Pregnancy

My whole pregnancy I spent preparing.  I had four births, three of them quite traumatic for me. The last, although not traumatic, I could have been better respected by my care providers. Because I am a worrier, and a planner, I made a stellar visual birth plan. Then, set out to find an OB who would respect all my wishes! I felt like that was a terrible task, one that would be like some crusade from a fairy tale. IMPOSSIBLE.

I did find a doctor! My OB made me feel comfortable and listened to all my crazy rambling! She validated all of my concerns. She talked to me about what would happen in case of an emergency. What to do if I had another precipitous birth. Most importantly, she made me feel safe and respected.

Early Labor

At about 10:30 on November 23rd, I told my husband that I thought we needed to start packing. He said he didn’t think so, and that he was going to go to sleep. I had been having on and off prodromal labor for 2 weeks. And my poor husband had been up the whole previous night with a sick toddler! BUT, it’s not like I’ve had 4 kids before or anything. Plus, I was pretty convinced that my water was trickling! I knew it was early labor, but baby 3 came just 1 and 1/2 hours after my water broke! I didn’t want to waste any time! So, after some convincing, we started getting ready! At 12:30 I called my sitter, (who is one of my dear friends,) and my birth photographer.

My water completely broke just before my friend arrived. My husband got the car turned on and our bags placed. He even set a chux pad and towel on the passenger seat for me! By 1:30 we were on our way to the hospital. (A thirty minute drive.)

IT WAS THANKSGIVING…

…by the time we got to the hospital.

The whole last month of my pregnancy I had been bargaining with my baby: “Come on kid. BEFORE or AFTER thanksgiving. I want dinner.” I suppose she had other plans!

Our photographer, Paula, met us in the waiting room!

The hospital had a policy, I had to be wheeled up to the L&D triage in a chair! I was still feeling ok! Contractions were regular. Somehow I felt like walking would have been more comfortable. Check-in was quick and painless, I called the hospital while I was in the car. They knew I was coming.

The staff was unbelievably kind! They treated me like I was their only priority. I knew for a fact that it was a busy night and there were many other people checked in the same time as me! When we got to the triage room I was hooked up to monitors to get a quick reading on contractions and baby’s heart rate.

Soon after being hooked up, I had my husband pull my beautiful Handwoven Rebozo out. It was a rainbow rebozo that had been given to me by one of my close friends while I was pregnant. It felt very powerful and significant to me, because this baby was my rainbow baby. My promise after a storm of early loss at the beginning of the year. I wanted to keep it close to me during labor. It was like my constant. Something sacred that kept me focused and calm.

My husband was awesome and so attentive to me, even with his lack of sleep. Shortly after being admitted to the triage room we were sent to the “real deal” labor and delivery room. At this point my husband looked like he would keel over. So I sent him away to go find snacks while I unpacked all of the things I needed for my labor. My bag of essential oils. My lip balm. And also my visual birth plan, actually all 3 of them. I printed out 3 of the same birth plan because that’s the type of person I am. One was beautifully framed! I set it up where all the nurses came in and charted every few hours. I knew that it would engage their curiosity! They’d have to look! (HEY GUYS! THIS IS LABOR PREPARATION GOLD HERE!)

Even though my husband wasn’t gone for long I quickly began to miss him. I regretted not going with him. I figured that again maybe the walking would have been helpful.

So, I waited. I looked out the window at all the pretty little lights of tiny Oklahoma City. It’s so much smaller here than anywhere else I’ve lived. But I love it so much. It’s truly my home now. Watching the city lights was also very comforting for me, and I was thankful to have a labor room with a beautiful view!

I was so thankful when my husband got back. I didn’t physically need him for the contractions, I longed for his companionship. He complained of having a crick in his neck. YOU CAN’T DO THAT TO A LABORING WOMAN. I’m not entirely sure why… but I have this wild idea that women in labor can’t ignore problems. If we see a problem we have to fix it to move on. So I pulled out my LMT Tricks and I did just that.

My feet started to hurt. My loving husband gave me a foot rub. He carefully held acupressure points, to encourage labor, under my instruction. (Doula and Massage knowledge has it’s own set of perks!) At almost 4 AM an older nurse came in to check on us. It had been a few hours and was time for baby to get listened to again. I sat on a birth ball and held onto my husband with rebozo while she waited and watched the monitors. She got a big kick out of seeing us use it. She said in 23 years of RN work she had never heard of rebozo support!

Labor Picking Up

After being monitored I consented to an internal exam. I was 6cms. At this point I was starting to feel contractions a bit more. But it wasn’t enough to slow me down or keep me in bed. I continued to labor standing with rebozo on my husband’s shoulders, in between more foot rubs, and on my knees over a peanut ball on the bed.

About 5AM I felt like things were finally starting to get serious and progress. At one point I even felt a little bit pushy, but knew from previous birth experience that baby wasn’t engaged enough to be born anytime too soon. I consented to another internal exam and was 7 and 1/2 cms! I told the nurse that I thought it would be a good time to call the doctor.

By 30 minutes, later the crazy labor hormones were in full effect! I felt like I was on fire. I couldn’t think of smart, sensible things at the time, but someone kindly offered me a cold washcloth. It felt so nice to hold it to my forehead during contractions! It was just a enough of a distraction to keep me happy!

Around a quarter after 6, I started to tire and decided to labor in bed. I found my smaller Red Handwoven Rebozo, (A gift from the same friend,) and wrapped it around my shoulders. I sat upright and had my husband pull down on the rebozo during contractions. The pressure sensation around my body helped me stay grounded and feel like I was still attached to the earth.

Rebozo Magic

About 6:45 AM the nurse came back and got another kick out of the different ways we were using rebozo. My doctor showed up shortly after and said she was at the hospital, but going to go grab coffee and try to stay human!  (Or something to the effect.) I don’t remember her exact words, but her visit was so comforting! During my pregnancy she had become a friend to me. Someone that I looked forward to having attend my birth! I had a little worry that she wouldn’t make it because of my previous history! So her presence was much welcomed!

I remember someone making a comment: “Wouldn’t it be so funny if she doesn’t come until the sun comes up?” I didn’t really have a concept of time at the point and was thinking: “NO! It’s dark she has to come way sooner than that!”

Transitional Labor

A little after 7AM the nurse was taking monitor readings again and I felt the baby budge in a different way. I was pretty sure that the baby would be born quickly so I told her it would be a good idea to bring the doctor back to our room! BUT AGAIN little Turkey Baby had other plans! Doctor came in and suited up, the instruments were placed, the isolette was set up all by 7:20. But no baby!

At this point labor had become more difficult and I was moving into weird positions and using rebozo on my husband’s shoulders to pull and push through every contraction. But still. No baby.

The Sun Rises…

A little before 8, the sun did indeed begin to rise. My OB was still suited up and had been waiting patiently on a little couch with her knees crossed and her hands in her lap. She finally asked, ever so sweetly: “Why don’t you try hands and knees?” I kinda looked at her and then a thought crossed my mind. “STUPID! Why didn’t I think of that one?” (Because I was off in labor land!!!) So I said pretty matter of factly: “YEAH! Give me a peanut ball!”

I picked myself up and draped my body over the peanut ball. I was so tired.

And then it came. The crap that every doula knows means baby’s visit is imminent. The vomit! I saw it coming, and thankfully someone quickly got me a glamorous, green barf bag! And once I started I couldn’t stop. My OB saw my oils on a little counter next to her and found some peppermint.

“Do you want some peppermint?”
Me: “NO.”
“Come on, it’s good for nausea.”
Me thinking: STUPID! OH YEAH! That’s right!

HINT: Just a little sniff from the bottle worked!

Delivery

I have never found offense from this term. I have never thought of it as a doctor delivering me…because I am doing all the work. In truth I feel it’s a powerful, misinterpreted term. I am delivering my baby. And these are exactly some of the thoughts I had while I was draped over the peanut ball.

Shortly, baby was born! She came quickly and was set down on the bed under me. I just kinda of backed up off of the peanut ball to look at her before I picked her up.

I felt a little shell shocked. Like I couldn’t hear anyone or think to move my body. It wasn’t a scary or out of control sensation. It was a powerful one.

No one took my baby, and I was the first one to touch her. All necessary exams were done with her on my chest. This was amazing and important to me. I’m glad that this was a birth plan wish of mine that could be respected, and that no complications were present.

Cecilia Eve was the cheesiest little creature I have ever seen. I don’t remember her crying, although my husband says she did. She latched on quickly and nursed easily, and we fell in love. My husband carefully cut the cord, after I had delivered the placenta, and it had stopped pulsating. Birth was Beautiful, Blissful and Healing. I totally and immediately forgave this little jive turkey for deciding to come on Thanksgiving, BEFORE dinner!

The most important preparations I made for my birth were: Finding a birth photographer who understood my vision. And, having a knowledge, understanding, and respect of rebozo. I didn’t use it during my entire birth, but I kept it close to me. Having knowledge of it enabled my instinct to use it’s wisdom when I needed it!

A very special thank you to Paula Lynell, Photographer. She captured exactly what we needed her to for our birth, and provided all of the lovely pictures in this blog. Please support her on facebook!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brittany Chavez is the owner of Beautifully Connected. She is a passionate and business minded woman on a journey to support pregnant women and their families. She has the knowledge and determination to make sure all of your wellness needs are met. She has worked as a massage therapist and pregnancy consultant, and has helped over 500 clients in the Oklahoma City Metro Area. She volunteers with the Oklahoma Birth Trauma Support Group for mothers and families who have experienced birth trauma and pregnancy loss. She lives in Oklahoma City with her husband and five children.

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