Reesor Aaron Das’ Birth Story
November 12, 2011
Born at Atlanta Medical Center
6:22 PM
5 pounds, 14 ounces and 18.5 inches long
Midwife: Anjli Aurora
Doula: Que Brown
Reesor’s due date was November 17th and I was feeling anxious and ready for him to arrive. So I was more than happy when my water broke at 1:05 AM on the 12th, 5 days early! It broke in a huge gush right as I was getting back into bed from using the restroom. Aaron says I went “whoa whoa whoa! My water just broke!” He had been in a dead sleep and struggled to understand what was happening. I had a huge rush of excitement and anticipation for what the day ahead would bring! I immediately called my midwife and informed her but I had not had a contraction so she recommended that I try and get some more sleep until they started up. I also called my doula, Que, to let her know that things were getting started. After getting cleaned up a bit I tried to lay back down but the moment my head hit the pillow I had my first labor contraction. This was around 1:45 AM.
It became obvious that I would not be sleeping anymore that night and so I began to walk around the house, breathing through my contractions pretty easily for about an hour and a half. We had made plans to go to my parents house once labor was getting more intense because it is closer to the hospital and easier for my doula to get to. At around 3 AM we decided it was time to pack up and head on over to their house. My contractions were ranging from 4-10 minutes apart and lasting from 30 seconds to a full minute.
We got to my folks’ and I continued to labor with Aaron applying counter pressure on my lower back with every contraction. My contractions never got regular and were not really timeable. One of the ways we managed my pain at their house was by getting in the shower. I stood and let the hot stream hit my back until I used all their hot water and had to get out. We had called my Que to come on over to help me with ideas on pain management and she arrived at 7:30 AM. My contractions remained unpredictable and were sometimes up to 12-20 minutes apart! So she recommended I lay on my left side which, due to circulation, often causes contractions to become more intense and regular. Intense....OH YES! Regular, still no! At this point time was flying by and I was surprised at how easy my labor was. Not at all what I had heard it would be. Of course it was still early labor, but emotionally I was still pumped and felt like we would definitely be able to have the birth we had planned, un-medicated.
Meet Que:
Then Que recommended I do some stair climbing and on my third trip up I had my first active labor contraction. WOW! It was certainly more intense and when it was over she said something to the affect of “that sounded to me like you could be at 4 or 5 centimeters, how would you feel if we start packing up for the hospital?” Sounded good to me! We headed out around noon after I called my midwife to let her know we were on our way and we arrived to the hospital 35 minutes later.
They checked me in and put me on the monitor for 15-20 minutes. The exam showed that I was at about 5 cm dilated and Reesor’s heart rate looked great. So we went across the hall to our labor and delivery room where I immediately opted to get in the shower again. They put the birth ball (yoga ball/exercise ball) in the shower for me to sit on. The only problem with the shower was that it wasn’t double headed. haha I couldn’t decide if it felt better to have the water hit my back or my belly. So I opted for the belly and made Aaron give me counter pressure on my lower back with every contraction. Others tried to help with this but he was really the only one strong enough to do the job right! I was in the shower from 2-3 pm and my contractions become stronger and a bit closer together. Not evenly spread out, but definitely closer together. I began to go to a place inside for strength to get through each painful contraction but still felt energized and confident in my body’s ability to do this! It started sounding like pushing was near so they had to take me out of the shower to fill the birth tub. Meanwhile I dried off and the midwife checked for my progress: 7-8 cm!
Birth Tub:
As soon as it was ready I got in the tub and THAT is when I would say the hard work started. The contractions were still 5-7 minutes apart but were very painful. I tried screaming through a few but decided prayer was better. I know it sounds funny but praying silently through my contractions calmed me and brought a beautiful hush to the room. I knew God had made women capable of delivering His miracles into this world and I was still up for the task. I should note here that at this point all the women of the family were gathered around the tub: Patrice my mom, Jill my sister, Que my doula, Elizabeth my mother-in-law, and my grandmother. And OF COURSE my husband was there the entire time. I was in for about 45 minutes before I decided to try a little push. I never felt the strong urge to push like many women say they get but my contractions were so difficult to get through that I wanted to start the process. I discovered that I could in fact push and so Que called the nurse over. She checked me and told me the head was very close and that I had to wait and push until the midwife returned. LONGEST 10 MINUTES OF MY LIFE! Finally she got there and the work began at 4:25 PM
Meet Anjli:
Labor:
We tried different positions for pushing. First reclined and then squatting on my knees. Neither of these seemed to really be making much progress. My pushing contractions never got closer than 5 minutes and were up to 8 minutes apart. This made for a long process because we had to wait so long in between pushes. I became very fatigued after 16 hours of labor and started to truly believe I wouldn’t be physically able to deliver Reesor. The lack of progress with my pushing was very frustrating for me and I remember constantly needing encouragement that I wasn’t a “bad pusher”. Anjli decided to try one more thing: they tied a sheet around one of the handles of the tub and I sat in a reclined position where I could grab the sheet end in front of me and pull on it for counter strength. And THAT was the beginning of the end, FINALLY! After almost two hours of pushing Reesor’s head crowned. We waited and waited for another contraction to come so I could finish pushing him out. Anjli kept checking his heart rate and I could tell she was concerned that he would go into distress. I got tired of waiting for bad news and for another contraction so I just gave it my all without a contraction and out he came at 6:22 PM!
He's HERE:
The umbilical cord was wrap around his neck, under his armpit, and around his torso. Anjli twisted him out of it and he was placed on my chest. PURE RELIEF! He started squeeming a bit and it was obvious he was doing great. I was in awe of what had happened and just couldn’t take my eyes off of him while they checked his vitals and Aaron cut the cord. It wasn’t an instand “connection” (yet) but rather a state of shock at what had just come out of me...a HUMAN! After a few minutes we let daddy hold him while they got me out of the tub to deliver the afterbirth and stitch up my first degree tear. I got to nurse him immediately after that and he latched right on! My little champion! The rest is history!
Some funny things I said while in active labor and during pushing:
Que: “listen to your body” Zoe: “my body is telling me to DIE!”
Anjli FINALLY got to the room so I could push. Zoe: “I thought you went to India for a freakin visit!” (her family is from India)
When he was crowning and they commented on his thick hair. Zoe: “I won’t sue you if you just pull him out by his hair!”
So even in the throws of labor its ok to have a sense of humor! I wouldn’t have had it any other way despite the intense pain and hard work. 17 hours of labor is no joke but pales in comparison to the joy of having Reesor Aaron Das in my life! That “connection” came that night as I took care of him and nursed him, memorizing each wrinkle on his face and in awe of each coo that came from his mouth. WE had done it and I was SO PROUD to be his mom.
Das Trio:
