Dear Warriors- A Letter From A Student

Guina teaches an immersion two weekend series. This is a letter from one of her students. The editing done was only for brevity.

Dear Warriors:
Hi everyone! Doug and I wanted to let you all know that we welcomed Louis Livingston Frederick into the world on December 29, 2010 at 1:06 AM. At the end of this very long email, I will list some thing that I found helpful through the process. 

Here's a little of the birth story for you:


I was some contractions Tuesday the 28th, but didn't think much of them, as I'd been contracting since 31 weeks. They weren't regular, but did seem more intense. Around 7:00 that night, the contractions were still irregular, ranging from seven to ten minutes apart. Doug left for a group bike ride around 8:15, and I ate Christmas leftovers, which was a big, heavy meal. Around 8:30, the contractions were 4 1/2 minutes apart, and pretty intense. I was sure this was more false labor, so I took a bath to make the contractions stop. The bath did help ease the contractions, but by the end of the bath, they were 3 1/2 minutes apart. I called Doug and told him to come home. 

Once I got out of the bath, the contractions got stronger, so I got in our bed and was rocking back and forth on my hands and knees. Then, my water broke. Doug was still a couple of miles away on the bike, so I called a neighbor to come over. I called the midwife, and she said that if I wasn't planning on having an epidural, to come in whenever I wanted to. At first, I wanted to leave as soon as Doug came home. But, once he got home, I wanted to stay at home longer. We packed up the car with the birth ball, and my bag of massage and comfort items. My neighbor pointed out that the contractions were pretty close together (they were probably close to two minutes apart at this point), and that we should get going. Oh, and remember that big, heavy meal I had- it came up before we left. I still didn't want to go, and Doug had to tell me to get in the car. Now,  I remember Guina saying something about not sitting in the car, but I  didn't remember that at the time, and the car ride to the hospital was the worst part of the whole birth. Speed bumps become evil when you are in labor. Most of the pain was in my back, and sitting was excruciating.

We made it to Northside and checked in at the admissions desk at 11:15. There were 30 babies born in a twelve hour period that night, so my room wasn't ready yet. They told me to walk around the atrium until they called me back. All I wanted was to get to my room, get on my hands and knees, and let Doug massage my back. Walking did not feel good. Then, I went up to the desk and said "I feel like I have to poop." Those are the magic words, because they sent us straight back to the room, despite it not being ready. The nurses got me on the monitor and did all the paper work. I did not have an IV. The midwife came in and checked me (while I was standing up) and said to the nurse "she's rimming." I asked what that meant, and she replied "honey, you're nine centimeters... you're almost ready to push!" I got in the bed and was on my knees, but more like an extended child's pose than hands and knees. Doug was doing the hip squeeze, and the midwife asked if I wanted her to try something to give me some back relief. She injected sterile water into four points on my lower back, and it totally relieved the pain for a few minutes.  

I started pushing around midnight, and was not in the best position, but nothing else seemed appealing, and I didn't want to move at that  point. I was kind of crosswise in the bed, and the midwife just worked with me where I was. In hindsight, it would have been more productive to have my upper body higher, and I was not working with gravity. It took a little bit to figure out what I was doing too. The contractions spaced out to about three minutes apart, which was a nice break. Doug gave me water in between the contractions, which really helped. Pushing was very similar to running, and I needed the water to keep me going. Toward the end, someone raised a bar on the side of the bed so I could push up with my arms. It got very productive after that. She did a very small episiotomy, and then I had  tear on top of that. Louis was born at 1:06- less than two hours after we arrived at the hospital. 

Helpful hints:

• If I had known I was in labor, I would have never had the big meal that I had. If you even think you are in labor, eat small meals. I wish I had more energy going into the process than I did.
• We spent so much time preparing and packing my labor bag- we made a rice sock, and had tennis balls and a massage stick. Doug pulled the car up to the labor and delivery entrance, but we didn't want to take the bag out until we knew we were staying (I really didn't believe I was in labor). Doug never had time to go back and get the bag, so we didn't have any of the things we had prepared.  It turns out that we did fine without them. I'm not saying not to pack a bag, but just know that you can have a baby without a rice sock!
• I had let my fingernails grow out a little while I was pregnant because the hormones made them stronger. As soon as I held Lou, I wished I had cut them down before giving birth. I felt like I was scratching him, and the nail bothered him when he sucked on my little finger. 
• When I called the midwife, I made a point to tell her I planned to deliver naturally, so she knew what to expect. I also told her that I didn't want an IV, and that I didn't want to wear the hospital gown. I think that made things easier, and I had a nurse that was interested in natural childbirth. I don't know if that was a coincidence, or if Judy requested her for me. Also, when Judy walked into the labor room, she told me it was "clothing optional" and to take the gown (or whatever I had on at the time) off. I think giving birth is something that is best done in the buff anyway.
• In the book Birthing from Within, she suggests talking to your baby as a pain relief technique. I did this, and asked Louis several times to come out quickly when it was time. He certainly did that! 
• Because Lou was born so early in the morning, they wanted me to stay a full two nights in the hospital. I really wanted to go home the afternoon of the 30th, but I stayed that night too. I'm really glad that I did because I ran into some nursing issues, and the nurses were a huge help to me. I would recommend staying the second night.(Also, I know Northside gets alot of flack from the natural birth community, but I have to say that their postpartum care was excellent. Louis didn't want to work so hard to get the colostrum and he lost 14 oz (over 10% of birth weight) by the second night. The pediatrician said that we had to supplement formula, and the nursery nurse brought us a supplemental nursing system. I had never heard of this before, but it allowed me to breast feed and supplement formula simultaneously. One nurse in particular really spent alot of time with me on nursing, which was a huge help. Also, my milk didn't come in until the fourth day, which was really frustrating. I was able to work through it (with lots of support from Doug, Mom, and a friend), and we've been breastmilk only since that fourth day.)
• I would also recommend a breastfeeding class. I skipped mine because I was so tired during the third trimester. I think the nurses and the lactation consultant made up for what I missed, but it would have been helpful to have a more in depth knowledge before. It was also helpful that Doug was involved in all the breastfeeding conversations. His support has been invaluable. 

I do really want to thank you for mentoring the class. I felt so prepared going into birth, and I think it made all the difference. Thinking back on the night of Louis' birth, I am reminded of the Innana story. I had planned to take all this stuff with me, and I had to leave it all in the car, and all I had was the wisdom from class, Doug, and a great midwife.  I will recommend the class, and your doula service to anyone I know that is pregnant.

Katherine