Birth Story

Kimberly is now 1 week old. And, before time gets away and I forget to write it down, I thought I'd share my birth story. (I don't journal and am horrible at filling in baby books, so my blog fills the void.)



On with the story:



My water broke at 9:15 on Monday, July 28th, just a few days before my due date of August 1st. We called the midwife to let her know we were headed to the hospital, then we called Gramma Kitty to come watch Patrick. I took a shower and gathered my things while Chuck loaded our bags in the car. There were no contractions yet, but I had had a weird sharp pain on my left side all that day that only lasted a few seconds at a time. We made the 35 minute drive to the hospital. This time the fog along the coast was not as bad as when we drove to the hospital for Patrick's birth just 2 years ago.



We arrived at the hospital at about 10:30pm. Since it was after hours for the hospital, we had to enter through the ER. They made me ride in a wheelchair even though I complained and said I was fine to walk. Hospital policy or something. I had wanted a room with a labor tub, but all they had were rooms with a shower, so that's what we got.



We got settled in and hooked up to the monitor. At one point, the nurse asked me, "Did you feel that?" When I said, "No", she said, "Well, you just had a contraction." By about 11:30pm, I was starting to feel the contractions. Chuck would watch the monitor and could tell when I was headed into a contraction. He'd rub my lower back to help distract me from the pain. With Patrick, it was about at this point that I started focusing within. I closed my eyes, focused on rhythmic breathing, and didn't talk at all. This time though, I was more aware of my surroundings, had my eyes open most of the time and talked more. I think because I anticipated the labor and delivery being quicker, I didn't feel a need to get so focused.



At this point, the nurse checked to see my progress. I was 7cm and 80% effaced. She was very surprised I was that far along already because of how I was handling it. She had planned to hold off on giving me the antibiotics for Group B Strep until I was in "active" labor, so she quickly got the IV going. She called the midwife to come to the hospital. I wanted to get in the shower, but the nurse was worried I'd progress too fast and the midwife not make it if I got in the shower because I'd be relaxed and upright. So, I waited until the midwife got there about 30 minutes later.



As the midwife, Lisa, rounded the corner into my room she said "Hi" and I started throwing up. Chuck said that contraction was a crazy, off the chart one compared to what they had been. By this time, it's about 1pm and I'm covered in puke and so ready for a shower already. Lisa checked me (8cm) and gave me the go ahead to get in the shower. It felt so good to be in the water. Not only to wash off, but so I could use the sprayer on my back and stomach when I was having contractions. Plus, there was a bench in there so I could sit or stand as I wanted to.



I was in the shower for about an hour when my contractions changed to pushing contractions. I had Chuck go and let the midwife know. They had to rush to get the bed remade and the baby's bed set up and warmed. I headed back to the bed where I had two contractions laying on my side where I could feel the burning stinging feeling of the baby crowning. Lisa checked me again. I was 10cm and complete. I tried pushing during one contraction while laying on my back (like I had done with Patrick) and Lisa couldn't even tell I was pushing, so I decided it was time to try a new position. I ended up on my knees leaning against the back of the bed in a squatting position. It was way better. I felt like I was making significant progress with each contraction. I'd say it was probably 10-15 contractions or 30 minutes of pushing before Kimberly crowned and slid right out. No need to turn her shoulders or anything. The midwife passed her to me through my legs and I held my baby girl for the first time. It was such a special moment. I had no tearing this time which I'd attribute to it being my second birth and pushing in a squatting position instead of flat on my back. All in all, Patrick and Kimberly's births were very similar, but Kimberly's was on a condensed timeline. With Patrick it was 13 hours from water breaking to birth, with Kimberly it was 5. Interestingly, only 1 in 10 births begin with water breaking rather than contractions, and I've now had 2 start that way.

Kimberly Jane Smith was born on Tuesday, July 29th at 2:35 am. She weighed in at 7lbs. 1oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long with an Apgar score of 9.