Rook's Birth Story
January 23, 2012
(sorry it is so fucking long....and not edited....I need to edit it
before I send it to my doula for the website, but here is my rough draft
for you guys :))
Bare with me....I tend to over talk things, but so much of Rook's
birth was about the preparation that I feel like I can't leave anything
out! :)
When I got pregnant with our oldest son, Cy, back in 2009, I knew
immediately that I wanted a natural unmedicated child birth. I still
wanted to go the hospital/OB route, but I wanted to do everything in my
power to skip that "cascade of intervention" and avoid drugs and
possible complications from said interventions. Chris and I signed up
for Bradley Method classes and I was very hopeful for a positive
outcome. I had some issues with my doctor and at 34 weeks, after a
really awful appointment full of no's, I decided to switch to a new
OBGYN. She seemed a lot better but still was pushing for induction if I
hit my due date. I was so anxious at the arrival of said due date, and
possible induction was the only thing on my mind. Long story short, I
went into labor on my own the night before Cy's due date, labored for
about 17 hours and freaked out. The pain became too much and the anxiety
of the situation over took me. I caved and got the epidural. I ended
up going from 5 cm to 10 cm in a matter of an hour after the epidural,
and pushed out Cy in a few contractions. I knew I did what I had to do,
with what I was given, and with my current knowledge, but I did feel
pretty disappointed in myself. My recovery was pretty slow and painful
and involved more drugs, lots of sitz baths, and a lot more time than I
expected.
Fast forward to May 2011, Cy was 9 months old and we found out we
were having another baby. I was over the moon and before the pee could
dry on that stick, I was researching like a mad woman, trying to figure
out how I could get that birth I had dreamed of with Cy...the kind of
birth you read about and think "wow, she got lucky." But, in the back
of mind, I knew that luck had nothing to do with it. I was still not
very confident in my "abilities" but I knew I had to at least do
everything I could to educate myself, to give myself and my baby the
best possible options I could.
I got to talking with an old friend. It just so happened that my
friend from high school, Kelly, who had had her first baby just a
couple of months after I had Cy, was about to go through training to
become a HypnoBirthing educator. She had had one of those "dream"
births with her son and really made me think that it was possible for
me too. She was also planning on training to become a doula in the near
future and offered me a LOT of help. I also switched OB's and ended up
with Dr. Cobb, who is pretty much amazing. I walked out of that first
appointment with him feeling like I was on top of the world. He said
something to the effect of, "I'm not sure how you picture your
pregnancy and birth to go, but I am pretty hands off. We don't do a lot
of unnecessary tests and we won't induce without medical reason
before 42 weeks." I was sold. I started reading birth stories and
watching videos and obsessively talking about birth with my mom
friends. This birth became a mission of mine. I am positive my husband
thought I was looney but I didn't care....and he obliged me by reading
the stories and books and info I was constantly throwing at him.
We started our hypnobirthing classes with Kelly when I was about 29
weeks. I say "we" loosely as Chris had started a second job and was
working like a mad man - but I would come home and regurgitate
everything and make him read the parts of our book that "really"
mattered. We had gone through a birth before, so we kinda knew what to
expect, but I have to say, this hypnobirthing stuff was a serious game
changer. Through reading more and more, I realized that so much of Cy's
birth had to do with my anxiety and fear and less to do with searing
pain and contractions that just wouldn't stop. I started listening to my
"Rainbow Relaxation" track every night and enjoyed hearing the birth
affirmations over and over, to embed everything into my brain for "go
time". Slowly but surely, I started to believe what the tracks were
telling me...."my body was made to give birth"..."I am confident and
will accept whatever turns my labor takes"...."I will have an easy birth
because I am so relaxed."
The end of my pregnancy was a little rocky and I started to have
doubts about being able to go through with everything. I ended up with
some crazy infected jaw bone at 35 weeks that was super painful and
required pain meds. I became pretty weak from the whole ordeal and was
having a hard time imagining being able to go through with the birth I
had hoped for. But, I kept repeating my affirmations and talked to
anyone who would listen and could reassure me, and finally, started
having that prodromal labor. I swear I must have had 6 "false alarms"
and was wondering if I would ever know for sure if I was really in
labor or just getting ready for the big day. Baby's guess date was
January 25th, and my brother's birthday is January 23rd. Throughout my
pregnancy, I kept thinking about how amazing it would be to have my
baby be able to share a birthday with someone so special to me.
When I woke up at 3 am on January 23rd with some strong "surges"
(what we call them in hypnobirthing but for some reason I never got the
hang of!) I said a little prayer and repeated "I am ready to meet my
baby" in my head over and over, before finally waking up Chris at
around 4 am to tell him that I had been timing the contractions for an
hour and they were about 3 minutes apart. He said "ok" and rolled back
over. I shook him up and said "no, I think this is it". We both got up
and showered and made sure we had a bag packed. I breathed through each
contraction and found it increasingly easier and easier to snap in and
out of my state of relaxation. It honestly amazed me, but I have to
admit there was that little voice that kept saying "its gonna get
worse"....which I tried to fend off with "My birth will be easy because
I am so relaxed".
We got a hold of Kelly, who offered, so amazingly, to doula for us,
and my mom who was coming for Cy. They were both here around 6 am, I
think...time seemed to be slipping away at this point. I was feeling
really energetic between each contraction and was able to snap into
relaxation during each one, despite their increased intensity and
shortening span of time between each one. We hung out, watched TV, and I
just kept on breathing. At about 10 am or so, I decided to get in the
bath, we turned on Rainbow Relaxation and I let the shower hit me while
I laid in a tub of water. Contractions got more intense, but the warm
water made it easier to get through them calmly. Kelly started pouring
warm water over my belly during contractions and that was a HUGE help.
It felt like the pressure was just melting away. By now, it was about
11:00 am or so and I decided that when I got out, it would be time to
head to the hospital and get comfy there. I knew that it would not be
as easy to relax without the water, so I wanted to head to another
source of water at the hospital and hunker down there until baby got
here.
So, I got out, got dressed, got everything together, was still very
strong and focused in between contractions and the ride to the hospital
(which I was secretly dreading) was not that bad. I just remember
thinking "your body is opening up and baby is moving down". It was
raining lightly and I rolled down the windows and let my body get nice
and cool and just put all of my focus into relaxation.
We arrived and checked in at the hospital at noon. We got into a room
right away and at some point I think Chris talked to Dr. Cobb to let
him know what was going on. I wanted to get into the jacuzzi
immediately....and was really disappointed when Chris read a large sign
out loud "Do not use jacuzzi tubs". Oh f*@#. I was bummed....Chris said
he was certain I would blow up right there, but I kept it together and
said - "eh its alright - just get me in that shower asap". They had
to take some blood, and were insisting on a heparin lock, which I
declined. But they insisted. I was not in the mood for a fight, so I
picked my battles at that point. Alright...go for it. They tried twice
and omigod, I am certain it was worse than contractions at that point. I
wanted to hit the nurse. They ended up calling an anesthesiologist to
get it in for me....he seemed pretty stoked to be called in for that -
ha - poor guy. Then they still needed to draw some blood. Four pokes
later and I was still hooked up to the monitors. Dr. Cobb asked for a
cervical check at admission, so I said alright but told everyone in the
room to not utter one word about how far along I was. I totally feel
like knowing the centimeters while in labor with Cy really had a huge
effect on me and how I could handle things mentally. I did not want to
know how "far along" I was and wanted to just trust my body and know
that I would know when baby was coming and that my baby and my body were
doing their job and everything would move along at its own pace.
They finally unhooked me and I hopped in the shower fast. It had a
little seat and a removable shower head, so during every surge (it was
around this time I started accepting that terminology haha) I just
swirled the shower head over my belly and in my head I was repeating
"melt away melt away melt away" and sure enough each surge would melt
away and I would snap back into reality. I started to get a little bit
tired, but remember thinking "yea, I can do this for a few more hours".
The thought of getting something to help the pain never even entered my
head. I was in such a good place. I definitely started working harder
and needing more focus at this point, but it was all very tolerable. I
was so focused and in tune with everything.
I guess I had been in there about 40 minutes when the nurse came in
and was asking if I felt "different" and told me to tell her if I felt
anything "different". I remember thinking - SHOULD I be feeling
something different?! I asked Kelly and she said....."well, you are
really far along, you are doing so good". I said "I'm far?...do you know
how dilated I was?" She said yes. So I begged her to tell
me.....apparently I was at 8 cm at check in. I was shocked. I kinda
burst into tears and thought "omigod its working...I'm doing it! My body
is doing it". Then Chris told me that maybe I should think about
getting out of the shower soon. They had to do some more monitoring, but
apparently Chris says the look on my face could tell him I was getting
really close.
So I hopped out, made a pit stop (with Chris' help) to go pee. I sat
down, had a surge, and felt a pop. Chris had to jump out of the way as
my water broke a little bit. I stood right up and said something to the
effect of "I need to push...baby is right here".
I am not sure if they thought I was getting hysterical or what, but
this was the only part of the birth in which I can say I kinda freaked
out. It was Chris, Kelly, and I in the room and I sprawled out onto
that bed fast. I remember Kelly telling me I should get into the
position I wanted to push in, and I remember thinking - ha - I am not
pushing, this baby is CHARGING out. The nurse rushed in, I think she
was a bit surprised since she just saw me hanging out in the shower a
couple minutes before. Baby was crowning. Dr. Cobb came rushing in as I
was yelling "OMIGOD OMIGOD HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME" It was my one
irrational moment during labor and I think it was because everything
happened so quickly and I was so shocked that it was happening and that
it was happening so fast. I barely had time to catch my
breath....although everyone was trying to get me to. I remember Dr.
Cobb saying "Chelle!! You need to breathe." I took some breaths and
according to Chris, "baby came out on a wave". He literally, for lack
of a better term, slipped right out. I don't remember really pushing or
breathing baby down...he just came right out. Rook Drace Roman was
born at 1:53 pm on January 23rd, his uncle Ryan's birthday, about an
hour and half after we got to the hospital. Dr. Cobb said he took a
gulp of fluid on the way out, so he was a little purple, but he got to
come right onto my chest and hung out for a long time before he was
checked out. We waited for the cord to stop pulsing before Chris cut it
and the baby started nursing like a champ at his first try.
I think I am still in shock. I can't believe I did it and it was so
"easy". It was seriously a dream birth. Everything went so wonderfully
and happened better than I could have imagined. Being able to not only
make it through an unmedicated birth, but also having such an easy
recovery, and being able to say I actually enjoyed my labor and
delivery was not something I really thought was possible for me. Kelly
told us in class that these women having these births are not special,
they don't have crazy high tolerance for pain, and don't just get lucky
and have this easy birth by chance. They are regular women who accept
birth as a normal, natural, wonderful process that as women, our bodies
are made to go through. I can easily say that giving birth to Rook was
hard work, but I wouldn't describe it as painful, just uncomfortable
at times. I never thought I could say that about something that, having
already been through it with Cy, could only be described as
excruciating and unmanageable.
The New Adventures of Chelle and Co.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Time Zoom
I son't really know where all of the time went...but a lot has happened. My mom visited for a couple of weeks, our apartment flooded, we had a week long hotel stay due to the flood, everyone including the 4 cats have been sick, I have had a lot of recent orders, Cyler is SO MOBILE it is CRAZY, and I have tried really hard to stay busy and keep up with this crazy moving life! Needless to say, I am kinda exhausted. BUT, we are planning to move soon, which is awful and exciting at the same time. I am also going to be going back to school this summer to become a lactation consultant, which is so so so exciting. I can't wait. I am totally thrilled that I feel like I have finally figured out what I want to do with my life and it is something that has become so personal and such a huge part of my life, that I know I will be able to say I love my work when all is said and done. But, the juggling act is something I have never been good at, so thank GOD for Chris. He keeps me on track when all I want to do is lay around and cry haha.
On a wonderfully happy note, Cyler is turning into a little boy before our eyes. He is crawling like a MAD MAN and is SOOOO close to walking its crazy. He can stand on his own but is so cautious that he just eases himself into a squat when I let go of his little hands. He cruises the furniture like a champ and can get from point A to point B in record time! He waves "hi" to everyone and is just pure joy. His favorite thing to do these days seems to be anything with the kitties. He loves to crawl up to them and simply rest his head on them to give them little kitty hugs. When he happens upon one accidentally, like while he is cruising the couch - he squeals and bounces up and down with excitement. I still can't believe this little love is all mine. He is such a wonderful little baby and his little personality keeps looking better and better every day. Still not sure what we did to deserve such an awesome kid, but how lucky are we?!
On a wonderfully happy note, Cyler is turning into a little boy before our eyes. He is crawling like a MAD MAN and is SOOOO close to walking its crazy. He can stand on his own but is so cautious that he just eases himself into a squat when I let go of his little hands. He cruises the furniture like a champ and can get from point A to point B in record time! He waves "hi" to everyone and is just pure joy. His favorite thing to do these days seems to be anything with the kitties. He loves to crawl up to them and simply rest his head on them to give them little kitty hugs. When he happens upon one accidentally, like while he is cruising the couch - he squeals and bounces up and down with excitement. I still can't believe this little love is all mine. He is such a wonderful little baby and his little personality keeps looking better and better every day. Still not sure what we did to deserve such an awesome kid, but how lucky are we?!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
New things in 2011
So, a lot has been going on lately. I debated whether or not I would share this so publicly, but here it is....Chris and I have been going to couple therapy for various reasons, and pretty much immediately, our therapist suggested that it sounded as if I was suffering from PTSD. I was a little shocked and a little relieved. So, now I am in therapy with my own therapist, trying to make sense of it all and work through all this crap I have been pushing aside. I am so ready to have a life worth living. While the past few years have been wonderful for many reasons, I have been struggling, off and on, to maintain "happiness" or even contentment. I am looking forward to a brighter future and am now working on setting and keeping my goals, and trying to do things that can only influence my life in a positive way. I have so SO much to be thankful for and do feel so incredibly blessed to have a beautiful, amazing son (who is growing too fast) and a man who loves me and will stick by me to see me through to the "other side" of this mess.
On a lighter note, Cy has gotten past this awful "anti-sleep" phase it seems. He is finally sleeping better again and is such a happy, smiley baby. Now that he sits up on his own, he is much happier just sitting on the floor, playing with toys. It makes life a lot easier around here for sure! He is such a delight! I cannot believe he is almost 6 months old..half way to a year! And, of course, I am already planning his 1st birthday bash! Cannot even wait to plan a birthday party for a baby!
Also - check my etsy shop tomorrow - I am going to be making/posting a TON of new babylegs! :)
On a lighter note, Cy has gotten past this awful "anti-sleep" phase it seems. He is finally sleeping better again and is such a happy, smiley baby. Now that he sits up on his own, he is much happier just sitting on the floor, playing with toys. It makes life a lot easier around here for sure! He is such a delight! I cannot believe he is almost 6 months old..half way to a year! And, of course, I am already planning his 1st birthday bash! Cannot even wait to plan a birthday party for a baby!
Also - check my etsy shop tomorrow - I am going to be making/posting a TON of new babylegs! :)
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas Is (Almost) Here!
I am so excited about Christmas this year. Chris and I aren't really doing any gifts for each other, and our family is all far away (except Uncle Ryan of course) but I am so excited for my Cyler's first Christmas. Today, Alison and the kids gave Cy some AWESOME Christmas presents and he was so excited! It was so cute to see his eyes light up when the new things were opened up...he could not get enough of it! I cannot wait until Christmas morning to see my baby get all excited. We came home from work and showed Chris all of Cy's new things and they played for a while. And then, Cy decided he was going to stay sitting on his own - for quite some time! So, we officially have an unassisted sitter! He was so thrilled to be playing with his new "gumball machine" and stacking cups that he just sat and sat and sat! So sweet to watch him literally grow and change before my eyes. Next stop...crawling!! As much as I love having him as my little baby, I am starting to sloooowly see Chris' side and can't wait to see my little baby boy turn into a big kid.
Well, back to Christmas - so tomorrow, I am making Christmas Eve dinner and Ryan and my friend Angie are coming over. We have a 21 pound turkey and I am going to keep it easy other than that...mashed taters, some veggies, a couple pies. Then, I am going to make some "Santa" cookies and the breakfast casserole for Christmas morning. Can't wait! :)
Well, back to Christmas - so tomorrow, I am making Christmas Eve dinner and Ryan and my friend Angie are coming over. We have a 21 pound turkey and I am going to keep it easy other than that...mashed taters, some veggies, a couple pies. Then, I am going to make some "Santa" cookies and the breakfast casserole for Christmas morning. Can't wait! :)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Smells like Christmas!
Wow, where has the time gone?!? I can't believe Christmas is in a couple of days! And I can't believe my Cyler is almost 5 months old! CRAZY! I am so excited about Christmas with him though....cannot WAIT to see him playing with all of that wrapping paper (and his new toys of course!). He is such a big boy now! He is sitting on his own for little bits of time, and is even hanging on to the edges of furniture and standing up when I set him down. His favorite toy right now is his Sophie Giraffe from Grammie Carol and his Razbaby teether....the kid likes to chew! He has given us a recent run for our money waking up at night...apparently this is some 4 month sleep regression that none of us are very happy about but he is such a love nonetheless. And, I can't complain, he still goes down for bed every night SO easily and when he does wake up, he just eats for a minute or takes his paci and goes right back to sleep. I still look at him at least 20 times a day and say something to the effect of "he is so wonderful" or "Chris, don't we have the most perfect baby?!" I think Chris is getting sick of my sappiness....but he IS wonderful and he IS the most perfect baby! Well, I admit, I am a BIT biased, but seriously, he is such a ball of love and I just can't get over how amazing being his mom really is.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
4 months (+)
So, I have been really bad about my little blog lately! Cy is already four months old - and a couple WEEKS! He is rolling and moving and almost able to sit without our help! Where is my little newborn!? AH! So much fun! He has been going through a little growth spurt and the sleep has been a little bit...ummm...interesting! Last week he had his first Santa experience. He was verrry confused but it was a memory never the less...a very pricey memory! $24.99 just for a CD with ONE image on it. Ah, they sure know how to get the money from mommy! Oh, well, one for the scrapbook. We also put up the tree this weekend and decorated for Christmas! I love it! Christmas is absolutely my most favorite time of the year. Here is the $25 shot!:
Also, side note, I have been crazy crafting and Alison had a party to showcase my clothes and kids accessories. It went pretty well, and I am still working on some orders. Hopefully I can really get this business going...next step is putting everything on etsy to sell. Can't wait!
Also, side note, I have been crazy crafting and Alison had a party to showcase my clothes and kids accessories. It went pretty well, and I am still working on some orders. Hopefully I can really get this business going...next step is putting everything on etsy to sell. Can't wait!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
HE ROLLS!!
Well, my little baby is looking more like a little boy everyday! He figured out how to roll onto his tummy from his back on Saturday night and immediately flipped back over onto his back and has been flipping and flopping ever since! He is mobile and mommy was NOT ready yet! I cannot believe how much he grows and changes every single day. I am definitely cherishing every little moment with my little baby because I can tell that in the blink of an eye, he won't be a little baby anymore. Chris can't WAIT for him to be big and walking and talking, and don't get me wrong, I can't wait to see the little boy he is going to turn into, but I know that this baby phase is so short and so quick and I am loving every single little second.....even those 3 in the morning wake up calls!
He is such a happy baby and it puts a smile on my face that he literally makes everyone around him so happy. Random strangers at the grocery store or the mall are always stopping and checking him out and he smiles at everyone! It's so awesome to have such a happy baby, reassures me that Chris and I are doing a good job, I guess :).
On another note, Cyler has apparently entered into the "I only want my mom and dad" phase. Chris and I got to attend a winter gala for an organization called BOMA with some of his work colleagues and get all dressed up! Well, we left Cy with Uncle Ry and his friend, Lily, and apparently, he was not his easy-baby self. Chris and I had a great time, but when we got home well after 11pm, poor Cy was still awake and cranky! Once we got home, he was ok, but his sleep was still a little off that night. Apparently, Lily was a Godsend and I know Ry has a ton of patience, so I think it was alright, I just wish he had slept a little longer than normal.
On yet ANOTHER note, I have always hated the fact that people screw up my name. I would say 9.9 times out of 10, people think my name is Michelle, not Rachelle, and the other 1% of the time, people think my name is ROchelle....and when they read it, they say "Rachel." It has always been annoying, hence going by "Chelle." Well, I don't know how I missed this in naming Cyler, but apparently, he has this naming issue as well. First time I saw this in action was at his 1 month check up, when the doctor actually called him "Cycle." Really? Cycle?! Ugh. Then, I have people (like the insurance lady on the phone) who read it as "Kyler". Now, whenever I tell someone what his name is, they think I am saying "Skylar" or "Tyler". :( Bummer. Oh well, I love his name, and like calling him "Cy" which seems to be easier for nimrods to figure out....I hope :).
He is such a happy baby and it puts a smile on my face that he literally makes everyone around him so happy. Random strangers at the grocery store or the mall are always stopping and checking him out and he smiles at everyone! It's so awesome to have such a happy baby, reassures me that Chris and I are doing a good job, I guess :).
On another note, Cyler has apparently entered into the "I only want my mom and dad" phase. Chris and I got to attend a winter gala for an organization called BOMA with some of his work colleagues and get all dressed up! Well, we left Cy with Uncle Ry and his friend, Lily, and apparently, he was not his easy-baby self. Chris and I had a great time, but when we got home well after 11pm, poor Cy was still awake and cranky! Once we got home, he was ok, but his sleep was still a little off that night. Apparently, Lily was a Godsend and I know Ry has a ton of patience, so I think it was alright, I just wish he had slept a little longer than normal.
On yet ANOTHER note, I have always hated the fact that people screw up my name. I would say 9.9 times out of 10, people think my name is Michelle, not Rachelle, and the other 1% of the time, people think my name is ROchelle....and when they read it, they say "Rachel." It has always been annoying, hence going by "Chelle." Well, I don't know how I missed this in naming Cyler, but apparently, he has this naming issue as well. First time I saw this in action was at his 1 month check up, when the doctor actually called him "Cycle." Really? Cycle?! Ugh. Then, I have people (like the insurance lady on the phone) who read it as "Kyler". Now, whenever I tell someone what his name is, they think I am saying "Skylar" or "Tyler". :( Bummer. Oh well, I love his name, and like calling him "Cy" which seems to be easier for nimrods to figure out....I hope :).
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