Birth Story

August Koen was born on 09/08/09 at 12:45 PM after 9.5 hours of labor and 15 minutes of pushing. He weighed in at 9 lbs, 8 oz and was 20 inches long. Here's how it went...

I woke up at about 3:15 to crazy kicks from the baby with DH poking and prodding back. DH said they were playing. I rolled out of bed to pee and immediately felt a gush of liquid. Of course I thought, "My water is broken!" but I didn't say anything until I confirmed. I remember lamely saying, "Guess what? My water just broke." and within seconds DH was out of bed with his fists in the air and a huge grin on his face.

I sat and kind of shivered in shocked silence while I took everything in. My water was broken and the baby was coming - one day after labor day, one day before 09/09/09 (my due date) but at 40 weeks exactly. I asked DH to wash my PJ pants because for whatever reason I felt the intense need to continue wearing them, but obviously didn't want to sit in amniotic fluid.

DH went to make me some food (whole wheat pasta and veggies) and wash my pants while I snacked on some string cheese and texted my buddy group buddy so she could get the prayer chain going. I was planning on eating and then laying down to try to sleep, as I had only slept for four hours at that point. My body, however, had a different idea.

Shortly after my water broke, I had my first contraction. It seemed a little more intense than the Braxton Hicks contractions I had felt for weeks leading up to the birth, but it wasn't much more than a pinch. We waited a bit, and after about 15 minutes another contraction came, with another 8 minutes after that. I think at that point I started feeling them in my back, which told me that all my crawling around hadn't done much to turn my posterior baby.

After those first few, my contractions started coming at about 2 minutes apart. We were confused by the regularity of them, as we had expected them to start further apart and gradually reach that type of closeness when labor was well under way. I labored with them at 2 minutes apart for about an hour and then decided to call the midwife at about 5 AM. I was hoping to be able to wait until at least 6, but the fact that they were so close together made us think that we should at least let her know what's up.

The midwife told me to get in the shower for about 20 minutes. If they slowed down, I should stay home. If they stayed 2 minutes apart, we should leave for her house, where the birth would take place. We then called our families to let them know that that was the plan and that we might be heading to the midwife's shortly.

When I got in the shower, I experienced immediate pain relief from the pressure and warmth of the water. I directed it toward my back, where most of the pain was centered, and found myself having to breath through contractions. In the 30 or so minutes I spent in the shower, the contractions stayed regular at 2 minutes apart, lasting around 1 minute each. We called the midwife again and let her know that we would be leaving shortly. I think it was around now that I threw up for the first time...

This is the only time I remembered feeling even remotely panicked, simply because I wanted to make sure we had everything. I quickly snapped a photo of my belly, as I was due for my 40 week picture anyway, while DH gathered all our things. I ended up leaving the house in PJ pants and a nursing bra instead of the gown I had planned to wear, which I was totally fine with. The coolness of the early morning felt so nice. I had a contraction by the car and then hopped in to head off to the midwife's.

The drive to the midwife's house was surreal and fun, although car contractions were not that great. Because it was so early (about 6 AM) the streets were pretty much bare. However, at one point, we almost got into a head-on collision (in the middle of a contraction) on a narrow street. Thankfully, both cars were moving slowly.

When we arrived at the midwife's, I had a few contractions, still 2 minutes apart. During the contractions, I would bend over and hold onto the arms of a chair while swaying my hips from side to side. I found that this movement relieved the most pressure and pain. I threw up again about then, which actually made me feel better.

After a couple contractions, our midwife checked me...It was about 6:20 at this point. I readied myself for hearing that I was 3 or 4 cm dilated. She said, "I can still feel the bag of waters bulging, which is good. Seems like you're about 6 to 7 centimeters dilated!" If I hadn't been, you know, in labor, I would've jumped up and down and done a little dance. I was so excited! All those Braxton Hicks had been doing something!

I had a couple more contractions and asked if I could get in the shower, remembering how much it had helped at home. The midwife reminded me that her shower wasn't available (she was having it replaced) but said I could get in her hot tub out on her deck. This sounded AMAZING, so I quickly agreed. I changed into one of her labor gowns and headed outside. The sun was just beginning to rise as I got into the tub. Instantly upon submersion, my pain was cut in half. It felt unbelievable.

Soon after I got into the tub, my mom arrived dressed in her boss' (a dentist) mask, gloves and coat. It gave me quite the giggle that only ended as another contraction hit. I found myself singing through contractions while I floated and moved in the tub. I'm sure I looked like quite the hippie. ;) I sang Lisa Hannigan's version of Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues, Bret Dennen'sDesert Sunrise, and a few other random songs.

While I was in the tub, DH's sister, mom and dad all arrived and sat on the deck and chatted. It was so nice to have them all there visiting while I labored. I was very much in my own little world, but I loved being able to tune in and out of their conversation. We got to enjoy the sunrise and watch the city brighten up. It was beautiful. My midwife cut some roses from her garden and placed them where I could see them. It was just so nice!

By about 8:30 I had a couple of back-to-back contractions, which weren't very fun. The pain was still tolerable, although I had changed to a weird hands and knees position in the tub and would move in kind of a snake-like motion while breathing at certain points in the movement. Having a "strict" way to move each time really helped me deal with the pain, although as I said, they weren't too bad then. I also kept reminding myself that I was already 7 cm dilated and each contraction I experienced was one less contraction until I was done and holding my baby!

I realized I had to throw up again and reached for where I thought the bucket was, not remembering that we had moved it when I got out of the tub to pee (which I was unable to do almost the entire labor). I started saying "Bucket, bucket" thinking people would catch on pretty quickly. However, everyone thought I was saying "F*** it" and stood in shocked silence for a moment until I said "bucket" louder and someone realized it just in time. We all got a good laugh out of that one.

At about 10, my midwife said she would like to break my water and check me again. We waited for a contraction to end, I dried off a bit and we headed inside. My sister in law had told me that having my water broken would feel great, so I was excited. My midwife broke part of the sac and quite a lot of liquid came out, which surprised me as I thought my water had pretty much broken at home. She said I was about 8 cm along, which I was glad about because I had progressed, but I obviously wished I was more dilated than that. I also didn't feel the relief mySIL had said I would feel having my water broken, which disappointed me. Then, my midwife said she was going to finish breaking my water, but had to do it during a contraction, which sounded like it was going to suck. I braced myself, and it sucked for sure, but when she finished breaking my water it felt soooooooooooooooooo good! It even made a trickling sound as it came out, which was endlessly amusing to me. What I didn't realize was that she "had" to do it during a contraction because she was turning the baby into an anterior position!

(Also, the amniotic fluid had some meconium in it, which scared me at first, but the midwife assured me that it was nothing to worry about.)

I decided that I didn't want to get back into the tub because it was starting to make my skin feel weird (I had been in there for about 4 hours) and I didn't want to get up to walk. The first contraction after my water was broken was way more painful and I didn't feel like I could move. My midwife got me a hot water bottle for my back, which helped a ton. I sat on her birthing bed and started another "regimen" for moving and breathing through my contractions. I started bouncing my feet up and down, alternating from right to left, while I beat the bed with my right hand and squeezed someone else's hand with my left hand. I would draw in a deep breath at the beginning of the contraction and the hum a weird tune until the contraction was over. Apparently it sounded like a war chant and/or an old Irish song.

My contractions at this point got the most painful. I realized, though, that the peak of the pain only lasted for a moment or two. So, when it got to be the most painful, I just waited for it to begin to taper off. I also started dozing in between contractions.

Around 11:30 my midwife checked me again and said that I only had about three quarters of a centimeter to go! This was obviously fantastic news. At about noon I started feeling like I wanted to push and started doing some lame pushes, but I wasn't in a very good position for pushing - I was reclining on the birthing bed. My midwife suggested that I try to sit on the toilet as that can sometimes enhance the urge to push. I really didn't want to, as I had tried it earlier and it made my back pain even worse, but I knew that I wanted to be done and if sitting on the toilet would make it happen faster, I would try it.

I sat down and immediately jumped back up because the pain in my back was so terrible. My I had a contraction standing up, which wasn't much better. Then, my midwife had me sit down again and put the hot water bottle behind me, which helped soooo much. I found that almost immediately the urge to push was overwhelming. I did a couple lame pushes until my midwife said "hold your breath and push as long as possible." That was all I needed.

I started to feel the baby move down, which felt so surreal and cool. It didn't hurt at all (aside from the contraction pain, of course) and I was able to concentrate on feeling the progression. My midwife told me to let her know if I felt a burning sensation, which I started to feel only a little bit after. I asked her if I should stop pushing and she said to go with it unless the burning became more. After one more push I could feel him begin to crown, so she had me walk back into the birthing room and lie down on my left side.

I continued to push and she held up a mirror so I could see him crown. I also reached down and touched his head, which was surprisingly smooshy. Right after that, I felt myself tear "up front" and started to freak out a little bit. I didn't realize it, but it happened right as the biggest part of his head was coming through - the most difficult part! I kind of whined, "I can't do it!" which cracked everyone up, as I had gotten to this point almost without complaint, and waited until the last possible minute to kind of lose it. Everyone (and I mean everyone) said, "Yes you can!" and with another push or two his head came out.

DH let out a loud and excited cry of "It's out!" and the midwife told him to quiet down in case she had to talk to me. I thought it was funny because everyone is always telling DH to quiet down. Another push and the shoulders came, and then I felt the rest of him slide on out. It feltsoooooooooo weird to be able to feel him leave my body. It was really cool! DH immediately yelled "It's a boy!" and I burst into tears saying, "I have a son, we have a son! Is he ok??" My midwife put him on my chest where he looked up at me...I had never seen a face so sweet. The midwife assured me that he was wonderful and I got to hold and cuddle my son for the first time. My DH mentioned that "he looks just like me!" which is hilarious because everyone now says that Gus looks like his mama.

We waited for the cord to stop pulsing and then DH cut it. Soon after, I delivered the placenta, which was easier than I thought it would be. I think it only took a push or two. That also felt amazing - I didn't realize it would make a difference, but it sure did!

After all was said and done, my midwife told me that I tore on both sides of my labia, which required stitches. Other than that, though, Gus and I were both in great condition. DH and I headed home with him at about 6 PM. Now my sweet boy is 8 days old, and he is the most wonderful little baby I could ever imagine.