hes here

baby z was born at 3:55pm on oct 8th, two days b4 due date.
i birthed all natural, no drugs. never felt better. no pain afterwards. i’m tired and sore and tore but im fine. baby z is so amazing.

will write more when im not tired

Full Term (37 weeks) tomorrow

Today I went out to Ikea and Fairway to pick up a few items. I guess the belly’s grown larger because THREE people asked if I was having twins. I’m going to be optimistic and blame it on the dress I was wearing, because I really don’t feel that ginormous. And yesterday’s OB visit revealed that baby Z is still under 7 pounds, so he’s not that ridiculously big.

Have been getting prepared for the Big day, whenever it comes. I don’t feel like it’s going to be in my immediate future. I have at least a week to go. Worked out a birth/labor plan that just might work. I might have mentioned before that I was a little concerned about the distance between our apartment and the hospital. I don’t want to get there too early, because I don’t want to get tied to a bed, but I also don’t want to give birth at the side of the road. Then I remembered that a friend of mine lives a few blocks from the hospital! I asked if I could use her apartment as a “labor center” where I could get through the early stages of labor in comfort before going to the hospital for the big moment. She happily agreed!

I bought a birthing ball and a few hot and cold compresses. From what I gather, bouncing on the ball, and doing the breathing exercises help to cope with the pain by getting you into a rhythm, and giving you something else to concentrate on. It was particularly helpful to speak with one of S’s friends, a mother of a 1 year old, who birthed naturally and was strengthened by the experience. She reminded me that the contractions are just one minute apart, and you have to remember that they are going to end. In between the contractions there is a rush of adrenaline and other chemicals to the brain, so you feel really good! You just have to remember to live in the moment, and not concentrate on the future contractions. Talking to her left me with a boost of confidence, because she was able to deliver a 9.5 pound baby boy without a hitch. Also, because Dr Pepper loves reminding me that my son has a huge noggin, we’ve been doing nightly perineal massage to stretch out the Kegal muscle. No episiotomy for me!

I feel confident. Let’s do this!

(Almost) 36 weeks

09/09/09

Last week’s doctor’s appointment was great. My low carb attempts paid off! Baby’s size has normalized and he was over 5 pounds last Thursday, which is right where he should be. My next appointment is tomorrow, where Dr Pepper is planning on doing a strep test.

I can’t believe how close to delivering I am. Have been getting mild contractions, that are too far apart to even mention. I feel the pain and think, “He’s getting ready!”

I’m also not adequately prepared. Have not visited the hospital, have not taken birthing classes. And yet I’m planning on trying to deliver sans drugs. The birth plan is very loose, but it hinges heavily on me laboring for as long as possible at home, or somewhere close to the hospital, but not actually in the hospital. The issue with that plan is that I live in Brooklyn, and I’m delivering at a hospital on the upper east side of Manhattan. I’ve been reading stories of babies born before the mothers were able to make it to the hospital (like this one). I can just imagine going through the second stage of labor stuck on the BQE during rush hour. Oof.

Heavy

The weather has been wet and dreary for the entire month of June, with sporatic days of sunshine that are replaced by clouds so quickly that you wonder if it happened at all. The temperature isn’t much better either, and I long for days when I can wear as little as possible. Then I remember that I’m pregnant. 100 degree weather might not be the best thing to wish for right now. When the weather does get that ridiculous, it’ll be nice to come into work, just for the central air.

Our apartment is coming together, slowly. We have been collecting baby stuff. There’s already a crib halfway set up in the bedroom, some early baby presents, and a bassinet, waiting to be put together. The crib has become a clotheshorse, collecting random pieces of clothing that S and I have been too lazy to put away or throw in the hamper. I’m waiting for the nesting phase to set in, at which point I’m sure I’ll be all about getting the apartment Z ready.

Peanut has been renamed Z. My bladder is now called peenut, for obvious reasons.

I have taken to watching natural births on youtube, and every video makes me cry. I’m still hoping to have a drug-free delivery. I watched a video of one mother who was in labor for 12 hours but still managed to resist the epidural. She still opted for an all natural birth the second time around. These stories give me strength.

One of my biggest fears is that Z will be too large and will require a C-section. He’s already too big for his age, and apparently I’m too big also. I spoke to my mom, who told me that she gained a grand total of 15 pounds when she was pregnant with me. And I weighed seven pounds, six ounces. I’ve already gained 22 pounds and I’m only in my second trimester!

Pitocin/Epidural clip – The Business of Being Born

Childbirth, cont.

There are more issues with giving birth in a hospital. I don’t want to go into them in detail, but they mostly have to do with hospital policies. The position that women are put into when delivering only benefits the doctor. Ideally, the woman should be in a position she is most comfortable in, and one that also utilizes gravity. When women lie on their backs, it makes it harder for the baby to go down the birth canal, but it’s an easier position for the delivering physician. Also, women in labor need to move around, and switch positions as needed. They need to be able to walk around. This is not efficient when you are attached to 5 different machines and confined to the hospital bed. Women are also not allowed to eat anything, which seems backwards and a total unnecessary precaution, since they need all the energy they can get.

I understand that hospitals need to take precautions. But these precautions are put in place not with the mother in mind, but to mitigate against potential liability. Childbirth is treated like every case is a potential disaster, when we really should be celebrating the joy of life being created.

So, with all this in mind, I have decided to forgo the drugs and attempt to deliver naturally. I pondered a home birth delivery for a while, but I really like Dr. Pepper (I’d have to get a midwife otherwise) and since this will be my first delivery, I don’t know what to expect. If something goes wrong, at least I will be in an environment that can get me through it.

We spoke to Dr. Pepper about delivering naturally, and he had no problem with it. He even agrees that its better because epidurals delay the contractions anyway, and would make my delivery longer than it needs to be. Ideally, he’d like me to go through the bulk of the contractions at home, and only come to the hospital when I’m sufficiently dilated. This way I won’t have to fight too much with hospital staff who want to strap me in and drug me up.

So now the next step is to adequately prepare myself for the pain. I’ve started prenatal yoga, which helps to strengthen and stretch the muscles I’m going to need. I’m going to sign up for birthing classes. A friend of a friend who is a doula suggested I have a close friend or family member in the hospital with me. Someone who knows my needs and will make sure the hospital staff doesn’t talk me into something I don’t want.

I want to feel. I don’t want to be numb. I want the entire experience of giving birth. Watching all those women in the documentary gave me a renewed sense of pride. I am woman. I can do this.

Childbirth

S and I used to laugh at women who opted for natural childbirth with no anesthesia. It just seemed kind of silly not to want to utilize modern medicine. Why go through all that pain when you don’t have to?

Then one day I was browsing through prenatal yoga videos on Netflix and accidentally came across the movie The Business of Being Born. That movie opened my eyes and changed every view I thought I had on the topic of childbirth. Ricky Lake (of talk show fame) had her first child in a hospital. She was unhappy with the experience and decided to explore other options for her second baby. The film explores the differences between having a baby in a hospital, with all the advances of modern medicine, and having a home birth, with a midwife present. The film also shows in graphic detail, the births of five or so babies. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Nothing else comes close.

What fascinated me about the movie was the way that hospitals treat laboring mothers. Pitocin is a drug used to induce labor and speed up the contractions. There are significant risks with using Pitocin, including fetal distress. Also, because the contractions are being sped up, it becomes more painful for the woman. Because of the pain, an epidural is administered. In addition to numbing the lower body, epidurals also slow down contractions, making it necessary to again use Pitocin. Which in turn brings on the pain, requiring more anesthesia. And the cycle continues, benefitting only the hospitals, which get a faster delivery and a free bed sooner.

Another alarming trend is the increase in cesarean sections. In 2007 one in three births in the United States has been through C-sections. This is an all time high. One reason for the increase is the use of Pitocin and epidurals in the delivery room. Labor induction too early, before the mother and baby are ready can cause fetal distress, which increases the need for a surgical delivery. Infant mortality rates are also highest in the US than in other developed countries.

Hospital staff will often recommend C-sections, even when it might not be needed. This is to prevent liability issues, because a C-section confirms that they did everything that they could do. Also, nine out of ten women who had C-sections, have repeat C-sections because health professionals are unwilling to offer the choice of VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean sections).

Although one can argue that the documentary is one-sided, it doesn’t make the facts any less true. A co-worker of mine went through the exact steps listed above. She was a healthy 26 year old mother-to-be in labor. She was given Pitocin and an epidural, which caused the baby to be in distress. She needed to have a C-section. When she became pregnant with her second child, her doctor did not even give her the option of a natural delivery, he instead scheduled her delivery again via C-section.

I could go on, and I will, in a future blog post.