The birth story ~ Part II

It's about 4:30pm and the nurse brings me a birthing ball.

Let me get off topic here and make mention of my nurse. First off doing a natural birth in a hospital is always a gamble when it comes to who your nurse is going to be and how supportive they will be of your decision to have a non-medicated birth. I lucked out. This girl was simply amazing. She mentioned she was excited to be apart of a natural birth and she said she wanted me to be in charge of the situation and that I should tell her what I wanted and needed. She gave me space, kept the lights low, controlled who came in and out of the room and was simply perfect. She was literally an answer to a prayer.

Back to the story...


I'm using the birthing ball and my other life saving device...my iphone. I was starting to loose more fluid and beginning to get very uncomfortable so I grabbed my head phones, turned on Pandora and found a station playing soft classical baby lullabies. Listening to the familiar tunes of these sweet lullabies kept my mind focused. As I listened and with each contraction I would repeat in my mind. "This contraction is good for my body." "My baby is moving his way down." "I am strong and in control" "This is easy" "Each bit of discomfort brings me closer to meeting my little baby" "Heaven is with me" "I am not alone" All these little phrases helped to keep me calm and quiet. (Thank you Ashlee). I was honestly still enjoying what was happening due to my excitement of meeting my baby.

It's now close to 5pm and I'm still at a 7. I was o.k. with that as I knew inside me progress was being made. However the doc on call thought it would be best to start the pitocin. I agree and the nurse agrees to put it on the lowest drip setting possible. I knew it wouldn't be long.


I decide to change positions and get on the bed. My nurse suggests I put the back of the bed up right and rest on my knees leaning over the back of the bed for support. I begin to break out in a sweat...this is when I knew I was almost done. Pops begins to rub my back while my sweet nurse grabs some lotion and begins to rub my feet. I still have Pandora playing and I started laughing between each contraction. I told my nurse and Pops that I felt like I was at a spa. Life was good between the contractions...pretty intense during them though. All of the sudden I felt a strong gush of fluid and I instantly say...it's time. My nurse calls the doc and when she comes back in I tell her I need to push. Another nurse and the resident are in there at this time and the other nurse tells me...don't push the doctor isn't here. My nurse quickly says to me "do whatever your body tells you to do, we'll take care of you, everything will be fine." After a couple urges to push I take out my headphones and turn my body around and get in position. I knew he was coming.

I tell the nurse again..."I need to push hard" She says go for it. Listen to your body. For the first time during any of my labors I was able to stay focused on what I wanted to happen. And I did listen to my body. I blocked out all sounds and just communicated with my baby. I let me know we would both be o.k. and I was ready to do this. I told him I would do my part as he would do his. I kept saying to him "we're a team" there is no doubt in my mind that he knew exactly what was happening and understood everything I was saying. At this point I knew I was receiving help from others whom I could not see. It was a beautiful experience.

Once again I tell me nurse I'm going to start pushing hard. She says go for it. All of the sudden the Hospital OB is there and a few other nurses but then 30 seconds later Dr. Bruce, the doctor on call, walks in. He gets dressed, they break down the bed and it all began. It was painful but again at this point my excitement was overpowering anything else. With Pops holding one knee to my chest and a nurse holding the other and my sweet nurse fanning me with the food menu ( I instantly became so hot and sweating really bad. My nurse grabbed the strongest thing she could to fan me and get me to cool down)I began to push hard. I could see that Dr. Bruce was letting the resident do all the work. I heard "He's right there! Push! Push!" and pop out comes his head. For a split second I was so relieved cause I knew one more push and he'd be in my arms. I begin to push one last time...so I thought.

My poor baby was stuck. Head out, body in. I see Dr. Bruce quickly move the resident out of the way and he tells me to push NOW! I try ... nothing. He tells me to push again with the next contraction. I quickly reply back "I don't know when I'm having a contraction!" I was in so much pain from the pressure of the baby's body I felt like I lost control and I didn't know if I could have enough strength to push him out of me. Again and in a strong voice the doctor says "Push Now! You've got to get him out!" I give a solid push with all my might, Doc's hands go up and grab his shoulders and he purposely tries to break Baby Jack's clavicle to get him out. With that last push and a broken clavicle Jack pops out! The doctor holds him up, he's crying and the nurse says "he looks like a big guy!" For the first time in all four deliveries I get to hold my baby right away. He's perfect.

All my fears were washed away. Pops kisses me on the forehead and says, "you did it. I love you."

Doc explains what he did and why. He says to the nurse "Check him out, I heard a pop and I know I broke it." I hand Jack back to the nurse but all three nurses that checked him out said it's not broke. Doc says "it's gotta be, I head the snap." Jack's moving his arms perfectly, he gets checked out and no sign of any major break. The doctor is positive it's broke in two. But it's not. I call it a miracle.


They roll the scale in to weigh this little guy and honestly at this point I'm not paying much attention. I'm now freezing cold and trying to get my focus back when I hear the nurse say "Mom! Look at the scale!, Where's your camera dad!" We look and the doctor says "Wow!!" And the nurse calls out "11 pounds 2 oz's. 22 inches long. He's a toddler" I was shocked and started laughing. I think I laughed because once I heard his weight all the sudden every part of my body hurt more. The idea of birthing an 11 pound baby sounded really painful. I think the whole room was in shock at what just took place.

Again, with the last few minutes being really intense and pretty scary I recalled once again that I didn't do this alone.

5:26pm Jack was here safe and sound and I was happy. This was the birth experience I had hoped for. The labor was calm and quiet. I learned a lot about myself and the power of the human mind. I learned about heaven and the help sent from above. I learned Jack was just as excited to come as I was to have him here. He just needed to come at the time of his choosing and I was am grateful to have been patient enough and waited a few days shy of 42 weeks to have him here. I was grateful to Pops for supporting me through another birth and standing by my side silently cheering me on. I was grateful to family and friends who told me they had been praying for weeks for a safe delivery. I learned more about the power of prayer, especially multiplied by many people. I felt like I learned about who loves and cares for me. Most importantly I learned the Lord loves me and sent angles seen and unseen to help me. I learned I wasn't left alone in my darkest hour. It was there I was lifted up the most.



To be continued...