I want to hear your birth stories!

Amy - posted on 05/22/2009

I remember when I had my son RJ. I went in for a routine doc appt on Tues afternoon. My substitute doctor checked me and noticed I was 3 cm dilated. So, she sent me over to the hospital to monitor things and I had a few light contractions but nothing was really progressing. I remember that there was a bad snow storm that night so my regular doctor said she wanted me to stay the night "just in case" since my hospital is in Baraboo and I live in Reedsburg. Nothing new happened and after spending about 23 hours at the hospital they decided to send us home around 5:30pm the next day.



My husband was really wired and stressed out by the false alarm so he stayed up until like 3 in the morning playing video games! I passed out from exhaustion almost right after we got home.



At 4:30am I woke up and had to pee. So I went and then I felt this major WHOOSH! And it felt like our baby had dropped. Being that it was my first child and I had peed first, I wasn't sure if I was imagining things or if my water had broke. So I called the hospital and told them what happened. They told me to lie down on the couch for an hour and then get up and see if anything more came out. So, I laid down and turned on the TV and watched cartoons LOL. Popeye, the Smurfs(old school). When I got up I was leaking more so I called the hospital again. They told me that my water had broke and to keep track of my contractions and that they wanted me to come in by 7:30am after the nurses shift change.



I continued to let my husband sleep.



At about 6:00, I panicked remembering that I still hadn't put the crib bedding on. So I jumped up and waddled to the nursery and proceeded to make the bed while fighting off contractions.



At about 6:30 I woke my husband up and told him my water had broke. He jumped out of bed and started to panick and I told him to calm down and go ahead and eat something because we had time. Meanwhile, every time I moved from one seat to another I kept WHOOSHING!!!! Nobody told me that after my water broke it would keep coming out. On the way to the hospital my contractions got closer and stronger. My pjs were completely soaked and I remember holding towels to try to contain all the fluids spilling out of me. We went to the room and I remember trying to sit on the ball and walking of which both made managing the growing pain difficult so I gave them up.



My saving grace and almost my downfall was the bathtub. I spent basically my entire laboring contractions in there. I used both the C-method(curling in a ball) and the ridiculous who-who hee! Both of which I balked at during prenatal classes. I had brought my boombox and repitiously played Yanni and a cd of nursery/love songs my Uncle had personally performed for me.



My downfall was that due to the pain, I wouldn't eat or drink hardly anything although my wonderful husband tried in vain to make me. Big mistake! I almost passed out!



The nurse had to slap me and tell me snap out of it and that's when I had to get out of the tub and get an IV in my arm to bring me back to being more lucid.



I had insisted from day one that I wanted a natural birth. No meds. Most of my friends and family had no faith in me that I could make it without them and after about 4 hours into the hard labor I didn't think I could either. Fortunately for me, my husband and the nursing staff supported my decision 100% and helped me to get through.



Once it was time to push it took about 35 minutes and my baby boy was on my chest by 3:48pm that same day. The happiest moment in my life.

Lisa - posted on 05/13/2009

When my son (born in 1998 - multiple pregnancy/birth problems) was 6 years old, he asked me and my husband for a baby brother. We told him he would have to ask God for that. I was unhealthy and had already had one OBGYN tell me I should have a hysterectomy. I had a surgery in 2004 to deal with endometriosis. In 2005 we moved to Shanghai, China. I worked hard at getting healthy, reminded my husband I was nearing 40, and prayed to God for a baby. I got pregnant in August 2006. My doctor in Shanghai was going to allow me to do a VBAC, but only if she could see my record from 9 years ago. I called America and explained my situation. The office staff at my previous OBGYN all but laughed at me. They actually were able to find and forward my records. On April 11, I went for my 38-week check up with OBGYN and walked home from her office (lived in Shanghai - city apartment only several blocks away). Near midnight my water broke, called the doctor and waited for driver to arrive to take us 45 minutes to hospital. No contractions. No surprise, didn't have for older children. Induced, same as before. Nothing. We decided a c-section was necessary. My husband barely stuck his foot over the threshold of the doorway. Our big baby boy was born 12 days early at 4100 grams - that's 9 pounds even. I was 39 years old! My now 9-year-old son had his prayer answered for a baby brother!

Sam - posted on 05/05/2009

My daughter 2nd Sophie was due on the 5th April after being 3 weeks early with my first was really suprised i was still pregnant on the 3rd. I noticed on the 3rd sophie was very quite and i only had a few movements, thought this was just her getting ready to come out. On the morning of the 4th I sat on the couch counting my kicks and watching tele only to realise she wasnt moving. I waited til 12 and by then had only had 4 kicks so I rang the hospital and they said not to worry but if i still hadnt had 10 my 4o'clock then to ring back.

By 4 I had only had 6 so I rang and they said well to just come in after my husband finshed work which wasnt till 6o'clock. I rang my husband and he came home early at 5 and took me straight in.

Once in the hospital i was hooked up to a monitor and they could only make out a faint heartbeat, they tried moving me on my sides and nothing was getting her heart beat up.

A consultant came in and checked the chart and was saying something to the midwife then she left and came back with a trolly and gown and said they had to take me down. By now i was really confused as i wasnt sure what was going on. I soon realised when I went past a theater sign. They didnt have time to let me get changed into the gown, they were changing me, swabbing me down, getting an epidural in and cathta. I was in floods of tears as I really wanted my mum and she was still 30mins away. Within minutes they had cut me open and pulled my baby out and had to give her straight to the resus team because she was not breathing no response and (as i later found out) they didnt think she would make it. She had 2 blood transfusions that night.

After a week she was allowed to go home and you wouldnt think they was anything wrong with her now

Maria - posted on 05/04/2009

"epidural"!? I meant episiotomy!

Maria - posted on 05/04/2009

My first trimester was very difficult (what with hyperemesis and losing 20 pounds from being so sick), but things really improved after 14 weeks of constant nausea. I walked a lot during my pregnancy, so I was in good shape by the time my daughter was born. She was due April 16th or 17th, and I'd gotten pregnant just a couple of days after my husband's father died unexpectedly during a visit with us.

The night before I gave birth, I felt some mild cramping around 10pm, as I went to sleep. At about 4 or 5 in the morning, I woke up with some significant cramping going on about every ten or fifteen minutes, but kept dozing for another hour or two. By eight o'clock I was fully awake and aware I was approaching real labor, but was not sure how far away it would be. By ten o'clock, the contractions were about four minutes apart, and by noon, they were thirty seconds apart.

I used to have horribly painful menstrual cramps as a teenager, and I would compare the contractions to those, but still much worse! I just kept in mind that the pain was temporary, and I had to go through it in order to get it over with.

I think we called the midwife around 1pm, and she asked us to wait for a while, take a warm bath, eat, gather our stuff to get ready to come in to the birthing center, and she'd check in with us in two or three hours.

It must have been around 3:30 or so when I spoke with the midwife again. My contractions were constant by then, and she said she'd meet my husband and me at the birthing center at 5pm. I remember the drive over (only seven minutes for us) was excruciating, and I was shoving and pressing the palms of my hands against the inside of the roof of the car and sort of yelling (more like an "aaaugh!!") every time I had a contraction. I've sometimes wondered if anyone in the cars around us noticed!

We got there a little earlier than our midwife and her assistant and waited about fifteen minutes out on the porch (the birthing center was in an old remodeled Victorian). Thankfully, the assistant showed up and let us in, and the midwife followed soon after. When she checked my cervix around 5:30, I was only three centimeters dilated, and she considered sending us back home for a while.

But my contractions were strong and close together, so she decided to observe me a bit, and strapped a monitor on my belly for about five minutes to see how the baby was faring. I think she was a bit concerned, because our daughter's heart rate was a little low.

She gave me the option of going over to the hospital two blocks away to use a birthing room there, since they have birthing tubs, and I'd expressed some interest in the tubs. But if I went over there, I couldn't come back to the birthing center, and I did not want to have my baby in the hospital.

I sat on their birthing ball for a while, or sat on the floor and leaned on the birthing ball or the bed, but these were not comfortable positions for me. She checked me again, but I was dilating pretty slowly, and was only at 5cm by 6:30 or so.

We decided to run a bath in the old clawfoot tub in the bathroom to help relax things. That must have been about 7pm. I stayed in there, writhing and groaning, for about an hour, until about 8pm, when everything suddenly changed and my body started pushing hard. That was very surprising and even more incredibly intense!!

I stood up and my water broke in the tub (how convenient!). My husband and the midwife dried me off and we moved to the bed in the bedroom, where she checked me and I was nearly fully dilated. The midwife had me wear an oxygen mask and instructed me to breathe deeply to be sure our daughter was getting enough oxygen and to keep her heart rate up, since that was an ongoing concern.

My husband was sitting or kneeling on the bed behind my head, and I grabbed his hands, pulling him hard toward me, and pushed down with every contraction, grunting or yelling "aaaauugh!!" in various positions on my side and on my back, although my back ended up being the most comfortable for me, throughout.

We eventually moved over to the birthing bar, but I couldn't squat, so I laid on my back again with my knees shoved up to my chest. Ow! Man, but I think what I hated most was the midwife reaching in and stretching my cervix, but it worked, and my daughter finally started coming through, which was another interesting change in sensation (to say the least).

I ended up pushing for 55 minutes total, the last twenty of which were the hardest, when I was working the hardest to push our daughter out. She had just started to crown, and the midwife and the assistant and my husband kept telling me over and over that I was "almost there!" A statement that was beginning to tick me off, because they'd been telling me that for what seemed like an eternity!

I had touched the baby's head with the encouragement of the midwife, then went back to concentrating on pushing. My daughter's head finally fully emerged, and the midwife turned her a little and told me to place my hands on her.

I'd been a little spaced out with just doing what my body was telling me to do, so I was a bit shocked to look down and see a real live baby down there! A face, a body, a potential personality. Amazing!

Finally, I did a last hard push with a contraction, and the midwife got me to hold her as she came the rest of the way out. We put her on my chest and belly. After several moments, the midwife gave my hubby the honor of cutting the umbilical cord, which was surprisingly very tough.

I almost forgot that we had music playing, too. One of my favorite albums by Sarah Vaughan, "No Count Sarah," was on the CD player they keep in the room, and I believe "Moonlight in Vermont" was playing at the time our daughter was born.

Well, that kid of ours was fairly blue and very sleepy, so we were rubbing her a good deal to get her blood going, and she began to warm up and look better. A few minutes later, I was surprised by that last contraction for the afterbirth (silly me, I had thought I was done!).

The midwife got me cleaned up a little, checked our vitals, then left us alone for a bit. Everything's a bit foggy after this, but I remember handing our daughter over to my husband, moving to the bed and getting relatively comfortable, taking a picture of them together, then putting her to my breast and just sitting there with her for an hour.

My husband brought out our snacks, we chatted with the assistant/lactation specialist and the midwife, watched our daughter get cleaned up and weighed and measured and evaluated, and then I was checked out again, then able to take a shower and get dressed. I was lucky that I just had some micro-tears, but didn't need any epidural and didn't have any major tears but a small contusion in my birth canal.

The midwife told me several times that she was really impressed with the way I gave birth (uh, okay!). I guess I was pretty stoic, didn't panic, and just did what my body commanded me to do -- and followed their instructions when needed, like breathing deeply, grunting and pushing from my diaphragm and not my throat, and pushing the right way (not with my legs! That was hard to do, because my first instinct was to kick -- I almost kicked the midwife in the head during one of my first pushes, oops!).

Finally, the midwife went home, and the assistant stayed until we were ready to go. We could have spent the night if we wanted, but we preferred to go home. If I remember right, we went home around 1am. It was raining, and we were enthralled -- and blown away!

It was a really great experience, and I felt a whole new confidence and strength in myself and my body after that. Just amazing.

And that is how our daughter Holly Caroline came into the world, born April 14th, 2007, at 8:55pm, weighing 7 lbs. 8 ozs. and 20" long at almost exactly 40 weeks. Bringing the love of new life out of the grief of her Opa's old life lost.

Jessica - posted on 04/13/2009

wow all these stories are great! Keep em coming!

Kath - posted on 04/12/2009

My horror story starts at 35 weeks, with a migraine headache which left me blind to any light. so i was put in hospital in my home town, and then on easter saturday, I was sent to the major teriartary hospital. Spent a week there, and they sent me home with the diagnosis that the migraine was pregnancy induced.

Because the migranine was pregnancy induced I was not going to get better till my daughter was born, so i was induced at 37 weeks 6 days. Thing is after 30 hours of labour I was 6 centimeter dialated, only problem was that contractions were all over the place and not good. The staff wanted to put up syntocin then, but because the obgyn was in the next town an hour away, I had to wait till he got back, cause of the risks. So At 10.30pm they put up syntocyin with instructions of I had to make progress in the next hour or I was going for a c-section. they were so serious that they had already called in the theatre staff to do the c-section. Lucky for me I delivered naturally at 11.30pm, with out tearing, without pain relief.

My daughter was 8Lb 3oz, or 3720g, and 55cm with a 35cm head circumfrence. she is a happy health, temper trantum throwing almost 2 year old now

Kim - posted on 04/11/2009

My due date was April 21, 2007. I had put in for my 1 month allowed leave from work to start on April 15, a week early, being I had heard some are early or late and didn't want to be at work if he came early. So it was saturday April 14th in the afternoon when I had started to get sharp pelvic pains. My fiance had offered to take me to the hospital, but being I had just had a doctor appointment 3 days earlier and they said I had not dialated any, I said no because they'd probably just say that was normal and send me home. So I had just tried to get some sleep. I had gotten up that night and got ready to go to work for my last day before my leave and still had the pains coming probably every 5-10 minutes. My water never broke so I never thought it was a big deal. Wasn't time yet. I had drove myself to work and told them I was having pains. They sent me home and said to go to the hospital to get checked. I had drove myself home it was about 12:30 am on the 15th. My fiance couldn't get off work and said if I needed to go to the hospital he would meet me there when he got off. I decided to stay home and try to sleep some more. The pains were about every two minutes now, but I still managed to sleep for a few hours. I had gotten up at about 6 am when he got home. the pains seemed to have stopped. I didn't feel anything and my water hadn't broke so I didn't think anything of it but he still made me go to the hospital anyway to be checked. When we got to the hospital they were amazed that I was already 5-6 cm dialated. They said he is coming today. We were put in a room walked around for awhile. Water still didn't break.I had decided I didn't want any drugs and wanted to try to do it natural.  I had gotten to about 8 cm when the pain just got too bad for me. I was shacking and crying and told them to go ahead and do it. They gave me an epidural and it was great. I didn't feel a thing afterward. Even when they told me to push it was wierd cause I couldn't feel anything. After about what seemed like 5-10 minutes my son Jacob Alexander Francisco was born Sunday, April 15, 2007 at 1:36 pm. He was 6 days early and was 6 lbs 12 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. I was really lucky that he came on the first day of my leave, because I got to spend the whole month off with him.

Eva - posted on 04/10/2009

April 16 was our EDD but nothing happened, just hung out at home all day. On the 17th we were bored so we went to Frankenmuth ( a tourist town) and walked around all day. That night my contractions weren't to bad just one or two an hour. Went to bed around 9 b/c I was tired. I was up at 1:30, April 18th,with a bad contraction but I just walked about a bit and it stopped. I went to the bathroom and there was pinkish mucus! I woke up Dustin and told him that we might be in labor. He got up and got dressed then went up stairs to tell my mom. By 2:20 I was crampy so I hopped into the tub. Had really bad, close contractions so my Mom called the midwife. Kim(DEM) said to time my contractions and call her if they got with in 5 minutes or so of each other. I was having contractions lasting for about 40 seconds every minute so we called her again. She said give her an hour to get dressed and she'd be here. By then it was almost 3 and my contractions where getting farther apart and lasting only 20 seconds. We thought it was false labor or something so I went back to my room and was sitting in my comfy chair. Mom was reading the comics and drinking coffee and Dustin was holding my hand trying to get me laugh. All of a sudden ~ BAM~~ back to contractions, really bad. Mom called the midwife(who hadn't ever gotten out of bed yet)and told her to get here NOW! I was freaking out and Dustin was doing the best he could to help me. I wanted to get back in the tub put when I stood up I fell over on to my bed. I told Dustin that Noah was coming NOW and I had to push, I pushed once and POP out can my plug(I didn't get to see it so I still don't know what it looks like). All of a sudden Dustin is like " Barb I think you might want to get over here!" Noah had started to crown! One good push and Noah's head was out, another push and out came his shoulder and then my water broke and out came the rest of him! My poor sister came downstairs just as my water was breaking and she called the midwife(who was on her way)and the midwife relayed to my mom & Dustin what to do.
Mom put Noah on my chest and my sister grabbed the camera.Dustin had my head in his lap and he gave me a huge kiss. Noah started to nurse right away, my afterbirth came out and mom started to boil my herbal bath. The midwife finally showed up, Dustin cut Noah's cord and we went to take a bath. After our bath we weighted Noah (8lbs. 8oz.)and measured him (22 inches). I guess the walk must have helped!
 After Noah and I were tucked in bed Dustin started calling everyone back in Wyoming. He was so proud! "Our" homebirth was perfect!  ( our next child was born last August totally unassisted !=))

Elizabeth - posted on 04/09/2009

My waters don't break on their own and I have no idea why but I don't dialate without an epidural...mind you I can still walk....with the third one i even had a full spinal tap thats meant to make you numb from the neck down and still did nothing in that sense, but I dialated immediately and baby is out within 2 mins.....all three times similar stories...

Erika - posted on 04/08/2009

well I've had 3 kids and never able to go into labor by myself, always had to be induced. My last baby I was given pitocin at about 10:00 am. I didn't really feel contractions for a few hours and then at 5:00 pm they broke my water and then I told them I wanted an epidural b/c they were getting so intense,( I had never done it with out an epi) So my doc checked me and said I was already at 8 cm and it was too late. I freaked out and started crying that I couldn't do it with out meds and they needed to give me something! I remember calming down just when it ws time to push, I don't remember what calmed me down! So I started pushing I think I pushed once or twice and the doc was still getting all his gloves & stuff on and the nurse had to grab him cause his head was already out, and then once more came the rest! My other 2 labors had been fast bu that was crazy!

Holly - posted on 04/08/2009

The morning of April 24th I woke up to blood all over the place so. So I called my doctor to see what she had to say since I was only at 26 weeks. She wanted me to come in so I did. I got there and she checked me and did an ultrasound and they had seen that the placenta was pulling away from the wall. So she wanted me to go to the hospital and be observed for awhile. Well I wasnt there an hour and she told me that I was losing so much blood that if they wouldnt take the baby our lives would be a stake. So tthey took me back and did an emergency C-section and my little boy was born weighing only 1 pound and 14 ounces 13 inches long. Now you wouldnt believe that he started off that small. He spent his first 3 months of life in the hospital and now he is great. He had a few problems with his feet but now we dont have to go to physical therapy or anything now.. He is just a normal toddler thats about to be 2 years old. He is my miracle baby thats for sure!!

Rachel - posted on 04/08/2009

After a really hard pregnancy, I had to go into hospital 11 days after I was due to be induced. 2 minutes after they put the gel inside me, I needed go to the bathroom. I came back in agony coz labour had started but the midwife said I couldnt possibly be in labour. After 2 hours i moved down to Delivery and was put onto gas and Air. But after almost an hour, I was having 7 contractions every 10 minutes and my babies heartbeat was all over the place.

Finally I got given an epidural and within a few hours I was 10cm dialated and ready to push. I couldn't push Jace out because he was too big and I was too small. so the doctor said about trying forceps which they went against. and put me down for a c-section.

I had another epidural ready for my c-section but that kept leaking, so they tried another but that one kept leaking so I had to be put under general anesthetic.

After they pulled Jace out of me, they had to resuccitate him because he wasnt breathing and gave him his vitamine jab to get him to stir properly. After an hour, I still wouldnt wake up no matter how much they shouted at me and shook me. But luckily I did *phew*

Jace William Hadgraft was born at exactly 10pm on 24th April 2007 weighing 8lb 11oz.

Rachael - posted on 04/05/2009

Well I work for my OBGYN and was induced with my first child on her due date I was one of the crazy mom's that didn't want any drugs wanted to do it all on my own yeah that lasted not I got to transision and asked for my epidural had it for 45 min and my beautiful elizabeth was born at 12:04 6lbs 12oz 19 inches long labor was all of 4 hrs. With number 2 I was induced 6 days early and lobored for 4 hrs got the epidural had it for 30 min and emma was born at 12:24 6lbs 19 inches long.

Jessica - posted on 04/01/2009

wow thats amazing! Your so lucky! LOL

Nikki - posted on 03/31/2009

had back pain for an hr didnt no what it was so i didnt go to the doc my water broke had her within 27 min ALL NATURAL DELIVERY no shot no meds ALL PAIN wanst that bad hardly tore my secpnd daughter no back pain felt weird went to doc had her in 19 min ALL NATURAL SAME AS THE FIRST!!!!

Mary - posted on 03/18/2009

congrats to you.

Mary - posted on 03/18/2009

Wow crazy story, thank god it all turned out well.

Jessica - posted on 03/18/2009

yeah i know what your mean about the back pain, I had it with my daughter. It usually means that babys spine is up against yours.. its painful as hell! I was on my hands and knees for 4 hours trying to get her to turn around when i was in labour with her XD

Kim - posted on 03/17/2009

at 9pm on jan 8th 2009 i got up from the table to get my boyfriend something. cant really remember what..but i made it 3 steps from the table and it felt like i peed myself so i quickly ran to the bathroom and as i was just going to sit down on the toilet water shot everywhere, i freaked at my boyfriend to get his butt in here and told him my water broke, well he had a scared look on his face and from the my nerves were going i was vibrating from being so nervous and excited at the same time.. we made it to the hospital 20 minutes later, then said my water had broke but i wasnt havin contractions or even dialated so they sent me home.. About 2:30am i was having really bad back labour i couldnt sit nor could i lay down,i told my boyfriend i wanted to go back i was in pain bad, so here he is brushing his teeth and trying to find what clothes to wear...taking his sweet ass time and here im huffin and puffin  cursing under my breath at him.. finall we made it to the hospital and i was 5cm i had a very bad back labor experience it was almost numbing so at 4:40am they gave me morphine and at 4:54am on jan 9th i had my son Hudson Peter he was 7lbs 2oz 20.5inches long and was the new years baby in our town.

Jessica - posted on 03/17/2009

lol yeah i bent a couple of my mums rings out of shape XD

Lyndsay - posted on 03/17/2009

In the middle of the night on my due date, I had the feeling I had to pee, so I got up to use the restroom only to find out that my water had broken. I barely felt contractions but they said to go to the hospital. We got there about 3:30AM. I was hanging out in the bed with my mild contractions and they wanted to give me pitocin at about 7-7:30AM. I said no thanks. Then my doctor came in and pretty much told me I had to take the pitocin to speed up the contractions & dilation or they would give me a c-section after 24 hours. I decided to give in. I cried about it too. It was about 9:00AM. That's when it started getting more intense, little by little, but not unbearable. Contraction after contraction passed and the whole no drinking water or eating was just ridiculous. I was determined to not use any painkillers or epidurals for my own reasons by the way. When the contractions were getting extremely painful where I didn't know how much longer I wanted to bear the pain, they checked my dilation and I was already 9 cm! I was so happy I just about cried again. That's why it was so painful, because it was at the end....I screamed a lot and squeezed my husband's hand so much, good thing his hand survived. So, a happy story ending, my daughter was born at 1:45PM that day, a perfect little 6 lbs 2 oz at 40 weeks exactly.