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Week by Week

The Birth of David Mark Vincent

I had many ideas about what our home birth was going to be like. I hoped and prayed with all my heart that we would not have to go to the hospital and that we would have a healthy baby. One of the main reasons we wanted a home birth is because we wanted to have a natural birth with as view interventions as possible. The Lord brought forth our son in such a way that he would get all the glory. I believe I was full of pride concerning our home birth. The Lord humbled me.

On Sunday, July 14, 1996 (the due date), my husband Matt and I were anxious for the arrival of our little one. We took four walks that day. The last one was about 9:30pm. I thought I was having contractions when we were walking home but wasn't sure. When I got home I decided to start preparing our home for the birth by putting the old pillow cases on all our pillows. Then, about 10:00pm, I undoubtedly began having contractions. They were uncomfortable but we were so excited that I was having them, I didn't mind...yet. When we went to bed around 11:00pm, Matt started timing contractions, and writing them down in the back of our Bradley book. He timed them until 1:00am. They were 2-6 minutes apart, lasting 30 seconds. We called Lorri (our midwife) - we thought she'd say, "Okay, I'm coming over!". To our surprise, she said that we would probably not be having the baby tonight and that we should try to get some sleep, as we would be needing our strength later (boy was she right). Matt went and slept on the couch because I was on the phone with Lorri for about a half an hour. She was asking me all sorts of questions. My back was hurting with the contractions, she said the baby was probably posterior. I began putting ice on the lower back (baby's usually turn away from the cold). I hadn't felt the baby move for awhile so she had me drink a glass of orange juice (Matt got it for me) and then a few minutes later the baby moved. I was glad to feel him. I hung up and (as she suggested) took a nice long hot bath (this usually slows done labor a bit). Then I got back in bed and tried to sleep through my contractions. I think I slept on and off through the night for a total of about 3 hours.

At 7:00am, Lorri called to see how things were going. I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes, lasting about 30 seconds. She wanted me to come into the midwifery at 10:00am. I didn't want to leave the house but Matt took me - he was being a great coach. They checked me and said I was 100% effaced, and about 3 centimeters dilated. They concluded that today was the day!!! They said I would probably deliver by midnight. That seemed way too far away for me. The baby was still a bit posterior and very high. When we got home I continued with the ice on my back and was on my hands and knees over our black foot rest for quite a long time - trying to get the baby to turn. Matt read the Bible to me, we listened to music and waited for the midwifes to come. My midwife Lorri, and my Bradley instructor (and lay-midwife) Donna came over around 3:00pm. By this time I was definitely in active labor and the contractions were hurting worse. They had me do several things to speed up labor. I showered three times (the last shower I had to sit on our green patio table because I was in too hard of labor to stand), drank a few shots of black cohash, they put this very uncomfortable belly belt on me that is supposed to help the baby drop, and other things. Fran (another mid-mife) didn't get to our house till like 10:00pm - I think. Most of the time, Donna and Lorri were out in the kitchen reading and talking. Matt continued to read to me, pray with me and sing songs to me. I don't how I could have done it without him.

After a day of laboring, I had progressed to 7-8 centimeters but the baby was still very high. At midnight I was sitting on the toilet and had a contraction causing my bag of waters to burst. It was very loud, the midwifes heard it all the way in the kitchen. I said "Praise God" because I thought that meant it was almost over. The midwifes were concerned (because the baby was so high) and had me get off the toilet and go lay on my right side. With the next contraction the baby's heart tone went down to 85. It came right back up again but the midwifes were concerned that perhaps the baby dropped on to the cord - compressed cord. Fran said we should get to the hospital. Lorri called 911. The midwifes immediately hooked me up to the oxygen tank. Matt cried and packed our bag. Donna came and spoke softly to me telling me it would be okay. I closed my eyes and didn't open them but once or twice before we were settled into our room at Saddleback Memorial Hospital just a couple minutes down the road. All my preferences about birth went out the window. All I wanted was for my baby to be all right. If I had to have a cesarean - I didn't care. Epidural, episiotomy, iv - whatever - I just wanted our baby to be okay. I prayed and prayed, "Dear Lord, let my baby be okay". A fire truck arrived in 5 minutes. Lorri explained the situation. They hooked me up to an I.V. and put all sort of monitoring devices on me. When the ambulance got there about 15 minutes later, they carried me down stairs on a stretcher, I thought I was going to fall. Fran rode with me in the ambulance and kept monitoring the baby's heart tones. It seemed to me that the paramedics didn't care about the baby, they just wanted me to be okay. Matt rode up in the front and shouted back to me, "I'm in here Andrea, it's okay." I was glad he was there.

Speeding down the street with the siren on, I began to have the urge to push with my contractions but was afraid to. We got to the hospital in less than 5 minutes. They took me out, wheeled me into the hospital, and rushed down what seemed like a hundred long corridors. When we arrived to our room, they immediately hooked me up to a fetal monitor - the baby was fine. The nurse shouted to all those waiting in the hallway, "Thumbs up - the baby is fine." The paramedics congratulated Matt and left. I heard the nurse say, "Cancel that set-up, we won't be needing it" - they were prepping for an emergency cesarean. I was overwhelmed with joy that our baby was okay but by the tone of the nurses voice I realized - this isn't over. I'm at the hospital and it's not over. I was exhausted. After some time I realized that Matt, Donna, Lorri, and Fran were all in the room with me - and the nurses weren't. The hospital staff was allowing the midwives to continue managing my labor. The contractions were much stronger now and I could not hold back from pushing with them. The nurse came in and checked me and said I was only 80% effaced and 5 centimeters dilated and that I had, "a long way to go". No one could have been more discouraging. When she left the room the midwifes couldn't believe what she was saying - they knew I was at least 8 centimeters by now and I was ready to push. The nurse said you better not push or I'll have to give you an epidural - you're not ready to push yet (she knew that an epidural would slow labor down - the last thing I wanted). The midwifes later told us that that nurse didn't like Bradley people and they think she was out to prove that you can't give birth naturally. They also think she might have been trying to slow down the labor so the doctor wouldn't have to get up in the middle of the night. I don't know if either of these are true but I don't know why else she would lie about my dilation. She checked me again and said I hadn't changed. I was too tired to go on. I said, "I can't do it anymore". Matt and Donna were quick to tell me "Yes, you can - you're almost done." Donna said, "Andrea, remember when I told you in class that every women gets to this point in labor right before the baby's born. Well, you're there - you're baby's almost here." Matt continued to read me scriptures - I remember in particular the Psalm that says - "I lift mine eyes up to the mountains from whence cometh my help - my help comes from thee, maker of heaven, creator of the earth...." I was quoting it along with him until I got another contraction.

The nurse took Lorri aside and said that she would let them continue to manager my labor if they would tell me not to push and to blow & puff like I was blowing out candles. The midwifes knew I was having the baby. I could feel his head pressing down on my rectum - he was coming down. But, they followed the nurse's orders and told me not to push - but to puff my contractions away. That's what they said but Donna kept whispering to me. "We have to say this because of the nurse - you just do what you're body tells you to do - if you need to push - push." And I did!

Finally, when I obviously was pushing with every contraction, the nurse checked me again and said I was 9 centimeters with just a little lip of the cervix - "Boy you've really progressed this last hour" she said. The midwifes rolled their eyes. She called the doctor and told me not to push until he got there. Like Lorri couldn't have delivered the baby! The baby's heart tones were going down with each contraction so they thought that the cord was either around the baby's neck or an arm or leg. After each contraction they would urge me to take deep breaths for the baby. Although it was hard to breathe deeply during a contraction, I thought if I didn't the baby would die. Because of the fetal monitor I could hear the heart beat slow down and then speed up when I would breathe deep. When the doctor arrived (probably at about 2:45am) he told me they were going to use a vacuum extraction to help take out the baby since he was in distress. Matt said okay, and I was so exhausted I just wanted it to be over. Thank the Lord, because Lorri was there, we didn't have the vacuum. She told him that I was really ready to go and that she didn't think it was necessary. He basically said, okay I'll give her a couple contractions. Matt saw him with some sort of scissors devise and said, "We don't want an episotomy!" Although that's not what he was doing - he said, "Well, sometimes with a vacuum you need to do a small episotomy".

They put me up into the stirrups and sat me upright with a mattress behind me. Donna came up to me and said, "Okay Andrea, give it all you have - if you push this baby out right now, he won't have a chance to use the vacuum, you can do it!" With the first push the head crowned. Matt shouted to me from the foot of the bed, "I can see the head Andrea - it's coming, you're doing it." Lorri went and got the mirror so I could see. After I saw David's little head crowning - five thousand strong men couldn't have kept me from pushing - despite my complete exhaustion. Another push showed meconium - the baby's first bowel movement. This can be very dangerous if the baby breaths it in. The nurse came and explained to me that they would be taking my baby to the incubator right next to the foot of my bed to suction him and make sure he's okay. They would not be placing him directly onto my abdomen as I had wanted - but at this point that didn't seem to matter. A third contraction of pushes brought DAVID MARK VINCENT into this world. Matt shouted "Hallelujah!" and cut the cord. The first feeling I felt was I feeling of relief - it was over, my baby was born, it felt so good!!!! One more little push brought out the placenta. Matt was looking through all the people touching our baby trying to see what it was. Lorri told him to go over there. "IT'S A BOY!!!" he announced with tears. He was by his side the whole time telling him, "It's okay, I'm here, You're all right...You're huge!" They swaddled him, put a cute little cap on his head, and brought him to me. I never loved someone quite like this. I already knew him before I ever saw him. David - my little baby boy.

Born July 16, 1996, 3:14am
8 lbs. 12 oz., 21 inches long
Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Thanks! Andrea Vincent
Lake Forest, CA