Review - An Ordinary Life

Posted by Kim:

OMG! I'm Going To Give Birth

If you remember last week I shared a funny story of Del trying to help me “train” for labor. Him sitting on the edge of the couch grunting and growling, he really has no clue. As we get closer to the birth I am getting nervous, trying to replay my experience with Kai. Wondering if my gas is contractions, I’m overall paranoid.

Her birth was so easy, clearly I can’t have two easy births. I am lucky enough to be able to have help. Binsi stepped in and provided me with the most comfortable birthing outfit. The sporty skirt is perfect for laboring. It’s sporty and cute and I can even wear it now. It really allows me to move and bend with my ever growing belly. They also have these wonderful tops that allow the same freeing movement. They even work with any and all medical equipment and makes breastfeeding a breeze.

While I am paranoid and trying to plan everything in my head there's one thing I do know for sure. Forget the hospital gown I’m going all Binsi!

Birth Story - Griffin's Birth

Posted by Kim:

Below is the story of my second son, Griffin's, birth as written in my birth journal. Enjoy

2/11/05

Written by Mommy:

Well today is the big day! Hopefully our second little guy will be born on Uncle Will's Birthday! We scheduled our labor to be induced today because Griffin is growing at a healthy rate (possibly 3 lbs more than Connor's birth weight) and also this way our friends knew when to expect Connor to come over and play. It is a little bit difficult not to have family in the area.

** The decision to induce Griffin's birth is something I have regretted since. Convenience is not a good enough excuse, but I also remember being very tired of being pregnant. I only wish I had held out for my labor to start naturally, but I can't change that now. It is what it is. **

We weren't sure if you would be born today. At 5am we received a phone call from the birthplace saying that they were full with birthing mothers and we might not be able to come in, but call back at 8am to check. I could barely wait! At 7:58am I called and the girl who answered said we probably won't be coming in (why didn't I see this as a sign?). Then after waiting on hold for what seemed like 30 minutes, but was probably 3, she said "Can you com in at 8:30am?" I was so surprised it must be the closest feeling I have ever had to the surprise of natural childbirth. So we quickly got ready, packed Connor's bag, and umped in the car. Dad dropped me off at the hospital and said "OK call me when you're ready to have a baby. I'll be back to pick you up." Ha Ha, who is the funny guy? Dad then took Connor over to Aunt Kathy's house to play.

I went up to the birthplace and checked into room 2105. The first thing I do is change into the birthing skirt my friend Carri gave me as a present and a jog bra. Daddy arrived soon after and started shooting video right away. Now that he has become a video editor extraordinaire he looks at shooting video in a whole new light! My goal is to give birth to you by 6pm. We'll see how things go.

Written by Daddy:

Here's Daddy! Connor and I dropped Mommy off at 8:45am at LUH and told her to give us a call if she needed anything, its boys day out! Ha, not really. After dropping Mom off Connor went to visit Aunt Kathy for the day. Everyone was anxiously awaiting Connor's arrival for a day of cars and trains. I arrived at LUH at 9:15am to coach baby Griffin into the world. We're in room 2105 this year and we've got a much better view this time, we can see snow covered Long's Peak from our room. I started with casual photography and video to capture the scene. At 10:30am pitocin starts, the fun begins. So far so good, Dr Finnegan stopped by at 12:30pm, 3 to 4 cm dilated and he broke Mommy's bag of water at 12:45pm. While anxiously awaiting Griffin's arrival we listened to the Birth Day and U2 CDs we made and watched Old School. 2:30pm Epidural time. The epidural seems to have been slower to take effect, but by 3:15pm we seem to have a good block. Kim is about 7cm now. 4:10pm Dr Finnegan stops by and Kim is about 9cm dilated now.

Written by Mommy:

Our first nurse is Elaine and she is quite nice. She is from Alberta, Canada and we talked a lot about Toronto and how beautiful it is there. Elaine starts the pitocin around 10:30am and she said it will take about 3-5 minutes before my body will react to the iv. Unfortunately the contractions do not start as quickly as I had hoped, but there are a few.

Around 12:30pm Dr Finnegan stopped over and broke my bag of water. I am only dilated to about 3 1/2 or 4 cms, but he said this should really get my contractions going. Unfortunately this is not true, but I am definitely having more contractions than before. I work through the contractions while watching Old School. You can't help but laugh through the contractions.

Around 2:30pm I decide it is time to get up , use the bathroom and prepare for the epidural. For some reason I have to take a pepcid pill with an Alka Seltzer chaser. I don't remember doing that before, but then again, everything about your pregnancy, labor and birth has been totally different than Connor's. You are your own man. The Dr finally arrives after Elaine checks me and says that I am 7cm dilated. I am so surprised because the contractions at 7cms with you seem about 1/2 as bad as the contractions I had with Connor at 4cms, and they are in a totally different location. My contractions with you are at the top of my belly pushing you down. My goal is to deliver you by 6pm.

After getting the Epidural everything calms down. I am actually a little tired and feel like I could fall asleep. however, by 4:00pm I am completely dilated but you seem to be in a long sleep period and the contractions are not regular. Elaine is going to call Dr Finnegan and see what we should do. She thinks we should turn down the epidural and turn up the pitocin. So that is what we are going to do.

By 6pm the contractions are regular and I have regained a lot of feeling in my lower body because the Epidural has been turned off. At this time Elaine leaves and Suzy becomes our pushing coach. She and Daddy start to urge me on and hope that you will be born before Suzy has to leave at 7:00pm. For a while even Dr Finnegan was in the room to hold my leg. They kept telling me to push down and I thought that was what I was doing, but I guess not because you were not moving much.

Suzy leaves at 7:00pm and Joyce takes over and the pushing remains the same. Wither you are stuck or I am a terrible pusher. Unfortunately I think it is the latter of the two. Daddy is being so helpful because by now the Epidural has completely worn off and it is pretty painful. Because I don't seem to be pushing well I ask Joyce to get out the mirror so I can see what is going on myself. I figured if I could see your head maybe it would give me something to focus on. It seems to help a little, but by 8:00pm Dr Finnegan tells us we have a 1/2 hour until c-section. I almost lose it, but I am determined to push you out. I do not want a c-section. Daddy and Joyce cheer me on and Daddy says I am pushing well. Apparently I am using a lot more strength than I realized I had. I keep checking the time but I can see that you are moving. This is going to work.

Finally around 8:30pm they call the team in and you are going to be born. A few more pushed and your head comes out! This is amazing. I have to stop though because the cord is wrapped around your neck twice. Dr Finnegan clamps it and cuts it quickly. Unfortunately Daddy did not get to do the ceremonial cutting of the cord, but your health is most important. Now we're ready to push again. Just another push and you are out! Finally!! You were born at 8:43pm. It was a struggle, but I was determined.

Immediately after you are born they take you to the warmer and Daddy heads over to inspect. Of course he says you have Connor's hands and feet. The nurses clean you off as I deliver the placenta, thankfully with only one push. You are not crying like I wold like and it seems like you are grunting a little too. After they let me hold you for a short time, but then the nurses and Daddy take you down to the nursery to check everything out. I am worried because I don't know if everything is alright.

While you are in the nursery I called Aunt Lisa & Uncle Tony, Grandma & Grandpa King, and Aunt Kathy to tell them the good news! I don't even know what your statistics are yet! I am guessing that you weigh about 7 pounds.

Finally Daddy returns from the nursery with your stats. You are 8lbs 1oz!! I can't believe it. No wonder I had trouble pushing. You are 21" long and your head circumference is 13 3/4 " (75% on the charts). I can't believe it! Now I am so glad that you were induced, if you were much bigger I don't think I would have been able to deliver you! You are 3lbs 7oz bigger than Connor was when he was born.

The Dr decided that you should spend the night in the nursery just to be safe. So after a while Daddy and I head down to the nursery so I can nurse you. I am so happy when you latch right on and eat like a little piggy! I love it!! Daddy and I stay and cuddle you until midnight. We love you so much! We're just happy that you are healthy. Daddy then goes home so he can catch some Zs and pick Connor up in the morning. I nurse you again during the night and at 6am the NICU nurse Erika brings you down to our room. I am not going to let you out of my sight from now on.

Griffin on the left Connor on the right, same Pooh Bear (two totally different babies)

Birth Story - Elaine & Greg's Birth

Posted by Kim:

I was lucky enough to be hired as the doula for another wonderful couple and I was honored to be present at the birth of little baby boy Nikolai! It was an amazing experience and has made me even more passionate about being a doula! To be honest it was only the second completely natural birth I have ever seen, the birth of Carri's third son being the first.

It was interesting because Elaine had a few instances of stalled labor as my previous client did. On Monday evening Greg called me to let me know that Elaine had stopped in to see her doctor that afternoon and she was dilated to almost 4 cm and 100% effaced. The doctor said she could check into the hospital then if she wanted to, but they chose to head home and relax to prepare there instead. This was great news seeing as though Elaine mentioned that she had not really had any major contractions, just what felt like some annoying menstrual cramps. Remembering what a marathon Gina's birth was I began to mentally prepare myself for labor and went to bed early anticipating a call from them that night (again, silly new doula). No calls. I ask them to stay in close touch just so I would know how they were feeling. So we talked Tuesday morning and everything was back to normal.

On Tuesday they ended up coming into the hospital again because they were concerned that they really hadn't felt the baby move at all that day. Luckily the nurses monitored the baby and everything was fine. So they went home and Elaine rested, ate and prepared for pending labor.

Around 12:15am on Thursday morning Greg called me again and said that Elaine's contractions were coming on very regular and they were going to head into the hospital and wanted me to meet them there around 1am. So I jumped out of bed, hit the shower (I had some hot water this time) and was in Boulder by 1am. It was a very interesting drive however because the Old Stage fire was raging and literaly lit up the entire sky. I had never been so close to a brush fire like that and actually felt a little guilty that we have had such a dry winter, I guess I better hope for some snow (hard for me to do). In addition to the fire there was also a major accident on the Diagonal Hwy and as I approached I just kept praying that it was not Greg and Elaine, luckily they took 287.

When I reached Elaine's room Greg told me that their contractions were very intense at home, in the car, up the elevator, but as soon as she got into the hospital room they literally ended. Elaine placed the intensity of the contractions at only a 2 on a scale of 10. In addition to the lack kof contractions she also had an elevated temperature so the doctor wanted to monitor Elaine closely and she received an IV of fluids as they were thinking the elevated temperature was possibly due to dehydration. This was hard for Elaine to accept because she felt like she had been drinking tons of water, but as she received the fluid her temperature did go down. Just prior to going into the hospital Elaine had been taking a hot bath so I asked the nurse if that could have effected her body temperature and she said it wouldn't really have effected her overall body temperature, and especially for this length of time. Good to know. So I headed home around 4am and Greg and Elaine were released shortly after. I called Carri later that morning to talk with her about what was going on and her thoughts about the stalled labor again and she said that the contractions Elaine was experiencing could actually have been caused by the dehydration. Again, good to know I will keep that in my knowledge bank.

But the real fun was just about to start because Friday morning around 4:30am Greg called and said that they had been laboring since about 9:00pm Thursday night and they were ready to have me come over. Remembering Gina's labor I didn't freak out, I took a quick shower, gathered my doula bag and personal items and headed out ready for a long day (again, silly new doula). When I arrived at the house Elaine's car was running in the driveway so I figured we would soon be heading to the hospital. Elaine was in her bed and Greg was being an amazing coach. While I could tell the contractions were intense for Elaine she seemed to be handling then amazing. SHe breathed through them as Greg was reminding her to take deep belly breaths and I tried to help her relaxed her hands and face. It was interesting because Greg told me that she was also experiencing significant discomfort in her back but when I tried to apply the same massage and pain relief that I used on Gina this was of no comfort to Elaine. Again, I had to remind myself that this was a completely different person so what works on one may not work on the other. Greg and I began talking about when to go to the hospital and seeing as though she had been laboring for quite a while and the intensity of the contractions were so strong we decided that it was time to go. However, getting Elaine to the car was my biggest fear because she was obviously feeling so much intensity and handling them seemingly so well in the bed that I hated to move her, get her to the hospital and have the contractions slow, but I knew we had to go. So step by step and in between each contraction we headed to the car we eventually reached the Boulder Foothills Hospital around 6:15am.

Greg said that one of his funniest memories of this experience was our trip from the car into the hospital. He had gotten a wheelchair for Elaine and I had made myself in charge of carrying all of our gear. So he said as we were walking down the hall he looked over at me and couldn't help but laugh because all he saw was me carrying 18 bags and a pillow. I told him not to worry that it was my job to take care of the things that he should not occupy his mind with. He should be worrying only about Elaine. So we then named me the Doula Sherpa! : D

When we got to our room Elaine settled in bed and the intensity remained and I think we were all thankful for that. The nurse was wonderful and asked Elaine if she would like to get up and walk, take a bath or try some different positions. She said as soon as she checks her she could do whatever she wanted. Much to all of our surprise, when the nurse checked Elaine she was 10cm dilated and the nurse said she would be able to push whenever soon. The only thing standing in the way of her and the baby was the bulging bag of water. Because Elaine had been experiencing a lot of discomfort in her back I suggested she get on her knees and lean on the birth ball. I told her that this would relieve some of the discomfort and would also be a great position to start pushing once her water broke. It seemed to help for while, but the doctor came in and we all discussed if she should break the bag of water for Elaine or if she should wait for it to happen naturally. It was decided that the doctor would break the water so Elaine could start the pushing phase of labor. By 7:00am her bag of water was broken and the urge to push was rushing over her and by 8:05am little baby Nikolai was born. Elaine was a wonderful pusher and having the nurse use her fingers to help Elaine feel where to push really seemed to help! It was beautiful and amazing, again I felt blessed to be there.

After Nikolai was born the placenta would not expel itself naturally, even after several minutes of nursing (Nikolai was a natural). So they finally decided Elaine needed to receive some pitocin to encourage the placenta to come out. Unfortunately when it did there were pieces of the placenta left behind and the doctor tried a manual extraction to remove the remaining pieces before Elaine bled too much. This however was ineffective and Elaine eventually had to have a spinal epidural and a D & C. Not the ending we anticipated after a healthy pregnancy and beautiful natural childbirth, but medically necessary.

This was another learning experience for me (although I can't think of a birth that won't be a learning experience). I was impressed with the nurses and doctor at Boulder Community Hospital and I was thankful we were there, but I was most impressed and awed by how Elaine breathed through her contractions and how great a coach Greg was. This may sound a little corny, but I could truly see how deep their love is for one another and what an amazing family Nikolai was being born into. It was truly a blessings. Elaine's recover has been more difficult than we would have hoped, but ultimately the most important thing is that there is a very healthy baby and a healthy recovering Mom and ecstatic Dad!

Birth Story - Kim's First Birth as a Doula!

Posted by Kim:

Well bringing in the new year was VERY exciting this year. I was not with my family when the clock struck twelve, instead I was helping a family be born! Since Friday night I had been in touch with Gina and Steve as their contractions began. The first call from Steve was received on Friday night at 10:30pm just as my husband Paul and I were sitting down to see the new 007 movie! Things were pretty much under control at that time, however I expected to hear from them later that night, but no news (silly new doula). Saturday morning I called at 9am to see how things were going and Gina's contractions had slowed throughout the night, but things kicked in again a little early Saturday morning, but were light. On Sunday morning I heard from Gina and Steve again and contractions started early and they wanted me to come over. I headed over around 9am (after picking up a heating pad) and worked with Gina as her contractions remained 5 minutes apart. Unfortunately they started to fade again so we walked the stairs, I encourage them to be together and kiss, we took a walk together, but nothing seemed to help. So after a while I went home and Gina enjoyed her mother and sister's company for the rest of the day.

On Monday Steve and Gina went to see their doctor and found out that she was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. Good news that her contractions were actually doing something for her.

On Tuesday morning around 4:15 am Steve called again and asked if I would be willing to come over and help Gina as her contractions were back, but Steve was going to go into work. When I arrived Gina was laboring hard and we worked through the contractions. She sat on the fit ball and once the sun came up we went for a walk. Today however she wasn't able to walk through the contractions as on Sunday. We had to stop, I rubbed her back and she was cool and calm through each one. I was so impressed with how she was able to close her eyes, go into herself as each wave passed through her. Steve returned home from work around 10am, just as Gina's contractions were slowing in time and intensity AGAIN. Poor thing, how many days of labor can one person take? So I suggested she rest as much as possible and call me if she needs me. So once again I headed home expecting to hear from them again soon.

And I did..... It wasn't as soon as I thought, but after a fun evening of taking the boys Dave and Busters, Steve called me around 12:15 am Wednesday morning and said that Gina had been laboring and the intensity of the contractions seems like it had changed. After getting up and getting dressed (couldn't shower because the pilot on the hot water heater was out NICE...) I headed over to their house once again. I arrived around 1am and Steve immediately went to bed to rest. Gina and I spent some time together talked through the waves of contractions and I spent a lot of time rubbing her back, this seemed to be a continuous ache for her. While trying to remain completely confident and in control for Gina, on the inside I was worried that she could be progressing and we were close to birth and I didn't want to catch a baby. Gina kept asking me when we should go to the hospital and I reassured her that we could go any time, and we should especially go when she no longer instinctively felt safe at home. So around 3am and after a call to the hospital confirming that we could come home after being checked if we chose to, we decided to head out.

We arrived at the hospital about 20 minutes later and by 4am they checked Gina and confirmed that she had progressed to 5 cm and was about 100% effaced. This was good news so we decided to stay. Gina continued to labor and we all hoped that the contractions were making her progress, but again by 10am ish her contractions started to slow and become less intense. After talking with the doctor (she wanted to start pitocin right away) Gina and Steve agreed that we would wait until noon and see if she has progressed. At noon they checked her and she was only 6cm. So the doctor broke her water and this definitely brought on active labor. Gina continued to labor and was my hero because she was really handling it well considering the new level of intensity.

Around 6pm Gina decided to have another check and she was only 7cm. This was very discouraging for Gina and frankly after 5 days of labor she was really starting to get exhausted. So she and Steve decided it was time to consider the epidural. We all hoped the epidural would help her relax enough to dilate quicker. Once the epidural was placed there was instant relief and Gina felt much better and could even get a little rest. Unfortunately it did not help her dilate faster however. At 9pm she was 8cm, 11pm 9cm, 1am 9 1/2cm and by 1:40am she was fully dilated and ready to push. This was an exciting moment, but I tried not to get too excited because I knew from experience that there was still a lot of work to be done. I just didn't know how true this was, because it wasn't for 5 more hours before little baby girl Jordyn joined the world at 9 lbs 1 oz and 22 inches. As always it was amazing wonderful and euphoric. Looking at Gina's face it was like the last 28 hours (or 6 days for that matter) hadn't even happened! What a honor to be there. I can't wait for my next birth! I learned so much and it even allowed me to let go of some of the figurative pain I have been going through since Griffin's birth. Its like anything with parenting, you just can't make plans or if you do they have to be written in pencil because they are sure to change!