in the words of our doula.

Another guest post -- this time from Kim Wheaton, our amazing doula. Below you'll find her version of our birth story and a few of the pictures she took right after Lorelei was born (she pretty much let go of my leg, which she was holding during pushing, grabbed the camera, and started taking photos!). You can also follow this link to see all of the pictures she took, as well as a very sweet video she created of some of the edited shots.

Lorelei’s Birth

5/24/2011

            I got a call from you at around 10pm on May 23^rd, letting me know that your water had broken!  It was over a week before your due date, so this was a little surprise, but you handled it in stride, and decided to stay at home until labor picked up.  Your contractions started a couple of hours later, and at around 4am you and Jason decided to go to the hospital, after having slept only an hour or so. 

            Jason called me at around 5:30am to let me know you were there, and that things weren’t too intense yet.  He called again at 7:30, letting me know that you were dilated to 3cm, and that your contractions were getting stronger.  So I started to head to the hospital, and got there at 8:15.  It was clear that you were in labor—you had to concentrate through each contraction--but in-between you were your normal self.  I could tell, though, that you weren’t looking forward to the hard work that was yet to come.

            Shortly after I arrived you both decided to try and get some rest since you had been up all night.  Jason slept on the pull-out chair while you rested in your bed, which was difficult because your contractions were definitely getting stronger.  After about an hour it was really time to get to work, and Jason stood by your bed coaching you to relax your body as you had practiced during your pregnancy.  This worked well for quite a while, but at around 10:45 you began expressing some self-doubt.  “I don’t know if I can do this,” you said, but Jason did an amazing job reassuring you that you were doing great, and that you could do it.

            You continued laboring in bed, and you also tried sitting on the birth ball a little bit.  You were really nauseous through most of your labor, and having the pink bucket right by your head was a big help to you mentally (though you had trouble expressing that to us!  You were so focused it was hard for you to talk!).  You would also go back and forth between being freezing and really hot.  It was hard for you to get comfortable.

            At around 11:45 you said that you almost wanted to push at the peak of each contraction, and shortly after that you had a super long contraction (probably four or five minutes long!).  At 12:15 the doctor came in to check you and found that you were 5cm dilated, which was disheartening.  The baby was very low, which is why you were feeling like you wanted to push.  She also told you that she didn’t want you taking a shower, which is what we were going to try next to help with your pain.

            After she left the room you expressed more doubt, and told us that you couldn’t do this for hours and hours.  Jason and I were both reassuring—you really were doing an amazing job!  You had to go to the bathroom, and stayed in there to labor sitting on the toilet for about fifteen minutes.  Then you came back and sat on the edge of the bed.  Things were really getting hard, but you got yourself into a great rhythm with your swaying and breathing through contractions.  Jason and I stayed by your side, encouraging you and helping you to relax.

            At two o’clock you decided to lie back down.  You said that it hurt more when you were lying down, but you really didn’t want to move, so you stayed in bed.  “When will this be over?” you asked.  I suspected that you were in transition.  You were also making groans at the peak of the contractions that sounded like involuntary pushing.  I asked if you felt pressure or if you wanted to push, but you weren’t sure what to think, or weren’t able to express it. 

            It was almost three when the nurse checked you and discovered that you were 8cm!  This was great news, and by 3:15 you were almost completely dilated and ready to start pushing.  Pushing was very painful and difficult, and the doctor was saying things like, “push harder!” which really made you mad.  This was actually good because it gave you extra motivation to push your baby out!  Jason stayed by your head while a nurse and I held your legs, and you made good progress with each push. 

            At 4:21, Lorelei was born into the world and placed immediately on your chest.  Relief washed over you as you met your sweet baby girl for the first time.