Colden's Birth Story

The Family

Colden Jack McQuilton arrived late in the afternoon on September 22, 2011 at our home in Germany, in the water. We have spent a lot of time in the past 24-hours snuggling the heck out of our new little guy. We adore him!

Big Sisters with Little Brother

 I know many of you are anxious to hear his birth story. Since we did not video tape his birth as we did Lila's birth, I thought it best that I write it all down before I forget.

My Children with Karin (Midwife)

 Tuesday, September 21-22 - Early Labor

On Tuesday afternoon, Karin came for an acupuncture session.  She had started doing acupuncture two weeks prior.  It is believed that the acupuncture gets the energy flowing for birth, unblocking anything that may hinder a smooth labor and delivery. She added in pinky toe acupuncture to help soften the pelvic floor and dilate my cervix.

Earlier in the day I had noticed that the mild braxton hicks I had been getting for quite some time were changing. They were different - a bit more intense but not deep.  I knew things were changing - but, I knew that things could change for days or even a couple of weeks. At dinner time, several hours after acupuncture, I noticed some discharge that often comes shortly before the onset of labor. Usually less than a week before.  I updated Karin and went to bed.  Throughout the night, I had several mild contractions and lots more discharge.

I updated Karin again in the morning.  She came that afternoon to check me. I was 3+cm dilated. She thought I would have the baby that night and had Matt and I send the girls off to stay with friends.  She got the birthing pool set up in our bedroom and went home, asking us to call her when contractions got close together.  I went to bed that night and while I was woken up with mild contractions every 20-30 minutes, nothing eventful happened.

Stats/Health Check

 Thursday, September 22 - Active Labor - Delivery

Stats

I again updated Karin in the morning.  She came right away to check me.  Since I had had contractions during the night and because I was 3cm dilated the day before, she had to see if I had dilated further before she let Matt go to work.  While she checked me and used a fetal monitor to check on the baby and measure my contractions (She did this for 20-minutes, printed it out and explained that the baby was tolerating all the contractions well), Matt dropped the girls off at school.  When he arrived back home, she told him that he could not go to work as I was 6cm dilated and in active labor - even though I didn't feel much of anything - except tired and tad bit uncomfortable.  She drove off to check on a patient and came back an hour later.  She brought all her supplies into the house and asked Matt to bring the kids to a friend's house when they got home from school - the baby was sure to come at any moment.  Matt and I were both in denial.  I could understand, to some degree, that I was in active labor.  However, I worked so hard in both previous labors to get to 6cm dilated that I could not understand what was going on - but, was relieved that I hadn't had to work very hard to get to 6cm. By this point,  I was no longer having any contractions.  I did not comprehend how she could be setting up her things and felt bad when she said she could not leave the house until the baby was born.  What was she going to do about my stalled contractions?

Nina and Her Husband - Took the Girls to the Movies During My Labor

Soon, she had me walking up and down the stairs (While Matt brought the girls back to our friends' house).  For a while, that did nothing and I became frustrated, hot and very tired.  Then, she had me take some homeopathic remedies and rubbed an oil on my stomach.  She also let me rest. Then, she had me sit on a ball and rotate my hips - this would cause the baby's head to hit near the cervix and cause a contraction.  The contractions weren't too bad and after several, she checked me.  I was still a six but she could easily stretch me to an eight.  She then had Matt fill the birthing tub - I silently laughed to myself. I just couldn't imagine I could be delivering any time soon without consistent, strong contractions. I was mistaken!  She had me get in the tub, left Matt and I alone for a while to do some nipple stimulation (hey, it helps build up natural oxytocin to help bring on contractions - not what I wanted to be doing, but it worked) and soon, contractions started up strong - and closer together - but, still fairly bearable. After five or six contractions, she checked me again.  I was 10cm!!  I started to rotate between getting in and out of the tub.  Sometimes I would walk around our darkened bedroom, other times, get in the tub.  At some point, I decided to stay in the tub and after about a half hour of feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere, I felt a slight urge to push.  The next contraction brought on another small urge and subsequent contractions brought on huge urges - undeniable ones.  The kind that get you channeling your inner animal!  At some point I started to cry tears of joy. I was finally going to meet this little guy! After a handful of fast pushes, Colden arrived!  He was completely encased in his amniotic sac (You may have noticed that my water hadn't broke)!  A true rarity! Total active labor time (read, painful part) was three hours long! Not too bad. Actually, I was even a bit underwhelmed by the pain this time.  I kept wondering when the real pain was going to hit.  Only once, when I started to feel the "ring of fire" as his head came out, did I say I couldn't do it.  Matt quickly reminded me that I was doing it!

Colden stayed on my chest for most of the next hour!  At one point, Karin very gently sucked some mucus from his mouth and nose - with a small tube that she sucked on.  She does not believe in the aggressive suctioning that we typically see immediately after birth.  For close to a half hour we let the cord pulsate, giving him, what studies show to be, up to six months worth of iron reserves (and more - see video series here on delayed cord clamping)!  Amazing. We also let him kind of crawl his way to the breast and eventually latch on for his first feeding.  He's a good little nurser - just wish he'd open his mouth wider!!

After we clamped the cord, and fed him, he finally had his stats taken.  He weighed in at 6lbs 13oz and 19-inches long.  Nearly a full pound smaller than each of his sisters.  Some of his stats and health assessment were done right on Matt during a skin-to-skin session.  Karin has taught me that there is no need to take baby away from his mother and father to do stats and that it does not need to be done right away after birth - as in custom in American hospitals (both my girls were taken away for stats almost right away).

Seconds Old - I'm still being held up by a squat device

Because water really helps soften the skin/tissue, I only had one small abrasion and did not need any stitching up! Yay!!

After I had showered and was spending some time skin-to-skin with Colden, she brought over the placenta.  She showed me that he came right on time because his placenta was calcifying. He was 8-10 days early.  She explained that if I had went back for that follow-up on my "low-end-of-normal" amniotic fluid finding and continued to have that checked, the OB would have eventually found these calcifications and would have asked to induce me right at 40-weeks (In her opinion, not necessarily necessary). Colden would have came before then anyway, but, I would have been, once again, stressed out.

She also explained, after all was said and done, that in a hospital setting,  had I gotten to the hospital on Wednesday at 3cm dilated and stayed there, a labor that progressed as slowly as mine (it took 24 hours to go from 3cm to 6cm) would have been augmented by medicine at a hospital - or, at the very least, I would have been pressured to do that.  She said OBs (and hospital staff) will often explain that the body just "isn't doing it on it's own" - even though it can and will (sometimes with a little help from a very well-trained midwife like mine).  I am, therefore, grateful I walked away from the OB nearly three months ago and put my trust in my midwife!  Trusting the body's ability to know when it's time to deliver can be hard in today's society - I was certainly tested during this pregnancy!

A couple hours after Colden was born, the girls came back from our friend's house, met their little brother, showered him with kisses and went promptly to bed.  

Karin comes by the house for up to two visits a day for up to ten days. Now, that's service right there! She checks on the baby and I both.  So, right now, there is no need to go the pediatrician for any check-ups.  That will come next week or the week after.  Whenever we decide to leave the house.

As trusting in midwifery care, home birth and water birth can be difficult these days, I have to give great thanks to my husband who stood by my decisions to have the birth I wanted-a birth that was an empowering journey. I could not have did it with out him.

Now, I'm off to nurse our brand new, perfect baby boy!  I only wish he would stay this little!