Babies! Babies! Babies!

Birth of Noah at Central Texas Birth Center

Our sweet April (the afternoon receptionist) gave birth to her son, Noah Clary, on August 15th.  Noah’s birth was the third in three days at the birth center!  April did a beautiful job.  What a strong, patient mama!  We look forward to having her back, with Noah in tow, later in the Fall.

April’s Birth Story, in her own words:
It was Sunday august 14. I had just gotten up from my second nap that day. It had been a long night the night before with yet another round of false labor. I had even decided to go the birth center for this one! I felt so defeated coming home Sunday morning. I was never going to have this baby. My due date was August 18 but like most I was just over it. So back to Sunday evening. What woke me up was my mom calling to see if I wanted anything from Pappasitos. So I decided to order some fish and rice. She asked me if it was raining here and I annoyingly said no. What was she talking about? It hadn’t rained nearly all of our hottest summer in Texas history. I hung up and stared out the window in my room for a bit trying to wake up. And then…it started to rain! Actually it poured. Crazy! So my mom wasn’t going to be back for a while and I was starving so I decided to eat half a tuna sandwich and some fruit while I waited. By the time she got home, I felt a bit off and couldn’t eat my dinner. I was nauseous and felt uncomfortable. I thought to myself, “Great. Food poising. Who left the tuna out and put it back in the fridge?” I finally felt like eating a couple of hours later. Mom surprised me with chocolate cake and ice cream as well so I had to have that of course! Contractions started up shortly after. Those crampy but pretty much painless ones. They were every 5 min but that had been the case for weeks. So I took a warm bath and by1:00am was asleep. At 2:00am I woke up with what was the start of real labor contractions. Finally! I timed and worked through them making sure it was the real thing. They were getting stronger and I ended up using a rolling pin on my back to get through each one. Finally I decided to call my midwife Heather at about 3am. She heard the sound in my voice and said “sounds like you’re in labor!” She said she’d shower and meet me at the birth center in about 40. I was really uncomfortable so I decided to go to the birth center to wait on her there. (It’s very convenient to work at a birth center and be able to hold a key for anytime access!) I woke up my mom and she drove me over there. From the time I arrived at the birth center until I gave birth, things got a bit blurry so I will try my best to recall the details. There was a time where I could no longer wear clothes and moved around naked, a time I threw up(I really regretted eating all that fish), and a time I was singing a Real Housewives of New Jersey song in the birth pool. I was just so focused on what my body was doing and reacting to what it needed. I definitely needed to get out of my dress that I decided to wear there. I thought it would be comfortable but I felt so constricted. I changed into a light night gown and tried walking up and down the hall way to sitting on the birth ball to just swaying with each contraction. Nothing seemed to help more than just closing my eyes and letting it happen. Back labor is certainly a challenge! Heather, my savior midwife, arrived soon after I got there. My friend Amy arrived shortly after Heather. She checked my vitals. She asked if I wanted to be checked as far as dilation. I had been asking her to check me every week for a few weeks and pretty much every day the past week. Yeah, I was totally excited and anxious to go into labor. But this time, I didn’t want anyone touching me for any reason really so I declined. I think that’s when she knew I was for sure in labor. Contractions kept coming on stronger and more frequently. It was suggested that I get in the shower so I did, for a pretty long time it seemed. The hot water hitting my back felt so good during contractions. At this point I wanted to be alone. I felt claustrophobic with people around so I kicked Amy out. She had great patience with me! Sabrina came in at some point which was a great relief. I totally felt like crawling out of my skin now and didn’t know what to do to help myself get through all of this. Her and Heather filled up the birth pool for me and I immediately got in. It was so big I felt like I was in my own little world. Sabrina sat in front of me and held my hands through it all. I was exhausted and a bit whiney about wanting it to be over. Amy got in the pool to help support me and to apply pressure to my back. Heather checked me finally and I was dilated to 7cm now. I was so happy to hear that. Things seemed to be moving along quickly but I had no idea how long it had actually been. But I soon felt pushy. I was never checked again. I was simply told to listen to my body and to respond accordingly. I liked this pushy part. Contractions became less and less painful. I suddenly only felt the urge to poop and gave fair warning to Amy that I was going to do so on her. It’s great to have a friend who doesn’t mind this in such a moment. While pushing, I continually felt to see where the baby’s head was. Once I reached down I felt that my bag of waters had emerged. I thought it had broken a bit earlier in the pool so this totally freaked me out. I demanded that someone tell me what the hell it was which Heather did. I then asked Sabrina to take a picture. Noahs head soon came and when it did, I tried focusing on not rushing this part. I felt the “ring of fire” but it wasn’t painful like I had imagined. I again asked for a picture to be take once his head was out. Pushing after this was hard. I was totally exhausted and I needed a break. Sabrina brought this awesome contraption to help with exactly this. It’s hard to explain but I held onto one end and she held onto the other and I pulled and pushed with all my strength. Heather suddenly told me to stand up and to do it now. All of sudden I was standing, thank God for Amy, and continued to do my pushing this way. I never felt that relief of Noah’s little body slipping out once his head and shoulders were out. Maybe it was because he wasn’t so little! Inch by inch he came and Heather caught him beautifully. After helping him with his first little breath I sat back down in the pool and was handed my beautiful baby boy. I didn’t cry, I don’t even think I smiled much(that came shortly after of course). I was just in total shock as to what had just happened. I mean I knew I had a baby inside my belly for almost 10 months but now he was in my arms. A real baby! A healthy and beautiful baby with a great set of lungs I must say. We moved to the bed after having our beautiful moment together and began to do all that lovely after birth stuff. I birthed my placenta shortly after. Cord clamping was delayed until pulsing was complete. I cut the umbilical cord which I never thought about doing but was glad I got to. Sabrina made me a placenta smoothy as requested (I know…sounds horrible but it was really good. And good for me!) I had a small tear too small to stitch and some more than slight bleeding but I was ok. Noah and I began our breastfeeding relationship which went well. My mom and sister had come in by this point and we all shared the joy of this new life. I had everyone there that I wanted there. It was perfect. Noah weighed 8lbs 14 oz and was 20in long. What a surprise it was for little ol’ me to have such a big baby! I never thought for a second that I couldn’t do it, even when I whined with doubt. All I needed was assurance and encouragement and that’s exactly what I got. I’m totally and completely happy with my birth. I wouldn’t change a single thing. I labored in a place where I could walk freely and demand space and darkness as needed. I was gently given herbs during and after, had cool towels applied to my face, massages to get me through contractions and all the lovely words one needs to get through the hardest work you’ll ever experience in your life. I could be completely vulnerable, which I was, and not get taken advantage of. I didnt have the temptation of close by pain killing drugs or anyone telling me to give in to interventions. What I did have was three amazing women simply telling me I could do it. And that I was doing it, beautifully and with grace. A great friend held my hand for hours, another literally held me up when I couldn’t do it myself, and another caught the love my life and gave him his firth breath. I like to refer to them as my birth goddesses. The energy surrounding my birth is something that cannot be described. As I lay here with almost two week old Noah asleep on my chest, I cry with joy on how he got to be here in my arms. I’ll never forget the day he came or the hours spent getting him earth side.