Birth Story

Eric gets home from work just before 6 pm, and Aimee walks in minutes later, shuffling slowly with a slight forward bent and says, "I think this is it, Papa!" . The baby has been right occiput anterior (ROA) for as long as we could tell, and we know she needs to turn clockwise, past the posterior position, rotating the long way around to left occiput anterior (LOA). So we set out to turn her before active labor can begin. We start following a technique, provided by our doula, Abi Lynn, who came to our birthing class. Mom lies on her right side until the baby passes the right hip into posterior position. When the baby is posterior, we are to flip to left side lying--gravity should then assist her into LOA.

After some time lying on her right side, we're not sure of her position. Is she turning? We don't know. And then the back labor begins. We read about the signs of posterior position: constant back pain - check. The right hip which bulged as baby passed it, should now be even with left hip - check. Now for the most prominent sign of posterior position: a slight depression around the belly button or just below it. Holy moly, check! So we go for it and flip to left side lying. At first, there is respite between contractions and Eric goes to pack the bags, returning to apply counterpressure during each surge. Eventually, the back labor is constant and incredibly intense, and Eric has to apply constant counterpressure. For about two hours, we alternate positions: leaning over a ball and the kitchen counter, left side lying, etc. She doesn't seem to want to come around. Finally, our doula suggests left side lying in a tub of warm water. Aimee finds this heavenly. Eric pours warm water over her body when not applying counterpressure. Apparently Hana likes the water, too, for she turns after only about 15 minutes in the tub! We're ready now for the contractions to slow a bit, as our midwife Karla and Abi predicted. We hadn't been timing them during back labor. But now we find they are two to three minutes apart, and a minute in duration. Aimee says from the tub, "Eric, we need to go NOW!" Trying to get the rest of the bags packed while Aimee is surging regularly is almost comical, as is Aimee going down the stairs backwards to the car and kneeling in the front seat of the car facing backwards. She's afraid the baby might turn back (though almost impossible), and it just feels wrong to sit at this point. Aimee feels every bump in the road; who knew Ashland Ave was so rough?

Arriving at the hospital after hours, we go in the wrong entrance, and there's a long hallway between Aimee and the ER check-in desk! She takes a few steps, surges, moans, and shuffles forward again. Finally, they arrive at the desk and check in, and Aimee sits in a wheelchair awaiting someone to take her upstairs. And waits. Finally she gives up decorum and kneels backwards in the wheelchair, leans over the back, and moans away. Still no escort. Abi arrives, and convinces the clerk to let her wheel me up herself. In triage upstairs, Aimee is 9.8 cm!

She's pretty ready to push this baby out, but needs to get antibiotics in and working before getting down to business because she's Strep B positive. After hee-hee hoo-hoo breathing to delay the pushing phase for about an hour, Aimee starts pushing. And something pops out! It's the intact water bag, an apple-sized water balloon suspended there. And no meconium! After the bag is popped by the midwife because it was no longer providing cushioning for the baby, the baby drops from 0 to +2 almost instantly. After about 45 minutes of pushing, using the squat bar, sometimes biting the bar, Aimee gives a huge push and Hana May dives into the world and Eric's arms. Her two arms present along with her head, hands at her face, and the cord is wrapped around her neck. A bit blue and lethargic, it takes about 15 minutes of the nurses stimulating her to get her pink and screaming. Born 7 lbs, 10.7 oz at 1:13 am on January 20, she is just this side of Aquarius. Our little water baby.