The Birth Story of Pierson

The Birth Story of Pierson Duffey

Before I even got pregnant I knew I wanted to try for a natural un-medicated birth.   I told myself that anything could happen and I had to prepare myself that my birth plan might not go exactly the way I want.  I told myself that even though I didn’t want to get an epidural, I had to keep my options open b/c I didn’t know how I would feel.  I knew there was always a possibility of needing a C-section, though I really wanted to avoid it.  I did not however, expect or even imagine that it could go the way it did.  I had a unplanned home birth.

Most of the reactions I got when telling people I wanted a natural un-medicated birth were mostly the same.  I got responses like “Why? -Give me the drugs”, “Do you realize how painful it will be?”, “Are you sure you want to do that?”, and even one comment was “You are a wimp, how are you going to do this?”.   I eventually stopped talking to people about it because I didn’t want negative comments to hinder how I mentally could handle the birth.  I’ll answer some of those questions now.   I do believe that a woman’s body is made to birth.  It’s amazing to me the steps our bodies take to prepare for labor and delivery.  I wanted to experience that as weird as that might sound to some.  I didn’t want to interfere with the natural process by being induced or having an epidural.  I didn’t want to increase my risk of having to have a C-section.  I wanted to experience the natural hormones that rush through you during labor, delivery, and right after.  I wanted Paul to be involved and help me work through the labor; I did not want to be tied down to a bed.  This is what I wanted.  I respect that not everyone feels that way and I don’t judge or look down on anyone who see’s birth differently.  I know that sometimes it may not work out that way and medical intervention is necessary.   I also know that sometimes you have to have C-sections and that’s o.k.  I just had my heart set on a natural birth-as long as I could have one.

With all the negative comments, I got positive ones too.  I reached out to a few friends who I knew had birthed naturally before and received a good amount of advice.  We also attended a series of natural childbirth classes, watched some documentaries, and I read a few books.  I educated myself as much as I could with what to expect and when to expect it as well as techniques on how to deal with the pain and what my options were.

We knew that having a natural birth would be hard to achieve in a hospital setting.   We also knew we wanted to birth in the hospital. We didn’t know what to expect with it being our first baby/birth.  So to help us achieve a natural birth we hired a doula.  She was to be my advocate in the hospital and help coach myself and Paul throughout the birth on how to work through the contractions together, different positions to try to encourage labor along, etc.   We had all the bases covered and were full with knowledge on labor and natural birth.  What we didn’t know was that my labor would fool us all.  It would not follow the normal rules of birth.  I thought I’d write this all out for myself, and also to share my experience with everyone else who cares to read.

Thursday-August 23rd

4pm

I had been getting contractions off and on all week, but around this time they started to get consistent.   At first I went about my afternoon/night normally thinking it was false labor/braxton hicks like they had been throughout my whole labor.

8pm

I started to get really uncomfortable with contractions, back pain, and cramping.  I decided to take a bath to see if it would help.

930pm

At this time my contractions were about 3 min. apart and lasting about a minute.    I called our doula and let her know what was going on.  She arrived at 10 pm and said I had a good labor pattern.  I was advised to try to get some sleep and call her again when things started to pick up.  I’ve seen SO many times in other birth stories that importance of getting rest in the early stages of labor.  I really did try too.  My hubby and I laid down and I focused so much on going to sleep.  Oh my how laying down was just so uncomfortable.  I made Paul scoot right up behind me so that he was putting pressure on my lower back…I think I even had the heating pad on my back.   We chatted for a while, it was around this time Paul and I decided our little bears name would be Pierson.  I was so anxious that it was finally happening.  Soon we would be meeting our son.  I finally drifted off a little bit but kept waking up from pain.  I just couldn’t lie there…I felt like I needed to move or get in a different position.

Friday-August 24th

2:28AM

I used the bathroom and had my bloody show.  It was more like spotting though.  It was just enough to be noticed.  I told my doula and she told me to try and get in the tub again. I loved the tub…the warm water was so relaxing and really did help with the pain from contractions.

3:21am

My contractions were 4-5 minutes apart at this time and lasting about a minute (More time between contractions then before but intensity of contractions were growing).  Our doula encouraged me to walk around and stay hydrated.  So I paced the bedroom and Paul kept me hydrated with powerade.

4:06am

I called our doula to come back over.   I felt like I was progressing and was at a point where I was uncomfortable and would feel better with her there.   At this time I walked some more, labored on my yoga ball and kept drinking powerade and eating protein bars.

After getting in and out of the tub one more time, and throwing up I decided it was time to go to the hospital to labor the rest of the way.  Now, once I started throwing up and the intensity of my contractions grew so strong I just knew we were at least in active stage of labor (the three stages are early, active, and transition).  It is very common in transition to get sick…so I felt we were getting close, or at least half way there.

8:00am

We arrived at Gaston Memorial Hospital to get admitted.  I remember the drive to the hospital.  I got multiple contractions on the way.  One in the parking lot, one in the elevator, and one in Triage while they were getting my information.  May I add at this point that it is not a good idea to ask a lady who is having contractions so many questions?  I couldn’t even think of what my doctors office name or my doctors names were.  I couldn’t concentrate.  It did come to me eventually, but I felt like a fool!  They only allowed one person in Triage with me so our doula had to wait out in the waiting room.  They gave us a room (In triage) and a gown to put on and I swear it seemed like forever waiting on them to come check me.  When they put me up on the monitor they said my contractions were 6-7 minutes apart…..WHAT?!?  Did I possibly just go back some.  I think I did because I was timing them to be much closer then that before I had to sit in a tiny little room waiting on a doctor.   Well, they checked me and wouldn’t you know I was ONLY 1 CM!  I immediately busted out crying.  I couldn’t believe I was only one cm after laboring for so long, and having my contractions grow in intensity to the point that they were hard to manage.   I was vomiting.  I felt SO discouraged.  How was I going to keep going and make it through the whole rest of my labor if I was only at a 1 after all that?  I was exhausted.  I was seriously thinking it could be another 24+ hours before he came.

9am

After checking me and us being so shocked, the nurse in Triage told us we could walk for an hour and she would check me again.   They wouldn’t admit me to give me a room b/c I wasn’t progressed enough, nor had my water broke.  So Paul went out in the waiting room for a bit so our Doula could come back and see me.  She gave me a big hug and told me to be strong.  I was just crying.  She had me get on the bed on all fours during a contraction to see if it could help.  It did help a bit.  But I didn’t want to be in that tee tiny room.  So she went back in the waiting room and Paul and I walked around the birth wing for an hour.  Stopping in halls everytime I had a contraction and crying from disappointment.

10am

They checked me again and I was still 1cm.  Bummer.  At this time they said I could walk around for yet another hour or they could send me home with an Ambien and I could get some rest since I had been up the whole night before.  So that is what we did.  They said that the Ambien and sleep would give me energy to keep going when I wake back up, or it could cause my contractions to taper off.  We got a prescription for Ambien and got discharged and headed home.

We dropped off the prescription at Walgreens by the house and sat in the parking lot for 15 min. waiting for it to be filled.  I remember having contractions in the car wanting to scream.  I was grabbing the handles thinking how crazy it was that my labor wasn’t further along.  I was ready to have him…that morning.  Not ready to go home and sleep.   But….that’s what we were doing.

This is where things get a little foggy to me.  I think the Ambien either made me groggy, or I was just slightly out of it from little sleep and the adrenaline and hormones had me in my own little world.  I don’t really remember much, including the pain.  When I think back now, I remember the morning and the hospital and the car being way more painful then the hours before my birth.  I get a little sad because my memory of the rest of the story is so foggy…Including seeing him for the first time.  From here on out the information I’ve gathered is from our Doula, text messages, Paul, and what little I remember.

Around Noonish- I was at home and lying down to sleep

3:15pm

Woke up.  I’m guessing I got in the tub at some point.  I think I spent a lot of time awake in and out of the tub.

5pm

I noticed something in the tub.  It’s possible that my water broke at this time.  Though I never felt a pop.  We did notice something floating in the water.  Could have been more of the mucous plug or meconium…I really don’t know.

530pm

I actually laugh at this.  Paul’s txt to our Doula who had asked if I had been eating… “Can’t keep anything down.  She had soup and Tylenol.  Puked.  Then just 4 grapes and Tylenol.  Puked.  Now just water, Should she try grapes no Tylenol?”  HA, He was trying to find the perfect solution.  I eventually ended up eating some protein bars which also came right back up not much long after.

615pm

Our Doula arrived back.  I was in and out of the tub more.  Contractions varied from 8 minutes to 5 minutes apart.  Same intensity as earlier just not getting closer together.

7’ish-pm

Our Doula suggested doing the “Rotisserie”- It’s a series of positions you do (4x) during your contractions.  So we started on my right side (for 4 contractions), then went to my left side (for 4 contractions), then onto all fours (for 4 contractions).   I think you are supposed to do 4 contractions on your back too, but I never got to that part.  The doula had some homeopathic stuff for me to smell and help with my nausea.  It helped a bit, but I threw up again in this position.  I felt like I needed to use the bathroom and went to sit on the toilet.  Well, I just didn’t feel right.  I told our doula that I needed to push but it didn’t feel like a bowel movement.  My contractions still hadn’t been very close together.  She suggested she check me real quick instead of going back to the hospital too soon.  Well, when she checked me I’ll never forget what she said “oh my gosh, your babies head is like a finger knuckle away!”

oh crap.

At this time, I was lying in the bathroom floor and there was so much running through my head.  This was happening fast considering how slow I thought it was going.  Now I’m about to have a baby and I can’t even get off the bathroom floor…..much less would we have time to make it to the hospital.  At this point we had a few options.  1.  Drive to the hospital anyhow. 2. Call an ambulance to go to the hospital.  3.  Call a midwife and just stay at home.

I remember asking our doula what she would do and her saying to me “I honestly do not know”.  So, Paul and I decided to just have the baby at home.  I did not want to have him in the car going down 85.  And I was worried how I’d even get in the car. I couldn’t even walk….much less sit.  I didn’t want to have him in the back of the ambulance either.  Or be having him as they are rushing me into E.R.  It all sounded scary.  I think overall I just knew I’d rather lay down on the bed, push him out, and it be over.  So Paul went into Superman mode.  He ran around and got a shower curtain to lay on our bed, a bunch of towels, to turn off the air so the baby wouldn’t be cold.  As I was waiting for him to come back our doula told me to blow through my lips to help through the contraction instead of pushing.  I was blowing and spitting all over myself haha!  Our doula called a midwife and she was on her way.  Paul carried me from the floor to the bed.   He was awesome.  I know the birth was more traumatic for him then me.  I was in my own little world and going with the flow.  He was watching everything from a whole different perspective.  He may have even had a clearer mind then me.

So we are in the bedroom, second floor, and I’m having to push.  I push with the contractions and our doula keeps checking his heart beat to make sure he is still ok.  The midwife came right up and her and the doula together helped coach me through the birth.  After a couple pushes they noticed his heart rate was dropping a bit, so she had me switch onto my side and it helped.  His heart rate went back to normal.  I remember Paul said he was hot, so I told him to take his shirt off.  Surprisingly he did, and was sitting right next to me on the bed.  I remember when I switched to my side I wrapped my arm around his back and was holding onto his belt buckles and pulling.  Each time I pushed his head came a little further out.  I was asked if I wanted to feel it and I said no.  Once his head was out they unwrapped the cord, which was around his neck.  I think that is why his heart rate dropped some.  It didn’t take long at all to push him out.  I don’t know the exact amount of time I was pushing.  But I do know that it was beyond my control.  My body totally took over and when he was ready, he was ready.  Pushing him out was nothing compared to the contractions I had earlier that day/afternoon.  I honestly don’t remember any pain from pushing him; I don’t remember a ring of fire.  Nothing…but I do remember the contractions.  Weird.

842pm

Pierson Ellis Duffey was born!  He was put on my chest immediately, and Paul helped hold him.  He started breastfeeding and he was perfect!  It all happened so fast Im surprised any of us had time to think.  Pierson was our doulas “First catch” and I think it freaked her out as much as us.  She stayed calm though, which was good because I would have panicked if she had.   I was bleeding pretty heavily so Paul called the ambulance to take me to the hospital.  My placenta didn’t detach and I was losing alot of blood.   The midwife was applying pressure to my uterus while we waiting for the ambulance to keep me from bleeding more.  Once the paramedics showed up, they had to get me down the stairs using a chair, instead of a stretcher.  Well once I got up from bed to sit in the chair I passed out.  The paramedics were all standing around me and didn’t notice me start to fall out the chair.   Paul was on the other side of the bed holding Pierson and he yelled to catch me I was passing out.  I came too with all of them in my face asking me questions.  They carried me down the stairs and then put me on a stretcher and into the ambulance.  Hooked me up to an I.V. and talked to me the whole way to the ER.   Once we got to the ER they gave me some more IV’s.  I’m not sure what all else they did but we they decided I was stable enough they gave me Pierson back and took me to Triage.  Here they started me on Pitocin (To help stop the bleeding and contract my uterus), kept the IV going, and delivered my placenta.  OMGEEE.  When the doctor came in to deliver the placenta that HURT.

11:30’ISH

Finally we got our room.  Our room with the Jacuzzi tub.  We picked this hospital for many reason, but one of them was because I wanted to labor in their Jacuzzi tubs.  I eventually passed out again when getting up to go to the bathroom.  I lost so much blood everytime I got up I would get really lightheaded.  The second time I passed out the nurses were with me and they gently put me down on the ground.  Paul was a nervous wreck.  He saw me birth our son, then saw me loose all my color.  We went from a happy moment to a scary moment.  I still don’t think I would change my decision to not try and drive to the hospital.  There are so many things that could have happened no matter what decision we would have made.  I’m happy that the actual “Birth” of Pierson, was a joyful moment with my hubby, in a comfortable environment (as oppose to the car, ER, Ambulance, etc.).  I got to hold my baby right away, and he was perfect from the moment he came out.  His apgars was 9 and 9.  He was 6 lbs, 10 ounces and 19 inches long.

I think what we have theorized is that either his head was positioned wrong, or something was stopping him from allowing me to dialate.  I think once we did the “Rotisserie” positions it allowed him to turn into the right position and once he did I progressed super quick.  When we did his 3d/4d ultrasound he had his hand up by his chin the whole time.  He even sleeps that way now when he can.  He is always resting that hand up by his face.  I think maybe he had his hand by his face that night and maybe that is what caused it.  I guess we’ll never know what happened to keep me dilating.  Or why my contractions never got closer then 5 min. apart.    BUT, we joke that our next baby we’ll just camp out in the hospital parking lot with my moms camper.  If they won’t admit me that is fine I’ll labor in the parking lot!

 

Enjoy a few pictures.  We didn’t get as many pictures in the hospital as I thought because of everything going on.  But I’ll cherish these forever.  He is already so much bigger.