Toby's Birth Story

As most of you know, I recently birthed our third child, a boy named Toby.  It was a great delivery.  I chose this pregnancy to be seen by a group of midwives that deliver at a hospital.  Elliott ended up being a natural birth by accident (meaning I had her 20 minutes after I got to the hospital), but comparing Elliott's birth to Callie's birth which involved an epidural/episiotomy...Elliott's birth was heavenly.  I didn't want to experience a Callie birth again, but rather an Elliott birth where I walked through my contractions while waiting for Nate to come home from work.  I knew I could do natural again if i could just move around.  Basically, I didn't want to get to the hospital and be forced to lay on the bed hooked up to machines, and the midwives could provide an environment where I could labor whatever way I wanted to as long as baby was doing okay.  Also, the prenatal care was awesome.  I waited only once for about 30 minutes past my appointment time.  All my other visits I was seen immediately after I arrived, even if I came early.  But enough advertising for midwives. 

For those who want the short version of my labor, here goes: 
7:15pm-labor inducing acupressure over.
8:30 pm-water breaks
9:00pm-arrive at hospital, wait an hour b/f anyone comes to check me to see if I get admitted.
10:00ish pm- 4 cm 80effaced
10:45pm- Hello Toby Harrison Bishop!


But for those who want the details and don't mind some talk of BODILY FLUIDS..here it goes:
Toby came on a Friday, a week AFTER my due date.  Friday was an exciting day because my parents were coming!  I spent the day catching up on some laundry and just keeping up with the daily tasks.  I was excited about evening coming, because I had a labor inducing acupressure massage scheduled and by the time I got home from the massage my parents would be there! 

My massage started at 6:15 pm and at 7:15 pm,  I awoke from my comatose state.  Holy cow.  It was so relaxing.  She worked on acupressure points in my hands and feet and incorporated massage.  I didn't even care if it worked to put me into labor, it was so worth it just to be at peace for an hour.  So I get home around 7:30 pm to find the family in the back yard; my parents had just arrived from Colorado.  The girls were swimming.  Nate wanted to go get snow cones, so we start getting the kids dressed, and we leave the house around 8:30 pm.  We are not even 3 minutes from the house when I smell something yucky.  And this is how the conversation went:


Me: Do you smell that? (I look back at Callie) Did you poop in your pants?
Callie: um, No. (she had been having the runs that smelled like throw up).
Ellie (in her cute, little, cheery voice): my seats all messy (no one pays attention to her)
Me: Gosh that smells bad.  
Ellie (in her cute, little, cheery voice): my seats all messy (no one pays attention to her)
Nate: I smell it.  That's bad. 
Ellie (in her cute, little, cheery voice): my seats all messy (no one pays attention to her)
Me: maybe it's something outside. 
Ellie (in her cute, little, cheery voice): my seats all messy, but it's okay (no one pays attention to her)
Me (i finally decide to look directly behind me at ellie): Oh, it's Elliott, she threw up. 
Ellie (in her cute, little, cheery voice): my seats all messy, but it's okay.  


So we turn around and head back home.  The plan is I will change and clean Elliott up while Nate quickly cleans the car seat and then we'll head back out for snow cones and do a more thorough cleaning later (We really wanted snow cones).  Mom, Dad, and Callie were to stay in the car.  They close at 9, so we were cutting it close.   So I'm dong my part of the plan and near the end of my task when I feel something odd.  I'd been wearing a pad, so nothing was too alarming, but as I sent Elliott back out to Nate, I told him I needed to check something.  So I go to the bathroom and stand over the toilet and my water breaks.  No gush..just continual leak.  Nate comes back in the house, and I tell him, "I don't think we'll be getting snow cones."  He gets my cell phone, and I call the midwife, and she tells me to come to the hospital to get checked out.  Side Note: I had been having some contractions that day, but nothing to make me want to time them...and I had so much false labor with this pregnancy that I was a little jaded to the early signs of labor.  


So, Nate packs up the car and we leave the girls with my parents.  We get to the hospital right at 9 pm.  They were busy in labor and delivery and there were no rooms for me, so they put me back in a c-section delivery prep room to wait for someone to come and check to see if my water really did break.  The labor/delivery rooms have birthing balls and showers with jets and lovely chairs and equipment to help you labor.  This c-section prep room had a bed, standard rolling chair and a toilet.  They were busy, so I waited a long time.   Nate timed my contractions while waiting, and again, I walked through each contraction.  They kept getting closer and stronger and by the time Brenda (my lovely midwife) came in, which was close to 10 pm, I was getting tired of them.  She said, "I just delivered a baby, and they said no one had been able to get to see Melody, so here I am."  She had me lay down on the bed so she could get the test done and check me.  Results confirmed that my water did break, but I was only 4cm and 80% effaced.  I wanted to cry.  She then strapped me to some monitors to quickly check the heart rate of baby.  She had to leave for some reason, but told me to get up if I wanted to.  I did about three contractions on the bed and felt like I was going to throw up.  I had to get up, I could not labor laying down.  Nate unstrapped me and I continued to labor leaned over the bathroom sink swaying.  Next contraction, I had the urge to push.  

Me: Nate, I need to push.
Nate: no, don't push yet. 
Me: but I can't help it.
Nate: don't push yet, Mel.
Me: I need to poop.


So, I did my business and then stood back up leaning over the sink swaying again and then things started happening quickly.  There was now a lot of blood running down my leg.  The whole bathroom was a bloody mess, and the urge to push was getting harder and harder to fight, so I told Nate, "I think you need to go get someone."  He left and met Brenda on her way back.  He said, "she's having a lot of blood."  She said, "oh, well, it sounds like she's ready."  She and a nurse came in and coaxed me to lay down on the bed so she could check me...7cm... a second later..8cm... I said, "with my last, I went from an 8 to 10 in 5 minutes."  Brenda said, "yep, she's going to have a baby soon." So, they started having all these conversations that my brain was sort of letting me comprehend.  I remember saying, "i need to push, is that okay?"  Nurse- "don't push yet." Midwife- "Melody, do whatever your body tells you to do."  Nurse- "are we going to deliver here or do we have time to move her to a labor/delivery room?"  Brenda, "is one open? Okay,  let's go to so and so number room.  If we have to stop and deliver in the hall, we will....Can this nurse get here?  If not, i can do it by myself."


So, I get wheeled to a room and while taking a break from pushing, I crawl over to the delivery bed.  I'm on my hands and knees now, which amazingly took my back pain away, but it also took my urge to push away as well.  I wanted this baby out of me, so Brenda suggested I lay on my side, which I did and the urge came back.  Midwife Brenda crawled up and sat on the bed with me and did her midwife magic.  I don't know how long I pushed; Nate thinks maybe 10 minutes.  In the midst of a short break between pushes they had me reach and touch his head.  I must have had a confused look on my face, because it did not feel like a head but more like a bunch of mush.  One of the nurses said, "The skull and skin are all folded up because he's coming through, but you're touching his head."  I remember taking one more long break from pushing to catch my breath and calm down, and then I did two more long pushes and he slid out at 10:45 pm.  The midwife later told me that she usually asks the dad if he wants to catch the baby, but Nate, my great encourager, was so focused on encouraging me, that she didn't want to disturb that.  Nate later told me, he wished she had :)  Maybe next time.  Toby was face up, new thing for me, which apparently makes you have more back pain during labor.  But I honestly can't remember if it hurt worse than delivering Elliott who was face down.  When I delivered the placenta she showed me all it's parts; the inside is super gross.  They said, Toby looked like a 39 to 40 week baby, so my due date was probably off a bit.  After everything with Toby and me were taken care of, we then proceeded to fill out the preliminary paperwork that you complete before delivering.  


Overall, I rate this pregnancy, prenatal care, labor, delivery and recovery my favorite out of the three.  My midwife was so encouraging.  She had the calmest voice and was very uplifting and upbeat through the whole thing.   She never forced me to do something I didn't want to and kept me calm through the pushing phase.   Nate was spectacular.  I don't think i could of done it without him.  He rubbed my back during those hard contractions and when i would say, "I don't thnk I can do this," he would assure me that I could.  Watching a woman labor and deliver is not for the faint of heart.  I don't know if I could watch someone else go through it. 

Toby's been such a doll.  He's a great eater, sleeper, pee-er, and pooper.  Everything a mommy feels blessed to have.  I think I could seriously spend all day just staring at this kid.  He's been in our family for less than three weeks, but he has captured all our hearts.  It's time for a Toby snuggle.  Thank you God for our new blessing.