Katie James' Birth

I finally have a few waking and alone moments to get this off to you all. Thanks to all who've sent their well wishes!

Yes, I'm proud and dumbfounded to report that Katie was born Monday via VBAC! Here's how it all happened . . .

I awoke early Monday morning (1:30 am) with just enough contractions to wake me. I managed to sleep on and off til about 6. Sent Sarah off to school with Daddy, on the plan that they'd return for the day at lunch. I napped between contractions a couple of times. Climbed into the tub for 40 delightful minutes. I called Robin, my doula, a few times. Finally about 11:30 I called her to come on over, knowing it would take her an hour or so to get here. She and John and Sarah all got here shortly after noon. Til then I had my sister rub my back in bed for a while.

The contractions were slowly mounting. Once Robin got here, she scooted me off to bed where within 3 contractions I was suddenly having the urge to push! Heavens! I'd never felt a pushing contraction before! (Epidural last time, pre-section) And heavens, wasn't this going a little faster than I thought?! Suddenly, I was having pushing contractions about every 2 to 4 minutes.

They got me to the bathroom where Robin and I spent the next hour having me breathe (ha!) thru contractions. I, at this point, was in serious self-doubt. And very concerned about getting the hospital 30 minutes away at all. We talked about options - call an ambulance, go to the nearby, non-OB hospital, just have the baby at home, or all pile into the Rodeo for the ride to the hospital across town.

Finally, Robin looked at John and said "You decide." He went and got the Rodeo ready and in we all piled. John driving, Sarah our toddler up front, Randi (my sister) and Robin in back with me - butt naked and on all fours. I shall never forget that ride the rest of my life. We got to the hospital. They wheeled me in to the Emergency Room, draped in a sheet and clutching my water bottle. I was staring blankly and slack-jawed - by this time it seemed any movement or thought brought on a contraction. The nurse, being a trained professional, took one look at me and asked me how I'd hurt my shoulder! ??!! Robin quickly and noisily filled her in on just what was going on.

After an eternity (maybe 5 minutes), I was taken upstairs (thru the main lobby!) to L&D. Naturally, all the LDRs where full. The nurses debated on putting me in a postpartum room, thinking I was just being overly dramatic and perhaps only a few cms dialated. Again, Robin got busy convincing, and I finally said, "I don't care where you put me, just get me there . . ."

So, I went to recovery to be checked. When they discovered me to by fully dialated (duh!) and pushing (duh!) they got busy with a hep-lock and form-signing. Can you believe a nurse had the nerve to demand that I sign forms while I was having a contraction? Naturally, I waited til it passed . . . They wheeled me into a bona fide delivery operating room, since it was the only available place at the moment. So, up on the operating table I went with pillows.

We had left my birth plan inadvertantly at home, but my OB assured us he remembered. And he did! My sister stayed out in the waiting room with Sarah while John and Robin held me and helped me prop and push and such. I labored on all fours, in a crouch, and some propped up on my back. I couldn't quite make it to a squat, but I did what I felt. My OB sat by patiently thru-out.

One nurse kept asking whether I'd had any meds, and being amazed that I hadn't. The other nurse kept attacking me with the damn fetal monitor. John called someone to come take Sarah to dinner, shouted down a nurse who insisted only 2 people could be with me - no switching either, and so my sister joined us too. I pushed for 2 hours. An hour into it, I hit another serious self-doubt period. Sarah never made it past +1, so I had a very real fear that this baby wouldn't either. That slowed me down. But once I could feel her rounding my pubic bone, I managed to focus. I agreed to the stirrups somewhere near the end because my legs were very, very tired and sore.

My OB diligently massaged my perenium knowing that I didn't want an episotomy. When she started to crown, I reached down and touched her head. I couldn't believe it! Almost over! I was beginning to think it would never be over. Two or three pushes and we discovered she was coming out with her little hand up by her face! And her cord loosely around her neck. One more push and out came her body. John cut the cord, and she was place immediately up on my stomach. Luckily, we had convinced the fetal monitor nazi nurse that I didn't need to be draped. The nurse managed to let me hold her five or ten minutes, but felt compelled to whisk her over to be weighed etc. My OB stitched me up - a nice 2nd degree tear. Before long, I was back in the little recovery room next to a woman who was just getting her epidural. What a study in opposites! Here I was revelling and amazed and not sure I'd done this naturally, and here was this woman going into a medicated birth. And comparing my sensations post birth to last time, I felt like a million dollars! That evening, I was up and walking - slowly - but walking! I went home the next day to the amazement of the nurses who couldn't understand why I didn't want to stay as long as my insurance would allow (24 hrs). But I wanted to come home and get some rest!

Melissa
mom to Sarah (7/7/93 c) and Katie (5/20/96 v)