Birth Story of Madeleine

Madeleine
March 25, 1995 at 4:38 AM

Tuesday, March 14

I had painful Braxton-Hicks contractions every 10 minutes (lasting about 30 seconds) from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. They were different from the ones I had throughout the pregnancy, but I was pretty sure they weren't labor contractions either. I was just getting ready to take a bath when our Au Pair packed up and left for good (we knew she was leaving, but not in the middle of the week!) to a friend's house. After all the excitement and the bath, the contractions started to go away and were gone by 11:30 PM.

Thursday, March 16

In the early morning hours, I had a few more Braxton-Hicks contractions. In the afternoon I saw my OB, and an exam revealed that I was 60% effaced, 2 cm. dilated, and the baby's head was at -2 station. He tells me to pack my bag (which I did over the weekend).

Thursday, March 23

I had a few more contractions during the week, and an afternoon OB exam on Thursday. This time I was 80% effaced, 3 cm. dilated, and the baby's head was at 0 station. My doctor says he is amazed I haven't had the baby yet.

Friday, March 24

My husband's birthday. By 8:30 PM, he and Helene are asleep (he works nights, and has been awake since 12:45 AM). My contractions start at 9:00 PM. I suspect these are the real thing. They are 8-10 minutes apart, lasting 45-60 seconds. I move around and take a bath and decide to let John sleep as long as possible since we may have a long night ahead of us. After the bath, I lie on the couch, dozing between contractions. At 10:30, I call Wendy (our doula) just to give her advance warning. At 11:30, I wake John so he can call his Mom to come over. She lives 1 hour away, and will stay with Helene. We try to sleep, but my contractions are getting stronger and John is wide awake, so we get up and get dressed.

Saturday, March 25

From 1AM to 3AM, the contractions are 3-8 minutes apart and last at least a minute. We try different positions and I am most comfortable standing, leaning over something. The pain is in my lower back and front upper thighs. John's Mom has arrived. I call Wendy again, and she suggests a shower to try to get my contractions into a more regular pattern. Helene has woken up and is crying for me. I hug her and explain what is going on and tell that when she wakes up she will have a new brother or sister and she will come visit us in the hospital.

At 3:20, after the shower, my contractions are right on top of each other and almost unbearable. John and I have run out of resources. Wendy comes over, we call my doctor, and go to the hospital. By the time we get there, it is 4AM. I spent the 10 minutes in the car in the back seat on my knees hanging over into the back of the station wagon. I am having many contractions in the car, walking to labor and delivery, and getting undressed and into a hospital gown. I rub my own back during the contractions and Wendy rubs my legs. It is very hard to cope.

They do a quick internal exam and fetal monitoring. I am at 9-10 cm with membranes bulging. John goes to move the car, and as he walks back in at 4:25, my water explodes (all over Wendy). I have to push right away. They get me into bed on my side to slow things down a bit. The nurse holds my upper leg up and back, Wendy hold my lower leg out, and John supports my back and head so I am resting on one hip. 3 pushes later, Madeleine is born at 4:38. Her apgars are 9 and 9.5 and she is big - 8 pounds and 21 inches. She doesn't nurse right away, but sucks on my finger. After a bit she is ready to nurse and latches on like a pro!

Everyone is very respectful of our birth plan. I had no episiotomy but did have a small tear, which is stitched up with a local anesthetic. We postpone Madeleine's bath for a few hours to avoid dropping her temperature and having her go under the warming lights. I have specified non- separation, so everything happens in the LDR room. She has a bath at 9, and is wrapped in heated towels. We are moved to my room (and I amaze the nurses by walking there). We leave by noon on Sunday.

I am so proud of myself for managing without drugs. By the time I really needed them, it was too late anyway. Going from transition right to pushing the baby out was the hardest part, but at least it was short. The back labor was really tough too. I'm glad we stayed home for most of the labor, but I think we cut it too close. If my water had broken in the car it would have been too late!

Everything has been going very well. Helene is handling it well, but is definitely showing some signs of stress. I am trying to help her through this as best as I can. I am tandem nursing, and Helene loves to nurse at the same time as Madeleine. She holds her hand and strokes her head while they both nurse, which is very sweet. My parents gave us the gift of a postpartum doula, which has been a great help. John and I are thrilled with our new arrival!

Background graphics by mabear. Page last updated: Saturday, April 2, 2005