My First

OK , so it has been awhile since I had my first born but I was not blogging then so I thought I would write his story. I have been thinking a lot about my birthing experiences since deciding that I will be a doula for a friends birth. So here is my first experience.

December 10, 2000

I am not due until January 1st but I wake up to what I think might be my water breaking. There was not a lot of water so I was not sure. Then the contractions started being pretty regular but kind of far apart. We call the mid-wife and family so that my sister and mom could get ready to come to our house. I called my parents and told them that my water had broken. They told my dad and he thought we were talking about our water pipes. Non of us were expecting a baby so soon.

So everyone gets there and things are moving along very nicely. I had some food, drank a lot of water, and then went for a walk. That is when things started to get more serious. We were going to walk around the block. About half way around this cute old lady asks Levi if he could tie her shoe for her. She had no idea that I was in labor. So he did and it made us laugh the rest of the was home because it was just so random.

Once in the house I really wanted to get in the water because that is where I planned to have the baby. We had a blow up kid pool with high sides to birth in. The midwife said that we needed to wait a little longer so I go into the shower. That felt pretty good. Once I could not stand up in there any longer they let me get into the pool. That felt wonderful. It really made a big difference.

It was about 1pm when I got in the water. I labored in there until just before 5pm when it was time to push. That was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced. I always thought that I would be more in control and decide when I was going to push but my body just took over and pushed that baby out.

Our BOY!! 7lbs 5 oz. and a very coned shaped head. I got to hold him in the water for a little while and Levi cut the cord. Then they took him out to check him and I got out and into the bed. He was not breathing like they wanted him to so they used some of their oxygen but then they were running out. The only way to describe how he sounded was that he was grunting. So, by the midwifes recomendation they took him to the hospital. My mom went with Levi and the midwife and I stayed at home with my sister. I was so worn out that I did not really realize how scary it was. My dad came down and him and my sister stayed with me through the night.
Levi had called and said that he was just fine but they wanted to keep him for a little longer.


Early the next morning we all went to the hospital and I cried when I saw him. They had hooked him up to an IV in his head for antibiotics " just to be safe" and that is why they wanted to keep him to finish the antibiotics. All of his tests came back good and he was eating good but it was hard to really feed him because he was in the ICU and we did not have a room. So he stayed one more night and then we decided to take him home. It was against the doctors orders but only because they wanted to finish the antibiotics.


So, finally we were home. Just the three of us and I was so happy. Our boy did really good. At all of his check-ups he was really thriving. He ate well, and slept good. It was not exactly how I had imagined it but I also did not think I would have my first baby three weeks early.

We really enjoyed bonding and just all of us being together. He was not the easiest baby but we were also just learning how to do this whole new thing. He put up with a lot of trial and error on our part. He is a real trouper.