Jonah's Birth Story

So, I should back up. Some of you have shown an interest in the specifics of Baby Muller's arrival. This post is for you. First of all, I read lots and lots of books, had a wonderful midwife and a great natural childbirth teacher. In our preparation, we created a Birth Plan, which was a formal way to communicate our personal requests to the medical personal involved with our labor and delivery. Ours is below.

The Muller Family Birth Plan
We hope for a normal, natural birth. Our baby���s health and well-being is of utmost importance to us. We would like to avoid unnecessary procedures and medications. However, if medications or procedures become necessary, we ask that you discuss them with us in advance so that we can participate in the decision making process.

We request the following:

ENVIRONMENT
Josh and Jeanine would like to remain together at all times during labor and delivery

We would like a private labor and birthing room with subdued lighting and relaxing music

Jeanine would like to wear her own clothes

We would prefer only the following people present during the labor & birth: Paragon midwife, Josh, necessary nurses (please no students, interns, residents or non-essential personnel)

Jeanine would like to remain at home for as long as possible (approx 0-5cm)

We hope to take pictures and or video of this important time in our lives

INDUCTION
We would prefer to not induce labor as long as Jeanine and baby are fine

If necessary, we will use natural methods (breast stimulation, enema, walking, etc) if inducing becomes necessary

FIRST-STAGE LABOR
Jeanine would not like to have an enema or shaving of her pubic hair

Jeanine respectfully declines to participate in the taking of the pain scale information

Jeanine prefers to self-hydrate and will decline routine IV prep upon admission (please no heparin or saline lock unless absolutely necessary)

We would like to have only intermittent Doppler monitoring after the mandatory strip at admission

Jeanine wants to be free to walk, change positions and assume labor positions of her choice

Jeanine plans to use various labor tools, such as a birthing tub, birthing ball, squatting bar, etc.

Jeanine would like vaginal exams to be done only with permission and to keep them at a minimum

SECOND-STAGE LABOR
Jeanine requests using different positions for delivery, such as squatting, hands & knees, etc.

Jeanine would like Josh and/or nurses support her legs during pushing

Jeanine would prefer to push instinctively and to not be told how or when to push

Jeanine looks forward to using a mirror to view the birth

Jeanine requests the use of warm compresses and perineal massage to avoid an episiotomy (please use a local anesthetic to repair a possible tear)

POST-BIRTH
We would like Josh to receive (catch) our baby and announce the sex of our child

Jeanine would like immediate skin-to-skin contact. Please place our child on Jeanine���s stomach and allow he or she to remain there until we are ready for the measurements to be taken. We plan on offering Jeanine���s breast to our baby during this initial bonding time.

Josh would like to cut our baby���s umbilical cord (after pulsation has ceased)

It is our intention to breastfeed exclusively (Please do not give our baby bottles, formula, pacifiers or artificial nipples)

We intend to allow the vernix to be absorbed into our baby���s skin (delay rubbing, cleaning/bathing)

We prefer to wait for natural placenta delivery (Please no cord traction, no manual removal and no use of Pitocin for removal of placenta)

We would like all newborn procedures to take place in our presence

We respectfully decline the use of eye antibiotics or ointments

We request that no immunizations be given without our consent

We would like to have our baby���s footprints made in our baby���s birth book

We request that Josh and our baby stay with Jeanine for the entire hospital stay (full rooming-in)

We hope our hospital stay is as short as possible
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In the event of a CESAREAN
Please allow Josh to be present at all times
Jeanine will decline any drugs that would cause her to forget the event, not be aware, and/or prevent her milk to come in normally
Jeanine would like the screen be lowered so she can see her baby being delivered
We look forward to Josh cutting the cord
Jeanine would like one hand free to touch the baby
Jeanine would like immediate contact with the baby (if the baby is not in distress)

As far as the Birth Plan, we were so thankful that our midwife and nurse honored our wishes. Basically, everything went according to the plan. Below is an entry in my diary from after Baby Jonah was born. Sorry if it is too detailed but I wanted to get down all the details so that I wouldn't forget and I don't really have the time to summarize it for this blog. So, here's the story of how Jonah arrived...

Our son has arrived!!! We are on our BABYMOON!!! We are enjoying every moment of taking care of Jonah Moses! He is such a JOY! And talk about cuteness factor times a million!!! He is super duper adorable! I need to back up a little and explain how this little guy made it into Josh���s arms, where is he currently peacefully taking a morning snooze.
We took it easy on Thursday and Friday (March 27 & 28) trying to make up for all that lost sleep on Wednesday night. I had an appointment on Friday (March 28) at 4pm with the midwife, Alice. We couldn���t meet with Laura because she was still on vacation. I explained to Alice what happened on Wednesday and she told me I probably passed a kidney stone. I told her how my pain tolerance was really tested and I was wondering if I would really be able to do the birth naturally as we had hoped. She told me that many people have said that passing kidney stones can be more painful than childbirth. That gave me a great deal of hope! I���m so thankful she said that!
We also talked about the fact that I had hiccups for nearly five days straight. I was ready to succumb to a prescription for Previcid or Nexium to help with the acid reflux/hiccups/burping/heartburn since I knew that I might have to deal with it for two to three more weeks. She did prescribe Previcid for me, which I looked forward to taking and finding some relief.
After the appointment, we went to Mom and Pop's for dinner then we went to Target. We bought a YOGA ball (aka birth ball) that I intended to use while in labor at home. We also got some little cartons of orange juice to take to the hospital for right after birth. We bought a camera case for the new Canon Power Shot. Josh seemed to be walking so fast. I was burping, hiccupping, limping and waddling around as best as I could. I kept asking him to slow down. I was pretty miserable. Then we went to Best Buy and choose a different camera case (intending to return the other one back to Target). I was spent!
We watched a movie when we got home and then went to bed around midnight. At 1am I woke up thinking that I had wet myself. I went to the bathroom and came back to bed. When I tried to get settled back into bed, more fluid spilled out and this time I knew it wasn���t urine. I said, ���Josh, I think my water just broke���
Josh sat up in bed and immediately said, ���Where is the Bradley Book?��� (which is the workbook from our childbirth class) He helped me get changed and settled back in bed. He read in the Bradley Method book for the next hour. I prayed that my contractions would start soon. One of my fears had been that my water would break and my body would not start going into labor, which could lead to the midwives or doctors wanting to induce me.
Around 1:30 or so, I started to feel something that felt like a menstrual cramp down low. I asked Josh to look in the book to see if contractions could feel like cramps and he did find the spot in the book which said early contractions could feel like cramps. I was so relieved that my contractions had begun.
I asked Josh to get my ipod and headphones to listen to the Hypno-birthing relaxation messages I had listened to for months. I focused on relaxing my body and allowing them to do their job. The contractions did feel irregular but sorta close together, already.
Around 2:30am I told Josh that my contractions seemed to be getting closer and more regular. We decided it was time to check in with our midwife group. Josh called the answering service for who was on call and was told that Molly was on call and would call back in a few minutes. He was also told that Katherine was on duty at 8am. He came into to tell me and said, ���Good news, Molly���s on call. Bad news, guess who comes on calls at 8am.��� I answered sadly, ���Katherine.��� I was right. Back in January, when we went to the Open House to meet all the midwives, we got wonderful vibes from nearly every midwife (especially Molly). The only exception was Katherine. We both walked away hoping that she would not be on call when we went into labor. So, we both hoped that the baby would be born on Molly���s shift (before 8am) but knew this was a long shot.
Molly called back around 3:00am. He told her that my cramp-like contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart. He also mentioned to her that we wanted to stay at home as long as possible. She said that was fine and to call back when the contractions were more consistent and more intense.
I realized that this was happening a lot faster than I imagined it would and I told Josh he needed to finish packing our stuff for the hospital. I had already spread most everything we needed out on the dining room table but nothing was actually packed yet. After about a half hour of Josh packing like a mad man I asked him if he packed my toiletries. He hadn���t so then I remembered to mention that I had a three-page checklist in a notebook on table. Everything on the list that did not have a check next to it still needed to be gathered and packed.
During all this packing I was still trying to stay calm and relaxed listening to the Hypno-birthing in bed. (I had listened to the relaxation track a few times early on but at this point I kept playing the ���Birth Affirmations��� track over and over.) Josh continued to run back and forth packing and checking on me. At one point Josh was in the basement and thought that he had heard me call for him. Josh frantically ran upstairs to find that I was fine. I guess he was imagining things.
Around 4am, I told Josh that my contractions seemed to be coming closer and closer. I asked him to run me a bath. During our Bradley class we had learned that before you go to the hospital, it is a good idea to eat, drink and take a bath. If the contractions continue in the same pattern and do not stall or slow, you are probably in an established labor pattern and it is okay to head to the hospital. Josh got the tub ready and lit some candles to help me continue to relax. He even set up my ipod on the ihome so that I could continue to listen to the Hypno-birthing. Josh helped me get into the tub, fed me Saltine crackers and helped me to drink a bottle of water. Then he continued to pack while I tried to relax in the tub.
Josh came back into the bathroom to check on me and time my contractions around 4:30am. He found that they were close to three minutes apart. I was starting to get worried about the car ride in and registering at the hospital. My fear was that the contractions would be so intense and so close that the transition to the hospital and getting settled into the labor room would knock me out of my internal focus. I decided it was time to start thinking about going to the hospital.
Josh called Molly to tell her how fast the contraction were coming and that the tub, eating and drinking did not slow the contractions. Molly said we were on the right track and that we could come when we were ready. She called the hospital and reserved a labor/delivery room with a birthing tub.
Josh started the car and loaded the bags. Josh helped me out of the tub and got me dressed between contractions. I realized Josh wasn���t wearing any pants, just his sport shorts and t-shirt. He has spent so much time and energy taking care of me and packing that he had forgot to dress himself. He quickly threw on what he had worn the day before.
Around 5:15am Josh helped me walk from the bathroom to the car. We had to stop about three times for contractions. I had to lean on Josh so that he could support me. As we were backing out of the driveway, I asked Josh if he had called Molly again to tell her that we really were on the way to the hospital. He called her and we were on our way.
We made the ten-minute trip over very bumpy roads to Akron City Hospital. During the ride I peeked at the clock each time a contraction began and they were only two minutes apart.
We arrived the hospital around 5:30am. Josh stopped at the Emergency Room Drop Off (this is the only entrance open at night) and helped me walk in. I sat down on the closest chair and Josh went to the desk. He said, ���Baby���delivery���uhh.��� The lady said there was a wheelchair on the way to get me. He had to go move the Pilot while I was wheeled to the labor/delivery wing.
After Josh parked the car, he came and found me registering at an admitting desk. He noticed that the two nurses were looking at me with some strange expressions. My wardrobe may have had something to do with that. In the rush to the hospital, Josh helped me into black exercise pants, a long sleeved t-shirt, a black hoodie, my slip-on tennis shoes, a khaki baseball cap topped off with my long black wool pea coat. As if that wasn���t goofy enough, I had decided to put my sunglasses on while I was in the car. I wanted to stay in the ���zone��� despite the bright hospital lights, so I kept them on in the hospital. I also had my white ipod headphones on. But I looked extra silly because I could only have one of the earphones on (I kept the other ear open so that I could hear and answer questions). And just to top off the goofiness, the earphone wouldn���t stay in by itself, so I had to keep one of my fingers up to my ear at all times. Keep in mind that every two minutes I would begin to breath very deeply and rock back and forth with the deep breaths. Josh has told me afterwards that I looked like a member of the paparazzi who was checking into rehab or something. I didn���t think about it at all at the time, but I think it is pretty funny now! Too bad Josh didn���t get a picture of that silly sight!!!
They asked some essential questions and got a copy of our insurance card, but it seemed like they gave us the short version of admitting. I think they could see that my contractions were coming very close and that I was pretty uncomfortable. (I actually signed papers to consent to be admitted into the hospital after Jonah was born!)
Then I was wheeled into one of the labor and deliver rooms with a birthing tub. The nurses helped me get into one of the hospital gowns. Molly wasn���t there yet so it was just Josh, the nurses and myself. One of them asked if we had a formal birth plan and we answered, ���Yes, but it is in the car.��� (Josh had been in such a hurry to get back to me after he parked the car that he left everything in the car except for my purse.) I quickly summarized by saying that we wanted to go as naturally as possible and Josh filled in the details as they came up.
Soon after I arrived, I remember one of the nurses saying that they were going to give me a heplock and I quickly responded, ���No, I don���t want a heplock. I���m sorry. I just don���t want one.��� Josh apologized for me and said that I���m not usually like this. (I guess had a tone to my voice and I kinda snapped at them) He clarified by explaining that I would not object to getting a heplock or an I.V. if there was an emergency but I did not want one unless it was absolutely necessary.
Another question they asked me was how far dilated I had been at my last appointment. I explained to them that I had never been ���checked��� because I had declined at each appointment. (My theory was that the least amount of activity ���up in there��� the better. Also, I knew that when I was in labor, I would know it. I did not need anyone to tell me how far dilated I was to know that I was about to have a baby!) So, the first time I was checked was around 6:00am. The nurse said, ���Wow! The baby���s head is right there! She���s 10 centimeters!��� Then, a slight pause. ���Wait. No. She���s 6 centimeters.��� I was a little disappointed because I wasn���t really 10 centimeters but I had to hold onto, ���The head is right there.��� That gave me hope that it wouldn���t be too much longer.
Then I asked if I could please get in the tub. They said sure and they started to run the water. A few minutes went by and then one of the nurses came over to my bed and said, ���Jeanine, I���m sorry but there is no hot water on the whole floor.��� I will admit that it took me a few moments to register what this meant but then I understood that I would not be able to use a tub. I remember saying under my breath, ���That���s one of the reasons we choose this hospital.��� But Josh recalls that it was not said softly or politely. Nonetheless, I focused on staying positive and remembering that the baby���s head was right there.
My visual memory of the entire labor (1am until moments before Jonah was born) is very limited. I stayed very internal during and between the contractions. I was in a zone, to say the least. In fact, I cannot tell you what the nurses at the admitting desk or the ones who were on duty in our room when we first arrived looked like because my eyes were closed until right before Jonah was born.
Molly arrived around 6:30am. I had been laboring through the contractions on my side curled up in the fetal position when she came around to where my head was. She asked if the contraction was over and I said that it was. She asked me to open my eyes. She said, ���Hi, Jeanine. I just wanted to see your face.��� I said, ���Hi Molly.��� Then I quickly closed my eyes again getting ready for the next contraction that was coming.
At 7:00 am Molly checked me again to see how far I had dilated. She said that I was 9cm with a little lip. She said I could start pushing which was a relief because at the end of each contraction my body was already starting to push. I couldn���t stop myself from pushing so I was glad to get the go ahead.
This was also when I said to Josh, ���We don���t have the camera.��� Josh already knew this but didn���t want to leave my side. Molly told him if we was going to go get something from the car before the baby arrived that this was really his only chance. He ran through the entire hospital, got our small suitcase and his backpack and ran back through the entire hospital. While he was gone, Molly continued massaging my back where Josh had been massaging me.
During the pushing stage I knew that I did not want to push on my back. We learned at our Bradley class that laboring and pushing on your back is the least efficient position. Molly suggested a modified ���hands and knees.��� Here���s what it looked like. The back of the bed was around 45 degrees. I was on my knees, facing the back of the bed. In between contractions and pushing my arms were resting on top of the bed. When I felt a contraction coming I would hold on to the top of the bed and squat backwards like I was kick-starting a motorcycle (that���s how Josh describes it). On each contraction I pushed at least 3 times as much as I could and then the contraction was usually over and I would rest again. Josh offered me lots of water, which I gratefully accepted. It was especially important that I stayed hydrated since I didn���t have an I.V. Humorously, following the pattern of the weeks and months before, even the water I drank in the last hour of being pregnant was burped up.
When the baby���s head crowned, I didn���t feel the ���Ring of Fire��� that we had learned about. I did feel A LOT of uncomfortable pressure, but it didn���t burn like I expected. When they told me that it would only be a few more pushes, I asked, ���How will the baby be put on my stomach if I am pushing like this?��� Molly said it would be a semi-acrobatic maneuver. She suggested that I could turn around and make the last push or two from my back. I did turn around but it was awkward to move with the baby���s head right there.
Once I turned around I asked if I could feel the head and they said sure. I put my hand down and finally opened my eyes. I saw the top of a wet hairy baby head. Finally, I knew the end was near. I knew that I would meet my baby in the next few moments. I couldn���t believe it! The nurse said that I should try and get the baby out on the next push because the heart rate had dropped a bit on the last few contractions/pushes. Josh says that as soon as she said that he saw in my eyes, ���It���s go time!��� That was all I needed to hear to get that baby out! On the next contraction, I pushed out the baby���s head and then the shoulders.
Molly invited Josh around to the end of my bed. She asked him if he wanted to ���glove up.��� He declined. He put his hands around the shoulders and pulled but his hands slipped off. Molly suggested putting his hands under the baby���s armpits and pulled. After the baby was out, Josh proudly and excitedly announced, ���It���s a boy!��� Then he put the baby on my chest.
We were in total baby euphoria! Moments after the birth, I took my eyes off our beautiful baby, looked up and Josh and said, ���We have a son! We have a Jonah!��� Those first moments were incredible! Jonah stayed on me, skin-to-skin for nearly an hour. We delayed the cutting of the cord until it stopped pulsating. Josh was proud to cut the umbilical cord. The nurse cleaned Jonah off, measured his head, chest and length while he was on top of me.
In the meantime, Molly has to assess my situation down below. Turns out I tore a little and needed 2 stitches (They wrote this down for me-the technical term for my tear was a bilateral periurthral laceration. I tore towards my urethra instead of the normal way people tear, probably because of my pushing position). I was disappointed because I had gone through the entire labor and delivery with zero invasive interventions, but I was on such a natural high holding my Jonah that I hardly even noticed the shot and I didn���t feel the stitches at all. Thank goodness for endorphins!
My placenta was delivered at 8:19am. I just had to give a little push and it came right out. I asked to look at it. Molly showed me which side was attached to me and the side that had provided nourishment to Jonah. She said it was a big placenta and that I must have eaten well. I told her that I had tried. I felt like her comment was a huge compliment because I had really made an effort to eat nutritiously throughout the pregnancy.
After I was stitched up, the nurse, Sharon, carried Jonah a few feet away and cleaned him off a little bit more and dressed him. She also weighed him. He was 7 pounds 4.1 ounces. When she gave him back to me, she helped him to latch on and breastfeed for the first time. It was amazing to be able to feed Jonah within the first hour of his life. He knew just what to do. He was so alert in those first couple hours.
They helped me into a wheelchair and put Jonah into my arms. I said goodbye to Molly and Sharon, Josh, Jonah and I headed up to the postpartum floor. I had an intense feeling of pride holding my new son as we passed people in the hallways and on the elevator!
Sharon helped us get settled into our room and then we met our day nurse, Lou Ann, and her student nurse, Kaitlin. I remember introducing Josh and myself to them and then I remembered to introduce Jonah. Again, I was already so proud of this little guy!
They brought me ice for the swelling down there and some Motrin, but that is all I needed for the pain. I did have lots of bleeding but they said that was pretty normal. I may have had a little more than some people because I didn���t get any Pitocin after Jonah was born (used to help speed along the afterbirth process).
Once it was just the three of us and we felt settled, Josh started calling our immediate family to share the good news. He usually used speakerphone so that I could hear the reaction, too. First he called his parents. We were so happy to tell them that they now had their first grandson. We could tell Moses was touched and a little choked up when he heard that is was a boy and that his middle name was Moses. My mom was so glad it was a boy! She had thought it was a boy up until the last month and then people at the shower made her think it was going to be a girl. Her and Vince must have jumped in the car as soon as we hung up with them because they arrived very soon after our phone conversation. My dad came right away, too.

So, that's the story on Jonah's first hours. We are so very thankful t God for the miracle of conception, the blessing of a healthy pregnancy, a relatively quick and managable labor, an amazing birth experience and a healthy beautiful baby boy!!!