The Birth Story

Thursday morning I woke up feeling exceptionally well. I decided to take advantage of the day's lack of plans and clean the house. Strangely, it took on an obsessive sort of quality. I remember telling Seth over the phone, "I've been taken over by a cleaning poltergist or something..." In no way, however, did I actually think this was the energy-boost/cleaning frenzy women talk about having just before giving birth. I was trying very hard to remember I still had 2 weeks of pregnancy left before my due date and the possibility of many more days past that. I was grateful, however, for the sense of peace I regained through having a clean house and for the renewed energy. In the evening, Seth assured me he was ready for our baby to come anytime - he was set at work and feeling ready to help me through the birth process. It was nice to hear that out loud. We went for a family walk and talked a lot about names... not really getting anywhere.

Friday Eleanor and I spent the day together, playing and reading. We headed off to the doctor's office for our weekly visit and learned my body still wasn't really doing much. I was only 1 1/2 cm dilated and 75% effaced. I was still feeling really well and cheerfully talked with the nurses about the possibility of still being pregnant for another 4 weeks. They did assure me, however, that although Dr. Scott was out of the office that day, he was in town. Thus, if I went into labor over the weekend he would be around to deliver the baby. I decided on my way home from the doctor's office that I really wanted a pizza and movie night. It was wonderful to actually have an opinion about what I wanted to do and that I could make it happen. We had a fantastic, relaxing evening.

Saturday we slept in and enjoyed a very lazy morning together as a family. Eleanor played around us while Seth and I sat together on the couch drinking coffee and reading. When nap time came around, both Ella and I went down. At that point I wasn't feeling really great - having cramps and such - and we were looking forward to an evening out at some friends' house. When I woke up I remember thinking, "It'd be really great to have this baby tonight," and feeling like it just might happen. Of course, I squelched the feeling because there could be way too many days in a row with that kind of wishful thinking. The really strange thing was, though, that I'd dreamed about Cleta Crisman telling me that she'd been at a friend's house for dinner the night her water broke with one of her kids. I thought, "What a weird memory, I hope that doesn't happen to me!"

So we headed off to our barbecue and had a great time being social with 2 couples from Seth's work. I still wasn't feeling wonderfully, but it was a great place to ignore my crampy feelings and exhaustion. We all enjoyed talking, laughing and playing. The food was awesome, too! (Thank goodness for some fantastic proteins to get me through the night ahead). Just after dinner, while waiting for berries and ice cream, I headed down to the play room to help Eleanor go potty. Lucas, our friend's son decided to come down, too. The kids asked me to read them a story and I said, "Sure." I grabbed the book from Eleanor and realized there was no way I'd make it sitting on the floor, so I plopped down into a nearby chair. And my water broke. I jumped up immediately (saving the chair) and thought, "Really? Did my water just break? Really? No way." Of course, standing up stopped the gush, so I wasn't sure. I headed to the bathroom., then upstairs. I decided I was crazy and I just wanted my water to have broken, so we all sat down to berries and ice cream. The gal across the table asked if I was feeling okay. She said, "You're having contractions, aren't you?" I said, "Yes." Another gush.

After several more trips to the bathroom and finally convincing myself that it had indeed happened, I went over to Seth and whispered in his ear, "My water just broke." He said, "Really?" I don't think either of us really knew what to do or think. I thought, "Maybe it's not a big deal. I suppose it is a good thing to wait a while and see what happens." So, we went back to visiting. Unfortunately, it was slightly wet waiting and I was feeling increasingly crampy. Plus, it was getting towards 8:30 pm and Eleanor usually goes to bed at 8. Once I pointed out the time, Seth helped me get Eleanor packed up and we quickly headed on home. The whole way home I kept second guessing myself and thinking, "I just really want my water to have broken." We got Ella settled into bed and I sat down with a book to wait and see. As soon as I sat down there was another (big) gush. I quit trying to convince myself otherwise and settled into a "we're going to have a baby by tomorrow night" mentality. That felt good.

So, I putzed around a little bit - eating, cleaning up a bit, getting comfortable - and started having more contractions. Then I decided it would be best to try and get some sleep, so I took a shower, got ready for bed and lay down. Of course, laying down made the contractions slightly more frequent and definitely more powerful. So, sleeping didn't really happen. I was able to rest, however, and have Seth head to bed. Around 2:30 AM I headed back out to the livingroom and read a book while timing contractions. They were still irregularly occuring every 5-10 minutes. I really didn't want to head to the hospital too soon, so I just waited - and was relieved that Seth was sleeping. I read for most of the night, took a couple of short naps, took a couple more showers, ate and drank a lot and finally decided I should probably get Seth up around 5:30 AM. Contractions were definitely getting stronger and they were more consistantly close to 5 minutes apart. He woke up on his own about that time and started to get things into the car.

We called the hospital around 6:30 AM and they told us to have breakfast and then come on in. So, we called our neighbor to come and stay with Ella, ate more food and headed off. I was feeling nervous, but ready. Seth did a great job of helping me release my anxiety - which of course sped up the contractions.

We arrived at the hospital just after 7 and they hooked me up to the monitors. I was checked for dilation at 7:20 AM and was told I was 3-4 cm dilated. The nurse said they were going to keep me because my waters had broken. I remember having to concentrate enough through the flow of contractions that I wasn't concerned about not being very dilated, but I had to consciously remind myself that it didn't have to happen fast, I just had to keep going. An hour later my doctor arrived and I was 4-5 cm. I could handle that, a cm an hour.

So, we walked the halls, rocked on a birth ball, did pelvic rocks on the floor (I was told baby wasn't quite into the right position to continue moving down), rocked in the rocking chair, stood and "slow danced," lay on the bed, soaked in the tub... all the while listening to music and focusing on the fact that I was going to have a baby today! My contractions never let up - but I don't know really how frequent they were. They just steadily got more and more powerful. Through it all I felt totally comfortable relaxing and letting go, giving in to the process because Seth was right there. He was AMAZING! He rubbed my back, pressed pressure points, made sure I drank enough water and offered food. He constantly told me I was doing a good job.

When my doctor came back, between 10 and 11 am I think, and checked me again I was still only 7 cm dilated. I remember thinking at that point, "This is really tough, and I still have a long way to go!" He headed off to have lunch and we continued at our work. It was about that time my contractions got really super intense and I remember the only thing that helped me get through them was squeezing Seth's hand as hard as I could while moaning (loudly). Then I don't really remember anything... the haze took over.

I know I moaned, screamed and cried. I know at one point I felt like I was sure I would vomit. I also know I thought, "This is so painful, why didn't I opt for an epidural?" But, I also knew I could do it. The worst part of the whole process was dilating from 9 to 10. I was starting to feel the urge to push, was in horrible pain and was being checked all the time while in the middle of contractions. They were also continually monitoring Baby and I just wanted them to stop touching me! I stopped listening to what they were telling me (although I was aware the doctor was getting changed and on his way to our room) and just started pushing. The next time I was checked it wasn't X number dilated, it was, "I feel the baby's head."

Then the official pushing started. 10 minutes later, Baby Boy Tippin was born (12:48 PM)! He cried two little cries, Seth cut his cord and they placed him on my chest right away. He lay there contentedly and looked at us - for an hour. Then they took him over to be weighed, etc. He cried one little cry when given his Vitamin K shot, but settled down immediately. When he came back to me, he nursed like a champ for half an hour. It was so relieving to have him here - and even better to know there had been absolutely no concerns about him and his health through the whole birth process. He is vibrantly healthy and deliciously content to be out in this world, snuggling with us.

Of course, he didn't have a name... but that is for another post.