Julie attended CFYC prenatal classes as well as our prenatal teacher training so we feel like we watched baby Tedy grow into the world! Julie's first child was born prematurely and had to be in the neonatal intensive care unit immediately after delivery, so instantly bonding with this baby was important to her. Her story is a great example of how yoga helps you to be very in tune with your body, even when you are experiencing discomfort. We think she and baby Tedy are amazing! Here is her story:
On Saturday, October 21, 2012, I was three days from the due
date of my second child. I awoke after a good night’s rest (minus the bathroom
breaks) to a breakfast already made by my husband and a hot cup of coffee
waiting for me (yes I had one cup of caffeine). After a lazy meal with my
husband and eldest son, the two of them went to run errands while I relaxed
reading a new book: Natural Hospital Birth. This was my third book on
delivering without medical interventions in a hospital setting. It was a little
late to be picking up another book on the subject but I was also prepared to go
a couple weeks past my estimated due date if that is what my baby needed. I
didn’t want any stripping of membranes or otherwise invasive inductions.
After a couple chapters in, I contemplated a nap but I also
knew this could be one of my last opportunities to go on a walk with just me,
myself and I. Being the fit enthusiast that I am, I decided on the walk. It was
a beautiful fall afternoon with the warmth of summer still in the air. It was
encouraging to feel so good this late in my pregnancy. About a half mile into
my walk, I felt a surge of energy and decided to pick it up to a light jog. I
was noticeably pregnant at this point so it was amusing to me to see the passerby’s
reaction to me running as if pregnancy equates to inactivity. This is something
I enjoyed throughout my pregnancy.
On and off during my jog I would feel a tightening in my
stomach which I assumed to be the Braxton Hicks “practice contractions” that I
felt throughout my third trimester. Just to be careful, I would take it back
down to a walk until the sensation went away. This was similar to a mild menstrual
cramp and I have always been able to work through them with breathing and
distraction. Once I arrived home about three miles later, my boys were home and
they had brought with them some lunch from Moe’s. I sat down to a tofu taco
salad with jalapenos in case there was some truth to spicy foods bringing on
labor. My doctor was on call that day at the hospital and wouldn’t return until
the 29th so if I didn’t want one of the other 7 doctors to deliver
me, I had better try whatever tricks I could find. This also happened to be the
afternoon of the upcoming
Patriots vs Jets game so Dave joked I needed to have the baby either before
kickoff at 4pm or after the game ended
approximately 3 hours later.
At this point it was about one o’clock and my husband was
beginning to notice me taking breaks between bites and asked if everything was okay. I told him yes, somewhat in denial and somewhat not really sure but also
not wanting to alarm him. After lunch I began tidying up which turned into full
on cleaning which later I realized to be “nesting”. As I began to acknowledge the contractions,
Dave called our doula, Nicole, just to give her a heads up on the situation. We
had been here before a couple weeks prior and they dissipated after I changed
my activity. Nicole told me to carry on with my day and she would check in that
evening to see if there were any changes. I continued cleaning but found the
task increasingly more difficult, at one point attempting to sweep the dining
room floor from a sitting position. Only 30 minutes after the first phone call,
Dave called Nicole again to let her know we were in active labor. She advised
me to get in the tub and that she was heading over to our home.
As I made my way to the bath tub, I was feeling a bit
alarmed and anxious. I happened to catch a glimpse of an old photo taken of me
holding our first born as a baby and I was reminded of the beautiful gift I was
about to receive. I immediately felt more confident in delivering my second
child naturally.
The warm bath water instantly felt better but it didn’t stop
the contractions. It simply relaxed my body so that I was able to relax into
each uterine surge. When Nicole arrived about 15 minutes later, she lived in our
neighborhood, I was lying back focusing on a steady breathing practice while
staring at a bottle of Sponge Bob bubble bath, of all things. Nicole encouraged
me to change positions when I felt a contraction and I did this on all fours,
modified child’s pose and modified frog…all learned from a regular yoga
practice that I believe to be an absolute necessity in keeping me healthy both
physically and mentally throughout all 10 months and all stages of labor.
While Dave and Nicole alternated massaging my lower back
during contractions, they also timed them and found they were coming every
couple of minutes and lasting about a minute. The intensity and frequency of my
contractions seemed to increase along with my body temperature and I quickly found the
warm bath water to be overheating so I decided to get out. Nicole suggested a
walk outside which seemed almost absurd physically yet enticing at the same
time. Somehow it had progressed to after 5pm at this point so the day was
cooling off as it began to turn into evening.( I give kudos to my husband here
for being able to walk away with the game already playing on the tv…so far we were
winning.) The fresh air was just what I needed after throwing up my lunch once
I got out of the tub. Nicole told me it was a normal reaction to the change of
hormones in my body. I was hungry again so while we walked, very slowly and
nothing like my afternoon walk, Dave fed me a few spoonfuls of fruit. At about
every other house I was going down into a squat while leaning against Dave as I
breathed through another contraction. A neighbor friend of my son’s was out in
our cul-de-sac keeping a safe distance as he watched to see what was happening.
We also passed a couple guys outside doing yard work that looked concerned but
didn’t say anything except hello. It was kind of amusing however I was
concentrating too hard to laugh. What seemed like only 10 minutes into our
walk, although a bit longer with time distortion, Dave made the executive
decision that we should head to the hospital. Nicole agreed and I’m not sure
that I said anything at all but followed their lead.
We left pretty quickly, accidentally leaving the tub filled
and the Jack Johnson cd still playing in the bathroom. On the 10-15 minute
drive there, Dave called the hospital to announce our arrival and I overheard
him being told to call our doctor’s office first who then instructed us to head
to the hospital. Duh. I attempted to ride along in the front seat but before we
even made it out of our neighborhood, I was crawling to the back and leaning
over Jacks car seat during contractions. The stop and go movement of the car
wasn’t very comforting but it was distracting although I was very ready to get
out as soon as possible. At some point I came up close and personal to one of
my son’s toy figurines and a smile crept on my face in the realization that we
were changing from a family of three to four that evening.
Arriving at the hospital at about 6:30pm, I had to take a
minute in the parking lot during a contraction and another in front of the
hospital doors. For whatever reason, we didn’t enter through the emergency room
so we headed up to the maternity floor via the elevator. Dave was holding it
for another family; somewhat oblivious to the urgency I was feeling. The other mom
asked if I was in labor and she started to insist that they wait for the next
one. I would have preferred this but I was also ready to just yell at everybody
for us to get moving, period.
We finally made it
and they took me to triage to determine if I was in labor. The nurse wanted me
to sign consent form for treatment while I was in the midst of a contraction. I
threw it back on the bed, rudely stating I couldn’t do it at the moment as I
rushed to the bathroom feeling a great urge to urinate. As I pushed on the
toilet, my water broke – gushing out with such force I thought I had just given
birth in the bowl. Nicole instructed Dave to get a nurse and I heard him
yelling out in the hall “um, I need a nurse. My wife’s water just broke”. A
couple nurses rushed in and I had to somehow figure out how to lie back in the
bed to check how far I had dilated. It turned out I was 10cm. Yup, I was in
labor…good thing they have medical degrees. J
I was wheeled to a delivery room because walking would have
taken a lot longer. I got up in the bed as Nicole offered me sips of water
and Dave put on my Hypnobirthing cd. The nurses asked me at least 5 times about
allergies and other untimely questions while poking me with an IV just in case
I needed Pitocin. I told her I wouldn’t. Dave mentioned my birth plan and soon
afterwards the room became a lot quieter. The squat bar was set up for me and I
began to push. Dr. Rollins, my OB, fortunately was still on call for
another 12 hours. She came in and relaxed in a chair beside me, enjoying the
benefits of the birthing cd. She was quite comical and her light mood helped me
to refocus. After about a half hour, she announced she was going to check on
another patient. I began really feeling the urge to push and after about 30
minutes was very much in transition. I had a mirror to see the crowning as the
baby dropped. They then told me I had to stop pushing so they could get the
doctor. What?! Inconceivable. I recall
trying to stop but the pain of holding him there right at the surface hurt and
I instinctively threw my legs together shouting “he’s hurting me!”. Nicole got
right up to my face and reminded me this was my baby coming to meet me and I
was birthing him how I wanted. My breathing practices returned and I somehow
managed to not push. Relax even. They hurried the doctor back not giving her
any time to even put on her booties. I was getting tired and moved from a squat
to a semi reclining position on my side. I kept pushing further back on the bed
so the nurses had to break down the lower half of the bed to allow Dr. Rollins
to get her hands on the baby.
I felt my baby’s head all soft and squishy while in a
modified squat with my knees bent up to my ears as his entire head came sliding
out. I was looking between my legs and saw the double wrap of the umbilical
cord and the struggle for Dr Rollins to remove it. Seeing it was too tight to
move over his head she instructed me to keep pushing him out. A slight panic
for me but all was fine as he was completely delivered a second later and she
was able to unwrap the cord. I heard myself cry out “Give me my baby! Give my
baby boy!” and they did. All wonderfully gooey and beautiful, my baby boy was laid
atop my chest and I held him for the very first time kissing his sweet head of
dark hair. A blanket was put over him and his little head began to bob,
instinctively seeking out my breasts so that he could nurse for the very first
time. It was so amazing. It only took him a minute to latch on without even the
slightest assistance. His eyes were closed even. I was so pleased I had given
birth naturally. It was all so very worth it. 7 pounds 13 ounces and 21 inches
were the magic numbers I will never forget. God is great. He is so good to me.
Oh, and the Patriots won in overtime, 29 to 26.
Tedy, named after retired Patriots
linebacker # 54 Tedy Bruschi.
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