Thursday, July 02, 2009

Chase's Birth Story

Hi Lisa,
I just wanted to send a quick note to let you & Kari know how things went with the birth of baby Chase and also to thank you so much for all of the support offered through the Birth Rhythm & Labour Instensive classes!
Last Friday, I was about to get ready to pick up some things for the baby's arrival when lo & behold, my water breaks!

So, we quickly pack some things (we had nothing ready, as we weren't due until July 7th) and head on over to the hospital. In a rush, I forgot a few of my "must have" things - my birth plan & my relaxation cd's. Once I was checked out by the resident, I was told that I would need to be induced (which was my personal "worst case scenario"). But after thinking about it, I figured if that's the way it was going to be, it didn't really matter as long as I had a healthy baby. That said, I was very happy that when the attending physician came to check on me around 6pm, she told me I wouldn't have to worry about being induced until the morning, and it was pretty likely that I would go into labour on my own.

So, I had a nap early that evening and around 7 began wandering the hospital. I headed back to my room around 9pm, only to be greeted by the nurse, asking me if I needed any pain medication to help me sleep. I told her no, that I was fine & continued to wander around the labour assessment hallway. Not long after that, I was finally starting to feel a bit crampy, so during the contractions I would assume one of the positions learned in Labour Intensive and occasionally get a back rub from my husband to work through it.

A little bit later, I stopped by the nurse's station to let them know that the contractions were becoming a bit more intense and closer together. Once again being offered pain medication, I simply refused & told the nurse that I would continue walking the halls. That went on for a while until the contractions got to the point where I told my husband that I didn't know what to do to help myself, so stopped by the nurse's station and was asked if I wanted pain meds or to try the shower.

Of course, I had opted for the shower which helped for the first little while and then the contractions had gotten to the point where I really had to "let it out". Since the shower wasn't helping anymore, I decided to head back to my room and talk to the nurses again.

But, the nurse got to my room before me and asked if I wanted some pain meds (notice the theme?) and to get checked. I refused the medication once again & agreed that I should get checked out. Once I laid on the bed, the pain got so intense that I finally told my husband "I don't think that I can do this without an epidural!"...turns out that I was almost fully dilated!

At around 12:15am, I got moved into the birthing room and in the moment, completely through my birth-plan out the window (I had meant to ask if I could deliver in any position, but the sitting/stirrup position, but it completely slipped my mind). When Brandon left the room, I recall saying to the nurse "I didn't want an epidural, but I think I want one now!". She said to wait & see as I would be getting checked again and it was probably too late. Sure enough, I was down to my last few contractions and they had brought me nitrous oxide to see if it helped.

In the end, I did decide to try it for a couple of contractions, but I think it only really helped because I was able to get my breathing back in control. Once I was ready to get pushing, things went really well and I gave birth to the most perfect, beautiful & alert baby girl at 1:25am on June 27th.

Even though I had deflected from my original idea of the "perfect" birthing, I wouldn't change a thing, as to me THIS WAS the perfect birthing. That said, I do think that if we have a second child, we will definitely be hiring a doula. As much as I got lost in the moment, Brandon did as well. He once had said that he wasn't going to actually watch the birth happen, but in the end, he was too in awe to do much more than dab my face with a cold cloth (fortunately, our team of dr's & nurse's were really good cheerleaders!).

For me, I think that the classes I took from you & Kari played a big role in making this happen. Not only did I learn the coping techniques, but more than anything, I had walked into the hospital without any fear.

I'm assuming that the nurses didn't really panic while I was in assessment, because I was so calm through it all. Even after the baby was born, one of the nurse's had commented on how laid back we were in our rooms, while some of the other new parents were stressed like crazy!

I've been recommending your classes to everyone that I know and will continue to do so, as I found that they were an amazing support!
thanks again!

Amy Derbowka

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