Inspiration

Birth Stories

Miles

Dear Leslie, Mary Jo and fellow students,

Sorry it has taken me awhile to get this off to you. Baby Miles came into the world June 19th at 9:15am. On June 18th, his due date, we woke up early with our two year old son and went for a long walk through the park. I felt a little more pressure with my Braxton Hicks but nothing too uncomfortable. When we got home, I had diarrhea, but soon I was on the way to the playground with my son. By mid afternoon I was looking forward to a nap, but my husband called to let me know that my in-laws were on their way and would be arriving a day early. Forget the nap, I had to get the house in order. Braxton Hicks were still coming consistently, which I was used to, but they were definitely more noticeable. At around 4 pm I decided to call my midwife to let her know about the diarrhea in the morning. She very calmly said that it was probably just GI upset and that the pre labor symptoms could go on for another week. OK I thought, I guess I could handle this for another week. Anyway I decided to take my son Logan for a quick swim before the in-laws arrived. In the hour that I was at the pool I had about seven braxton hicks and I definitely noticed them. On our drive home, I thought, this could be a great day to have a baby. Later in the evening we all went out to dinner for Italian. My contractions were becoming more uncomfortable but they were not regular and I was able to remain seated through dinner. I ate a huge bowl of pasta and loved every bite.

At around 10:30 pm my husband was not feeling well. He had been fighting a respiratory infection throughout the day, so I told him to get some rest and that I would go downstairs, so I would not keep him up. I was feeling good, but I was ready to sit on the ball. When I sat down on it I felt a little pop and fluid started flowing out, it was not a trickle, my water had just broken. I called my midwife, Nancy. She told me to check to see if I could feel the baby moving. If so I could continue laboring at home. We would need to head to the hospital eventually because I was planning a VBAC, but I wanted to stay at home as long as possible. I labored at home for another five hours. It was very peaceful and quiet. At around 4 am I was ready to have the support of Nancy. My contractions were bringing me to my knees and they were about 3 minutes apart.

The car ride to the hospital was interesting. I definitely moved around quite a bit and got into some funky positions. Nancy met us at the entrance and I had to get through a couple contractions just walking into the hospital. The baby was doing great and when Dr. Fitzhugh checked me I was 7cm. They took me off the monitors and we headed for the shower. I knew that water would help me tremendously. My husband, Glenn stood over me with the showerhead and sprayed me down. The water was great but I wish I had a tub. Anyway, we ended up flooding the bathroom, because I was in the shower for so long! The contractions were intensifying but I felt very empowered to move through them. Nancy suggested some great positions and the postures from yoga were helpful as well. Before I knew it, I was ready to start pushing. I felt most productive squatting. I knew my baby was coming soon when I pushed through a contraction and his head didn’t go back in. I put my hand down to touch him until the next contraction and then out he came. My doctor told me to reach down and pull the rest of my baby out. It was amazing! After having him on my chest for a few minutes, we lifted Miles up to see if he was a boy or girl. What a wonderful surprise, another boy!

My husband was an incredible support and of course Nancy was a gem. Dr. Fitzhugh kept me laughing and our nurse, Karen was awesome. There was a lot of laughter and love in that birthing room that morning. I felt so much strength throughout my labor. The pain was intense but not once did I consider taking anything to relieve it. It was such a profound and beautiful experience. Good luck to all of you who our expecting soon and thanks for all of your support Leslie and Mary Jo.

-Letitia A

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