James's Birth Story from Jillann's Perspective

So excited I finally have a chance to sit down at the computer! Life with a newborn sure is different. :)

This will be a long post, so I'm putting James's birth story behind a page break.


After the ultrasound on Wednesday, I was convinced that baby wasn't coming until Valentine's Day. I even told Cindy I'd see her Friday for another non-stress test as I was leaving the office. We had just put our house on the market and got a request for a showing Wednesday afternoon, so I went and had coffee with my friend Angela. We chatted awhile and she gave James some cute little outfits and the cloth diaper wipes she had cut from receiving blankets and edged for me. I eventually went home and had dinner and Seth and I messed around on our computers for a while.

Around 10:00 PM we decided to go to bed. We got up and I told Seth the baby wanted to dance and asked him to dance with me. We swayed about three times before my water broke. At first I wasn't sure if it was my waters or if I had just peed my pants! So I went to the bathroom and actually peed. I was still unsure which it was. So I headed toward the bedroom and just as I made it to the laundry room, WOOSH! Definitely water breaking. Amazingly not on carpet! I stood there as Seth got some towels, told him we were having a baby, and called our doula Barbara. I told her my water had broken, but I didn't have any contractions yet, so I was going to try to rest a while until I felt it was time to go to the hospital.

I headed to the bathroom so my water would have a place to go. Contractions started in there about 10-15 minutes after my water broke. I texted my sister to not tell anyone, but that I was in labor. I was really worried about possible meconium and did a lot of google searching, but that was all fine.

Once things calmed down, I tried to lay in bed, but it was extremely uncomfortable. So I rested in the recliner, but was unable to sleep. Around 1:00 AM I started timing contractions. Already they were pretty long (~90 seconds) and about 10 minutes apart. Around 4:00 AM I woke up Seth to head to the hospital. I felt that my contractions were still further apart than I wanted them to be (~7 minutes), but they were quite long and increasing in intensity.

We arrived at the hospital and got wheeled up to the maternity ward. We got checked in and all that jazz. Barbara arrived as they started all the tests. They checked my cervix, which was 3 cm dilated, ~80% effaced, and the baby was between 0 and 1 station. All the monitoring looked good. However, I felt that my contractions had slowed down a lot since coming to the hospital and I was really worried I had decided to go too soon. Barbara said it was normal for contractions to slow down when you first arrived at the hospital and that your body needs to reacclimate to the new environment.

After that we worked to get labor going. We walked the halls (very slowly) until informed Dr. Labban was there. He seemed confident things were going well. He also had a busy day... I was his third laboring woman already! It was like 6:00 in the morning! He said he'd deliver one baby for breakfast, one for lunch, and I would be the "afternoon snack."

I was kind of tired, so Barbara gave me a really nice, long massage. Honestly, I could have had some more, but after a while, we got up and walked some more. Then I needed to be monitored again. I sat in the rocking chair and was monitored for what felt like forever. This was one of the harder parts of labor for me. Sitting in that chair was one long, continuous, intense contraction. I really worked through a lot of stuff mentally. I'm sure it looked like I was asleep on the outside, but on the inside I was seriously considering an epidural because I didn't think I could handle that. I really thought I was going through transition it was so tough. Everyone says transition is the hardest, but shortest part of labor. I think that monitoring session in the rocking chair was my transition and it was just out of normal labor order! I eventually started crying because it just hurt so bad, but Seth was very kind and told me I could do it. I don't remember everything he said, but he was very comforting.

After they disconnected me from the monitors, I ended up on the birthing ball in the bathtub. The water felt nice on my back, but not so much on my belly. We did some more hall walking. Barbara's assistant, Kim, arrived. We did some more laboring stuff. This time period is kind of a blur. Just trying to get things progressed.

I did eventually get checked again around 1:00 PM. I think I requested that check because I was still certain I had experienced transition in that chair and I was ready to have a baby! The check revealed that I was 100% effaced, but only 6 cm dilated. I was really disappointed that I had been working so long and hard for a measly 3 cm! Everyone else seemed really happy with that progress, including Dr. Labban, but I really expected to be 8 or 9 cm, so I was not really happy with 6.

Around 2:00 PM Seth decided he should go take care of the dog. I think the thought was that it was the best time of labor to go, because he didn't want to have to leave while I was pushing. Pretty much as soon as Seth left, things got real. Barbara suggested we walk some more, so I got up and decided I needed to use the restroom first. I got really nauseous in there and ended up just sitting on the potty feeling like I was going to throw up. It was so bad I asked Barbara if I could just make myself throw up to feel better, but she said no. Then I immediately actually started vomiting. A lot. Which was amazing since I had only eaten like two crackers and a piece of cheese. I was also really shaky. Seth came back to me sitting naked on the toilet and vomiting. How romantic.

After Seth got back, I ended up in the shower again, but I didn't really like it in there. I just was getting uncomfortable on the toilet and wanted a safe place for all my amniotic fluid to go. I was really upset and annoyed by how much amniotic fluid kept gushing out of my body. Every time I moved it was like a mini flood. I felt really gross. I kept going back and forth between really hot and really cold. I started to feel like I might need to poop. I really didn't want to poop in labor. Then realized maybe I wanted to push soon.

I'm guessing that was the actual transition. It was unpleasant, but I still think not as bad as those contractions in the rocking chair.

They checked my cervix again around 4:00 PM. 9.5 cm, 100% effaced, +1 station! I had made a lot of progress in very little time.

I really wanted to push, but was told to wait for that extra 0.5 cm. That was really difficult and felt like it lasted forever. It's really hard to not push when your body wants to push. After a few contractions, I was told I could start pushing, even though no one checked that I was completely dilated. I remember being a little confused as to whether I should be pushing or not. I think they told me like three times before I believed I could push. It was really nice to stop fighting that urge! It took me a couple of contractions to get the feel for pushing, but once I figured it out, I was happy to be doing it!

After pushing on my back for a little bit, someone suggested a side lying position. We did that for a while and I liked that. I could kind of relax between pushes. After a bit someone suggested a new position. I didn't really want to, but trusted the people helping me, so they set up the squat bar. The squat bar is hard work, but very effective. I could definitely feel the baby making his way down and out. We squatted for a long time. (Like hours.)

I should note here that I had the weirdest contractions ever all throughout labor. They were really long and really intense, but spaced really far apart. If I had waited until my contractions were consistently 5 minutes apart like I planned, I never would have gone to the hospital. They also came in clusters. I would have three or four about 4 minutes apart, then nothing for 20-30 minutes. I think I actually fell asleep during the pushing phase thanks to one of these breaks.

Anyway, we squatted using the bar, the robozo thing, and just the edge of the bed. The edge of the bed was sort of accidental as a contraction struck as I was headed back to bed. But it was effective so I did that for a while. I felt sort of bad because you could see the baby's head during contractions and that was a terrible angle for Barbara, Kim, and my nurses. Mark had popped in a few times during labor and was there for a fair bit of the pushing. I'm not sure he knew what to think about all the squatting, other than that Dr. Labban wouldn't be happy about catching a baby so close to the floor.

I do remember Dr. Labban visited at some point and suggested perineal massage. He started doing it and holy crap it hurt! I think that was the loudest I was during labor, shouting, "NO! NO! NO!" I did however let Mark do it and that went much better. More stretchy, less ouchy. I also remember not enjoying the fetal monitor during the pushing phase. But it was good because the baby's heartbeat stayed nice and steady throughout labor. Everyone decided we were having a pretty chill little guy.

At some point, someone also brought out the mirror so I could see him crowning because that would be encouraging. I was pretty excited that everyone said he had hair. I never really wanted to look in the mirror, but since they rolled it out and everything I figured what the heck. Honestly, no one really ever needs to see their nether regions in that state. I'm glad Seth had the fortitude to not look in the mirror. 

After about six hours of pushing, the baby's head was finally visible between contractions and Dr. Labban was called in. I later learned that when he heard how long I had been pushing, he asked if I was prepped for a C-section, but the nurse stood up for me and said I was having this baby!

Dr. Labban raised the bed way up high and got the stirrups out for a sort of modified squat position. He counted during contractions, which I actually found pretty helpful. He also did uterine massage, which is sort of like a really hard tickle on the belly to stimulate contractions. And holy crap, the contractions that caused! The very next one brought forth a baby!

He screamed big and I got to cuddle him immediately. Dr. Labban waited for the cord to stop pulsing before clamping it, and then Seth cut the cord, even though he had said he didn't really want to. They pretty much just handed him the scissors and then he had to.

I was really surprised to see him. He had quite the pointy cone head from being in the birth canal so long. But he was so beautiful. And big! We decided right away he didn't look like an Atticus and went back and forth between James and Thomas for a while. We finally settled on James Brennen. We worked on nursing while Dr. Labban and Mark got me all fixed up. I apparently got a pretty bad tear (third degree) and lost a lot of blood. Also, my blood pressure spiked right at the end. But they got it all taken care of while we got to know our new little guy.

Overall I'm very happy with how things went. We got all our wishes on our birth plan. And as a bonus, James came on a Thursday, which meant Mark got to be there. In fact, I have learned that Dr. Labban actually let Mark catch James - his first solo catch! Also, I am so in love with James, but my love for Seth has grown more than I could have imagined. He was amazing throughout my pregnancy, but he was stellar during labor. He really cared for me, even when I was being rude (which I felt was often. I either felt that I was being incredibly rude or that I was boring.) He was very quick with the emesis basin whenever I said "bin" (I was seriously nauseous for over seven hours, which ended pretty much as soon as James slid out.). I just found him very comforting the entire time and so lucky to have married him.

Also, I really just don't even know how people have babies without doulas. I'm 100% positive that without Barbara (and all the other amazing people who helped us so much) I would have had to have a C-section. I feel very fortunate to have had her there and am thankful for her care. (As well as her assistant Kim and our nurses Laurie and Beth.)

So there you go. The birth story of James Brennen Madren from the laboring moma's point of view.