Hello, world! I have decided to start (again) a blog. A few years ago, in a different location, Laughing Family was born. (You can still read my old posts here.) However, life got hectic, things changed, and it fell by the wayside. Two years later, and I again feel the need to share my thoughts with the world. So, here we are!
On May 30th, I gave birth to a beautiful, baby girl named Eleanor. She is our second child, but my first pregnancy, and I can think of no better way to kick off this blog than with the story of her arrival into the world.
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| Me & Eleanor (4 1/2 months old) |
Things You Should Know:
- I used a birth center (this one, to be exact) and a midwife for all of my prenatal care. It was a conscious decision I made, wanting to feel empowered throughout both my pregnancy and birth time. It was a wonderful experience, and, if we have additional babies, I will choose the same path again.
- In my preparation for giving birth, I decided to use Hypnobabies as my class/method.
- In a hypnobirth, the traditional birth terms aren't used, and have been changed to create a positive association. (Ex: Pressure wave/birth wave vs. contraction ; birthing vs. labor; we do not use the word pain at any time. Alternatives are pressure, discomfort, sensation, etc.)
- We did not find out the sex of our baby ahead of time.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
I woke up at about 5:30 am with mild pressure waves, but stayed in bed, resting in case this turned out to be “the big day.” The past two days had been difficult emotionally. My entire pregnancy had been wonderful, but Friday and Saturday leading up to the birth I found myself to be suddenly and completely exhausted. I was not sleeping well at night, was still working full time, and didn’t know when to expect the baby’s arrival. As this pregnancy was a surprise, we weren’t sure of how big of a window we were looking at for the guess date. Based upon my measurements, we had dates between May 31 – June 8, but I was preparing myself for an additional 3-4 weeks.
I got out of bed, grabbed by phone to monitor the waves (there really is an App for everything now!), and got back in bed to rest. The waves continued intermittently until about 8:00 am, and then they stopped. I decided to get up, get dressed, and head to church, secretly hoping that the waves would return, and I would have to leave. Needless to say, Sunday came and went, with no baby.
Monday, May 30, 2011 – Memorial Day
Déjà vu all over again! I again woke up around 5:30 am with minor pressure waves. I repeated what I did the day before, grabbing my phone and crawling back into bed. This time I grabbed a book to help pass the time. While Alan slept, I read, keeping track of the length and frequency of the waves. Alan woke up around 6 or 6:30, but I was not at all convinced that this was the “real thing.” After feeling disappointed the day before, I was being cautious before making any mental decisions.
As the morning continued, so did my waves. However, my water had not broken. Alan began keeping track of the waves while I dozed and read. Around 10:00 am, we decided that despite my water not breaking, this appeared to be the time, and we needed to spread the word. I called my parents (who were coming in from Alabama), my sister (about 1 ½ hours away), and Alan called his parents. We let them know that we were having consistent waves about every 7 minutes or so. Alan’s parents, who live locally, would be coming over to entertain Seth while Alan & I continued to rest upstairs. My sister drove down to assist, and was a great resource, having had 2 natural births, both lasting over 24 hours – a rock star, I tell you!
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| Alan & I at home, easing through a pressure wave |
Throughout the afternoon, I stayed in our bedroom, resting between waves, even mildly napping. Alan or my sister were by my side the entire time, soothing me, rubbing my back, helping me switch positions between the bed and the birth ball, providing water, snacks and Red Raspberry Tea, and talking to me. I baked cookies during the early afternoon, pausing as needed to lean on the counter and “turn off” during a wave. I was also listening to some of my Hypnobabies CD’s during this time, which helped maintain a sense of quiet purposefulness, and kept my mind and body relaxed.
By mid/late afternoon, the intensity began to increase. During waves, I would close my eyes and picture a peaceful setting. I also found that taking a bath was relaxing, and made the more intense much more manageable in the water.
I had been in communication with my midwife since the morning, and we were to call her when my waves were 3-4 minutes apart for more than an hour, and lasting about 1 minute. Alan called her at around 6:00 pm to let her know that we were reaching that point, and they decided that we would meet at the Birth Center around 7:45 pm.
Once we got to the Birth Center, I spent a little time on the birth ball, and some in the bed, but could not find a position that felt comfortable. By this point, the intensity had increased dramatically, and I decided to take yet another shower. Once out of the shower, I realized that being out of the water was not helpful. I could feel my body tensing, and knew that it was counterproductive, so I asked that the birth tub be filled. I got into the birth tub around 9:00 pm, where I stayed for the rest of my birthing time. The warm water was wonderful, and, looking back, I can’t imagine how I would have been able to give birth in the bed with all of the pressure that I was feeling on my pubic bone. The water made it easier for me to move, and I finally settled into a kneeling position, with my head resting on the side of the tub, and Alan and my sister holding my hands.
My midwife was wonderful, and let me take the lead throughout the birth. She told me around 10:45 pm that I could push whenever I felt the need, so I started pushing a few minutes later. My water finally broke around 10:50 pm, I pushed for about 20 minutes, and the baby was born at 10:50 pm – almost the exact time that my parents arrived at our house from Alabama.
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| Eleanor Lane, born May 30, 2011 9 lbs 8 oz, 21 inches |
Looking back, we all were impressed at the stealth-like skills of my midwife. I stayed in my kneeling position, and she was behind me. Somehow, she caught the baby under the water, and managed to push her around and onto my chest in about 3 seconds. I grabbed the baby, and sat down, asking if it was a boy or a girl. Nobody knew, so I got to announce “it’s a girl!” Apparently my sister began jumping up and down at this point, but I truly have no recollection of anything other than looking at my baby girl. She was peaceful, perfectly round, and just beautiful!
And then came the big surprise – Eleanor weighed in at 9.8 lbs! We were all shocked, and I was pretty darn proud of myself! We rested for an hour or so, I took a shower, ate some food, and my Mom came by to see her new granddaughter (named after her mother). We left the birth center around 2:30 am, and were resting at home in our own bed with our new baby by 3:30 am - after a late night run for a burger and fries!
I have a distinct memory from the most intense time of my birth, and I love that the atmosphere was calm enough for me to capture this. I was squeezing Alan’s hand and thinking to myself “mustard seed, mustard seed, mustard seed.” Two weeks before, I had sent a message to a friend I met in Hypnobabies class including the following verse: "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matt. 17:20) I was in the process of moving a mountain, and felt in the moment that my faith was as small as a mustard seed - but I knew that was enough!
Overall, it was a wonderful birth experience. It wasn't necessarily what I expected, but the Hypnosis was pivotal in allowing me to be comfortable and reserve my energy for the end. I just can't imagine what it would have been like to be at a hospital, not eating, and reclining on my back the entire time. The process at home was very quiet and serene. Being able to spend about 14 hours at home allowed me to rest; it didn’t feel like a major event, but rather a process. When we got to the Birth Center, I was much more vocal and moved around a lot, because I felt like I needed to do so. However, I think having been so relaxed during the first part resulted in quick results at the birth center – Eleanor was born just 3 hours after arriving at the center.
So how’s that for a first post? A little long you say? I agree…but what do you leave out when remembering the birth of your first child? :-)
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