Welcoming a Baby - Part 3

I totally don't have a clue about the time, but sometime during the afternoon, my friend Heather had to leave. And then she came back.  I don't have a way to know how long she was gone, but she was gone and then back.  Janet was with the girls while Heather was gone, of course, so I still felt safe and didn't feel any concern about my girls, THANKFULLY!  What a blessing to have such friends!

So, it was probably around 8:30pm, or so, that we discovered that baby hwas in an acyclitical head presentation.  Which means, just in case you're not sure (cause I wasn't when it happened with Kat), that baby's head was coming out cocked to the side, rather than presenting the smallest part of the head.  Such presentation, I was told and have read, can/does lead to long labors with much pausing of labor and, in hospital, is often cause for C-Sections even when baby and Mom are coping well with the contractions.  Thankfully both baby and I were coping well and we were at home with my awesome midwife.  Baby remained in 140 almost constantly (with only a few 150s).  And I was barely more than my norm through the whole pregnancy for bloodpressure and heart rate.  Nice.  WHAT a blessing!

When Karen felt the sutures on baby's head at around 8:30pm, and found them wrong, indicating acyclitic presenation, she directed me to stand in a funny position through 4 contractions and then remain standing and walking for a bit to get baby's head to apply pressure to my cervix.  For the funny position, I had to stand with one leg up on a chair and turn my body as much as I could away from the leg on the chair.  Then, I was to put my other leg on the chair with body turned away from it.  Switch again.  And then once more.  Now, mind you, I'm totally tired and ready to just sleep through every moment in between contractions that I possibly could.  By this point in labor, I haven't been really asleep for about 48 hours (the day before labor started, Friday, I did nap).  Can a girl be tortured more during a natural childbirth?  I rather think not!  The contractions I endured in that funny position were the absolute worst contractions of the whole 14-15 hours since my midwife's arrival.  Seriously hard core, cruddy, and totally painful.  And it just got worse from there cause it's like those 4 contractions took away all my control, resolve, and ability to maintain any composure.  I think I hurt my voice/throat, to boot, during the laboring time that followed the standing-leg position!  *sigh*

It was all purposeful, though.  I became truly broken (spiritually) and felt absolutely unable to continue on any further.  I submitted more fully to the Lord than I had the whole day and, of course, He stepped in and made me stronger than I'd been as a result!  Seriously awesome!!  Our God is an AWESOME God!

Sometime in that last bit of labor my friend, Janet, had to leave.

The funny position (combined with the resolution of at least one of the issues I mentioned before) caused baby's head came into right presentation.  I got to 9cm, almost 10 (but had a lip on one side or the other... can't remember which).  So, I was to begin to push.

I think I've neglected to mention that there were some periods during the last 4 hours of being at 8cm that I went through a pushing phase in hopes of moving the baby's head down to press on my cervix and complete the process of dilation.  Therewere at least 3, but I think 4 pushing phases of around 20 minutes each, at least.  They all did help, I'm sure, but they certainly didn't bring baby out!

So, I pushed again.  This was around 9:40pm, I think..  Even though I'd felt utterly and completely broken, physically: I'd just wanted to lie down and sleep through every non-contraction moment that I could and I'd asked the Lord, in prayer, if I could go to the hospital because I felt broken (as in physically incapeable of finishing the process) and just flat out unable to endure any more... during the last push when Karen told me that the cervix was moving out of the way and we could proceed, I felt more able and powerful in pushing than I had any of the other pushing times.  I was absolutely surprised by that, but really shouldn't have been because, of course, that's when the Lord would step in.  Of course!

Now, I'm a little confused about the timing because my midwife's assistant told me that from the time Karen said I was complete (cervix out of the way) to when baby was completely born was 3 minutes.  Karen has said that the last pushing was 6-7 minutes.  However, given that I wasn't sure I was pushing baby out those first 3-4 minutes, I'm not counting them as part of the push to deliver because, for me, they were the same as the other 3 or 4 pushing phases I'd been through previously!  But I did get the baby out quickly, either way:3-7 minutes.  And what a head of hair I felt as he crowned.  :)

I did feel the ring of fire, but I was so paranoid that the baby would disappear back up inside me that I pushed straight through it!  Seriously crazy hot pain, let me tell you.  And I honestly don't know if anyone other than Jessie was talking me through the pushing, so I convinced myself that I wasn't really that far into the pushing of baby out.  I did hear Jess telling me I was doing a good job.  And I saw the same sweet expression of wonder and excitement (though those descriptors are tremendously inadequate to fully describe what I perceive in my man's expression each time I get our babies into the world).

There was a mad dash and rush to get the girls in the room to watch the crowning and birth.  Especially because, I think I heard, that Tea was sleeping.  Additionally, just as I was preparing to push I was asked if two sweet girls from church (the daughters of Janet and Tina, two of the three ladies I'd invited to attend and help with my daughters).  Asking a woman in that phase of labor to change anything from her "plan" to something else she could refuse... well, you're gunna get a no if you're asking a woman like me.  :(  I wish I'd not said no, but perhaps it's best for those girls NOT to have seen the whole process... they might've been even more worried about baby birthing than the concern they felt when they heard what they did hear!

So, baby came out, set on Mama's tummy.  YEAY!  Mama euphoric.  Daddy crying in joy.

...

No breath.  Oh NO!

Stimulation.  Nothing.  Mama talking to baby.  No change.  Mama rubbing to get purple to go to pink with help from Karen.  No breath.  Jessie worried.  The breath bag applied twice and baby started to breath.  It's a bit of a blur, but I'm pretty sure that's about how it happened.  And what a joy to hear THAT cry!!

So, with all that rubbing and everything, baby was out for a good few minutes and we didn't know what we'd made.  Karen did.  And when I began, at suggestion from others who wanted to know what we had, to move a leg and look, Karen specified that Daddy should check.  I knew what we had when she said that.  So, I watched Jessie as he looked betwee baby's legs.  He looked and I glanced, just to make sure.  Yep, a boy!  What a joy.  Either way it's joy.  That's the treasure of babies!

John Matthew and we're calling him Jim and/or Jimmy for "short"
10 pounds 4 ounces
15.5 inch head
22.5 inches long

He is beautfiul baby!  Reddish tinted skin, like Daddy.  Beautfiul finger nails, like Daddy.  Beautifully shaped eyebrows, like Daddy.  FULL head of thick black hair, like all our babies.  And SWEET temperment, like all our babies!  What a joy!

For PART 1