Shane's Birth Story III

So the midwife and nurses got set up in a fury and while I continued to push with my contractions.  My midwife was awesome and followed my birth plan as closely as possible.  I was able to push on my left side (versus flat on my back), I was not coached or directed, and she applied hot compresses and oil to my perineum to prevent tearing (which worked by the way!).  While I was pushing, they noticed that the amniotic fluid that was coming out started to look a little more clouded (it should be clear) and then noticed there was some meconium present.  When my midwife had broken my water, it had all come out clear around his head, but he had clearly had a bowel movement since that point, so they told me that they would have to take him immediately after delivery to be checked over by a pediatrician and we would not be able to let his cord stop pulsing before cutting it and we also couldn't have him immediately go chest-to-chest with me.  It was because of a completely legitimate reason, so I was not too upset...plus, I was still actively laboring, so I had little time to think too hard about it.

I continued to feel Shane descend through the birth canal with each push and after about 15 minutes of pushing, there was a crazy amount of pressure between my legs and my midwife said "let's try to have a baby in this next push!"  In the background I kept hearing a nurse (the one who was holding my belly monitor in place during contractions) saying "Is it too early to call it?"  She kept saying that, and I didn't know what she meant, but I thought to myself that if she was talking about taking me in for a C-section, I sure as heck was not going to have that, so I decided that I was going to go with the midwife's suggestion and deliver Shane with the next push.  (I asked my doula later what the nurse had been talking about and she said she thought she was talking about calling the pediatrician to come down so he would be there immediately after Shane was born.  We still aren't sure though because the nurses did later tell me that they were losing Shane's heartbeat on the monitor as I pushed...but I think that is silly because of course they were, I was curling up my muscles and bearing down and he was being squeezed tightly so it just makes sense you wouldn't get a perfect reading on the monitor...but I digress.)

With my next contraction, I sucked in a deep breath, curled up my body and tailbone, and pushed with all my might.  The contraction stopped but I kept pushing because I could tell he was really close to being born so I just stayed the course and once his head and shoulders were out, the rest of him followed in a matter of miliseconds.  And all of a sudden, there was my beautiful SON!

They brought Shane over to be checked and he immediately peed on the nurses!  The pediatrician checked him over and saw that he was fine (he hadn't aspirated any meconium, which was their main concern, since the meconium had been passed later in labor and did not affect the amniotic fluid surrounding his head).  The nurses measured him and got his little hat on and then brought him over to me, naked-booty style, so I could bond with him skin-to-skin since I didn't get to do that immediately after delivery.  While I held him for the first time, the midwife delivered the placenta and told me everything had gone really well and she didn't see anything that concerned her.

I couldn't take my eyes of my little man and apparently I took photos with my doula and Rock, but I had no clue until I saw them later because I was that transfixed by Shane!  The pictures are beautiful but show a bit too much of my chest region, so I won't be posting them on here.  But I am so glad I have them and get to relive that moment each time I look at them and I am very thankful Rock took them for us to have.

We stayed in the labor and delivery room for about an hour and a half after delivery and then we were transported to the recovery room.  The whole experience was way beyond what I expected from a military hospital and for that I am so grateful!  I also HIGHLY recommend hiring a doula.  I really think she was worth every penny in the way she helped me feel in control of my body and labor!

Sarah, my doula, and Shane on his birthday

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