Jess and Aaron claimed to not be ‘planners’, so they enrolled in the class that pushed them right up to their 40 week guess date. When our group met for Class 4 and Jess and Aaron weren’t there, I sent a text to check in and we learned that their little girl had been born the previous Friday! Soon after, I followed up, and this is what Jess had to say:

Our birth story starts with our 37 week check-up on 11/2/11.   Things were not looking good for our baby, and after talking with the doctor, we agreed to be checked into the hospital to be induced. They inserted a medication to help soften my cervix overnight and on 11/3/11 at 7 AM they started the pitocin drip. I was on pitocin (and clear fluids) all day, but did not open more than 2 cm. They also had me on those external monitors which never worked well because I would move and the speaker would no longer pick-up the baby’s heartbeat.

 

At 4:30 PM my midwife and her intern called it a day.  They stopped the pitocin and the monitors, and said I could have dinner.  (YEAH!)  And we would start the process over again tomorrow. (Boo.) It was just after that that my water broke. I was one bite into a snack bar when I was suddenly over come with nausea and vomited. My labor was going all on its own!  Aaron was very supportive and helped me with the relax cue. The touch to the forehead worked my better than the shoulder for me.

They let me walk the halls and I had 5 birthwaves wash over me in the 15 minutes it took to make a loop around the ward.

I would feel them come, and I would go limp against Aaron.  He would hold me and support me through the wave, then I would let him know it was washing away and we would continue our walk. In our room we played the birthing day affirmations track on a loop.  It was very calming.

My midwife made it back to the hospital closer to 11 PM and wanted to do an internal check. I asked if we could wait until I felt “pushy” to check. When she came back at around 1:30 AM she said I was at a +2 and it was time to push. I don’t know what plus two meant, but I was surprised it was time to push. I used my bubble of peace on her counting and coaching me to “poop out” the baby.   Instead breathed her out with my pressure waves and used the muscles that felt right to use.

 

While on the pitocin I worried about a c-section and complications… I was also worried that I wasn’t prepared enough to give birth only half way through the class, but the tools we had practiced worked well. Thank you!!!

 

 

 

 

Alexandria Ruth Scott was born at 2:13 AM on Friday, Nov. 4th. She was 18 inches long and 4 pounds, 15 ounces at birth.  Since she was so little, Aaron had to go buy another car seat we could take her home!