"Birth Story"-A letter to Max from our Doula

The Birth of Baby Boy Max Benjamin

I first met Rachel and Scott when they interviewed me for the position of birth doula during the labor and birth of their first child. I enjoyed the interview and I felt we were a good match. Thank goodness, so did Scott & Rachel as they hired me and decided to attend my classes in Birthing From Within as well. I was thrilled to be hired for this position. We talked about their ideas of birth. They decided to change from their doctor to midwives at Lankenau Hospital, Ronnie Rothman and Julianna Thompson, to better suit their ideas. We had a fun time in class and they seemed to bond with the other couples in it. They seemed well prepared for labor and birth from research and discussions in class and with their midwives. Each of them had their own questions and concerns about the labor. Since this birth would hopefully be a natural one, there were many more things to think about and prepare for during our doula class. We communicated often to make a birth wish list and to discuss details of their wishes.
On December 19th, 2006, Rachel called to tell me that things were happening at the the stronghold. Rachel was having contractions that had started a little bit after an exam in the office by Ronnie. Ronnie had swept the amniotic membranes to stimulate more effacement as Rachel was a little over due and she did not want to be induced. Then she had gone for an acupuncture treatment and the contractions started in earnest after that. By the time she had arrived at home, she needed to call me and tell me what was going on. That was about 5:00 PM. We talked for awhile and during that time, these seemed to get stronger. The instructions were to eat and then take a shower and see how things went with the contractions. Both of these almost parents seemed so excited and a little nervous but certainly not frightened at all.
We talked again about 8:00 PM and I asked if they would like me to come to the apartment. I arrived at their apartment at 9:00 PM. Rachel was having contractions that were strong and close together, lasting 50 to 80 seconds and coming every 2 to 3 minutes. Rachel was working through them with breathing and movement. She was on the bed when I arrived. Scott was busy helping her with great support and encouragement. Music was playing and the house was calm with lighting subdued, perfect for labor. I felt that we would leave soon. When I asked Rachel if she wanted to leave for the hospital, she was in strong agreement. Scott was a work-horse getting all the things taken care of. His mom arrived to take care of the doggies. He loaded the car with all the things for labor and afterward. He got drinks ready to take and plastic on the car seat with a towel in case the amniotic sac ruptured on the way in the car. Rachel expressed a fear of the long ride to Lankenau. They called Ronnie. She was there and would meet them upon arrival.
They remained calm and trusting. It was interesting getting Rachel dressed for the trip as she had contractions very often. She looked strong and calm and centered. She was using breath awareness and relaxation and seemed very focused. As the mood calmed down a bit, Rachel looked “endorphic” with pink cheeks and calm. We decided to go to the hospital and left at 9:25 PM driving in tandem. Contraction were about 1 to 2 minutes in frequency and lasting 70 to 90 seconds at this time.
We arrived at Lankenau Hospital at 10:00 PM. Scott parked the cars while I went to Labor and Delivery with Rachel. She was admitted to room #3. Ronnie was waiting. Our nurse was Kelly. Soon after arrival, Dale, Rachel’s mother, came to join Rachel. Rachel was examined for 7 cm (stretched to 8 cm) and was 100% effaced, with a bulging bag of water. WOW! We were all thrilled. I was so very proud of Rachel for being the BIRTH WARRIOR that she was proving to be. There was monitoring and questions and getting settled into the room. Rachel got into the shower right after all of this was over and stayed only for a short time. Then she took on the contractions in all different positions. She sat on the toilet and on her hands and knees on the floor. She sat on the ball but not for long as she was feeling the urge to push very soon, at about 11:00 PM.
Much of the pushing took place on the toilet. Rachel had considerable back pressure and we were putting pressure there near her sacrum to relieve it. Ronnie sat on the floor in front of the toilet to watch and guide. Scott and I took turns with the pressure and it seemed to help a bit. Dale was making sure that Rachel had water or Gatorade to drink between contractions. We used heat from a rice sac on her back and the “buns” squeeze to relieve the pressure and pain of the sacrum. Scott put music on and all was well…. But the activity was in high gear.
Rachel moved to the bed and got onto her hands and knees over the bed. Scott got up behind the bed and held the Robozo to help her with a good downward thrust with her pushing effort, which was just wonderful. The crown of the head was emerging slowly and stretching the perineum slowly. Scott was wiping brow and giving drink, with the help of Dale. Ronnie used oil to smooth the way for baby. The baby came right down. Ronnie helped Dale guide the baby’s head out and Scott managed to peak as well.
Then at the glorious time of 12:24 AM on December 20, 2006 (Wednesday), Master Max Benjamin was born. It was a wonderful birth! Pushing took 84 minutes only. Rachel had no tears and did an excellent job of slowly controlling the birth of little Prince. He presented with his right hand next to his face and even with that, there were no tears. I was very impressed! He had curly brown hair and long fingers and toes. He presented mommy with a meconium stool immediately after birth. He had Apgar scores of 8 and 9, excellent! He weighed 6 pounds and 15 ounces and was beautiful, active and very alert. Rachel put him skin on skin. He latched right on with very little assistance and did very well at the breast.
Rachel looked awfully happy and Scott was spell bound as he held his new little son. I was very proud of these two wonderful new parents and I am thrilled that I was the doula they chose to be with them for this mystical and life changing experience. Rachel birthed with flair and confidence and not ANYTHING for pain except a wonderful loving husband who nurtured her the whole way. Her midwifer was by her side and she had a doula to do some cheerleading. What a Birth Warrior! I think that Scott was stunned by the experience and was amazed at Rachel. I was so proud of them both!
What a wonderful day this has been. Thank you for such a beautiful memory with a wonderful family and for allowing me to be a part of it. You are a fabulous couple and I loved being with you.


With Doula Love,

Baby has arrived!

Birth story to follow..

Max was born December 20th ay 12:24 am. He was 6 pound 15 ounces and 20 inches long. I did an all nayural birth, which lasted 6 1/2 hours. I was lucky.ıreat feeding is great. He has gained 1 pound already and grew 1 inch since birth. I love this kid more than anything in the world.

Nesting & Cleaning

I wish I could figure out how to get this nesting feeling all of the time. Yes, my house is generally very clean but this nesting quality brings out the best in me-cleaning with detail.

At this point, all of our family is waiting by the phone and our neighbors have even asked. Luckily, I am chill and I am not sure why. I am just letting go. I am just enjoying these last moments. I am sad to say that Dory will not be here for the birth or the briss but she and her hubby are in Paris for 10 glorious days. She is with me in spirit and I can hear her voice in my heart.

I will keep you posted!

Mucous Plug

I lost the mucous plug this morning at 7:30 am and so now it is just a matter of time. I have no preconceptions of when that will be because only the baby knows when he wants to come into this world. But I thought it was ironic that I lost it on my official Due Date. So all in all I am just letting go of any dates in my head and just relaxing.

Happy Hanukkah and did not think I could get anymore tired..

Things are not horrible but man am I tired. I feel like he has no room. My ribs are getting pushed up into my arm pits and it does not feel good. It is the first night of Hanukkah and I am so happy we are doing take out Chinese food like a a good Jewish family would. Well I know I have 3 days till my due date but I also know that most first time mother's are late so I am not getting my hopes up. But I am feeling so stuffed in the head and almost like I have the flu but I know I am not sick. This boy is taking a lot of energy from me but there is nobody in the world who i would rather give it to.

I have to get the table ready for my family but I wanted to just say hello this evening.

Midwife Update at 39 weeks pregnant

Today was our appointment with the midwife and all is good. He is just relaxing and enjoying the warmth of the belly. We talked about being overdue and what that means. We talked about stripping the membranes and induction. Basically this kid, otherwise known as sharky in this family, has till December 30th to arrive on his own will. We disciussed that we would induce before the year's end since his 2 week overdue date is January 1st and sometimes there are not many doctors in the hospital on that day.

As of right now, I have fully surrendered to the fact that he will come in his time and not mine. I think this is an amazing lesson for me and I am proud of myself to getting to this point. It is starting to get uncomfortable in there because some part of his body is stabbing into my right rib, the constant headache, and the complete lack of energy but this is part of it. I have been told that I do not feel crappy enough for birth yet but again, if I did not go to accupuncture every week, I would have felt crappy this whole time. Needless to say, I am doing ok. I have relaxed a lot since I am not officially working right now and so I am just enjoying this time with doggies and my husband.

It is strange to not have any idea when this baby is coming. I almost feel like I am waiting for a surprise party. It is kind of cool.

so tired..

It has been tough to blog let alone use my mind in any way. I finally told work that I had to take a step back because my brain was not working. I thought I could work until the moment he decided to arrive. Well I was wrong and I am glad because I needed to just chill out. I got a manicure and pedicure and a massage today. Wow that was great. I still have some work to do but I will take care of it this weekend and then be totally caught up.

As for me, he dropped a little more today. I am 38 weeks and 4 days. I have not been able to wear my rings for a whole week now. I have a big zit on my face that appeared the other day. Og the joys of anxiety and hormones. I am so tired, I keep wondering how a woman gets the energy for labor but I hear we do so I won't worry. I feel like going back to sleep when I wake up..that is the constant feeling. But all because this little guy needs his strength to come out so he can take whatever he needs from me. I am not sleeping to well.

On a good note, I have all of our Hanukkah cards and holiday cards written and they are ready to go.

My belly is huge (eventhough woman think I am 7 months pregnant). Well I will try and keep you posted.

37 1/2 weeks Pregnant Belly Pic

Counting down...

I am trying not to get restless but not feeling too great these days. I have had the most amazing and easy pregnancy but these last two weeks have been tough and especially this last week. I am tired and ready to send eviction notices out. Update on how I feel. He is moving around a lot and I feel him at all hours of the day and night. I pee every hour duing the night and at least a few times an hour during the day. (Maybe too much information). I can feel this kid hiccup duign the night. I also feel like he is scratching his way out. This stuff is so funny that I have to write it down just so I can remember it. I feel like i am back in the 1st trimester with the smells, the food cravings, the nausea and the irritability.

But all in all I have been very fortunate. Who would have thought we would get pregnant on our honeymoon. I am blessed. 2 years ago yesterday I met my husband and his biz partners at a building I was welling in Old City, Philadelphia. I will never forget what he looked light that day because I was actually weak in the knees. It had been a long time since I looked at a guy and was WOWED! 6 months later we were engaged, 10 months later we were married, 2 days later we were pregnant and in 2 weeks we will be parents. Yes, we are both fire signs. LOL.

So there it is..an update.

Update for the record.

BH are getting stronger and more consistent. I am taking Evening Primrose 3 times a day to help soften things up down there. I take rasberry leaf tea as well 2 times a day. Yesterday was bad. My back has started to hurt. Went to chiro and he said that it is just what is supposed to happen. Don't you hate when people say that? Then BH all day and getting stronger. Slight chills even. Came home.took a bath and a shower and the heat helped. Stretched and went to sleep. The baby has dropped even a little more. We are off to the midwife today and then I can really give an update. Lots of cramping too. I know these contractions would be considered fun compared to the real deal but I want to document this stuff for me.

A chic in my birth class got induced last night. Thank God we fired our OB because we had the same one as she did. He got worried that she was carrying small and so he wanted to induce her. Geez. I wonder if he had a golf game to attend today or tomorrow. Ok, now I am being a smart ass but it kills me how the health care system works. This girl got all upset and then went back for another ultrasound and another doctor told her not to worry but she already had it in her head that she was getting induced. So there it is because now she is having this baby. Maybe the baby needed a few more days to be strong but we will never know. In other cases, where induction is needed for the health of the baby, I understand but in this case it was not. Again this is just my opinion.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and love to my family. 3 1/2 weeks till the due date and we are all excited. Good news also: my sister in law is having a girl! yes, she is prego and she will be having a lil girl for this boy to play with April 11th. This family is full of joy. Congrats to them as well.

:)

36 weeks Pregnant Belly/My Family Pic

Here it is!

Now here is my family.

HE DID IT AGAIN!

So Scott finished the Philly Marathon and I am so happy for him. It is the 2nd time in 2 weeks that I get to see his commitment to his own life and his own health. I am honored to have such a guy as a best friend, lover and husband. Scott did not finish the race as fast as he had hoped and I asked him about it..He just said. "Rachel, I do not run for time. I run because I love it". Wow that amazes me and it is a quality in him that I admire to be like. He just does it because he loves it and it makes him feel good..not for the race but just to know that he did it and for the love of running. I guess all in all..life is not a competition.

The remainder of the day was spent with my ma in law helping me clean out my closet. I wish I had a before and after picture but I do not. Well let's just say she is the best ma in law and I am grateful. The little one will be a lucky man because his grandma is the best.

As for me, I am getting bigger and impatient. I am not DONE so to speak but I am getting to the point where eviction notices will go out..oh just kidding. I am one to talk..I have had the best pregnancy and I am still sleeping so I should not complain one bit. The baby is moving around a lot. I would to if someone stuck me in a closet that continued to get smaller with time. So everything is ready and my postpartum bag is packed along with my labor bag of goodies and comfy clothes. I am 36 weeks and I tell him everyday..you at least should cook for another week and become a SAG Man but after that..the doors are open.. LOL

Midwife update

Yes little one..you are moving around a lot. I have had Braxton Hicks contractions for a week but in the past 3 days they are more consistent. The midwife told me that it could mean nothing or something..LOL..I love her because she is like me : a crazy Jew. The good thing is that she said, in her experience, women who have tons of strong braxton hicks contractions tend to have shorter labors.... Well we will have to see about his one. So Scott met her for the first time and he said, "she is perfect and so confident".

It is official: The baby has dropped and he is in the correct position. What a good kid: he has been head down for over a month.

I do not have any worries about the birth because my TEAM is so wonderful. Well my BP is barely alive at 80/40 but she said that is normal because my BP will drop to give the baby more oxygen. Amazing huh? I will see her in 2 weeks and then go to once a week. We talked about the birth and what to do if it does start to happen. The bags are 70% packed and Scott has been doing odds and ends around the house getting ready in his own way. Well less than 5 weeks till the DUE DATE and I am getting so excited it is hard to just stay in the moment. Soon there will be a baby in my arms!

Slacker!

Ok I am a blogger slacker. I promised a picture of the 34 week belly and so here it is..a week late..


As for all other things in this house..I out of nowhere have tons of energy and WANT to re-organize and change the house plus throw out tons of stuff. What is so ironic is that I have NEVER thrown anything away. I still have sneakers from 6th grade but at last I am throwing it out and being happy about it. I am taking such pleasure in seeing things go in the garbage can or sent off to storage. So my mom in law says it is nesting and whatever it is. it makes my husband laugh. He was dying when he found me on the floor in the kitchen with anti bacterial wipes and I had pulled out every pot and pan and was thowing stuff away..not the pots and pans but all the other junk.

This kid is moving around a lot and I am started to feel Braxton Hicks contractions at night and even during the day. They are stange and I cannot imagine what it is going to be like when they are a minute apart and painful but I keep saying this to myself everyday..BRING IT ON!!

After watching my hubby run the NY Marathon, I felt blessed. He said that he hit a wall at 10 miles and the remainder of the run was the most difficult because it was soley a mental game. He finished and said he would never do that again, and then 2 hours later he said he could not wait until he ran the NYC marathon for the 2nd time. He is an inspiration to me because he helped me to see that sometimes the most painful things in life bring the most amazing experiences. I am going to wear the Lance bracelet he wore for the marathon during the labor because it will remind me of the marathon I am going to run.

As for more baby stuff, the shades are hung, the walls are painted and my mother in law is ready to do everything else. Yes, we are jewish and what that means..well we do not set up the nursery or get ready for the baby in the house. So she has all his stuff in her house and that day..she will bring everything here and get it ready.

As for my tummy, HE HAS DROPPED! I can now eat a whole meal. Yeah!

So I just turned 35 weeks today and we are off to our midwife tomorrow am!

Here is a picture of Scott on the ride home after the marathon. The blue things are ice packs that he kept on his legs for the whole trip.

Prenantal Ypga

So here are my thoughts on this class. I would rather work out doing circut training for 10 hours than do yoga. Now I can say that I probably do not like the fact that it is a class led by a person because I have always enjoyed doing sports that were on a team but alone type of sports such as running, swimming and lifting weights. I also know that I do not enjoy being in a class with tons of people and that I would enjoy a one on one yoga class. Not to mention that I got hurt..I know you may be saying..got hurt?? in yoga??/ but yes, I did..a neck injury but I know these stretches are good for me. So with that I am going to go to a class when I want but do the DVD (thank god for the DVD) at least once a week. So I will just do my best.

32 weeks Pregnant Picture

Ok. So I am a week late. LOL

Better

So I think not only was I hormonal but I was also getting sick. Last week I had to work next to this guy for 2 days that was sick but of course, he never told me that he was ill. I am doing better and the good cry the other morning really helped. I feel normal again. Just wanted to let everyone know that I have not moved away.

Also, it seems that my stomach has popped because last week I was not this big. I am sure there are many levels of popping during the 8th and 9th month. But the lil man is sure growing.

I will follow soon with a pic.

blah, blah pregnancy hormones

Well I need to blog since it has been a couple of days. I have not really slept in about 4 days. I pee at least 10 times before I go to sleep and then at least 3 or 4 during the night. I am only 8 months along..could this get any worse? I feel annoying these days. I am usualy really independent but lately I have been so needy. But I am not needy in the way of..hey, thanks..I am needy in this way..Oh ok (really thinking that my hubby did not do it right)..yeah that way and that way is no fun for anyone. I feel almost like the 1st trimester when I just wanted to run away and live on a boat in the BVI with a little baby boy. Yeah that is healthy. I have no patience, no tolerance and no energy. I feel alone yet I do not really want anyone around me. My brain is not working and it is tough for me to get enough energy to make it through the day. I feel tears behind my eyes and anger in my shoulders. It frustrates me to not be able to take care of the things I need to. I am just so tired. At this point, I would settle for a hotel in Philly..LOL..it all just seems too much. making a phone call is hard let alone talking while I am on the phone.

So poor me..bottom line is that I do not handle feeling crappy to well. I also hate to be needy and ask for help and these days I know I am not that fun to live with. I am not a bitch but I do like things a certain way.

Anything is tough when I am tired and I know it will only get worse. I just feel so sad even though I feel so excited inside.
Hormones..they are the enemy but they are also my friends because they are keeping this beautiful baby growing insde of me with everything he needs.

What a paradox.

I am not feeling sorry for myself.. I am just feeling blah.

Until next time.

Exactly 60 days till the Due Date

Oh Boy! Only 60 days till peanuts Due date. It is so exciting. I have all the baby clothing taken care of. Between Old Navy (thanks for the suggestion ma in law) and the Gap..let's say we are doing good. I felt so good about myself for not going to a boutique for the clothing, especially because we are fronting the check. This whole experience has really strengethened my relationship with my hubby. Birth class was a blessing because it forced us to acknowledge some real issues about birth and parenthood.

As for me these days...I am starting to get tired and so I need to just not run myself so fast. Although I had a few hours where I was totally inspired and then it left..lol..moody, tired, impatient can be the mode of operation if I just don't get enough sleep but luckily it has not been too bad. Well I am off to Yoga tonight, a 8 series class that I signed up for with other new mommies to be. It will be fun and good for me since I do not like sitting still..ALL GOOD PRACTICE.

Oh he just kicked to say hello and tell you all that he will be here soon enough.

XO