... thank you for all the stories that have been submitted! As of yesterday, I had 38 wonderful, diverse stories compiled and edited together. I wanted to have 40 stories, so posted a status on FB looking for a few more - and got a great response!
Just putting the stories together re-affirmed my thoughts that women really, really can benefit from hearing the stories of birth that are out there. Not the "made-for-TV, cut-out-all-the-middle-stuff" kind - the real deal, experienced and remembered by real women. (I should point out that the 'editing' I've done is limited to spelling/grammar kind of stuff, and a few spots where I did very minor re-wording to make it a bit more understandable. No cutting out of things, no adding!)
So now I'm looking into figuring out how the heck a person goes about publishing this kind of thing...?! That may be an ordeal in itself, but we'll see where that goes. If nothing else, I guess I can print off copies on my computer! :) Maybe not realistic...!
If anyone is reading this, I need some help on titles... so give me your input! My "vision" is that this book could be a nice guide, along with the "What to Expect..." kind of books, appealing particularly to expectant mothers... so what to name it?!
Here are a few thoughts...
"The Birth Story Project: 40 Births for Your 40 Weeks"
"Memoirs of Birth"
"It's a ... Baby!" (Stories of Birth)
Any thoughts? Suggestions??
Monday, January 19, 2009
Friday, November 14, 2008
More on the 'Birth Story' line of thought...
... thank you all for the birth stories that have been submitted! It's amazing to see what we've gone through for our babies - and even more incredible how worth it it all is once we hold that tiny little someone.
I'm really thinking of compiling a book of these personal stories, shared by you mommies for other moms-to-be; and what a wonderful way to share the story of your child's birth with him/her when the right time comes.
Please consider sharing your story with us, if you haven't already - and if you have, consider passing on this link to your mommy friends! Easy labors, hard ones, quickies and looooong ones, c-sections and breeches and vag births, VBACs, home births, happy stories, and bittersweet ones --- they can all be so helpful and wonderful to share.
Thank you!!
I'm really thinking of compiling a book of these personal stories, shared by you mommies for other moms-to-be; and what a wonderful way to share the story of your child's birth with him/her when the right time comes.
Please consider sharing your story with us, if you haven't already - and if you have, consider passing on this link to your mommy friends! Easy labors, hard ones, quickies and looooong ones, c-sections and breeches and vag births, VBACs, home births, happy stories, and bittersweet ones --- they can all be so helpful and wonderful to share.
Thank you!!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Birth Story project...
So I am utterly fascinated by birth (hope that's not creepy). I love reading birth stories, talking about my births and the births that women I meet have gone through (my poor friends probably cringe to see me coming after their babies are born!), and helping women understand birth and what to expect.
Is that weird? Maybe it's just me? But on the other hand, there are plenty of shows on TV (like "A Baby Story", etc,) that deal with births, and I loved watching them; except they don't really portray what *real* birth is like for 98% of women. And that's hard, especially for first-time mothers coming in (or just waiting for labor) --- to go from watching a hollywood-version of birth, where you get a quick summary of the woman's pregnancy, then the entire labor, delivery, and birth, and then a nice 'wrap-up' of how things are going at home, in less than thirty minutes (including commercial breaks).
Labor doesn't go that way...! :) Or at least, not usually, and especially generally not the first time around.
So what I'd love to do - and I'm not sure how realistic/feasible it is, but just a thought at this point - is compile birth stories. From anyone and everyone that I can talk, hound, bribe, guilt, intrigue, into doing so. I was an avid WebMD'er during my pregnancies and somewhat after L was born, and have a good group of Facebook friends that I met during our preggo journey and have remained friends as our LO's are all close in age. All of these women I meet and have met our wonderful, and I am so grateful to have them for support, encouragement, and the laughs they bring!
From there I'll go to this: Anyone who is willing to contribute their birth story, please either email me a copy at aviekins@hotmail.com, or send me a hard copy (for some reason I think a hand-written copy would be very meaningful?) to "Birth Stories", 626 W First St, Shawano, WI 54166.
By submitting your story, you agree to allow me to use it for whatever purpose this idea is going towards - whether some kind of project in school comparing how certain birth interventions affect the birth process, a compilation of birth stories, ???, etc. No full names will ever be used, if the stories are identified they will only contain first names. Ideally, having your full name, address/email/or phone (for contacting if needed for some reason) would be helpful but not used except for if questions, etc. Stories could be submitted anonymously, but I'm not sure yet how they would be used that way.
Otherwise, no real rules! :) Just your own rememberance of how labor went, from the beginning to the end. You can include how/why labor started, what happened when, things you are glad you did/didn't do, concerns you had, things that went the way (or didn't go) you expected, complications, timelines, your reactions (and your SO's, if applicable) to things, what you had for lunch, yadda yadda - whatever you feel is relevant. It's your story, and your baby's!
(I do also have a informal poll/survey, that if filled out along with your birth story may be helpful - but again could go either way. I will post that as a new entry above...)
If nothing else, this may be a great way to relive the experience for yourself, and to keep a copy of this story for your LO to cherish as s/he grows older... :)
Thank you for considering this, if you do! Please email me with any questions you have, have a wonderful day!
Is that weird? Maybe it's just me? But on the other hand, there are plenty of shows on TV (like "A Baby Story", etc,) that deal with births, and I loved watching them; except they don't really portray what *real* birth is like for 98% of women. And that's hard, especially for first-time mothers coming in (or just waiting for labor) --- to go from watching a hollywood-version of birth, where you get a quick summary of the woman's pregnancy, then the entire labor, delivery, and birth, and then a nice 'wrap-up' of how things are going at home, in less than thirty minutes (including commercial breaks).
Labor doesn't go that way...! :) Or at least, not usually, and especially generally not the first time around.
So what I'd love to do - and I'm not sure how realistic/feasible it is, but just a thought at this point - is compile birth stories. From anyone and everyone that I can talk, hound, bribe, guilt, intrigue, into doing so. I was an avid WebMD'er during my pregnancies and somewhat after L was born, and have a good group of Facebook friends that I met during our preggo journey and have remained friends as our LO's are all close in age. All of these women I meet and have met our wonderful, and I am so grateful to have them for support, encouragement, and the laughs they bring!
From there I'll go to this: Anyone who is willing to contribute their birth story, please either email me a copy at aviekins@hotmail.com, or send me a hard copy (for some reason I think a hand-written copy would be very meaningful?) to "Birth Stories", 626 W First St, Shawano, WI 54166.
By submitting your story, you agree to allow me to use it for whatever purpose this idea is going towards - whether some kind of project in school comparing how certain birth interventions affect the birth process, a compilation of birth stories, ???, etc. No full names will ever be used, if the stories are identified they will only contain first names. Ideally, having your full name, address/email/or phone (for contacting if needed for some reason) would be helpful but not used except for if questions, etc. Stories could be submitted anonymously, but I'm not sure yet how they would be used that way.
Otherwise, no real rules! :) Just your own rememberance of how labor went, from the beginning to the end. You can include how/why labor started, what happened when, things you are glad you did/didn't do, concerns you had, things that went the way (or didn't go) you expected, complications, timelines, your reactions (and your SO's, if applicable) to things, what you had for lunch, yadda yadda - whatever you feel is relevant. It's your story, and your baby's!
(I do also have a informal poll/survey, that if filled out along with your birth story may be helpful - but again could go either way. I will post that as a new entry above...)
If nothing else, this may be a great way to relive the experience for yourself, and to keep a copy of this story for your LO to cherish as s/he grows older... :)
Thank you for considering this, if you do! Please email me with any questions you have, have a wonderful day!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
On inductions...
... I hate them!
As an OB nurse, I can honestly say they suck. (Although to be fair, as I was approaching 40 weeks with no signs of baby coming this last time around, I was starting to think inducing sounded good! :s !!)
Anyway, here is a link to a great tool, which can be very helpful when considering inductions. There is a scale many practitioners use, called a "Bishop Score"... unfortunately, even when using the scale, many doctors do not really pay attention to the end result or at the least explain how the score might affect the success of the induction.
http://www.childbirth.org/interactive/induction.html
Now for my soapbox... why do I hate inductions (for nonmedical necessity, that is... sometimes they really are justified)?? Oh, thanks for asking!! :D
* You can't force a baby to be born - or shouldn't, anyway. Women's bodies should be allowed to start labor spontaneously, to decrease the stress and risks for both mom and baby. There is an intimate communication between mom's body and the baby's... when baby is ready to be born, chemical signals are sent to mom's body giving the thumbs-up. On the same note, if mom's body is ready to kick into labor for some reason (infection, etc) of its own, chemical messengers cue the baby's body. This give-and-take mechanism allows baby to start clearing the lungs of fluid, practice breathing, and have extended rest periods to allow sufficient energy and nutrients are available for the rigors of labor (as well as the first days adjusting to extrauterine life). If a woman is induced - assuming her body wasn't about to go into labor shortly already - these signals are never sent, and baby can often end up 'shell shocked' at the surprise of birth. This can lead to...
- poor feeding
- difficulties maintaining ideal temperature (newborns are at risk of low body temperatures to begin with... when a newborn's body temperature drops too low, they start experiencing 'cold stress', which can in turn cause respiratory difficulties and a slew of other concerns if not corrected)
- higher risk of infection
- respiratory difficulties
* Inductions have been proven to cause more painful, stronger contractions, and often longer labors... and have increased risk of instrumental delivery (vacuum/forcep assisted vaginal deliveries, or cesarean section). When a woman starts laboring spontaneously, the hormone oxytocin is released in small bursts; there are natural ebbs and flows of the releases, allowing for gradual build-up of contractions and complete rest periods between contractions. When the synthetic form of oxytocin (Pitocin) is administered, it is controlled by the nurse manually upping the dosage via an IV pump. Instead of slowly rising waves of oxytocin, the pump generally doses the specified amount of pitocin all at once - causing the uterus to go from zero to sixty (in terms of intensity), and then back again. With pitocin, there are no natural, built-in rest periods every so often. And again, since nothing will force a baby to be born (save a c/s), the use of pitocin or other induction techniques can cause the mother (and often fetus) to be miserable for hours and hours with little progression. This can lead to a mother opting for analgesia, which may have not been her intention prior to the induction.
* Interventions lead to interventions, which lead to interventions, which lead to... (you get the point!) Sure, the idea of getting to choose your baby's birthday sounds great --- why not?? Many times the trade off of a little more intense labor for a more convenient birth sounds fine... and I can understand that completely! But... an induction isn't as simple as just going in, having the IV of pitocin hooked up, and then having the baby. At many hospitals, once the pitocin is begun, continuous monitoring is also initiated. This can mean being stuck in the bed completely from that moment until baby is delivered. As hard as it seems to get out of bed once those contractions hit (and again I remember this well!), it is a vital way to help baby descend and begin the process of entering the birth canal. In order to be born vaginally, babies need to do some pretty fancy footwork (so to speak), and maternal position changes greatly influence the ease of which this can happen. Rocking in a rocking chair, using a birthing ball, walking in the hallways, and showering all allow for different pelvic positions, encouraging the baby to do these manuevers. (see http://www.transitiontoparenthood.com/ttp/parented/pain/positions.htm for some suggestions on different labor positions) The use of gravity is huge in this, and in cervical dilation; it's difficult to use gravity while laying in bed, though.
An example of how interventions can snowball:
Induction with pitocin (increased ctx pain/intensity) ----> Epidural Analgesia (for increased pain) ----> Confined to Bed/Continuous fetal monitoring/close blood pressure monitoring ----> Indwelling catheter placed (epidural analgesia often makes it difficult to void) ----> Fetal malposition (possibly due to lack of maternal position changes) ----> Decreased pushing sensation (secondary to epidural) ----> Need for instrumental delivery and/or maternal manipulation (vacuum, forceps, episiotomy and/or c/s)
(and there are plenty of places where many other interventions and outcomes can kick in...)
* Lack of informed consent Many physicians either inadvertantly or intentionally "gloss over" the idea of induction, and fail to present the risks and benefits in clear language so that the mother and father can make an informed choice. There are wonderful doctors out there, but it is important to feel comfortable asking your doctor for the truth - would s/he agree to be induced this point? What are the best/worst case scenarios? What should you expect? Unfortunately studies are showing that c/s rates are highest during the week, daytime periods (around 4 p.m.). Some doctors will start induction attempts in the morning, and if nothing's happening by 3 p.m., convince mom (who is usually pretty exhausted by this point) that a c/s may just be what has to be done because for whatever reason baby just isn't coming this way. Baby is born, mom is done laboring (but only after major abdominal surgery), and doc is home for dinner - and might be able to count on the added convenience of the next baby being born by scheduled repeat c/s, instead of gambling on a labor and birth that could take place - gasp! - in the wee morning hours.
Ok, I think I'd better fall off of this soapbox now!! :P I've noticed that this thread has gone from fairly benign in the beginning, to downright judgemental and snarky at the end. So, enough on this subject (for today, anyway).
In conclusion, though, the honest truth that I see in practice is that induced labors really are harder and longer, and tend to leave babies that just don't do quite as well as spontaneously occuring labors. Like everything else in life (remember the bell curve?), most inductions will be so-so and not have horrid outcomes; some will be awful (like the mothers I've seen go to intensive care for blood transfusions following failed inductions and c/s, instead of holding their new babies immediately following birth) and some will be great. Most will just be in the middle somewhere, which is fine --- but it should be up to the mother to make an informed, educated decision to induce or not, based on the facts. (The same sentence can be modified with "inductions" being replaced by "spontaneous labors" or just plain "labors"; I have seen scary outcomes with spontaneously occuring labors as well... but not as many)
There's always good things, and bad things.... this is my life!
As an OB nurse, I can honestly say they suck. (Although to be fair, as I was approaching 40 weeks with no signs of baby coming this last time around, I was starting to think inducing sounded good! :s !!)
Anyway, here is a link to a great tool, which can be very helpful when considering inductions. There is a scale many practitioners use, called a "Bishop Score"... unfortunately, even when using the scale, many doctors do not really pay attention to the end result or at the least explain how the score might affect the success of the induction.
http://www.childbirth.org/interactive/induction.html
Now for my soapbox... why do I hate inductions (for nonmedical necessity, that is... sometimes they really are justified)?? Oh, thanks for asking!! :D
* You can't force a baby to be born - or shouldn't, anyway. Women's bodies should be allowed to start labor spontaneously, to decrease the stress and risks for both mom and baby. There is an intimate communication between mom's body and the baby's... when baby is ready to be born, chemical signals are sent to mom's body giving the thumbs-up. On the same note, if mom's body is ready to kick into labor for some reason (infection, etc) of its own, chemical messengers cue the baby's body. This give-and-take mechanism allows baby to start clearing the lungs of fluid, practice breathing, and have extended rest periods to allow sufficient energy and nutrients are available for the rigors of labor (as well as the first days adjusting to extrauterine life). If a woman is induced - assuming her body wasn't about to go into labor shortly already - these signals are never sent, and baby can often end up 'shell shocked' at the surprise of birth. This can lead to...
- poor feeding
- difficulties maintaining ideal temperature (newborns are at risk of low body temperatures to begin with... when a newborn's body temperature drops too low, they start experiencing 'cold stress', which can in turn cause respiratory difficulties and a slew of other concerns if not corrected)
- higher risk of infection
- respiratory difficulties
* Inductions have been proven to cause more painful, stronger contractions, and often longer labors... and have increased risk of instrumental delivery (vacuum/forcep assisted vaginal deliveries, or cesarean section). When a woman starts laboring spontaneously, the hormone oxytocin is released in small bursts; there are natural ebbs and flows of the releases, allowing for gradual build-up of contractions and complete rest periods between contractions. When the synthetic form of oxytocin (Pitocin) is administered, it is controlled by the nurse manually upping the dosage via an IV pump. Instead of slowly rising waves of oxytocin, the pump generally doses the specified amount of pitocin all at once - causing the uterus to go from zero to sixty (in terms of intensity), and then back again. With pitocin, there are no natural, built-in rest periods every so often. And again, since nothing will force a baby to be born (save a c/s), the use of pitocin or other induction techniques can cause the mother (and often fetus) to be miserable for hours and hours with little progression. This can lead to a mother opting for analgesia, which may have not been her intention prior to the induction.
* Interventions lead to interventions, which lead to interventions, which lead to... (you get the point!) Sure, the idea of getting to choose your baby's birthday sounds great --- why not?? Many times the trade off of a little more intense labor for a more convenient birth sounds fine... and I can understand that completely! But... an induction isn't as simple as just going in, having the IV of pitocin hooked up, and then having the baby. At many hospitals, once the pitocin is begun, continuous monitoring is also initiated. This can mean being stuck in the bed completely from that moment until baby is delivered. As hard as it seems to get out of bed once those contractions hit (and again I remember this well!), it is a vital way to help baby descend and begin the process of entering the birth canal. In order to be born vaginally, babies need to do some pretty fancy footwork (so to speak), and maternal position changes greatly influence the ease of which this can happen. Rocking in a rocking chair, using a birthing ball, walking in the hallways, and showering all allow for different pelvic positions, encouraging the baby to do these manuevers. (see http://www.transitiontoparenthood.com/ttp/parented/pain/positions.htm for some suggestions on different labor positions) The use of gravity is huge in this, and in cervical dilation; it's difficult to use gravity while laying in bed, though.
An example of how interventions can snowball:
Induction with pitocin (increased ctx pain/intensity) ----> Epidural Analgesia (for increased pain) ----> Confined to Bed/Continuous fetal monitoring/close blood pressure monitoring ----> Indwelling catheter placed (epidural analgesia often makes it difficult to void) ----> Fetal malposition (possibly due to lack of maternal position changes) ----> Decreased pushing sensation (secondary to epidural) ----> Need for instrumental delivery and/or maternal manipulation (vacuum, forceps, episiotomy and/or c/s)
(and there are plenty of places where many other interventions and outcomes can kick in...)
* Lack of informed consent Many physicians either inadvertantly or intentionally "gloss over" the idea of induction, and fail to present the risks and benefits in clear language so that the mother and father can make an informed choice. There are wonderful doctors out there, but it is important to feel comfortable asking your doctor for the truth - would s/he agree to be induced this point? What are the best/worst case scenarios? What should you expect? Unfortunately studies are showing that c/s rates are highest during the week, daytime periods (around 4 p.m.). Some doctors will start induction attempts in the morning, and if nothing's happening by 3 p.m., convince mom (who is usually pretty exhausted by this point) that a c/s may just be what has to be done because for whatever reason baby just isn't coming this way. Baby is born, mom is done laboring (but only after major abdominal surgery), and doc is home for dinner - and might be able to count on the added convenience of the next baby being born by scheduled repeat c/s, instead of gambling on a labor and birth that could take place - gasp! - in the wee morning hours.
Ok, I think I'd better fall off of this soapbox now!! :P I've noticed that this thread has gone from fairly benign in the beginning, to downright judgemental and snarky at the end. So, enough on this subject (for today, anyway).
In conclusion, though, the honest truth that I see in practice is that induced labors really are harder and longer, and tend to leave babies that just don't do quite as well as spontaneously occuring labors. Like everything else in life (remember the bell curve?), most inductions will be so-so and not have horrid outcomes; some will be awful (like the mothers I've seen go to intensive care for blood transfusions following failed inductions and c/s, instead of holding their new babies immediately following birth) and some will be great. Most will just be in the middle somewhere, which is fine --- but it should be up to the mother to make an informed, educated decision to induce or not, based on the facts. (The same sentence can be modified with "inductions" being replaced by "spontaneous labors" or just plain "labors"; I have seen scary outcomes with spontaneously occuring labors as well... but not as many)
There's always good things, and bad things.... this is my life!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Olena Marie's birth
It was early June, and I was miserably pregnant - but still far from my due date! Since my first daughter came right at 37 weeks, I had this faint hope (although I knew so much better) that #2 would also come early. So, once that 37 week mark came and went, I started going insane and feeling ridiculously overdue. Like every pregnant woman, I started examining my toilet paper, panties, poo, and anything and everything watching for the "signs" that labor was imminent. Of course, I had them all... and they didn't mean a damned thing.
I really wasn't THAT miserable, except my pelvis felt as though it was going to crack in half (and made a noise that reminded me of being a kid, and pulling the legs of my Barbie's apart - and then having them 'pop' out of the little plastic sockets, with that white plastic stuff... remember that? Eww) and I couldn't sleep for crap. I was achey, and kind of sick of having to hold my uterus up off my bladder to pee, and puffy - but could have been a lot worse. Still, though, I decided it was time to start working on Operation Baby OUT.
I walked, walked, walked, made my poor dh do things he probably did not care to do with a cranky, swollen whale (sorry about that, dear...), ate jalepeno poppers by the handful, climbed my wobbly self up onto a bike... anything and everything! Finally dh reminded me that the night before #1 was born, we had pulled weeds in the little flower garden out in front of our house. I rolled my eyes several times but decided what the hell... so A and I went out there and yanked half-heartedly at some weeds. Definitely made a dent, but the flowerbed still looked horrible. Had some dinner (don't remember what...!), went to bed (and again made my poor dh make a, um, prostaglandin deposit...?!), and thought about my big to-do list that I had made to keep myself busy and not looking for those aforementioned 'signs'. (The list included a pedicure the next day, calling to take 'call time' the next day at work, picking up some quilts at the dry cleaners, etc, etc)
Around 3 o'clock I woke up... with wet panties. Ewww! But, just like the first time around, I knew that it was amniotic fluid and not just a leaky bladder. To be sure, though, I snuck to the bathroom and fished out the nitrazine swab I had "accidently" liberated from work, and swabbed my gooky underwear - and saw a bright blue response immediately. Of course my heart was racing, and I got all shaky and excited (I had been dreaming of this and playing it in my mind for months, mind you!), but decided to shower before doing anything else... a girl's gotta be properly shaved for these kind of things, you know! So, I took a shower, then got online to kill a little bit of time and logged onto contractionmaster.com to see where my contractions (or lack of) were at. I also turned on the TV, and apparently at 3:30 a.m. there isn't a whole lot on - the old "Roseann" rerun where she's pushing free samples at the grocery store was all I got. Finally, around 4 I woke up dh, got his butt in the shower, and then after informing Jana of the change and rewriting my to-do list (so much for my pedi) we gathered the bags and walked over to the hospital. (I had called to let them know we were coming while dh was showering)
Go there, registered, got up to room 233 - and had the nitrazine now come out negative. Still not having much for contractions, and wondering if we'd even be staying. I was 2 cm at this point and pretty posterior (from my own guesses, I had been thinking I was around 2 for a while already) . But, nurse Angie decided to just put the IV in "just in case" (I was GBS positive this time), and wait and see - this was around 5 a.m. Assumed that Dr. Q would be coming in around 7 during rounds, so dh napped on the couch and I read my book ("No Country For Old Men") to pass the time... eventually reading only between contractions. By 7, I was definitely feeling them, but doing all right - I think it was around then that I put down the book, though; with the bustle of the day shift coming on around 7:30, dh woke up and turned on the TV, and kept asking me what I wanted to watch (not getting that I couldn't care less at this point!). My nurse manager - i.e. boss - came in around this point as well, and I remember talking through a contraction or two while she was in there, and afterwards thinking, "Huh, so far so good - I can still talk through them!". After that, though, they kept getting stronger, and I had to focus pretty intently on my focal point (the upper left drawer pull on the entertainment bureau) and breathe through them; I was also battling an achey back which I blamed on the bed... I started piling pillows on the bedside table and trying to hunch over it during contractions. Once or twice dh and I 'slow danced' through them. Around 8, since there was still no sign of the doc, I decided to hop in the shower both for the relief from the back pain and contractions, and also just for something to do to stay awake. Things got pretty intense in there, and I remember a few times thinking that if I pushed a little it might help... (it didn't). Still no doctor, so I stayed in there and alternated the hot water from my belly, to my back (or as best I could), to right at my perineum. I worked at visualizing that little head stretching my cervix and moving down... until finally at about 8:45 Dr. Q poked her head in to see how I was doing, and told me I didn't have to get out to see her if I was doing ok. By this point, I was thinking that I might be ready for something for pain, if things were moving - maybe nubain?? And I just wanted to know if things were progressing; if I was still only 3-4 cm's dilated I think I would have died, or begged for a c/s. I still felt like I was doing great... just tired!
So, I popped into bed, and she offers to break my water if I want; she also says that she has the nurses mixing up my second dose of ampicillin so we could get it in "just in case". I tell her it just depended on where we were dilation-wise if I wanted my water broke, and that I was maybe getting to the point for pain meds... so she grabs the amnihook and does the check. And pronounces me 9 cm! Since I had this great fear that I was only still 3 cm, I was pretty pumped... especially since I still had this mindset that things still had to get A LOT worse before getting to pushing. She decided against breaking my water, and the flurry of activities started (warmer and table coming in, that last dose of antibiotics being run in over 10 mins, etc) ... once the antibiotics were done, around 9:10 a.m., she broke the rest of my water (strange feeling!) and we started pushing. Pushing was awful! Last time I loved it... this time it killed me. Part of it was due to baby --- which also explains some of the back pain, which apparently was back labor! --- being posterior and rotating during pushing. At one point Dr. Q offered me some lidocaine gel to help with the burning, and I replied "it's not going to help at this point!" and everyone laughed at me... and then with the next contraction and push, I was ready to beg for it (except the head was coming out, and I couldn't get the words out... a little late, I guess!). Again, the best feeling in the world was when the shoulders slipped out and my second daughter was born at 9:15 a.m.
Due to a short cord, it was clamped right away (although I don't think I had even told the doc that I wanted to hold off on clamping/cutting until after it stopped pulsating) and cut by dh, and then she was placed on my tummy. I fumbled with the snaps on the gown, trying to get her to breast, until nurse Terrie said "it's easier this way" and just pulled the gown up from the bottom. Smart girl! She latched on easily and went to town... but I was still in awe of how HUGE she was!
Long story short, it was a very fast, relatively 'easy' natural labor - no pain meds, no unnecessary interventions. We did almost immediate skin-to-skin following birth, and my perineum remained intact with just a tiny skidmark. Recovery was fine, although the cramping was much, much stronger than with my first daughter - it was really worse than the labor was. My back was sore for a few weeks afterwards, but all in all - not too bad!
Olena Marie was born on 6/11/08 at 9:15 a.m., weighing in at 8# 7 oz, 19", and a whopping 35.5 cm head of dark hair.
I really wasn't THAT miserable, except my pelvis felt as though it was going to crack in half (and made a noise that reminded me of being a kid, and pulling the legs of my Barbie's apart - and then having them 'pop' out of the little plastic sockets, with that white plastic stuff... remember that? Eww) and I couldn't sleep for crap. I was achey, and kind of sick of having to hold my uterus up off my bladder to pee, and puffy - but could have been a lot worse. Still, though, I decided it was time to start working on Operation Baby OUT.
I walked, walked, walked, made my poor dh do things he probably did not care to do with a cranky, swollen whale (sorry about that, dear...), ate jalepeno poppers by the handful, climbed my wobbly self up onto a bike... anything and everything! Finally dh reminded me that the night before #1 was born, we had pulled weeds in the little flower garden out in front of our house. I rolled my eyes several times but decided what the hell... so A and I went out there and yanked half-heartedly at some weeds. Definitely made a dent, but the flowerbed still looked horrible. Had some dinner (don't remember what...!), went to bed (and again made my poor dh make a, um, prostaglandin deposit...?!), and thought about my big to-do list that I had made to keep myself busy and not looking for those aforementioned 'signs'. (The list included a pedicure the next day, calling to take 'call time' the next day at work, picking up some quilts at the dry cleaners, etc, etc)
Around 3 o'clock I woke up... with wet panties. Ewww! But, just like the first time around, I knew that it was amniotic fluid and not just a leaky bladder. To be sure, though, I snuck to the bathroom and fished out the nitrazine swab I had "accidently" liberated from work, and swabbed my gooky underwear - and saw a bright blue response immediately. Of course my heart was racing, and I got all shaky and excited (I had been dreaming of this and playing it in my mind for months, mind you!), but decided to shower before doing anything else... a girl's gotta be properly shaved for these kind of things, you know! So, I took a shower, then got online to kill a little bit of time and logged onto contractionmaster.com to see where my contractions (or lack of) were at. I also turned on the TV, and apparently at 3:30 a.m. there isn't a whole lot on - the old "Roseann" rerun where she's pushing free samples at the grocery store was all I got. Finally, around 4 I woke up dh, got his butt in the shower, and then after informing Jana of the change and rewriting my to-do list (so much for my pedi) we gathered the bags and walked over to the hospital. (I had called to let them know we were coming while dh was showering)
Go there, registered, got up to room 233 - and had the nitrazine now come out negative. Still not having much for contractions, and wondering if we'd even be staying. I was 2 cm at this point and pretty posterior (from my own guesses, I had been thinking I was around 2 for a while already) . But, nurse Angie decided to just put the IV in "just in case" (I was GBS positive this time), and wait and see - this was around 5 a.m. Assumed that Dr. Q would be coming in around 7 during rounds, so dh napped on the couch and I read my book ("No Country For Old Men") to pass the time... eventually reading only between contractions. By 7, I was definitely feeling them, but doing all right - I think it was around then that I put down the book, though; with the bustle of the day shift coming on around 7:30, dh woke up and turned on the TV, and kept asking me what I wanted to watch (not getting that I couldn't care less at this point!). My nurse manager - i.e. boss - came in around this point as well, and I remember talking through a contraction or two while she was in there, and afterwards thinking, "Huh, so far so good - I can still talk through them!". After that, though, they kept getting stronger, and I had to focus pretty intently on my focal point (the upper left drawer pull on the entertainment bureau) and breathe through them; I was also battling an achey back which I blamed on the bed... I started piling pillows on the bedside table and trying to hunch over it during contractions. Once or twice dh and I 'slow danced' through them. Around 8, since there was still no sign of the doc, I decided to hop in the shower both for the relief from the back pain and contractions, and also just for something to do to stay awake. Things got pretty intense in there, and I remember a few times thinking that if I pushed a little it might help... (it didn't). Still no doctor, so I stayed in there and alternated the hot water from my belly, to my back (or as best I could), to right at my perineum. I worked at visualizing that little head stretching my cervix and moving down... until finally at about 8:45 Dr. Q poked her head in to see how I was doing, and told me I didn't have to get out to see her if I was doing ok. By this point, I was thinking that I might be ready for something for pain, if things were moving - maybe nubain?? And I just wanted to know if things were progressing; if I was still only 3-4 cm's dilated I think I would have died, or begged for a c/s. I still felt like I was doing great... just tired!
So, I popped into bed, and she offers to break my water if I want; she also says that she has the nurses mixing up my second dose of ampicillin so we could get it in "just in case". I tell her it just depended on where we were dilation-wise if I wanted my water broke, and that I was maybe getting to the point for pain meds... so she grabs the amnihook and does the check. And pronounces me 9 cm! Since I had this great fear that I was only still 3 cm, I was pretty pumped... especially since I still had this mindset that things still had to get A LOT worse before getting to pushing. She decided against breaking my water, and the flurry of activities started (warmer and table coming in, that last dose of antibiotics being run in over 10 mins, etc) ... once the antibiotics were done, around 9:10 a.m., she broke the rest of my water (strange feeling!) and we started pushing. Pushing was awful! Last time I loved it... this time it killed me. Part of it was due to baby --- which also explains some of the back pain, which apparently was back labor! --- being posterior and rotating during pushing. At one point Dr. Q offered me some lidocaine gel to help with the burning, and I replied "it's not going to help at this point!" and everyone laughed at me... and then with the next contraction and push, I was ready to beg for it (except the head was coming out, and I couldn't get the words out... a little late, I guess!). Again, the best feeling in the world was when the shoulders slipped out and my second daughter was born at 9:15 a.m.
Due to a short cord, it was clamped right away (although I don't think I had even told the doc that I wanted to hold off on clamping/cutting until after it stopped pulsating) and cut by dh, and then she was placed on my tummy. I fumbled with the snaps on the gown, trying to get her to breast, until nurse Terrie said "it's easier this way" and just pulled the gown up from the bottom. Smart girl! She latched on easily and went to town... but I was still in awe of how HUGE she was!
Long story short, it was a very fast, relatively 'easy' natural labor - no pain meds, no unnecessary interventions. We did almost immediate skin-to-skin following birth, and my perineum remained intact with just a tiny skidmark. Recovery was fine, although the cramping was much, much stronger than with my first daughter - it was really worse than the labor was. My back was sore for a few weeks afterwards, but all in all - not too bad!
Olena Marie was born on 6/11/08 at 9:15 a.m., weighing in at 8# 7 oz, 19", and a whopping 35.5 cm head of dark hair.
Random thoughts on future projects
So, I have all of these random thoughts circling in my head (usually at nice, inopportune times like when I'm trying to fall asleep). Things like, what am I going to do with my life? And... what should I have for lunch tomorrow? What kind of research can I do for a thesis if I go further in school? So, in order to at least remember some of these silly little ideas, I'm putting them on here. As usual sorry for the boring babbling... but gotta do it.
Anyway, this morning after talking dh into getting up with the girls and playing the "I have a headache" card, I laid there and for whatever random reason starting thinking of what I could do as a research project. So one rough idea is making up some kind of pamphlet survey, and distributing them to participants in childbirth classes, and asking each mother to participate willingly. Then, when any primiparous (ie first time) mother comes into the hospital who *hasn't* taken birth classes, asking them to participate as well. The point being to see how being educated and prepared effects perception of the labor/delivery process. Although, I'm not sure how accurate it would be to have the sample of 'non-educated' mothers from ones who are coming in for antepartum reasons... that might mean that they are having issues (for whatever reason) already with the pregnancy and might not be simple, low-risk, 'easy' pregnancies - or at least not as similar of a ratio if that makes sense. Maybe I could work with physicians to distribute them, or just randomly send them to when getting the pre-cert sheets at the hospital... hmm. All these bugs to work out. Anyway, there would be a form for the initial 'baseline', then another assessment that would be filled out in the first 24-48 hrs postpartum, and then a second assessment which I would mail to them 6-8 weeks postpartum. Questions asked would be things like how do you expect your labor to go (on the initial form) and then reporting how they perceived that their labors actually did progress. There would also be a section on the early postpartum worksheet for the nurse to indicate length of labor, list complications, whether it was induced or natural labor, apgar scores, etc (and this would be filled in after the mother returns it - while still an inpatient - so that the nurses' assessment of the labor doesn't influence the mother's).
I'd also be interested in seeing how induced labors stack up in perceived pain/satisifaction of birth experience (such as "If I were to choose again, I would/would not choose induction, etc), or the presence of a doula (although I think this has been done - maybe something from the nurse/physician point of view, or even the father's).
Ok, ramble on.... but this is what goes on in my head, in my life...
Anyway, this morning after talking dh into getting up with the girls and playing the "I have a headache" card, I laid there and for whatever random reason starting thinking of what I could do as a research project. So one rough idea is making up some kind of pamphlet survey, and distributing them to participants in childbirth classes, and asking each mother to participate willingly. Then, when any primiparous (ie first time) mother comes into the hospital who *hasn't* taken birth classes, asking them to participate as well. The point being to see how being educated and prepared effects perception of the labor/delivery process. Although, I'm not sure how accurate it would be to have the sample of 'non-educated' mothers from ones who are coming in for antepartum reasons... that might mean that they are having issues (for whatever reason) already with the pregnancy and might not be simple, low-risk, 'easy' pregnancies - or at least not as similar of a ratio if that makes sense. Maybe I could work with physicians to distribute them, or just randomly send them to when getting the pre-cert sheets at the hospital... hmm. All these bugs to work out. Anyway, there would be a form for the initial 'baseline', then another assessment that would be filled out in the first 24-48 hrs postpartum, and then a second assessment which I would mail to them 6-8 weeks postpartum. Questions asked would be things like how do you expect your labor to go (on the initial form) and then reporting how they perceived that their labors actually did progress. There would also be a section on the early postpartum worksheet for the nurse to indicate length of labor, list complications, whether it was induced or natural labor, apgar scores, etc (and this would be filled in after the mother returns it - while still an inpatient - so that the nurses' assessment of the labor doesn't influence the mother's).
I'd also be interested in seeing how induced labors stack up in perceived pain/satisifaction of birth experience (such as "If I were to choose again, I would/would not choose induction, etc), or the presence of a doula (although I think this has been done - maybe something from the nurse/physician point of view, or even the father's).
Ok, ramble on.... but this is what goes on in my head, in my life...
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sore achey boobs and other joys of motherhood
Being a mother rocks, but it definitely has it's sore points. For example, chapped nipples and engorged boobs! In an effort to keep my milk supply from dwindling, I'm trying to up my pumping and nursing sessions each day - but OUCH!! So, I'm going to put pumping on the list of "not quite so pleasantries" of motherhood... the good things far outnumber the bad, though.
Things I love? Popsicle-sticky fingers, that sweaty-pickle smell on my toddler or the slightly-sour milk smell in the folds of my newborn. "I love you mumma" and "I buy you a bike!" and "I need a fork" while pilfering a container of dessert off the counter. Beautiful hazel eyes and messy ringlets curls, and the velvety soft scalp of a two-month-old. The hard work that it must be to poop (at least from the faces they make!), and the ease of making friends. How my husband turned into so much more in my eyes, more than just a friend, but the father of my reasons for living. Snuggling in the mornings, cold feet shocking each other under the covers, and the unexpected joys of sleeping in here or there a with everyone waking up refreshed and happy. Tiny little toenails and fingernails painted pale pink for the first time ever, and gummy grins getting to be a common occurence. Little tushies and big dreams, and the feeling that I am everything to them, just like they are to me...
... and I love that this is my life.
Things I love? Popsicle-sticky fingers, that sweaty-pickle smell on my toddler or the slightly-sour milk smell in the folds of my newborn. "I love you mumma" and "I buy you a bike!" and "I need a fork" while pilfering a container of dessert off the counter. Beautiful hazel eyes and messy ringlets curls, and the velvety soft scalp of a two-month-old. The hard work that it must be to poop (at least from the faces they make!), and the ease of making friends. How my husband turned into so much more in my eyes, more than just a friend, but the father of my reasons for living. Snuggling in the mornings, cold feet shocking each other under the covers, and the unexpected joys of sleeping in here or there a with everyone waking up refreshed and happy. Tiny little toenails and fingernails painted pale pink for the first time ever, and gummy grins getting to be a common occurence. Little tushies and big dreams, and the feeling that I am everything to them, just like they are to me...
... and I love that this is my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
