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| 2 days before the birth |
I still never gave up on hope that this baby would turn at the last minute. Maybe we could still have our beautiful natural Home Birth? I sometimes think that ignorance is bliss! Maybe if I did not know all the amazing benefits to both mom and baby from a natural childbirth, I would not care so much. But I DID know these things! The thought of my baby not entering the world the way he was intended to made my heart sad, but the thoughts of very real complications made my stomach turn. Can you image being in my situation?? I was so ready to birth this baby - I was so confident, I knew I could do it all by myself! And had he been head down, I could have done it unassisted!!
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As I mentioned before, the risks for a breech baby to born naturally are very high, for both baby and mother. Our baby was a Frank Breech, with both legs completely straight up, feet by the face. The little butt is much smaller then the head, so there not as much pressure on the cervix, would could lead to a very long labor. There is also a very good chance of cord prolapse, since again, the butt is smaller then the head and the cord could slip out first, compress and prevent blood flow to baby. Along with the risk of hip or clavicle dislocation and the chin getting stuck on the pelvic ring. These are the risks with any breech presentation. Fortunately, breech presentations make up only 3-5% of all births, so it is very uncommon. No one stays pregnant forever; the baby does come out eventually - but many times with serious injury. I would rather have a few minutes of intervention, that result in a lifetime of perfect health!
On Monday June 8th, I had my (last) midwife appointment. (I was 4 day past my "due date") I was totally effaced and about 1-2 cm dilated. I was waiting for "something" - and I don't really know what that "something" was - to happen. I was actually surprised when she told me how far I was already. For some reason, I thought I would have felt "more". I felt great! Comfortable, good energy and just ready! After our appointment, hubby and I took a long walk. The more we walked, the more I was starting the feel "things" - light contractions (more frequent and strong then Braxton-Hicks), and pressure. Remember how I said the mind is a very powerful thing. I believe that the confirmation by my midwife of my progress, the anticipation of meeting our baby and the fact that I had finally let go and let fate take it's course, had allowed labor to start.
I can remember that night as if it was yesterday. I clearly remember we had just moved into our new house. The bedroom had a soft glow to it, as I layed in bed and read. We received a call late that night from a good friend of ours that their baby had just been born. We had been pregnant at the same time, and surprisingly our babies were born just one day apart. I had a feeling that tomorrow could be the day, but did not want to get my hopes up. I slept very well that night.
The next day, Tuesday June 9th, Max had an appointment at the clinic. I was supposed to teach my Prenatal Fit class, but he insisted that I stay home and rest. I had light contractions all night, but still slept very well. They were now coming more frequent, about 30-40 minutes apart. And more intense. But I still felt good! I noticed a few bananas about to go bad on the counter, so I made a banana bread. The methodical actions of measuring, stirring and pouring relaxed me and made me feel grounded and earthy. As it baked, I sat down and mediated to my relaxation music, inhaling the sweet banana bread smell. By the time the bread was done, Max was on his way home, and the contractions were now 30 minutes apart. We packed up our bags, (and the bread!), and headed over for one last Chiropractic adjustment. In the half hour that I was there, I had two more contractions. We called our midwife, Kaleen, and told her we were heading over and to meet us at the hospital.
We got to the hospital and went to check in. What morons! They must have hired the most idiotic person to run the check-in desk. Here I am, clearly in labor, and she's asking me my name, address and last menstrual period! When do you think? 9 months ago!!! This was fortunately only one of the few things that bothered me about the hospital. One of the things I loved was that I was the only patient on the Labor & Delivery floor, so I had everyone full attention. And the banana bread helped too!
We went into a room. I had to strip down, put on a gown and they did a quick ultrasound. The baby was still breech. Kaleen just looked at me said, "It's not turning. We gotta get it out". Fine. The next few minutes were a blur. Before I knew it, I was being wheeled through the hallway to the OR. My sister had made it just in time to wish me good luck. In the OR, they sat me on this cold hard table, with the anesthesiologist ready to shove this giant needle in my back. I was freaking out! Where is my husband? Why was this all happening so fast? I'm not ready! I started to shake and cry. Kaleen held me and helped me breathe and focus through the epidural. That HURT! Then I layed down, covered with warm blankets. Suddenly, Max appeared at my side all gowned up. I didn't even recognize Dr. Boulting in his scrubs and mask. Before my brain even had a chance to process all that was going on, and the order of everything according to what I had read, Dr. Boulting said, "Here we are! Max, do you want to look?" "I don't know", Max hesitated. "Look!" I told him. "Come here. Look at your baby!", Dr. Boulting demanded, but in a loving way. He knew how important it was for us to be involved. He didn't want us to miss out on this. "It's Nolan! It's a boy!". Nolan was quickly brought around for me to see. Crying and bloody, he was perfect.
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| I love this picture, just before we touch for the first time outside the womb. |
I am thankful for trusting my instincts for one more reason - when Nolan came out, he had some meconium on his head. That means (1) that he was good and ready to come out - he was not taken prematurely, (2) because of his presentation, labor did not progress as quickly and he needed to get out and poo, and (3) if I did try to birth him naturally and it took a very long time, he could get meconium in his lungs and then that would be another complication altogether.
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| My poor little folded-in-half baby! |
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| Breastfeeding in the OR, within minutes of his birth |
I unfortunately had to be taken away to "recovery", but we had a plan! In our room, Kaleen had Max remove his shirt and hold Nolan skin-to-skin. This is a form of nursing. Nursing does not always mean to actually breastfeed, it means to nurture, bond and love. To this day, Nolan loves his "daddy naps" and quickly falls asleep on his daddy's chest.
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| Daddy "nursing" the baby, skin-to-skin |
Within a hour, I was back in our room and held, nursed and loved Nolan continually. I never put him down. He breastfed whenever he wanted. Many times, mothers will put the baby in a bassinet and fall asleep. When the baby wants to be fed, the mother will not get to him quickly enough and he becomes hysterical, and unable to latch on properly. The best thing to do is hold your baby continually and let them nurse whenever. They do not need to be on any schedule but their own.
As you can see in my other posts, we have had absolutely no problems with his health, breastfeeding, development and all other aspects of his life. Hubby and I joke often when Nolan's intelligence surpasses our expectations, "Not too bad for a C-Section baby!"
Next time, we will have our home birth, and Nolan will be able to observe the miracle of life with us.
Nolan's First Nursing
1 comment:
I enjoyed your definition of "nursing."
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