Also, here is the birth story by our Doula, Stephanie Scott. She was great to have at our side, and we were surprised to get this a bit later after the birth. Of course I'm a bit emotional about the whole thing, but I think its a great story and told well.
Here it is:
The Calmest Birth I’ve Ever Seen – Oliver Matisse’s Story
Oliver Matisse is the first baby I’ve seen born who made more of a fuss than his mama.
Stephanie is a yoga instructor – in fact she just completed her certification in prenatal
yoga! She was blessed with a quick birth, and she really made it look easy. I’m including
the precise times in this birth story because I’m still amazed at how fast this first baby
was born and how gently his parents welcomed him to the world.
Stephanie’s husband Ben called around 4:30 am to say that Stephanie’s water had broken
around an hour ago, and her labor was progressing quickly. She’d had Braxton-Hicks
contractions pretty regularly for the past week, but this was much different. Stephanie
and Ben were doing great for the moment, but they wanted me to know they might need
me soon.
Ben called back a couple of hours later with an update – contractions were already 3-5
minutes apart! He had called the doctor when the contractions were 7 minutes apart and
the doctor said they could come on into the hospital, but Stephanie and Ben decided to
wait. Stephanie’s ideal labor would be to show up at the hospital ready to push, so they
wanted to labor at home as long as possible. I stayed on the phone through a couple of
contractions and could hear Stephanie doing her deep yoga breathing in the bathtub. She
sounded great – her breathing was deep and regular, and she was talking easily between
contractions.
I offered to come over – Ben said he’d check with Stephanie and get back to me. A
couple of minutes later, at 6:20, he texted to say they were ready for me. Then he texted
again in another half hour, just as I was leaving – contractions were regular and 4 minutes
apart, lasting about a minute. I arrived at their house at 7:10, said hello, and stood by
for a contraction or two. Stephanie’s contractions were obviously very strong and close
together, and she was trembling and breathing deeply as she leaned against the bathroom
sink. I tried the double-hip squeeze, but she didn’t like it – she was doing great on her
own. I was only there a few minutes before I followed them out the door – we were
already headed to the hospital!
Stephanie was so strong and in control. Instead of parking at the door, we parked in the
regular hospital parking lot, and she held Ben’s hand or walked slowly with his arms
around her from the car to the hospital. A couple of people offered her a wheelchair, but
she refused; she just kept walking slowly and steadily, pausing every couple of minutes
to lean on Ben during a contraction. We got to the hospital around 8:00 am. As we got
settled in the room, she just continued her calm yoga breathing and then spoke fairly
normally between contractions. She did not seem like a woman in transition – so I was
amazed to hear the nurse, Katie, say she was fully dilated. Stephanie had achieved her
goal of laboring at home as long as possible!
Stephanie stayed focused throughout all the questions, the heplock, and the admission
process. Ben was right by her face, quietly helping her focus her breathing and reminding
her how great she was doing. I tried some low back massage and counterpressure, but
Stephanie didn’t like it. Eventually I found a long, flowing rhythm that she enjoyed on
her shoulders and legs that seemed to help ease her trembling and felt relaxing during
contractions.
Although Stephanie was fully dilated, she didn’t feel a strong urge to push yet. At
8:40 am Dr. Eng did a cervical check and found that the baby was still pretty high, at 0
station. So Dr. Eng suggested that Stephanie labor down for a while – in other words,
try to breathe through the contractions without spending extra energy pushing. This way
Stephanie could rest for as long as possible and not have to push as long. Stephanie tried
a lot of different positions – she used the squat bar, leaned onto the birth ball on the bed
in hands and knees, sidelying, and even lying on her back – she was so far in laborland
that she appeared deeply asleep between contractions with that one.
Ben didn’t leave Stephanie’s side except to get her water. He even sat on the bed behind
Stephanie so that she could lean back onto his chest while he wrapped his arms around
her. He was a wonderful support person. He kept humming “You Are My Sunshine”
under his breath and whispering to Stephanie – each time it seemed to help her get more
focused and relaxed. With the lights turned low and the two of them snuggling on the
bed, the feeling in the room was of quiet tenderness and serenity – it was lovely.
Around 9:00 am Stephanie was feeling cold, so she got under some warm blankets and
I stepped out to microwave a couple of hot packs. Stephanie practiced a few different
methods of pushing: with and without a count, upright and lying down. At 9:37 Katie
did a cervical check and found that the baby had moved down lower to +1 or +2 station.
By 10:00 am, Stephanie was looking at the top of her baby’s head in the mirror as she
pushed. She eased him out at 10:23 am, and Dr. Eng placed him, squalling, right onto
Stephanie’s stomach. I could not believe such a fast birth could be so serene!
The nurse stamped Oliver Matisse’s feet on his birth certificate and into his baby book
while Stephanie held him on her belly and delivered the placenta. It only took a few
minutes for Stephanie to get Oliver Matisse latched on and nursing. She tried a couple of
different positions that he didn’t like at first – and he made his disapproval known with
some feisty noises of protest. But once he was latched, he sounded like he was purring!
Once the placenta was born, Ben did some placenta prints – he stamped the placenta onto
a sheet of paper, getting an image that resembles a tree.
Ben is a biologist and artist whose artwork uses the same method as that of placenta
prints – but with entire animals! Check out his beautiful work at his website,
inkedanimal.com.
Stephanie and Ben, you guys really made my job easy. I’ll always remember this as one
of the sweetest, gentlest, and most creative births I’ve attended. Much love and congrats
to you both, and to future artist Oliver Matisse!
Stephanie Scott
www.GetBabied.com
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