Landen's Birth Story

Landen’s Birth Story

            Landen’s birth story really begins on Saturday, March 25, 2017. Amy was here and I started having contractions. To distract myself, we went on a walk, and Amy and I went to the pool just to put our feet in because the water was too cold. The contractions were all over the place but they were getting more and more intense and some closer. So, we called for the birthtub and I went to bed. I woke up with no contractions the next morning.

            Amy had stayed the night so we went on another walk to get things moving. Amy is my best friend/ midwife/ doula. Afterwards, Amy went to hear her sister talk in church and my contractions became constant at 8 minutes lasting for about a minute, if not more.

            Lily was adorable. She is my 2 year old. She would bring me water after a contraction and was feeding me pretzels and hummus. After a contraction she would come over and give me hugs and I loved it. Amy came back over and it SEEMED like labor was progressing. Prior to having any contractions I was already 4cm.

            After 7 hours of “contractions” that to me felt like they were increasing in intensity, I would get in the tub and they would start spacing out. I was checked again and I was still only 4cm. I wasn’t in labor. I had pretty much forced Amy to stay with me because my last birth was only 4 hours. I took a Benadryl to sleep, and Amy went home so that I wouldn’t anticipate the birth so much.

            On Wednesday, I had more of the same. Those ones stopped after 4 hours.

            Friday morning, March 31, 2017,  I woke up at 12:30 AM with very intense contractions every 2-3 minutes apart that would last a minute. I called Amy and gave her our code word and she was on our way. Having your best friend be your midwife has it’s perks J.

            After 5 hours, the contractions stalled started to space out and I was able to get about an hour of sleep. I woke up and prayed for the millionth time in just the past few days. I asked to guidance and strength to know what to do and for everything to be ok. As soon as I was off my knees, I knew. I knew with every fiber of my being that this baby was not going to come out at home. That scared me. I didn’t know if I felt that way because it was true or if I was just scared and wanted it all to be over. Then I had an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be ok. I knew I wasn’t feeling what I was feeling out of fear. I wasn’t scared of birth. I had already had 1 natural birth and I had complete faith in Amy and her preceptor Tiffany.

            When Amy woke up (in my guestroom), I talked it over with her and she is truly amazing. There are definitely some people who are divinely called to certain careers and I believe Amy was destined to be with women during birth. Her instincts at births are amazing and just from hearing her talk about things, I know that she is guided with each situation. I told her that I felt like the baby (we didn’t know the sex, even though I was 95% sure it was a boy) was trying to tell us something. She agreed and said she wanted me to go get a biophysical profile done to see what was going on. Luckily, I already had a previously scheduled appointment with Dr. Harter that day.

            I called my neighbor Kaitlin to see if she could watch Lily for us and then Sean, Amy, and I grabbed some breakfast at Baby Stacks on my way to my appointment. Dr. Harter said everything looked great but he wanted me to get the no stress test done as well.

            I went over to the hospital immediately after my appointment. I wasn’t even hooked up for 10 minutes before I knew they were not going to let me leave. The baby’s heartrate was non variable. I called Amy and she came immediately. I was in tears. I knew I needed to be there but I was heart broken over the fact that this is not how I wanted it to go. I had a terrible experience in the hospital after my daughter was born and I didn’t want to be there.

            Dr. Harter met me in my room and gave me the option to break my water or start Pitocin. When he came in the room and saw my strip (heartrate) himself he said they were pretty quick to consider me a category 2 and he wasn’t concerned because by then we were seeing some variability. I wanted to see if the Pitocin would be able to get me into active labor enough that I could get off everything and let my body do it’s thing. They started me at 2. My contractions would start and then I wouldn’t be able to feel them after an hour or so. The same thing happened when they turned the Pitocin up to 4, and 6. I finally told Amy I wanted them to break my water because it was the same cycle over and over.

            Amy brought in Dr. Harter and he broke my water at 7:00pm and my first contraction immediately pushed baby from a -2 station to 0 and I went from 4cm to 6cm. Dr. Harter said that he was impressed and that he would stay close by. I was finally in labor!

            All this time baby’s heart rate was on and off concerning. I had some decels through out everything leading up to this. They then had to put in an internal monitor because my contractions were moving the baby so much that they couldn’t keep up with it.

            I was laboring leaning over the bed with Sean or Amy in front my me holding my hands and the other doing counter pressure on my hips.

            After several excruciating contractions, I wanted to quit. I told Amy and Sean that and they kept encouraging me and telling me that it was almost done. I then felt that overwhelming urge to push. The nurse told me to stop pushing but my body literally wouldn’t. Amy kept telling me to do what I felt like I needed to do and when the nurse checked me she said, “oh!... ok.” Harter was right outside and heard because he was immediately by my side. Amy put the back of the bed up so I could squat against it and support myself. Dr. Harter, being the awesome doctor he is, got on the bed behind me so I could push however I felt comfortable.

            I kept pushing but I felt the baby crown a few times (which sucks) and I heard Amy tell me to keep pushing and to give it all I got. It is hard to describe in here, but I know Amy and I have been to births with Amy. She was calm the entire time but I know that tone that she used and I knew what it meant. Something was going on and I needed to get the baby out so I HAD to keep pushing. Soon, everyone was yelling to push as hard as I can. To be honest, I was terrified because I didn’t know what was going on I just knew something was. I pushed as hard as I could and Landen James Simmons was born at 7:59 pm. Harter said to turn around and see what I had. When I turned and saw him, I was scared. He was floppy and blue. By the time Harter put him in my arms, he was making some little efforts to breath. Amy told me to talk to him and he did come around. His APGAR score was still 7 and 9.

            They had to take him to the warmer but then brought him right back. He was 8 lbs 14 oz and 21 inches long.

            After things calmed down, Harter was so sweet. He got emotional and was saying how blessed he was to be apart of this experience and he know what this one lucky kid to be with us. Before he left, he gave me a hug and a kiss on the head and Landen as well.

            I then asked Amy what happened. Landen was a complete shoulder dystocia. That is where both shoulders were stuck behind my pelvis so Harter had to go in, hook both shoulders with his fingers and corkscrew Landen, he also had to pull one arm out first to get Landen out. It took about 2 minutes for Harter to get him out.

            It all started to make sense. For days, my body was trying to get Landen out but his shoulders were so wide, I had a lot of fluid, and he couldn’t get enough pressure on my cervix to dilate me more OR to break my water bag (mine are strong), so then my body would stop contraction to protect him from going into distress. That is the amazing thing about our bodies. They are so smart. They know what to do. Every birth I went to was amazing, beautiful, and different. Once the baby was born the “different” labors would make complete sense.

            Everything happened how it was supposed to. Harter was leaving the next morning and I know no other Dr. would have been as respectful for my wishes and would have flipped me over and given me an episiotomy when Harter worked with me and my comfort. I know that if it got to the point where he was concerned he would have probably done that too but he knew he had time to try to give me the experience I wanted and I appreciated that so much. We need more doctors like him.

            Anyway, Landen nursed right away and was a champ!

            My birth did not go how I wanted it. I didn’t get the peaceful homebirth that I have witnesses so many times. I didn’t even get my waterbirth that I wanted and loved with Lily. It took me a long time to not feel like my body was broken or failed me because I needed more help. I don’t believe Landen would have handled any more Pitocin based on what his heart rate was doing at such low doses. I know that my water needed to break. I know what God was definitely with me through this process because I could feel the help and comfort and also it all worked out too perfectly to not be the Plan. Another part of the story, Amy had another client in labor. She was literally down the hall from me. Even though she got to the hospital before me, she didn’t need Amy until Landen was barely born. It all happened how it needed to and I am so grateful I had my amazing and supportive husband with me as well as my best friend Amy, my respectful doctor, Dr. Harter and an awesome nurse for the majority of my time there (which was a nice change from last time).

            It was one of the most emotional days of my life and the most intense hour for sure. I couldn’t have done it without Sean AND Amy. It changed how I will be able to approach any future pregnancies. I will HAVE to find out the gender next time to know what precautions to take and it could possibly effect where I decide to give birth too. No matter what happens in the future, this was Landen’s journey and it was beautifully intense, and unexpectedly perfect for what he needed.

P.S. Lily did NOT like "baby"

Lily's Birth Story

My Birth Story with Lily

            My due date was December 31, 2014. On December 29, I had my doctor, Dr. Steven Harter, Sweep my membranes in order to induce labor naturally. I was already 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced AND NOT IN LABOR. I started having contractions afterwards but they died off after a few hours. That was annoying. I was ready to be done being pregnant and I just wanted to hold my little girl.

            Every day after my due date I was hoping to go into labor. I was going to be induced on January 7^th (41 weeks) and really did not want that to happen. I wanted a natural water birth and, after doing my research, I knew that if you get induced, your chances of having complications and an emergency c-section increased substantially. After suffering one miscarriage I really wanted my body to be able to do what it was designed to do all on it’s own.

            On Sunday, January 4^th, my back was killing me (thanks to enormous balls of fat attached to my chest) and just other fun pregnancy pains. Also, my daughter really liked to get right on top of my sciatica. She was sweet like that. Anyway… because of all of these FUN pains, I decided to get in the tub. I remember my Doula (Shanna who was AMAZING) telling me about how it is good to talk to your baby and reassure them. So I did. I was sitting in my nice warm, relaxing, lavender salt bath and started talking to Lily. “Everything is going to be fine.” “We can do this.” “We both know what we need to do.” “You are coming to a loving home and two awesome parents.” “Labor is going to be easy and it is going to be fast because we know what to do.” “Together we can do this.” “I can’t wait to meet you.” “I can’t wait to hold you.” “You are ready, it is time for you to come out and meet us now.” “You are going to be ok.” I sat and talked to Lily for about two hours in that tub. The amazing thing was (and no I don’t believe this was a coincidence) after about 30 minutes of talking to her, I started having contractions. They were uncomfortable, some were more intense than others, but they weren’t OH MY GOSH I AM IN LABOR intense.

            I was told by Shanna that when there are two on top on each other and then a while before another one, that was my body trying to move the baby into place. So she had me do different things like side lunges on the stairs to help open my hips, laying on my side with one leg up to my chest (lets be honest that didn’t happen so I got it as high as I could). I walked the stairs. I danced. And then I went to bed after a while because I was convinced the contractions would stop like they did after my last doctor’s appointment.

            Monday, January 5^th, 1:00am. Excuse the language but OH MY HELL! I woke up to the worst contractions I had felt thus far. I felt like my uterus was trying to cave in on itself! I couldn’t lie down, I couldn’t sit. Walking was a challenge due to the fact I wanted to curl up in a ball (I tried, it wasn’t pleasant). The only thing that help at all was walking, leaning against the bathroom counter, leaning over the bed, swaying, and alternating that with getting on all fours and just trying to rock back and forth. I started timing myself (my wonderful husband somehow was able to sleep through all the groans and I didn’t wake him because again, I was convinced it was going to go away. I wanted to wait an hour to make sure this was real before I woke him up. However, ever since I woke up at 1:00, my contractions were every 3 minutes apart.

            My plan was to labor mostly at home. The longer you labor at home the least amount of interventions are possible when you do go to the hospital. I was going to have Shanna come to my house while I labored. Yeah… that didn’t happen. After 20 minutes I woke up Sean (my husband) and told him I think I was in labor for real this time. He wanted to go to the hospital right then. I didn’t. I wanted to stay at home as long as possible. I am not a fan of hospitals. After talking to Shanna she said if I felt comfortable waiting to wait, but if I felt like I needed to go to the hospital to go. OH I should mention… we live 35 minutes away from my hospital because it is the only one in town that allows water births and my doctor is THE BEST and delivers there so it was worth the drive in my opinion. I told her I wanted to wait an hour. At this point it is 1:30 am. At 1:40, (a whole 10 minutes later!) I called Shanna and said that I need to go to the hospital and she can just meet us there since she lived closer to it.

            My mom was staying with us to help out with the baby. Between contractions I went to her room, pretty much slammed the door open, and said, “I’m in labor, we’re going to the hospital.” Then I walked out to get on the floor for another contraction.

            Sean got our bags and we got in the car. My poor husband. Between contractions I was yelling at him to drive faster because he was pissing me off by going the speed limit. I can’t remember exactly the things I said to him except when I screamed, “DRIVE FASTER! NO COP IS GOING TO GIVE YOU A TICKET WHEN YOUR WIFE IS IN LABOR AND I’M NOT HAVING THIS BABY IN THE CAR!”

            Once we were at the hospital (2:00 am), they took me in the back to check me to “make sure you are really in labor.” My response was “I AM IN LABOR YOU ARE KEEPING ME.” At this point the contractions were ever 2.5 minutes apart. I got on the bed to get hooked up to the machine and the nurse realized she doesn’t have the cords for it and had to go find some. I’m sure she was only gone a few minutes but it seemed like an eternity! Finally she came back and hooked me up. I had to be monitored for 20 minutes I think. Remember me saying how lying down was not comfortable? Yeah those 20 minutes sucked. She finally said, “Well, you are only 4 cm but 100% effaced. I would say that you are in labor.” No really you think?! Was running through my mind but I was trying to be nice to the nurse so I refrained from saying that out loud.

            FINALLY, I was able to go to my room and Shanna was there to greet us. I walked into the nurses not being able to figure out how to get the water hooked up to the tub and then not being able to figure out the temperature. I was so frustrated I kept thinking they aren’t going to figure it out and I won’t be able to get in the water! (I really like water and with so many benefits of a water birth that was what I wanted). Shanna could tell I was about to lose it so she said we needed to go on a walk to get out of the room. We walked around the little area and then I had to go to the bathroom… really bad. I had to stop during the contractions and lean against the wall because I couldn’t walk. Shanna started to do this AMAZING thing where she would squeeze my hips during a contraction and it felt so much better!!

            We got back to the room (they fixed the tub.. ish) and I went into the bathroom and did my business while also throwing up. I’m a multitasker. Sitting down was possibly the most uncomfortable and painful position for me during contractions. I had to keep telling my self that it would end soon and to just take it one contraction at a time. As soon as I got out all I wanted was to get in the tub. They had tubs that have doors on them but in order to open they would have to drain a bunch of water. Luckily my husband is strong enough to help lift the baby whale.. I mean me.. into the tub. Once I was in I loved it. The contractions were still painful of course but I was able to kind of crouch and lean against the side of the tub and sway my hips. It helped. Plus the water was warm so it felt nice. I had to keep getting out to go to the bathroom, and throw up (a baby was moving down against my insides I’m not weird). I kept alternating between the tub and walking around the room and having my husband and Shanna squeeze my hips during contractions. During each one Shanna kept reminding me to think about Lily moving down and coming out. Down and out, down and out, down and out, was all I could think about during the contractions to stay focused.

            The contractions were coming right on top of each other. There was ONLY one time when I told my husband that I wanted an epidural. It was too intense and I had only been in labor for a little so there was no way I was suppose to push yet even though I felt like it. He (being an awesome husband and I made him promise to do this) said, “you can do this. You don’t need the medicine you can do this. You are strong.” When I got out I asked Shanna, “when are they going to see if I should push because I really want to.”  She told me if I feel like I need to push then push and the nurse would check me. She did and I was 9.5 cm dilated!!!! Once I heard that I remember thinking, “well that makes sense. I can totally do this!”

            I then realized that Dr. Harter was not there yet. I asked where he was and they told me he was on his way. I think I might have looked like I was probably going to cry because then Shanna came over to me and kept reassuring me, “don’t think about Dr. Harter. If you need to push, then push. Your body knows what to do and you can do this.” She was great. She was so calm and reassuring that I didn’t get scared or nervous. She was able to make sure I knew that everything that was happening was normal and that I can do it.

            After I don’t know how long, Dr. Harter came in. I could feel Lily crowning. That was when my water broke. It was a weird feeling. I was thinking she was going to be born in her sac since it hadn’t broke yet and I could already feel her. Harter was so calm and was making conversation with all of us and asked what her name was going to be. I said Lily and he came up with her nickname saying she was a Water Lily. After a little I completely lost track of all time and what was going on around me. When a contraction came I pushed. When it stopped I would just lay there preparing for the next one. I was oblivious to everything else. It was my baby and I working together, and that was all I could think about. Harter was getting prepared I guess and then he said I could touch her head if I wanted to. I was able to feel all her thick hair on her head and that was able to give me the motivation I needed to push harder than I had ever pushed to this point. It seemed to go by so fast. I pushed for 45 minutes total and then at 5:20 am everyone was saying to open my eyes and look down and I was able to see Lily come up out on the water and Dr. Harter immediately placed her on my chest. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe my baby girl was finally here and I couldn’t believe that I DID IT!!! Lily was just staring up at me with her big beautiful eyes and we just stared at each other. It was surreal. I was crying, my mom was crying, I think Sean was a bit emotional, Shanna and Amy (the student doula) kept saying how amazing I was and that it was inspirational and beautiful. It was an emotional room.

            The funny part is as she was coming out of the water and being placed on my chest everyone was saying “oh my gosh that is a big baby.” It turns out Lily was 9lbs 3oz, 20.5 inches long. I was amazed! I JUST GAVE BIRTH TO AN OVER 9 LBS BABY WITH NO DRUGS! AND IT ONLY TOOK MY 4ish HOURS!!!

            They had to take Lily to get some meconium out of her lungs (she swallowed a little but was still able to breath). While my husband stayed with Lily, Shanna stayed with while I got a few stitches. She kept me informed on what they were doing with Lily and why so that I wouldn’t be worried. I was shaking like crazy but I was again reassured that that was completely normal. I finally got to hold my daughter again and it was the most amazing feeling to finally be holding her. We had waited 2 years and suffered 1 miscarriage to finally get our little miracle.