Gideon Vaughan

If your read Blair's birth story, you can understand why we were a bit nervous about having an un-planned home delivery (or an in the car delivery).

We took an infant CPR course (which I recommend for everyone), just to be prepared. We also got emergency instructions from the doctor, just in case. Remember, we live an hour away from the hospital (a little farther this time).

Again, I had a miserable 9 months, throwing up a lot. Nothing tasted good. Pregnancy is the only thing that seems to dull my appetite. ( I really need to join the weight loss contest).

I had some minor problems with elevated blood pressure about three weeks before my due date, but they were solved when I took it easy. I had 3 ultrasounds this time around. I wanted to NOT have a breech delivery.

For what I thought were flimsy reasons, the doctor wanted to induce labor 3 days after the due date, if the baby had not arrived. On due date week, I was dialated about 2 cm., effaced just a bit. We scheduled the inducement for Tuesday, and agonized over it all weekend. We had decided to cancel the inducement and take our chances. Saturday was the due date. I was completely miserable. Again, I was having a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions.

One of them ( a contraction ) woke me up at 3:15 on Sunday morning. That usually triggered a trip to the bathroom to empty my pea-sized bladder. I had moved Blair into my spot in the way-up-too-high waterbed and was sleeping in his much lower-to-the-ground regular bed. I usually went to pee in the dark, since I was going about every 15 minutes and I didn't want to fully wake up. Something made me turn the light on this time. There was a little blood, not what had happened last time. I had already lost my plug (sorry for the graphic detail, but, hey, this is a birth story).

I went looking for Wally. He was not in bed with Blair. He was downstairs on the &%^$^^& computer ! He had hardly slept at all. I was not having any contractions, but we were worried about the blood. We called the hospital and they told us to come on in. By 3:45 my mom was at our house and we were on the road. I drank some oj before we left and threw most of it up before we got out of the driveway.

15 minutes down the road, and I was in real labor. Odd, but I felt very in control, not panicked like last time. Maybe it was BTDT syndrome. We got to the hospital in record time, by 4:30. The contractions were about every 3 minutes and very strong by then. We had called my friend who was videoing for us on the car phone and she arrived about 5:15.

I was dialated about 5 cm. (And disappointed about it!) I know, I know, I was very lucky to be that far along. My friend began videoing over my shoulder (I wanted a PG13 film I wouldn't mind showing to anyone). Finally, at 5:30 the doctor arrived. I had puked again.

I always thought that I would be a screamer during labor, cussing out my husband, biting anything thrust near me, but it was just the opposite. I was very, very quiet, very focused.

Again, we preferred little or no medication ( heck, if I could have a vaginal breech, surely I could push one out head first!) A new nurse came in shortly after the doctor arrived. I heard her talking with the other nurse. She assumed I had had an epidural, because I was so quiet. I was at about 8 cm. by then.

By 6:15, I was at 10 cm. My water broke, and boom (actually, it was more like BOOM). The doc said I could start pushing any time I felt like it. Boy, did I feel like it.

We were sure that Gideon was Callie, although we had asked not to be told if any evidence of sex was seen during ultrasounds. All our friends and relatives were sure that he was a girl. Surprise!

It was the most incredible feeling as I could tell he was turning in the birth canal (I don't mean flipping over, as in breech, but turning like the textbooks say they are supposed to).

One final push, and his head was out, followed very quickly by the rest of him. It's a boy! A boy? Uh-oh, we'll have to come up with a name. We were so thrilled to have another son. Within seconds of his birth he was in my arms, nursing like nobody's business. Another beautiful baby! He was born at 6:27 am.

I know, I know. This is the part that most of my friends just can't believe. Start to finish, this birth took about 3 hours and 15 minutes (counting when I first woke up).

I have lousy pregnancies, but wonderful births. I can't say that neither one of them was painless, but I had beautiful, alert babies. my adenalin kicked in to overtime. It was the best high. Maybe it's similar to a runner's high (though I never felt like that when I was running 10K's).

Again, I'm telling you all the details because that's what happened. I don't denigrate anyone's birth experience, whether you had an epidural or other meds, or not. This was what was right for us. I do feel like more women might choose unmedicated births, barring emergency situations, if they could feel and see the difference. I guess that's part of why I like to tell my birth stories.

I'm the biggest chicken ever. If someone had told me five years ago I could have unmedicated births like these two, and I would have not believed it possible. I have a very low threshold for pain. I'm not sure how I did this, and I'm really not trying to brag. But they were both so wonderful, that I wish everyone's births could be as exhilarting and empowering as mine.

One more thing, and I'll shut up, if you've made it this far. When one of my friends was having her 2nd baby, she was telling about the Bradley method to a group of friends, me included. All had babies but me. She was talking about how intense this method was. I told the whole group that the only intense thing I cared to feel connected with giving birth was conception.

Boy, have I changed my mind.

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