Nora's
birth story started several months before she was due. I had always been
fascinated by natural child birth. For me it was just pure curiosity. I thought
it was weird, but I always liked hearing about it. I had a few friends who
had gone through natural childbirth before I was pregnant. One in particular,
Barbara, had blogged about her birth and I kind of looked to her as my first
person I wanted to talk about going un-medicated.
But before I got
around to talking to Barb, I slowly started hearing about other friends
who had unmedicated childbirth. Everyone was talking about hypnobabies. I
hadn't told anyone I was pregnant, but I was eating up everything they said.
They told me about documentaries about natural childbirth, birth centers, water
births, and much more. Luckily, Dan was on board after watching the first
documentary. (Even after seeing Ricki Lake in all the home water birthing
glory) I have to say, there is no way I could have done this without such a
loving, supportive husband.
After hearing from
other friends and talking to Barb, I decided that the best fit for me was
going to use hypnobabies and hire a doula. (A doula is a birth assistant. She
is there only to support mom, dad, and baby.) at the recommendation of Barb, I
called her doula, Marinda. Not only did I feel like my personality click
with Marinda, she was also a hypnobabies instructor. After Dan met her, we
decided to use her for everything. She was worth every penny!
I was
excited about having an unmedicated birth, but I was also very nervous about
talking to people about it. I had heard judgmental comments and didn't
want people to say negative things about my choices. I was nervous to
even tell my family. It took me a while to get the courage to tell my mom,
who was skeptical, but told me she would support my decision. My sisters we
split. I was very hesitant to talk to them in detail about my choices
because I didn't want to have to defend my choice. I'm so glad I did tell them,
because by the end of my pregnancy, I was able to articulate why going
unmedicated was the best choice for me. They were able to understand and
respect my opinion, even if it was different from their own.
Dan and I started
our hypnobabies classes about 2 months before Nora was born. Hypnobabies is all
about approaching birth from a positive place. They use an entirely different
vocabulary when talking about birth. Pressure waves instead of contractions.
Discomfort and intense pressure instead of pain. Birthing time instead of
labor. The theory is that by using this terminology, you won't have the typical
negative associations that go along with labor and delivery. the other tenant,
is using self hypnosis to manage any discomfort during pregnancy and
labor.
We
had CDs to listen to, scripts Dan had to read to me, daily homework assignments
on top if our weekly classes. I would laugh every time I out on one of my CDs
because of the 'new age-y' music they used in the background. Dan laughed at me
because every time I listened to a cd, I was dead asleep within 5 minutes. We
later find out I was in a deep state of hypnosis - because I would 'wake
up' when I was supposed to. But the more I did my homework, the more I
felt the benefits. I was physically able to recognize when my body wasn't
totally relaxed. I was able to relax more than ever in my life. Dan and I were
building our confidence in each other, in our knowledge about what choices were
available to us, and increase our connection to each other in preparation for
bringing our little girl into the world.
About 10 days before she was due, my sister Wendy was ready
to meet Nora before flying home to Virginia. She and my mom looked up all the wives
tales about how to induce labor. They made me pina coladas, we got a pizza from
Trio Café that is rumored to induce labor, we got some blue and black cohosh,
and used red raspberry leaf tea in all sorts of ways. (Blue and black
cohosh…..so disgusting. I will never try that again!) Much to Wendy’s dismay,
none of it worked. I was totally ok, because I knew that Nora would come when
she was ready.
The next week, I just tried to keep busy and cool. I went to
lunch with some friends, went to a wedding shower, and hung out with my family.
Dr. Servoss had her baby previously and I had my first appointment with the fill
in doctor. Dr. Williams was so friendly and I instantly liked her. She’s from
Georgia and goes around the country filling in for doctors who are on leave for
various reasons. She decides when and where she works, doesn’t have to deal
with office politics, and doesn’t have to deal with insurance. When she checked
me at 39 weeks and 2 days and I was still only dilated to a 1, the same that I
had been at 36 weeks and 6 days. I decided that our little girl wasn’t ready to
come. My family though I was nuts for not having my doctor sweep my membranes.
But I wanted to wait and see what my body and Nora wanted to do.
The next week went on, and nothing was happening. Dan and I
got to go on a few dates, I saw a few friends, went to a wedding shower, and
hung out with my family. Saturday night I started having pressure waves. But
they were super light and few and far between. Dan and I went up to Kaysville
to do fireworks with my Davis County friends. We were able to have a great time
with an amazing firework show. My pressure waves were super light. They started
picking up that night while I was sleeping. They woke me up a few times, but
weren’t anything too intense. By 9:00 am Sunday morning they had stopped. Dan
and I went to church so I could be distracted.
My friend Barbara had text me and told me she had some
essential oils that I could use. The best part was that she said I didn’t have
to put anything in my mouth!!! We went down to see Barb and John. Barb gave me
some clery sage and clove bud. She told me to try the clery sage first and that
if I just rubbed it on my belly and my body was ready, my pressure waves would
get more intense and it would help kick start my birthing time. The clove bud
was a second step. The clove bud is a hot sensation so you would have to start
it on your feet and see if the sensation was too much, and then you could rub
it on your belly, expecting the same effects as the clery sage.
Dan and I came home and
rubbed the clery sage on my belly. My pressure waves started back up pretty
quick after that. They were slowly getting more intense, but nothing that
caused me to not be able to do normal, everyday things. We went to bed, but the pressure waves were
waking me up every so often. Around 3:00 am I woke up because my pressure waves
were getting more intense. I put my headphones on and listened to my deepening
CD. Around 4:30 they were getting to the point where I thought I should know
how long they were lasting and how far apart they were. I had to wake Dan up to
help me because I knew I couldn’t time them and stay focused. For the next
hour, they were lasting between 1.5 – 2 minutes with a 10 minute break in
between them. They were still lasting a while, but the breaks in between were
spreading out.
We called Marinda and found
out that my body was either giving me a long break between pressure waves, or
that Nora was posterior and that my body was trying to shift her. Dan stayed
home with me all day and read me hypnobabies scripts, talked about what life
was going to be like and we enjoyed our last little bit together as a family of
two.
We went in for a checkup and
found out that Nora was posterior and that my body was making progress and I
had dilated to a 3. Dr. Williams said that Nora would probably come that day.
She knew I wanted to have an unmedicated birth and suggested we go home and
relax there until things were progressed a little further, or we could go to
the hospital. My pressure waves were still lasting over a minute and they were
getting closer together.
I took a bath and felt my
pressure waves getting stronger and stronger. I was vocalizing through them. I
lasted about 40 minutes in the bath. After getting out, I had probably two more
contractions before I told Dan I was ready to go to the hospital. The pressure
waves were lasting more than a minute and were about 5-6 minutes apart. Dan got
his game face on and started loading up the car. I had to stop twice on the way
out the door to get through the pressure waves. One of them was at the top of
the stairs. I remember looking at Dan and saying “I can’t do this.” He was so
great and told me I could and got me up and out the door. We decided to drive
up all in my mom’s car. I had my headphones on and wasn’t really talking to
anyone. The only thing I was aware of was Dan giving me cues to relax and
rubbing my back. Best husband ever!
Once we got to the hospital,
Dan rolled me up to labor and delivery. We were admitted at 2:20. I was vaguely
aware of them asking if we had a birth plan and telling them to take me into a
room. Once we got in the room, my mom helped me get into my hospital gown and
in bed and Dan was answering all the questions he could. The nurse was talking
to Dan and my mom when I suddenly had the urge to push. When the nurse checked
me, she said “Oh! There’s no cervix there! You’re complete.” I think it was a
surprise to her and she called and said Dr. Williams needed to be called again
because I was complete. Dr. Williams and Marinda got there pretty soon after
that point. I was very unaware of all the prep going on, but was very grateful
that Marinda finally showed up. She was perfect at giving me mini scripts that
kept me in hypnosis.
Once I started pushing,
Nora’s heart rate dropped so I had to readjust and get her out. I was pushing
and Marinda helped me know what to do by having me essentially have a tug-o-war
with her. That made me be aware and engage the right muscles to push in the
right way. I pushed a few times and the doctor told me my water hadn’t broken.
I wanted to keep Nora in her natural environment as long as possible. I was
pushing and felt a huge release of pressure and asked “is she out?!” It turns
out my water had broken. I pushed again and the nurses told me I could reach
down and touch her head. At that point, Dan left my side and had to go sit
down. The nurses and doctor were all telling him to put his head between his
legs so he wouldn’t pass out. I pushed a few more times when my body took over.
It was amazing to feel how my body just knew what to do. The entire time I felt REALLY intense pressure, not pain.
I had one more push and Nora
came out at 3:17!! When they put her on my stomach the first thing I said was
“You’re here!” Then I noticed how small she was. I was only able to have her on
my stomach for about 15 seconds before Dan had to cut the cord and they had to
take her. The doctor told me that they had to give her oxygen because she
wasn’t turning pink fast enough. Dan went with Nora while my mom and Marinda
stayed with me. I found out her cord had been wrapped around her neck, with her
hand in there as well.
After about an hour they
brought Nora back into me. I got to hold her for a while then! It was so fun to
see my little 5 lb baby girl! She was so skinny. Her skin was so loose on her
body. She was little, beautiful, and perfect!
I am so amazed at the whole
process we’ve gone through. I am amazed at what my body was able to do. I am
amazed with our perfect baby girl. I am amazed seeing Dan as an awesome dad.
I’m amazed that I now have a little family. I’m so glad that everything went
well and we are all healthy and safe. What a miracle this whole process is and
how amazing birth is. I’m so glad that everything went well and that we are a
wonderful, new family!
From Dan
My thoughts on Nora's
birth: I am so proud of Kristy for having a natural birth and bringing Nora
into this world without medication. Nora is super alert and healthy and I
attribute that in large part to the natural birth process that Kristy went
through. When we arrived at the hospital on July 29th the nurses did not think
that Kristy was very far along because she was so calm. She handled the
contractions like a champ and I was just along for the ride. Turns out Kristy
was complete and ready to push right away. When Kristy started pushing I saw
what I thought was Nora's head coming out, but then it burst! I was really
confused until someone said that Kristy's water had just broken and it was time
for Nora to come out. Then I saw Nora's real head starting to make its way out
and I got a little light-headed. So I sat down on the couch for a minute until
I heard the doctor say "Okay Kristy, one last push." I couldn't miss
the big moment so I jumped back up, grabbed one of Kristy's legs and watched as
she gave one last amazing push and Nora's head came out. Her umbilical cord was
wrapped around her neck and one of her wrists. The doctor unwrapped her and
quickly cleared her breathing passages before placing her on Kristy's chest. It
was a miracle! Kristy said to Nora, "You're here." I was hit with
such strong emotions as I realized what a miracle this was and that we were now
parents of a beautiful daughter of God that was recently in His presence. She
was so innocent, tiny, and blue. She wasn't breathing too well with her tiny
lungs so I went with her to the other side of the room as the nurses worked
with her until she was breathing okay and turned pink. I watched as they
weighed her and took other vitals. She was 4 pounds and 15.7 ounces. They
rounded up to 5 pounds. Our tiny healthy full term miracle. I love my little
family.
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