Ethan's Birth Story:
With my first baby I had planned a natural birth but due to circumstances I ended up getting an epidural. Although the birth was a beautiful and wonderful experience I felt like I had missed something and was determined to do things a little differently this time around.
The day of my 2nd son’s birth I had
With my first baby I had planned a natural birth but due to circumstances I ended up getting an epidural. Although the birth was a beautiful and wonderful experience I felt like I had missed something and was determined to do things a little differently this time around.
The day of my 2nd son’s birth I had
sporadic contractions throughout the day but nothing consistent (much to my husband’s disappointment, he was dying to be called home from work, lucky for him he got to cut out early from grad school instead). By 5PM I was having steady contractions. I jumped in the bathtub when the surges started getting harder and labored there for about an hour. We left to go to the hospital and arrived around 9:00 PM. Upon arriving I purposely put my earbuds in to send a clear message to our nurse that I was ignoring her and focusing on my labor and she could direct her questions to my husband. This worked very well. She checked me and I was dilated to a 7. I had to be hooked up to a fetal monitor for 20 minutes. During that time our nurse was so wonderful and was even giving my husband tips on how to ease labor pains for me by showing him how to apply counter pressure to my back during each surge and it really helped. Once my mandatory monitoring time was up I was allowed to get into the tub to labor for a while, by this time it was about 10:00PM. Not long after I got in there my water broke. A minute or two later I informed the nurse that I was ready to start breathing the baby down. She checked me and I was fully dilated. The nurse wanted me to move back to the bed but I told her I couldn't because the baby was going to be there too soon… and I was right. I could feel that the baby was crowning and since I didn’t want to get out of the tub I started pushing even in between surges, which probably wasn’t the best thing for my body (I tore a little during the birth), but I got my way and was able to stay where I was J. Bearing down with each surge took a lot of the pressure off and was actually the easiest part of labor. My midwife didn't have time to get there before the baby was born so our nurse delivered him in the bathtub. It only took about three surges before my beautiful little boy Ethan was born at 10:10PM, which was literally 10 minutes after I got in the tub. His poor little face was purple because he got what the nurses called “road rash” from being born so quickly. The nurses laid him on the side of the tub next to me so I could see him while they dried him off and then whisked him away to check his vitals.
I remember feeling great. My recovery went much faster than with my first child. I remember sitting in the hospital bed watching my husband and the nurse bath my newborn son and then realizing that I could go help bath him if I wanted because I had not had an epidural… so I did! It was also great having the immediate ability to go take a shower when I chose to and not have to wait for any drugs to wear off! Later when family and friends asked me which birth went better I was surprised when my husband jumped in and informed everyone that our natural birth had gone much better than the medicated one. He was surprised and proud at the way I had been able to maintain my calm and stay in control which I hadn’t been able to do with my first baby.
Our little boy was the talk of the hospital the next day. Everyone was surprised at how quickly he was born since we were only at the hospital for an hour before he came and the fact that he had been an illegal water birth at the hospital. Many nurses asked me if being in the water actually made that much of a difference with labor and delivery and my answer was a resounding yes because the water helps relieve some of the pressure the baby is putting on the body and makes it easier to labor. If anyone who reads this is contemplating a water birth I definitely give it two thumbs up!!!
I remember feeling great. My recovery went much faster than with my first child. I remember sitting in the hospital bed watching my husband and the nurse bath my newborn son and then realizing that I could go help bath him if I wanted because I had not had an epidural… so I did! It was also great having the immediate ability to go take a shower when I chose to and not have to wait for any drugs to wear off! Later when family and friends asked me which birth went better I was surprised when my husband jumped in and informed everyone that our natural birth had gone much better than the medicated one. He was surprised and proud at the way I had been able to maintain my calm and stay in control which I hadn’t been able to do with my first baby.
Our little boy was the talk of the hospital the next day. Everyone was surprised at how quickly he was born since we were only at the hospital for an hour before he came and the fact that he had been an illegal water birth at the hospital. Many nurses asked me if being in the water actually made that much of a difference with labor and delivery and my answer was a resounding yes because the water helps relieve some of the pressure the baby is putting on the body and makes it easier to labor. If anyone who reads this is contemplating a water birth I definitely give it two thumbs up!!!