babytime

A Sister in Christ is having her baby today. The little guy is a few weeks early so we are holding on to the hope that he won't have to spend anytime in the NICU. He has very strong and faithful parents so I know the Lord is with them no matter what the day holds. She had surgery this morning and we should be hearing some news shortly... it's hard waiting.
Another Sister in the Lord has been sharing some of her birth stories in a blog. Oh how I enjoy reading birth stories! As I read it brings me back to that very special season in my life when I had my babies. All three births were very different from each other. There are so many moms in my life that have shared birth stories with me lately. Maybe it's because of all the Sister in my life having babies. Some are even having them at home. It has inspired me to write about birth. I thought about maybe writing out each of my birth stories and taking that trip down memory lane...
I have three little Things at home. Thing 1 was a traumatic and painful birth/recovery. I was induced because of pre-eclampsia. I had high blood pressure, protein in the urine, and my feet were too swollen to walk. The OB had told me I was walking the "fine line" with what he was comfortable with. So I was induced with pitocin, which I nicknamed Satan Serum. The contractions were hard, forced, and much more painful than normal contractions. I had to wait around for an epidural for hours and remember biting pillows and screaming the F-bomb often(which was very uncommon for me.) I got the epidural and then had to push the kid out. I couldn't feel a darn thing and so I pushed so hard that I did permanent damage to my body. After Thing 1 came out and I was all stitched up, the nurses gathered in my room to look at my girl parts as if it was an alien. They had never seen such damaged girl parts after a normal birth. I couldn't walk normally for weeks and was in a lot of pain for about 8 weeks. After that I was so confused when I saw woman on tv or something that had a baby and was able to walk. I thought all births were as awful as mine. I know now that my bladder prolapsed during that birth. I guess it's no surprise that I was depressed and didn't feel like a mom after that. I hurried back to work as quick as possible and cared more about my social life than being a mom. I was angry.
Then I unexpectedly got pregnant with Thing 2. The pregnancy was rough. My sinus problems were ridiculous and I had a cold for 8 months. The birth was flawless and painless and I don't remember much emotion being tied to it. I got the pain meds as soon as I felt pain and I got the epidural shortly after. I didn't have to even push, the slippery little Thing came right out.
Thing 3 was by far the best birth. I was on bed rest for the last trimester because when I got up to do things I either would bleed or go into early labor. I was scared. I had marginal placenta previa. It's something that women today still die of during childbirth. There is no way to stop it. Fortunately my placenta moved enough that I was able to have a natural childbirth. I had considered having him at home, but knew that there was a chance we would need emergency medical attention. I wasn't about to risk my life for the experience of a home birth. I also knew that with placenta previa, I could bleed out and die within 20 minutes if the birth went badly. My home was about that far from the hospital.
My doctor was a rock star! I had no drugs and used pure human/animal instinct to get through the pain. Low breathes, deep, relaxing breathing, and eye contact with my hubby. That's what got me through the pain. I relaxed my way through the birth and it was amazing. After Thing 3 was born I felt joy and not an ounce of depression or pain. I don't know if it was coincidence or because it was drug free, who knows, who cares?
So there they are, my birth stories. I could go more in depth with the third one. I got so into natural childbirth during that time. Being on bed rest I got lots of time to read, join online doula groups, and practice things like the Bradley method of childbirth. Sometimes I feel like when I go on about natural birth, those who didn't do it feel as though I am judging them, which I'm not. But still, I usually only talk to women who want to about the natural, intervention free childbirth process when they bring it up first.
Hopefully you've made it to the end. And also, if you read my blogs I am sure you notice a lot of grammatical errors... some of my computer keys don't work as well as the others so I have to go back and press really really hard to get certain letters to type. Also, my spellcheck isn't very smart and seems to miss some words. :(
So, I am not an idiot... just have an old keyboard and a lazy spellcheck.
Thanks for reading anyway!
Love,
Jackie