BIRTH STORY

[SkylarsMom2007]

Well, after three weeks of prodromal labor, Hayden Dwayne O'neil Griggers has made is debut! He was born AT HOME on May 28th at 4:22am after 5 hours of labor. He weighs 7lbs 14oz and is 21'' long. He has a head full of long dark hair. Alright, the 27th was my 42th week prenatal checkup and my blood pressure was high, I had protein in my urine and had significant swelling...suddenly. This alarmed my midwife because everything had been very normal at every appointment. I had also been under extreme emotional stress over the past week and I felt like that had a lot to do with my issues. So, at this point instead of praying for patients that Hayden will come when he was ready....it was time to pray for labor. Well, that night around 8 I started having mild, regular contractions...I really did not think of them too much because I had been doing that for three weeks. At 9pm I had to take my bp and call midwife. At that time I let her know about my contractions. Some time after that I I did my EPO vaginally and went to bed. Cant say exactly what time that was, but I would have to say around 10pm. At 11:30pm a contraction woke me up and it was uncomfy. Dh was just coming to bed, but I was getting up. I told him I was kinda hurting and was going to go sit in the bath tub for a little while. 12am comes and I tell him to call midwife and doula. 12:30am I am in real labor pains! Everyone arrived and got everything set up. Midwife did a check to have a starting point and said I was a 6-7. At this point I was gettingnauseous and shaky...Transition. With each contraction the nausea grew and grew. I could not help but to throw up. I did this twice. A couple hours later I was showing signs of completion so midwife did a check and said I was nearly complete, just had a touch ofanterior cervix left. My water still had not broke so midwife felt with a few contractions to see if the water bag was restricting the cervix. it was determined that the cervix would not go back with the water intacked and with my permission she broke the bag( I know some of you do not like this, but there is no point getting worked up over the past...what is done is done :) ) Well, that did the trick and in just a few contractions the cervix was complete. I did not feel like I needed to push right away, but it came in a just a short while. The pushy feeling was not in my bottom, like it is most often described, but it was felt in my vagina like I  needed to push out something, maybe like a tampon or something, lol...I pushed on hands and knees for a few contractions, then I sat on the birthstool and leaned back against my doula and gave birth to my son. Right when I started pushing DD woke up and Dh was holding her and she got to see the birth. I only pushed for 30 mins. Right after DS was born DD got very upset and asked "What wrong mom butt?" LOL! Anyways the cord was short so I could not pull him up very far, but far enough to offer the breast. My first reaction was "I did it, I had a baby without drugs." Well, we sat the for a few moments while the cord pulsed and when it was finished DH cut the cord...Oh his cord was so fat the midwife had a hard time getting the clamp to shut, lol. Just a few more minutes I delivered the placenta. It was very healthy and HUGE!...Midwife was shocked at how big it was. Well, midwife got me into bed and assessed me. I did tear, but not enough to need stitches. But I was bleeding A LOT. She had me try and nurse again as well as nipple stimulation. The bleeding seemed to slow down, so she said I could shower, but while I was showering it was pouring. She did some uterine massage and had me pee. While I was on the toilet I passes a HUGE clot...Felt like it was as big as the placenta. She got me a methergine, but it did not have the effect she liked...I bleed through three pads, and soaked three undies in like 30 minutes. So it was suggested that I get a pitocin shot...I was totally ok with that because I was starting to feel weak and light headed. The pitocin shot helped and bleeding was under control. She made me eat and drink, since I really had not in over 24 hours( she had noticed at my last appointment).  Well, when we were all settled and doing good everyone packed up and left, I would say around 6-7am. I tried to sleep, I was so tired, but my adrenaline was so high that I could not sleep for hours and hours. I just laid in bed and bonded and nursed my baby. Over all my birth went as I wanted( except for the bleeding part, but that is kinda hard to predict). I had found the perfect labor position and did that for nearly every contraction. We have video of the birth and as soon as I edit out all the ceiling shots I will post it on youtube. I am so happy we chose home birth this time. Recovery is going great. I am already getting up and trying to do somethings( do not tell my midwife that, lol) Nursing is getting better and better with each time. My nipples are sore, but he is latching good. I just need to toughed up, lol. He is ready for my milk to come in and I would think tomorrow or so it should.  The after pains are a little hard to deal with, but they seem to be getting better. I truly believe ( baring major health issues) any woman can do this with the proper education and support! Thank you all for giving me the support. It truly helped.

[Lb128f]

May. 30, 2009 at 3:38 AM

[autumnxoxolaken]

May. 30, 2009 at 7:35 AM

Congrats!!  sounds like your birthing experience was Amazing.  i just experience my 1st homebirth May 21st and im still in awww to how smooth everything turned out! it was PERFECT!!

[risum3]

May. 30, 2009 at 9:35 AM

[MayMommy07]

May. 30, 2009 at 4:50 PM

Congratulations!! What an awesome birth story!!  Best of Luck to you!! You did a great job!! :)