David's Birth Story

My little boy is two months old today. We can't believe how big he has gotten. I started writing his birth story shortly after he was born, but never finished it. I'm finally getting to it.

My pregnancy was pretty much uneventful and I had an ideal birth. I really thought he would be at least two weeks early, but as I approached my due date, there were absolutely no signs pointing towards imminent labor and I was beginning to fear a large baby. But one day before David's due date, he decided he was ready to break free. My water broke on Thursday, September 18th at 6:20 a.m. The amniotic fluid was clear and there was no blood, so we took our time calling my midwife. And I wanted to stay home and be comfy for as long as I could.

Ken was in Mia's room because she woke up earlier that morning. He came back to our room with Mia and knew something was up because the light was on and I never turn on the light that early in the morning. I was calm and got dressed. Ken tended to Mia while I took a long walk with Kona to help move things along. Then I came home and ate breakfast and showered. We probably called the midwife, Lin's beeper around 8 a.m. I was still only feeling cramps and in no real pain at that point. I had my 40th week check later that morning at 10:45, so Ken told Lin we would just see her then. Lin told Ken that second time could move very fast and boy was she right!

Ken suggested that we go out to eat breakfast, but I said, I didn't think I'd be comfortable, so instead, I sent him and Mia to the library to return our library books and to get bagels. I also called my doula and told her that I was doing okay and that I would just call her after my 10:45 appointment.

Soon after Ken left for the library, my contractions became more and more intense and very close together. But none of the contractions lasted a minute so I still thought I had a long way to go. The pain was all in my back and none of it was in my abdomen or pelvis, so I thought my boy moved and was sunnyside up after all my hard work to get him to face the right way (chiropractor and exercise). It was all feeling very much like it did with Mia who was sunnyside up, so I started to panic a bit about being able to go through with a natural labor sans epidural. A little after 9 a.m. I called Ken--who didn't answer his cell--because the pain was excruciating and I was ready to head to the hospital. Since he didn't pick up his phone, I went upstairs to try to pee and couldn't. I read that emptying your bladder helps move things along so I figured I should try that. No luck, so I ran a bath and got in hoping it would help me cope with the pain. I was on my hands and knees rocking in the bath, but the thing that made me feel better was yelling. By then, Ken called and spoke to my mom, so he was on his way home. The contractions were pretty much one top of each other and I was seeing some bloody show.

I remember being in our bathroom when Ken returned home and asking him to get me a pad and the guy goes into a drawer and hands me a pantyliner. I was like, what am I going to do with that? I need a serious pad, like an overnight one. BOYS! I could barely make it downstairs to the garage and was trying to appear nonchalant by not screaming because Mia was around, so now I now what gnashing of teeth means. Mia wanted to come with us, but I handed her a pack of fruit snacks and gave her a quick hug and that seemed to appease her. It was also a good thing that my mom had been around for nearly two weeks, so she was okay being left with Pua Pua.

Once in Ken's Mini, I let it all out and yelled and moaned through all the contractions which were all in my back. I felt like someone was taking a bat full force to my back. I kept waiting for the pain to move to my front but it never did. I was totally reclined, but I saw that Ken ran some reds as we made our way to El Camino Hospital. He was otherwise his cool self. I was calling on Jesus and the baby to "HELP ME" get through it and I was yelling "OPEN" to my cervix. I felt tremendous pressure in my pelvis and felt like pushing towards the end of our ride. I also remember telling the baby to move into the right position.

When we arrived at the hospital we left the car and everything out front. I could barely walk and felt like pushing. Ken found a wheelchair and I was yelling, "HELP ME" all the way. We arrived at L&D and the nice volunteer in the lobby held the door open for us. The nurses were calm and it seemed like they encounter these scenarios all the time. They directed us to a nearby room, Olga, the other midwife in the practice was there helping another couple. She heard me screaming and came to check me. I'll never forget what she said, "You are already at 10 cm, so you can stop yelling OPEN, save your energy". I was so relieved to hear those words and very excited to meet my little guy. I felt ready to regroup.

The nurses just quickly checked the baby's heartbeat to make sure he was okay and I started pushing on my knees. It turned out that the baby was in the right position. I must just labor in my back. . . not fun. Being on my hands and knees was the best position to be in for me. I had been afraid of the pushing, but it turned out that pushing was a huge relief and not as painful as the contractions during the transition period. Lin talked me through all the pushing with her calm voice. Then she suggested that I squat on the floor while holding a bar from the bed. I really didn't feel like leaving the bed, but I did it and pushed a couple of times there before Lin said I better get back on the bed because the baby was coming. I have to say, my boy was very good to me. He didn't make it difficult on me by prolonging things or decelerating. Our guy came about 20 minutes after we arrived at the hospital at 10:48 am. He was 8 pounds and 2 ounces. It was just a little over four hours after my water broke. We joked with Lin that we made our 10:45 appointment after all. It was an exhilarating experience and I feel so blessed to have had such a quick labor. My poor doula arrived just after the baby did, so she missed it. But she got some great pics for us because we didn't have our stuff with us.

After Mia's birth I remember not wanting to have anymore kids. The difference this time is that I feel like I can totally do it again. Just have to convince Ken.