Isabela's Birth

Our daughter Isabela was born September 14, 2004. Isabela was born in the hospital. We had the best hospital birth experience one could pray to have and we will never do it again God willing! I like to say that we really just paid to rent the room at the hospital, they left us alone for the most part which is exactly what we wanted. For that money we could have had her at the Four Seasons!

My husband Ricardo and I took Bradley classes from Corrine prior to her birth, and I attended
LLL meetings. We planned a hospital birth with a CNM at UMC. We
intended to have a natural, unmedicated delivery. Isabela was due
on Oct 3. On August 31 I had a car accident, I wasn't injured
but
spent a couple of days in the hospital to be monitored. I am
convinced that this was partly responsible for Isabela's early
birth. On Sun. September 12 I started having contractions at about
5:30 pm. I was at work, I worked at that time for my church, and was actually
preaching at a worship service when I first started feeling
contractions. They were not strong, just felt like period cramps,
and were 15-20 minutes apart. Later on that night they were 10-15
minutes apart but still fairly weak. I was able to sleep Sunday
night. When I woke up Monday morning the contractions were slightly
stronger, but still very bearable and were 10 minutes apart. I went
to work and called Corrine who agreed with my mom, who said that
I was pretty far from my due date and I was probably just
experiencing pre-labor. I figured my body was just getting ready.
By Monday evening the contractions were about 7 minutes apart and
had gotten stronger, I still thought that I was just getting ready
and the real thing was a long way off. My husband rubbed my back
and assured me that I was doing great. Neither of us got too
excited, thinking that it would be a while yet. I couldn't sleep
at
all Monday night; the contractions were so strong. I got up on
Tuesday and started getting ready for work. My husband suggested
that maybe I stay home, but I figured I would go to work and keep my
mind off of the contractions. I got to work and had three meetings,
one right after the other. The contractions had gotten strong
enough that I had to stop and breath with them; they were 4-5
minutes apart. At that point I thought; if this is pre-labor and I
have to do this for the next three weeks, I'm not going to make
it!
After my last meeting, I went back to my office and was working on
the computer. I went to the restroom and saw that I was
bleeding...a
lot. Luckily, my husband also worked at the church with me at that time. I
called him and he came right over. I called my mom who suggested that we go to the hospital. By this
time the contractions were strong and about 4 minutes apart. We
arrived at the hospital and had to wait for a little while. My
husband rubbed my back through my contractions and helped me to
remember to breath and relax. I was first checked around 1:30 and
was dilated to 5. The contractions were strong, the nurse asked if
we had any plans for medication and we said that we did not want
any. My family arrived. My mom, two sisters and one brother were
all present throughout the labor and birth. The next time I was
checked I was dilated to 7. By this time the contractions were very
strong and one right after the other. I needed all the support that
I could get. My husband rubbed my back, and held my hand, and
shoveled ice chips into my mouth. I was at 7 for a couple of hours,
not really a fun place to be for long. I started to feel like I
couldn't do it. I remember saying that I didn't think I
could do it
anymore. My husband reassured me, told me I was doing great and
that we were so close. He reminded me that our baby would soon be
there and helped me to resist the urge to ask for drugs. I remember
telling my mom "Mommy it hurts, I don't want it to hurt
anymore".
At that point my nurse broke my water...what a relief!!!
I
dilated to 10 immediately and started pushing. Pushing felt so
good! It still hurt by I felt like I was doing something. I was
able to push in whatever position I wanted. I tried squatting and
was uncomfortable. My husband was by my head, holding my hand. My
mom was holding one leg and my sister the other; my 9 year old
sister and 15 year old brother were also in the room. My nurse was
encouraging and supportive. The CNM who was to deliver my baby was
sick and so the Resident at the hospital came in. I was worried
about this because I was really worried about having a Dr. But she
was great. She was there to catch and that was all. I remember
reaching down and I could feel my baby's head just before she
crowned. That was such and amazing feeling...it gave me the
determination to continue. After an hour of pushing our beautiful
Isabela was born. Her cord was loosely around her neck; they got
her untangled quickly and gave her right to me. The nurse asked me
if I wanted to try to nurse her, and I did. My
husband was able to cut the cord. My family was there to share in
the moment. I had previously told the staff that I wanted to
exclusively breastfeed...no bottles and no pacifiers. The nurse
told
everyone who would contact Isabela this. Isabela was with us in the
delivery room for a couple of hours...they then took her to the
nursery for less then an hour, Ricardo was able to be with her the
entire time. The hospital staff respected all of our wishes and
gave us the space we needed to birth our baby naturally. Isabela was born at 7:08pm on
Tues. September 14; by 4pm on Sept. 15 we were at home. In recalling this story I am struck by the fact that the word "let" and "allowed" are present. The doctors "let" me hold MY baby, my husband was "allowed" to stay with HIS daughter. I have much to say about this so will save it for another day.