Madelyn Paige is nearly 3 months old, but it's better late than never to share her birth story, right? Most of you are aware that I had an epidural with our son, William, and suffered from a spinal headache shortly after delivery. With Madelyn's pregnancy I was determined to have a natural childbirth and, with the help of my husband and wonderful doula, I am thrilled to tell you that my goal was achieved!
On January 2nd at 4:30 am, my water broke...or so I thought. My amniotic sac didn't completely tear, so regular contractions never began. After trying to stimulate labor for 12 hours, we headed to the hospital and opted to have our midwife induce labor. After my sac had been ruptured and pitocin started, the contractions started to pick up. I'm not a fan of unnecessary intervention, but since I had my "water" partially broken for more than 12 hours, induction was necessary.
As of midnight I was only measuring 5 cm and thought that I had tried everything. In an effort to avoid an epidural, we tried a shot of nubain. IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM! From about 12:30 to 1:00 I dilated to 10 cm and was able to push Madelyn out in less than 10 minutes.
I can honestly say that if I hadn't prayed, planned, and prepared since day one, a natural birth would not have been possible. My doula, Chris, had such an impact on my birth experience that I am considering becoming one myself (but that's another story for another day).
I hope you enjoy these pictures from Madelyn's birth:
Surrounded by love:
Still able to text!
God bless our doula for showing Sean the moves!
Comforted by Sean and my doula, Chris:
Welcome, Miss Madelyn!
Jaunary 3, 2010
1:19 am
6 pounds 10 ounces
19 3/4 inches long
Great birth story! I didn't realize that our babes were so close in age. Isaac was born on December 15.
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