It's Easy Being Green

Picking up where I left off on my last post:

Pamela checked in about every hour to see how things were going and to give support about what was going on at that time.  Around 6:15 my wife said she was feeling like she should start pushing.

With that announcement, Pamela began to assemble her birth kit in the living room and kitchen of the cabin and called two other midwives to witness and help out with the birthing process.  I helped T labor in the shower on about 5 separate occasions throughout the night.  The hot water helped relax her muscles and a change of position kept her limber and active.  She seemed to be handling the contractions flawlessly and gave no indication of pain.  The hours seemed to drag on and even though I knew how long birth can last, it didn’t seem like we were ever going to get to the end.

Around 10:15pm, the contractions had picked up in length and intensity and T was beginning to feel like she couldn’t hold back from pushing at that point.  Two other midwives had gathered to join Pamela in our cabin.  Stacey, Pamela’s daughter in-law, was a new midwife and was enjoying getting her feet wet with us.  Jenn, a doula and midwife in training was also present and was learning the ropes from one of the best, most seasoned teachers.  The three worked in partnership with each other, never stepping on another’s toes.  They constantly lent encouragement and suggestions to my wife while constantly monitoring the position, activity and heartbeat of our baby.

Around 11pm, the midwives suggested that I sit behind T and let her lean back on my chest while I gave her a bit of a break by pulling her knees up while she pushed.  This gave her an opportunity to relax her muscles a bit and conserve some energy for later.  Just before midnight we took a break from laboring in the bed and I helped her labor a bit in the shower.  That was when things noticeably started moving along much quicker.  Just around that time, our hot and sticky summer night turned into a cool refreshing one as a thunderstorm rolled into the area.

The lightning, rumbles of thunder and rain pattering the canopy of forest around us was undeniably the perfect background for our natural birth.  At 12:15am, the push was really on.  My wife was pushing every two to three minutes and the midwives led her through several different birthing positions during this time.  She tried a birthing stool, squatting while hanging her arms from a doorknob, bent over the end of the bed and finally crouched on all fours on the floor, grabbing the foot of a bed.  This was the position that seemed to work the most amazingly!

Around 12:45am, T got hungry.  She had a light snack of yogurt, a handful of protein-rich cashews and soy nuts and a glass of apple juice.  This nourishment gave her the little added boost she needed to complete pushing our daughter down the birth canal.  She experienced about three insanely intense contractions and made a lot of headway pushing the baby out.  In fact, it only took three minutes from the moment her head crowned until her head was completely out.  That was a record time according to the midwives!

Seeing my daughter’s head appear from my wife’s vagina was the most amazing and awe-inspiring thing ever.  I didn’t think it would be worth seeing and would probably do more to horrify me than anything else but once again, I was so wrong.  Seeing that little smooshed face, for the very first time after 9 long months of waiting and anticipation was just the moment I hoped it would be and yes, it was love at first sight.  One more push and she was completely out and on my wife’s chest at 1:16am!  We were parents!

It was about 45 minutes before the placenta appeared and everyone could be cleaned up, measured and weighed.  Because our little girl crowned so quickly, my wife experienced a fourth-degree tear which the midwives insisted be repaired at the local hospital.  They didn’t want her to be scarred or damaged.  At 4am, very tired and exhausted, we packed up Mom, baby and Pamela and headed off to the labor and delivery ward at the local hospital.  Three hours later, my wife was stitched back together and we headed back to the cabin for some much needed rest just about 24 hours after the whole process began.

The care we received from Pamela, Stacey and Jenn was incredible.  There’s no doubt we made the right choice about birthing at The Farm and would encourage anyone interested in natural childbirth to look to The Farm as a possibility.  You’ll be glad you did!

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