Birth Stories

Posted by Sunny Gault on February 13, 2012

Birthdays: A Whole New Perspective When Pregnant

Today is my birthday. I’m now 34 years old, which is strange because I don’t feel a day over 33.

Seriously though, everyone keeps asking me what I’m going to do on my special day, and to tell you the truth, I really haven’t thought about it much. I guess that’s what happens as you get older, you start thinking more of other people and less of yourself. In fact, I’ve already accomplished the most important task on my plate today, which is calling my mother.

For as long as I can remember, I would call my mother at my exact birth time, 11:02am. Even at an early age, I thought it was more important to focus on the woman who gave birth to me. After all, she did all the work, right? My mom was in labor for four hours with me, without any medication. Today she reminded me of how (to this day) it is still considered the most painful experience of her life. She’s then quick to assure me it was all worth it and how appreciative both my parents are of the woman I have become. It’s actually very sweet and usually results in a few tears. It’s a great way to start your birthday. And it really is the beginning of the day, considering I was born on east coast time, but live on the west coast. So, I’m actually calling my mother at 8:02am. Yes, we are THAT hard core.

I call my mother every year, and that will never change. Yet, today feels different.

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Posted by Meagan Church on February 10, 2012

Birth Story: My Waterbirth Experience

This being my third pregnancy, you’d think I was a pro at giving birth. Well, after my 16-hour labor with number one, you’d think that would earn me some sort of pro status. Even still, I know that every birth is different and that scared me. Going in to my third pregnancy, I had certain reservations because my first two had gone so well. Could I be so lucky once again? I felt my time was running out. Not to mention the fact that my open-mindedness from my first pregnancy was becoming a lot more closed off. I did a good amount of research for my first and had a good sense for what I hoped for in the birth. But having done far more reading and fact gathering, my mind was beginning to close off and strongly oppose certain options I had previously been open to. I began to have this feeling that if things didn’t go as planned, I would somehow be disappointed and left to deal with those emotions post-partum. So how did it all turn out? Let’s start at the beginning….

On Wednesday, January 25 (five days before my due date) I woke up with mild contractions around 2:00 a.m. They came off and on without much regularity or intensity. I tried my best to sleep, but knowing that this meant the end was near, task lists and details began running through my head. I got little sleep that night. The contractions did not increase at all as I went about my day. I hesitated telling anyone because I assumed I still had plenty of time. I did tell my husband before he left for work and I also called my mom. With having to make plans for the whereabouts of the two older kids, I needed to at least inform a few people. But I refrained from making any Facebook status updates. After all, I had a history of going post-due. Would this child really come before the due date? (more…)

Posted by Christiane Williams on October 31, 2011

Why I chose a midwife – and then delivered with a doctor

When I got pregnant with my first child, I’d been with my OB/GYN for a couple of years and it was only natural I would stay with him for my pregnancy. He seemed like a friendly enough guy, very professional and associated with a big hospital in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. As the pregnancy progressed, I realized that I wanted to have a birthing experience like my mother-in-law (three natural child births albeit in three very different locations: a military hospital, a community hospital and a home birth) and NOT like my own mother (first birth knocked out by gas so she couldn’t remember anything, second birth panic stricken almost in the hospital elevator). In addition I wanted my husband to play an active role in the birth experience – much like my father-in-law (who delivered his third child while the doctor watched) and very unlike my own father who never set a foot in the hospital, but just dropped my mother off.

So we signed up for the Bradley Method, a husband-coached natural childbirth class. During this class our birth plan emerged – waiting until 42 weeks if necessary, no artificial breaking of water, no interventions (IV, pitocin, epidural, episiotomy), no constant monitoring = ability to move around during contractions, no early cord clamping etc. (more…)

Posted by Jane Park on August 16, 2011

Naming My Son

Sadly, my journey as a PregTASTIC Panelist came to an end when my husband and I crossed the milestone of recording my birth story this past June. I listened to the recording when it was released a couple weeks ago and some thoughts crossed my mind. Boy, I say “um” a lot. And wow, this was the first PregTASTIC show with a commercial! And that tapping noise in the middle is me burping the baby. Like most mothers, I could talk about my birth stories till the cows come home and there were a few further stories I wish I had remembered to share. Here are the ones about how we named our son.

Where did the nickname Manny come from? When I was about four months pregnant with Lenny, my oldest child, Vera, declared that she had come up with a name for the baby. She comes up with fabulous names (Soriya, Alau and Zwanzanito, for example), so we were bracing ourselves. Somehow, she came up with Manny. I guess it is appropriate when you think that this was our first man-child. The name stuck and was endearing to us all. While we didn’t decide to name our son Manfred or Manuel in the end, our younger daughter Stella still calls him Manny. She confuses some people when they ask her what her baby brother’s name is. (more…)

Posted by Lyssa Hurst on June 1, 2011

Lyssa’s Birth Story

I’ve been reluctant to write my son’s birth story, though I’m not totally sure why. Baby brain still has a hold on me and I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in over 6 months. I have trouble concentrating, and just when I think I might have a moment to gather my thoughts–it is gone–or the baby cries–or both. Things happened so quickly and erratically that night, it’s hard for me to remember exactly what happened. I lost all concept of time. Suddenly, I forgot everything I knew about labor and second guessed every early twinge, embarrassed I didn’t know and afraid I was having a hysterical episode of some sort–crazy.

I had been having severe right hip pain for the last 2 weeks, an apparent pregnancy related inflammation of the sacroileac joint . Barely able to walk, it was all I could do to drive my son to and from school each day. I woke the morning of November 19th with an urge to get the house tidied up and somehow managed to do some cleaning. After a chiropractor appointment, I “assumed my position” on the couch, somewhat crampy but such gastrointestinal issues were nothing new.   My first baby had been 5 days late, everyone told me this one would likely be late as well.  By my calculations, I still had days to go. (more…)

Posted by Elizabeth Masturzo-Baldeon on April 27, 2011

“Pop” Goes The Water (Breaking)

Although my birth story is 26 months old, it’s mine and well, I like to tell it. Not just for my narcissistic side, but also as a teaching tool! At 36 weeks and some days pregnant, I was absolutely miserable. I was swollen and just plain HUGE. I went to the OB for the first weekly checkup and I wasn’t even dilated! WHAT? Are you kidding me? No effacement, no dilation? As we all left the exam room, the OB stopped and came back and told me that I would be able to tell my water broke because it would be a very large POP noise; before one feels water, before anything else, a very loud POP.

Whatever, I thought to myself. I was cranky. (more…)

Posted by Mary Hurst on February 2, 2011

4 Hours, 2 Babies, 0 Drugs

January 17, 2011 10:10am Anna Josephine is born. She is 6lb, 3 oz and 18″.  Twelve minutes later, her brother Connor Joseph 6lb, 4 oz and 18″ greets the world.

A few days before the babies’ birth I had been reading up on labor and came across something I had either forgotten or never knew.  “Sometimes labor starts with a big kick.”  Around 6:20am, I was going to the bathroom for what seemed like the 100th time and felt a bizarre kick.  It was like nothing I had felt before – more like an internal shifting of tectonic plates.  A few minutes later, back in bed, I felt the urge to go to the bathroom again.  When I stood up, there was a gush of clear fluid and my water had broken.

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Posted by Bethany Park on January 31, 2011

My New Year’s Baby

Life with two kids under two is crazy to say the least, but I’ve finally found enough time to sit down and write the story of Clio’s birth.

On December 30th, I noticed she had dropped. I was only 38 weeks pregnant and I went past my due date with my daughter Layla, so I was not overly excited about that sign. My doula was supposed to be out of town until January 2nd, so I was refusing to believe that baby would be born before then. My mom had been hounding me to pack my hospital bag, but that night I told her that I didn’t want to pack my bag because I had a feeling that if I packed my bag, my water would break , and as it turns out, my intuition wasn’t too far off. (more…)