Camden's Birth Story

[pgsahm]

In honor of Camden's 6th birthday, which is less than a month away, I am posting his birth story. This was another wonderful birth that I absolutely enjoyed. I hope you enjoy reading about it. Also, if you haven't read it already Dawson's birth story was posted recently as well. (Apparently I am posting their stories in reverse order considering Dawson was my last and Camden was my second and Braxton's isn't posted yet! lol)

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I had an appointment with my midwife the Wednesday before Camden was actually born. I was 4 cm dilated and his head was at station -1. Neither my midwife or I thought I would make it much longer. But we scheduled the induction for Monday, December 17.

Monday morning came around and I was still pregnant. I got up at 5:00 after sleeping fairly well the whole night. Shawn and I left for the hospital at 6:30. By 7:00 I was hooked up to a monitor and small contractions were registering.

Jessica, my midwife, showed up at 8:15 or so and she checked me. Still 4 cm and fully effaced. At 8:30 she used the little crochet hook and broke my water. What a strange feeling! This huge gush of fluid just came barreling out onto the bed. Jessica felt for his head again and it had dropped. It was sitting on my cervix. He was very ready!

Jessica told me to get up and walk around and try to get contractions started. She wanted me to have contractions by noonish or she would need to start me on pitocin. I DID NOT want pitocin!

I got up and started walking. We walked the halls, around the birth room and I was not feeling much of anything. Every half hour a nurse would come in and hook me up to a monitor to check the heartbeat and the contractions. I hated the monitor because my belly was so sore from being so big! Fortunately I didn't need to be monitored the entire time or else I would have been crying because of the pain.

Around 10 I was hooked up to the monitor and the nurse got a funny look on her face. I looked over and Camden's heart rate was skyrocketing. 172, 175, 180, 183. It was a little unnerving. The nurse said that she thought I would need an IV. She left to call Jessica and find out. I was upset. I did not want an IV and I did not want to be stuck in bed.

5 or 10 minutes later the nurse came back with a pitcher of water and a cup of ice. Jessica wanted to get some fluids in me to try and see if that would help versus starting the IV immediately. I was relieved but hoping it would work too. I drank cup after cup watching the monitor constantly hoping his heart rate would calm down. Within 15 minutes his heart rate was slowing down and the nurse came in and said that I must have just be dehydrated and that was why he was racing.

She left the monitor on for another 10 minutes and then I was free to get up. It felt so good to get up out of that bed. Mini contractions had begun and sitting in one spot really was uncomfortable.

Closer to 11:00 harder contractions started. It wasn't anything I could not deal with but they were getting closer and more intense. I rocked in the rocking chair, walked the halls and peed constantly. I soon learned that peeing during a contraction was not a fun thing to do!

I was really starting to get uncomfortable and was really hoping things were progressing as quickly as they seemed to be. It seemed that suddenly the contractions were so intense and so hard that I was needing to hold my breath. I tried to breath through them but it was getting harder and harder. I was starting to feel weak too because I had not had anything to eat. My legs were shaky and each time I stood up I felt very weak. But staying in one position too long made me even more uncomfortable.

I took a hot shower and it relieved some of the discomfort. I felt so huge in that tiny shower. But the hot water really helped with the pain.

Jessica came in at 12:45 and checked me. I had only progressed to 5 cm. I was ticked off! I just knew that I was further along. I just knew that I would have my baby soon! No such luck.

I was also told by Jessica that he had moved posterior, his spine was against mine. And that I would need to try and make him shift so that he could be delivered properly when the time came. She suggested I get on my hands and knees and rock back and forth through the contractions. That was so much easier said than done. At the time it sounded like it would be comfortable. I had been laboring a bit leaning on the hospital table that goes across the bed. It felt good to get some of the pressure off of my back. Back labor is a total bitch!

So on my hands and knees I went. This was horrible! I could hardly stand the pain. Jessica suggested 20 minutes in that position and then try rocking in the rocking chair for 20. I stayed on the bed for a total of 20 minutes and it felt like an eternity. I am sure it was a beautiful sight too. Big pregnant lady with butt stuck up in the air. I had my hospital gown on and Shawn laid another gown across my behind. But within minutes I was so hot and uncomfortable I took both off. I never saw myself and being one to labor completely naked but at that point I didn't care.

I got up and rocked in the rocking chair again. By this time I was thinking drugs would be a good thing. I was getting worn out and was so hot. Sweat was literally pouring off of me. As I rocked I developed this funny little breathing technique that was rather comical. It was kind of a shew-shew-shew-sheeeeeeewwwwww sound. Hard to explain but it worked wonders. And I also found that smiling through each contraction helped TREMENDOUSLY! It sounds so funny to think about now but at the time it was really working for me. The more I smiled the less pain I felt.

I rocked a bit more and then stood up. Once standing I felt this horrible pressure. His head was just pounding to come out! I told Shawn I thought I had the urge to push. He called the nurse in and she just kind of blew it off like I couldn't be that ready already. But she checked me and I was at almost 9 cm. I didn't want to hear that and I told her so! I wanted to be at 10 cm because the pain and pressure was so intense by this point!!!

I stayed in bed and I think I was monitored again for a few minutes. I cannot remember for sure. When you labor and try to do it naturally it's like you have this out of body experience. I remember the main points but some details are very fuzzy.

Suddenly I had this horrible groan come out of my mouth almost involuntarily. I HAD to push whether she liked it or not!! It was like trying to pedal a bike backwards by not pushing. It was very difficult to hold back. She checked me again and said that there was still a little bit of lip to the cervix but I was okay to try and push. I told her to call Jessica because I was sure this was it!

I pushed a little and it felt so good to relieve that pressure. I was gripping the side of the bed so hard during each push that the next day my arms felt like I had lifted weights for weeks.

Once Jessica came in and they had the delivery tray in the room, I was so ready to have this baby! They never broke down the bed. I was not going to deliver my baby into open air! He was going to be delivered directly onto the bed. I loved this! Braxton was delivered over the floor just about. But Camden wasn't going to be like this!

I had a nurse on each side of me holding back my legs. I pushed hard and long. I was never told when to push or for how long. This was also different from Braxton's birth. That counting crap was horrible. But this time was all different!! Jessica massaged my perineum with some oil and I never felt it. I saw her do it but didn't feel a thing.

When he started to crown the pain in my lower area was really bad. I felt like I was being ripped in two! There was a ton of burning up high so Jessica got a hot washcloth and held it on me while I pushed. It relieved some of the pain but it was still there. With each push I let out this horrible holler. I know everyone on that floor heard me! I never thought I would scream during delivery, but I was wrong!! And after each scream and push I would apologize to the nurses. Even as exhausted as I was I felt I needed to waste the energy telling them how sorry I was!

Finally his head appeared and with one hard push his shoulders. I will never forget what it feels like to have a baby released from my body. The sensation is just indescribable. It is like a gush of fluid and soul all wrapped up into one little package. And the emotions that follow are just so amazing.

Altogether I think I pushed for 20 minutes. And then they laid Camden on my tummy and started wiping him off immediately. He was not crying so they had to make him fuss. And once he did he screamed his big head off! I wanted to hold him but I couldn't because the cord was so short he couldn't go any further than my tummy. Braxton's cord was short as well. Kind of funny the similarities.

Once Jessica cut the cord they handed him to me and I felt so good. He was finally here! I held him for a long time while I delivered the placenta. The contractions were still going and that was no fun. I had my baby, I wanted the pain to stop!!

After a long time of holding him they took him to weigh him and check his vitals. The nurses were all guessing his weight. They knew he was a big boy. 9 pounds, 7 ounces and 22 inches long! Yep, that's my big boy!

I had a 2nd degree tear, straight down the line where my episiotomy was given with Braxton. It took forever to stitch me up it seemed. And then Jessica mentioned I was losing a lot of blood. With each push on my abdomen a gush of blood would come out. They checked my blood pressure and it was 78 over 50. Not good. It continued to stay low so the decision was made to start me on pitocin to help.

I had made it all the way through the birth without a single drug in my body and suddenly I was being pumped with an IV. I was feeling elated but light headed due to losing blood.

Everything went well with Camden and I from that point on. At 8:00 that evening the bag of pitocin was almost empty. I was getting antsy about being in bed. I wanted to get up and move around and pee on my own. A nurse came in to check on the pitocin and she said that they wanted to see if I could make it to the bathroom on my own and if everything went okay then I could get off the IV. I felt good so I knew I could do it. But I also remembered (and reminded the nurse) that with Braxton's birth I passed out the first time I was let out of bed. I lost a lot of blood with his birth too.

The nurse unplugged the IV and got me to sit up on the side of the bed. I felt really good. I stood up without any problems. And made it to the bathroom without any problems. The whole time I'm still hooked up to that damn IV. I sat down and the nurse realized that no one had put the washing stuff in the bathroom for me to use. She left quickly to get some. She had hardly hit the hallway before I was calling Shawn to get her to come back. I was feeling light headed all of a sudden. So he hollered out the door and another nurse made it into the bathroom with me just as I was about to hit the floor. At this point I do not remember anything but this is what I was told happened. Shawn, and 2 nurses grabbed me up from the toilet. They got me to walk as far as the bathroom doorway and boom, I was out. Shawn was grabbing the IV pole because the nurses seemed to forget I was hooked up to one and as he did that the nurses were still moving forward with me. My head got whacked into the metal door frame and I ended up on the floor. The next thing I remember was an ammonia stick being waved at my nose and realizing I was laying on the floor with blood everywhere. Fortunately the blood was not from my head but just after birth blood.

Needless to say I was not taken off of the pitocin. I had another full bag of it through the night and they took it out around 4:00 that morning. I was able to get up and use the bathroom without any big events at that time.

The next morning I could feel the lump on my head. It was on my forehead and hurt like hell! Somehow I can never manage to have an uneventful birth experience!

And that's how Camden Burke made it into this world.

Camden Burke
December 17, 2001
1:47 pm
9 pounds, 7 ounces
22 inches