Our sweet baby boy came to us on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 11:01am. Here is his story… at 3:40 in the morning, I woke up to a tightened belly and what I figured out was a contraction. I got up to go to the bathroom and the feeling went away. When the next one came, I realized I needed to use my breathing techniques that I had practiced in my Hypnobirthing classes to get through the discomfort. I had a few bowl movements and then I felt like I had to throw up. My mouth wouldn’t stop salivating although I never actually threw up. I knew then that my body was preparing for labor. After I came out of the bathroom, I woke Jon up and told him that we might want to start timing these. I didn’t want it to be a false alarm but I also wanted him to know what was going on. When I told him, his reply was, “Really?!?”. He got his phone out and when a contraction started I tapped him on the leg, focused on my breathing and then tapped him when it was done. After a while, he showed me the log on the phone which indicated that they were coming consistently every 5 or 6 minutes and lasting from 45 seconds to a minute long. After we realized what was going on we looked at each other and said something like unto, we’re gonna have a baby today! Crazy!
After staying in bed for a while, breathing through the contractions that were very bearable at this point, I asked Jon if he wanted to start getting things together. I had my bag packed but had a list of things that still needed to be put in. He got busy putting things together and after a while I went downstairs and made juice, because that was what I wanted at the time. I don’t think I ended up drinking much of it. I also tried eating half a bagel but that didn’t really work out either. I was having to focus more on breathing and wanted to tune everything else out. Each time a contraction came, I would put my head down on the counter and sway my hips from side to side, as that is what felt good. I ended up on our living room floor, leaning over the ottoman or sitting at the bar leaning on the counter and Jon did light touch massage on my back. We talked about watching Tangled and Jon reading a Hypnobirthing script to me but neither came about as contractions were continuing to intensify. We talked about when we should head to the hospital, not wanting to go too early but not wanting to wait too long either. As contractions continued to intensify, we decided it was time. Jon loaded up the car, pulled it around front, turned the heat on and helped me get in. It was a beautiful, crisp fall morning, the perfect day for Chase to come into the world. I have to also add that I was loving Jon more than I ever had before this morning. He was so tender and concerned about my well being. This story would not have ended the way it did had it not been for him.
In the car, we listened to my Birth Affirmations and I got really relaxed tuning everything else out except the birth affirmations and my own breathing. When we got to the hospital, Jon took my bag and I had my pillow and we slowly headed into the hospital. We had to stop twice in the parking lot so that I could breathe through contractions, which were pretty intense at this point and very close together. Each time they came, I put my head on Jon’s chest as if we were slow dancing and I swayed from side to side focusing on my breathing. I’m sure we were a sight to see but I could have cared less. I declined a wheel chair knowing that the more I moved the more baby would move down too. I breathed through a contraction in the lobby, elevator and at the desk of Labor and Delivery. The lady at the desk began asking me questions to which I pointed to Jon to answer. I remember thinking, why are you asking me questions lady, don’t you know I’m about to have a baby? She annoyed me.
The first room we went to was Triage where the nurse put the EFM on me and inserted the Heplock into my arm so that I could start the antibiotics since I was GBS +. Jen Krebs, my Midwife, came in at this point also. My legs began shaking quite a bit and she showed Jon how to hold them so that I could be more comfortable and not shake so badly. When the nurse checked me, she determined I was at a 5 or 6 and 100% effaced. I was a little disappointed at that point because I felt like a 5 or 6 was still pretty low and that I would have much longer to labor at the hospital which I didn’t want. Little did I know, I would be holding my baby in less than 2 hours at that point.
We then moved to Labor and Delivery. I felt like I was walking like an animal, holding my belly and swaying from side to side. In the hallway, I breathed through another contraction and finally made it in the room. Jen asked if I wanted to get in the tub but I was chattering so much I felt like I couldn’t think or know really what I wanted. I ended up getting into the tub but didn’t last long there. Jen and the nurse were trying to use the handheld EFM to listen to baby before, during, and after a contraction. It was hard for me to stay completely still because I was a little uncomfortable in the tub. It was hard to stay relaxed during the contractions when I was reclining back. Jen asked me if I was wanting to push and my first response was no and then it changed to a moaning yes. After she checked me she quickly said, “Let’s get out of the tub,” and then in passing added that I was at a 10. I was kind of surprised that I had progressed so quickly but I was feeling so much pressure in my bum I really wanted to relieve it.
I got on the bed and tried scooting back but was having a very hard time doing so. They helped me get on the bed and into a comfortable position. Jen asked if I wanted her to break my water and I said yes. I didn’t even know if she had at that point because I didn’t feel anything come out. She said that his head was so far down that not much came out.
This is the point of the story that really intensifies but seems to have gone by really fast. Jon was on my left holding one leg and a nurse was on my right holding my other leg. It felt good at first to push, it relieved pressure, but then it got really hard, really hard. I only had to push for 30 minutes total, but that was seriously the hardest 30 minutes of my life. They kept telling me that they could see his head and let me feel it at one point, but it was hard to believe he was ever going to make it out of me. They put the mirror in front of me to help keep me motivated which actually really helped me to stay focused. There seemed to be very little relief from one contraction to the next but those few seconds were worth gold, it was then that I could breath and relax for just a second. Once another contraction came, I would breath in and then push and exhale for 10 seconds. It was so HARD! At one point I said outloud that I couldn’t do this, it was transition time. Either I was going to die or baby was coming out. Jon, Jen and the nurse were so good at helping me stay focused and positive. I then kept repeating, “I can do this, I can do this.” A few pushes later Chase was out. On the very last set of pushes I pushed four times instead of three and he went from crowning to completely out in one big rush along with all my amniotic fluid. He barreled out like a canon ball and was set directly on my chest. I had my eyes closed and Jon was looking at me, so neither of us really saw him coming out. It all happened so fast. It was the biggest rush of my whole life, endorphins were spilling over, a total high. I kept saying things like, “Oh, my baby, my baby.” To be honest, I can’t remember what I was saying, it was just a feeling of intense happiness, like nothing I have ever felt before. I had never worked so hard for something, ever, nor have I ever loved someone so intensely and so quickly. The only word that seems to come close to the feeling is euphoria. It was such a tender, loving and intense feeling, it’s really hard for me to describe.
Chase was born at 11:01am, was 8 pounds 1 ounce and 19 and a half inches long, beautiful and healthy. When he was on my belly he peed a little which made me laugh. They gave me a blanket to put over him and let us goo and gush for awhile. I could not have comprehended anything other than loving my baby at that point. They clamped his umbilical cord after it stopped pulsating and Jon cut it which I thought was really awesome. They then took him to weigh and measure and Jon stayed with him during that time. After I delivered my placenta and was sewn up (which was very minimal), they put him back on my chest and we just ooed and awed over him for a long time. Around 12:45pm, Jon went with Chase to the nursery and I was up to go the bathroom and get cleaned up. I was surprised how quick I was back on my feet and beginning the recovery process. The euphoria lasted until around Monday evening, it was the biggest longest high of my life. I am so glad that we chose to deliver him naturally, use the Hypnobirthing techniques and that we created the birth atmosphere that we wanted for our sweet angel, Chase Craig Orgill.
