My aunt adopted my daughter: how I birthed my niece
In early 2008, I realized I was pregnant. Now to an outside observer it would seem a rather obvious outcome. I had just engaged in my first act of sexual intercourse, we didn’t use protection and I had no idea where I was on my cycle. I was 23 and had just started my second semester of college.
42 hours of back labor was actually pretty awesome
I had enjoyed an easy pregnancy without many of the usual issues, but as we reached the 40th week I was ready to be finished! We had decided to go with a midwife for our prenatal care and the birth, and also brought in a doula on the recommendation of a few friends. We also definitely wanted a hospital birth, so we made sure to choose a nurse midwife who was affiliated with the best maternity hospital in the area. I run with a fairly offbeat crowd, but having the baby anywhere other than a hospital was just not for me. I was hoping to not take any pain meds, but was fine with doing so if that’s how it went.
How can I make a hospital room feel less like, well, a hospital room?
My mother passed away last month pretty suddenly due to complications of Lupus. I did not realize how much of a difficulty just being in a hospital room would be. As much as I would love to have a home birth, at this point I would say it is just not possible, so I need to make this room seem as “homey” as possible.
A lightning storm brings in a baby: my hospital birth story
We left the house with the wind whipping around us as we laughed and then drove to the hospital which was about 20 minutes away. At the hospital I walked in and the nurse on-call asked if I was in labor, explaining that I was very calm to have just had my water break. At the elevator we met our doula and she shared the same observations. I heard them but thought that I was being normal and completely myself.
My sudden and accidentally unmedicated childbirth
Four days away from the due date of our baby — who we referred to as the Velociraptor — and my partner and I made a run to the store to stock up the freezer. The place was as crazy busy as usual and I was starving. My partner had caught my nasty cold and it just so happened to be 108 degrees outside, so we were both a little out of sorts. I was trying to peruse the sample carts as much as possible, and while grabbing a granola snack I felt a warm wetness in my shorts. Looking at Chris I said, “either I just lost control of my bladder or my water just broke.” He asked me which I thought it was and I honestly admitted that I had no clue.
Contractions and deep thoughts: a midwife-assisted hospital birth story
The memories are fleeting. They sink like photographs thrown into a deep lake. Lulling back and forth, the water blurs their edges until they fade entirely from view. It’s only been a week since I gave birth, and yet, perhaps as some evolutionary protective instinct, my recollection is already hazy. The experience feels more like a montage of images viewed through frosted glass, than a movie to re-play at will.
My planned homebirth turned hospital Bradley Method birth story
I’m so glad we took the Bradley Method classes because even though we planned on delivering at home in a low-risk situation, it really prepared us for a good hospital birth. The classes put a huge emphasis on learning to relax deeply, control your breathing, how to avoid unnecessary interventions at the hospital, and especially husbands being the main birth coach! I couldn’t have done this without Jordan’s strength and encouragement. Every time I opened my eyes during labor to look at Jordan, he would be smiling and gently telling me that I was doing great.
How my hospitalised, medicated, induced birth experience healed me
When I fell pregnant with my second child, I was terrified of the same experience. I suddenly understood why women would choose to birth at home over a hospital, although this wasn’t an option for me. I did everything in my power to gain knowledge and make decisions about my birth before choices could be made for me. Even though I was birthing in the hospital again, I hoped for this to be the birth I wanted with the elements that were important to me. However, my baby had other plans.