We were very excited for this baby’s arrival but the due dates kept changing. The initial due date was April 23rd but after the ultrasound in December it got adjusted to May 5th. Sometimes at my prenatal appointments the baby would measure big, making me think he/she would come in April. Other times he/she would measure right on track for the May due date. As time went on we passed the April due date and soon May 5th came and went too. Those last couple of weeks went really, really S-L-O-W.
There were days in late April where I would have contractions for 5 hour stretches but they felt like glorified braxton hicks and I came to the conclusion that the baby was in a posterior position (he/she always pushed their feet at my tummy, their back was against my back) and thus my body wouldn't go into full fledged labor. The midwives would try to lessen my concern of a posterior delivery by saying the baby was on my side and could slide "into position" at any moment. But any moment turned into days and days passing by, so I went about my life as normal.
In the evening on May 8th I had mild contractions all night long but was able to sleep through them just fine. I knew they'd go away because the baby was still in a posterior position. If the baby didn't move into the right position my uterus wouldn't have a baby to grab “a hold of” and contract against.
In the morning the contractions stopped and everything went on like normal. In the afternoon I dropped Addie off at kindergarten and then pick up some lunch for myself. I got home, put Cameron down for nap and then sat down to eat my lunch in peace. Then something strange happened to my body. I sat up to put my lunch away after I was done eating and I felt tiny bit of water leak on to my pants. I was a little shocked because I don't have bladder issues. I went to go change my pants and lifted my leg at a certain angle and again the tiniest bit of water leaked out. The thought crossed my mind that my bag of water could've broken, but it was so miniscule that I thought it just couldn't be. I called Robert at school and told him that I think my water broke and that he should probably come home. He thought it was so funny that I didn’t know for sure. I called the midwives at OHSU and they said that since I was group B strep positive that I should come up there to have them evaluate me and check the situation. So then I called my mom to arrange picking up the big girls from school and watching them while we were gone.
We drove to Portland in record time. I listened to my hypno-baby recordings in hopes to jump start labor. We arrive at the hospital around 4 o'clock in the evening and they took me into the triage area. I told the midwife that I thought the baby was posterior so she started kneading my stomach to see where the baby was positioned and as a result I started gushing amniotic fluid all over the place. And thus it was determined that my water had indeed broken. Apparently I had a “high tear” where the bag of water tears open at the top of the uterus and only a little bit of water leaks out at a time. In all my years of watching TV I'd never seen this portrayed. Usually the water just gushes out of the woman and that was not my experience.
The midwife did an ultrasound and confirmed that the baby was in a posterior position. I asked the midwife for some tips on how to get the baby to turn into an anterior position. She showed me a few exercises and was on her way.
I was officially admitted to ohsu hospital around 5:30pm. We were taken to our room and I was started on antibiotics for my group B strep, I really hate having an IV in my arm. Once we were settled I started listening to my hypno-baby CD’s again to help with natural birth and I started doing different exercises to get the baby to flip. The funniest looking exercise I did, to get the baby to turn, was when I would elevate one leg onto a chair and do lunges. I spent a good amount of time on the birthing ball resting my head on the bed leaning forward trying to get the baby to flip. While on the ball I had a few back labor contractions due to the baby being posterior and they were VERY intense.
Hypno-Babies was helping a lot but around 7:30pm I just had to lay down on the bed and rest. I was getting frustrated that the baby wasn’t changing position and I needed a break. I put three pillows in between my knees to give the baby some extra space. I tried to focus on my breathing and imagining that the baby is turning. It must have worked because during this time the baby flipped!!! This is when things got real (contractions escalate and get intense).
Around 8:30pm I started getting the chills and the shakes. I knew that transition was coming soon. I told the midwife and nurses that I needed to get into the tub soon. But the water was too hot. After I got admitted they had set up the birthing tub (around 6 o'clock). There were a lot of ladies in labors that night and they wanted the tub to be ready. Since the baby was posterior the assumption was that I’d be in labor well into the morning so they made the water hot expecting it to have plenty of time to cool off. Well it had only been about three hours and I wanted to get in the water as soon as possible. The nurses went to work. They started taking buckets of hot water out of the birthing tub and with the hose, pouring in cold water.
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By 9 o'clock I couldn’t wait any longer, none of my coping mechanisms were working. I was given the OK to get in the tub but they warned me it would be hot and I told them I didn't really care I just needed to get in there!
The birthing tub (which is a large circular inflatable tub with high walls and a padded bottom) and water felt incredible, not hot at all. And it was just like when I gave birth to Camryn, I knelt on my knees and leaned/rested over the edge of the tub. Robert was a great support; he sat at the edge of the tub and would give me water and ice chips in between contractions. As the contractions or pressure waves got stronger I did ask him for more encouraging words and he was happy to oblige.
By 9:30pm the contractions were about three minutes apart lasted about a minute. The midwife came in to check on me and noticed that my birthing sounds (moans and groans) had changed quite dramatically and she decided to “stay in the room” and stop making the rounds.
I remember the nurse kept doing the Doppler/ heart monitor on my tummy to read the babies heart rate. I could feel and knew that the baby was going down the birth canal and she just kept poking me with the Doppler. Finally she looked up at the midwife and said “the babies in the birth canal”. I was like “yeah the babies in the birth canal now get away for me”, so frustrating.
At 9:45 PM everybody was gearing up and Robert was in the tub. I started pushing around 9:55 but I didn't want to push too hard. With Camryn, she went through the birth canal to quickly resulting in hematoma, where blood vessels burst and make tiny red spots all over her face. I didn't want this to happen to baby number four so I was pushing but trying to be somewhat controlled, if that’s even possible at that time.
The plan was to have Robert catch the baby but as the baby is crowning the midwife noticed that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck twice. With her 30+ years experience she kept the baby under the water and quickly got the cord off the baby's neck. Then she told me to lift up one of my legs. So I lifted up my leg and then like some cool basketball player move the midwife guided the baby under that leg and said “catch”. All of a sudden the baby was in my arms. I had my left hand over the baby’s crotch and with my fingers I felt a void of something significant and instantly knew that it was a girl. I chuckled under my breath “it’s a girl”. The nurses asked “what is it, what is it?” and finally I said in a little bit louder voice “it's a GIRL”!
I turned around, sat down in the tub and showed Robert. I just held our baby girl for a few minutes. We delivered our fourth baby girl at 10:03 PM on May 9. It made perfect sense because Robert’s birthday is on the ninth and I'm born on the ninth as well.
I was surprised that I had enough energy to hold the baby for as long as I did. After Camryn was born I couldn't physically hold her for at least 15 minutes but I held this baby for about five minutes and then gave her to Robert to hold. And we got a few cute pictures in the birthing tub.
Overall it was a great delivery. I feel very blessed that I got the baby to turn into an anterior position or else that 9 hour labor would have been a lot longer and way more intense. Reese is just an amazing baby and we’re so happy to have her in our family!!!
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