Jonathan Eli’s Birth Story
by Sara, his mother
Like with my first, this was an extremely easy and wonderful pregnancy. I was a little unsure of what to expect regarding the labor and delivery however, as my labor with Benny was pretty odd. Since he was my first, the length and slow progression wasn’t that unusual. However, I never really felt my contractions. For a variety of reasons, we also ended up transferring to the hospital so I could receive pitocin. Kip came with us, and other than pitocin it was a drug-free labor and delivery. My former o.b. was on call which was a relief to me. Throughout the pushing stage, I still never felt my contractions, and the pitocin was continually upped until Benny arrived. Although it was a hospital birth, it was a natural birth and we were all pleased with the outcome.
Throughout this pregnancy, I spoke with Kip, Clarice and Shelie about what I could expect this time, and all I knew was that it would most likely be different. On Saturday the 4th of November, we started finding out how! I was lying in bed reading when my water broke. We called Clarice and she told us to keep her posted – that most women go into labor within 24 hours of their water breaking and deliver within 48. We should try to rest and let her know when things start happening. We should be sure to observe the fluid, and let her know if it isn’t clear or starts having an odor. We excitedly called our parents to let them know – baby would be coming soon – and called a few friends. Thankfully we had already purchased pads and “pants” for the postpartum, so I put a pad on the bed, donned my dipe and went to sleep. On Sunday nothing really happened other than dripping and Braxton-Hicks contractions, and we arranged to go in on Monday to check everything out. My mom had been planning on coming out on the 11th, as my due date was the 14th, but she changed her ticket and arrived on Sunday. It was a big relief for us to know that Benny was covered.
Everything looked fine on Monday – my blood pressure was great, baby’s heart rate fine, and my belly felt sufficiently “squishy.” We discussed options – the main concern now was infection so we would not be doing any internal exams. If we wanted to continue to wait I should monitor my temperature (an early sign of infection), and continue to check in daily and observe the fluid. Clarice mentioned castor oil, which didn’t sound like a good option for me. Brian and I were confident that things would happen soon – and were fine knowing that we were monitoring things. We didn’t have a problem going to the hospital if we HAD to, but we felt comfortable that we didn’t have to yet. Tuesday was the same – lots of calls from friends and family asking if we had a baby yet (like we wouldn’t have told them!) and lots of remarks from people along the lines of “I didn’t know you could wait more than 24 hours after your water broke” and “When are they going to take your baby” or “How long will they let you wait?”. Brian and I calmly responded that in the hospital they usually don’t let you go longer than 24 hours, but we weren’t going with that model and the baby would arrive when he arrived.
On Wed things started ramping up, I was getting contractions that I felt but that didn’t stop me in my tracks or anything. It was exciting for me to see that although this seemed to also be a slow-progressing birth, I would be feeling things more this time. I never minded being pregnant, and as long as I was still sleeping soundly at night and nap time, was in no rush to deliver. I also started getting daily blood draws done to make sure that my white blood cell count wasn’t elevated (might indicate an infection earlier than the thermometer would). On Thursday Kip suggested I try a homeopathic “induction”, and I readily tried it. Things started heating up, more real contractions 5-6 minutes apart in the morning but then it tapered off. People’s continual asking about the 24 hour rule was starting to frustrate me by this point. I was also getting somewhat tired of being a bit uncomfortable and starting to question things – “would I ever be able to have a 'normal' labor”, “can I have a baby without pitocin?”, “should I just go to the hospital or will things really ever start?,” “I’ve referred a skillion people here, they all have 'normal' labors and I get this?” – all that sort of “fun” stuff. We went in for our daily check-up Thursday afternoon and Kip and Clarice wanted to check in with us to remind us of our options. They were fine either way, but wanted us to be sure that we understood our options – we had no real reason (my white blood count had elevated slightly, but that alone wasn’t enough of a concern of infection as everything else was fine and white blood counts often elevate in labor naturally anyway) to think things wouldn’t get started at some point on its own, but if it turned out that there was some sort of infection and both the baby and I got sick, we’d look like jerks. They just wanted us to be clear on the pros and cons of staying the course. After a good cry (first time this pregnancy!) we decided to continue to wait. We trusted Kip and Clarice completely, and were confident that things would start soon.
On the way home from our appointment I called the hypnotherapist I had worked with when pregnant with Benny and we arranged to talk over things that night. I felt much better after talking with her, and I had restarted taking some of the homeopathy that had gotten things started that morning. Friday was a better day, contractions were coming regularly between 5 and 9 minutes apart and caused me pause. My friend Jen, a naturopathic doctor, offered to come over. She gave me some herbs and did acupuncture, and was great with giving support when I had a contraction and just good positive energy. She and her daughter (16 months or so) arrived after nap time and stayed for dinner and then went home. We put Benny to bed and I took a shower, as I was getting uncomfortable. While in the shower I realized we better go – so I threw on my pjs and had the WORST ride of my life to the birth center. We got there around 8:35 and I got in the tub as soon as it was wet. I remember complaining to Kip that it wasn’t working – I could still feel the contractions! Everyone said that water was a midwife’s epidural, so I was expecting a miracle here! Kip reminded that it wouldn’t take away the feeling, but would help me relax between contractions, and that in any case the water was only up to my ankles at that point. By the time the tub was full, I pushed for 11 minutes and Jonathan was born at 9:18! We napped and took our herbal bath. Got to know Jonny a bit and then headed home around 2 am – figured it would be easier to hunker down at home and be around when Benny woke up than deal with transferring everyone in the morning. The three of us went to bed – thankfully Jonny slept until 9 am!
It is easy (and VERY scary) for me to imagine what my birth experience would have been without the Greenhouse Birth Center, and I am soooo thankful that was not what I experienced. We are so blessed to have this option available to us. We feel good knowing that we were informed, and stayed the course about what we knew to be best for us and our family.
