Birth #33 42 weeks and..counting
19 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in A New Life
- A lap around the block with the crazy doula
Births are wonderful! This one was one of my favorites.
I always love attending births, but when you get moments like these captured on film, it just can’t be beat.
Elizabeth was 42 weeks and two days. Desperation had arrived banging at her door.
If you have ever been pregnant you know the feeling.
You thought for sure that you were going to have this baby early….and then…..to your despair, the little one decides they need to cook a little longer.
Well, for this lovely family there had to be a line drawn, and it was drawn with….castor oil, a friend to many an overdue woman.
Elizabeth called me that morning and said she had called the midwife and discussed a plan to take the castor oil and would call me as soon as anything changed.
Agreed.
Well, by the time 2pm rolled around and nothing was changing, my doula radar kicked in and I knew that it was time to go “visit”.
I packed my bags and headed over.
I arrived just behind Tabitha (friend and photographer for the family).
call list
I walked in and much to my dismay, Elizabeth was sitting comfy on the couch talking.
We discussed what her status was and what we could try to get things “moving”.
I suggested that going for a walk, using the breast pump and maybe another dose of castor oil.
So, we went for a walk.
It was a beautiful day and the walk was great. Several new stronger contractions were coming along.
When we got back big sister and little sister were sent off to be with family and friends for the rest of the evening.
That was when the change started.
She took another good dose of the oh so yummy slimy orange juice with castor oil concoction and attached the pump.
Things were looking like they were moving along, but not at a rapid pace.
As the sun began to set our bellies started crying out for sustenance. So, Craig O’s calzone it was…..and oh was it yummy.
The contractions kept coming along, but they were taking their time.
So we settled in to pizza a movie (Trapped in Paradise) and a little intermittent pumping to keep things rolling.
The contractions were dragging their feet and we all were so cozy from eating and watching the movie that we decided it was time to try to sleep until things picked up.
Elizabeth and Cliff headed back to their room and Tabitha and I made our selves comfy on the couch and floor.
About an hour later, after achieving no sleep on either side, Elizabeth emerged from her room.
relaxing through a contraction
It was about 10:15 p.m. and things seemed to be turning a corner.
You could see it on her face that these contractions were picking up steam.
We timed the contractions for another 45 minutes and it seemed that with each contraction they were getting stronger.
At 11pm I looked at Cliff and said, “so, I think it is time to pack our bags and head to the birth center”. Everyone was in agreement.
Poor Elizabeth had met the steep hill of labor just in time to jump in the car and have to ride semi still for 20 minutes.
That has to be one of the more frustrating times in a womans labor.
We made it to The Family Birth Center in New Braunfels and her midwives met us there.
We immediately started filling up the birth pool and getting it ready.
just before the pool was ready
Elizabeth was in active labor and handling things great.
She was finally able to get into the pool and relax a bit.
After laboring for a while, the midwives were concerned that the temperature of the water would be too cool for the baby and decided that getting into the bathtub would be a better option.
Unfortunately Elizabeth had already started feeling the urge to push at this point.
So, with support on both sides, we helped her out of the pool. We started the journey to the bathtub, wich was only about 20 feet, but to her seemed like a mile.
We got about half way to the tub when Elizabeth stopped for a contraction, which turned into a push.
At that point we all realized that this little boy was ready to arrive and wasn’t going to wait for us to get to the water.
With support all around and a couple of pushes later, Elizabeth gave birth to a beautiful chubby big baby boy.
It was a beautiful moment.
This is when birth happens just the way it needs to happen aside from all our planning and thoughts about how it “should” go.
Elizabeth was amazing. She showed amazing strength and a committment to birthing the way she felt was best for her and her baby.
Quincy Forrest was born at 12:34 a.m. on November 24th, 16 days after his due date. He was 9lbs and 14oz.
It was such a beautiful birth and I was blessed to be a part.
Tabitha and Quincy
Erica and Quincy
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