About time, finally birth story!

My birth story is nice and direct: I planned to birth unassisted (without any birth attendant) I was inspired from ucbirth and birthlove websites, and the yahoo group for it. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/c-birth) As I did it already with my second baby I was very relaxed in my third pregnancy. It was thankfully uneventful pregnancy. I just grew very big. People thought I had twins. LOL!! Some people knew I am planing to go all alone they got nervous and thought its a crazy thing to do. Guess the common belief its deatlhly dangerous. Also I had no prenatal care, besides going to a like minded midwife who supported my choice to do it alone. We agreed I can call her if I feel like. Why one needs prenatal care. Mostly it just prenatal Scare imposing too much worries and problems that could complicate pregnancies. what is it good for? I took good care of myself: took prenatal vitamins, supplemented with vitamin C ascorbate, ate well, walked, went to chiropractor.. All these things rise the chance that the baby will be well. Prenatal checkups do nothing and if something is wrong doctors can't do much for it.

I had alot of braxton hicks since 5 months. My due date came and went. I was soo tired. I had to jam 8 pillows around me so I can sleep. my tummy pulled at me and I was soooo uncomfortable!! People instand messaged me asking me if I had the baby yet. They made me crazy with their worries. what if next week they will ask me when will I be induced? LOLOL

On July 31 12:20 am, 6 days after my due date I prepared to go to bed and chatted with my husband. I climbed on the matress in our bedroom. I like matress for sleep. we live in 1 bedroom apt so no room for jamming 4 beds for 4 people! we have 2 twins matresses full matress together, so we can co-sleep with our 2 children together.
Anyway all of the sudden I felt a warm gush of water coming and wetting my pajama pants! I told my husband hey, my water broke!! gosh! I don't like the water to break, becaue I could wet everywhere and I will have to put on diaper or labor confined in bathtub (I don't want to wet the carpet or the sofa) I waddled to the bathroom with my legs shut to prevent more gushes. I pulled my pants down and sat on the toilet with my legs spread open. more water dripped down the toilet. my husband followed me. he asked me, are you sure your waters broke? I said yes. I asked him to be with me a little. He brought me water to drink so I can drink through the labor. Right away the contractions started. They were powerful and painful every 3 minutes.
I got short pants and stuffed them with 2 diapers from Tzippy. then went to the computer to type to my friends that my water broke! As the contractions got stronger and stronger it was almost impossible to type. my husbnad was busy preparing his bills. He wanted to put the video camra to tape my birth but I thought it will take all night so It looked stupid if it will video me 8 hours or so.. I said no need. When I will be close you can start to turn it on.
Anyway my husband went to sleep. I had to labor myself. I was soo tired. I needed to sleep. but the contractions kept coming every 3 minutes. Each contraction was 2 minutes. it was 1:00 am already. then every contraction was pushy. my back hurt me so bad and every contraction jolted electrity to my hips. I couldn't sit or stand anymore. I tossed off all of my clothes as they bothered me. I kneeled in in the bathtub. I left it empty. It felt more comfortable without water. every contraction I had to lean forward on fours and lifting my knees off the floor, and i balanced myself on my hands and my toes. I had to shake my pelvis to ease the pain, to get the pressure of my back. That back labor hurt like hell! All of the baby's moves were on my front, so I guess the baby was posterior. I couldn't even kneel as the electrity jolt to my hips was so painful if I had to put my weight on my knees.
The pushy contractions got stronger and stronger. I was dozing off between the contractions. The pain was so bad. finally I filled up the bathtub. The water took some of the weight off me. The pain was dulled a little so I could bear it better. My hands and toes got tired from holding my weight for so long. Every contraction I had to hold myself in the air balanciing only on my toes and hands, keeping the knees off the ground.
I needed to go to bathroom. I went to bathroom and wondered how will I know if I need to go or push out the baby. I didn't want to push the baby into the toilet because it was too painful and impossible to lift my self high enough over the toilet to prevent the baby falling into it. As I was trying to figure out how to catch the baby in this situation, reflexly without even thinking I got up and ran back to the bathtub. The prssure was sooo hard! I touched inside my vagina. the head descended. Every contraction the head got closer and closer. My body pushed. I was on my knees. All sudden I had to get on fours. I grunted and grunted. Wow it hurt to bad. Then I pushed hard and pushed 2 or 3 times once every 3 minutes. I was on my knees again, then the head came out. I covered it with my hands to protect from hitting the bathtub floor. That head was so huge!. I pushed more. The body didn't budge. I felt the ears outline. The baby was okay, as the head kept moving and squirming. I didn't feel the face as my hand was underneath feeling only the head back. (the head was face up posterior) I grunted more. I changed my position to on fours. I made sure the head stays in water. I didnt' want the air to stimulate the baby to breath before being fully born. (so if I descend back to water the baby will not breath water) I had to lean forward deeply and sprawl the legs as much as possible and supported myself forward with one hand. I poked around the head looking if the shoulders are stuck. I pushed hard once again one loooong push. finally the shoulders popped out and the body slipped out and the legs popped out. I supported the baby with 1 hand and I could sit and lean backwards. I rised the baby slowly letting the head come out of the water. The watch I had by the bathtub showed: 5:06 am
The baby was calm and sleepy. I let the baby to lie on my stomach. My contractions continued a little than stopped. All of my muscles in my body hurt like after a marathon. I rubbed the baby's body to stimulate the baby to move. The baby moved and I saw he was allright. I looked between the legs and I saw it's a boy! I rested with the baby. 5 minutes after birth my husband woke up and entered the bathroom. He was delighted to see the baby was born already. He thought it will take much longer. I couldn't rise myself as I was still in pain. I leaned back holding the baby. My husband claimed the baby was so huge. we chatted a little. As the water started to go down, exposing the baby to the cold air, the baby started crying. I added more warm water and splashed on the baby's back to keep the baby warm.
The placenta didn't come out. I tried to pull at the cord gently to see if it connected inside. it didn't budge so I knew the placenta was still attached inside. I asked my husband to stay with me in case I will start to bleed because the placenta didn't come out. I swallowed some piece of the amniotic membranes, as they have hormones with oxytocin that prevent hemmohreage, and induce the placenta come out. (the hospital use syntetic pitocin shot) The baby nursed a little, just some nibbles. It caused my stomach to contract more.
He sat on the toilet and fell asleep. he then lied down on the floor and fell asleep again. So sweet of him to stay with me to make sure i am allright! I was so tired, and I started dozing off. It was not so safe as I was afraid my hands will slip down letting the baby to slip back to water. leaving the baby on my stomach was not safe either because it could cause the wet naked baby to get cold. covering with a towel was not a good idea because a wet towel is cold and sticky. I wanted to plan lotus birth but I realized it can't work for me in my situation. Forget it, I will cut it that's it!. After 3 hours I decided to cut the cord and figure out what to do about the placenta. I shaked my husband to wake up. I asked him to boil the scissors and boil the dental floss. He brought them ready. I tied the baby's cord. I checked if it causes the baby pain to touch the cord. I pressed on the cord, every time I touched the cord the baby grimaced a little. I wasn't sure if it was for real or my imagination. After few times the baby didn't grimace anymore. Then I tied and cut the cord without much reaction from the baby. A little blood gushed out of the cord that hanged out of my vagina. I realized the cord wasn't completely dead.
Shalom, my oldest son age 4 and half woke up and walked into the bathroom. When he saw the new baby my husband held, he ran and called his sister, Tzippy age 2 and 5 months. The kids were excited about the new baby. My husband held the baby wrapped in the towel. I took picture of him with the kids peeking at the baby :-)

My husband took the baby, dressed and diapered him and put him in bed. I let the bloody water to drain, and opened the fountain for clean water. I bathed myself. Then I rised out of the bath. It was dificult to walk with the placenta still inside and with the painful contractions I still had. I lied myself next to the baby. I was so cold and shaking. Even it was in July 31 an so hot I was cold. I asked my son to bring me the blanket and a pillow. He brought them to me from the closet. That was so sweet of him.
My husband offered me to make for me a hot chocolate drink. I didn't want as it was too heavy. I wanted just water.
My son being excited from having the new baby, didn't want to go to camp. I asked my husband to let him to stay home. My daughter wanted to go to camp and there she went when the carpool lady came!
I fell asleep with the baby. I woke up at 10:00 am. I needed to go to bathroom. I crawled slowly. I still had painful contractions. I couldn't walk upright. I pulled myself to sit on the toilet. I had to pee. Then i felt a big pushy contraction and finally the placenta just felt out! The contractions stopped and I felt much better. It was at 10:18 am.

I weighed the bby 2 days later on tuesday night in the pathmark supermarket. The baby was 8lb and 12 oz. Someone told me that babies lose around 1 lb in 2 days after birth especially if milk didn't come in. My milk didn't come in yet and my baby passed alot of mucus and meconium. So I assume the baby could be very well be 9lb and 12 oz! Who knows!! What ya think?


p.s: Later I learned that hospoitals would do D&C for retained placentas, with all of the risks of scarring that could risk problems in next pregnancies like placenta previa or placenta accreta or infection. I was happy I let my body to resolve it itself.

Anyone who did read my first birth story would find out my midwife's remark that I would need a c-section in case my baby was 10 pounds. LOLOLOL