Shelley's Prenatal Yoga Blog

Mary's VBAC Story.....Laughing through contractions!

2011-02-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

Well I had my baby on Feb 18th, 12 days before my due date and it was
my birthday! I am very happy to report that I had a great labor and
delivery experience.

On Feb 17th I went to the doctor and she told me that I was 2-2.5cm
and 80-90 percent effaced. I was really surprised and started to
prepare for an early arrival. At 3am that night I started to have
contractions. I tried to sleep between them for the next two hours and
then finally got out of bed at 5am to watch some TV and use my
vocalizing and squating skills to help get through the contractions.
At 7am I told my husband that I was definitely in labor and should
prepare to take our son to daycare so we could go to the hospital. We
had breakfast and my son was a little alarmed by my vocalizing so I
started to laugh through the contractions. He thought it was a fun
game because I would laugh every 2-3 minutes. It did work though. When
we finally arrived at the hospital I was 6cm. The doctor said
everything looked good for a VBAC. Once I got into a room I got an
epidural at around 10am and then they broke my water at Noon. Soon
after I progressed quickly and at 2:15p I started pushing. Though I
really wanted a VBAC I was uncertain if my body was capable. My doctor
and husband were fantastic!!!! They motivated me and encouraged me the
whole way and at 3:02pm my son was born :) He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and
was 20 inches long. We named him Edward Robert, but we call him Eddie.

I am so proud of myself for having fulfilled my goal of a VBAC. I feel
great and am so thankful for the positive experience. My new son gave
me such a wonderful gift. I hope more woman will try for a VBAC and
not be persuaded to go the c-section route just because you had to
have one once. It is great to know that I am part of a club of
birthing warriors.

Thanks Shelley for all your guidance and invaluable skills. I could
not have done this without the training you put me through all those
Saturday mornings.

Baby Brendon's Amazing Birth!

2011-02-06T21:23:00.001-08:00

BRENDON’S BIRTH: October 12, 2010

I loved being pregnant. I loved feeling my baby move and being connected to him. I loved it when he got the hiccups after I ate, that he was tasting what I had eaten. I loved thinking about meeting him and what he’d be like. But I had a hard pregnancy. As much as I didn’t want to believe I was as sick as I was in the end, I was not tolerating pregnancy too well.

Right at the start when I thought I was 8 weeks along I had terrible cramps and went in for an early ultrasound. I was told then that based on the size of the embryo, either I was not as far along as I’d thought, or the pregnancy didn’t work out and my body was miscarrying. My husband James and I were devastated. We’d just gotten used to the idea of having a baby, and it was possible it wasn’t going to happen. But blood test showed my HCG levels rising and then at another ultrasound the next week we saw a little worm moving – our baby’s heartbeat!! My due date was put back two weeks, to October 28.

I thought that would be the last of it. My first trimester was easy – no morning sickness, just incredible tiredness. But with plenty of time to sleep (this was my first baby), that was no problem at all!

Then I had my genetic screening tests and I was found to have elevated anolytes (proteins put out by the placenta) and a velamentous cord insertion (the umbilical cord doesn’t go straight into the placenta, but goes into the uterus wall beside it) which the doctors told me meant my baby was at risk for intrauterine growth restriction and I was at risk for developing pre-eclampsia. I had second stage ultrasounds at 25 and 30 weeks where they checked the baby’s growth and blood flow through the umbilical cord, and the risk of growth restriction was blown out of the water when my baby was estimated to be a whopping 6 pounds at 30 weeks! A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Now I could finally enjoy the pregnancy!

However, as time went on, my blood pressure kept on rising. I thought it was white coat syndrome and wasn’t too worried. I was having non-stress tests twice a week (from 34 weeks), and I thought perhaps all this attention was making my blood pressure go up. My midwife Beth (at UCSD), ordered blood tests at 35 weeks to see if I was developing pre-eclampsia. Nothing. No protein in my urine either, which is the first sign of pre-eclampsia. However, based on the elevated anolytes and high blood pressure, I was now no longer eligible to give birth at the Birth Center at UCSD Medical Center. That was a real bummer to hear, but I was confident that with the midwives, even at the regular Labor and Delivery ward, I could still have a natural non-interventionist birth that I wanted.

Shelley’s prenatal yoga was a saving grace. Each week I could almost feel my blood pressure rising, and my hormones making me into a crazy person, but after Shelley’s Saturday class I would always walk out balanced and at peace and more and more in touch with my baby.

By 37 weeks, every time I went in for my non-stress test, my blood pressure was higher so that on the Friday before Brendon was born, I had to go into Labor and Delivery for monitoring. They diagnosed me with gestational hypertension and the midwife on call checked me, saying that if I was at all dialated, they’d induce me. I freaked out. I wasn’t ready. That day was meant to be my last day of work before maternity leave and I had a huge list of things to do before the baby came. However, I was 50% effaced and not at all dialated. We left the hospital and went home to pack my hospital bag!

They had me come back on the Sunday for more monitoring since pre-eclampsia can develop quickly and get serious very quickly. The baby and I checked out ok on the Sunday and they sent me home to do a 24 hour urine test where I peed into a jar for 24 hours so they could really determine if any protein was being put out by my kidneys.

On Monday October 11, I was sick of being in the house and thinking about pre-eclampsia so I rode along while my husband played golf. It was great to get out and about, even with my pee jar! But I had a midwife appointment that afternoon, and this time my blood pressure was so high she said I should be in the hospital and was surprised I was allowed to go home the day before. I negotiated my way into going back home first, to collect my bag and have James drive me to the hospital. Once we got there, I was put back on the monitors. At this stage I was having Braxon-Hicks contractions every 2-5 minutes and was in a very nice labor pattern, but it was all painless. The baby was moving around nicely and not under any stress either, as he’d been through all my non-stress tests. Sure enough, my 24 hour urine test came back with enough protein to diagnose me with pre-eclampsia. Rita, the midwife on that night, came by to tell us we were having a baby in the next 24 hours! I had a bit of a cry, worrying that I wasn’t ready and I wouldn’t be a good mother, but James put those thoughts at rest saying I would be the best mum ever.

At 7pm Rita checked me and I was 1-1.5cm dialated and 70% effaced. She stripped my membranes to move things along. I was given cervadil about 10pm, which is a suppository drug to ripen and soften the cervix. We turned out the lights and tried to get some sleep – as much sleep as possible with fetal monitors and an IV! I started feeling my contractions at about 10.30pm, coming every 5 minutes or so. They weren’t too bad, but they were strong enough to stop me from sleeping. At 12.30pm my water broke. I got myself to the bathroom and sat on the toilet as it all gushed out. We called the nurse and she helped clean everything up, and called Rita. When Rita came, she asked if the cervadil was still in. I had no idea; Rita checked and it was gone. We even looked around for it. I was thinking, no worries, we’ll just get another one. But Rita almost started swearing – apparently cervadil is very, very expensive and she couldn’t justify ordering another one as I was already having regular contractions. Then she dropped the bomb – my labor had to progress; I’d have to go on pitocin.

I was dreading this. I’d already had much more of an interventionist pregnancy and labor than I’d wanted. Plus I’d read up on all the bad things about pitocin. I was more of an Ina May gal (anyone wanting a natural, unmedicated childbirth HAS to read Ina May Gaskin’s Guide to Childbirth – it is an absolute MUST to read at least twice). But I was at the hospital and knew that it would be hard to go against their protocols. So I was hooked up to pitocin at 1am and called my doula Dawnell Jensen, knowing I’d need her shortly once the pitocin kicked in. Dawnell arrived at 1.30am, when the contractions were starting to get more painful. By this time James and I were moving around together, doing some slow dancing and a few of the things we’d learnt at Shelley’s couples class, and joking around a bit to keep things light. The jokes stopped pretty quickly as the contractions started coming in every 2-5 minutes and I started needing my full concentration to get through them. Dawnell suggested a few different positions for James and I to try, which helped a lot. I was having back labor, so James spent a lot of time putting counter-pressure on my lower back through each contraction. I sucked on some lollipops and sat on the toilet for a while. I was hooked up to the IV so had to cart that around with me everywhere. The IV line often got pinched as I moved my arm and set off all kinds of alarms, and the stupid fetal monitors (I was lucky enough to know that L&D had one set of cordless ones so I requested those which made it a bit easier) kept on popping off my belly which set off more alarms. But the nurses were great; they came in and put them right back on and didn’t freak out at the alarms. I was also on magnesium to prevent seizures (for pre-eclampsia) and was on strict liquid intake restrictions since it causes fluid retention. I could only have 150ml (a mouthful!!) every hour or equivalent in ice chips, and I longed for a good, long, drink.

I ended up finding a position that I liked where I was laying with my lower back on a birthing ball with my top half on James’ lap holding onto his forearms as he sat on a chair behind me and my legs up against the bed so I could rock back and forth and massage my lower back on the ball. I spent a few hours like that - not very conventional or safe. Later James told me he and Dawnell were worried I was going to fall off the whole time. The contractions were painful, but manageable if I really concentrated. In fact, some of them were not at all bad if I really, really concentrated. I kept ‘ahhh-ing’ and ‘mmmmm-ing’ and keeping my voice nice and low. Every time I started letting my voice rise up into a more tense ‘agggghhh’, James and Dawnell would tell me to keep it low and deep and relaxed. James did a lot of ‘horselips’ with me (blowing raspberries), which Ina May says relaxes your lady parts. I also kept visualizing opening up with each contraction. James told me many times that I was a birth warrior and while I had giggled at that in class, I really took it seriously in labor!

By 5am or so I started getting really, really tired. I was handling the pain, but it was the relentlessness of it that was getting to me. I just wanted a break. I started saying I thought I might need something. James kept telling me to just get through the next one then we’d talk about my options, then encouraged me to try to make it to 6am when the sun came up, knowing that everything gets better in the light of day. It definitely helped to see each individual contraction as something to get through rather than as a long, relentless line of pain for who knows how much longer. The sight of the sun coming up worked wonders for me as well.

Once I’d made it to 6am, I had Rita come and check my progress, which she hadn’t done since before I was induced. I was really ready for a break from the crazy pitocin contractions and knew I’d ask for an epidural if I was only 2 or 3cm along. At 6.30am she was surprised to find I was 5-6cm already! That didn’t sound like a lot to me, but Dawnell told me the second half goes by a lot more quickly. I decided against the epidural – I could do this! The other heartening thing was that the nurses brought in the warming bassinet for when Brendon was born. Things were happening! The other thing that crossed my mind was that I knew Rita’s shift would end at 7am. I really liked her and her style, and in the back of my mind I think there was the thought that I wanted her to deliver my baby. I had to speed things up!

After about 45 minutes I started to feel some pressure. I told the nurse I felt the need to push. No one really believed I could have dialated that quickly (although they didn’t tell me that) and Dawnell told me to cough when I felt the urge to push to alleviate the feeling so as not to wear myself out by pushing before I was ready. I did a bit of that, but after a few contractions I told them no, I really did feel the need to push. Rita came right back and checked me. I was fully dialated and she could see the baby’s head!

Pushing was a great relief – to be actually doing something rather than concentrating on staying relaxed and opening up was fantastic. I tried a few positions and ended up pushing while squatting with a birthing bar across the bed in front of me while I held onto a sheet wrapped around the bar. Brendon was born at 8:13am after an hour or so of pushing. He had a big head, so he was born all at once in a big gush! He came onto my chest and started yelling straight away. It was so amazing to have him in my arms and to meet him! He settled down and started saying ‘a-huh’. He also lifted his head and squinted around every time James spoke. He was trying to put a face to that voice he’d heard all pregnancy! Brendon weighed 7lbs 15 oz (he was 2.5 weeks early, but was definitely ‘done’!) and scored 9 and 9 on his APGAR score – what a little champ!

My placenta wasn’t born until an hour later. Rita waited as long as she could and massaged my tummy to help it detach, but then finally had to intervene. It was meant to be the easy part! It was painful, but I wasn’t paying much attention as I had my baby Bren in my arms. When the placenta finally did come out, we had a good look at it. Rita said it was a sick placenta – all calcified and not red and healthy-looking. It was very cathartic for me to see the source of all my pregnancy problems. While the placenta hadn’t done me any favors, it had done it’s job and had grown a healthy baby boy.

Shelley’s prenatal yoga class was one of the best things about my pregnancy. I really miss it now! It kept me balanced and helped me connect with my baby. But most of all it helped me believe in the strength in myself, that I could give birth naturally and unmedicated. With all the drugs I was hooked up to for the induction and pre-eclampsia, this strength was so important and I was able to keep my baby from one less drug in his life. Thank you Shelley!

Amelia's Birth Story

2010-08-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

I had my first baby three years ago with the UCSD midwives. I had a good experience with them, but I knew I wanted something a little different with my second pregnancy, so I switched to Dr. Biter before getting pregnant with my second baby. I liked knowing who would be there when I had my baby, and I loved that Dr. Biter saw each patient as an individual. I had a natural birth with my son and wanted a natural birth the second time as well, and I knew that with Dr. Biter if he suggested an intervention, it would be because he’d tried everything else. Amelia took us by surprise and came almost 3 weeks early, but it turned out to be a wonderful birth experience, and I’m happy that I switched to Dr. Biter.

This pregnancy was pretty uneventful, except that I had started to have contractions pretty early on. I had read that was common with second pregnancies, so I was not too worried. And I didn’t think anything of it when I woke up on Friday, April 30, with contractions. These contractions did feel more uncomfortable than the ones I’d been feeling during the rest of my pregnancy, so I told my husband to keep his phone on. He looked at his wife, who was 37 weeks pregnant, and asked, “Why?”

My son was in preschool that morning, so I had a list of errands to do and a chiropractor appointment. On the way to the chiropractor, I timed my contractions, and they were about 10 minutes apart. Surely, that wasn’t “the real thing.” After the chiropractor’s appointment, I went to Pannikin’s for a pumpkin muffin. I noticed that I was still having contractions, and they’d been going on for about 3 hours now. So, I decided to cut my errands short and head home.

When I got home, I timed my contractions on the computer, and they were 5 minutes apart and lasted 1 minute 20 seconds. They were at the point where I had to stop and breath deeply every time a contraction came on. So, I called my husband and asked him to pick up our son from preschool. I called Dr. Biter’s office, and his nurse told me to come into the office, so I was at least close to the hospital if I needed to go. It was about 11am, and the nurse said Dr. Biter was due into the office at 12:40pm. We had my brother come over to watch my son, and we started throwing things together that we wanted to take with us, because we did not have anything packed for the hospital yet. We had not even installed the baby’s car seat in my car yet, so my husband threw the car seat and the base in the trunk.

On the way over to Dr. Biter’s office, my husband timed the contractions, and they were about 3-4 minutes apart at that point. We got to the doctor’s office at about 12:15pm. His nurse came out and talked to me, and when I told her my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart, she told me I should head over to the hospital and that she would let Dr. Biter know I was on my way. Looking back, I’m sure she knew I was in labor, but she was so calm about it.

When we got to the hospital, Dr. Biter met us at the door. (How’s that for a reception?) I had to check in with the nurses and get a nurse assigned to me, and then I had to change into my hospital gown. Dr. Biter then asked if I’d like him to check me, and I said yes. At this point, I’m still thinking: 1) that this is some sort of false alarm, and he will send me home after checking me; or 2) if things were happening, there was still some time. He checked me and said, “You have a little bit of a lip left, but you should be ready to push soon.” It took a minute to process what he was saying. I think that meant I was almost fully dilated! Dr. Biter told the nurse the baby was at station 0. This was probably 12:30pm or so. I was still kind of in shock at this point. I think part of it was because my contractions did not feel as strong as they did with my son. Maybe because my water broke last time, by the time I got to the hospital, my contractions were pretty intense, and I had pressure everywhere, and by the time I had gotten to 8 cm, I had a strong need to push. But this time, my water still had not broken yet, and I thought the contractions were pretty manageable, so I was really surprised to be almost fully dilated. I was still able to chat with everyone in between contractions.

My doula got there shortly after Dr. Biter checked me, and I think we all hung out for about an hour. My doula put on some soothing music and put out some lavender oil. I really did not think I would want the music or the oils, but it actually made for a really nice, calm setting. That’s still how I remember my labor this time, the soothing music and lavender. My doula was also really good about talking me through the contractions. Just being talked through them, I think it helped to know that they would end. Each time I had a contraction, she would let me know it was almost over.

After about an hour, Dr. Biter checked me again and said that I could push whenever I felt like it. I started pushing lying on my left side. The thing about the contractions not being that intense is I think it makes the pushing more work. With my son, the urge to push was so strong, and the contractions probably did most of the work to get him down. This time, I had to concentrate more on when a contraction was coming and when to push. Dr. Biter used mineral oil to stretch me and put pressure on the spot where I should push. After I’d push, he’d tell me, “Go beyond that point.” Of course, I’m thinking that I’m already giving it all I have. I started getting thoughts that maybe I couldn’t do this, but I had to push them away. After a while, I asked to rest my leg, because it was getting kind of sore holding it up. I’m not sure how long I’d been pushing, maybe half an hour. I rested my leg for a bit and tried to regroup, telling myself that I could do this.

I decided I’d switched sides and lie on my right side. This was the same side that I delivered my son on. That seemed to do the trick, because the first push after switching sides, I could hear and feel my water break. Then, Dr. Biter told me that the next push, he wanted me to hold onto both my legs and curl up like I was hugging the baby. I did that and pushed again, and that’s when I felt her crowning. Oh my goodness, it burned! Now I know what they mean by “the ring of fire.” For some reason, I had not felt it with my son, so when other people talked about the ring of fire, I had no idea what they were talking about. Up until then, I had not really said anything, and things were very calm and peaceful, and then I screamed, “That hurts!” Seriously, I think we prepare a lot for contractions and I had done the prenatal yoga and knew how to do the deep yoga breathing to get through the contractions, but the “ring of fire” really took me off guard.

After I screamed, “That hurts!” Dr. Biter kind of took charge and said, “Look at me. Stop pushing. Breathe. Let the baby come out slowly.” So, I started breathing deeply again. Dr. Biter then told me to push again, and I could feel that I was pushing her torso out. After a couple of pushes, Dr. Biter put her on my chest, and of course, I stared at her in disbelief. I think no matter how many times you give birth, it is still surreal that a little person can come from your body. The minute she got on my chest, she started crying. Again, totally different from my son. He did not cry when he first came out. He had opened his eyes and just stared at me. With Amelia, it was like she had to announce to the world that she was here. I’ll be curious to see if this is a reflection of their personalities at all.

I had a second degree tear with my son, and I was surprised when Dr. Biter said I had no tearing this time. I totally credit him for that, because he spent a lot of time stretching me with mineral oil when I first started pushing. And all the squats we did in prenatal yoga probably didn’t hurt either.

Amelia was born about 2 hours after I got to the hospital, and she weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. It was such a wonderful, uneventful birth. I had kind of a high afterwards, because it all just came together so perfectly. We got to the hospital just in time, Dr. Biter was there waiting for us, and Amelia was healthy and nursed right away. It was such a calm and peaceful birth, and what better way is there to enter the world?

Tammy's Birth Story

2010-08-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

I had just left Pomerado Hospital where I had been at fetal monitering because I was 6 days past due. I went home to have a quick lunch and go to my next client when I stood up at 2:30 at my table to bring my plate into the kitchen and my water broke! I was stunned, I thought I had possibly wet myself but soon realized what it really was as I soaked my pants all the way past my knees. :) I called my husband to come home and then walked around in a daze, I was stunned that this was it and had no idea what to do. So I did the obvoius important items like brush my teeth, change clothes, wash my face, drink a protein shake, pretty much everything but get ready to leave for the hospital. :)

When my husband got home I started to get it together and we packed the car to go. It was about 3:20 and I still had not started contractions so we decided to go for a walk around our neighborhood. My husband brought his stopwatch and out we went. About a block later I had my first contraction!
, mild and about 20 seconds. We kept walking and they continued to come about every 6-7 minutes and about 30 seconds each. Then they started to come every 4-5 minutes and that is when Brian decided we needed to head back home. I soaked through another pair of pants on the walk and needed to change. We left and got to the hospital around 5:00. I soaked through another pair of pants walking into the hospital. I had no idea how much fluid comes out!! After I got settled in my room, Brian brought up my physioball from the car and I started using it on my hands and knees to do cat/cow. I also continued to walk up and down the halls still able to just breathe through the contractions. By about 7:00 I was 6cm dilated and the contractions were taking much more of my attention. I liked cat/cow with and without the ball, Brian using the hand held massager on my low back, hip rotations sitting on the ball and standing to get through contractions. I also visualized "riding the wave" like I was body surfing. When I got to 7-8cm dilated those techniques were no longer working and so Brian would use the heating pad on my low back and push down on my sacrum during the contractions while I tried to keep my breathing steady. This worked pretty well but then the baby started getting overheated so we had to stop. At that point I got sick to my stomach and started shaking pretty badly. From 10:30pm to 12:00am I was pretty much a wreck. I was shaking, feeling really defeated, and not remembering about the tools I had learned. The nurse had said I was dehydrated and put an IV in so I couldn't get out of bed and do my stretches or use my ball. At 12am I was 10cm dilated and ready to push. I started in a squat position but my legs kept shaking so I laid back and had the nurse and Brian assist my knees back as far as they could go. The baby was so low that I only had to push 15-20 times and out he came! I had a mirror there so was able to see his head and that really motivated me to push with all I had to meet him. What a relief once his head came out and then his shoulders and rest of his body just followed. He was born at 12:38am. He was immediately placed on me, he didn't cry, just looked up at me with eyes wide open. So sweet! I held him and couldn't believe how smooth and clear his skin tone was and how wide and alert his eyes were. He only let out one little squeak while they weighed him and wiped him off. 7lbs 1 ounce, 20 inches.

I was fortunate and did not tear at all and have had a tremendous recovery. I was up and moving around right away. The entire experience was a positive one and I am a very happy, proud mom.

Thank you for all the tools your prenatal yoga class taught me. It was extremely beneficial.

Julie's VBAC Homebirth

2010-06-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

Jordan Travis’s VBAC at Home
9-21-09 – my 2nd child
By Julie Yaeger

Coming to the decision to have a homebirth was a lengthy process filled with research, questions, and then isolation and fear. But finally, there was acceptance, excitement, and joy. I saw a doctor for concurrent care with the midwives so I could get ultrasounds, lab tests, etc. covered by my insurance.
I was induced and had a C-section with my first child, so I was running around asking everyone I knew, “How do you know when it’s labor?” Their answer? “You just do.” I will pass that valuable advice on to any expectant mother who is wondering, because it is true, you just do!

I didn’t realize it, but my early labor began in week 39 or so. I was having evenings every couple of days where I would start contractions around 8pm and they’d get closer, last through until about 3am, and then die off. This happened on at least three occasions, getting my hopes up, and then creating lots of frustration since I kept thinking it was labor. I only called Vickii, my midwife, once at about 4am and she talked me down. She told me to get some rest and call her in the morning. Somehow she knew it wasn’t the real deal.

At my 41 week prenatal, Vickii stripped my membranes at my request, after doing acupuncture at week 40. She checked me, also at my request, and I was shocked to find that I was already at 4cm. Apparently, my body was giving me “installments” and practice for what the big day would look and feel like. My body had already done the hard work of opening my cervix to 4cm, which usually takes people the longest (early labor). I had also taken 2 or 3 courses of caulophyllum and cimicifugus homeopathics to try to get things started. Baby J just wasn’t ripe yet and I had a lot more waiting to do.
Vickii left for a big trip to New Zealand, and now I was solely in the care of Darynee. We knew Vickii might miss the birth, but certainly didn’t expect to go 2 weeks postdates! This was the first birth she had ever missed, and she was so bummed! At my last OB visit, the doctor said, “Well, you know we only let you go to 42 weeks, so why don’t you schedule the C?” I was mortified, so this just made me anxious...

By 42 weeks exactly, I had a strange intuition that Jordan needed to be born. I was getting antsy worrying about another possible C-section, and just wanted to be sure he was ok. Darynee advised that I get a biophysical profile and NST done to make sure my placenta was still working well, there was enough amniotic fluid, etc. The appointment was for 3pm on Sept. 21st. I didn’t end up needing to go! Michelle Freund would be the assistant at the birth, and my doula, Kayti Ricker was the final member of my amazing birth team.

Before she left, Vickii advised that the best way to “naturally” induce labor would be to take castor oil. Since I had taken it with Camille and it did absolutely nothing, I didn’t have much hope for it that day. But, I was desperate and really wanted to get things moving. I made a grape castor oil smoothie with a whole 4oz. bottle of oil. It was tolerable, but kind of oily and disgusting. Within a couple of hours the effects kicked in and I was sitting on the toilet for the next couple of hours. The castor oil did exactly what it was supposed to! By the time my labor started, I was seriously depleted of water and food. I didn’t have time to replenish because when labor came, it didn’t let up at all until Jordan was born.

I cancelled the appointment for the biophysical profile when I realized I couldn’t be in the car away from a bathroom. By 3pm, the time when I was supposed to have gone to the appointment, my labor started, and it came with a bang! My contractions started around 3-4 minutes apart, but they were strong. I only was able to deal with a few before I jumped in the shower and needed the warm water to ease my back pain and help me relax. I began chanting “ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” and “maaaaaaaaaaaaaa maaaaaaaaaaaaaa” and just about anything I could think of. I remembered my yoga teacher recommended using vocal toning on consonant sounds (mama, vava, etc) so I tried until something worked. Later I realized that “Shhhhhhhh” worked really well, too for me. (Dan later asked me why I was asking for my “mama” which made me laugh.) It all felt so primal and I truly felt like a birth warrior! I was swaying and dancing and trying to move myself into a comfortable position in the shower. About 5-10 minutes into my shower, I yelled to Dan to call everyone. When he called our doula, she wanted to make sure I was really in labor after all of the false alarms. She told him to “hold the phone up” and could hear my primal moans. “That sounds great, I’ll be right over!” she said, and got in her car! I will never forget that hilarious part of the story.
Dan hopped in the shower at some point, helped rub my back, and just kept me calm as the contractions came in intense waves. At this point, there was definitely pain, but not like I have ever known. The contractions just took over my body and I surrendered to each one, while trying to keep myself comfortable by chanting, breathing, and still dancing around. In fact, even as I write this story, I can’t remember what the contractions felt like, exactly. It is strange how the mind works, and miraculous how you forget just how bad it was, so that you are willing to do it all over again. I guess I was in the shower for about 30 minutes or so, and then Darynee arrived and started preparing our bedroom for the birth. Dan and Darynee worked quickly to get the room ready, since we really weren’t prepared for everything to happen so fast. We had all of our birth supplies set up at week 36 and I got tired of looking at them, so they were all packed in a box next to my bed.

It was around 4:30pm, and Daryne`e suggested I get out of the shower and see how far I had progressed. My body had worked fast! I was already getting to transition and I was COMPLETE! I couldn’t believe it. Daryne`e didn’t seem that excited about it, since the baby was pretty far up, and she knew I’d have a while before he came down; about 5 hours or so. I spent the next hours contracting in labor land, moving my son down the birth canal. Dan and I got in the birthing pool for a while- I had hoped I could have a water birth, but it wasn’t meant to be. I was totally fine with that, but bummed that I only got an hour or less out of my $50 kiddie pool! I found myself getting into various positions in my room, leaning on different things and people. I was very hot and sweaty, and remember asking repeatedly for cold washcloths on my forehead. I was naked as the day I was born from the moment I stepped out of the shower, and it didn’t matter at all. My modesty went completely out the window.
It started to get dark, and it was only at that point that I realized how long I had been in intense labor with few breaks between contractions. Amazingly, I had the energy to make it through. The midwives and doula tried to get me to eat and drink between contractions so I could replenish myself, but it was difficult. It didn’t seem like I had many breaks.

I never once questioned my ability to birth the baby, nor did I question my body’s ability to do exactly what it needed to do. I continued to surrender to my uterus and the baby and received positive affirmations from my birth team as I did so.

When I finally began to feel the urge to push, it was around 8:30pm and that was the craziest thing I’ve ever felt. I literally felt I had to pass a bowling ball from my colon,

and grunted so loudly with each push that my throat actually felt sore for a couple of days afterwards! Everyone kept saying “Keep it low, Julie. Keep it in your bottom.” I really tried, but the shrieks and groans were what made it feel better. I remember that each time the midwives had me change position, I argued with them. When I found a position that was comfortable, it felt like nothing in the world could move me. At one point they had me sit on a birthing stool that had magically appeared in my bedroom. Daryne`e sat with my make-up mirror under me and watched the progression of the baby’s head. It was close, but then there was a lot of blood, and she wasn’t sure why. She had me move to the bed as quickly as I could and lay on my side with a leg up. When the bleeding stopped in that position, this eliminated the possibility of it being a uterine rupture, and she concluded that it was probably a laceration on the inside. After laboring in this position for a little while, I guess the midwives were a bit concerned that his head started to “turtle” back in, which is not a good sign. Michelle, who had been so soft-spoken and gentle the whole day, yelled “You need to get on all fours, NOW!” Of course, I summoned all energy and adrenaline, and moved as fast as I could!
The next hour was a blur- we could see his head, his ears were outside of my body, but he was not coming out. Daryne`e had to literally reach inside and manipulate his body because his shoulder was stuck under my pubic bone. I remember pushing so hard and he finally came out. I could feel burning, ripping, and all of the things that make childbirth the most painful experience in the world. I won’t soon forget those last moments of my son exiting my body, because it was nothing I could have imagined. When he came out, I didn’t hear any crying. I heard Kayti tell Dan to “Talk to your baby, he needs to hear your voice.” Someone placed the baby on my back, and Daryne`e said, “Be careful of the cord!” In moments, I heard something about him not breathing, saw Daryne`e give him a couple of resuscitative breaths, and I was just wondering why he wasn’t crying yet. I was later told that, due to the birth trauma, he was not breathing right away. At some point, their attention turned to me. I had lost a lot of blood and needed a stack of pillows under my legs to help with my blood pressure. Once everything was fine with Jordan, it was time to suture me. I had 2nd degree tearing and it took them 2.5 hours to stitch me up. The tearing was deep and jagged. He was born at 9:58pm on Monday, and they were still there at 5am on Tuesday. I was so exhausted, and felt like I had been hit by a truck. All of my muscles were tensed up but I felt exhilarated that I had done the unimaginable- a successful VBAC at home. No drugs, just a peaceful, wonderful but definitely painful experience. Jordan Travis was 8lbs, 3oz. and 21.75” long. He has been a great nurser, and is growing fast. I believe in the strength of the human body to do whatever is necessary to have a birth the way nature intended it, and Jordan’s birth was proof of that for me, and hopefully for women I can inspire in the future.

Baby London's QUICK Birth!

2010-02-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

October 17th, 2009

This day began as any normal Saturday would contemplating where we should go to eat. We wanted to stay close as being SUPER pregnant doesn’t allow for much comfort anywhere, especially walking around a lot. So we called Benihana since it is about 3 minutes from our house but they were completely booked for the night. So all of a sudden I had a great idea, how about a Brazilian Steakhouse, downtown!!! For those of you who know me you are thinking that I am lying and that Wes was actually the one who came up with that stupid idea, because 1) I HARDLY eat meat and 2) If I am eating meat I surely do NOT want to drive 45 minutes from home to do it….but yep it was me and off we went. We got to dinner and we had a great meal and great conversation. Then, as if this idea weren’t silly enough I decided I wanted to eat dessert somewhere else….somewhere where you have to stand in line outside to get your dessert…SO not me. We get to the front of the line and order our DELICIOUSLY beautiful desserts and my mouth is watering…..I even took pictures of other people’s dessert I was so excited and then all of a sudden I peed all over myself….so I thought. Then a lightbulb went off – was this my water breaking?? On comes the panic and I mumble as fast as I can to Wes that I think my water may have broke, I shove through the line of people behind us and luckily the bathroom was free as I went inside to determine if it was pee or my water. I am franticly turning my iphone into an encyclopedia of information for me to determine if I am peeing or if it is my water….then I realize I am quite silly because now both legs of my jeans are soaked and I am continuing to “pee” in gushes of water. I go outside and manage to tell Wes we need to go. Lucky for me he was smart and got our desserts to go.

We call our Birthing Center and get the midwife on call. We explain that we are pretty sure the water broke but also pretty sure we aren’t in labor because it feels like nothing is going on in the uterus except silence and sleeping. They tell us to come in about an hour and they will check me out. (this is where I will explain why the downtown visit to the meatery is important) LUCKY for us we are downtown because that is where our Birthing Center is!! I am positive that my 6th sense of womanly intuition drug me there happily to be in the right spot at the right time. Also lucky for us we had asked our friends Kevin and Ore if we could crash their home in case of just such an event. I called them and somehow they had chosen to stay home on a Saturday night and their home was 2 minutes from my Niagara Falls. We arrive around 830pm at their place and I am in dire need of a change of clothes. Funny enough one of the guys had a pair of maternity pants he used for yoga….no this is not a joke, and he let me borrow them!! I am not sure why I thought I would be able to keep a pair of new pants dry because by the time I left their place I was in another man’s maternity pants, his flip flops and one of his towels wrapped around me like a makeshift adult diaper. It was not my best or prettiest moment.

930pm – Birthing Center Visit

We arrive at the center and after examination get the Good and Bad news. Good news = the water had broke and in the next 24 hrs we would have a baby, Bad news = 1cm dilation and basically 0 effacement and still not in any form of labor to speak of. They suggested we go home, get some sleep (hahahahahahaha) and when we go into labor call them and probably in the next 15 – 24 hours we would be in labor. We went home and packed our bag up with everything we would need for labor….olive oil to help not have to tear or be cut, extra panties and clothes, incense, cds and other calming items, Crossword puzzles for when we would be waiting in between contractions at the center, charger for the camera, etc…..

Wes passes out and sleeps like a baby and I wake up every 30 minutes to an hour to check and see if I am in labor. (I know most moms are laughing now, because there is no “checking” for labor) Around 3am I am still in no labor but when I go to the bathroom I see faint remnants of blood and I am sent into another panic. A quick check on my husband and yep, still SOUND asleep. I panic, call the midwive on call and she tells me it is normal, something called a “bloody show” and that I will probably go into the early stages of labor soon. 4am, 5am, 6am……..9am I am up and still nothing at all that is anything remotely like labor is happening. I call the midwife again and she suggests that I try using some castor oil. A quick google search of this and I know I want nothing to do with the “loose bowel movements” that entails post castor oil use so I decide that I will do a few more lighter tactics prior to listening to my midwife. So Wes and I suit up for a little walk around the block. We go for a walk and I am desperately wanting to feel some contractions because I am getting nervous that we will end up at the hospital instead of the natural birth at the birthing center. So I keep having some braxton hicks that I have had many times of the last several weeks with zero pain whatsoever. I am patiently waiting for the contractions that are at least 5 minutes apart, 1 minute long for an hour. This is the basis for when you go into the center/hospital so you dont go to early and possibly get sent home. An hour after our walk we come home and still nothing. I look at the bottle of castor oil and decide that I will instead lay on the couch and nap for just 15 minutes and then I would use the castor oil.

1045am – 2nd Water Breaks

All of a sudden I feel like I am punched from the inside and I jolt off the couch. I am scared that something inside me has broken and my baby is in danger and I am freaking out. Wes is sitting on the couch watching tv, calm, collected….sigh…I get up and call the midwife AGAIN and she tells me that we actually have 2 waters and the second one has probably broken and that I will probably start early signs of labor soon, I should go ahead and listen to her now and use the castor oil and to expect to be coming to the center in the early evening and to call when we are at the 5 minutes etc mark. So I hang up again and look at the castor oil and decide that I will still wait another few minutes before I decide to use it.

1100am – Labor

So I sit on the couch and feel the first contraction of my labor. WOW – no amount of classes can prepare you for this kind of pain. It was worse than any gut wrenching 2-a-days we did in high school; worse than the time I pulled 4 teeth that werent loose as a kid to get more money from the tooth fairy; worse even than hitting a softball while your finger is broken…and many other painful things you might have personally encountered. It was B-A-D. It lasted a full minute of pain while I writhed around trying to find a semi-comfortable position. When it was finally over I tried to thumb through the rolodex of techniques to use during labor to relieve the tension and not focus on the pain. Wes and I also quickly discussed when we should call the Doula to come over and assist with the labor. We knew that we would probably not have the baby until the evening so we called her and told her we had begun labor and that we would want her to come closer to 10 minutes between contractions. She said ok and we went back to sitting on the couch. Then literally less than 3 minutes later another contraction straight from Hades came on again. Another minute of writhing, digging my hands into the cushions of the couch and Wes now trying to figure out how the hip compressions were supposed to work because it was impossible to talk to him through it. Then another break. We still thought nothing of it because we had learned that the first contractions could be erratic (1 minute apart, 10 minutes apart, 7 minutes etc.) So we then decided that maybe we would watch a movie. Then 2 minutes later another gut wrenching contraction. HOW could this be. Where was the lead up to crazy contractions we learned about in class?

1130am – This is serious

We have now spent the last 30 minutes having contractions every 3 to 4 minutes for a minute to minute and a half in length and it is IMPOSSIBLE to speak to anyone and I have writhed in pain all over the couch, against the wall, on the tile and on the bed and I am finding it very difficult to remember why I made such a STUPID decision to have a baby naturally when there were perfectly wonderful drugs to make me feel so wonderful instead of awful. So Wes decides he needs to call the midwife this time. He tells her that I am having contractions and we might need to come in. Now, she is remembering that we talked 30 minutes ago and I was walking around the back yard not in any labor, so she is assuming we are new parents freaking out for no reason.
So she tells Wes that she wants to talk to me through a contraction to assess where we really are with things. So he hands me the phone and I am crying to this woman and on comes the fury and I throw the phone on the ground as I dig my nails into my wooden dresser and wonder if it is possible to pass out and just not be aware of the labor pains and if so how do I do it. So Wes picks up the phone and the midwife thinks that it is possible that we need to get there…NOW. So we rush to the car and I get in the back seat and Wes begins driving. After the first contraction in the car, digging into the back of the seat, kicking the opposite door and feeling as though I may pass out Wes decides that the current speed limit just will not cut it and he drives as carefully as he can pushing the pedal as deep into the floor mat as possible. I am peering out during my measly 60 break at the buildings to decide how close we are to the birthing center where I will hopefully find some relief. I am also screaming for any kind of pain relief and throwing our entire birth plan out the window. This is when having a supportive and sane husband is key. He spent the drive reminding me of all the wonderful reasons that having a natural birth will be the best thing for our impending bean and that I can do it because I am a strong woman…..so sweet and thank God for him through this whole thing.

1228pm – I make my first push – IN THE CAR!!!!

Seriously – are we going to have to call 911 and have a fireman deliver my baby on the side of the road downtown in front of the homeless guy laying in front of the building we are at?

1230pm – Arrival at Best Start Birthing Center

I am wearing a tank top, swim shorts and barefoot. I am drenched in sweat, can hardly focus enough to see the door and am looking at the stairs I now have to climb to the birth room. And on comes another contraction mid flight of stairs. I hear voices talking to me but I am unable to focus on anything other than staying alive because I am now convinced that if I do not have a baby soon I am going to literally die and Wes will be a single dad. I make it to the bed and am trying to listen to the voices because they might know what to say to help the pain but it is impossible.

1235pm – Checkup

I manage to lay on my back long enough for the midwife to check to see how dilated I am and she gasps and tells the other midwife that she can see the head and that I probably will need to push. She asks me if we were planning a water birth, which we were absolutely not, but I remembered reading that water helps with pain so I tell her to fill ‘er up and I imagine myself swan diving into pain free waters like a mermaid…and on came another…BUT this time someone was telling me to push. I was scared to death to push because I knew it must be 500 times worse than labor but NO, it was fabulous. I was actually getting relief from the pushing and I wanted to push more. I was feeling a new burst of energy now. So I pushed and was able to gain some relief from the contraction. I pushed one more time through another contraction and the tub was ready.

1245pm – Tub Time

For those of you who know me, I do not like to be naked around anyone, much less strangers. Even wearing skirts sometimes freak me out from all the leg showing. But for all you moms out there, you will understand, I was more than eager to peel anything off that would lend itself to more comfort, if that word even existed anymore. And in the tub I went. This time the voices were a little clearer and I could try and adjust my position to what they were telling me. I tried to focus on my husbands arms while he held me and coached me to breath, it was so nice to have someone there supporting, not freaking out and sending out love like I have never felt before. It was truly a falling in love again moment throughout the process. I pushed 3 more times and little London was out. This entire moment was a blur but I remember the moment I held the little guy in my arms. Wes was a champ and cut the umbilical cord and we all smiled. The doula unfortunately only made it for the end of the birth but her teaching to Wes was invaluable because he remembered every word and did a perfect job.

1:06pm – Time of birth

I know most moms may say that they were so happy and in love the first moment but I wasn’t. I wasn’t NOT in love but it was such a taxing 2 hours that it was impossible for me to feel anything but tired and relieved that I wasn’t going to have another contraction. He was beautiful but my first love moment came after I had dried off and laid in bed with the Bean. I handed him off to Wes as I got out of the tub and I went to the bedroom to get my checkup. Luckily I hadn’t torn anything too valuable and I only needed one stitch on the inside to a small baby tear which I never really felt. Wes and I laid with our baby for another couple of hours before we were both antsy to go home. We went and got the midwife and had her do the baby’s APGAR and whatever other weighing and measuring they do. He came in at a 9/10 his first go round of the APGAR and weighed 7lbs 10 oz and was 21 inches long. He didn’t cry and he just cuddled with us, everything we had dreamed of.

7pm – Time to go home!

Yes, believe it or not, when you do not get hooked up to an IV or get an epidural there is very little to “recover” from in the hospital or birthing center and you are pretty much ready to go home. We loaded up our little Bean into the car and went home to live happily ever after!

Well…this is our birth day story and I can hear the little guy grunting for mom in the bedroom as I type this so I will fill in the details of the last 7 weeks as the next several weeks, months…years?? go on and hopefully our beautiful story will provide some smiles to those who read it.

Planting My Placenta, Planting My Dreams

2010-01-15T14:35:00.000-08:00

I finally did it! I lovingly planted my placenta after storing it in the freezer for almost exactly 4 years! The timing proved to be just right, as only in this time in my life would I be able to fully appreciate the symbolism that imbued this experience.

While I was pregnant with Miran in the summer of 2005, I planted a baby Magnolia tree for him in our side yard. I contemplated the cyclic beauty of nourishing the earth with a tree, just as my own body was providing for the nourishment of my baby. For me, it was small way to give back to Mother Earth and to serve as a reminder of my sacred connection to the her.

Miran's birth was as natural and graceful as the nourishing Magnolia tree growing in my yard. I birthed the life-giving placenta, and once the cord was no longer pulsing, it was cut by my midwife and put in a safe place for me to take home and eventually give back to the earth. Little did I know it would remain encased in a styrofoam cup for four years in the back of my freezer.

January 10, 2010 I felt a calling to finally plant my placenta! The new year was so full of promising new hope for me, for my family and for the planet, I knew this would be a beautiful right of passage for the coming year. For the past five months I've been volunteering my time working on some green initiatives for the school district where my daughter attends school, here in Poway. One of the goals I have been working on is to eliminate the use of styrofoam trays in the elementary school lunchrooms. Currently, Poway Unified Students consume 8,000 styrofoam trays per day. Over the course of one school year, that amounts to 1,550,00 styrofoam trays! I have helped set change in motion and my goal is to get the district to switch to 100% recycled paper trays which can be composted or recycled in return. Great strides have been made, but there is a lot of red-tape to cut and awareness raising to do!

So, when I took my placenta from the freezer and realized it has been, ironically, encased in styrofoam all these years, I instantly thought of my campaign! As I pealed away the styrofoam I couldn't help but feel that it was sucking the life from the placenta. I could almost feel the placenta breathe as I freed it from it's captivity. Broken pieces of styrofoam, tossed into the garbage, never to be decomposed, or even baled (compressed)revealing this super-human membrane that was an integral part of the creation of life. To me, this moment foreshadowed the the passing of the old, destructive practices of our school district, and represents the birth of my dreams for a sustainable school district, and for a generation of children that will not allow their food to be served on a styrofoam tray.
I dug the hole under the tree and tossed some home-grown compost into it. I could almost feel the anticipation of the Magnolia tree roots as I placed the rich dark compost, overflowing with worms and grubs into it's foundation. I laid the placenta down with a prayer of gratitude and hope. As I covered up the cord with compost, I felt it was still connected to my body. Somehow, I know that this dream of environmental freedom is now deeply rooted and supported by the very thing that nourished and sustained us all as fetuses in our mother's womb. The cycle continues, the healing has begun, change is inevitable!

Baby Timmy's Birth

2010-01-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

Beth was my student for at least six months of her pregnancy. She also took classes with Liza at the hospital, she was as stong as a birthing woman could possibly be! She labored beautifully and was a true BIRTH WARRIOR!

So on Friday, November 13th, I started feeling contractions but they
were only about 6-8 minutes apart at around 6am. I didn't really
think anything of it so I just kept my mind off, made breakfast for
Tim, cleaned the kitchen, and made some coconut macaroons for the
hopstial staff (just in case today was the day). About 1pm I noticed
the contractions were getting to be more like 5 min apart, so I
started keeping track more consistently and by 1:30 they were getting
to be about 3-5 min. Tim gets home and we head off to the hospital.
On the way there, I seriously didn't know what was happening as the
contractions were getting stronger and stronger, I yelled at him
because he was only going 65 mph, um he's never obeyed the speed limit
so why NOW? Hospital was only 15 min away, but it felt like an hour.
So we got admitted about 3:15pm and I was in the delivery room, in my
gown by 3:30pm when they did my first check and I was already at 5-6
cm. I was like FAB that's what I was planning on...because my goal
was to have a natural birth! By 4:30 it seemed I was getting
contractions about every 2 min, so they checked again and I was still
at 5-6 cm. I asked the nurse to give me an estimated timeframe and she
said I would think you can have this baby delivered in another 4
hours. But then the next hour was INSANE, I kept having contractions
one on top of each other, and I felt like I was in this out of body
experience...I'm not going to lie, but the pain was unbearable and I
thought how can I go on like this for another 3 hours? So that's when
I looked at Tim and told him "I'm sorry, but I'm going to ask for the
epidural, I don't think I can take this". He and my mother in law
being the wonderful people they are, told me there was nothing to be
sorry about and the most important thing is for me to deliver a
healthy baby.

So the anestetheologist comes in at 5:30 and starts performing the
lowest dosage. I was having contractions while he was performing the
epidural and keeping still was not an easy thing. As soon as it was
performed they checked me and I was already at 10cm!!!!!!!!!! That's
when I got pissed and said OMG if I would have known I was at 10 I
wouldn't have asked for the epidural! So I had to just get over it
and concentrate on what my OB was telling me. She said for me to
start pushing but they had to tell me when, because I couldn't feel
any of the contractions at that time because of the epidural. By the
way my OB wasn't even on call that day, but she made it my delivery
after seeing all her patients...she even had dinner plans with her
husband...so I told her "Dr. Gunnarson, I really appreciate you being
here and I will not make you late for your dinner reservation at 8pm".
I started pushing about 5:30pm and at 6:14pm, Timothy Michael
Gosselin II arrived!!! 7lb 6 oz 19inches. I was so surprised at his
weight but so grateful because I thought I was going to deliver a 10lb
baby because of the gestational diabetes. I am also grateful that this
baby granted my wish and labored naturally because I didn't want to be
induced. They had scheduled me to go in on the evening of the 15th to
be induced since he was a GD baby and was 1 week late.

Anyways, baby is doing well, he's so cute...he looks like his daddy
and I can't wait for all of you to meet him. I also want to give a
shout out to my yoga instructors Liza and Shelley and also to our
birthing instructor, Dianne...thank you so much for your guidance!

And to my girlfriends, thank you for all your love and support!

Love,
Beth, Tim and Baby Timmy

Prenatal Yoga Helps with a Cesarean Birth

2009-09-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Here is Ting's story of the birth of baby Addy. She knew she was having a ceserean from the moment she conceived. Ting came to Prenatal Yoga with me every week starting at about 10 weeks pregnant. Althought she didn't need to use the postures to help with labor pains, yoga taught her how to use her breath to relax her mind and body before and during the surgery. Her body was so strong from all the yoga that she healed and recovered amazingly fast!

Enjoy reading Ting's Testimony:

I recovered really quickly with my c-section with Addy compared to Jack's. With Jack, I was in labor for 22 hours then ended up having a c-section so I have to recover from both labor and surgery. With Addy's scheduled c-section, I was rested and as my doctor said, the muscles and tissues were fresh. By the time I got out of the hospital I was up and about. I also attributed the speedy recovery to pre-natal yoga! I was a lot stronger physically the second time around.

The day of surgery, I did a lot of yogic breathing while I was at pre-op. My blood pressure was high because I was very nervous! To help calm my nerves, I did yogic breaths and chanting ohms. On the operating table and recovery room, I felt nauseous but I kept doing yogic breaths to keep nausea at bay. It worked like a charm. Even though I didn't get to use yoga poses like cat-cow, I got to use other yoga principles.

Thanks Shelly! I miss going to your yoga classes. I am going to continue my yoga practice - it's the only "me" time I get for the week.

Baby Anella's Birth Story

2009-09-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

Anella's Birth Story is filled with wisdom and grace! Amanda used Hypnobirthing and Yoga to birh her baby without the use of medication!

Mommy's side of the story:

I'll begin at the beginning. We went to our 38 week appointment on August 7th and I asked Dr Biter to check my dilation as I had been feeling some shooting pains in my cervix area. He checked and let me know that I was 2-3cm dilated and almost completely effaced. I must admit although I knew labor could still be weeks the excitement built immediately. I lost my mucus plug on Saturday the 8th and yet again I just knew it could be any day. The night of August 10th, I went to bed at 10pm and started feeling light surges, immediately figured "this was it!" I laid in bed aware of each surge, at about Midnight I woke Wayne up to get him to time the surges, they were between 7-5 minutes apart and lasting 20seconds-1minute. We were up all night and decided we wanted to wait until Dr. Biter's office opened to get checked there rather than go straight to the hospital. When we arrived, the cervical check showed that I was 3.5cm dilated and the baby's head was low "very low." At this point we figure labor is imminent. At our next weekly appointment August 14th I didn't have a cervical check but I did mention that I had been having a light leaking and found my underwear to be wet on a constant basis. Dr Cap let me know that there was a chance that I had a pinhole leak in my water bag and that it would continue to leak. Yet again the excitement and anticipation was overwhelming. I just couldn't wait to meet my baby. Sunday August 16th I woke up at 2am to my bloody show, it was much more blood than I had anticipated and we immediately called Dr Biter's office. Dr Cap called us back and let us know that I would most likely go into labor in the next 24 hours so try to get some rest and call back when my surges were 5-1-1. I attempted to go back to sleep but was too excited, I turned on my relaxation CD and was asleep within 30 minutes. When I awoke at 8am I figured that once I got up and moving around the surges would start. No such luck, at 10am I called Dr. Biter's office again and Dr Cap had me come into the office to check my cervix. Wayne & I had a wedding to attend at 1pm, Wayne was a Groomsman so it was important to know if we should go to the wedding or not.

When we got to the office Dr Cap immediately did an ultrasound and everything looked
great there was still enough amniotic fluid and baby's heartbeat was perfect. He proceeded to check my cervix and let me know that I was 3-3.5cm and more effaced. He told us to go ahead and go to the wedding I'd most likely go into labor that evening or in the next day. So we went and danced the night away. At the wedding I had some surges but nothing that made think that I was in active labor. I was hoping we'd get home from the wedding and once I got in bed things would kick into gear. No such luck.

On Wednesday August 19th, I woke up and when I stood up I had a gush and assumed this was my water breaking. Yet again we were on our way back to Dr Biter's office to get checked since again surges hadn't started. Dr Cap checked my cervix again only to be told it was the same as Sunday. We left the office disappointed and discouraged again. That night we went to bed at 10:30pm I awoke at 12:15am for one of my first of many bathroom trips, once I lied down back in the bed I immediately had a big gush and felt a slight pop and woke Wayne up and told him my water broke, I was able to make it to the shower to have the rest pour out of me. Wayne called Dr Biter's office and Dr Cap called back and said "Try to get some rest, call us back when our surges were 5-1-1 or if we were going to head to the hospital." I did my very best to get back to sleep but immediately the surges kicked in and honestly the anticipation and excitement was consuming and I was just so excited to finally meet my baby. Wayne was able to go back to sleep, I woke him up at about 1:25am I had been timing my surges and I was ready for him to take over the timing. We got up and both got in the shower to labor some, I made Wayne shave my legs and we both just did our best to relax and prepare for what was in store. We were in the shower for about 1/2 an hour, and I found that the surges I had while in the shower were more manageable. As I got out of the shower and started to get dressed the intensity in my surges picked up and as each one approached I would stop and get myself completely relaxed. After we got dressed we headed down the stairs, our birth plan had us doing the majority of our laboring at home seeing that we are less than 5 minutes from Scripps Encinitas. I got downstairs and was having Wayne time the surges at one point I asked him if there was any pattern and he said "not really, they're between 4-2 minutes apart, lasting between 30seconds-2 minutes." I am not sure what made me say this but I told him I thought we needed to go to the hospital. I really struggled with this decision because it was completely opposite of our birth plan and I didn't want to do the majority of my laboring at the hospital, but something just made me need to go.

We arrived at the hospital at 3am, they took us back to our room, I got in my gown, they attached the baby monitor and the nurse checked me. She told me I was 3.5cm and 90% effaced. I felt defeated, I didn't say anything to Wayne and he didn't say anything to me but later we both spoke about it and we were both really disappointed we both pictured spending hours at the hospital. While lying in the bed on the monitor I must admit I felt completely out of control, I felt as though the surges were in control of me and I had no power over them. I was so frustrated by this because this is not how envisioned my labor, I had visions of being in control the entire time. I was able to breath through my surges and I kept repeating the following affirmation in my head "My body and my baby know how to work together in complete harmony." I didn't realize at the time but Wayne was video taping this part of my labor, and looking at the video I look as though I'm in full control and am working through the surges efficiently. Seeing it from that perspective gave me a different point of view and made me realize that the out of control feeling was something that stemmed from this not being in my 'vision' of my "perfect labor."
After monitoring the nurse let me know she spoke to Dr Biter and he wants me to walk around to progress labor. It's now 4am and I get up out of the bed, I asked for a birthing ball and I sat on it against the bed for all of 2 seconds it wasn't the best position for me, which I found quite interesting because when I pictured laboring I pictured using the birthing ball. Then I was slow dancing leaning against the end of the bed, as I was doing this I felt another gush and it felt like yet again my water broke. I asked the nurse if my water could have broken again and she said that there's a chance earlier that it only 1/2 broke or I had a fore bag and that is what broke earlier. I told Wayne that I wanted to get in the shower. He changed into his trunks and we slow danced in the shower. While in the shower my surges continued to intensify I had moments where I was unable to find my focus, Wayne would put his face to mine and do the slow breathing techniques we learned from Hypnobirthing and he would immediately bring back my focus. A few times in the shower I questioned my goal and was starting to lose hope that I would have a natural unmedicated delivery. I had started to get quite panicked and disappointed in myself. All my life I had imagined my labor and delivery without medications, I never understood why people would need drugs for the most natural experience on earth. I felt as if I was failing, as if I wasn't good enough. I of course kept this all to myself, at one point I said to Wayne "I just don't think I can do this," he pulled me close and told me what a great job I was doing and that I could do it. At about 4:30am I got out of the shower and was just trying to find a position where I could not only be comfortable but relax and I was finding it very difficult. I had been drinking water all night and decided to sit down to see if I could empty my bladder, as I sat on the toilet I leaned back against the wall and found the perfect position. I was finally able to bring myself into complete relaxation for close to 5 minutes even during all the surges I was having, I was so relaxed I don't even remember how many surges I had, I do know that at this point in my labor my surges were very close together and I had very little time between them. Then all of a sudden I had a surge that made me need Wayne's assistance as sitting was not comfortable, I stood up and we yet again slow danced, him holding the majority of my weight. During this surge I yet again questioned my ability to do this unmedicated, I couldn't help but think how good it would feel to just get rid of all the pain, the thought brought me to tears, I so badly wanted to experience every sensation of birth and delivery. I was so angry at myself for even considering it. Once that surge passed I found myself in need of squatting through the next few surges, during one of these I said to Wayne with panic in my voice "I can't do this, I really don't think I can do this." He told me yet again what a great job I was doing and kissed my forehead. With just these simple words and kiss on my forehead he had given me more strength to get through the next few surges, I decided I didn't have to make any decisions one way or another at this point I would let things happen naturally. I decided to sit back down on the toilet. As I was sitting there I noticed I had A LOT of pressure. I mentioned to Wayne that there was a lot of pressure. He immediately pulled the emergency cord next to the toilet and the nurse was there within seconds. I told her I was having a lot of pressure and she asked me to get back on the bed so she could check me.
I lay back down on the bed (the last place in the world I wanted to be) and as I laid down Wayne said "There's blood" I immediately got a little excited by his announcement but nothing prepared me for what the nurse said next, she checked my cervix and said "We're going to have a baby." The words whirled around my head, how could we be ready to have a baby it had only been 1 1/2 hours since I got there and I started at 3.5cm, how is it I'm already 10?????
I hear her call out over their intercom system that she needed immediate assistance in my labor room, to page Dr Biter immediately and to let the Dr on call know that he may have a delivery. I said "I'm waiting for Dr. Biter." I laid in the bed feeling like I was in a dream, how was it that I had only been at the hospital for 1 1/2 hours and now I'm about to deliver my baby? The nurse let me know to breath through the pressure, and Wayne was standing at my side giving me light touch massage and helping me with my breathing. At this point all of the pain I had been feeling was completely gone the only feeling I had was pressure, intense pressure but there was no pain, I kept breathing through the pressure and just knowing that my baby would be in my arms within the hour was enough to get me through.
Within minutes Dr Biter was walking through the door, I have never been so happy to hear his voice in my entire life. He sat down at the end of the bed and said "That was fast, are you ready to have your baby?" I said "YES!"
Dr Biter had me do different methods of pushing we started on my back, then we moved to my left side, my right side, he had a nurse hold one end of a towel and I held the other. Dr Biter used perineal massage to help during delivery, I must say that pushing is nothing what I expected. I had no pain, no burning. When my baby's head started to crown Dr Biter asked me to reach down and feel the head, all I could feel was a full head of hair. After 45 minutes of pushing my baby was ready to be born, Dr Biter asked Wayne & I to reach down, and the three of us delivered our baby onto my chest. I had never in my life felt so accomplished and so much love. I asked Wayne if it was a boy or girl? He looked down, and said "It's a baby GIRL!" We both immediately started crying.

My water broke at 12:20am and at 6:01am I had delivered my beautiful daughter 8lbs 4.7 oz, 20 1/4 inches of perfection. I NEVER expected my labor to progress so perfectly.
After allowing her cord to stop pulsing Wayne cut the cord and the nurses took Anella to be weighed. As they were weighing her I asked the nurse if I could get up to go to the bathroom, she paused and said "did you have an epidural," I said "no" and she said "Yes we can walk to the bathroom if you feel up to it," I said "Of course I do, I feel great." She walked with me to the bathroom and spent the entire time commenting on what an amazing labor this was for her to see and how impressed she was by not only the speed of it, but my control and ability to labor and deliver without a single drug or intervention. I felt accomplished, successful, empowered and more than anything that I had the PERFECT labor for me

Wayne and I spoke about my labor many times since that day and we both agree that without Hypnobirthing there is NO WAY that our labor would have gone so smoothly. He was so much more comfortable having learned not only the breathing techniques but the signs that things were happening. Had we not taken Hypnobirthing I can say that there would have been a very good chance that I either delivered at home, in the ambulance or on the toilet at the hospital. Hypnobirthing gave both of us the confidence that my body knew exactly what it was doing and that we needed to trust the signs it was giving us.

I cannot thank you enough for giving us the tools we needed to have our dream labor and delivery. Anella Paige Green was born into a calm, relaxed and loved atmosphere.

Daddy's side of the story:

Carol, let me begin by thanking you so much for your wonderful teachings and support. As Amanda wrote, I can truly say that without Hypnobirthing, there is no way our labor would have happened as it did.

The most important things I took from your classes were knowing how to trust Amanda's body and instincts, the ability to help Amanda focus on breathing, and knowing the signs of progression. This last point is one I thank you for...knowing when to call the nurse prevented us from having a baby in the bathroom.

We had quite a few false impressions of when the labor was starting. Over the course of two weeks Amanda and I were going through ups and downs of thinking we were ready and finding out we weren't. It is hard to know what is real when you've never had the sensations before. Needless to say, when Amanda's water broke at midnight, I was not very hopeful as we had been through this before. She had me call the doctor's and Dr. Cap called and said to call back when we were ready to go to the hospital. I fell asleep and Amanda woke me later to time the surges. I had a cool app on my phone that you had talked about that timed these surges and showed a cool little graph. Well, this for us was useless. Amanda's surges were not consistent and I had no idea if she was 511 or 211 or what. After a shower we were downstairs in the kitchen. I stared cleaning up the dishes, started the dishwasher and took the trash out. Then Amanda said we needed to leave. I immediately trusted her to know her own body even though our surges were not yet 511. Amanda has always been very in tune with her body and baby this pregnancy so I trusted her.

I filmed her laboring in the garage and was in shock that this was my life. We got in the car and started to the hospital with little fan fare....no speeding or going through red lights like in the movies. We were almost to the hospital when I remembered we were supposed to have called. Oh well. We arrived at Scripps Encinitas and at 3am had great parking close to the entrance. I picked up the phone and were were let into the birthing pavilion. I have to say here that we were expecting to have our baby at Dr. Biter's new birth center, but throughout our experience at the hospital we both agree that it is an amazing place. The staff are awesome!

During the next two hours Amanda was laboring. I had the cheat sheet you gave me but honestly it made no sense to me. I just followed my own way and gave Amanda light touch and whatever she needed. After the monitoring I could see she was overwhelmed by her surges and offered her what I could. She was so into her body that she could not answer my questions and I had no idea if I was helping or making it worse. When she had good surges, I reminded her to focus on her breathing. When we were in the bathroom she was getting panicked and I got close to her face and breathed loudly, this caused her to follow my breathing. I believe this was your suggestion Carol? After a while she said she had a lot of pressure. I remember from your birth story that pressure was a sign of imminent birth, so I pulled the emergency cord. The nurse was there soon and after checking she said the crazy words...."we're having a baby!" WAIT! WHERE'S DR. BITER????

Our love for our OB is strong as he has seen us through a miscarriage and has been such a great friend during the pregnancy (as has Dr. Cap). We could not envision having birth without him. Luckily he showed soon and got right to business. He told Amanda to start pushing, and even though purple pushing was against what we head learned, it was what was working for Amanda. Again, trust your body and know that whatever works for you is right.

I had Amanda's left leg and she pushed against me and after some time I could see some hair. Our baby was coming. She still pushed and the baby was crowning. I remember thinking how small the baby's head was (the size of a tangerine). Then she pushed more and the head came out (wow, a lot bigger!) My baby had a full head of dark hair...where did that come from? After some more pushes, Dr. Biter asked Amanda to take her baby.

Throughout all of this I had no idea if I was of any use. I tried my best to help. After it was done, Amanda told me that I helped a lot. That my words and actions helped her deliver naturally.

Jackson's Birth Story

2009-06-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

Rochelle's ceserean birth story is a beautiful example of accepting what is and full-heartedly embracing each moment of the birth of her son.

When My husband and I started talking about having a child, I had wanted to be able to have a natural childbirth if possible. I had even changed physicians because my OBGYN had wanted to do a c-section from the beginning. My road to becoming pregnant was long in many ways because I was diagnosed with a Bicournate Uterus and Endometriosis years before even meeting my husband. I had several surgeries to correct what they could and to remove the Endometriosis. I had also been on several medications including a drug study to try and control my Endometriosis over the years with no relief of symptoms. I was given bleak odds by several OB's and went on a search. I am a nurse so I asked around to find a good doctor, which I did. From our first meeting she was much more optimistic about my odds of getting pregnant and sustaining a pregnancy. I was still at a high risk for a preterm infant but I decided that I was going to have positive thoughts about getting pregnant. One of the best thing that my doctor told me was that she could see no reason for me not to have a natural childbirth after reviewing all of my medical records ( which is like a bible).

Well low and behold we got pregnant after only a few months of trying, I was in shock!!!!!! I decided that I would continue with my Yoga which was good for my physical and mental well being. I loved going to class and also took up water aerobics and walking my dog to try and keep in shape to help with labor. My pregnancy was fairly easy except for a little nausea in the beginning and some hip pain in the second trimester. All of my Doctors appointments went well and they said that he was strong and that I looked good. I started to have a lot of Braxton Hicks contraction in my third trimester and I decided to take it easy and listen to my body. My husband started walking the dog and I was counting down the weeks for my maternity leave.

My husband and I started our birthing classes and I had a friend who was going to be my Doula ( my husband is a bit squeamish). On our second week of class I found out that my son Jackson was breech. At that time I had a feeling that he was not going to turn ( stubborn like his mom). I knew that he had been in that position for awhile from where he would kick me. We tried several tricks and exercises to try and get him to turn but I think that he actually got mad when I put ice on my stomach (he started hitting me from the inside). By 34 weeks it was apparent that he was there to stay and with my uterus shape we could not do an external inversion. I was then put on the books for a C-section. It was weird being able to pick the day my son was going to be born. It was definitely not the way that I had planned it. I decided that I was going to look on the bright side. First I got pregnant and had a great pregnancy. I know so many couples who can't even say that. Second I decided to take advantage of knowing when my son was going to be born ( I can be a bit of a control freak so knowing when he was coming was nice), I could get everything ready for him. I made meals and froze them, and was able to make all of my appointments before he was born and tie up any last minute projects around the house. I got a pedicure the friday before. The best part about planning his delivery day was that my Grandmother was able to be here for the birth of my child. My family lives out of state and my mother is deceased so it was great to know that I would have the support of my family there.

The day of the c-section was here and I was as nervous as can be, I could hardly sleep and was so thirsty and hungry. Even with all my planning it was still one of the biggest days and I was worried about if Jackson would be healthy and if I would be a good mother. That is the downside of planning... no turning back. I did some Yoga breathing that morning and downloaded some George Winston on my ipod to help keep me relaxed because even though I was not going through labor I wanted a positive and calm experience. the birth of my son was fairly uneventful it went like clockwork and 2 hours after I had checked in on that Sunday morning I was the mother of a beautiful baby son Jackson Thaddeus Mann 7 pounds 19.5 inches. We were able to hold him while they finished closing me up and I was able to breast feed him within an hour and a half after he was born. He was a champ and didn't know that that was the way he was supposed to come out. My husband was even able to be in the delivery room ( there was a drape so he just kept focusing on me). I look back and think how lucky I am to have a healthy and happy baby and for me I will never regret how he came out because the import thing is he did come out and he was healthy.

I don't know what I'll do if I get pregnant again but my doctor has already said I can try for a Vaginal delivery but after my last experience I might ponder that for awhile.

Welcome Baby Jackson!!

2009-05-31T11:11:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Rochelle and Jamie!

Jackson entered the world on 4/5/09, weighing 7 lbs 19.5 inches!

Congratulations, Bonney!

2009-04-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

I gave birth to little Shannon Josephine on Wednesday, April 1st, exactly one week past my due date. She is a great baby and weighed 7 lbs, 10.9 ozs. and was 21cm long.

I am pleased to say I had a natural birth, no epidural. It's tough for me to say how long I was in labor because I was experiencing irregular labor contractions (4-20 min apart) and decided to go to my doctors appoinment Wed. morning to see how far along I was. So my husband and doula went with me and we discovered I was already 5 cm dilated! My worried doctor ordered us straight to the hospital.

Overall, it was about 47 hours of laboring, but counting hospital time, it was more like 7 1/2 hours. I was very lucky to have a wonderful staff working with me at Sharp Mary Birch. Some of the nurses heard I wanted a natural birth and said they requested to work with me. I am very grateful for all the support and encouragment and I'm not sure how I would have accomplished my goal without it, escpecially from my wonderful husband and doula, there for every contraction and push.

Throughout my labor, my body wanted to go into various yoga poses, and there was no contraction too strong that my deep yoga breathing could not get me through. I miss your class and I've been eager to give you an update. Thank you for all your positivity and encouragement along the way.

Manali's Birth Story (Baby Sid)

2009-04-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

A friend was planning on attending Shelley's prenatal yoga class, and checked with me (I was then 31 weeks pregnant) if I wanted to join her. I was never much into yoga, but decided to go for the classes. My pregnancy till then had been really hectic, so I thought the yoga class would give me some bonding time with my baby. I was hoping to have a natural birth, but was open to other options too. And I certainly wasn't expecting the yoga classes to help me with a natural birth. Little was I to know.

At my 39 week check-up my doctor was preparing me for other options. I had till then not felt any contractions and my cervix had softened just a little. I was a little worried as I drove back home. I thought I was probably going to have a planned delivery. But the very next day, I felt some contractions in the wee hours of the day. The contractions went away in a few minutes, so I thought they were false labor pains. During the course of the day, I felt contractions again, and they kept coming at regularly intervals. Every 30-40 minutes, I felt mild waves. And then the intervals kept getting shorter, the duration of the contractions kept getting longer. My husband came home by 4:00 pm. The cow position (getting on all fours) was helping me. So for every contraction, I would get into the cow position. At 7:00 pm we called our doctor's line. I was told to leave for the hospital in an hour. As predicted by the doctor, my contractions got more intense in an hour and we headed to the hospital.

At the hospital, the nurse checked that I was in active labor. I was 5 cms dilated. I was asked and I said no to the epidural. In the labor room, an IV needle in my arm, with the fetus monitoring in place, we were left to ourselves. It was around 9 pm. The nurse was to check on us every couple of hours. I was watching the clock every so often. I would try to get to the floor for every contraction (didn't feel comfortable getting into a cow position on the bed which was quite narrow). By the time I would get myself off the bed with my husband's help, I would feel the contraction easing away. I remember shouting at my husband for not getting me off the bed faster. Eventually I got tired of getting off and then back on the bed. I am just 5 feet tall and getting back onto the bed was a huge effort (my husband was keeping a safe watchful distance to comply with my wishes). Then I decided to just sit out the contractions. I remember closing my eyes and remembering Shelley's mantra "ride the pain waves, embrace pain". And it really was easy after that. I didn't budge from the bed after that. My husband was keeping a watchful eye on me. At 11:10 I remember paging the nurse. I was 7 cms dilated. Again we were left on our own. I slept. The contractions would wake me up, and I would ride the pain waves. Both me and my husband were snoozing though. I again paged the nurse at 1:00. I was about 10 cms dilated. My water bag was blocking the baby's descent, so it was broken by the doctor.

The contractions started coming in at a greater intensity, but the pain was gone. However, I wasn't prepared for pushing. The pushing part was the most painful part of my labor. Every push was encouraged by my husband and the nurse. The doctor periodically checked on me. I was also given oxygen whiffs a couple of times. After about an hour of pushing, I was almost about to give up. At that stage, I just wanted the baby out. I kept saying that I won't be able to do it. I asked for a mirror to check on the baby's progress. I was told that it would not help much. After what seemed like an age, the doctor started putting on gloves, and a mirror too was provided to me. That really encouraged me, I could see the crown of my baby's head. After some time the baby's head descended and it started hurting me so much that I really didn't need any more encouragement to push. The last big push. And my baby boy was born.

Ariana's Birth Story

2009-04-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

Feb. 21st Sat.- I felt crampy/crappy starting around 8 pm-continued all nite long, but managed to catch sleep here and there...

Feb. 22nd Sun.- I was woken up at 6:30am by a definite contraction! We called our doula, Diana Kayat 9am to give her a heads up, today might be the day! Had contractions steadilyincreasing until 3pm, then they stayed the same until 6pm. We managed themwith a lot of vocalization, breathing, and couples yoga postures! (thank you Shelley!). Myhusband Ernest and I felt confident working through the contractions by ourselves until around 7pm when they were 6-8 minutes apart and one minute+ in duration.Then we called for reinforcements! Diana armed with essential oils, massage toolsand her wealth of knowledge and expertise arrived around 8pm!!

I had eaten a light breakfast and a sandwich for lunch which came UP unexpectedly right beforeDiana arrived. As a small bonus, I did feel better after throwing up!!With Diana, we worked on a lot of cat/cow poses and double hip squeezes.For me these were key, because Ariana was "sunny side up" and I was going through "back" labor.We labored on..haha :) ...until I had thrown up again, pressure intesified, and contractions were 3-5 minutes apart.Then we drove to the hospital.

We checked in at 10:30pm, at 11:30pm I was 3cm dilated, 90% effaced, and -1 station.At that point it had been over 17 hours of back labor, I was exhausted from pain, lack of sleep and nutrients, and I was only at 3cmwith a long way to go. I felt discouraged, and worried that I would not have the reserves to push when the time came (resulting in a c-section :(.So at that point I asked for an epidural.

Feb.23rd Mon.- At 1:45 am I received the epidural which numbed only my right side. The anesthesiologist's strategy was to lie on my left sideand keep pressing the button and dose myself...everytime he checked on me he said the same thing....it never worked. At 2am I was 5cm dilated, 100% effaced, -1 station. Then my water broke! What a cool feeling! We all dozed off and on until morning. At 8:30am I was 6-7cm, 100% effaced and -1/0 station according to nurse Elena. Dr. Eisenhauer did an exam and thought I was not nearly that far along and wanted to start pitocin. I requested to wait until his next exam to see if things would progress on their own.At 12:30pm nurse Elena checked and I had progressed to 10cm, with a cervical "lip" on my left side. I thought it might have been all thatlaying down on my left side. Dr. Eisenhauer then checked and said I was 5-6cm! They both advised me to start the pitocin, and I did. I was veryupset and as expected my contractions ramped up in intensity...I was so grateful to have my husband (my champion :), and doula Diana (worth her weight in gold!) there with me. What great support!

Finally at 5:15pm, 10cm, 100%, and +1 station I got the okay to start pushing!At 7:19pm (37 hours of labor) a healthy Ariana Selene was born!! 8lbs. 3oz., 20 1/2 inches.It was all worth it, just like everyone says!

Jillian's Birth Story

2009-03-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

On a Tuesday afternoon in February, more than three weeks before her due date, my daughter was born. My labor started when I woke up around one a.m. to go to the bathroom. As I climbed up out of bed a substantial amount of fluid came out and ran down my legs. I had no contractions, no back pain, just lots of clear fluid leaking out of me. I was surprised how the fluid kept coming. I always thought it would come out in one big gush, and then stop. Not with me.

After waking my husband, and convincing him that it was really time for the baby to come, I called the “midwife on-call” for advice. Since I hadn’t had even the hint of a contraction, I wasn’t sure when I should go in to the birthing center. I was fortunate that the midwife, Jasmine, who had been following me my entire pregnancy happened to be on call this night. When I described the fluid amount and type, she started recalling my due date. I was really nervous because I was told from the beginning that you couldn’t deliver at the birthing center unless you are at least 37 weeks along and I did NOT want to go to the labor and delivery unit. We both knew that I was only 36 + 5. But my midwife offered to “re-calculate my dates” and came up with 37 +1. Lucky me!!!

Jasmine the midwife told me that because I was GBS positive I would need to come in, even if my contractions hadn’t started, so that I could get the proper doses of IV antibiotics before my daughter comes.

So then my husband and I started to pack our bags. I also took a shower to relax. In the shower, my contractions started. They were very far apart, and easily manageable. “This isn’t so bad,” I thought as I finished packing. My husband loaded the car, and placed lots of towels on the front passenger seat (I was still leaking, leaking, leaking).

Driving to the hospital, I was anxious and excited. We arrived at the UCSD birthing center at around 2:30 am. My midwife greeted me and an RN started an IV line. Since the contractions were not yet that bad, the staff urged me to try to rest (sleep) but I was too anxious. Instead I sat in the wooden rocking chair while my husband set up my IPOD and helped the staff get the room ready.

The nurses put out birthing balls, a bean bag chair, stools, and they got the tub ready. They brought in an incubator for the baby, and made sure I was comfortable and warm. The contractions started to get worse, but I was still doing well. I played solitaire on my laptop, pausing for the contractions. I sometimes rocked in the chair, and sometimes I would sit on a stool or stand and walk around. As the contractions intensified, I started to use positions and breathing techniques that I learned in Shelley’s yoga class. I had to really focus and practice my breathing to keep control. I used cat-cow a lot, I squatted a little bit, and I did a lot of rocking in the chair and meditating. I’d say about 85% of the time I was able to control myself and only let out a sigh or moan or purposeful “ohhhm” or “ahhh.” About 15% of the time I could not keep control and yelled a bit (typical “OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD I AM GOING TO DIE”) like you see on TV. I managed not to cuss or use a swear word even once (a personal goal of mine). I can definitely say that if weren’t for the yoga practice, I would have been doing a lot more screaming. My husband was also a huge help during this period. We had discussed at length ahead of time that he was not to let me “give in” and get an epidural or take pain medications. He went to one couples yoga class with me and knew about some breathing techniques. Sometimes he would help by breathing with me, or rubbing my back. But mostly he was helpful by reassuring me that I could do this, and reminding me of what I wanted. This was very hard for him, because my husband works in anesthesia and puts in epidurals for a living. In fact we had fought MANY TIMES about me using the birthing center vs. a traditional hospital and doctor. In the end though, my husband was true to his word and supported me in my wish for a natural birth.

My husband wasn’t the only one to help. At around 7 am my midwife Jasmine had to leave, and the next midwife, Beth, took over my care, along with a new set of nurses and aides. At this point, Beth was wondering if I was in transition yet, and I described my contractions and pain, and I asked (begged) her if I could please start to labor in the tub. Beth explained that I had to be at least 4 cm dilated to get into the tub, since the warm, soothing water might slow down labor. She asked me if I wanted to “be checked” (i.e. was I ready for a vaginal exam). I responded by vomiting all over the floor in front of her. I guess this lovely donation to Beth was an indication to her that I was further along than she thought. Beth checked me and I was about 5 cm. She gave me the okay to get into the tub! Hooray!

Also at this point the volunteer doula arrived. She was very young and had no children of her own, and at first I was nervous that because of her lack of personal experience she wouldn’t be of much help. But she WAS helpful, because she gave my poor, tired husband a break, and gave me great leg and back massages, and helped me move around and get more comfortable, all while bending over the rim of the tub. Her back must have really hurt the next day…

Sweet, lovely Tub Goddess I love you I love you I love you! That is what I was thinking when I was floating in the water. I cannot tell the reader how much I LOVED THAT TUB. I had more control, less pain, and more rest in the tub than any position outside the tub. The best relief was when I would get on my hands and knees inside the tub. But after about an hour and a half, I was in severe pain. My contractions, if I had to describe them, felt light a rod of lightening was shooting through my body. I also felt the urge to push, and at my request, Beth checked me again (she actually reached down and checked me while I was in the tub). I was already 10 cm and I could reach up myself and feel the baby’s head. She was not crowning yet, but I only needed about an inch of my finger inside me before I ran into her head. Beth said I could go ahead and push with the contractions. For the next few hours I pushed through my contractions while floating in the tub.

Much earlier all the staff told me that while I may push in the tub, I may not deliver the baby in the tub. They told me that I would have to stand up or get out for that part, because the UCSD birthing center is not licensed for water births. This was very disappointing indeed, and I stayed in the tub until what I thought was the last minute. My husband was begging me to come out of there, and I could tell by the looks of all the staff members that they also would prefer if I would come out. So very, very reluctantly and with much persuasion I climbed out.

At this point the baby was supposedly almost out. The midwife Beth, the nurse, and my husband all told me they could see a lot of the baby’s head and that I was only a few pushes away. They were not lying, but later it turned out my babies hands were by her head…this impeded her from coming out “with just a few more pushes.” Instead, I PUSHED AND PUSHED for a few more hours outside he tub. The last 45 minutes were the worst. She was stuck like you wouldn’t believe. I tried EVERYTHING. I got on the bed and squatted, holding the bed posts. I sat on a “birthing stool” (a supported squat basically). I tried it on my hands and knees, I tried it on my back, I tried it on my side, I even tried sitting on the toilet. She would not come out. After a long time, the midwife had to notify the resident (doctor). The baby’s heart beat was fine, and I was fine, but they were worried because she had been stuck so long with most of her head just sitting right on the verge of delivery. Then they even called the director of the midwifery program at UCSD. She came in the room, and I had about 6 people looking at me now, and all of them kept telling me just to “push harder” and “she’ll be out with the next push for sure.” At this point I was SOOO super frustrated. All along I had been pushing with all my might. I was giving it my all, and I was exhausted. I cried and said, “you all have been telling me that for the last hour she’ll be out in another push!” But my husband reassured me that it really did look like that for the past hour. He has seen lots of deliveries and said that even he thought she would pop out any minute. I trusted my husband, so I pushed on…

But after some point I started to give up inside. I begged for an episiotomy. I even said the F word (no, not that reader, I mean Forceps…), I was so upset I was asking them to “cut her out of me, anything to stop the pain.” My perineum was on fire, and it was the “ring of fire” that some women tell you about. It was awful. The nurses were putting warm cloths on my perineum, and the midwife Beth was massaging me and trying to support me. Meanwhile, my contractions had faded to barely anything… they were not the once forceful uterine waves that were helping to expel my baby. I could barely feel them. I told Beth that I couldn’t feel any more contractions. She then told me that I was just going to have to push on my own every 5 minutes.

This went on a bit more, I pushed and pushed. I was in tears, and on the verge of an episiotomy. Beth and the midwife director agreed it needed to come to that. Beth was drawing up the lidocaine to numb me before she cut, even injected it. Then, my husband’s cell phone rang. It was my own mother. I heard her talking to my husband. She said she just arrived at the airport (she flew in from Nebraska) and wanted to know how to get to the hospital. I was angry and frustrated and yelled at my husband to get off the phone and “TELL HER TO TAKE A TAXI”. And with those words, backed with anger, frustration, fear, and pure exasperation, I gave it one more shot, and I pushed my baby out! Beth the midwife caught my baby girl and placed her wet, warm body on my belly. We both began to cry. She was the most beautiful thing I have seen in my life, and it was and is the best moment in my life. My husband cried and kissed me, and we were all glowing with love and bliss. Later my mom arrived and I told her how she inspired me to push my baby out. My husband, new daughter and I spent one that night in the birthing center all in the same big bed, exhausted but grateful and happy. We treated the staff to take-out dinner and celebrated the birth of our first child. Later that night, I could here screaming and moaning from the room next door. I smiled to myself, and sent the woman positive thoughts, and kissed my daughter on her head good night.

Jillian's stats: Born 2:35 pm on Tuesday, February 17th. 7 lbs 7 oz, 21 inches. Unmedicated vag delivery.

Olive's Birth Story....A Homebirth VBAC

2009-02-23T21:35:00.000-08:00

Sharon's Birth experience is truly inspiring, empowering and amazing! The amount of will and determination is absolutely insurmountable! If Sharon can labor for 86 hours (that's not a typo) and naturally birth her baby, all the while dealing with cevical lip....anyone can do it!!!! Sharon, you really do have a "Proven Pelvis" and are a Powerful Birth Warrior!

As I sit down to write out my birth story, I feel like I’m embarking on the task of writing the never-ending story, as many times during my birth I wondered if there would ever be an end. It has been a little over 3 weeks, and I’m finally sitting down to write this out because I am already forgetting the details. I think this is Mother Nature’s way of ensuring that our species proliferates…only by forgetting the nitty gritty details of challenging labors can women ever think about birthing again. In fact, in the midst of labor I told Phil we would never have another child; yet within days of Olive’s birth, I decided that I would definitely do this again. After all, it would have to be easier and shorter next time, right?

So, on Friday night around 9pm, I started to notice my contractions were coming on moderately strong and were consistently 10 minutes apart. I had been having contractions on and off that entire weekend (and milder ones for about a month prior) but this time they didn’t go away. I tried to go to bed with Phil around 11pm but the contractions kept waking me up. So, I spent most of the night snuggled with Buttercup on the couch, getting up every 10 minutes to breathe through my contractions. At 2am, I called my mom to start the drive down from LA. I figured we were definitely having our baby soon and wanted to make sure she got here in time to help care for Annika (my two year old daughter) during labor. It took her 4 hours to get here in the pouring rain! In the morning, I called Vickii (my midwife) and told her what I was experiencing. I chose to have homebirth with a midwife this time around. She offered to have Daryne’e (her apprentice) come over and check me out. Later that morning, Daryne’e came over and determined that I was 3cm dilated. I was a bit disappointed that it was only 3, but happy to realize that it was already more than I had ever dilated with Annika. Phil told her that I seemed to be having back labor, since I had been asking him to push into my lower back, applying counter-pressure, during many of my contractions. During the exam she confirmed that Olive was posterior and had me lay in several positions to help move her. I lay on my side with my knee hiked up as high as I could get it, and had to remain in that position for 20 minutes, then the same on the other side. She also suggested climbing stairs two at a time which I did later that day. Most of the day my contractions were relatively minor and coming about every 8-12 minutes. By evening, they started ramping up again, both in frequency and intensity. I could not get to sleep Monday night because the contractions were coming on strong, and they eventually got to 2-3 minutes apart for hours. Sometime during the night, I had Phil set up the pool and I spent several hours laboring in it, which felt wonderful. The back pain I was experiencing was growing painfully worse, but it seemed to help when Phil would apply counter-pressure. I frequently had to wake him in the night so that he could help me get through a contraction. After strong, close contractions for hours, we decided to call Vickii as I was sure we were getting close.

Vickii and Daryne’e arrived early Tuesday morning. Daryne’e’s car broke down on her way, so her brother had to pick her up and bring her over. The rain was coming down hard, so Phil invited him to wait it out in our house. Annika was quite surprised to wake up in the morning and see all these guests in her home! When Vickii had been on her way, Phil and I had discussed how far dilated I must be and how close we were to having our baby. We were discussing dates and decided that day, December 16, would be a fine day to have a baby. I told Phil that my biggest fear was that I’d only be 5 cm dilated and told him I would cry if it were true. Sure enough, I was checked and turned out to be 4.5 cm dilated! Oy, 15 hours had passed since my last check and I had only progressed by 1.5 cm! I was so devastated, as I was already so exhausted and had experienced such strong contractions, I couldn’t imagine it getting much worse but knew it had to being that I was only halfway there. The midwives hung around for a little while, then I asked if they planned to stay until the baby came. They said it was up to me, that they would do whatever I felt most comfortable with. Knowing that I was not even halfway to pushing time, I sadly told them they could go. Phil was a great motivator and worked so tirelessly to keep me thinking positively. The good news was that I was progressing, however slowly. But the better news was that the baby had moved into an occipital position, out of the posterior one…though unfortunately the back labor did not go away. The midwives had encouraged us to get out of the house and walk around so we took my mom and Annika and headed out to the mall (indoor mall, since it was still storming). Annika and her Safta enjoyed running around and playing, while Phil and I slowly walked around. I was back to slowed down, less strong contractions. When I felt one coming on, I moved to stand by a store window and breathed through it so as not to stand out and look strange to the nearby shoppers. Later that evening, the contractions started intensifying again. I spent many hours of the night alternating between the pool, hot showers and bouncing on the birth ball. Phil was up with me most of the night, preparing food for me and rubbing/pushing my back. Thankfully Daryne’e had shown him how to use one of Annika’s rubber bouncy balls to apply pressure to my back so that his hands had a bit of a break (I wanted him to push so hard that he was losing feeling in his hands!). At one point, I remember we went and sat in the living room with the French doors open so I could hear/smell the rain pouring down. I was on the birth ball and Phil was behind me, pushing into my back. Phil was such a great cheerleader. There were moments during labor that I felt hopeless and ready to throw in the towel. He kept reminding me of the reasons we chose this path, telling me how well my body was working and how close we were getting, and what a good job I was doing. I am so lucky to have this man in my life! Later he admitted that he had experienced his own moments of weakness and doubt, but thankfully he never revealed them to me during the labor. At one point, I had even asked him if we could just go to the hospital for a few hours, so that I could get an epidural and feel some relief. I promised that I just needed a few hours and then we could go home. I had also made some mentions of how easy it might be to drive to the hospital and get this baby cut out of me and have this labor business be over with! Thankfully he never let me get too caught up in these fantasies and got me back on track.

On Wednesday morning, we decided to send Annika out for the day with her Safta and to get ourselves out of the house as well. We went to a nice local restaurant that we had been wanting to try for a long time. On our way in, I told Phil I was nervous about experiencing contractions while in a restaurant. I told him that we should ask for a secluded table away from other diners. At this point, my contractions had again slowed, but they still required my concentrated breathing and relaxation and they were coming about every 10 minutes. As we walked in, I was relieved to see that the restaurant was practically empty, except for one table of women. Though the owner was walking us to the opposite, very empty side of the restaurant, Phil decided to say ‘Can we please sit away from other diners? My wife is in labor’. The owner gave a very petrified glance and me and begged, “Please don’t have it here.” Thankfully we had a very quirky waitress that didn’t even notice my ‘strange’ behavior. I ate a hearty steak for lunch, Phil thought it would give me good protein energy for my endless labor. After lunch we headed to the mall again. We walked around quite a bit and even bought a cute pair of shoes for Annika. The mall was crowded with holiday shoppers, but no one really seemed to notice me. At one point, I was leaning over a banister and asked Phil if it would look inappropriate to have him push against my lower back for a contraction, as they were coming on hard again. He did it and I lost interest in whether we would look strange. Things were intensifying, so I asked if we could head home. Late in the evening, my contractions were strong and close together. I was feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, not sure I could survive another night of intense labor to only watch the sun rise the following day, still pregnant and in pain. I finally decided that we had to call the midwives again, knowing that I needed their support and had to make something happen soon. I really wasn’t sure how much longer I could do this, as I hadn’t slept in days and my body was exhausted. That evening my dad was over, which was strange because my mom was here too. They were cordial, thankfully, and my dad pitched in by massaging me and pushing my back. In fact, I had trained everyone in the house (Phil, mom, dad, midwives) on how I needed the counter-pressure applied, so that as soon as a contraction came on, I assumed a leaning forward position and demanded that someone ‘push my back!’. Daryne’e came over late in the evening with her partner midwife, Sara. I recognized Sara from a ‘meet the midwives’ event that ICAN (The International Cesarean Awareness Network) had held over a year ago. I remember that I had liked her when I met her at that time. Daryne’e and Sara took action, ordering my dad and Annat to leave and my mom to go to bed. They wanted me to get focused and relaxed. Over the course of the night, they alternately massaged and coached me. I was only 5-6 cm dilated when they arrived, which was horribly disappointing. They promised me that my body was doing its work and encouraged me to work through the contractions lying on my side, which was incredibly painful. They said that the more painful contractions were doing the most work, and tried to get me to relax and give in to them.

At around 2am, I was on my knees leaning on the bed with Daryne’e applying my back pressure and Phil talking to me from the bed. During my contraction, my water broke and when I looked up, Vickii hopped on to the bed. I was so relieved to see her there and to feel my water breaking. I figured finally things would get moving. A few hours later I was checked and was 7-8 cm dilated. I remember questioning them on the 7-8…am I 7 or 8? Am I really closer to 7 but you don’t want to make me feel bad so you say 7-8? I was so worn down and really couldn’t imagine why my body was working so slowly. However, during the entire time the midwives and Phil reminded me that my body was working and my baby was coming. I told myself that this had to end sometime, I couldn’t be pregnant and in labor forever. In the wee hours of the morning I started feeling overwhelming urges to push and started doing so for a while. Vickii checked me and said I was around 8-9 cm dilated but that I had a cervical lip and that my cervix and the baby’s head were swelling due to my pushing. She wanted me to lie down on alternating sides for 30 minutes each and stop pushing. That was the longest hour of my life and I swore they were not watching the time carefully. It was so hard to lay there while my body felt like it was being torn apart and to not push when that’s all I wanted to do. Most of the night the midwives were placing drops of herbs and homeopathic tablets under my tongue. At one point while lying on the bed, I had the tens unit (electrodes) on my lower back, acupuncture needles throughout my body, and 2 midwives and Phil massaging me and encouraging me. Sara talked to me about imagining my cervix opening and wanted me to chant ‘ooooopen’ during my contractions. Phil believes this meditation was a real turning point in my labor and says that he finally saw me physically relaxing and giving in to the birth. It was so hard, I am almost in tears remembering these moments. Vickii even had Phil pour me a shot of rum to help me relax. Towards the end, I shouted that I wanted to push so badly and Vickii notified me that I already was pushing. Apparently I didn’t realize that even as I tried to fight it, I was still pushing. I just couldn’t control it. I had been shouting other things throughout this endeavor, some obscenities and some announcements about how much pain I was in. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t woken Annika. Finally, a chance at some relief, Vickii offered me something to take the edge off my back pain. She wanted me to be able to focus my energy more on dilating and less on fighting the back labor. She said she could give me 4 injections of sterile water in my lower back. Vickii said that different women have different reactions to this, some find the pain goes away while others feel no difference. Her warning was that with each injection I would feel intense burning for 30-45 seconds. I figured nothing could hurt more than my contractions and I had nothing to lose but some pain. The shots certainly burned, but nothing compared to the other back pain and shortly thereafter I felt some relief from the torture and was able to put more of my energy towards opening up. After lying down for a while, I went out to the living room to rock on the birth ball and have Vickii pushing on my back. The midwives had sent Phil to go eat, shower and sleep. My mom was sleeping on the couch when I got to the living room. I was so jealous of the sleepers! At various times in the night, I saw midwives, Phil and my mom sleeping all over the house. I remember thinking how lucky they were to have still bodies, I couldn’t imagine feeling nothing in my body and I wanted to so badly. After the birth ball, Vickii said I should take a shower and then she wanted me to get outside and walk around in the back yard (I believe it was early morning). In the shower, the urge to push got the best of me. I ended up on my hands and knees pushing, and it hurt but felt so relieving at the same time. I got out of the shower and kept getting down and pushing with every contraction. At this point, I think Vickii realized that the plans of delaying my pushing wouldn’t work much longer and that I was really worn down. She asked me if I was ready to do some hard work and I said ‘bring it on’. She said we were going to do something unconventional, some ‘assisted pushing’. Basically, I still had a cervical lip and she wanted to help me push past it. I squatted on the floor with Sara behind me, supporting me. Vickii was in front of me and had her fingers inside me, feeling through my contractions. She said that I was moving the baby well while I pushed and that I could probably get her past the lip. She was using her fingers to guide my pushing so that I pushed effectively in the right direction to get her moving down. Daryne’e was next to us, wiping my face and giving me drinks of water and snacks. At some point, Vickii asked if she could make a call and get an energy circle started. Again, I said ‘bring it on’. When she left the room for a moment, I turned to Daryne’e and admitted that I had no idea what an energy circle was, but that I was open to anything they thought might help. I later learned that an energy circle consists of people calling each other like a phone tree, and sending positive energy and thoughts my way. Shortly after the circle got started, I was on the bed, pushing on my own and Olive began to crown. I couldn’t believe I was finally here, about to meet my baby. I think all the midwives were surprised at how quickly things were moving, as Daryne’e suddenly went running out to wake Phil. Poor guy, woken out of a deep sleep and told that it was ‘go time’ he figured we were about to start pushing and that he’d be back on counter-pressure duty. Instead, he walked into the room, still rubbing his eyes and found me there with the baby starting to come out! I was given a mirror to look down and see her and suddenly it was all so real and so close. I asked if I could move on to my hands and knees (I had been on my side with Sara supporting my leg). It was amazing how my body took over and I just pushed instinctually. I reached down and felt her several times and knew she was almost here. Suddenly I had renewed energy and knew I could do anything. Once I pushed her head out, they had me slow down and push gently to get the rest of her body out. I immediately flipped onto my back and my sweet and beautiful baby Olive was placed on my stomach. She was working to release the fluid out of her throat, and in a few minutes was wailing. It was a glorious moment. I did it! My body rocks. 86 hours of labor and I vaginally delivered my baby! Later, while being sutured, I asked if my cesarean would be considered for future pregnancies even though I had just successfully VBACed. Sara assured me that I had a ‘proven pelvis’ now. Vickii also said I had a ‘perineum of steel’. I need to get these things printed on bumper stickers for my car!

It was amazing to have my sweet, new tiny baby laying on my chest. She was so amazingly beautiful and perfect. She started nursing within about half an hour and did so like a champ. We quickly called my mom and told her to come home. Apparently she and Annika had just bought ice cream which my mom literally dropped when she got the call. Annika seemed a bit shocked and overwhelmed by what she saw when she came home (imagine going out for ice cream, and coming home to find a bunch of people in your parents’ room and this new bloody/slimy creature on your mom’s chest!). However, by evening she was holding her baby sister and admiring her tiny parts. Annika has turned out to be an incredible big sister who loves to hold Olive and help with her (she helps change her diapers, brings her blankets and picks out clothes for her). Annika has been very gentle and loving with Olive, it is so sweet. She has also grown and matured so much recently. She is getting better at entertaining herself and seems more understanding when her needs cannot be immediately met because mommy is tending to Olive.

I am so blessed and so lucky to have had this incredible experience. And I can’t wait to do it again!!

Olive Page Trom
12/18/08
11:11am
7lbs 9 oz
21 inches

Sofia's birth

2009-02-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

For months my husband and I had been preparing for the arrival of our first child, we planned for a natural unmedicated childbirth as long as it was safe for her. We decided to take hypnobirthing classess with Jennifer and learned a great deal during the process. We practiced the breathing techniques and hypnosis almost every night and visualized the natural, healthy birth of our little girl until the day I went into labor.

On Jan 23rd at 4:00 am, three days after my due date, i woke up feeling really crampy. I soon realized that I was in labor, my contractions were lasting about a minute and they were betwen 8-10 minutes apart until about 8:00 am when they started getting stronger, longer and closer. I told my husband at about 7:30 am that I was having contractions, he planned on going to work for a few hours but five minutes after he left the house (around 8:30 am) my water broke. I called him and he turned around and we went to the hospital, I was admitted immediately. I was 3 cm dilated and my contractions were ~4 minutes apart. I was hooked up to the i.v. and the fetal monitor and was told that as soon as an acceptable baby heart pattern was establish I would be able to get up and walk around as I had requested in our birth plan. The nurse kept telling me that my contractions had a good pattern but the baby's heart rate was "flat" it was not going up and down with the contractions as they liked to see it. I was told that I couldn't get up until an acceptable heart pattern was established... hours passed and the contractions kept getting stronger and closer, I listened to the CD that we got in the hypnobirthing class and with my husbands coaching kept breathing through every contraction. I dilated up to 6 cm's but the baby's heart rate never reached the pattern that they wanted to see so I was not able to walk around. Once I reached 6 cm's I stayed there for about 3 hrs, at that time the Dr. advised that we get the epidural and pitocin as the baby's heart rate had started dropping after each contraction. We asked for some time to think about it and after much thought and about 12 hours of labor we agreed to the epidural and pitocin however the baby's heart rate started dropping even more once I got the medications, at that time the Dr. recommended a C section as I had only dilated one more cm since getting the medication and the Dr. was concerned about the dropping heart rate. They believed she had the chord wrapped around somewhere but were unable to tell where... after discussing our options we agreed to having the C section. Sofia was born at 7:49 pm, weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and was 21 in long. She had the chord wrapped around her neck and that's why her heart rate kept dropping.

Even though we could not have the natural birth we had hoped for, we are grateful that our daughter was delivered safely and healthy. I was able to use all of the techniques that I learned in our prenatal yoga class with Shelley and in Jennifer's hypnobirthing class while I was in labor, during the surgery and continue using the breathing techniques now when Sofia is being fussy. It helps me stay calm and calm her down too :)

Thank you Shelley for your guidance during the classes and for recommending Jennifer, we look forward to hearing more about the postpartum and baby and me classes.

Sahana's Birth Story

2008-12-16T14:27:00.001-08:00

Sometimes a c-section is necessary, even with the most conscientious birthing mothers. Sri and Hari were well prepared to deliver Sahana naturally and vaginally, but baby Sahana wanted it differently! It is very touching and inspiring the way Sri and Hari, with tremendous wisdom and grace, rolled with the punches, and very consciously and lovingly birthed their baby into the world.

When I was pregnant I had many people tell me that I should be ready to accept any situation I am faced with during labor and true to their advice I ended up having to accept the unexpected. My labor started early morning on 9/12 with surges every 5-6 minutes lasting about a minute each. The intensity increased about every 3-4 hours and the intervals and duration remained the same, however they were manageable and I was able to go about my daily routine, take a walk and even several naps. At around 1.30 AM on 9/13 the surges were pretty intense and 3 minutes apart so we decided to go to the hospital.

At the triage room they gave us the much dreaded news that I was only 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced, which was exactly what I was a week earlier. Of course I was disappointed but remained calm. I was hooked onto the baby monitor for routine monitoring and was told that I will be asked to walk for 2 hours following the monitoring and will be checked again, and might be asked to go home if things had not progressed yet. But within a few minutes I had 3 nurses in the room, the baby's heart rate had dropped to 60 beats per minutes and had remained there for about 4 minutes, so they were watching me closely, and it dropped again in another 2 minutes. So the doctor was called in immediately and I was told that I might need a C-section as the baby was under stress. The doctor rushed in within 5 minutes and the heart beat had dropped twice in the meantime. The doctor said we did not have a choice but to go for a C-section. We asked for a few minutes to discuss and the doctor agreed, but she rushed back into the room within a minute saying the heart rate had dropped again and the situation was getting pretty serious. By now, we were convinced that the reason for the C-section was genuine and consented.

Sahana was bought into the world at 3.57 PM and she had ingested quite a bit of the meconium. But after suctioning all her vitals returned to normal. We also found out after a pathology test that 15% of my placenta was compromised. So, it was either the ingested meconium or the compromised placenta that had caused her to not tolerate labor. We are very thankful to God for having sent us to the hospital at the right time. I was indeed disappointed that things turned out this way after having an absolutely normal pregnancy and after having prepared so much for a natural delivery, but I am now convinced that it is the end result that matters and am very happy that we have a healthy baby in our hands now.

While I was pregnant I made it a point to attend Shelley's prenatal yoga classes every week. I loved her classes because it gave me lot of confidence along with a sense of well being and made me cherish my pregnancy. All the 'asanas' that we did in class took off most of the usual pregnancy pains and made me relax and connect with my baby. I used to look forward to hearing her assuring and comforting words especially during the 'savasana'. In addition I also attended Carol Yeh Garner's hypnobirthing classes which also came in very handy especially during the last few weeks when sleep evaded me. The relaxation CD that she gave me helped me go into deep slumber whenever I listened to it. In addition I used a lot of the hypnobirthing breathing techniques during my 15 hour labor and I was even able to take a couple of naps while listening to the CD. I also used the CD on our way to the hospital when the surges were pretty intense. Finally, I will never forget this one hypnobirthing affirmation that helped me immensely, when things changed drastically at the hospital...'I am prepared to calmly meet whatever turn my birthing takes.'

Thank you very much Shelley, for all your support and guidance during my pregnancy and for the labor vibes that the class and you had sent me on 9/13. I am looking forward to your postpartum classes that you plan to start soon.

Birth Story for Naveen

2008-11-30T07:41:00.000-08:00

Naveen - 7 months:

Many of you have probably heard the quote that a woman will spend more time researching what car to buy than how she will give birth. I think the reason for that is partly because in most instances, women have been taught to fear labor and why spend an extraordinary amount of time confronting your fears when it might make you uncomfortable or require extra work? I know I at one time feared labor and birth. I did not have positive stories or experiences to draw from. My mother had difficult labors and all around me, people seemed to think that because of my very petite frame, I would have a difficult labor or one that ended in a c-section. But I knew I wanted to try for a natural birth. After a few close friends of mine (including Mylinh) pursued natural, drug free births and succeeded, I thought, why shouldn't I afford myself and my baby the opportunity to empower ourselves and to birth with awareness?

I started practicing yoga more than a year before becoming pregnant and loved it. Deciding to practice prenatal yoga was, therefore, the next logical step. I first learned about Shelley's prenatal yoga class from my friend Mylinh and decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed. During class, I felt that I was not only keeping my body strong and in shape, I was making time for me and my baby to bond. And from Shelley, I learned that if I worked hard toward preparing for a natural birth, my mind and body would be ready. The rest I would leave up to fate because of course, in any birth, you cannot completely control the outcome.

My husband and I decided to enroll in a specialized childbirth class and had heard many good things about the Birthing From Within (BFW) program from Shelley. But because my husband and I had decided to birth our baby in a hospital, I knew childbirth classes alone wouldn't be enough for me to prepare for natural birth. Until my 20 week ultrasound, I was a patient in a very large medical group that I just didn't feel right about. I knew I was receiving excellent medical care and I knew my baby was healthy. But the doctors never really talked to me; or asked me how I was doing; how was I eating; how I was feeling about labor and birth…It seemed so detached and empty. After speaking with several doulas, friends, and midwives in the community, they encouraged me to consider a home or midwife birth. When I indicated I still planned to birth at a hospital, they referred me to an obstetrician that birthed babies at Scripps Memorial in Encinitas, a "baby friendly" hospital as designated by the WHO. At 22 weeks, I decided to meet with this doctor. After that appointment, I knew he would look after me and my baby. I decided to transfer my medical files to his practice. My doctor was not only completely supportive of natural birthing, he was very knowledgeable and very experienced. Sure, I was a little uneasy to switch doctors half way through my pregnancy. But my doctor reassured me, encouraged me, and supported the decision my husband and I had made about natural birth. And I knew I had done the right thing by refusing to birth with doctors that up until that point did not spend very much time with me at any given appointment or support natural birthing.

During my last trimester, my BFW course began and my husband and I started to meet with my mentor once a week for the next month. During BFW, I dug down deep into my heart and mind and learned to let go the fears I associated with labor. We also practiced labor coping techniques and educated ourselves about birthing in hospitals including how to avoid medical interventions, and explored birth through art and reflection.

Before I knew it, my due date of March 5th was quickly approaching. About 3 weeks before the due date, I started on acupuncture treatments to prepare my body for labor and birth on the advice of a friend. Then on the evening of March 4th, I met with Shelley for a very gentle yoga session. The entire class all I could think about was how tired I was of being pregnant. At the end of class, during savasana, I said to my baby in silence "It's ok, you can come out now." Well, about two hours later around 8pm, the first signs of labor began. I called my doctor and I could hear the excitement in his voice. I was excited too! But contractions had not started so all my husband and I could do was wait. I went to bed early and I remember going to bed with my little dog at my feet and my husband reading his book by my side knowing this was the beginning of a new era in my life. I went to sleep but it was a restless sleep because the contractions had started. But they were not so strong that I couldn't rest in between them. And Shelley had told me to try and sleep and rest in between the contractions, and so I did.

My husband later told me as I rested, he could feel my stomach tightening as the contractions got stronger. Around 2:00 a.m., I could not lie down comfortably and knew that I had to remain upright to allow my baby to make his way down. I got into the shower and let the warm water run down my back as I swayed my hips back and forth to help my baby continue on his journey. The hot water was very soothing and eased the discomfort brought on by the contractions. I must have gone in and out of the shower for about two hours because by 4:00 a.m., I told my husband I was going to rest in our family room. He and my little dog came with me. I could tell my little dog was sensing that birth was near. She was so calm and remained close to us. Her little animal spirit knew birth was near and she was not afraid. I was not afraid either.

I rested on the couch and started using the coping techniques I learned in BFW and also, the vocal toning techniques Shelley taught us in yoga class to get through the contractions. Around 7:00 am, my husband called my doctor and I called my doula. I decided to labor at home for a while longer as I was feeling good, coping well, and could feel my baby moving. I talked to my doula a few more times that morning. She reminded me to drink fluids and stay hydrated but it was becoming harder to drink. My husband busied himself by making breakfast and baking cookies for the labor nurses at the hospital. I remember walking around the kitchen and sometimes, going back to the shower. Around 10:00 am, I told my doula to come to my house and labor with me but she believed that I was still in the early stages of labor. So, I continued to walk when I could, but now had to lean on my husband during contractions, and use vocal toning and the yoga chants from Shelley's class to keep my voice low and get through the contractions. I remained calm and open. I was not irritable or mad and I knew I had to remain relaxed and patient. I recall my husband noticing and telling me that the contractions seemed stronger with fewer breaks in between. I had noticed it too.

Around 11:15 am, I went to the bathroom and noticed some bleeding. It scared me at first because I didn't know if that was normal or not. I told my husband it might be time to go to the hospital. He called the doctor to tell him what was happening. Then, my doula walked through the front door carrying groceries and other provisions to nourish me during labor. I saw her and I immediately leaned up against her during a very strong contraction. I could hardly stand. She held me up and soothed my back. I told her I was scared and that it was time to go to the hospital. She remained calm and reassured me. My husband and my doula led me to the car, stopping at times to let a contraction pass. As I walked into the garage, my little dog tried to sneak by me and get into the car. But sadly, I had to leave her home. How I wished she could come with me to the hospital. I settled myself into the car and off we went with my doula following in her car behind us.

I think driving to the hospital was the hardest part of my labor because I had to sit down. And believe me, sitting and lying down on my back was by far the most uncomfortable way to labor. How could anyone ask a woman to labor that way is beyond me! The discomfort became very strong and I told my husband that I had changed my mind and wanted medicine once we got to the hospital. He didn't respond because he knew what I wanted. He was my rock and he remained strong for me and drove in great earnest.

We arrived at the hospital and I walked very slowly with my husband and my doula into the delivery ward. The nurses at the station handed me a form to sign. Being a lawyer, I took my time reading the form very carefully, stopping once or twice to let a contraction pass. (I know, I'm crazy.) I signed in at 12:15 p.m. and was immediately taken to a L&D room. Well, for some reason, after I changed into my gown I had to move to another room. To be honest, I don't really recall how I got from the first room to the second room. Once I settled into the second room, my labor nurse attached the fetal monitor to check the baby's heart rate and checked my progress. She said that I was at 7cm already and I remember her saying, this baby is coming.

The rest of my labor was a bit of a blur to me. I remember my doula giving me water and honey to keep up my strength. I remember my doctor walking into the room and calmly speaking to me and putting his hand on my forehead. I remember my doula getting me to lean on a birthing ball and helping me through what had become very strong contractions. I told her I didn't think I could do this (birth) and she said, "you don't have to do anything, let your body do everything." She was right! My body knew what to do. So I relaxed and I recall my water breaking shortly before it came time to push. When it came time to push, my doctor had me lie on my right side and I started pushing. After a few pushes, the doctor allowed me to rest. I worked through a few pushes all on my own with no instruction or direction. The doctor then had me lie on my left side and push some more.

I continued to push on my side with some direction from my doctor and everyone was sitting with me on the bed with me when suddenly, the bed fell down a few inches. All the weight must have made the bed give way. And then, I laughed! It is amazing how you laugh at the strangest times. My husband told me it lightened up the mood in the room a bit as things were becoming intense in the moments before my baby's dawn.

My doctor kept telling me he could see my baby and that he was almost here. After some guidance from my doctor, hand holding with my doula and husband, and determination, I felt a warm sensation leaving my body and my son was born at 2:47 p.m. (on his due date.) He cried out loud and the doctor placed him on my chest. I remember telling my husband that our son was a gift from my husband's father who sadly passed away years before. And my son is a gift; a miracle that came from a beautiful place that we can only imagine in our dreams.

Some people have said to me it was luck that I had an intervention free birth, luck that I didn't have a c-section, or that I have a high pain tolerance. Looking back on my son's birth now, I realize how wrong those people are --- it was because of the love and support of my husband, my BFW mentor, my doula, my friends, and of course Shelley -- that this birth was possible. I am a stronger person today because of this experience. I was blessed with a beautiful birth and a beautiful child. There was no overriding fear in this birth, no horrible pains, no scary doctors, no strange medicines….just birth, love, and life.

Welcome Yoga Babies!

2008-11-29T22:22:00.000-08:00

Tanya's Baby Boy

"Bloopy" (Temporary name until naming ceremony)

Born two weeks early.

November 24th at 5:20 am, 5 lbs 12 oz

Julie's Baby Boy

Ryder

Born eight days early.

November 12th at 5:20 am, 8lbs 7oz, 20"

Lauren's Baby Boy

Sean
Unmedicated, vaginal birth!

November 15th at 5:38am,

11lbs 4oz, 23"

Laxshmi's Baby Girl

Vibha

October 19th

Sri's Baby Girl

Sahana

September 12th

Floor's Baby Girl

Arwen
Born two weeks late.

Vaginal, breech birth with epidural.

23 hours from first contraction to delivery,

first 13 hours spent at home.

September 6th at 2:37am, 8lbs 3oz

Mayra's Baby Girl

Valentina

August 28th, 8lbs 2oz, 20"

Anne's Baby Girl

Mona

July 27th, 6lbs 13 oz, 48cm

Letting Go

2008-10-14T00:21:00.000-07:00

“Birth takes place in the midst of a profound ‘Letting Go.’”
--Janice Clairfield

Letting go in birth requires a tremendous amount of trust. Trust in your body, trust in your birth attendants, trust in your partner, trust in a divine force. This deep level of trust creates a sense of safety that will allow you surrender to the process. The more aware you are of your body and of your birthing choices, the better able you are to “let go” and let the natural process of childbirth unfold.

We live in a world where our minds dominate nearly all that we do. In the practice of yoga, the goal is to get the mind out of the way, and connect with our higher purpose. The way to do this is by focusing on the breath and staying deeply aware of how our body is receiving each pose. This is also true for childbirth. Connecting with our breath and trusting our body’s wisdom will help us manage the pain and remain present in the moment.

Labor is simply a series of contractions that ease open the mouth of your womb and push your baby out. Labor is not a time to engage the mind. Timing contractions and watching a clock or fetal monitor will interfere with the natural unfolding of childbirth. Once the mind takes over, we become preoccupied with doing it right, with what could happen in the near future rather than what is happening in the present. This is when fear settles in. Letting the mind go by focusing on the breath or vocal toning will empower you to listen to your body’s wisdom. “When you allow yourself to become immersed in labor, it is neither boring nor interesting. The very nature of labor dissolves ordinary boundaries of time and space. You and labor become one. Timing your labor requires remaining conscious-of-self rather than being-in-labor. Once your uterus knows it’s not being timed and watched, its performance anxiety will be relieved.” Pamela England, Birthing From Within

While in labor, let go of watching a clock, if you must time your contractions, let someone else do that job for you. Just ride the waves of each rush, one at a time, trusting that all is unfolding as it should. Practice “Letting Go” as you sit in meditation or hold a yoga pose. The more you consciously let your mind go during this time, the easier it will be for you when labor starts.

“In the end these things matter most:
How well did you love?
How fully did you love?
How deeply did you learn to let go?”
-The Buddha

Affirmation for Letting Go

I surrender to every rush and trust my body.

Embodying Peace During Pregnancy

2008-09-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

"One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve." -Albert Schweitzer

The last week's classes have focused on cultivating peace. September 21st was International Peace Day (got to http://www.peaceoneday.org/) for more information.

Just by coming to yoga class you are cultivating peace in your heart. The act of yoga and meditation is creating peace in your body and mind on a deep cellular level. When we feel peaceful, we can consciously extend that feeling to our baby growing within, our families, our community, our country and the world.

Choosing to be consciously pregnant, to connect with your child on an emotional and spiritual level you are creating a nurturing and peaceful environment for your child to develop. Every thought, emotion and action you take simultaneously affects the consciousness of your baby. By aligning your thoughts with your highest good, with the divine, you are also raising the consciousness of your unborn baby.

“In yoga tradition it is said that through spiritual elevation and conscious pregnancy women can produce children that are saints, peace-makers, and sages…and thereby the whole world is touched in ways it sorely needs.” (Janine Parvati) So…never underestimate the power of your child to change the world!

If we open ourselves to the grace flowing within during pregnancy, it can be a time of great spiritual transformation. Creating life within is such a divine blessing, when we tap into the overflowing source of spiritual wisdom and unity with all of life, it can be a catalyst for change, personal growth and peace in a woman’s life.

Steps to Peace

Ask yourself how you can create more peace in your life. Maybe it’s to be more forgiving, less reactionary, heal past wounds, etc. Create in intention for yourself and your baby to cultivate more of these peaceful qualities in your life.

Next reflect where peace is needed most in the world. What do you feel most affected by when you watch the news or read the paper? The war…the environmental destruction…poverty…Aids? As you cultivate peace in your heart, send this energy to the cause that you feel strongly about.

Lastly, reflect on how becoming a mother teaches us peace. You are about to embark on a lifetime of selfless service to another human being. As we love and care for this life we’ve just created, our hearts open to a whole new level of love and service. Our job as women on this planet is to extend this unconditional love and heartfelt service to all of humanity.

"What a child learns in the womb cannot be learned on Earth."
-Yogi Bhajan

Honoring Trust

2008-09-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

Today's class theme was about Trust.

Hatha – Sanskrit word meaning Ha=(Effort/Sun) Tha=(Surrender/Moon)
Yoga- Sanskrit word meaning to yoke
Hatha Yoga is “yoking” or “Uniting Effort with Surrender”

Each class I teach has a mental, physical and spiritual component to it that ties into yoga and birth. Here is information from the theme of today's class:

Allowing your body to let go and birth naturally requires a tremendous amount of trust. Trust in your body, trust in your birth attendants, trust in your partner, trust in a divine force. The more aware you are of your body and of your birthing choices, the better able you are to “let go” and let the natural process of childbirth unfold.

We live in a world where our minds dominate nearly all that we do. In the practice of yoga, the goal is to get the mind out of the way, and connect with our higher purpose. The way to do this is by focusing on the breath and staying deeply aware of how our body is receiving each pose. This is also true for childbirth. Connecting with our breath and trusting our body’s wisdom will help us manage the pain and remain present in the moment.

Questioning the path you take is very natural, it’s part of the deep soul searching that leads you to your truth. If you listen to your heart and align your birthing choices with what feels right for you, you are able to release fears and feel confident that your birth experience will be a positive one. This confidence must first be grounded in trust. The trust and confidence that you feel leads to a sense of security. Trust is very liberating, it leads to surrender. When you are able to surrender in labor, your body will naturally guide you along the way to the next level. Consciously trusting the choices you have made and preparations you have undertaken will free you up so that you can experience childbirth as a beautiful right of passage for yourself and baby.
Trust also means accepting the unknown element of childbirth and realizing that whatever the outcome, natural birth or not, it's all divine.

Check to make sure that you feel trust in all of these areas:

¨ Trust in yourself, that you have adequately prepared your mind, body and soul for birth.
¨ Trust in your birth partner and birth attendants. You feel confident that they also honor and support the natural process of birth. Also, trust in their ability to intervene when appropriate.
¨ Trust in your body’s natural wisdom.
¨ Trust your internal power.
¨ Trust in a Divine Force flowing through you and baby.

Once you are able to embrace trust on every level you will have the confidence and courage to let your mind go and allow the natural process of birth to unfold.

Affirmation

I surrender to each rush and trust my body’s wisdom.

I let go.

Daniel's Birth Story

2008-09-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

I was one of Shelley’s first prenatal yoga students, so it’s only fitting that I’m the first to post my birth story. My son was born August 1, 2007, and I was really happy with my birth experience, although there were some bumpy moments.

I knew pretty early in my pregnancy I wanted to have a natural birth. It was my first pregnancy, so I didn't really know if I would be able to handle it, but I did everything I could to work towards that goal. I did prenatal yoga, I switched to a midwife practice, I read books on natural birth, and I took the childbirth class geared toward natural birth. So, at my 38 week appointment, I was crushed to hear that because my baby was measuring “big”, I would need to be induced if I went over 40 weeks. I knew that it was still possible to have a natural birth if you are induced, but I also knew it was harder. And I feared one intervention could lead to another. I had to pick a date for my induction, because those spots filled up quickly. The thought of an induction was really stressful for me during that last week of my pregnancy. I had not been in any hurry for my baby to come. I figured he would come when he was ready. But I suddenly felt the pressure of time.

A couple of days later, on a Friday, I stayed late at work to clean out my desk and finish up some things. When I left that night, I told my baby he could come any time. Nothing happened that weekend, and I went into work on Monday. But I saw another midwife on Tuesday. She was actually Shelley’s midwife, so I felt like I could talk to her, and I told her my baby was measuring in the 75th percentile, and the doctors wanted to induce if I went over 40 weeks. She was supportive and said she didn’t think a 75th percentile baby was that big. She offered to check me and sweep my membranes. I had not been checked before that, and I had not wanted to have my membranes swept, but I felt if it could help things along and possibly avoid an induction, I was ok with it. To my surprise, I was 4cm dilated! She swept my membranes, told me she couldn’t believe I was not making a face as she was doing it, and that I’m probably one of those women. (I really hoped I was one of those women.) The midwife told me she didn’t think I would have to worry about an induction. It was a huge weight lifted.

That night, my husband and I went for a long walk and had frozen yogurt after dinner. The next morning (August 1), I woke up at 6am shaking with the chills. My husband took my temperature three times and it kept going up each time, from 97 to 98 to 99. My husband called the midwife on call, and because my temperature was only 99.1, she did not think I needed to come in. I went back to sleep for a little bit, until around 7am, when I felt a gush. I knew that my water had broken. All I wanted to do was sleep, though. I got back into bed and told my husband I felt really scared. My husband, who was a diligent student of the Bradley Method, recognized the second emotional sign post. He knew something was happening. He got up and quickly put all our stuff into a bag. (We had laid out everything but had not packed it yet.) He loaded up the car and came back to get me.

By the time we got to the hospital, the contractions were getting fairly uncomfortable. I had to stop a couple of times before we got to the hospital door. Although I was with the midwife practice, when we got to the hospital, the Birth Center was full, so we had to go to L&D. Our doula met us in L&D and told us that she told them we were coming, and they were preparing a room for us. Meanwhile, we had to wait in the waiting room. Apparently, everybody was giving birth that day.

The contractions were coming fairly frequently at this point. The doula was really helpful in getting me to breath through them. She was also really good about checking on our room. There was a guy in the waiting room with us, and I think he feared I would give birth right there, so he stepped out. When we got to our room, I changed into the gown, and got in bed. I remember, I curled up on my side and wanted to stay that way forever. The midwife on duty came to introduce herself and told me that she had another mother in labor, but after that, she’d come and check in on me. She checked me and told me I was 6 cm dilated. That was about 8:30am. She told me, “You’re about to experience the part that gives labor a bad name—transition.”

I had felt flushed even on the way to the hospital, but I didn’t really think anything of it, until my nurse informed me that I had a fever. They started an IV to get me fluids and put me on the fetal monitor. My doula offered me ice chips and kept a towel on my forehead to help lower my temperature. I think there were times when the baby’s heart rate dipped, and they had me change positions to see if that helped. But most of the time, I was on my side, and that’s how I wanted to stay. It’s funny, because I had imagined using all the things they had in the birthing center to help me through labor, like the birthing ball and the tub. The one time that the doula suggested I get on my hands and knees, I tried that position and immediately went back to lying on my side.

The doula encouraged me to vocalize, and the work we did in Shelley’s class definitely helped me know how to vocalize. At the time, I remember thinking the hallways of L&D were really quiet. I think I was the only person making a sound!

By about 10:30am or so, I told the doula I really wanted to push, and she told me not to yet. So, I kept having to breathe through the pressure and do anything but push. I think this was the worst part. Things were so intense everywhere, and there was no way to relieve the pressure. I was checked again, and I was 8cm. The doula informed me that I would probably have this baby by noon, so I kept watching the clock, waiting for noon!

Because I was only 8cm, I still couldn’t push, and there didn’t seem to be much of a break in between contractions. I just tried to stay as focused as possible. I thought the doula was really helpful during this time, because I would not have known that I shouldn’t push. She had me look in her eyes and just focus on breathing. She kept telling me to let my body do the work for me and to let the baby work his way down. At about 12:30pm or so, I was checked again, and I was fully dilated but the baby had not fully descended yet. I was told I could push when I experienced contractions, but I guess I wasn’t “formally” pushing yet. I was relieved that I could finally push, and I thought that would help to make me feel better, but it was still pretty uncomfortable. I think I “informally” pushed through a few contractions, when the nurse examined me and exclaimed, “Oh my God. You are a superwoman.” Apparently, she could see the baby’s head. She went to get the midwife.

The midwife arrived. They asked me to switch sides, because the baby’s heart rate was dropping again. I laid on my side, the doula held my leg, and my husband held my hand. I pushed a few times, and when the baby was crowning, the midwife told me to stop pushing so the head could come out slowly. I think he also had the cord wrapped around his neck, so the midwife had to unwrap it. I was surprised that the pushing wasn’t more methodical, like you see on TV. There was no counting or anything. I just pushed when I felt the urge. Fairly soon, the midwife said the baby was out to his belly button. From then, things happened pretty quickly. I remember feeling a gush, and then the midwife told me to open my gown so they could put the baby on me skin-to-skin. Next thing I know, this little creature was staring up at me with such a look of wonder in his eyes. Daniel was born at 1:41pm. I remember I kept saying, “Oh my God. Oh my God” over and over. My husband was kissing me and telling me that I did a great job.

In the end, I had the natural birth that I wanted. Even with all the stressful and seemly scary moments, I was really happy with my birth experience. I think I was also lucky, because given my fever, things could have gone very differently. I’m grateful to have had the support system I had. Before I got pregnant, my husband told me he could not stand the sight of blood and feared being in the birthing room, but in the end, he embraced my decision to have a natural birth, he committed to learning the Bradley Method, and he was with me the whole way. Getting a doula was the best decision I made during my pregnancy. I don’t think I could have done it without her. Neither my husband nor I knew what was going on, and I’m grateful for her experience and knowledge. She was an excellent support for my husband and me. My L&D nurse took such good care of me and never pushed any drugs or other intervention on me.

I believe prenatal yoga also contributed to my positive birth experience. Shelley’s class wasn’t just about exercising. It was really a time to focus on your baby, your strengths as a woman and what your body was capable of doing. When Shelley shared her experiences in pregnancy and childbirth, for me, that was just as important as the yoga. She was definitely my birth role model. While most people were telling me I was crazy to be thinking about having a natural birth, and why not use drugs, that’s what they are there for, I looked to Shelley, who had had three natural births. I thought if Shelley could do it three times, I certainly could do it once. Even if you don’t plan to have a natural birth, I think prenatal yoga is important to help keep your body and spirit strong and to prepare you for the birth experience.

Pregnancy and childbirth is a time when we learn about what we are capable of doing. I still remember the little chant we did in prenatal yoga while practicing warrior pose: “There’s no more powerful warrior than a woman giving birth to life.” It may feel funny to say at first, but the more I said it, the more I embraced it. I felt incredibly powerful holding my baby and knowing that I had given birth to him. And the funny thing is, that’s such a small moment in the journey. There’s so much more after you’ve given birth. It has been an incredibly awesome experience watching my baby change every day and grow into the person he’s meant to be.

The day he was born:Causing mischief a year later: