Alden came into this world like thousands of babies do every day, but delivering him was a unique experience for me. Here’s how I remember Alden’s birth day.
When I was 35 weeks pregnant and literally minutes after finishing my last project at work, I came down with a fever. The fever continued, and I generally felt on the verge of getting the flu for a week. At my 36 week OB appointment, the doctor told me to rest the next day in an effort to reduce swelling and beat the low grade fever.
I woke with mild contractions very early the next day – Thursday, March 24. I got in the bath and the contractions subsided as I relaxed listening to music. They started back up as soon as I got out of bed in the morning. I asked Todd, my husband, to stay home for the day with me. By 9 a.m., I felt pretty sure that I was in early labor with contractions coming 8 to 10 minutes apart and getting stronger. I called my doula, Teresa Howard, just to put her on notice. Through the day, Todd and I walked, watched TV, went to lunch and tried to relax. Contractions started and stopped, but never got regular and I felt like I could handle them. I also felt that at any moment the labor would stop.
That night, Todd had a meeting out of the house at 7:30. All day he offered to reschedule, but I thought that if he rescheduled labor would stop. So, I had a glass of wine for dinner and put our older son, A.G., to bed. Within seconds of saying “night, night” and leaving his room, strong contractions started coming every three minutes. I got into the tub and started listening to a hypnobirthing album. I felt very relaxed and in control, but the contractions were getting stronger and longer.
Todd called at 7:45 to say he was on his way home. I told him I was contracting every three minutes, but was happy in the tub and didn’t want to call the doctor. Todd replied that I was crazy and must call the doctor. When we hung up, Todd called his mom and told her to head to our house. Five minutes later, Todd was home and I decided to call the doctor, who – of course – told me to go to the hospital. I called Teresa to tell her we were headed in.
The 25 minute drive to the hospital was long, exhausting and bumpy, but I enjoyed the time with my husband singing along to “Good Life” by One Republic. Encouraging myself through each contraction, saying, “One more down” and “Good job momma, you did it!” By the time we got to Emory Midtown University Hospital, I was so in my own head that the sudden realization that I would now have to deal with other people hit me pretty hard and I became a world class bitch. I yelled at the man smoking in front of the ER door, “Stop F***ING Smoking!” (Seriously dude, who smokes in front of a hospital ER?!) When I got to the labor and delivery room my tirade continued. I will spare you the exact details, but I felt embarrassed of my behavior. So, following the birth, I apologized to my nurse.
Around 9 p.m., shortly after arriving in the L&D room, I stripped off my bottoms and begrudgingly allowed the nurse to monitor Alden for a few minutes. She then checked me and reported I was only a fingertip dilated. Then I begged to go to the bathroom and planned to stay sitting on the toilet as long as they would let me. During this time, Todd and Teresa arrived. And I had to get back on the monitors due to some high heart rates recorded during the first monitoring. Within minutes, my water broke.
I labored the rest of the time in bed. For the majority of the labor I was on my knees with my body draped over the top of the bed, which was inclined. Todd and Teresa rubbed my back and encouraged me through the next few hours of incredibly intense contractions, which were coming every two to three minutes.
Apparently the intense contractions were doing the trick, because when Dr. Tate arrived around 11 p.m. and checked me, he announced that I was 7 cm dilated. I immediately asked for a paracervical block, which instantly provided relief. I spent the next half hour talking and joking with Todd, Teresa, Dr. Tate, the resident and a medical student.
Around midnight, I started feeling some pressure during contractions and then even between contractions. Dr. Tate checked me at 12:10 and I was complete and ready to push. Teresa gave me a crash course on pushing, the mirror appeared, and all of the sudden I was pushing with each contraction. After pushing through the first contraction, I felt Alden’s head. I will always remember the first time I touched Alden and how soft and squishy his head felt. With the next contraction, I could see his head. And the very next contraction, someone said to me that I was about to feel the ring of fire, but I never did. Dr. Tate told me to pant. Before I could say “what?” and after only 14 minutes of pushing, Baby Alden was born at 12:24 a.m. on March 25, 2011.
Dr. Tate placed Alden on my bare belly and Todd cut the cord. I held Alden against my skin through his first nursing and he remained there for his first hour of life, looking peaceful and content and of course, perfect. When he was finally checked out, he was 7 lbs 3 oz, 20 ¾ inches at 36 weeks and 6 days gestation.
It was a beautiful and fulfilling experience for me. I gave birth to my older son by c-section, and I can’t even begin to describe the difference between that experience and this one. But I think the biggest difference could be described as medical birth versus natural birth. Alden’s birth felt right and brought me closer to Todd, Alden and even A.G. I get it now – The creation of life, the pushing of a new being into the world is pure spiritual magic. My new favorite song says it best:
When you’re happy like a fool, let it take you over
When everything is out, you gotta take it in
Oh, this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
(excerpted from “Good Life” by One Republic)
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