Claire's birth story

It feels only natural for me to start this blog with my birth story since I wouldn’t be writing this blog without it J

First of all, I had a very healthy pregnancy.  I ate healthy, exercised and walked every day (not strenuously), and never had a bad checkup.  From the day I found out I was pregnant, I took TWINLAB prenatal vitamins and they never made me feel sick.  I even drank coffee after the nausea subsided after the 3^rd of 4^th month (and no, the coffee never made me have an irregular or tachycardic heart rate). 

On the day of the 37 week checkup, I noticed quite a bit of fluid leaking.  I got to the doctors office and she said that sure enough, my water was leaking and that I needed to be admitted to the hospital. 

37 weeks :)

Okay, my doctor was very encouraging and sweet.  She was a wonderful OB/GYN.  But that’s exactly what she was.  An OB/GYN.  I could tell from the get-go that she was an OB first and foremost.  Nothing wrong with that, but I only chose an OB/GYN because my insurance wouldn’t cover a midwife.  But since this was my first pregnancy, I decided to take her word for it and head to the hospital even though I hadn’t had one single contraction. 

We get to the hospital and are almost immediately admitted.  Within two hours, I am put on Pitocin (against my decision to NOT be put on it after long months of research on it and the negative effects it can have and eventually lead to) because the nursing staff as well as the doctor there said I might be at risk of infection in the next 24 hours if the baby doesn’t come and that the Pitocin will just speed up the labor.  So, after 18 hours of being on Pitocin (lowest dose up to the highest dose and then back down again multiple times) I still haven’t had any contractions or pain.  Meanwhile, I’m connected to a heart monitor, a very uncomfortable fetal monitor, an IV, and a blood pressure monitor.  It was almost impossible to move around.  By the time I had been in the hospital for 24 hours, I was told that if I don’t have this baby soon that I will have to have a C-section (even though baby and I were perfectly fine).  Apparently, the baby was at risk for infection as the doctors kept telling me.  I knew deep down that this wasn’t true and that they just wanted me to have the baby and get out as quick as possible since I had already been there all day and night.  First of all, my water had not completely broken.  It was just leaking.  Second of all, I have heard and read this song and dance many of times before from other women.  This was NOT what I wanted.  I prayed so hard for God to please make Claire come along.  I told him to put me in as much pain as possible so that I didn’t have to have a C-section.  I knew that the natural birth was better for Claire and me and I wanted what was best for her.  Within 5 minutes of me being told I would have to have a C-section, Claire kicked me.  Hard. She kicked me so hard that I thought she broke a rib.  Then I felt a contraction.  And then another one….and they hurt.

Luckily, my nurse at that time was a Christian and she knew my wishes to have a natural birth.  She bursted into the room and said “ guess what?!?! You’re in labor! No C-section for you!! But don’t get too excited.  You’re in for a long afternoon”.  Little did she know that Claire would make her arrival in little more than 3 hours after that. 

Unfortunately, even though my labor had started, the doctors decided to keep giving me Pitocin anyway.  I didn’t know this until after Claire was born or else I would have asked them to please stop the drip.  I went from a 5 to an 8 in 45 minutes.  I was (of course) laid on my back.  When I asked to go to the bathroom, just the motion of getting up and walking to the bathroom made Claire drop down the canal and made me want to push.  Of course, the nurses told me I wasn’t ready to push.  Who were they to tell me what I was feeling? God made our bodies to know what to do in this kind of situation!  I pushed anyway! I didn’t care what they said.  I got back on my bed and I pushed.  There were people rushing in and out of the room so quickly that I don’t even remember their faces.  The next thing I know, the doctor comes in the room (not my doctor but a doctor associated with the same practice) with a smile on her face and says that I’m ready to push.  “Here we go!!” I thought!!!!!!! 14 minutes later, Claire was born at 5:14 p.m. on February 3rd, 2010.  They immediately placed her on my chest and I no longer felt an ounce of pain.  I was so happy.  She was beautiful and she looked at me with wide blue eyes.  She looked into my eyes for a good 15 minutes before I would share her with anyone J. The doctor who delivered Claire stuck to my birth plan down to the T!! She never offered me any pain medicine or an epidural and didn’t perform an episiotomy. 

One thing I wish that could have happened differently after Claire was born was that I would have been able to immediately try to nurse her.  I think the waiting may have messed things up in the long run for her as far as nursing goes (will post THAT story later J). 

So there’s my birth story! I’m looking forward to having a much more relaxed labor next time since I know exactly what I want!! J 

Soon to come:

I will share with you my first year of motherhood with the roller coaster ride I had with breastfeeding and my choice to opt out of vaccinations for Claire.