Silence is Golden: Isaac: The Birth Story-Part Two

So here I was…an uncertain and potentially dangerous diagnosis and a slightly unpredictable plan.

One of the challenges that the change of plans posed was with regards to my parents’ plans. My mom is 3 for 3 on making it to my births and being a fantastic “doula” (not formally trained but quite effective and helpful nonetheless). They had planned their annual trip with my aunt and uncle the second week of November because I am never early and it felt like a safe bet they could do the vacation and also be at the birth.

And since I was going to attempt “natural” induction, the birth-date was still not entirely known. If I opted for a hospital induction we could pick the date and make sure she could be there but we were both wanting to go the natural induction route if possible.

Long story short, they graciously decided to cancel their trip and then booked a flight to Indiana with only a few days notice.

So, natural induction. You might be asking yourself what this means or how one goes about it.

Well let me preface with: this is not medical advice. Don’t try this at home, unless under the care and guidance of a medical professional…etc. etc. etc. Also, it is not advised to induce labor at 37 weeks unless there is a medical reason to. Babies are best when baked in that oven as long as possible =)

My midwife told me that I was a good candidate for pushing my body into labor because this is my 4th child, and I was already about 2.5-3 cm dilated. She said at this point I could probably just sternly tell the baby to come and he would just pop out!

Anyway, natural induction includes things to prep my uterus/cervix for birth (drinking Red Raspberry leaf tea and taking Evening Primrose Oil). Pressure point massages with Clary Sage essential oil (prompts uterine contractions). Curb walking (what it sounds like, one leg up on the curb, one on the street). Breast Pumping (with an strong-suctioning breast pump- this encourages uterine contractions as well). Membrane sweep (done by the midwife where they manually separate the bag of waters from the cervix and irritate the uterus). And the granddaddy of them all…Castor oil. Now, there are many many mixed messages about the prudence and usefulness of castor oil to induce labor. Technically it is an external-use oil (seriously, I had to find it in the skin care aisle). It acts as an intestinal irritant (basically poison to your body *gulp*). When your intestines and stomach contract, it causes the uterus to contract and can prompt labor. Most people who take it report digestive struggles such as nausea and vomiting, cramps and diarrhea. But it IS quite effective.

Back to the official story.

My parents flew in on Tuesday night (November 7th). I had told them I wouldn’t do the more drastic techniques until they landed so on the off chance they worked really well, they wouldn’t miss the birth. Wednesday I did the mid-level techniques which resulted in sporadic contractions, general discomfort and no active labor. Thursday we decided to hit it hard. At 11 am, I took my first tablespoon of castor oil, pumped a bit and then my mom and I went to do some walk/squatting. We strolled Wal-mart and Goodwill for a bit, I did a lot of curb walking outside, and it actually was producing some uncomfortable contractions…as long as I kept moving.

I took my next tablespoon of castor oil and kept it up. By 3 pm I had taken 3 tablespoons and didn’t feel much of anything. I was just telling Ben that it wasn’t working and I didn’t even have digestive issues when there was a grumbling deep down low and I made a quick stop in the bathroom. I won’t go into many details, but the digestive issues began. Thankfully they were minimal and I had no nausea or vomiting at all. And boy did it work. All the sudden I noticed I was having regular contractions. Not strong or long ones, but definitely at regular intervals.

I decided to start timing them and they were 1.5-2 minutes apart. Now my track record has been that I have putsy, low-key labors until my water breaks…and then it gets intense and fast. So while my contractions weren’t painful, their regularity had me a little concerned. If my water broke at home there was a good chance the baby would be born in the car. After about 45 minutes of regular contractions, I called the midwife on-call. I hadn’t seen her in a while (they rotate during prenatal care) and had to get her up to speed on where I was at. She didn’t seem overly concerned about birth imminence until I told her I took castor oil. Then she told me to get ready to come in and meet her at the BC in an hour-getting us there around 6 pm.

Oh, side note. For several months, Asher had expressed interest in attending the birth. At the birth center, they encourage any members of the family that want to be present to come. Given Asher’s maturity level and interest we decided to move forward to letting him attend. We prepped him with how it might go, things he might witness or noises I might make. We talked about the physiology of birth, what is happening during labor and how it is hard work that might take a long time, so he had to be patient, quiet and out of the way. I checked in with him one more time before we left and he enthusiastically said he still wanted to come, grabbed his packed bag of activities and jumped in the car with us!

On the way to the BC, my contractions slowed a bit and still weren’t intense (didn’t have to stop/breathe through them). We arrived and did a non-stress test, which is a 20 minute monitoring of the baby’s heart rate, especially through contractions. I was really worried things had slowed down too much and they would send me home. I tried to relax, but as Erin (the midwife) prepared the birth suite, I could feel myself getting nervous/anxious with anticipation. My body was shaking and I couldn’t settle down. Erin checked me and I was dilated to about 5 cm. She told me to hop in the shower, and stay in there and labor for about an hour doing squats and relaxing.

I took a 45 minute, hot, steaming shower and it was amazing. My contractions definitely increased in intensity but weren’t unbearable. The nurse arrived at that time, which meant we were actually going to do this!

After an hour, they checked me again and I hadn’t dilated too much more, but she could tell that if she broke my water, things would pick up. Even though I value a low-intervention birth, when she offered to break my water I jumped on it, with only slight apprehension. I remembered the intensity of my labors after my water breaks and had to mentally prepare for that. It was 7 pm when my water was broken and I got into the tub. Asher was the designated documenter, and began taking some pictures. He was really excited until he realized it might still be a while…then he went back to watching his show until the actual action started.

Within a few contractions, things got much more intense and required more concentration and breathing. Over the next 45 minutes, the contractions came one on top of another, with barely a few seconds between them. I was determined to stay present though and not let the pain get the better of me. It truly was a mind-over-matter situation. At one point, I was leaning on the edge of the tub, staring into the water, repeating to myself in my head, “Don’t say you can’t do this. You can do this. The pain isn’t going to take over. Stay focused. The baby is coming.” I pictured waves or surges of pain instead of never-ending pain. I gave a few test pushes and felt the baby drop lower.

Unbeknownst to me, the midwife and nurse had been waiting outside the birthing room and apparently there was a change in how I was responding, and they could tell from out there. They made their way in the room and told me to let them know when I was ready to push. I told them I was ready and got on my knees. They grabbed a mirror to hold under me so they could keep an eye on the progress. I was able to reach down and feel his head and within two pushes, he was out. I caught him, brought him out of the water and it was such a surreal moment. With my other births, the intensity and quickness caught me off guard and I was not mentally in a place to remember those moments as it all happened so fast. But this…this I can remember clearly. I was in a much more prepared and controlled state of mine, and much quieter too, apparently.

Asher had come in just before I pushed and when I pulled Isaac out of the water, he immediately became emotional, crying and saying over and over, “Wow, that was so amazing! He is here! I can’t believe it, that was so cool!” Ben gathered him up on his lap and just held him as we all marveled over the whole experience. The moment was so sweet and I’m truly grateful he was there to witness it.

They got me back into the bed, delivered the placenta and Asher got to cut the cord. He was a little worried it would hurt me or the baby, but they told him it didn’t and he was then excited to participate.

Isaac Joseph was 6 lbs, 9 oz. and 21 inches. His stats were all perfect, with no issues due to the cholestasis or being 2.5 weeks early.

At that point, Papa Klotzle was on his way back from the cousins house (it was about 9:15 pm) and was able to swing by and pick up Asher to take him home to bed. It worked out perfectly! We settled in, I was able to nurse Isaac right away, we ate some food and just hung out bonding, resting and comparing notes of how it all went!

They sent us home 4 hours after Isaac was born. We made it to our house and Ben and I got settled in the apartment above our garage, while my parents stayed with the boys in the house. It was a perfect set-up for a few days of *mostly* quiet, postpartum recovery.

I am not unaware that this was truly a best-case scenario given the circumstances. The “straight paths” that God led us down were very smooth and happened to align with what I had hoped for. This isn’t always the case, and I am humbly grateful for the experience and give all glory and credit to God for orchestrating it despite all my apprehensions.

You may wonder why I share such detailed stories (and below, pictures). I have become increasingly passionate about the birth experience and have encountered many people who don’t know there can be more than one way to give birth. Maybe you are someone who had a scheduled C-section. Maybe you wanted an epidural. Maybe you’re most comfortable in a hospital with all the resources immediately available in case something goes wrong. None of that is bad or wrong. We live in a country that gives us so many choices.

Maybe you had some really hard circumstances, medical emergencies or last minute adjustements to your birth experience. I have had a traumatic birth and know the feeling of it not going how you expected, not being respected, lots of pain and frustration (especially after the fact).

But there is another experience too. And I want to bring awareness and celebration of that kind of birth. The one where things are healthy and on-track. Where you might choose low-intervention, allowing the body and process to progress in an unhindered way. The way you get to know your body and the birth process in a deep way. How to advocate for what YOU want and having providers who hear you and respect you. How to build a relationship with a provider so that when they DO suggest intervention, you are able to trust that they are doing it with respect to your desires and also an understanding of the circumstances.

I’ll leave it at that, but if you’re curious about the less main-stream ways to give birth, I’d love to chat more and answer any questions you might have! It can be a lovely experience and isn’t always represented fully as a viable, safe option.

Okay. Pictures. (disclaimer: Some of these may feel like "too much" to share. But Ben and I are both comfortable with me sharing them. I tried to choose ones that were fairly modest considering. Again, I do so for those who aren't familiar with how this kind of birth can go.)

I was in the Mother Mary Suite. They are set up like a bedroom in your house might be.

This is the bathroom. There is a large birthing tub and then a full walk-in, stand-up shower around the corner (made large enough for several people to be in it, if that is where delivery ends up happening)

The bed; also an option for delivery, and where we hung out for recovery

After the shower laboring (couldn't find a picture that I was comfortable sharing online), I did tub laboring. It mostly looked like this with me leaning over the edge, and Ben or my mom putting cool cloths on me.