Areli's Birth Story
I love Hypnobabies; it does work and your body and your mind can do
amazing things! To the moms in my
itchymoms.com group, hang in
there! We can deal with ICP and still get the birth we want! Some
called me stubborn, first because the doctor wouldn't diagnose me
with ICP even though it was my 4th time with it, and second because
I just knew that even though we were going to have to induce the
birth, I wanted things to be as close to my ideal birth as possible.
I'm just thankful that everything turned out so well for us, and
that my baby is safe and sound.
so here it goes ...
I can't believe I'm already writing my birth story, that my baby is
actually here, but she is! All 6 lbs 3 oz of her! My guess date was
December 13th, but because of having Intrahepatic Cholastasis of
Pregnancy (ICP), I knew I was going to be induced at least 2 weeks
before that date, depending on how my high liver enzymes and bile
acid levels were. I thought I could escape ICP this time; I was ever
so careful with my diet, and I took liver cleansing supplements and
drank tons of water. But at around 26 weeks, much sooner than with
my other three pregnancies, the dreaded itching started. So I had
the blood work done, and even though the acid levels were always
within the normal range, they were steadily climbing up.
At my 36 week appointment, Suzanne, my midwife, and I made out the plans
for
induction: we'd start with a foley catheter, followed by stripping
the membranes, breaking my water, and using minute amounts of
cytotec. Of course, I was hoping we'd only need to use the folley …
We were to start on Wednesday 22nd, the day before Thanksgiving.
That morning I was so ecstatic that I got very nervous and emotional
when it was time to drop the kids off at my neighbor's.
We met Laura, my doula, at Suzanne's office, and my midwife
put the folley catheter in. Last time this procedure hurt a lot, so
I put my Hypnobabies into practice, and I was so pleasantly
surprised at how well it worked! I was completely relaxed and had
hardly felt a thing. Now we just had to wait.
The surges started very slowly but steady, so Jeff and I
went to walk at the mall and had dinner out. It felt like we were on
a date. That night I went to bed, and when I woke up at 6 in the
morning to go to the bathroom, the folley came out! So I knew I was
at least 4 cm! Thanksgiving day we waited all day for birthing time
to start, but not much happened. So I made a pumpkin pie that Julian
my son had requested, and cranberry sauce because my mom didn't know
what that was (we're from Argentina). In the afternoon we went to
see the kids. When we went back home I called Laura, my doula, who
had offered to do some pressure points. I listened to my "birthing
day affirmations," and she did pressure points and aromatherapy
mainly with clary sage and blue spruce.
The next morning Suzanne came early and checked me, and she said she
could stretch me to 6 cm. She did, and said the cervix was still
very thick. All day Friday, we waited and even though the surges
kept coming I knew they weren't the real thing. We worked around the
house, and put up a nativity scene outside. At night they were
coming so irregularly, but I wanted Suzanne to check me, so she came
and said that I was still the same, and we talked about breaking my
water, but I was very nervous to do this; Jeff and I decided to
wait. That night the surges kept coming until they got very regular,
every 3 minutes and lasting more than one minute. I was soooooo
excited! This was it! So at around midnight I called Suzanne and
Laura. I sat on my birthing ball, listening to my Hypnobabies Cd's.
Laura was such a great help! I could have never done it without her!
Jeff and Suzanne got the pool ready, and Suzanne also readied her
things. I wasn't very comfortable in the water, and to my
disappointment the surges stopped very suddenly!
I got out, tried walking, but to no avail. It was 2:30 am. Suzanne
suggested that I
take a nap, and Laura stayed with me in my room, and Jeff and
Suzanne went to the family room. I woke up at around 8:30 and found
a note from Suzanne that said to call her to discuss options. We had
breakfast, and when Suzanne arrived we decided to break my water.
Amniotic fluids were nice and clear. We talked for a little while,
and they decided to leave so I wouldn't feel like a watched pot.
Jeff and I went walking, we took a nap; we didn't know what else to
do. When I woke up from my nap at 3:30 I hadn't had a single surge.
I knew I was 7 cm, so it couldn't take much longer once active
birthing time started.
Even though we had try to avoid it, we decided to use the cytotec, because
we now had the time limit since my membranes had been ruptured. I really
wanted a safe baby, and
really wanted to avoid a c-section. The next day, the 26th, was my
birthday, and the last thing I wanted was spending my birthday
having a c-section. I was praying so hard that the surges would
start, and even told Heavenly Father that I didn't care anymore if
the hypnosis didn't work as long as the baby was born safe and sound
without the need for a c-section. I had a good cry, and by the time
Suzanne arrived at 4 I was in better spirits. She put such a tiny
dose that she doubted labor would start, but we wanted only to
stimulate my uterus to start contracting gently. I stayed in bed for
about an hour, and little by little I could feel something starting!
At seven Suzanne came back and out another minute dose, and this
time around the surges kept coming more regularly. I listened to my
Hypnobabies on my ipod, until I couldn't find a comfortable position
on my bed anymore. I sat on a chair in my room, with my ipod and I
finally decided to call my doula. We had talked on the phone all
day, and she was such a source of encouragement to me!!!! After
working with me through a pressure wave, she suggested that I call
Suzanne to let her know because we didn't want an unassisted birth!
Was it the real thing now? I so hoped it was!!!! Suzanne was
planning to come at 11 for a third dose, but when Laura got here, at
11:38 she called to make sure Suzanne was on her way. I was so
excited! And yes, I KNEW this was different!!!!
Jeff and Laura got to work on filling up the pool. When Suzanne got here at
11 she
checked me, but she didn't make any comments, so I knew that she was
trying not to discourage me because things were still the same in
there … I tried to walk from the bed to the pool, but I couldn't
walk through the waves, so Laura let me hang on her shoulders until
it passed. I got in the water and Laura kept saying the scripts in a
strong voice that kept the distractions out. In the water I got in
the all fours position, and found that rocking was very soothing. My
special place was Culebra, a little island off of the Puerto Rican
coast where Jeff and I have been many times and that we love, and
the rocking felt like the ocean waves. The prompts from Laura really
helped me relax.
I asked her what Suzanne had said my progress was,
and she said that I had been between 6 and 7, but that I was already
80% effaced and that baby was moving down. I tried not to dwell on
numbers and I started working with my body. It was very soothing to
know Jeff was right beside me supporting me, and that we made a
great team! I couldn't turn my switch to the off position because I
needed to move my body and make sounds, so I kept it in center
position. Sometimes the pressure was overpowering, but I remembered
that Ina May Gaskin says that a relaxed face and low pitched sounds
help the cervix dilate faster and easier. So that's what I did. At a
certain point I felt such an extreme pressure in my rectum that I
wanted to push, but I didn't know how dilated I was, so I didn't
want to try in case my cervix got swollen. Suzanne offered to check
me, but I couldn't handle the thought of not being complete yet, so
I said no, and I asked her what I should do. She said to do what
felt right, and I went for it; I just couldn't help it.
In the meantime Jeff and Laura put the "Pushing Baby Out" track on my ipod,
and when Kerry's voice said "…you push your baby when your body
tells you to …" I heard Suzanne say, "This is what I love about
Hypnobabies…" and I pushed when my body told me to do it. I felt the
baby's head enter the birth canal, and I said "Her head is coming!"
and I felt a stinging sensation and tremendous pressure. My first
reaction was to raise my body from the water, but they wanted me to
stay lower, so I felt Jeff's hand on my shoulder and then caressing
my hair, and he said, "She's here baby!" And I asked, "Are you
sure?" And the two midwives, my doula and Jeff all said "Yes!" And
Trinette, the other midwife assisting Suzanne said "That's your
baby's head right there! Touch it!" So I reached down and
exclaimed "Oh my gosh!"
And one more push and she came out, and Suzanne handed her to me. When I
saw the video the next day I saw my face change from being strained with the
effort of pushing her out
to such an expression of joy and relief. Jeff's beaming face must
have mirrored my feelings. I kept saying "Gracias Dios" over and
over. She didn't even cry. She just kept looking around, all pinked
up already, while Trinette massaged her body. I kept thanking
everybody and Suzanne said, "You did it all yourself!" I told
her "No more p***!" And she reminded me that the placenta was still
to come, but I replied, "But like you said last time, the placenta
doesn't have any bones!!!" So I delivered the placenta, and Jeff cut
the cord that has stopped pulsating. Jeff got the baby warmed up in
a towel, and I was shaking so violently (cold, adrenaline,
exhilaration) that I got in the shower. Laura was standing right by
the shower, and I just kept laughing for joy and relief.
I got into bed, and tried to nurse the baby but she wasn't interested; she
just
wanted to look around. After a little while she did latch on, and
when everything had been cleaned up the midwives started checking
her and me. I only had a tiny tear that didn't need stitches, and
the baby got 9/10 in her Apgars. She weighed 6 lb 3 oz, and measured
19 in. The official birthing time length was 3:31 hours and 11
minutes of pushing. Not bad! She was born at 11:51, 9 minutes before
my birthday, but in Argentina (where I was born) it was already the
26th, so in a way we do have the same birthday.
I did bleed on the higher range of normal, but it was nothing to
worry about. By the next day it was completely normal.
That night I called my mom, and she was crying when I hung up. It
must be something special to have your daughter give birth 29 years
after you did. The next day, the best present I got was seeing the
look on my children's face as they came into my room and saw the
baby—my mom hadn't told them the baby had been born yet.
And this is how my story ends, all six of us, Jeff, Julian, Magali,
Joaquin, I and the baby whom we named Areli Estrella Mendez,
snuggled up in bed, just like my other special place image from my
Hypnobabies practice. All I keep saying is "Thanks You God", and my
heart is just overflowing with gratitude and joy.