Madeline-A Birth Story

I love a good birth story and Madeline's is one I never want to forget...

The day after my due date we had invited our pastor and his family over to our home for dinner.  Thus far I hadn't had any signs of labor (similar to Mara) and was just hoping to go into labor sooner rather than later.  We enjoyed a great night of fellowship while the kids played.  They joked they may have to take me to the hospital but all was silent up in there till right after they left.  I started cleaning up and began to notice contractions.  There wasn't any rhyme or rhythm to them so I didn't think much of it.  They also seemed to stop all together if I sat down so I figured this was nothing.

We went to bed thinking tomorrow may be the day but not positive.  It was starting to closely resemble Mara's birth so I figured I had at least another day if this was the real deal.  Throughout the night the contractions kept coming but again weren't anything to get too excited about.  I wasn't timing them but they probably came every 15-20 minutes and were just painful enough to wake me up but not strong enough to really have to focus through.

By 5 am this started to change.  The contractions got closer together and about every other one was pretty painful.  Even though I continued to lay in bed I had to really focus on breathing and relaxing to get through them.  I woke Josh up and we started to time them: about 6 minutes apart and lasting for a solid 90 seconds.

Everything was still pretty manageable so I started texting our doula from Mara's birth, Doris Ann, back in the states.  We love her and just having her reassurance via text was comforting.  She told me to get up and start squatting.  Also to go in if my water broke as I was likely to go quick...little did I know how quick.

Almost as soon as I got on my feet the contractions started coming quicker.  I got in the shower and yelled out to Josh when I was having one.  By the time I was finished they were 3 minutes apart and we knew we had to get moving.  Josh jumped in the shower and I tried to gather everything we needed in between the pain.

By now it was a little after 8 and I knew we had to get to the hospital.  There was no long labor with this one.  Josh ran around loading the car, waking up his parents, and grabbing Mara when she stirred.  I remember just trying to focus on controlling the pain.  The contractions were on top of each other.  I was still squatting with each one as it was the easiest way to deal with the pain.  I also took to moaning which is something I don't remember with Mara.  I could really tell how much the moaning helped if I kept it low.  The second I started moaning at a higher pitch it wasn't much help.

When we finally left for the hospital I knew I had to be in transition.  I was on all fours with each contraction and felt a tad pushy.  It was a rainy morning and thankfully traffic was light.  Josh got us to the hospital at 8:30 and I made my way up the stairs.

Midway up I stopped and breathed through a contraction.  The locals just stared.  Most Georgian ladies don't have natural births yet alone come into the hospital this late in the game.  I was immediately ushered into triage where approximately five nurses swarmed me trying to get my BP, draw blood and who knows what else.

It took them all of five minutes to see that there wasn't time for this and tried to get me on a gurney.  I wasn't having it.  I told them no way and started booking it for the elevator at the end of the hall way. I knew there was no way I could sit yet alone lay at this point.

After we got upstairs we made our way to the birthing suite.  Apparently we would have gotten the VIP room had they known who we were but we ended up in the post soviet looking room where they insisted I get on top of the examining bed and into stirrups asap.

At this point things were happening really fast.  There were a lot of nurses coming in and out.  Some trying to attend to me and others requesting things from Josh.  During my examination they made him leave and the second it was over I demanded he come back.  They had made him suit up but quickly recognized that I wanted him in the room.  I was 9 cm.

Next thing I knew my water broke (8:45 am) and I immediately pushed with that contraction.  This really had them going as they basically threw me up on the table at this point.  I had one nurse on each leg and each shoulder basically holding me on the bed.  My doctor still wasn't there and they wanted to wait for her.
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My body had other plans.  With the next contraction I pushed again.  In broken English they yelled, "NO PUSH!"  I yelled back, "PUSHING!"  The first push had her crowning and the nurses trying to push her back in.   With the second push her head was out and with the third she was born.  (8:53 am)

She came out so quietly we were both a little worried but she was fine.  They put her on my chest and within a minute she was nursing.  At this point my doctor walked in with a surprised look on her face.  She was able to deliver the placenta and tend to me (I had a minor tear).

From there we were wheeled into the VIP delivery room and allowed to recover for a few hours before moving to our permanent room where we stayed for about a day and a half before heading home.

Overall it was a bit of a stressful birth.  Madeline came a lot faster than either of us ever expected and because of that we weren't at the hospital long before she came (a whoopin 23 minutes).  There also wasn't anyone present that spoke good English.  Our doctor was supposed to be our main translator and she never made it.  We had the nurses yelling in Russian and Georgian and us yelling back in English.  BUT in the end we're both healthy and doing well.  I am so thankful that we were able to have her here and didn't have to travel.  And heck we'll always have a story to tell her!