was to wait for the midwife to arrive, check me, then give me the okay to get into the tub - but I could wait no longer. I knew from my first labor that the tub had helped so much with the pain. I entered the tub and it was only filled about half way when we ran out of hot water. As I labored there my husband ran back and forth to the stove, bringing more and more hot water. It helped, but the pain was intense.

I was in the tub no longer than 10 or 15 minutes when I declared to him, "I'm pushing!" He said to me, "Well, don't!" and I told him that I wasn't trying to - my body was just doing it. I tried to give myself an internal exam to see if I could feel the head at all. I didn�t think I could (although looking back I think I actually did - it just feels so different inside - soft and mushy). My body kept on pushing without me even trying. A few minutes later I felt the burning sensation that I knew meant the baby was crowning. This was the first time that I actually understood that I was having this baby very fast - like now! I felt again for the head and this time it was right there. Brendan ran around trying to get everything prepared for the birth. I knew exactly where everything was, but he just wasn't prepared to have to do this by himself. He is a firefighter & paramedic and is trained in emergency childbirth, but this was different. This was HIS child, and he found himself a little flustered and without his usual supplies. Somehow I managed to stay in total control, telling him just what he needed to do and where to find everything, meanwhile chanting inside of my own head "You can do this. You know how to do this. You were made for this. You can stand anything for 90 seconds," as the contractions continued.

I kept my right hand on top of her head as it emerged and in no time at all it was out. I looked down and it was floating in the water right there! I asked him what time it was and it was exactly 11:00pm. I told him to check for a cord around the neck, which he attempted to do, but the pain was just too much. I had to push her out now. It had been perhaps a whole minute that her head was delivered before I pushed her body out, but I knew that she'd be just fine, breathing through the cord still and in no danger of drowning. Finally she was out and he brought her up to my chest. She lay on me silent. She was pretty and pink - no vernix left at all - totally ready to be born, but there was no other sign of life. She seemed to be sleeping. I had wanted to hold her there in the tub for awhile after the birth, but with no midwife support there yet and my baby not crying, moving, or opening her eyes, I told him he'd need to cut & clamp the cord, get her out of the tub and try to stimulate her (in retrospect I realized that we should have just let her be - she was fine - just stunned from the quick birth or simply asleep because the birth had been so gentle). He did just that, laying her out on an ordinary bath towel (we hadn't had time to warm blankets for her) and he rubbed her down, flicked her feet, anything he could think of to get her moving. I remember how I felt as I leaned forward in the tub watching my husband try to get our daughter to take her first breath (it hadn't occured to us that she was already breathing just fine - she never lost her pink color). "Come on Allie, breathe! You can do it - breathe for me, please!" he kept repeating. I was calm though and just knew she was fine. I wanted to ask him if she was indeed a girl but I thought I should wait until he got her crying to have him check. I really knew that she was okay. Finally, after about a minute of stimulation she was crying. I then asked him to check her sex and he said that she was indeed a little girl.

He brought her to our bed and wrapped her in a blanket. I asked him to call my mom, who lives just 5 minutes away, and then hand me the phone. We had no plans for her to be at the birth, but we thought we could use an extra pair of hands now. "Mom, I just had the baby and the midwifes aren't here yet. Come now." She was on her way. I was ready for this to be done with and wanted to get out of the tub and deliver the placenta. I figured I'd try to breastfeed her to stimulate more contractions which would release the placenta. He helped me to the bed, and just as I was about to try to feed her, we heard a "thunk!" as our bedroom door swung open and Beah rushed in saying "I heard the baby!"

She checked her over (9 pounds, 8 ounces, and 21 inches long!), told us how great we did, drew my baby's cord blood (which we had wanted to bank, but I didn't think I'd be able to at this point), then coached me to deliver the placenta. I had one small tear which needed to be stitched and two more on the side which did not. She wanted to know what time the baby had been born and we agreed that it must have been about 11:02pm - just an hour and a half after contractions had begun!

Throughout the course of this pregnancy I had developed the desire more and more to really birth my own baby. I wanted the absolute minimal amount of intervention possible from my midwifes. I knew and believed that birth was the most beautiful and natural of all of life's experiences and I fully wanted to have it as my own. This birth gave me, in a very unexpected way, exactly that and I'm so happy and proud of the experience. Thankfully there were no complications to our unattended birth.

Now, I had heard many times before that babies born in the water tend to be more relaxed, easy going babies, and I'm so happy to add that this sweet little girl of ours is exactly that. Allie is such a joy in our lives - we couldn't ask for two more wonderful daughters! I often say to them that I must be the luckiest Mommy on earth because I have the 2 best girls in the world!

(Total length of labor - just 90 minutes! I had 2 tears on my labia which did not require suturing and a small tear in the perineum which I received one stitch for.)

Long story short my water started leaking monday morning. I wasn't sure so I called my MW so she came for a home visit and indeed it was. We waited but no contrax so she gave me antibiotics to make sure both baby and I were ok. Tuesday morning a new MW came to my house and she stretched my cervix and it hurt so bad. Still no contrax. I had gotten antibiotics again b4 the other MW left and the new one gave them to me as well at 12:30pm. We walked she stretched my cervix several times to no avail. She then said it had been 30 hours since my water broke so we had to go. At that point I was 4cm and 80% effaced. She told me that they would give me pitocin to start things and that it wouldn't take long as baby was so low. When we got to the hospital contrax finally started but were little but very regular every 2 minutes. I asked them to wait for the pitocin to see if things would move along. They didn't. They then put me in a delivery room and checked me again, the contrax got a little stronger but still didn't hurt I asked again to hold on the pitocin. at 4:20pm my OB told me I would have the baby within the hour to which I replied ya right I am stuck at 4cm 80% effaced and the contrax don't even hurt! At 4:30pm I was checked again still the same so the resident said they would start the pitocin and from there all hell broke loose they didn't even have time to start the pitocin I went from 4-10cm in 10 minutes on my own and I pushed 7 minutes and out came Patric. I litterally only had time to gets my pants off or Patric would've have been stuck there My MW said total labor 17 minutes from 4:30pm till 4:47pm when he was born lmao I couldn't believe it to which my OB replied what did I tell you? She then told the nurses see that is how a 5 times mom delivery works So I am happy this is done and over and that we had our last miracle

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Birth Story:

At 41 weeks 4 days I really thought my baby would stay in forever. LOL I was whining all the time and miserable. Everyone was irritating us and asking "when are you gonna have that thing?"

On Saturday, Dec 17, my parents invited us over for dinner and my grandparents were there as well. They all joked as to whether I would still be pregnant next time they saw me (grandparents live 1.5 hour away so we only see them about once a month.) We played cards and I had a few contractions but nothing different than the same prodromal stuff I had been having for over a month. We left around 10 pm and I drove cause dh had a drink that night and I refused to let him drive. I was driving home and had a few contractions and remember thinking "hmm, that would be funny if tonight was the night." Then I heard an awful noise on our car so I pulled over at a gas station and what do you know, our lugnuts are falling out. HAHA So dh fixed those and then I drove the rest of the way home, still with what I thought was prodromal labor that was going to fizzle YET AGAIN and be nothing.

We got home and put ds to bed (he fell asleep on the way home) and then I watched a Law and Order rerun and I kept telling dh maybe this was going to be the night cause they were getting more regular and more painful. I told him I better go to bed just in case cause I didnt want to be exhausted for real labor. Plus if the contrax were real they werent going to fizzle just cause I went to bed. I fell asleep right away and woke up a couple of times but still got a bit of sleep until 2:30 am. At 2:30 I got up and thought "this has to be it......I THINK!" LOL I couldnt go back to sleep. They were definately still regular. I got excited but didnt want to call Karen, our midwife, yet because I would feel horrible if I made her come over (an hour away) for nothing. So I waited. At 3:30 am I took a shower to see if they would let up and nope, I was moaning "ohh ohh ohh ohh" in the shower with each contraction so dh called the midwife while I was in there. She had just gotten in from a long birth but was on her way to our house. She told dh on the phone "sounds real to me" so I guess she heard my "ohh's" while dh was on the phone with her.

I got out and dh was up at this point, he went and put away all the dishes and picked up the toys so our house wasnt a total sty when people came over. LOL He made a pot coffee. I kept walking circles around the island in the kitchen cause I was so scared that it wasnt real labor and I would make everyone come over for nothing. The assistant was on her way from an hour away as well and so was my mom. I had called her around 4 am to let her know and she decided to come right then in case DS woke up (I think she was just excited like we were!). Anyways, I continued with the contractions and there were getting stronger and closer. When everyone got there we were chatting and joking and then during a contraction I would lean against something and moan "ohhhh ohhh ohhh ohhh" until it was over and then continue with my conversation. If I was sitting I had to get up during a contaction. Sitting was no good at all at that point. At about 6 am the pain was stronger and they asked me if I wanted to try getting into the pool. I said sure so dh went and got it and set it up in our room and started filling it. The hose adapter thing didnt work so he tried just holding it to the faucet but it was burning his hand with the hot water so my mom suggested they just use a 5 gallon bucket to fill it. It took about 30 minutes, I got my swimming suit top on and then got in. It didnt take any of the pain away but it did feel more "cushy" on my back (we had an inflatable fishy pool from Quality Inflatables) and helped me to stop shivering. The warmth was nice. I sat in there and moaned with each contraction, "ooohhh ohhhh ohhhhh."


Around 7 am I felt like I had to poop and I kept saying I had to poop and I didnt want to poop in the pool. I got out and tried at that point but couldnt so I got back in the pool and thought "oh screw it!" LOL I had started grunting more during contractions but I thought I just had to poop really bad and I kept saying that over and over. I never requested an internal exam so I never knew what cm I was. I got nauseated and they got me a bowl just in time cause I threw up in it. I remember wondering if it was "bad" to be pushing because what if I wasnt at 10 cm? Karen (midwife) just told me to listen to my body and do whatever it was telling me to do. So I pushed.


3 contractions later, out came my mucous plug and her head.......still in her waterbag. It never broke (I never lost my mucous plug or had any bloody show, hence the reason I was questioning labor the whole time.) Pushing was new to me because with my son I had been induced and had an epidural so I felt nothing when I had him. I didnt even know he had come out but this time, I certainly knew! It felt like the strongest urge EVER and I roared her out!! I remember Karen asking if I wanted to see her and putting a mirror in the water but I said no. I just wanted her out at that point, I didnt care about the view at all.

Karen pulled the bag off the baby's face on her way up and helped hand her to me. There was some meconium in the bag so that went in the birth pool but it was no big deal. She didnt need to be suctioned or anything.

I remember saying "oh she's small!" cause I was expecting a 10 pounder since I was quite overdue. We just hung out in the tub for about an hour. She latched and nursed immediately.

My placenta came out about 15 minutes later. I remember thinking it was going to hurt and being nervous about it but it wasnt bad at all. You can tell here in my face that I am nervous about it hurting. LOL

In this pic, ds (3 years) was telling me that I was a good girl. We had warned him that I might make alot of noise because it hurt to push out a baby but that I would be ok. I told him in advance that I might sound like a mama lion. He did really good. He was quiet and I think he knew thats what I needed during the end (he didnt wake up until about 40 minutes before I had her). He saw that Jude Roman video of their daughter cutting the cord and the entire time I was pregnant he kept telling me that he wanted to cut the cord. So he did.

When she was about 2 hours old it was time for the midwife and her assistant to check the baby out and weigh/measure her. She was 7 pounds 12 oz and 19.75 inches long. Her head was 14 inches. She had apgar of 10/10. They also checked me and I had a small tear that didnt even need any stitches (I had an episiotomy at the hospital birth of my son, and he was a whole pound SMALLER!)

My family and a few friends came over after that and came in the room to hold her. I thought the bloody pool (it didnt get bloody until the placenta bin tipped over) would freak out my future SIL but she actually wants a homebirth now too. LOL I remember being hungry and they brought me Jack n the Box breakfast and I chowed down (although my mom fed me toast while I was still in the tub in labor and dh was the water boy cause I was super thirsty the whole labor.)

It was such a great birth, it HURT, of course, but the after part was so great. It was wonderful being in my own home, not tied up to machines/IV/catheter and being forced into a bed (like my first birth.) I was able to get up right away and shower and just chill out with my baby. No pressure at all. Very peaceful and gentle way for my daughter to enter the world!

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link to birth story w/pics: http://69.20.14.30/discussions/showthread.php?t=392316

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Isaac Zion's Birth story:

Quick stat’s:
8lbs 6oz
21� long
13.5� head
August 17th @ 1:51pm

After weeks of progressively stronger bh's and a very cranky momma; On August 17th at 2:45am I woke up knowing it was going to be the day, LOL. We were planning a homebirth, so I started readying the stuff, then I got into the shower. This made the ctx stronger, so I woke my husband and asked "Are you ready to have a baby?" In true male fashion, he looks up and says "No." And rolled over. I said "Well, it's time, so you better be!" LOL So he got up and called into work.
The first thing that I noticed with the way this labor started was how far apart the ctx were, which is very unusual for me, even my bh's ctx start off 2-3 minutes apart, and all my other labors have started that way too, 2-3minutes apart and 30-40 second ctx. These were different,60-90 seconds long but 5-10 minutes apart with a LOT of pink mucous/show. I kept thinking to myself, it's going to kick into gear any moment. But it didn't and I started to wonder if this wasn't going to be *it* after all. Then I would have another ctx and know, they were strong, with a lot of back ache with them and this strange pain low in my belly.
About 4:45am my ctx started to space out more, and at 5am my son woke up(as usual) and 15 minutes later the girls woke(earlier than usual) the ctx stayed about 10 minutes apart during this time, and I knew that it wasn’t going to get going till they were out of the house, so at 7am we sent them over to my MIL’s for the day.
I decided to lay down and rest since they were so far apart still and I was tired, they started coming every 5 minutes again, and at 8:30am my water broke. I went to check the color, it was clear-cloudy white, so no meconium -good. I thought, now this baby will drop and ctx will really pic up….boy was I wrong! The ctx did get stronger, but at 1pm they were still 5-8 minutes apart and baby was still up between my bbs. I told my dh I was pretty sure I was fully dilated, but baby was just not moving down. So I gave a few practice *pushes* weak but it helped the ctx to get closer together, in fact, they almost wouldn’t stop at all. I went to the bed and kneeled, since I knew baby was still posterior but it hurt my lower belly to be like that, so I tried some other positions, but the pain was constant. I knew that I had to start pushing, and get him out and I started praying.
I got up on hands and knees on the bed and began pushing through the pain. I didn’t think it was working at first, then my dh said, “Um that’s blood� Yeah, dear, it happens, remember? He called his mom(lives next door) and she came over just as baby was crowning. Another push and he was born to his mouth, then shoulders, then out! I pushed for about 7-10 minutes total. Not bad for a complete posterior.
Isaac came out screaming and pinked up fast, we cut the cord right away, as there was a knot in it. I was still in a lot of pain and passing some very large clots, so I got up and into the shower knowing the placenta had to come out NOW. Once I got it out I noticed it was full of blood, and I passed a few more clots, then the bleeding slowed . The pain stopped, finally it was over!

We took Isaac to the ped yesterday because of the knot in the cord and the likely partial placental abruption, and they said he looks great, heart, lungs all clear and no jaundice J He’s nursing like a champ and my milk is already in.

As for me…no tears, and feeling good aside from tired.

Jaxons home birth

Stats:
Feburary 4, 2004
8lbs 10oz
21 1/4 long
On Feburary 2nd I took Ariel to JC Pennys and then Walmart to get a few last things for the baby that we needed. While we were shopping in Walmart I started feeling my heart beating really fast and felt a little dizzy. I sat down for a few seconds and then decided to grab a few more things and check out. Well I started feeling even worse so I skiped the last few things on my list and headed for the check out. While I was checking out I decided to go over to Steven (my dr friend)'s office and get checked out to make sure everything was okay, I was a little worried that the baby's heart rate was going up too. So we hurried over there, its very close to Walmart not even 5 mintues. So we got there and there was a new receptionist that I didn't know and I was like will you tell Steven Eva is here? And she was like you need to sign in.. I was like I don't have an appointment will you plese just go tell him I'm here! She said you still need to sign in so I can pull your chart! Ugh!! She really peeved me! So I signed in and she went to get my chart and told Steven I was there, when she came back she was alot nicer and more willing to help! So I got back in a room and Steven decided to check my cervix while I was there. When he checked my pulse it was in the 120's!! But when he checked Jaxons it was in the 130's like always, Thank Goodness! Then he checked my cervix and said that I was 5-6 cm!!!! And he was pretty far down but not yet engaged, bulging bag of waters!!!! So I asked if he could just break my water and he said that he wouldn't since I had to drive home by myself lol... Plus I'm sure he didn't want to intentionally miss the rest of the days work at the clinic. He told me he'd see me really soon and to call him whenever I needed him. So I left thinking that it would happen sometime that night. I got home and made DH stay home the rest of the day to get the house ready. We dtd thinking that might start things but no such luck! We went to Applebee's to eat and I had back cramps but nothing else.

On the 3rd Ariel went to church with the inlaws and Steven was there and said that he had been answering his phones all night, not something he normally does when he's not on call! He was expecting me to call! But no such luck. Then Saturday afternoon we ate luch with the inlaws and then decided to take a good walk down to the creek a little ways away. (we dtd first lol!) And nothing. That night I had some cramps, and I figured that that would deffinatly be the night, but now such luck!


Morning of the 4th when I got up around 8 I called my Mom and said that I was thinking about calling Steven to ask if he would just come over and break my water. By the end of the conversation I was convinced that was what I should do. So I hung up the phone with my Mom and decided to go to the bathroom and then go call Steven, well I didn't make it to the bathroom before the phone started ringing, and it was Steven's wife Becky calling to ask if it was okay if Steven came over to break my water!!!! I was like thats amazing I was just going to call you! Becky asked if it was okay if she came along, and I was supprised that she asked. She's a nurse and was a L&D nurse for a long time so I just assumed she would come along to help. I told her of course and that was what I was expecting anyway! So we made plans for them to come over around 12 so my Mom would have time to get here. So I hung up and called my Mom and friend Tara and told them to come down, they had about a 2 hour drive. Then we put the plastic on the bed and I took a shower.

My Mom and Granny arrived and then Tara. Then Steven and Becky called and said that they wouldn't be here untill about 1. So we sat around and talked, I was getting pretty ancious! They finally got here and they brought their 2 girls to go over to MIL's to play with Ariel so DH took them over there (MIL lives right next door). So DH got back and I was like we'll lets get this show on the road! So at 1:27 pm Steven broke my water. And it came out like niagra falls!! It just gushed. Thank goodness we didn't only have a chux pad under me we had 4 towels! So I layed in bed and let the water run out for a while. Then I would say a little before 2 I decided to get up and walk around and get things going. My Mom and Tara decided to re put up the border on Jaxons walls (it didn't stick the first time!) And we had some paneling for our house in his room that I had been begging DH to take out for a long time, and Becky took charge and said Steven help Kevin carry those out! So his room got finished then. I started having contractions about 9 minutes apart. I probably had 3 of them or so. Then I decided to lay down for one in bed. That was okay, then another hit and it was alot stronger and I crawled backwards off the bed! My intention was to go to the bathroom but when I got off the bed I leaned my head on the edge of the bed and it felt really good so I just stayed there kneeling and the contractions started coming really fast about every 2-3 minutes. I remember looking at the clock around 3:01 and I felt like it sarted to get pretty intense then. I asked for a wash cloth for my face and layed it on the bed and leaned my head on it. Then I aske for a drink of water in between contractions by the time I got it and started to take a drink another started and I practacally threw the cup across the room. Then after like 2 more contractions I said you know I think I have to poop. So I headed towards the bedroom. I was thinking in my head I feel like I have to push but I though surely not that fast, and I didn't want Steven to check me and me be dissapointed if I was still 6 cm. But when I got to the bathroom and sat down I felt really pushy, and I though surely I just have to poop but I told DH to go get Becky. When she came in I said I think I just have to poop but maybe I need to push. Sorry tmi, right then I pooped and Becky was like oh good just poop. I was like yeah, maybe Steven should check me though. So I made myself go back to the bed after another contraction and heaved myself up on to the bed and Steven checked me and said that I was complete! And Jaxon was still station -2. So I squatted and pushed. Kevin started video tapeing then. I probably pushed 2-3 long times. It felt sooooooo good to push! I loved it with Ariel and Jaxon it's my favorite part of birth! taping After a few pushes I said is he there? Becky looked and said no not yet. Then I decided to lean back and I said it feels like he's comming out of my butt!!! lol! When I leaned back you could see a good part of his head. Becky said he's there look at his hair! Then Steven started paraneal message and Becky told me to wait untill a good contraction to push, but I don't think I listened I just kept pusing because it felt so good. When he was crowining I said ouch it hurts. (I was thinking in my head well duh! Way to state the obvious Eva!) Then his head came out very fast. Steven told me not to push and suctioned him. Then he wasn't comming out so Steven started pulling. I asked very calmly is he stuck? I was asking so I could change positions if I needed to beause I know with sholder dystocia its better if you turn over to hands and kness. But steven just said no push. I don't remeber him even answering me. I could tell my Mom was starting to freak out but I was amazingly calm. Steven was pulling so hard I had to brace myself so he didn't pull me down the bed! Then he said Becky pressure and she said okay push hard hon and she pushed on my stomach while I pushed. And Steven pulled him out. Time of birth 3:27 exactly 2 hours after they broke my water!!! Kevin video taped almost exactly 3 minutes of me pushing untill Jaxon was out!

I was so excited and immediatly said I did it! I held him right away an nursed him. Steven commented on him having a jumprope in there with him! The placenta came out probably within 15 minutes and it was HUGE!! It felt like another baby comming out!

Becky gave him his first bath and I had Kevin call for the girls. When Ariel got here they were giving him his bath. Ariel walked in and said oh Baby Brother!! Then OH HE'S SOOOO PRETTY!! lol. It was the highlight of the night. She is so proud of him and loves him to death. She has been great and not jealous so far at all.

http://talk.sheknows.com/showthread.php?t=463419&page=2
hopefully this link works.

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And the story goes...
The Birth of Lance Ares

Since Tuesday we had been trying to get labor started naturally, and between what Gail started by stretching me a little and the walking and bouncing on the birth ball, contractions were coming. They were pretty regular through out the day but I was frustrated because they only seemed like a minor discomfort and so just couldn't be real labor.
On Wednesday night we called Gail and Bonnie, the contractions were finally stronger and I could feel them in my cervix. Still, I was frustrated because they only seemed like a minor discomfort. By around midnight I was still only dilated to a 4-5 cm and so we all went to bed. I woke up around 4 am and realized the contractions had completely petered out and so I just went back to bed after telling Gail they were over.
When I got up the next day, the contractions started up again and I had mixed emotions about them. I knew they were doing a little something; my bag of waters was bulging during them so I felt it was just a matter of my water breaking but I wasn't willing to have my water broken. That evening I told my sister if she wanted to go home too it would be ok. I just didn't think anything was going to happen and I was sad because I didn't want Gail to miss this birth too. She was leaving in the morning for Belize. Susanne didn't want to leave though because she knew it would be ALL OVER as soon as my water broke. Around 7:30 my sister took the kids for a walk and Scott and I, well we worked on getting labor going. I thought my water might have broken as I bent over, but I wasn’t sure and then there were two other times I thought maybe, but it just didn't seem quite right. The kids and my sister got home and I started to get Erick and Kyra ready for bed. I was getting ready to lay down with Kyra to read her a book and nurse her to sleep when "whoosh" I had a little gush of waters. I knew this was it. I tested with the nitrazine paper on my panties and it instantly turned blue. Tonight our newest family member would be born. Contractions started getting much more regular and intense almost right away. I called Gail to let her know it would be tonight and then I lay down to finish that story with Kyra. Kyra fell asleep quite easily and the boys went to bed.
My sister and I worked on getting the pool going, Scott was sleeping on the couch. I called Gail back within the hour and told her that the contractions were already starting to intensify and I thought she and Bonnie should head out.
We took the leaf out of my kitchen table and pushed the table into the corner of the dining room. I was going to do this outside but there were storms brewing so I had to change my plans. Bonnie and Gail arrived and we talked about where I wanted to have the baby and I explained that I didn't really know but that the pool was the most likely spot. We put the pool in the other corner of my dining room and filled it. It was really easy to fill and I was so ready to get into it before it was even full. Dr. Danise, my RMT, also arrived and almost instantly got to work on me.
My spirits were good and we all talked and joked while I labored in the pool. They were literally sitting at my dining room table eating and watching me labor. It was good. It was nice to have the happy spirits in the room while my body readied itself for the impending birth.
We joked about Gail not getting much rest before her trip and I giggled and said "you get to sleep on the plane, and you are going on VACATION for Gods sakes… quit complaining." All the while I was having a pretty intense contraction and my eyes were closed and I was still in the back of my mind talking myself through my stages of labor.
Soon I needed complete silence during contractions. I would talk myself through it, or moan, or whatever felt great. As I was moving into transition I was talking out loud about moving into transition, reassuring myself of where I was. I moved into a position on my hands and knees and was in need of some serious counter pressure. Between Gail and Dr. Danise they took turns giving me what I needed. The baby felt so high in my belly and I was encouraging it to move down, saying, "You are too high you have to move down". Suddenly I felt like I had to have a BM so bad, and I tried but it just wasn't right to try to push like that, so I rolled over to my back and I said I would need to push soon but that I wasn't quite ready, "soon I am going to push, soon I will be pushing" Gail checked me and I yelled for her to take her fingers out as soon as she said I just have a small lip left. I put my fingers in there to see about the lip and to concentrated on getting it to go away so I could push. Suddenly I could feel the cervix finishing off, slowly opening the rest of the way and I started to push. It burned so bad. Nothing like I had experienced before in my other labors. I would put my hands down there to see where the baby was and I kept talking to him about not moving too far back to come on out, that it was time. I would get so frustrated though and ask him to "come back" after a contraction ended and as I was resting. With the next contraction I pushed with all my power screaming an ear-piercing scream as he moved deep into my birth canal. I needed this baby out, the ring of fire was so intense and I couldn’t wait for another contraction to get him out. I could feel his head and I was telling my "fuzzy headed little baby" to come out. I could feel the hair wafting in the water and so, as my contraction was going down and he was in a full crown, I used what little contraction I had left to get his head out. Scott waiting at the other end to catch our last-born baby. After 13 minutes of pushing the baby's head was finally in his hands and with the next contraction I pushed his shoulders and the rest of his body out into Scotts awaiting hands. I reached down to take our baby from Scott's arms and pulled him to my chest, laid him down and saw it was a new baby boy. Lance Ares Wilson. The kids were right there waiting to meet their new brother, they woke sometime during transition and came in to see their brother being born.
I got to sit for only about a minute and Gail said it would probably be good to get out since I wanted to birth the placenta before cutting and clamping the cord. So I got up and walked to my bed. We all crawled into the bed and snuggled while waiting for the placenta to be delivered. Bonnie checked me and said I only had two small grazes. She showed me with a mirror. When we finally unwrapped Lance to take a good look at him we were all pretty surprised how big he was. We were guessing somewhere in the 8-9 lb range. After the placenta was born and I tried to nurse him, I let the midwives do their assessment and to our surprise when we weighed him he was 9lbs 13 oz. I never once in all the time I was pregnant measured big, so it was a definite surprise. I sure didn't look like a woman who had carried an almost 10 lb baby, but I did feel like one who just gave birth to one. As he lies here next to me right now, I am in awe with his beauty and my power to bring such a large baby into the world. This birth was perfect in every way. I got everything I wanted and nothing I didn't want. He is pleasantly perfect!

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Andrea
momma to Erick(10), Kyra(4) and Lance(2 years)


Gestational Surrogate for C and A
Due June 13, 2008

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.