Milo's birthday is April 9th, and our baby's due date
was April 11th. We really hoped that he wouldn't come
on Milo's big day, and he didn't! My second hope was
that our baby would be born on the 13th. The four older
kids all have birthdays that "fit" - one number carries
over from each child to the next. I like the pattern of it,
and Milo's birth date didn't fit in at all. His birthday is 4-9-09,
and I was hoping the baby would "match" with 4-13-13.
Plus, my Mom's birthday is October 13, and the 13th
was a Saturday (with only baseball practice and a soccer game,
I was pretty sure we could get help with those).
I'd had contractions for months, and the last month
or so they had gotten pretty strong, as well as closer together.
On the 10th, I had them 5 minutes apart for an hour,
but things slowed down again. I knew that my body was
getting ready for labor, but I also knew that the
"getting ready" could take a while. I went to bed on the 12th
wondering when our little guy would arrive - hoping for sometime
in the next 24 hours, but not at all certain that would happen.
Just after 2 am, I woke up with a contraction.
I went to the bathroom, and then went back to bed.
Just before 2:30 am, I woke up again. I walked around
for a minute, and then decided to time contractions.
Each lasted about 2 minutes, and they were 4 or 5
minutes apart (from the beginning of one to the beginning
of the next). It felt like they never stopped.
After a few contractions, I woke John up and told him
that I thought I was in labor. After a few more contractions,
we decided to call the midwife. At 3 am, I talked to
Trinette,
who was on call. She asked if we could meet her at the
birth center at 3:45. I was a little worried that things
would progress too quickly, but equally worried that it
might be a false alarm, so I said, "sure."
Next, I called Greg (a couple of times before he woke up),
and asked if he would mind sleeping at our house
Greg (and 3:45), we finished packing the camera and
some other odds and ends, and installed the baby's car seat.
At 3:20 am, we took a final pregnancy photo.
(Almost exactly 1 hour before Alton was born.)
The birth suite is only a few minutes from our house,
so we waited until 3:40 to head over there.
Trinette and two midwife students were there and ready
for us. After waiting out a couple of contractions,
Trinette checked me, and said that I was at a 6 with
a bulging bag of water. (At this point, John knew that
we were really close - and as usual, I was afraid we weren't.)
This time around, I tested positive for group B strep.
Our ideal situation was to arrive early enough at the
birth center for IV antibiotics. The antibiotics need to
be administered 4 hours before delivery. All but my
labor with Bentley have been less than 4 hours total,
so we knew it was a long shot. We also knew that my quick
labors and deliveries minimized the chance of the baby
catching the GBS. Our second plan was to have a Hibiclens rinse
We slowly walked from the room where I was checked,
to the birth suite. I planned to change into the
labor gown
that my friend, Anjie, made for me, but the contractions were
getting really hard and really close together. I managed to
sit down on the bed, and Harmony,
(one of the midwives), tried to find a vein to start the IV,
While she looked, I had another contraction, this time
with a lot of pressure. We decided to scratch the IV idea,
and go for the Hibiclens. After another contraction,
Harmony helped me into the bathroom for the Hibiclens rinse.
After administering that, she walked into the other room.
Almost immediately, my water broke. John called the midwife
back in, and I started to push. The midwives and apprentices
rushed into the room, and one caught the baby's head.
They helped me onto the floor and as the baby's body
was born, one of the midwives remembered that John was
supposed to "catch." She tried to hand things over to him,
but I told them I didn't care any more. I just wanted the baby
OUT.
It was only one minute from the time my water broke,
until the baby was born
at 4:22 am.
The midwife handed the baby to me, and I got
to hold and snuggle him while he pinked up and
started to make some noise (no loud screaming for him).
Once the baby's cord stopped pulsing, John cut it.
I held him for a little longer, and asked John to take a couple
of pictures. Alton was born with his right fist up next to
his cheek, and he kept it there for a while.
My placenta was tri-lobed, and took a long time to come out.
After a while, I handed the baby over to John.
Once the placenta was out, I finally got to put on my gown.
John, Alton, and I rested in the birth suite, and I
got to feed Alton. John kind of dozed. We didn't take
any photos then, and I wish we had. It was a nice break
before the chaos that followed.
When I measured 43 weeks at my 40 week prenatal
appointment, I decided that I would likely have a big baby.
But after he was born, he looked so tiny.
I was suprised when they said he was 9 lbs 5 oz!
This is really where the Birth Story ends, but I am going to
record what happened after Alton safely arrived.
I've always bled a lot after deliveries, and this one was no
exception. The midwives started to get nervous, and kept
checking my vitals. John took the baby, and Harmony
placed an IV to get some fluids in me. My uterus
would tighten up and go where it should, then it got
boggy and moved up and over and wherever it
shouldn't have been. The midwives began to talk about
transferring to the hospital, but I really didn't want to do that.
Eventually, they said I had to go. We called my Mom in Idaho,
and she got ready to drive to Utah. An ambulance came for
me (Harmony rode with me), and John bundled Alton up
in his (too small) outfit, put him in his car seat and
drove to the hospital in the minivan.
Once at the ER, they started another IV, drew blood,
and I got some much needed pain medication
(although it wasn't enough by a long shot).
The ER doctor did an exam, couldn't tell anything,
and called for an ultrasound (which also didn't show anything).
A sweet labor and delivery nurse came over to the ER
to assist. She was wonderful. I'm so glad she came to help.
John, Harmony, Amy, and Alton (asleep in his car seat)
were able to stay with me the entire time.
Eventually, the OB/GYN who was on call became
available, and I was moved to labor and delivery.
The OB did another exam, and then a
D & C
(just the curetagge because I was already dilated).
It was really painful.
He found some retained placenta - likely the
cause of my excessive bleeding.
After that, he stitched up my 1st degree tear,
and talked to us about what to expect next.
They estimated that I had lost 4 liters of blood,
so they wanted to keep me overnight to watch me.
Once I was stable, (around 10am) the midwives left.
John had been making phone calls in between the
procedures. Mike's wife, Jenny, had relieved Greg sometime
between 8 and 9 am, but she had to leave at noon.
Bentley had baseball practice at 11, so John took Alton
home with him and dropped Bentley off at baseball.
Then, he introduced the kids to their new brother,
asked our neighbor, Karen, to watch the kids till my
Mom arrived, grabbed some breakfast/lunch, and
came back to the hospital. The nurse removed one
of my IVs, and by the time Alton woke up,
I was able to hold him and feed him. I'm so grateful that
he had that nice long sleep and didn't need me when
I wasn't able to care for him. I'm also grateful for the
quiet time John and I had with him at the birth center.
We didn't admit Alton, and I wasn't allowed out of bed,
so John stayed the night to hand Alton to me when needed,
to change diapers, and to keep me company.
After John got back, I was moved to a post-partum room.
My Mom arrived mid-afternoon, and a friend took
Jonah to his soccer game for us.
After dinner, John brought my Mom and the kids to
the hospital. Ruby was annoyed because she had had
one babysitter after another all day long, and wanted to
know when we would be coming home.
John dropped everyone off at home, and then came back
to be with Alton and me.
By late Saturday night, my heart-rate was too high,
my blood pressure was too low, and the OB decided
that a blood transfusion would be our best option.
That took a good part of the night, but by morning,
they were happier with my vitals and started to talk
about me being able to go home.
They also let me get out of bed!
John left for a little while in the morning, and I was
able to take care of Alton without him.
Finally, after lunch, the OB came in, checked things out,
and said that we could go home!
We got back to the house around 5 pm, and my Mom
had a yummy dinner waiting for us. I ate, and then
was finally able to get some much needed sleep.
I'm glad that the midwives caught the problem. I had
retained placenta and excessive bleeding after Maxwell
was born, but didn't have a D & C until he was 6 weeks old.
It was a long recovery. Hopefully this one will be better.
I'm so glad that Alton was born safely.
He is a sweet little guy and endures the loves from his
brothers and Ruby like a champ. My Mom stayed for a week,
and took care of the laundry, meals, and the kids
so that I could rest. I hope to take things slowly for another week,
and then try to ease back into our busy life
with Alton in tow.
