Topic : Birth Stories

 i had wonderful births so far, i was 16 when i had my son, it was an 8 hr labor and he was born june 2000 at 9lbs 1 1/2 oz, it was very easy, i married his father at  18 and we had our daughter  january 2004, i was a week late just like my son and i was scheduled to be induced at 7:00 am well i woke up at 5:30 and thought my water broke but ignored it and went to bed while we went to the hospital and i as already feeling like i needed to push, as soon as i got there i was told i was dialated to 7 and then i told the nurse i was ready to push the baby was already comming out, the dr barely made it, i had no ivs or nothingat 6:50 am my daughter was born at 8lbs 7 oz., that was very scary but it was nice it was just me and my husband. then dec 31 2004 1 wk early and at 6 lbs 12 oz. my second son was born, we were 3 hours away from new years, i stayed home all day and labored, when i finally went to the hospital contractions were less than 5 min apart and i was dialated to 7 and an hr later my son was born in 2 pushes, drug free. just thought i'd share my experince with everyone

 My little girl was 1 week late.  When I finally went into labor, it was very painful, but the contractions were only 5-6 minutes apart.  The midwife came to check me a few hours later, and said I was only 4 cm, not even in active labor (yeah right).  She broke my water at 4:30 and  I  instantly went to 7cm.  We rushed to the hospital, and Nicole was born at 6:05.  And she hasn't slowed down since!

Loved being pregnant!! I have  4 beautiful children...My husband and I planned our first when I was 19, she was born 16 days late at 10lbs 10oz.   After 11 hours of induced labor I chose the epidural  which I have never and will never do again but was glad at the time because she got stuck at her shoulders and this really big nurse came and pushed down really hard on my tummy until she came out.   My pregnancy with her was great, I gained about 50 lbs (first pregnancy stupidity I think ....'I can eat anything'..)  My second was a surprise and after losing all my baby fat and alittle more I found out I was 22 weeks pregnant (and down to 120lb),  so our second another daughter was born 10 days late on the day I was to be induced at 8lbs 8oz (1yr 1mth 1wk,  to the day after her sister) after 12 hours of of labor,  I shot from 6cm to 10 while my doc was checking me, and she was born within seconds, both of us were in good shape other than a fever due to a urinary tract infections we both had.   Our third child was planned (about a year after I miscarried at 16 wks), she was born when our other 2 girls were 4 and 3, 5 days late at 8lbs 6oz, totally natural again and after another 12 hours of labor we had our 3rd beautiful daughter (same thing went from 6 to 10 and there she was).  Now our fourth and maybe our last (still undecided)was born this past Jan.  We chose not to find out the sex and after 4 days late and knowing it was another biggun (the doc estimated 10 to 11lbs) we were induced,  everything went great, I was induced at 10am, water broke at 11am.  I felt pressure at about 2:30pm the nurse checked and said i was 5.5 to 6 max (she called doc, who was at his office, to give him the heads up).   So about a half hour later I told her it was stronger and she called the doc again and he was there in 15 minutes.  After checking me he got mad at the nurse (all while still sitting in the prone position) for not checking me again cause I was only at 6 cm.  And while arguing and saying how he had a csection to do in an hour and a implant to do in 2 hours he realized my baby was face up.  He turned my baby which was pretty painful and told me to push,  my son was born within 15 from the time the doc first arrived and came out pretty bruised because he still came out facing sideways.   He was 10lbs 9oz and was born perfectly healthy.  And after all that arguing over being wayyyy to early for me to deliver he not once apologized to the nurses and all he could say to my  husband was 'well i got the weight right'......So now we have 3 beautiful daughters who are 7, 6, and 3 and a new son who is almost 10 months and we still can't decide if we want another.

I totally agree.  He doesn't seem like he's ready yet, sorry to say.  I know that its not fair that he gets to decide, but it's his loss.  Sometimes it's best to just let him go.  If you're not happy then your children can't be happy either.  When my daughter was 2 months old, I was 18, her father passed away from drinking and driving over 100 mph.   We were together for almost 3 years and he was my life.  But, he was always treating me badly and we never got along.  I thought that was how I was supposed to be treated.  When he died I thought that my life was over.  I went into depression and probably wouldn't have made it with out my little girl. I also found out after he was gone that he cheated on me more times than I can count.    He probably would have done the same thing that your boyfriend is doing now.  In a way I am relieved that I don't have to deal with all of the bull any more.  Anyways my point is that everything happens for a reason even though you may not see it right away.  I know now that God took him out of my life so I can raise my daughter the right way and teach her not to let people treat  her badly.   

My advice to you is to stand up for yourself and don't let him make your decisions for you.  You should definitely let him go and file for child support.  You will see that you are a lot stronger than you think.  First find yourself and then you will find a man that will be willing to be the role model your children need.  I wish you the best and I will pray for you.  God bless. 

  I love to read birth stories and I also love to share mine! I'm a big advocate for birth so hopefully posting my birth story might open some minds to alternatives to hospitals! I also thought this would be an appropriate place to post since Dr.Phil was on the television in the background during my son's birth! During the course of my pregnancy with my second child, a son, I became very uncomfortable with the type of care I was receiving with a military OB/GYN clinic. I had a strong idea of how I wanted things to go with my birth and with the care my son and I would receive after the birth and what procedures I did and did not want to happen. (given a normal healthy uncomplicated pregnancy and birth) The more I discussed my birth plan with the nurses (you only see a doctor there if you have a problem) the more I realized that I would not have anything close to the birth experience I wanted if I stayed at that facility. So I went on the hunt for another alternative. An online acquaintance suggested looking into midwifery and homebirth. Up until this point I had thought women who had intentional homebirths were nuts, but seeing as my other alternatives were to deliver in hospitals that were not supportive of the birth I wanted I started researching the facts and looking  for a homebirth midwife in my area. After much thought and many many hours of research I decided that a homebirth was indeed the route I wanted to take and phoned the only midwife in my area who was licensed to do homebirths. I placed the call at about 32 weeks, but it took several days of playing phone tag to get an appointment. I was finally officially a patient of the midwife when I was 34 weeks pregnant. I continued to see the OB at the military clinic in case there was a need for transfer during or after the birth and to help family feel better about the care I was receiving. I no longer discussed my plans for my birth with the OB's. I stated only twice that I was having a homebirth and never entertained a discussion on it with the nurses at the clinic. I was so excited to go to appointments with my midwife. They lasted an hour or more sometimes and in a very short time I became very comfortable with my midwife. The pregnancy continued to progress without complication and we had planned on having a water birth in our home. At the 37 week mark my braxton hicks contractions increased greatly in frequency and strength. I truly feel that my body was ready for labor, however emotionally I was not ready, so my labor started and stopped several times. I was not emotionally ready for labor because my husband was not supportive of a homebirth in anyway and "changed his mind" about having one when I was 36 weeks along. We did however manage to mediate the situation, but there was still an emotional disconnection between us over the birth.  Another small thing that gave me apprehension about going into labor was the purchase of a new couch! Up until two days before my birth we had an old futon with worn out padding, I told my husband there was no way I was delivering or laboring on it so we needed to purchase a new couch so we did so about a week before the birth. Thankfully it arrived just in time! On May 25th around PM I went to take a shower and while I was showering I rubbed my belly talking to my son and I told him that I was ready for him to come and that I was ready to relax my mind and allow my body to take control. That evening I had a few contractions that were unlike braxton hicks, they were firm and strong, but not painful. I thought to myself each time that if the contractions would just keep up I would definitely go into labor. I went about the evening spending time with my husband and getting my three year old daughter to bed. My husband also went to bed as he had work in the morning, but I had a little bit of insomnia so I stayed awake watching TV. Around midnight I realized that I'd had several contractions over the last few hours and might want to time them out. At 1 am I finally started timing the contractions because they were very firm and consistent but not yet uncomfortable. Sure enough hey were coming every 2-4 minutes and lasting 45-70 seconds with increasing intensity. I got up fixed myself a turkey sandwich on wheat with baby spinach leaves and had a large glass of orange juice to give my body fuel for labor. Around 3:30 I went upstairs to wake my husband just to let him know that this was it and we should get the bed ready before he went to work. We spent a little time getting our bedroom presentable and making our bed for the birth. I had to keep sitting down because the contractions were getting pretty strong. Around 4:00 am we came downstairs with the intention of laying down and getting some more sleep and my husband would report to work on ship (he's in the US Navy) for a few hours and then come home. We figured we would have plenty of time. Around 4:15 I was moaning VERY loudly and in a lot of pain with the contractions and decided we should call our midwife, I was trying my best to wait until it was a decent hour of the morning, but thought with how much pain I was in that I just might have a very short labor. My husband called her at 4:30 am and had a hard time hearing her over my moans and she heard me in the background and thought she had better get to my home as fast as she could. The midwife arrived about 5:45 am, I was laying on the brand new couch's chaise lounge (which is where I stayed for a majority of my labor) the contractions and pain had increased a great deal. I was no longer able to think of much more than getting through the contractions. I was moaning and wailing and absolutely in tears. The midwife let me know that I was having the dreaded back labor! After what seemed like about 2 hours I had my midwife check me and I was about 6 cm and our son was definitely posterior. So that meant getting into positions to try and help him turn and to try and speed things along. I kept feeling my little guy trying to turn his body but he just never made it! I think there was a solid hour where I begged my husband to transfer me to the hospital for an epidural, but he of course refused, he knew it was just the pain talking and not truly what I wanted. There was a point in my labor where I transitioned and at the time I literally blacked out between contractions. It was almost as if my body was giving itself a little rest time before the "hard part" I really have no idea at what time of day it was that this occurred, but I do know it was light out. My water had broken on it's on sometime around when my midwife had checked me the first time. She checked me again and I was almost complete with just a little lip left but my cervix was swelling. I think around 9:30 my midwife pulled back what was left and I gave a few trial pushes. Around 10 am (sometime after my husband turned on Dr.Phil just in case I was inclined to watch it) I started to really push. Once my son's head was past my lower back the back pain was immediately gone and the contractions no longer hurt nearly as bad. We took the pushing slow because I did not want to tear and was at risk for a tear due to an unneeded episiotomy with my first birth. My midwife used olive oil to massage me and stretch things out and even prayed to avoid a tear. At 10:33 am my son was born! I reached down and grabbed him and the midwife guided him onto my stomach. We allowed the cord to finish pulsing before cutting it. He weighed in at 7 lbs 10 oz and was 20 inches long. He had a full head of curly brown hair and was absolutely perfect! The only cry he let out was when his nose was suctioned. When he let out that cry a voice came from upstairs (which is where my daughter stayed during the birth) that she wanted to come see her little brother! My daughter met her brother about an hour after he was born. Within two hours I was up and showered and in comfortable clothes with visitors coming by and my husband snuggled up fast asleep with our son on the couch. My son never ever had to leave my side. His homebirth was such an INCREDIBLE experience, there are no words to describe how fulfilling and amazing the experience was! To give birth to our son in our own home couldn't of been more perfect! We were free from pokes and prods and demands unneeded procedures for the convenience of the staff and time constraints on progress. He was rushed away from me to be roughly handled under bright lights. He was snuggled in the arms of his father and mother and had only gentle hands and soft sunlight coming in from the window. He was able to meet his sister sooner than would have been possible in a hospital and he never, not once had to leave the arms of those who love him! We're not planning on having any other children, but I know for sure that should we ever become pregnant again I would not set foot in an OB's office or a Hospital unless my midwife felt it was absolutely necessary. There is so much that women don't know about the truth of birth! I suggest that every pregnant woman looks at www.trustbirth.com and www.takebirthback.org Did you know that there are 25 countries in which it is safer to give birth than the united states? Visit the listed sites to find out why and what you can do about it!    

I had both of my kids in our local hospital and both times received outstanding care. My first was a very easy 9lb 6oz girl- 4 hour labor, but I think it was because I worked until 7 hours before she was born (I cleaned a commercial grease trap, went home, mopped all of the floors in my house, shampooed the carpets and took off for the hospital) My second was born with a host of birth problems- totally unexpected because I had outstanding prenatal care, however, I had undiagnosed cancer which caused them- and had we not been at a really great hospital with a heliport to transport him to Albany Med Center (another FABULOUS hospital) he would not have made it. Its great you had a choice, and great that you had healthy births, but I found my hospital births to be fab as well. I love my frumpy Dr Keenan who saved my son, my dowdy Dr Hession who insisted upon heliporting him, my incredible Dr Rios and Drs Sills (Mr and Mrs) who not only treated me like an intelligent human being and taught me how to do all the caregiving to my boy, but also diagnosed his problem as well as my cancer.   

  

PS, on our third day there, in Pediatric ICU, where they let you sit and touch your baby even if you can't hold them yet, I was holding his toes and  praying over and over "Please God, don't let him die" when I was lifted under the armpits by a power and literally felt at that point that I was flying. Within 2 hours, this really really sick baby, with blood clots, non-working kidneys, respiratory problems and NO calcium levels in his body, turned the corner and was fine. No one knows why except that  it was a miracle and it was. He is now a rough and tumble 2 year old who never stops. Never give up and never stop believing. 

It's so nice that there is somewhere we can share our stories. This is my first child and after having her I found myself wanting to keep talking about the experience to better understand it. I just had my daughter Alexis Angeline on June 25, 2005 on my due date! I was scheduled to be induced on the 28th but my water broke on the 25th at 4 in the morning. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the hospital and I had her at 7:42 a.m. (less than 4 hours from start to finish). Lots of people told me I was so lucky that it went so quickly but I think that may even be worse. I just was not prepared for everything to go so quickly. I really couldn't keep anything straight. It didn't help that I got drugs for the pain and didn't want them(no epidural though). It helped with the pain but I was just in a fog for the next day and a half. I think if they had known how quickly I was going to have her they wouldn't have given me anything because I was not very cooperative. I just wanted to go to sleep and I kept telling them to leave me alone. I remember pushing when I wasn't supposed to because I was already fully dilated and ready to go and they hadn't checked me in half an hour. They checked me when I first got there and then when they checked me again they were really surprised and I remember someone saying "She's at ten and ready to go, the doctor needs to get here now." My doctor had been on vacation for the week before and the day I had her was her first day back, so I got lucky there. All in all it was very hectic but worth it. Our baby is just wonderful and so healthy (7 lbs. 11.5 oz.) and beautiful and it was so wonderful to see her father with her when she was first born. Everytime she went to the nursery, they would bring her back swaddled and he would redo it, because they didn't do it well enough he said. We've been together 5 1/2 years and we're both still kind of young (I'm 21, he's 24) so I was worried this would be really hard on our relationship and it was a little at first, mostly from lack of sleep, but everything is great now.

 I had a very long birth experience, but it was well worth it!

My son was due on July 9th.  When he hadn't come on the 15th, and I was not even starting to dilate, my OB told me to check into the hospital on July 19th.  I did so around 4 PM, and by 9 PM, I had Cervidel inserted to try to help me dilate.  My contractions got strong enough that I could no longer sleep through them, and they were coming about every 5 minutes.  By 9 PM on the 20th, I had only dilated to about 2 cm, so at 1:30 AM on the 21st, I was taken to L&D, where they inserted a Foley catheter, to force my cervix open.  About an hour and a half later, I had dilated to 3 cm, and was told that the next day, when a labour room was available, I would be induced.

At 2:30 PM on the 21st, my water was broken, and my contractions got even more intense, and were coming about every 4 minutes.  At 7:30 PM, I was put on oxytocin, as well as IV fluids and antibiotics, because I had a fever and my blood pressure was up.

At 2:30 AM, I had an epidural.  When they checked me around 5:30 AM, I was still only about 4 cm dilated, and there was talk of a c-section, because my son's heart rate kept dropping.  But, when another OB came down about 45 minutes later and checked me, I was 8-9 cm!

Finally, at 6:15 AM on July 22, I began to push.  For the first hour, nothing happened, and again, they started talking about a c-section.  On the next push, his head finally started to move down.  They decided to use a vacuum to help him come out, since he was very stressed (there had been a LOT of meconium in the fluid).  At 7:46 AM, he was born, weighing 8lbs. 11oz. and measuring 22" long.  His head was huge, at 14.5 " around.  I think it's close to a miracle that I had absolutely no tears nor episotomy!!

Today, my son is 4 months and 3 days old, and is the light of my life.  I know they say you forget the pain of childbirth, but I definitely haven't.  But, I don't mind, because I'd do it all over again.

I love to read birth stories and I have a couple of my own.  With my first pregnancy everything went very smoothly, nothing major to complain about.  Towards the end of the pregnancy my doctor said that the baby was breech and if he didn't switch positions I would be looking at a c-section.  Well, one week before I went into labor he did move and was in the correct position so my doctor said not to worry about anything.  I was due on Jan. 12 and ended up going into labor on the 3rd at 6a.m. I was asleep and just woke up to feel my water breaking.  I woke my husband up and he rushed around the house to get everything together( a little bit of procastination, I guess) and I was still leaking pretty heavily that I had to sit on a towel in the car on the way to the hospital.  LOL.  Anyway contractions were not strong so I was induced and still nothing.  At 10 p.m. I was dilated to only 1 c.m.  So there was need for a c-section.  At 10:25 my son, Elwin, was born at 7pds 2oz.  Perfect little round head and everything.  My second pregancy was a little tough.  I had my son, 2 1/2 at the time to chase around.  My sugar levels were a little on the high side so that had to be monitored.  With my first being a c-section I opted for another one.  This way I could schedule and not go through labor, which is a lot better.  My recovery time was so much faster the second time around.  Anyway, on Aug. 15 we welcomed our daughter, Willow, at 7 pds 6 oz.  She will be 4 months in 10 days and she loves to watch her big brother.  I can already tell that my children have big hearts and will grow into people who do big, wonderful things with their lives.