Baby Charlie's Birth Story
Charles
(Charlie) Bodhi Grieser
8 lbs 6 oz, 21 inches, 14 in head and
chest
Born 6:42 am at Henry County Hospital
via Family Centered Cesarean by Dr. H
One of the more important aspects of
Charlie's birth plan was that I wanted to go into spontaneous labor
prior to my planned cesarean. 40 weeks passed by and I had very
little signs that labor was coming. On Monday May 4th, I
had an ultrasound done to make sure it was safe to continue the
pregnancy. I knew everything was fine but Dr. H needed the
reassurance. Fluid levels were good, but he wasn't active enough
during the ultrasound because it was during his usual nap time so
Wednesday I had to go in for an NST, which we passed no problem. My
OB was not going to be on call the upcoming weekend, and instead the
OB that had done my first traumatic cesarean was, so I had quite a
bit of anxiety leading up to that weekend, and was hanging onto hope
that labor would wait until the next week.
On Thursday evening May 7th ,
the evening before I was 41 weeks, I began having some regular pains
right before bed close to 10 pm. The pains were in my lower back and
pelvis, but I didn't feel them wrapping into my belly. I had had
these pains on previous nights and they would come and go for about
an hour and then disappear, so I wasn't thinking much of it, but
after a half hour, I realized I had maybe about 6 or 7, meaning they
were probably five minutes apart. I was curious and began timing
them. At this point, they were starting to bother me a little more
and after a few contractions I realized they were actually only 2-3
minutes apart and lasting over 30 seconds. I thought this was odd
because it was progressing way too quick compared to my first labor
and figured it was just false labor again and it would shortly end. I
continued timing them, as my husband and I passed some time watching
TV in bed. I kept telling my husband this wasn't it, mostly out of
fear with hope of post-poning having the inevitable surgery for a
little bit longer. The contractions were not stopping, getting more
uncomfortable and was starting to hurt with cramping in my lower
belly too. At about 11 pm, I lost my mucus plug and had bloody show.
This was when I realized I was in actual labor. I sat in my bathroom
and began to cry. I had been having a hard time dealing with my
anxiety about my upcoming cesarean and dreading it the entire
pregnancy, so now that labor started, it meant it was just hours
away. My husband comforted me and calmed me, reminding he was going
to be there to take care of me... and that my OB was on call! Perfect
timing!
It was nearing midnight at this point,
and the plan was always to wait till early morning to go to the
hospital if I went into labor in the middle of the night. I told CJ
to go to bed, and I stayed up to labor on my own, just like with my
first. However, this labor was polar opposite to my first labor.
Contractions were consistently 2-3 minutes apart. At 1 am, I could no
longer lie in bed, so I got up and went downstairs to finish packing
our bags. Yes, at 41 weeks pregnant, we still had not packed our
bags. (I was convinced this baby was going to take its time arriving
just like big sister, and expected baby to stay comfy until sometime
next week.) I realized we hadn't washed the newborn diapers yet
either, so I began cleaning and doing laundry in between contractions
as well. At about 2:30, contractions were very strong, and still 2-3
minutes apart, but were now lasting almost a minute long at times. I
realized if I wanted to wait till morning, I should probably quit
cleaning and lay down to calm down the contractions. I went upstairs
and layed down. It was really painful now to lay. Three contractions
later, I felt a hard pop; my water had broken! I got back out of bed
to labor on the toilet until my waters were finished. Contractions
got very strong at this point. I was having a very hard time
breathing through them and I was having a hard time staying relaxed.
I found my self tensing up, crying or vocalizing through them. I
tried swaying my hips, bouncing, hands and knees, but nothing was
helping me cope with the pain. It was about 3 am when I realized I
needed help and probably wouldn't make it a few more hours by myself,
so I woke CJ up and he began packing his bags. I remember telling
him, “these feel like pitocin contractions!”
I called the hospital to let them know
I would be in shortly. It actually took him a little while to finish
packing up his and Maybellee's things, but we dropped big sister off
at Grandpa and Grandma's sometime after 4pm and were at the hospital
a little before 5 am. Contractions did slow down to 2-5 minutes apart
at this point, but were still very painful, especially since once I
was to the hospital they needed me on the monitors for an hour before
the cesarean, which meant I was stuck in the bed. My sister arrived
very soon after I was admitted, and surgery preparations started
moving very quick.
The anesthesiologist arrived and began
telling me what I should expect. She explained that I would go back
alone for the placement of the spinal. I asked if CJ could come back
with me, and she said no, and I began to panic. My first cesarean
left me with some trauma, and when she said CJ wasn't coming back
with me, I began to have the irrational thought that I would not get
any of my wishes respected again and I wouldn't get a family centered
cesarean. The anesthesiologist had walked away with her answer, and I
was crying and I couldn't breathe, and CJ and Tessa was trying to
calm me down. A few nice nurses also tried helping comfort and calm
me, but I just remember wanting to jump up and run out of there and
feeling embarassed that they all were watching me have a panic
attack. The anesthesiologist came back and Tessa talked to her, and
got her to finally agree to let CJ go back with me. Thank God for my
sister being there to advocate for me. I was able to start calming
down. Then Dr. H arrived sometime during this and had checked me. I
was 2 cms. At first when I heard that I felt a sense of panic of
“what if this time my body was dilating!?”, but then quickly
realized this labor was so fast and tense I should have been a lot
more dilated. It wasn't much longer after this they began moving me
to the OR. CJ was able to stand nearby to hold my foot which kept me
calm for the spinal placement. I remember telling the nurses I was
scared and they were really nice and comforting.
Next thing I knew my sister was there
and surgery was starting. In my birth plan I had requested to have
the drapes lowered and for baby to be held up for me to see after
delivery. The anesthesiologist retrieved a mirror for me and asked if
I would like her to hold it so I could see, which was above and
beyond what I had expected. I actually got to watch the entire
delivery. I saw them pull baby's head out and suction baby's mouth,
then Dr. H reached in more and pulled baby out by the arm pits and
held baby up. The gender was a surprise and Daddy got to announce,
“It's a boy!” They delayed the cord clamping for two minutes, and
then baby immediately was put on my chest! He was only on my chest
for a minute or two before I started to become really nauseous.
Daddy held him for the remaining of the surgery while I spent a great
of deal of it hanging my head over a bucket. I remember that I kept
wanting to apologize. I had made such a big deal about wanting to
hold my baby immediately after birth, and I was so sick I couldn't.
The nurses were fantastic and made sure I never vomited on myself,
unlike my previous cesarean where I was ignored when I told them I
was nauseous. Even though I didn't get to hold baby but for a minute,
daddy and baby stayed right next to me the entire time. Simply not
being separated from them and not being alone in surgery made the
world of a difference in comparison to my first traumatic cesarean.
The surgery didn't seem to last long at all and I was back in my room
for recovery. I was still dealing with nausea and low blood pressure,
but I was finally holding my baby and he got his first nursing.
My recovery in the hospital went
fantastic. They had a lactation consultant there to help us get
started with breastfeeding. The nurses were very great about making
sure my pain level was okay. They got me up and out of bed within 8
hours after surgery, and even respected my wishes to have the
catheter removed early. All the staff were very respectful of our
choices and wishes for the birth and newborn care, no one even
attempted to retract our newborn son's foreskin during checks, and
all were very helpful and kind. In the end, I got everything I
wanted: respectful prenatal care with limited Doppler, spontaneous
labor, delayed cord clamping, family centered cesarean, and a great
recovery. I couldn't have had a better experience there and truly
appreciate the Henry County Hospital for providing me and my family
with a great birth experience.
To read about our Elimination Communication with our first daughter and to learn more about EC, visit: Maybellee's EC Journey
By 2 weeks old, he was already showing preference for the potty and not wanting to eliminate in his diaper. Despite how often newborns go, I've been doing a pretty good job of getting him to the potty more than 50% of the time. The catch rate would be higher if I wasn't so busy taking care of a toddler, I'm sure, because he lets me know every time he needs to cry with a fuss. He always signals in some way. So far, his signals are lip quivers, unlatching from the breast, kicking his
legs, becoming very still during nursing, or just generally being fussy.
Its really neat to be ECing a second time, because thinking back onto
trying to learn Maybellee's cues, she did these things all the time and I
did not have a clue she needed to go. This second time, reading my baby
is so much easier. 
