becca74
01-07-2006, 15:58
Well, he's here, and the vital stats are: Noah Baruch (pronounced Ba-rook, means 'blessing'), 9lbs 8ozs, 55 cm, born at 11.25 am, 30 June 2006 (4 days overdue), at home after the hardest work I've ever done in my life!
I am still quite in shock that it happened to plan, what a test of endurance! I am totally in debt to my gorgeous angel midwife Sally and my wonderful beautiful husband Andrew for bearing with me through my banshee screaming, I felt nothing but loved, supported and encouraged to keep going and that all was normal and good. Their faith in me was what kept me afloat on the storm.
after being due on Monday and having never gone a day beyond my due date to go into labour, I was beginning to wonder if he was ever coming out, my body had been tormenting me with quite a bit of pre-labour during the preceding week, and I was getting quite disheartened. Woke up at 2.25am on Friday morning to a sharp contraction, and couldn't get comfortable after that. kept going to the loo, but still, after the prelabour that had been teasing me coming and going that I'd try going to lie down and sleep, but only felt comfortable on the floor. Laid on my left side with my leg lifted up onto the bed, and this just increased the intensity....figured this must be it.....went back to bathroom and did some visualisations, which really got things going even more. eventually at about 5.30/6ish I phoned Sally, as I was finally feeling like the contractions were biting quite hard, and then got into the spa bath. generally moaning through all of them now. It didn't seem too long before Sally got there, and this calmed me down a bit - held her hand through a couple of contractions and it gave me more strength. After a while, was getting a bit of a pushing urge, so Sally suggested sitting on the loo to see....we decided to do a VE just to check, and I had a lip there. bit of a blur to my memory, but I think we did the first of her trying to push the lip back with me pushing, which was bl**dy painful. It appeared to move back, and it was about this time Andrew came upstairs. So we did some of our squat pushing with him holding onto my arms for a while, and then some on the floor, as I couldn't work out what was comfortable. Sally did another VE and the lip was back, so we decided to wait an hour (I think this was at about 10am-ish and I would try to just breath through the contractions whilst lying on my left side....I think this was the most torturous bit, the contractions had no break in between for the full hour, and the final few before the hour was up gave me an uncontrollable urge to push. At the end of the hour, Sally checked me again, and THANK GOD the lip had gone....despite the intense power of it all which had me screaming like I've never screamed before, I think I managed a smile! I was then just able to go with the pushing urge, but i think because Noah is big, this was scarier than when I remember pushing with Josh (my 1st vbac) - as Josh had been a month early and only 6lb 7oz, I remembered the pushing as a relief, and it had only lasted 16mins and he was out. It was pretty scary at this point, as I felt him moving down, as I was moving into unchartered territory. I kept the image of the baby emerging from the flowers head, from Spiritual Midwifery in my mind, to try and move beyond the fear that after my previous failed pushing attempts with Jak and Oskar, that these pushes would actually move Noah out of me. It took ages and I moved onto my hands and knees putting my faith in gravity. Whilst turning over, I could really tell his head had come down alot. Eventually, Sally suggested I reach in and check where he was, and I could feel the top of his head in there... this was good and a bit scary... I was still getting my head round that I was actually going to do this. Kept on with the baby/flower picture in my head, I just pushed and kept imagining his head already out. Eventually I got the ring of fire (dont remember it with Josh, they had to tell me his head was out when I had him!), and I reached down and felt his head....wow, still had the mixture of awe and contrasting doubt in my head that I had the endurance to go any further. Still, focused on the flower/baby picture. Pushed out his head, and no cord round the neck, like with Josh. What was weird was feeling him wriggling in me, wow it hurt! After Josh's head was out, he slithered out immediately, so I was in unchartered territory now. He slowly turned around, and Sally told us that his shoulders were quite big.....and so the pushing continued in earnest....I remember wishing that they'd just pull him out of me! I had a 2nd ring of fire, as his shoulders were very wide, and again, this took quite a bit of work to get through this bit, and still my mind playing games with me wondering if I could manage to do it. Eventually, triumphantly, out he came, and Sally passed him through my legs and I took him up to my chest. He was a bit of a funny colour as his poor body got a bit crushed as he was coming through, and he took a little bit to take his first breath, but I rubbed his back a bit, and he slowly turned pinker, and I watched him as he took in his first breath! He still was gasping and struggling a bit for a few minutes, but I felt totally confident, as I knew as long as he had his cord attached he was getting what he needed. managed to turn around on the bed onto the dry part, and sit down, holding him. He cried out his birth story for a while, and wasnt interested in feeding straight away - he had a tale to tell first. Soon his brothers came up to meet him, and his cousin Rachel who had been watching them downstairs during the birth. About an hour after his birth, I got the urge to push out the placenta, and then Andrew came and did the cord cutting honours. Anyway, ended up with 2 minor tears and a graze, but as long as I am near my bidet I am fine with this, it isnt anywhere near the drama after I had the grazes with Josh.
So, I am still in shock that it all actually happened. I think that the self-doubt has been the biggest hurdle in this journey, and it was a Mount Everest that I hope now that I have conquered. I am truly blessed, and Noah rode the waves in this stormy journey faithfully to emerge safely at the end! I was a secure birthing ark after-all, no matter what the so-called medical professionals that had tried to lead me to believe negatively about myself in the past. They were wrong!! My body is not a lemon!!
From Rebecca and her 'Boy Factory':
Jak - 27/08/99 - emergency c/sec
Josh - 27/12/01 - vbac month early
Oskar - 25/03/04 - emergency c/sec
Noah - 30/06/06 - HBA2C
I am still quite in shock that it happened to plan, what a test of endurance! I am totally in debt to my gorgeous angel midwife Sally and my wonderful beautiful husband Andrew for bearing with me through my banshee screaming, I felt nothing but loved, supported and encouraged to keep going and that all was normal and good. Their faith in me was what kept me afloat on the storm.
after being due on Monday and having never gone a day beyond my due date to go into labour, I was beginning to wonder if he was ever coming out, my body had been tormenting me with quite a bit of pre-labour during the preceding week, and I was getting quite disheartened. Woke up at 2.25am on Friday morning to a sharp contraction, and couldn't get comfortable after that. kept going to the loo, but still, after the prelabour that had been teasing me coming and going that I'd try going to lie down and sleep, but only felt comfortable on the floor. Laid on my left side with my leg lifted up onto the bed, and this just increased the intensity....figured this must be it.....went back to bathroom and did some visualisations, which really got things going even more. eventually at about 5.30/6ish I phoned Sally, as I was finally feeling like the contractions were biting quite hard, and then got into the spa bath. generally moaning through all of them now. It didn't seem too long before Sally got there, and this calmed me down a bit - held her hand through a couple of contractions and it gave me more strength. After a while, was getting a bit of a pushing urge, so Sally suggested sitting on the loo to see....we decided to do a VE just to check, and I had a lip there. bit of a blur to my memory, but I think we did the first of her trying to push the lip back with me pushing, which was bl**dy painful. It appeared to move back, and it was about this time Andrew came upstairs. So we did some of our squat pushing with him holding onto my arms for a while, and then some on the floor, as I couldn't work out what was comfortable. Sally did another VE and the lip was back, so we decided to wait an hour (I think this was at about 10am-ish and I would try to just breath through the contractions whilst lying on my left side....I think this was the most torturous bit, the contractions had no break in between for the full hour, and the final few before the hour was up gave me an uncontrollable urge to push. At the end of the hour, Sally checked me again, and THANK GOD the lip had gone....despite the intense power of it all which had me screaming like I've never screamed before, I think I managed a smile! I was then just able to go with the pushing urge, but i think because Noah is big, this was scarier than when I remember pushing with Josh (my 1st vbac) - as Josh had been a month early and only 6lb 7oz, I remembered the pushing as a relief, and it had only lasted 16mins and he was out. It was pretty scary at this point, as I felt him moving down, as I was moving into unchartered territory. I kept the image of the baby emerging from the flowers head, from Spiritual Midwifery in my mind, to try and move beyond the fear that after my previous failed pushing attempts with Jak and Oskar, that these pushes would actually move Noah out of me. It took ages and I moved onto my hands and knees putting my faith in gravity. Whilst turning over, I could really tell his head had come down alot. Eventually, Sally suggested I reach in and check where he was, and I could feel the top of his head in there... this was good and a bit scary... I was still getting my head round that I was actually going to do this. Kept on with the baby/flower picture in my head, I just pushed and kept imagining his head already out. Eventually I got the ring of fire (dont remember it with Josh, they had to tell me his head was out when I had him!), and I reached down and felt his head....wow, still had the mixture of awe and contrasting doubt in my head that I had the endurance to go any further. Still, focused on the flower/baby picture. Pushed out his head, and no cord round the neck, like with Josh. What was weird was feeling him wriggling in me, wow it hurt! After Josh's head was out, he slithered out immediately, so I was in unchartered territory now. He slowly turned around, and Sally told us that his shoulders were quite big.....and so the pushing continued in earnest....I remember wishing that they'd just pull him out of me! I had a 2nd ring of fire, as his shoulders were very wide, and again, this took quite a bit of work to get through this bit, and still my mind playing games with me wondering if I could manage to do it. Eventually, triumphantly, out he came, and Sally passed him through my legs and I took him up to my chest. He was a bit of a funny colour as his poor body got a bit crushed as he was coming through, and he took a little bit to take his first breath, but I rubbed his back a bit, and he slowly turned pinker, and I watched him as he took in his first breath! He still was gasping and struggling a bit for a few minutes, but I felt totally confident, as I knew as long as he had his cord attached he was getting what he needed. managed to turn around on the bed onto the dry part, and sit down, holding him. He cried out his birth story for a while, and wasnt interested in feeding straight away - he had a tale to tell first. Soon his brothers came up to meet him, and his cousin Rachel who had been watching them downstairs during the birth. About an hour after his birth, I got the urge to push out the placenta, and then Andrew came and did the cord cutting honours. Anyway, ended up with 2 minor tears and a graze, but as long as I am near my bidet I am fine with this, it isnt anywhere near the drama after I had the grazes with Josh.
So, I am still in shock that it all actually happened. I think that the self-doubt has been the biggest hurdle in this journey, and it was a Mount Everest that I hope now that I have conquered. I am truly blessed, and Noah rode the waves in this stormy journey faithfully to emerge safely at the end! I was a secure birthing ark after-all, no matter what the so-called medical professionals that had tried to lead me to believe negatively about myself in the past. They were wrong!! My body is not a lemon!!
From Rebecca and her 'Boy Factory':
Jak - 27/08/99 - emergency c/sec
Josh - 27/12/01 - vbac month early
Oskar - 25/03/04 - emergency c/sec
Noah - 30/06/06 - HBA2C