When I hit my 41 week mark I started doing daily belly maps
to determine foetal positioning and then did some yoga stretches and techniques
to help baby get into the optimal LOA position. She remained in this position
for the most part but because of the separation of my abs, the SPD, and the
mild uterine prolapse I was also dealing with, my muscle were so lax that she
still had room to move around even this late in pregnancy. These issues could
prevent enough pressure from being consistent on my cervix for it to dilate
efficiently, which would explain the drawn out prodromal labour. However, she
would only alternate between the LOA and LOT positions which were both fine for
birthing easily at least, when it would begin. I had noticed that when I would
do my birthing exercises in the evening that my contractions would increase but
by midnight I was too tired to continue and would just go to bed and they would
cease until morning.
On February 7th I booked myself an acupuncture
session to help stimulate labour and at least alleviate some of the SPD pain I
was also dealing with. I had hoped that I would go into labour that night but
it would not be though the session was relaxing. Previously I was becoming
really anxious about birthing soon because of the level of pain and discomfort
I was living with daily which was wearing on my sanity. I had hoped to
encourage labour by toying with Murphy’s law by booking a maternity shoot,
playdates, shopping trips, activities, etc but they all passed by without any
fuss. I had to accept then the reality that I might gestate closer to 42 weeks
like I did with my son whose labour patterns were also similar. I had decided that if I would reach 42 weeks and I
have not birthed yet, I would book an ultrasound to ensure that the baby was
healthy and then meet with one of the obstetricians from the transfer hospital I
chose to explore my options from that point on. I then felt my
consciousness turning inwards and felt at peace with just enjoying this last stretch
of pregnancy.
The next day was a beautiful and warm day and so I took Leo
out for a nice stroll during which I decided it would be a nice day to have a
baby. I felt a tingling premonition but decided not to focus on it in case I would
be disappointed yet again, however I did proceed to consume a copious amount of
pineapple juice mixed with coconut water along with fresh slices of pineapple
throughout the day. There is an enzyme called bromelain in pineapple that acts
as a prostaglandin, ripening and softening the cervix. Browsing birthing forums
online showed that many women have gone into labour after eating this fruit
when they were post-dates, even within a few days of beginning to consume them.
I was not comfortable with using induction methods, even those considered more
natural as even they had side-effects that I was not interested in dealing
with. I also did not want to prematurely eject this baby despite being what is considered
post-dates in case she really was not ready. I felt strongly about allowing
babies to choose their own birthdays. Since my husband was not present to
provide the prostaglandins himself and I worried that my muscle issues
prevented my body from dilating without aid, this seemed like a safe
alternative. I also made plans to go to my favorite Asian grill Lan’s for their
spiciest curry dish, another option many women swear by to encourage labour.
At the restaurant I joked with my companions who took us to
dinner as well with the owners of the establishment that I might birth that
night with how spicy my dish was since I was crying while eating it. It is a family
owned business and the father came out and intuitively shared with me how I was
carrying a girl child (he determined my son’s gender when pregnant with him as
well and was correct) and asked if Leo had been born born after 12 sometime,
which confused me because my son was born in the early morning but thought not
much on it and just assumed his intuition was off. It was a pleasant evening
out overall and we went home sated regardless.
After putting Leo to bed, I did my usual routine of coming
downstairs and doing my exercises while browsing the internet and just
relaxing, also sipping on more pineapple mixture. It wasn’t until about 9:30pm
that I noticed that my usual contractions were getting increasingly more
intense and I felt ‘otherworldy’ and detached to everything and it occurred to
me that perhaps this would be it. So I gathered my homebirthing supplies and laid
them out in the living room, lit my beeswax labour candles, and sat down to
write out some birthing affirmations in a mandala. I figured at the worse, if
it wasn’t really labour everything would already be set up anyways. When I used
the washroom then, my mucus plug fell out and I knew it really was time and
allowed myself to get excited. I hadn’t even opened the first colored marker
when I received a phone call from a close friend who was also the woman who did
my maternity shoot and wanted to discuss the shots and just chat between friends.
It provided an excellent distraction and I did not even notice just how intense
the surges were becoming until about 10:30 when I could no longer concentrate
on our conversation and had to let her go to focus on labouring and call my
birthing team. At that point swaying my hips while leaning on my birthing ball
felt the best, especially with the increase in pelvic pressure. I had to
meditate and breathe through a series of contractions that were very close
together before attempting to reach my birthkeepers. It was around 11:00pm by
this point. 
It felt as though my surges were right on top of one
another, making it difficult to breathe through and the pelvic pressure was
very intense. I recall my birthkeepers arriving one after the other between
11:15-30 and although their presence was relieving, I could not bring myself to
focus on them because labouring took all my concentration. I felt as though my
pelvic bones were trying to split open though it felt like an intense tickling sensation,
like when someone over-stimulates you and it seems intolerable. I moved from
being on hands and knees to leaning on my birthing ball for the most part
because any other position hurt my hips too much. I did try to lay on my side
for a while because it seemed to help for a little while but I soon wanted to
be back on all fours because it aggravated the SPD. I needed to be moved from
one position to another because I could not do so on my own while contracting. 
Emotionally I soon felt like I could not go on because the
pressure was so intense and I was tired of experiencing it. Vocalizing in a
deep voice helped me cope somewhat but by this point I felt like nothing was
working to alleviate the pressure and it was difficult to remain calm. I was
alternating between needing to pee and needing to vomit and wondered whether I
should get up and relieve my bladder but the thought of moving seemed
impossible so decided against it in the end. My attendants did place a bowl
underneath me in case I wanted to relieve my bladder right there but then my
bag of waters was bulging out and that burst into it instead. Then I could feel
the bulge of her head emerging and made the conscious choice to gently push a
little to help ease it out and that’s when my body just took over. Suddenly my
body was trying to expel her out with three consecutive pushes while I
supported my perineum and I breathed through them to slow them down a bit to prevent
tearing. In between the next contraction and the pause from my body pushing I
clenched my pelvic muscles to prevent her head from sliding back in, as I have
read sometimes happen in other women’s birth stories, because I was determined
that she would be born NOW. I believe I actually said: “Get the *bleep* out of
me right NOW!”. So during the rest period I pushed gently and out popped her
head! I then took a few breaths in this in-between time that felt like eternity
and then pushed again; birthing her slippery body onto the towel close beneath
me and into my waiting hands. I immediately sat on my hunches and brought her
up to my chest to cradle her against me. It was roughly five after midnight
then. 
Lydia Faye Murphy was born February 9th 2013, the
birthday of her namesake; my husband’s grandmother on his mother’s side. A
mystical occurrence surely.
She gained her color quickly but was quiet so I blew onto
her face to stimulate her to breathe noticeably and she cried a powerful sound.
She was not interested in nursing immediately so I just sat there and held her
while in complete awe in what just transpired. I did it! I birthed her
unhindered and so smoothly. My body wasn’t broken after-all and I felt myself finally
heal from my son’s traumatic forceps birth. This is how birth should be, I kept
thinking. I did it; I birthed my own baby.
After about ten minutes or so more contractions came on and I felt the intense need to relieve my bladder so we all went to the washroom and I attempted to do so but instead birthed my placenta first, crouched over a bowl on the floor. I then relieved myself and returned to the living room and sat on the couch covered in warm towels. I tried latching Lydia again but she was content just nestling in my arms. The after-pains were worse than the labour contractions and when she did finally breastfeed, they came on more powerfully and I had to meditate through them they were so strong. The placenta which was in a bowl by my side was then inspected and confirmed whole before a piece was taken and blended into a hemorrhaging-prevention smoothie. It tasted divine and I was also fed some scrambled eggs to replete my energy. We attempted cord burning to sever the umbilical but it was taking too long and the now limp cord was cold against me so we tied it off with floss and cut it instead. I then just sat there admiring my little miracle while my attendants cleaned up the birth space.
It wasn’t until about two hours after I birthed my little
Lydia into the world that I figured she should be dressed (after passing a
massive bowel movement) and I slid down to the floor to do so when our
post-partum adventure began...
What a wonderful birthing story! Great action pics! On to part 2.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful story. Congratulations!!!! :)
ReplyDelete