The original link that I had posted for Jordan's birth story is no longer valid, so here it is!
About four weeks prior to my due date, my husband and I had
made the decision to have a home birth since Dr. Biter’s hospital rights were
still up in the air. After taking Carol’s HypnoBirthing class, this decision
came so naturally. We had been equipped with such copious amounts of knowledge
and felt that avoiding the extra stresses brought on by hospital staff was the
best decision for us and what we were most comfortable with. Dr. Biter provided
us with the phone numbers of a team of midwives that he had been working
closely with. I met with LaShel and explained our situation and made sure that
we were both comfortable with one another. After hearing that she and her
partner had room for us in their schedule, we knew we had a lot of getting to
know one another and catching up to do. We scheduled the home visit for two
weeks prior to my due date. This was the first time for me to meet LaShel’s
partner, Jamin, and for my husband to meet both of them. Everything went so
smoothly and although it was a lot of information to take in, in such a short
amount of time, I had been waiting for that appointment in order to feel 100%
ready for my baby to come at any time……and these thoughts were a perfect
example of just how much your mind can control.
The very next night, Saturday, November 6th, I
had put in my Evening Primrose Oil and gone to bed. Somewhere around 11 or
11:30pm, I rolled over and felt a little gush. Not wanting to get anything on
the sheets, I laid still on my side and sat there noticing that my shorts felt completely
soaked and it didn’t seem to feel the same as when the EPO leaks. I continued
to feel little gushes here and there and my surges started almost immediately.
They were nothing more than mild menstrual cramps that would alternate between
my belly and my lower back, but they confirmed to me that our precious baby
girl was on her way! After about 15 minutes, I decided to get up and change my
shorts and check things out. I had definitely soaked through and it was
definitely not the EPO. I put a pad on and got some new shorts and went back to
bed. It being Daylight Savings, I didn’t pay attention to the time at this
point, but I eventually had to get up and change my shorts and pad again. I had
decided not to wake my husband, since there was nothing he could really do at
this point anyways, and I was able to go back to sleep and get some rest.
At 4:30am, my husband’s alarm went off. He was supposed to
meet up with some people and carpool to a golf tournament at 5:30am. When he
woke up, I told him that my water had broke, to which he responded, “Wait,
what??” I repeated myself, and he then asked if I was sure. Ummmm, yes I’m
sure!!! I told him that I had soaked through two pairs of shorts and they were
in the bathroom sink if he wanted to confirm it! Knowing that most first time
moms take longer to deliver, I then told him to go ahead and play in the
tournament, but that he should drive himself just in case I needed him to come
home. He instantly said he wasn’t going anywhere and sent a text out letting
people know he wasn’t going to make it.
We waited till about 6am to call the midwives. At that time,
I called Jamin and let her know what was going on and she told me go back to
bed, get some rest, and then eat a big breakfast and she would check back in a
bit. Before I went back to bed, I knew I needed to get the baby’s clothes
washed and some other things in order that I had planned on doing later that
week. Once I got back into bed, Bobby turned on my HypnoBirthing CD and went
off to the grocery store to stock the fridge and to buy a stool since our bed
sits pretty high. While he was out, Jamin called to check in on me and let me
know that LaShel would be checking on me next and that I should try to get out
of bed and keep moving. By the time Bobby got home, which I think was around
8:30am, my surges had gotten more intense and all I wanted to do was lie in bed
on my side and breathe and moan through them. At this point the surges were all
in my lower back. Having suffered a herniated disc, the tightening that I was
feeling instantly reminded me of the spasms that I experienced when I first got
hurt and I now had to try and block out the thought of my baby’s birth doing
more damage to my back.
Bobby made me some peanut butter toast and so adorably brought
it up to me on a breakfast tray with a little glass of milk, a little glass of
orange juice and a piece of my favorite white chocolate. Sadly, I wanted absolutely
nothing to do with any of it! I forced down a couple bites of the toast and
spent the next couple of hours in bed focusing and doing what I needed to do to
get through each surge while Bobby was running around the house getting things
ready. At some point, he returned to the room and I told him to grab a trash
can for me. I had started to feel sick and instantly threw up the second he
handed it to me. I knew that this was a sign of being in transition, but I kept
thinking that it was too early and I had better be prepared for more of that to
happen later on.
Knowing that he needed to get the bed ready and that getting
me up and moving would only benefit my progress, Bobby urged me to get out of
bed and get in the shower. He got the shower going for me and the warm water
felt even more amazing than I could have imagined! I ended up in a squatting
position in the shower and started to feel like I needed to go to the
bathroom…another sign of nearing the end, but for some reason, I still could
not believe that it was possible yet. The longer I stayed in the shower, the
stronger the sensation got, so I decided to move to the toilet. Sitting there
was not easy. Every contraction killed my back in this position. I had been and
kept visualizing the crowning rose and its blossoming petals and reminding
myself of the amazing gift that was on its way.
By about 12pm, I asked Bobby to call LaShel and update her.
Things had gotten very intense and I was starting to feel like I needed some
sort of progress report. Time distortion was definitely on my side and the
hours had passed so fast, but the intensity of it all had grown just as fast
and I could only help but think I had SO much more to go. Bobby talked to
LaShel and she told him she was going to shower up and then come over. I was
still sitting on the toilet when Bobby came back in to tell me what she had
said. After he let me know that she would be over soon, he wanted to make sure
that I was still staying strong mentally and said to me, “No matter what she
tells you when she gets here, you’re not going to get upset, right?” Knowing
exactly what he was getting at, I agreed while thinking to myself, “Hell no!!
If I’m not nearing the end, I’m going to break down!”
I don’t know how long I sat on the toilet, but once I got up,
I could feel my body relax again and I started pacing up and down the hallway
and through the bathroom, leaning on the banister, the counter, or our dresser
during each surge. Bobby had brought up my birthing ball and encouraged me to
give it a try. I sat on it for a bit while he provided counter pressure that
helped IMMENSELY and he just kept telling me to breathe and go to my happy
place! HAHA! At the time, it helped SO much, but I can’t help but laugh every
time I think about it now.
I think it was about 1:30pm when LaShel got to the house and
when she walked into the room, I was standing between the bed and the dresser
in the middle of a surge. I remember having some sort of a conversation with
her, but I don’t have the foggiest clue what she had asked aside from her
telling me that she wanted to check me and I needed to get back on the bed. I
think I must have waited through 4 or 5 surges before I had the guts to make
the move on to the bed because it seemed like every time I changed positions,
the surges were double the strength. During one of those surges I remember
LaShel telling me to relax every muscle and then she specifically told me to
relax my buns. Once I was able to relax them, it was like instant relief. Imagine
that! Even though I had been concentrating and doing my best to keep my body
relaxed, I wasn’t 100% successful. This made me realize that I needed go deeper
into myself and allow my body and my baby to do what they were meant to do. When
I finally got up on the bed, she checked me and I remember thinking that there
was no way I was more than 3 or 4 cm……boy was I wrong! LaShel grabbed my hand
and looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Jen, you’re a rockstar! You’re
already 8 cm! The baby’s head is RIGHT there!” She then told me she needed to
go call Jamin, Dr. Biter and update Bobby. I don’t think I have ever been given
better news. I was so relieved, but just wanted to return to my side lying
position. I did so as LaShel left the room and I laid there amazed that this
was it. My little baby girl was about to make her appearance!
LaShel and Bobby both returned to the room and Bobby had to
fill in as her assistant for a bit until Jamin arrived. Once she did arrive,
she let us know that she had given Dr. Biter a call, but had not been able to
reach him. We didn’t have time to wait, so they got me into position to push.
It was all so surreal and although I couldn’t really put birth breathing into
effect, I pushed for 44 minutes and beautiful Jordan was born at 2:29pm, only an
hour after LaShel had arrived! She came out with a nuchal hand (go figure,
after all of the ultrasound pics with her hands covering her face!), one big
cry and then looked me in the eyes, looked around the room and was completely
calm. She was placed on my belly and I was told to leave her there because the
umbilical cord was really thick, but short. I know I heard the words, but I
kept forgetting and trying to lift her closer to me. Once the umbilical cord
was cut, I brought her closer to me and stared at her in amazement! I had just
experienced the birth of my daughter, my first child, and it was a better
experience than I could have ever dreamed of. My husband was truly amazing
throughout my entire pregnancy, labor and birth. He may not think he did much,
but the little efforts that he did make could have moved mountains in my mind.
Just knowing that I had him there supporting and encouraging me was pure
motivation to see this through.
I also cannot express how appreciative we are for the
amazing team we had behind us. Not an appointment went by that we did not laugh
with Dr. Biter or break out in some sort of sing-song in the ultrasound room!
Because of him we were introduced to this “alien” birthing technique of
HypnoBirthing. Then to commit to it and meet Carol made us both realize that we
were headed down the right path and I could not imagine having gone through
this blind and uninformed, like so many other women do. I am so passionate
about everything that Carol taught us and have since tried, and will continue,
to enlighten others. We were then put in the hands of LaShel and Jamin when we
decided to do a homebirth. It was an instant connection with them and we were
so blessed to share this day with them both. Dr. Biter, Carol, LaShel and Jamin
were all so loving, comforting and easy to work with. Bobby and I are forever
grateful for them all and hope to build our relationships with them throughout
my future pregnancies and children’s births.
