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(as written by her mommy, Rhonda)
On September 28th at 5:31p.m. Rhonda received the GREATEST Birthday Gift EVER -- Ella Denise was born on her momma’s 36th birthday!
Detail: Ella Denise, born at 5:31p.m. at Seton Medical Center
Weight: 7 lbs. 5 oz
Born at 37 weeks 5 days gestation
Length: 20 inches
Head Circumference: 13 inches
Hair: Light brown/red
Michael & Rhonda would like to share our birthing experience with you, and it goes like this.
Keep in mind, momma and baby were on full bed rest for 5 weeks (to address pre-term labor & breech presentation), and released from bed rest on Wednesday, September 22nd.
Mom returned to work on Monday, September 27th. All day mom felt some surges, but heck, I'd been feeling them for over 5 weeks now each time I stood up, so no real notice was made. At around 3:00p.m. on the 27th I finished up some work I had wanted to get done for the past 5 weeks, the surges were still there and I said to myself, "hmm...I just wonder..."
Went home and cooked dinner with Michael and shared a lovely meal with family (around 6:00p.m.). Started writing down the start and end times of surges just for fun. Could talk, laugh, eat, joke, cook and clean dishes through them all, and yet they were distinct enough to have a beginning and end. No real pattern established for 90 minutes, but they were anywhere from 9 minutes to 11 minutes apart each. Michael made sure that I was drinking lots of water.
Coming into the 8:00p.m. hour, decided that a good rest was in store. Went to bed and began timing again...now the surges were 7 minutes apart. Still incredibly comfortable and joking with Michael about maybe he was right all along and that we might be having a baby on my birthday. He did some prepping around the house just in case.
At 9:30p.m. on one of my MANY trips to empty my bladder, I noticed fluid pouring into the toilet, yet I did not have the sensation of urinating. Returned to the bedroom to report that I thought that "maybe" my membranes had released. Big smile from Michael! This was confirmed within 5 minutes with fluids indeed flowing each and every time I moved from seated position to standing or visa versa. Surges were still 7 minutes apart, and quite consistently starting at my lower back and "rolling" forward creating a band across my lower uterus.
Continued drinking lots of water.
We had instructions from our OB to call when surges reached 5 minutes apart, or our membranes released...so telephoned the doctor on call 9:50p.m. Informed her of the facts and we agreed that we would labor at home and call again if surges increased to 4 minutes apart.
11:00p.m. Surges are 4 minutes apart! Wow, that went quickly! Held off calling doctor until 12:15a.m. to report surges at 4 minutes for 1 hour and now at 3.5 minutes each. She indicated that we could go into hospital to get checked, or continue to labor at home - but in either case, she'd call ahead and let them know to expect us. Regardless of what happens in the evening, go into hospital at 6:00a.m. to get checked anyway. Continued to drink lots of water.
11:00p.m. - 3:00a.m. Immediately after making the call, the surges returned to 6 minute intervals. Michael encourages me to get some sleep, yet I couldn't sleep through the surges. So I would have a surge laying down next to Michael, get up, go empty my bladder (I didn't have a choice, I had to pee after EACH surge!) come back to bed, sleep for 3-4 minutes, repeat process. Lots of visualization through this time, the satin blue ribbons of my uterus lifting & pushing my little one to me....opening of my cervix like a beautiful rose bud (okay, I have to admit that I was imaging a pink rose bud...sensing that there was a little girl in me). Filling a balloon with deep cleansing breaths through each surge.
4:00a.m. Michael ran me a hot bath, lit candles, played great lullabye music and poured water over me for an hour. Applied light touch massage, coached through various visualizations: blue satin ribbons of uterus, opening rose bud of cervix, creating a relaxing environment for our loved one to come to, kneading bread through the surges, talking to me and our baby, expressing his love and support... He sits at the side of the tub and slowly pours water over me...ahhhh! This feels GREAT! Nice little nap in tub...I highly recommend that we do THIS more often!
5:00-5:45a.m. I am able to get sleep in 15 minute increments, even with surges every 5 minutes. Felt GREAT!
5:45a.m. as previously instructed by OB on duty, packed up to go to Seton Medical Center to "get checked."
6:00a.m.Got checked in and learned that to "get checked" means that we are there to stay! What?! That's not what we had planned, we wanted to labor at home until the last minute, but not much we can do...so we make the best of it. Michael continues to talk me through each surge, now 5 minutes apart. We decline the IV prep, decline the vaginal exam, and agree only to the 20 minute necessary fetal monitoring. Our new nurse arrives at 7:00a.m. to introduce herself and let us know that she has reviewed our birth plan and asks some clarifying questions. Great news that she is supportive of natural childbirth and HypnoBirthing!
I find that sitting on the birthing ball, rolling it around with my hips, and leaning on a pile of pillows propped up on the bed is the most comfortable position. Michael does light touch massage, counter pressure & full massage of my lower back through each surge while whispering wonderful visualization prompts in my ear.
8:00a.m. We decide to allow one vaginal with my OB under the condition that NO ONE tell us where we are. Our OB (Dr. Weihs) does the exam and simply smiles to inform us that we will be having a baby today - before dinner. Keep doing what we are doing and she'll be back at 10:00a.m.
8:00-10:00a.m. Michael and I continue through surges, he coaching and prompting, me focusing on my body...keeping it calm (really focusing on my hands, arms, and shoulders, keeping them limp). I have to admit that I spent a lot of this time on the phone and finishing up projects.
10:00a.m. Dr. Weihs returns to joke around with Michael & I and see how things are going. Surges are still coming along nicely. She indicates that she'll be back at 12:00p.m. to check on us. We continue with what we are doing, talking on the phone, pausing through surges, and letting folks know where we are and that we may have a baby soon.
11:30a.m. our nurse takes a lunch break and a relief nurse comes to visit. She is in AWE of how calm & relaxed both Michael and I are. "What a team!" She tells us that we are doing great for being 5 CM! AUGH! I feel a bit let down, thinking ONLY 5 cm after all this time. Not that it has been painful or even uncomfortable, but geez....I better get busy!
1:00p.m. Dr. Weihs returns and we agree to another vaginal. The past 90 minutes I have worked diligently on my visualization, blue satin ribbons, kneading of bread motions, the lifting of soft blue satin ribbons, my body working in harmony and helping my cervix prepare. We learn that we are 8 cm! Wow...that was FAST! Dr. Weihs informs us that she'll check back very soon. We continue with me on birthing ball, and then I transfer to shower chair for a nice LONG hot shower...oh, that felt ssssooooo good! (Michael naps while I shower - he has been running a fever all along and been a trooper). My birth song wakes him and when he comes to the shower he informs me that I have overflowed the shower into the room! Oops, did I mention how good that shower felt? I obviously didn't notice the water escaping.
My brother Tito arrives and does what he does best...loves me...takes stock of what is going on, he's never seen our birth plan, but observes Michael and QUICKLY gets it! He jumped in and provided Michael some support.
2:00p.m. Dr. Weihs returns to share with us great news...we are at 10cm and at -1. She and nurse both indicate that they understand that I want to breath down versus pushing, but if I feel a need to push to call them immediately. So Michael and I change our visualization approach and my breathing to J breathing. I can hear Heather's prompts in my head, "breathe in filling a red balloon...fill your uterus with oxygen...and slowly breathe the baby down and out...like a J." It's that red balloon that is VERY CLEAR in my mind's eye. Michael begins having me use my birth song to help with the focus and it feels great.
4:00p.m. I had been on the birthing ball all day and finally took a turn to sit up in bed, I tried this for about 20 mintues and still preferred the ball, so back to ball I go. After breathing down for right at 3 hours, I was getting tired, it was a struggle to stay focused on breathing down, down down...and when I lost focus, then I was battling the urge to push...I found fighting that urge getting more difficult and more intense. Dr. Weihs keeps checking on our progress with no prompts about "moving things or pushing."
5:00p.m. I decide that I am tired and the battling the urge to push is more and more difficult. We call in Dr. Weihs and inform her that I am ready to have a baby. Back in the bed is what I prefer and she coaches me through an intense breathing and gentle nudging method that will provide maximum oxygen to our little one. First surge, first push, Dad reports a full head of hair. Second surge, second push, we have crowning. Third surge, third push, we have reached the forehead. Fourth surge, fourth push we have our baby! (15 minutes of pushing)
Michael announces to me that we have a little girl and after receiving her in his arms, immediately places her on mom's belly for bonding time. Michael and Tito each have their hands on her, while I am staring at her in disbelief! Dr. Weihs again lives by our birthing plan and waits for cord to stop surging before Michael cuts it. We had minimal tearing and my placenta released itself within 20 minutes.
Thank yous go first and foremost to my husband, best friend, birth coach and Ella's daddy Michael. He was awesome! I could not have done it without his supportive words, not only through the birth experience, but through the 5 previous weeks of me on bed rest, through my father's short illness and death, through my grief of not being able to be with my father for his last days, through the challenges of turning our breech Ella JUST IN TIME for the DREAM birthing experience.
Next I thank my brother Tito for being with us for this beautiful experience and providing his love and support through the previous weeks as well as through the wonderful birth.
Heather & Jan...you both played a HUGE role in our successful birthing experience! Both of you believing in us, that we could win the pre-term labor battle, that we would successfully turn our breech presentation, that we would relax our way through the grieving process, and that we WOULD have the birthing experience of our dreams. You were RIGHT!
And finally chiropractor Ron Burnett, whose ability to connect and work with Ella in the womb and get her to turn made all the difference.
Thank you everyone, this was a great team effort that resulted in a gentle, calm and relaxing beginning to my little girl’s life!
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