Labor Notes from My Birth Doula

Parker's Birth Notes - February 26th, 2015

4:30-5 Gyro (Contractions started around 6 p.m.)
6:30-7 Pineapple smoothie

7 p.m. Water broke, lightly stained

7:21 Phone call from Jay, you'd like me to come. 

8:15 I arrive

8:30 I suggest we all leave you alone so you can rest in between. Contractions every 3 minutes, about 35 seconds. (Everyone except Jay, goes to the dining room to wait for labor to progress)

8:40 Casey leaves, says she can come back at any time.

10:09 "Last 8 contractions are lasting a minute or longer." - Jay 

10:17 Loud vocalization & I check in with you.

10:23 You want me to stay in the room with you.

10:35 I insist that you get up to use the restroom. You are not happy when I suggest you stay on the toilet for another contraction.

10:45 You say you're pushing during the contraction.

10:47 You request the tub, but I suggest waiting for Madeleine as I know she's nearly here.

11:09 Madeleine says baby is so low, you must be complete. Tammy suggest low sounds when you bear down.

11:10 Heart rate "Good!" Madeleine says

11:12 Madeleine suggest you make your hips wider as you push.

11:17 Madeleine says "He's right there"

11:26    "  asks if you want to touch his head, you do and exclaim "Oh my God!"

11:27 Heart rate check "great" Madeleine says

11:33 Madeleine attempts to feel for baby, you tell her not to touch & Madeleine tells Tammy she thought baby may be crowning

11:35 "I've never wanted anything out of my body so bad."

11:36 Madeleine: "This is great, he's just molding".

11:38 "I can feel him right there, it hurts so bad."

11:39 Madeleine dons her headlamp

11:47 Madeleine suggests getting out of the tub, maybe the stool? "Noooo!" You say. 

In between contractions you rest your head on your hands.

Extra long pushes.

11:51  You look at the clock & roll your eyes.

11:57 Madeleine suggests you hold the noise in, focus all your energy down.

11:58 Tammy suggests that you rock your hips.

11:59 "Gimme your hands" you tell Jay

February 27th

12:01 "I'm sorry"

12:02 Heart rate ✅ (Check) "He's very low in that canal"

12:08 "I felt like he was just going to come out" you say after this contraction. Jay says "That's good!" Madeleine again suggests changing position, perhaps the toilet, the hot water can exhaust you. "I feel like water makes them less intense" you say.

12:10 Change position, you move to sit on the tub "step" with Jay sitting behind you. Your wedding day picture mirrors the scene. 

Tammy: "I see his head, go ahead and feel him"

Jay: "That's all he was waiting for, the 27th!" 

Madeleine: "You're doing so great, He's right there!"

12:16 "it's cold" fan off

12:23 You ask: "Does he go back in?" Madeleine explains only slightly, to where he's comfortable.

12:25 Heart rate check, but stops as contraction starts.

12:27 Tammy explains that baby needs to come under your pubic bone, and to bring your pelvis forward . Heart rate good.

12:29 Madeleine suggests you change position, if only for a few minutes. You move to the birth stool.

12:32 "The urge to push is always there" you say, "I don't like this".

12:36 Heart rate check, "the heart rate is slow, let's get him out."

12:38 Move to the bed, with Jay sitting behind you

12:49 Baby born! "MOM!!!" you yell

1:27 Grandma (Gigi) gets to hold her brand new grandson 

1:28 Jay: "You smell like a bait shop!" - "I like you"

9lbs 4oz

22 inches long

-small tear

  Lidocaine used for repair

Congratulations!

❤️ Lea

My baby is here!

From about 38 weeks, I had been having contractions off and on. There were a few days when I truly believed Parker would be born that day but then the contractions would just fade away. As I got closer and closer to his estimated due date (February 24th), I got more and more anxious for him to arrive.

The morning of his due date, I was slightly discouraged to find that I woke up with very faint contractions, more like Braxton Hicks. I decided since I hadn't gone into labor yet that we should visit the birth stones in Wahiawa. Jay was working an early shift and arrived home at 1pm so we got the boys ready and headed to Target to get mom and Mayre (my sister) leis for their arrival that evening but we picked up one more lei to take with us to the birth stones as an offering. I let my doula know of my plan to go to the birth stones so she loads up her daughter and joins us up there. It was absolutely gorgeous and relaxing to be up there. I can definitely see why the Hawaiian Royalty would come here to give birth. There was just something so magical about that place. I asked the stones for a quick, healthy and beautiful home birth. I forgot to ask for it to be sooner than later but I figured the implication was there.

Lea took pictures of the whole area. It was beautiful and I was so ready for the baby to come! 

We picked up some Maui Mike's rotisserie chicken on our way home. When we got home, we had some dinner and relaxed a bit before heading down to the airport to pick up my mom and sister.  No labor that night or the next day. I was 40 weeks and 2 days when we decided to stop waiting for the baby and try to enjoy the island a little bit with family.

So, we drove up to the North Shore to see the surfers, had lunch at Haleiwa Joe's where they made me these awesome shrimp tacos (not on the menu/special order) and then we enjoyed some shave ice before we headed over to one of the surf shops. About that time, I noticed my ankles were beginning to swell a bit so I decided it was time to head home so I could rest. 

When we arrived home, I took a shower to rinse off the day and relax a bit before dinner. Around 5pm I ate some dinner and we all settled in to watch the movie, "Lucy". During the movie, I noticed my back was hurting so I laid down on a mattress on the floor my sister had been using to sleep on. I started having sporadic but painful contractions. About an hour into the movie, I decided I would feel better in my own bed so I got up and went to my bedroom. While standing at the end of my bed, I noticed a small gush and rushed into the bathroom just as my water broke into the toilet. It was slightly murky but not dark. It was a yellowy brown. I immediately called my midwife to tell her but she didn't answer. So I called her assistant, Jaymie and described what I was seeing. She couldn't see the pictures I sent her so she had me send them to Madeleine. She said the water was lightly stained but we didn't need to be alarmed.

I then had Jay call my doula, Lea and ask that she come right away. I texted a friend, Casey to bring me pads so I could be around the house without leaking fluid everywhere. I thought I'd have some time between my water breaking and the contractions becoming unbearable. I was wrong. Time then became unnoticed to me. I laid in bed, breathing through my contractions mostly on my hands and knees. My water broke right around 7 pm. I decided around 7:45 that we should get the boys ready for bed so I wasn't worried about them. My contractions had been around 3 minutes apart at that point but while the boys were saying good night to me, I had a 4 minute break. It's like the boys being near me slowed my labor enough so I could tend to them. We sent them to bed just before 8pm I think. 

Lea arrived at some point, maybe around 8pm right after we sent the kids to bed and she definitely helped me calm down. She suggested that I rest between contractions and had everyone leave the room except for Jay. I remember laying down with my pregnancy pillow between my knees and drifting to sleep between contractions. I'd get about 2-3.5 minutes of rest before I would yank myself up onto all fours to breathe through the contraction. Sometimes I would rock back and forth on my knees to help with the pain. I started having minute long contractions and I was beginning to struggle through my contractions for the next two to two and half hours when the urges to push began. I was begging for Madeleine so I could get into the tub. I wasn't sure if I was still to early and I didn't want to stall my labor by getting in too soon. It was now 11pm when Madeleine arrived and I had already had a few urges to push so Madeleine said to just go with them if they were coming.

Then I got into the tub and every contraction came with an urge to push. I tried to push in the tub and he'd make some progress but never could get him to crown. While in the tub, I asked Madeleine to see how far I was and she said I was complete and his head was right there. I reached down and felt his head for the first time! While in the tub, I would push and push but I never felt like he was going to come out. Only once or twice would I feel a sensation around my vagina that he might crown but it always went away when the pushing stopped. Between each contraction I would lay my head down on the side of the tub and just rest. I was exhausted. I don't think I've ever been as exhausted as I was during the pushing. 

After about an hour and half, Madeleine suggested I get on the birth stool to push. On my way out of the tub, a big surge hit and I was stuck standing in the tub half squatting while I pushed through the surge. Still no baby. Then I sat down on the stool and immediately knew that wasn't where I wanted to be. The surges hurt so much more there and I just didn't like it. I am pretty sure everyone in the house knew that I did not like the birth stool. I protested as soon as I sat down. Madeleine said that's how she knew I definitely had to be out of the tub, because the more uncomfortable I was, the more likely the baby would come. Evidently birthing a baby is not comfortable business. Who knew? 

After the surge ended while on the birth stool, Madeleine checked his heart rate and he wasn't doing so great so she said I had to get him out soon. We went back and forth about where I should move to next since I was extremely unhappy on the birth stool. They suggested the toilet but that didn't seem feasible to me. They suggested the bed but all I could think about was getting back into the tub. Finally, I asked to move to the bed. Once on the bed, Jay was told to get pillows and sit behind me so I could lean on him while pushing. So Jay held me up while Madeleine, Tammy (midwife assistant) and Lea all held my legs up and out while I curled into each surge (much to my discomfort!)! After a few pushes his head came through and since his face was in a puddle of fluid, they asked me to push without a contraction and during the pushing, another surge came along with the birth of my baby. I pulled him into me and just laid there against my husband holding our newborn baby.

The bleeding seemed to be more than Madeleine liked but not bad enough for Madeleine to feel the need to administer pitocin. After what felt like forever (probably 20-30 minutes), I delivered the placenta with help from Madeleine. I had a slight tear that was stitched up and then I nursed Parker. I've been riding the birth high ever since. 

He was born at 12:49am 27 February 2015. He was 9lbs 4oz and 22" long. My big baby came with a massive noggin measuring 14.25"! I gave birth after just under 6 hours of labor and lots of fighting through thoughts of defeat. I can honestly say this was one of the hardest things I've ever done!! My beautiful home birth after 2 cesareans!