Anyway! I have written out Hadessah`s birth story... it too is quite amazing and I know those who read it will be a bit shocked and surprised. If you`d rather skip that part, feel free to scroll passed the next section to continue reading today`s blog.
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This is the story
of my accidental home birth with my 4th baby, Hadessah Adalia who was
born December 13, 2012 at 7:10pm weighing 7lbs and measuring 50cm long.
December 12, about 9:30pm I started getting some very hard contractions. They were only every 30 minutes or so, but continued all throughout the night. I managed to sleep between some of them until 5:30am when I woke up to a very painful contraction. I realized then that laying down DID NOT work for me and it actually caused the contractions to hurt more. Being upright was the only thing that brought me any comfort.
7:30am Rhys puts me on the spot and needed an answer as to whether he was going to go to work or call in to say we're heading to the hospital. He would be driving around town doing deliveries all day and would expect to meet me at the office with our van (the work van would be left at his office so one of the other two employees could continue his work). I didn't like the idea of driving myself anywhere while having the kind of contractions I was having and I didn't know how quickly Rhys would make it back to get me to the hospital on time so I decided we'd head to the hospital right away even though I knew it was a bit too soon.
I still ended up driving our van to Rhys' office, but thankfully the contractions were far enough apart that I didn't have any while actually driving. Rhys left his work van there and we continued on to the hospital where the triage nurse checked for dilation and found that I was a "stretchy" 4cm. She sent us off to do an hours worth of walking to see if things might progress at all so we went shopping (contractions got closer 7-10 minutes apart, but they were gentler) and then we came back. The nurse checked my dilation again and felt no change, but put me on the monitors anyway to track my contractions. I had a contraction before she put the monitor on and after she took it off, but none while the monitor was on. I knew what the nurse was going to say before she could say anything, but still, I felt heart broken thinking I might "not be in labor". We had a few trips to the hospital a few weeks before that ended with me in tears as well... I had expected to leave the hospital with my baby, but labor was stopped dead in it's tracks by the end of the triage visits. This time was different, I was still contracting and they were painful! I knew I was in labor, but the nurse was convinced I wasn't (because the contractions were too far apart when I sat still).
The nurse recommended that I go home and relax and figured the baby would probably be arriving in a few days.... yes, she knew I've delivered 3 other babies.
My hope at the point was to just walk around the hospital while Rhys did some of his deliveries, that way I was in a safe place and Rhys wouldn't be far away, but I'd be able to move around and get labor going. Rhys thought the nurse had plenty of good points and agreed that I should just go home and that I probably wasn't really in labor, but maybe baby would be born in a few more days. My doula friend (Nichelle, who had sat with me through both examinations) disagreed with both the nurse and Rhys and offered to walk with me while she waited for her client's labor to pick up (she was resting at 2cm dilated and on an IV for strep B). Nichelle left for a moment to check on her client and said she'd be back after Rhys and I figured out what we were going to do. In that amount of time, the nurse came back to the lounge where Rhys and I were discussing our options and continued to feed me the same information over again (irritating me further and making me cry even more).... this apparently came across as a bad attitude and the nurse got a little cross with me (which also caused Rhys to get a little cross with me). All I could think was "PEOPLE! I know I'm in labor! I've heard everything you're telling me before! Just leave me ALONE!" I knew what my body was telling me and I knew what I needed to do, but no one was going to listen to me (Nichelle hadn't come back yet to defend me either) so I tried to calm down and accept that maybe they were right and I just wasn't going to have my baby that day. Rhys decided we just needed to leave and I would just go home and rest.
I continued to cry on the way back to Rhys' office where I dropped him off and continued contracting while driving myself the rest of the way home. Thankfully, my very good friend Jen was there taking care of my kids. I asked her to stick around in case labor picked up quickly and I had to leave right away (I would need to drive myself to Rhys' office or the hospital... or get Jen to drive me and someone else to watch the kids........... the complications of being home were the biggest reasons I wanted to stay at the hospital, just getting back into town was a hassle for everyone).
I continued to have inconsistent contractions: 7-10 minutes apart if I was moving around, 15-30 minutes apart while sitting still. At one point I tried laying down to take a nap (even if it was only 15 minutes long), but just as I started to drift off, I woke to the most painful of all contractions. Laying on my left side, I thought I could ease my back pain by raising my right leg.... boy I was wrong! The contraction hurt even more! From then on, I refused to lay down at all.
I posted updates to facebook about my labor and received a few suggestions to either relax or get labor moving along. One piece of advice really helped: I took a bath, hoping that either the contractions would ease and slow down so I could rest or help my body get into a good rhythm and aid the contractions. In the 20 minutes I was in the tub, I knew the bath wasn't going to ease anything... the contractions felt just as hard. In fact, the contractions got closer together AND harder once I got out. I knew I needed to get to the hospital now! I had talked with Rhys before I got in the tub and he'd said he wouldn't be home for at least another 50 minutes (I misheard him and thought he said 15, which sounded great to me, but he corrected me and said 50.... 5-0!... that didn't make me happy AT ALL!).
After my bath, I came out to the living room where the kids and Jen were having dinner. I had another really strong contraction and decided I'd better go to my room as the kids were getting concerned watching me breath through the contractions. I told Jen I'd take my plate of food to my room to "hide out" (I think Jen was quite concerned at this point and knew things were picking up fast). Jen was awesome! She had been keeping track of the time between contractions for me, watched how they got harder and saw how they'd slow down when I sat still.... all while taking care of my kids (and hers as well!). I don't know what I would have done without her there!
I sat on my half inflated exercise ball, finished eating, and updated facebook again and tried to text my friend Nichelle to let her know I'd be heading to the hospital as soon as Rhys got back (she was still there with her client). Jen came in to check on me after the kids finished eating. I had a few contractions right on top of eachother, there was no break. My next contraction made feel like pushing, but I was able to keep from allowing my body to do so. Rhys came through the door finally and we were faced with the decision: do we go and risk having the baby in the van on the way to the hospital or stay and call 911? Rhys wanted to leave, he just wanted to head to the hospital... I didn't know what to do so I looked to Jen to help me decide. She suggested we stay as having the baby on the way wouldn't be the best case scenario, I agreed.
As I continued to contract and force myself against the urge to push, Rhys and Jen ran around the house preparing for an emergency home birth. They got on the phone with one of the on call doctors here in Sexsmith and got the paramedics on their way.
Jen rubbed my back to ease my back pain while someone on the phone gave me instructions to get on my hands and knees. I had a hard time moving around at this point, but I did as they said. I got my bum in the air and lay my head on the floor.... this felt soooooo nice, it calmed my contractions, easing the urge to push.
I think the doctor got there soon after I got on the floor and Jen prepared the bed with blankets and towels to protect the mattress and pillows. The doctor got his instruments ready and instructed me to get on the bed. I moved as quickly as I could, knowing I'd have another contraction right away. Laying on my back, the contractions didn't feel so bad.... I was shocked. But I still felt the urge to push. I continued to breath through my contractions as the doctor checked my dilation (I think he said the waters were bulging, but didn't say how dilated I was or anything). I remember having a few more contractions, but forced myself to keep from pushing til I was given the "green light". The paramedics arrived sometime during all of this. I remember the doctor was happy to see them as they had some instruments that he didn't have and the paramedics were happy he was there as they were inexperienced.
I had another contraction and the doctor checked again as I felt a hard urge to push. He felt the baby's head was in the right position and coming down (all the boys were facing up instead of down so this was amazing to me!). He then instructed me to push with my next contraction.... oh, I was so relieved to be able to push! My water broke with that contraction and I felt the baby moving down more. I had another contraction shortly after and pushed again, feeling the baby begin to crown. I remember pushing a little and easing off, then pushing a little and easing off during each contraction so the baby could ease down. The closer she got to crowning, the more I wanted to just keep pushing, but I didn't want my body to force her out too quickly and cause trauma to either me or the baby. The doctor could see that the baby's head was just about out and encouraged me to continue pushing to get her head all the way out... it was the longest push ever, but she finally came out! I had a very small tear that didn't need stitching at all!
Hadessah was born! I watched as the doctor checked her and paramedics cleaned her off. Jen and I oogled at the fact that I finally had my baby girl.
Apparently, all the while, Rhys had been down stairs calming the kids so the moment I caught sight of him after she was born, I yelled at him to come see his daughter. He was beaming.
The placenta came out with some trouble, but after examining seemed intact. Hadessah and I passed our examinations from the doctor and were sent off in the ambulance to the hospital for all the post-natal recovery stuff.
The excitement at the hospital over my arrival was entertaining. Nurses and patients offered their congratulations and reveled in my bravery at having my baby at home. One couple stood waiting for an elevator as I passed and heard their whispers, I told them "Make it to the hospital in time." *snicker*
I ended up having a hemorrhage once we got into the L&D triage so they put me on oxytocin drip over night (which caused some really bad cramps that got worse when Hadessah nursed). They were concerned with Hadessah's blood sugar, but once she started nursing she was fine.
Hadessah nurse throughout the night and slept for several hours the next morning.
After my prenatal doctor visited and examined Hadessah and me, the pediatrician examined Hadessah, and the nurses gave us the okay, we were able to leave the hospital before lunch.
The whole experience was amazing. I know the nurse might have been wrong, I know Rhys could have made it home sooner, I know things could have gone differently had we known my labor was going to go the way it did with all the inconsistent contractions, BUT I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I am so blessed to finally have had the chance to give birth at home, I have a beautiful baby girl, and so many people helped in so many different ways! I saw God's hand in all of it and I knew what He had planned would ultimately be for my good. He is so good!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
So I ended up having Hadessah at home. I could blame Rhys, the nurse who sent me home after telling me I wasn`t in labor, or I could blame myself for choosing to go to the hospital too soon.... but instead, I choose to look at the situation as a blessing. Not only because my daughter arrived safely and I was so happy to finally have a baby girl, but because it`s exactly what God had planned. He also had planned to allow me to have an infection... it sucks to have to go through something like that, but His plan is always perfect and meant for the good of those who love Him. I was actually quite thankful to have 2 days to rest and bond on my own with Hadessah and to pray and think on things. It was stressful for my husband and my kids... and those who lent a helping hand, but those things were out of my control and I knew God was in control there too. The Lord blessed me by showing me just how loved I truly am by those around me (and those close to my heart, but far away). I`m so very thankful for those amazing people God has put into my life!
December 12, about 9:30pm I started getting some very hard contractions. They were only every 30 minutes or so, but continued all throughout the night. I managed to sleep between some of them until 5:30am when I woke up to a very painful contraction. I realized then that laying down DID NOT work for me and it actually caused the contractions to hurt more. Being upright was the only thing that brought me any comfort.
7:30am Rhys puts me on the spot and needed an answer as to whether he was going to go to work or call in to say we're heading to the hospital. He would be driving around town doing deliveries all day and would expect to meet me at the office with our van (the work van would be left at his office so one of the other two employees could continue his work). I didn't like the idea of driving myself anywhere while having the kind of contractions I was having and I didn't know how quickly Rhys would make it back to get me to the hospital on time so I decided we'd head to the hospital right away even though I knew it was a bit too soon.
I still ended up driving our van to Rhys' office, but thankfully the contractions were far enough apart that I didn't have any while actually driving. Rhys left his work van there and we continued on to the hospital where the triage nurse checked for dilation and found that I was a "stretchy" 4cm. She sent us off to do an hours worth of walking to see if things might progress at all so we went shopping (contractions got closer 7-10 minutes apart, but they were gentler) and then we came back. The nurse checked my dilation again and felt no change, but put me on the monitors anyway to track my contractions. I had a contraction before she put the monitor on and after she took it off, but none while the monitor was on. I knew what the nurse was going to say before she could say anything, but still, I felt heart broken thinking I might "not be in labor". We had a few trips to the hospital a few weeks before that ended with me in tears as well... I had expected to leave the hospital with my baby, but labor was stopped dead in it's tracks by the end of the triage visits. This time was different, I was still contracting and they were painful! I knew I was in labor, but the nurse was convinced I wasn't (because the contractions were too far apart when I sat still).
The nurse recommended that I go home and relax and figured the baby would probably be arriving in a few days.... yes, she knew I've delivered 3 other babies.
My hope at the point was to just walk around the hospital while Rhys did some of his deliveries, that way I was in a safe place and Rhys wouldn't be far away, but I'd be able to move around and get labor going. Rhys thought the nurse had plenty of good points and agreed that I should just go home and that I probably wasn't really in labor, but maybe baby would be born in a few more days. My doula friend (Nichelle, who had sat with me through both examinations) disagreed with both the nurse and Rhys and offered to walk with me while she waited for her client's labor to pick up (she was resting at 2cm dilated and on an IV for strep B). Nichelle left for a moment to check on her client and said she'd be back after Rhys and I figured out what we were going to do. In that amount of time, the nurse came back to the lounge where Rhys and I were discussing our options and continued to feed me the same information over again (irritating me further and making me cry even more).... this apparently came across as a bad attitude and the nurse got a little cross with me (which also caused Rhys to get a little cross with me). All I could think was "PEOPLE! I know I'm in labor! I've heard everything you're telling me before! Just leave me ALONE!" I knew what my body was telling me and I knew what I needed to do, but no one was going to listen to me (Nichelle hadn't come back yet to defend me either) so I tried to calm down and accept that maybe they were right and I just wasn't going to have my baby that day. Rhys decided we just needed to leave and I would just go home and rest.
I continued to cry on the way back to Rhys' office where I dropped him off and continued contracting while driving myself the rest of the way home. Thankfully, my very good friend Jen was there taking care of my kids. I asked her to stick around in case labor picked up quickly and I had to leave right away (I would need to drive myself to Rhys' office or the hospital... or get Jen to drive me and someone else to watch the kids........... the complications of being home were the biggest reasons I wanted to stay at the hospital, just getting back into town was a hassle for everyone).
I continued to have inconsistent contractions: 7-10 minutes apart if I was moving around, 15-30 minutes apart while sitting still. At one point I tried laying down to take a nap (even if it was only 15 minutes long), but just as I started to drift off, I woke to the most painful of all contractions. Laying on my left side, I thought I could ease my back pain by raising my right leg.... boy I was wrong! The contraction hurt even more! From then on, I refused to lay down at all.
I posted updates to facebook about my labor and received a few suggestions to either relax or get labor moving along. One piece of advice really helped: I took a bath, hoping that either the contractions would ease and slow down so I could rest or help my body get into a good rhythm and aid the contractions. In the 20 minutes I was in the tub, I knew the bath wasn't going to ease anything... the contractions felt just as hard. In fact, the contractions got closer together AND harder once I got out. I knew I needed to get to the hospital now! I had talked with Rhys before I got in the tub and he'd said he wouldn't be home for at least another 50 minutes (I misheard him and thought he said 15, which sounded great to me, but he corrected me and said 50.... 5-0!... that didn't make me happy AT ALL!).
After my bath, I came out to the living room where the kids and Jen were having dinner. I had another really strong contraction and decided I'd better go to my room as the kids were getting concerned watching me breath through the contractions. I told Jen I'd take my plate of food to my room to "hide out" (I think Jen was quite concerned at this point and knew things were picking up fast). Jen was awesome! She had been keeping track of the time between contractions for me, watched how they got harder and saw how they'd slow down when I sat still.... all while taking care of my kids (and hers as well!). I don't know what I would have done without her there!
I sat on my half inflated exercise ball, finished eating, and updated facebook again and tried to text my friend Nichelle to let her know I'd be heading to the hospital as soon as Rhys got back (she was still there with her client). Jen came in to check on me after the kids finished eating. I had a few contractions right on top of eachother, there was no break. My next contraction made feel like pushing, but I was able to keep from allowing my body to do so. Rhys came through the door finally and we were faced with the decision: do we go and risk having the baby in the van on the way to the hospital or stay and call 911? Rhys wanted to leave, he just wanted to head to the hospital... I didn't know what to do so I looked to Jen to help me decide. She suggested we stay as having the baby on the way wouldn't be the best case scenario, I agreed.
As I continued to contract and force myself against the urge to push, Rhys and Jen ran around the house preparing for an emergency home birth. They got on the phone with one of the on call doctors here in Sexsmith and got the paramedics on their way.
Jen rubbed my back to ease my back pain while someone on the phone gave me instructions to get on my hands and knees. I had a hard time moving around at this point, but I did as they said. I got my bum in the air and lay my head on the floor.... this felt soooooo nice, it calmed my contractions, easing the urge to push.
I think the doctor got there soon after I got on the floor and Jen prepared the bed with blankets and towels to protect the mattress and pillows. The doctor got his instruments ready and instructed me to get on the bed. I moved as quickly as I could, knowing I'd have another contraction right away. Laying on my back, the contractions didn't feel so bad.... I was shocked. But I still felt the urge to push. I continued to breath through my contractions as the doctor checked my dilation (I think he said the waters were bulging, but didn't say how dilated I was or anything). I remember having a few more contractions, but forced myself to keep from pushing til I was given the "green light". The paramedics arrived sometime during all of this. I remember the doctor was happy to see them as they had some instruments that he didn't have and the paramedics were happy he was there as they were inexperienced.
I had another contraction and the doctor checked again as I felt a hard urge to push. He felt the baby's head was in the right position and coming down (all the boys were facing up instead of down so this was amazing to me!). He then instructed me to push with my next contraction.... oh, I was so relieved to be able to push! My water broke with that contraction and I felt the baby moving down more. I had another contraction shortly after and pushed again, feeling the baby begin to crown. I remember pushing a little and easing off, then pushing a little and easing off during each contraction so the baby could ease down. The closer she got to crowning, the more I wanted to just keep pushing, but I didn't want my body to force her out too quickly and cause trauma to either me or the baby. The doctor could see that the baby's head was just about out and encouraged me to continue pushing to get her head all the way out... it was the longest push ever, but she finally came out! I had a very small tear that didn't need stitching at all!
Hadessah was born! I watched as the doctor checked her and paramedics cleaned her off. Jen and I oogled at the fact that I finally had my baby girl.
Apparently, all the while, Rhys had been down stairs calming the kids so the moment I caught sight of him after she was born, I yelled at him to come see his daughter. He was beaming.
The placenta came out with some trouble, but after examining seemed intact. Hadessah and I passed our examinations from the doctor and were sent off in the ambulance to the hospital for all the post-natal recovery stuff.
The excitement at the hospital over my arrival was entertaining. Nurses and patients offered their congratulations and reveled in my bravery at having my baby at home. One couple stood waiting for an elevator as I passed and heard their whispers, I told them "Make it to the hospital in time." *snicker*
I ended up having a hemorrhage once we got into the L&D triage so they put me on oxytocin drip over night (which caused some really bad cramps that got worse when Hadessah nursed). They were concerned with Hadessah's blood sugar, but once she started nursing she was fine.
Hadessah nurse throughout the night and slept for several hours the next morning.
After my prenatal doctor visited and examined Hadessah and me, the pediatrician examined Hadessah, and the nurses gave us the okay, we were able to leave the hospital before lunch.
The whole experience was amazing. I know the nurse might have been wrong, I know Rhys could have made it home sooner, I know things could have gone differently had we known my labor was going to go the way it did with all the inconsistent contractions, BUT I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I am so blessed to finally have had the chance to give birth at home, I have a beautiful baby girl, and so many people helped in so many different ways! I saw God's hand in all of it and I knew what He had planned would ultimately be for my good. He is so good!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
So I ended up having Hadessah at home. I could blame Rhys, the nurse who sent me home after telling me I wasn`t in labor, or I could blame myself for choosing to go to the hospital too soon.... but instead, I choose to look at the situation as a blessing. Not only because my daughter arrived safely and I was so happy to finally have a baby girl, but because it`s exactly what God had planned. He also had planned to allow me to have an infection... it sucks to have to go through something like that, but His plan is always perfect and meant for the good of those who love Him. I was actually quite thankful to have 2 days to rest and bond on my own with Hadessah and to pray and think on things. It was stressful for my husband and my kids... and those who lent a helping hand, but those things were out of my control and I knew God was in control there too. The Lord blessed me by showing me just how loved I truly am by those around me (and those close to my heart, but far away). I`m so very thankful for those amazing people God has put into my life!
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