Birth Story of Baby #3

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

1:50am - I awoke suddenly with the feeling of wetness... my water broke! I was not really having any contractions but did notice some back pressure. I put my last minute toiletries and such in my hospital bag and got a few more things prepared for Ava and Raina to stay with Ms. Katelyn for the day.

3am - I called Labor & Delivery to tell them what was going on and see what they wanted me to do. The nurse I spoke to told me that since my water was broken I should just come in. Having clear fluid, good fetal movement, and no established contractions I decided to wait a bit. A little while later I called my doula, KayLee, and she agreed that staying home and getting some rest would be a good idea.

5:15am - Richard's alarm went off for him to get ready for PT at work. I filled him in on what was going on but he apparently was not quite awake and did not fully understand because he continued getting ready to go haha! I finally said "Richard, you're not going to work today. WE'RE HAVING A BABY TODAY!" (Ultimately, as labor was not yet fast and furious, he did go in long enough to tell the guys he wouldn't be in and to put things in place for him to be gone for a few days.)

7:30am - Everyone else in the house was awake and I decided to go for a walk up and down our street while Richard got the girls breakfast.

7:45am - My midwife, Kyanna, saw the report that I had called L&D earlier and called me to see what was going on. She asked me a few questions and told me it was time to really try to get things going. She suggested walking and nipple stimulation (helps the body release oxytocin, which is a hormone that causes contractions - ask any mom who has breast fed a baby after birth!).

9:20am - I had gotten my contractions into a pattern of every 2-5 minutes but had to really work to bring them on and keep them going. The contractions were not terrible but were strong enough that I didn't want to walk through them.

11:30am - I talked to KayLee & Kyanna again. Kyanna wanted me to come in to the hospital regardless of what was happening once I reached the 12 hour mark of my waters having been broken as I was at a higher risk of infection with ruptured membranes. With that "deadline" in mind I decided to eat lunch and get a little rest. 

12-12:45pm - I had three strong wake-me-up contractions while trying to sleep a bit but they still didn't develop into a closer pattern.

Right before we left for the hospital.

Our last picture as a family of 4

2pm - Katelyn came to our house to watch the girls and Richard and I headed to the hospital and met KayLee there. We walked around the halls while waiting to be taken to a room. I still wasn't having many noticeable contractions.

2:35pm - Kyanna checked me to confirm that membranes were ruptured and I was 4cm dilated, 80% effaced, -2 station. I was put on the monitors for 20 minute strip, fetal heart tones were in the 140s, and we started discussing options for how to get labor progressing. We decided that, rather than going with the drug pitocin, I would use an electric breast pump to stimulate my own body's release of oxytocin to get contractions going again.

3:25pm - I was on the pump and contractions were definitely increasing in strength and frequency. I was starting to notice a lot of back labor so KayLee and Richard helped relieve some of that pressure using the double hip squeeze. (They really got a good upper body workout throughout my entire active labor!)

3:50pm - Contractions were about 3 minutes apart and 40 seconds long. Around 4:30 we stopped pumping and walked around the unit for a while. Walking felt good and we stopped to work through contractions all around the hallways.

5pm - KayLee and Richard took turns using a Rebozo to sift my belly and help Baby come down.

This is what it looks like to do Rebozo sifting. I don't know why we didn't get a picture of this!

6:10pm - Kyanna checked me and I was 6 cm dilated, 80% effaced, -1 station. I did another 20 minute strip on monitor to make sure all was looking good with me and Baby then I got in the big tub. I really liked being on my hands and knees in the water and using the shower sprayer attachment with hot water on my low back during contractions helped with that back labor. We had the lights very low and some soft music playing. It was a very calm and relaxed atmosphere that allowed me to enjoy the time between contractions and really focus during the contractions themselves.

Kyanna was to be going off duty at 7pm and Baby was obviously not coming by then so we talked through options again knowing that the doctor who was coming on in her place would want to get things moving faster (likely with more intervention) if we didn't already have a plan in place that was clearly working. I was bummed that Kyanna was not going to be there for the birth but was so glad to have had her to work through things up to this point!

8pm - My contractions had really increased in intensity and length. KayLee really helped me regain my focus during some of the contractions by having me focus on parts of my breathing where I was carrying more tension. Having something to DO helped a lot. A quote from KayLee's notes during this time: "Richard tells Danelle, 'You got this babe.' Richard and Danelle work so well together." I love that man.

9pm - Dr. Nicholas wanted me out of the tub to be checked and on the monitors for another 20 minute strip. I really did NOT want to get out of the water (or really change anything at all for that matter) but was anxious to see where I was by then. I was 9 cm dilated, 100% effaced, 0 station, but Baby's head was transverse not allowing it to come down the rest of the way. The nurse suggested lying on my right side for 15 minutes, hands and knees 15 minutes, left side 15 minutes, and repeat to get baby’s head in correct position. So we started that. We worked through a few contractions on my right side with my left leg up during contractions (and counter pressure applied to my low back - I told you Richard and KayLee were getting a workout!). During one contraction in particular I felt Baby move, which you normally don't feel during a contraction, so I told the nurse after that one that Baby had moved and that it might have been the final change of position needed for coming down the rest of the way.

9:25pm - I changed to hands and knees position with Richard and KayLee applying counter pressure AND double hip squeeze, and was feeling A LOT more low pressure and an opening feeling. Baby had definitely moved down that last bit.

9:40pm - My body started involuntarily pushing with contractions. It was such a weird/amazing feeling to have my body do that without even trying! I had a couple more contractions like that (not trying to push but just letting my body do some work) and then moved onto my back/side into a semi-sitting position to push WITH my body. Dr. Nicholas was in the room hurrying to get ready and the nurses were preparing for birth! KayLee was right in my ear telling me to push or pant or blow during contractions (whatever needed to be done at the time) and Richard was encouraging me.

9:49pm - Baby was born! *What an incredible feeling of relief for that baby to be OUT!* I had already let everyone know that I wanted Richard to announce the sex of the baby but it seemed like a million years with no announcement so I said "What is it!?" to which he finally answered "It's a boy!" It was such a cool thing to find out from my amazing husband (rather than from an ultrasound tech) this time around. It being a boy confirmed my gut feeling (and what Ava had been saying since about 19 weeks) so I wasn't entirely surprised, but I also couldn't picture us with anything other than girls, so it took a little while to wrap my head around. Cade Milton Ezell was here!!!

   Cade Milton Ezell  --  8 lbs. 8 oz. 21 inches

By 10pm Cade was already nursing like a champ and enjoying lots of skin to skin snuggling. 

I felt so good (physically and emotionally) to have accomplished a natural birth and am so thankful to Richard, KayLee, Kyanna, and all the nurses for their encouragement and support. This labor was definitely different from my others in that I had to work to make contractions happen as well as work through the contractions, but I really enjoyed the whole experience and wouldn't change it for the world.

Katelyn brought Ava and Raina to the hospital to meet Cade a little while after he was born. Ava was excited and chatty. She wanted to see him and talk to everyone. Raina was excited and apprehensive. She wanted to look from afar and stay in the comfort of Katelyn's lap. :) 

Once I was settled in a recovery room, Richard went home to be with the girls for the night so it just Cade and me all night. He pretty much just nursed and slept, nursed and slept, so I got some good rest. Thanks be to God for this perfectly healthy little blessing!

If you live in the Fort Riley area and are considering a doula for your upcoming labor and delivery, we highly recommend KayLee. Check her out here: http://www.treasuredmomentsbirthservices.com