Birth story

Corin Oliver was born at 8:02am on 8/2/2006. He's 9lbs 3oz (2lbs bigger than his sister was), 20 3/4 inches long (2" longer than she was). He's got a head full of dark hair. His Apgar was 9, but I don't know why he was docked that 1 point.

Labor was...quick. Thinking back, I had felt a few menstrual cramp type contractions when I woke around 3ish, but I was able to ignore them and get back to sleep. I woke again at 5:45am and figured it was for my usual pee break. I laid there for 15 minutes because I felt stronger contractions and they were about 4 minutes apart, but only every other one was intense.

I finally caved and went to the toilet and started having some mega contractions. I kept trying to stand, but since it felt like I had to go to the bathroom, it was hard. Plus, I was having a hard time gauging the contractions without a clock and by the time I got myself together, another would hit. Eventually (30 minutes later), I managed to get enough control to stand up, get back to Chrys, wake him up and tell him to call the birthing center. I went back to sitting on the toilet. As he was on hold, I felt a pop and water started trickling out - it was clear.

He answered their questions, including the new info on the water, and they told us to head over there.

When I stood up to get dressed, the water felt like it gushed out with every contraction. I put a pad on to contain it and it did.

As I waited for Chrys to pack up last minute things (food) in the bag, I set my AIM message and made a quick post to my mommy's board to let them know I was out. I realized as I was typing that I had no sense of humor or ability to really communicate. I was able to provide facts and little else. That left me a bit worried about where I was in labor (closer to delivery than I'd like since we were still at home).

The car ride wasn't too bad. I was a bit warm so I just left the window cracked. I didn't want bunches of air, though, because it was distracting. I kept an eye on Chrys' clock and noted that the contractions had slowed to every 4-5 minutes, instead of every 3-4. The slowdown I expected, but the intensity didn't go down any at all.

We got to the birth center around 7:00am and Heather wanted to check me in an exam room. I kept having to pause to get through contractions so she had me go straight to the delivery room instead. I managed to get undressed and get into a gown. She checked me and I was already 8cm, which corresponded to me telling her it felt like I woke up in transition. She asked about my labor with Ryanne and I was able to tell her enough that she realized she shouldn't go far because this was likely to be over very soon. I heard her tell the nurse that I would be delivered within the hour and I think that gave me the strength to get through.

My cervix was still way back so they put me on the birthing ball so I could lean forward without the pressure of being on my hands and knees. Chrys brought me water and I sipped on that between contractions. For a while, I was experiencing a great deal of pressure prior to each contraction. That really helped because I got a little warning to relax before the pain would start. That sensation went away after about 30 minutes and, before long, I couldn't stand the pressure of the ball so I stood up.

Two contractions later, my body started pushing. I got up on my hands and knees on the bed and was there for 2 more contractions as Heather encouraged me to the head of the bed. I managed to crawl to a mostly seated position. She tried to slow me down and asked me to breathe instead of push, but my body kept bearing down with each contraction and I wasn't getting much time to regroup between them so I lost my focus. Chrys asked for a mirror for me, but I knew there wasn't time so I decided to forego it. I did get to touch his head as he crowned and that was amazing - it was slimy and wrinkly and, because of his hair, felt totally unlike what I expected. I think it was two more pushes to fully deliver him. I ended up tearing exactly along my scar tissue from Ryanne, but no worse. I don't know how many stitches it took to fix me, but they were all in the perineum this time (no internal damage).

He came out covered in vernix. The midwives tried to wipe him off with the blanket, but once I got him, I started rubbing it into his skin wherever I could find it. They said they'd rarely seen one that far along with so much vernix on him. My hands were VERY happy to have it, too.

The cord was allowed to stop pulsing before Heather cut it. (Chrys didn't want to. If I had thought about it, I might have asked to do it myself.)

He spent his first 30 minutes (or so) of life screaming. He's got an amazing set of lungs and was all kinds of mad at the world.

He roots a ton. I have a hard time convincing him I have the breast in his mouth, though. Once he gets latched, he nurses himself right to sleep. He has a very strong suck, too. He gets frustrated with not finding the nipple very easily and this is another scream trigger.

He's a great sleeper so far, but has quite a wail when he wakes up. Ryanne says he sounds like he has a squeak toy inside him. She's totally enamored with him and just follows whoever is holding him around so she can talk to him. She's sung him songs and read him books already.

He also wails when his diaper gets changed. Hopefully we can make that experience less traumatic as time goes on.

All in all, though, it was a beautiful birth experience. I am so thrilled that I didn't have to go through all of the stuff at the hospital. Most of the things I wanted in my birth plan were standard procedure at the center. Getting to come home after only 6 hours was blissful, too. I am so much more relaxed about everything and happy to get some sleep in my own house.