Logan D.
June 10, 2008
8 lbs. 4 oz.
20 inches
Monday, June 9th, 2008
8:00 a.m. Lacie’s bag of water breaks!
11:14 a.m. Lacie calls her doula, Kelly, to tell her that she’s pretty sure her bag of water has broken.
12:00 p.m. Kelly calls to check in with Lacie as she leaves Beloit; Shawn picks up the phone and says that Lacie is on the phone with the Midwife, Rose.
12:45 p.m. Lacie and Kelly speak again by phone. At noon, contractions were between 3-8 minutes apart. The Midwife told Lacie that as soon as the contractions become regular, she should go in to the hospital for her IV dose of antibiotics. At the latest, they’d like to see her by 4:00 p.m., and will try to “hold off” on augmenting labor with Pitocin until 10:00 p.m. Lacie’s contractions have now stopped.
1:45 p.m. Kelly arrives at Shawn and Lacie’s house. Shawn has just arrived home from the store- having just bought more fresh pineapple. Ethan is excitedly running around while eating bits of his lunch.
2:45 p.m. Kelly suggests that Shawn and Lacie try some manual nipple stimulation to naturally bring the contractions back.
3:30 p.m. Lacie reports that her contractions have intensified and have become more regular. Lacie, Shawn and Kelly gather bags and organize for the trips for Ethan’s drop-off, then the hospital.
4:30 p.m. Lacie and Shawn drop Ethan off at their friend’s house.
4:55 p.m. Lacie and Shawn arrive at Alexian Brothers Medical Center, with Kelly following. Lacie walks through the parking garage and into the hospital like a woman with a mission!
5:02 p.m. Nurse Haley guides Lacie and Shawn into Room 1- the room with the tub! Lacie thrilled with this room assignment.
5:12 p.m. Midwife Rose arrives and introduces herself.
6:05 p.m. After paperwork is signed and IV is started, Rose arrives to perform the first check on Lacie. 3 centimeters dilated, 50% effaced and at -3 station. Way to go, Lacie!
Rose recommends nipple stimulation to get labor moving along more consistently, and Shawn and Lacie are given privacy.
6:50 p.m. Lacie rocks on the birth ball while Shawn sits behind her for support. (Lacie’s own mix of music plays in the background) This position works incredibly well for a while.
7:30 p.m. Shift Change! Nurse Stevie comes on for the night shift.
8:15 p.m. Nurse Stevie and Midwife Rose suggest Lacie walk the halls for a while. Lacie and Shawn do a long lap, but Lacie- and baby- do NOT like this! Contractions slow.
8:50 p.m.-
9:30 p.m. Lacie, now sitting in recliner- has been relaxing, taking deep, cleansing breaths for some time. Shawn pulls up a chair next to the recliner, and turns on the T.V. Lacie adamantly states that this is not the time for Shawn to watch sports. He pauses on CSI Miami and turns to Lacie, who agrees that this is fine. Aah, laboring to crime scene investigations!
Shawn and Kelly massage Lacie’s arms and legs. Lacie is having regular, fairly strong contractions again, but is able to rest for a few minutes with eyes closed in between each.
9:40 p.m. Lacie says she is really tired. Shawn continues to stroke Lacie’s arm gently as Kelly covers her with a light sheet and raises her feet onto a padded footstool.
9:50 p.m. Lacie’s contractions are now consistently 5 minutes apart, and are quite intense.
10:10 p.m. Midwife Rose checks Lacie’s progression; Lacie is now 5 centimeters dilated, 80 % effaced and at -2 station.
10:30 p.m. Lacie returns to the birth ball, while leaning on the bed. Shawn sits behind her and strokes her back rhythmically. Shawn uses “nukkles” on Lacie’s back softly for a while. Soon, she requests he use only his hands again.
Lacie continues to relax on the birth ball- leaning both back onto Shawn at times, and forward onto the bed and resting- for over an hour.
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
12:18 a.m.-
12:55 a.m. Music continues to play in the background. Lacie gets restless and says she needs to change positions. She stands up between contractions, and Kelly suggests she drape over Shawn’s shoulders and do a “slow dance” motion.
This slows contractions. Lacie moves quickly to sit on the edge of the bed and leans over Shawn, who kneels on the floor. This position works better, but Lacie REALLY wants to get into the tub if she can.
1:00 a.m. Midwife Rose comes to check Lacie before entering the tub. Progress: 6 centimeters dilated, 90 % effaced and -1 station. Lacie’s reaction, which is priceless: “Already? Cool…” (This is not something often heard from women in active labor!)
The tub seems to take an eternity to fill. Lacie’s anticipation- and tension- rise. Kelly gently strokes the tight muscles of her brow and tight shoulders during contractions to encourage these areas to relax. Lacie breathes through her contractions beautifully.
1:38 a.m. Lacie and Shawn enter the tub. “God, that feels awesome…” Lacie says, as she slides in opposite Shawn. Shawn massages Lacie’s legs and feet. Kelly puts a cold damp cloth on Lacie’s forehead.
Almost immediately, Lacie is rocked by an intense contraction and cannot get comfortable. She cries out with the intensity, and Kelly works with her to lower her cry, to moan deeply. This helps to control the intensity for the remainder of the contraction.
Lacie lowers herself to the lowest level of the tub so that her belly can be submerged under the water. With the next contraction, she shakily begins to moan, then blurts out “STOP TOUCH!”
1:58 a.m. Lacie has gotten very uncomfortable in the tub, and has stated a few times that she “wants to be done” and is “too tired” to continue. She gets out of the tub quickly with the help of Shawn, Kelly and a nurse relieving Stevie who is on a break.
2:15 a.m.-
2:45 a.m. Lacie is very shaky- though HOT from the steamy tub- and is not comfortable with any positions for laboring (all typical of the “transition” stage). There are spells of crying and not wanting to continue… but this passes.
2:45 a.m. Lacie drapes her upper body over Kelly’s for a few contractions, while Kelly tells her that this WILL pass and she WILL do it. Lacie has come so far!
Position change: Lacie sits on the birth ball again, rocking side-to-side, while Shawn rubs her back.
3:00 a.m. Lacie wants to try another position. She tries a side-lying position, which helps Nurse Stevie to get good EFM and Doppler readings. However, although this is a nice position for Lacie to rest in, it is a poor position for having contractions. As soon as Stevie has a good reading completed, Lacie sits up and goes to the bathroom.
3:11 a.m. “I’m feeling pushy!” Lacie says from the bathroom…. Nurse Stevie pages the Midwife, Rose to come to the room right away.
3:15 a.m. Lacie asks to be checked; she is now 10 centimeters dilated, 100 % effaced and at 0 station! “Can I push?” Lacie asks Rose, who replies, “whenever you are ready and feel that urge…” Lacie gets up to change positions, everyone watches as her intuition guides her.
Lacie complains of back pressure and pain. She leans over the birth ball balanced on the chair and sways back and forth, with Kelly’s hands guiding her hips. Kelly gently does a double hip squeeze to alleviate the pressure- which feels good to Lacie. Shawn gently strokes Lacie’s arms in a downward motion and tells her how great she is doing.
Lacie quickly shifts to a squatting position and makes grunty, pushy noises. Rose gets low to the floor with a special lamp and looks to see signs of the baby…
3:30 a.m. Lacie announces- as she moves quickly in the direction of the bathroom (pausing for a contraction)- that she needs to go to the bathroom. Rose and Kelly validate from the doorway that the toilet is a great position for the pushing stage, while Nurse Stevie enters to check the baby’s vitals.
Lacie starts to cry out loudly, but Shawn helps her to focus by mimicking her, then moaning deeply, encouraging Lacie to do the same. Lacie soon is moaning lowly through contractions with Shawn, and breathing a few deep breaths in between.
3:36 a.m. Lacie moves off the toilet and wants to rest her tired legs on the bed. Rose suggests the squat bar, and lowers the bottom of the bed. Lacie inches down towards the bottom edge of the raised section, grabs on to the squat bar, and heaves herself up- like a pro! She pushes thoroughly through a few contractions, then rests her bottom on the edge of the bed again.
3:42 a.m. Lacie adjusts herself into a supported semi-squat, with Shawn and Kelly on each side of her while she holds her knees and pushes. Lacie reminds Rose that Shawn wants to catch!
3:45 a.m. Rose directs Shawn to grab a pair of gloves-quickly- and come to her right side, as Kelly encourages Lacie to reach down and touch her baby’s head.
3:47 a.m. Happy Birthday, Logan! Great catching, dad!!
(Musical accompaniment at moment of birth: RENT Soundtrack)
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