Jonathan Ellis was born on December 1st 1999

Birth Type: Natural

So...finally after a few bouts of stalling contractions they finally started again December 1st at around 10 am as I was on my way to my midwife for an NST. The contractions continued through the test but never got really strong or any closer together than 10-12 minutes. After leaving the docs office DH and I decide to head out to my mothers to pick up our older son who had stayed the night with her. We all head to McDonalds and our son tears up the Playland while I nibble on some chicken nuggets. The contractions are now coming about every 5 minutes so we decide to head to the hospital. They check me and I am dilated to 4 so they check me into a labor suite at about 1:30 pm. I spent the next hour and a half in the jacuzzi tub (what a wonderful invention!!). After I get out I am dilated to 7 and my bag of waters is bulging. The midwife comes in and breaks my waters at around 3:30 and I am dilated to 9 cm by 4:15pm! But the baby's heart rate starts slowing down shortly afterwards and my cervix still has a lip on it! He can’t get by, and the bridge of his nose keeps getting caught on the lip sending his heart rate even lower. Thankfully with some help from the midwife who used her fingers to help stretch the remaining lip while I pushed, I was able to push the baby out in about 20 minutes. They immediately cut his cord and took him over to the bassinette where they gave him a brisk rubbing and some oxygen and we finally got to hear his wonderful cry! Jonathan Ellis was born at 4:54pm with APGARS of 6 and 8. He weighed 7 ounces 13 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. He is soooooo wonderful!

Jacki's Story

Lachlan James was born on December 20th 1999

Birth Type: Induction and Un-scheduled C-Section

On Monday, December 20th we arrived at the hospital at 7:00am to be induced. It took them another hour to get the Syntocin drip in and to break my water (yucky experience). By 9:15am I was getting contractions, not strong but regular - about 5 mins apart. By 10:00am I had been sick for the first time (really low tolerance to pain or upset in my body - I am very prone to motion sickness too). I jumped in the hot tub and was OK with that and gas for another hour or more (although still being sick). Sometime after 12:00pm I was feeling bad, the contractions were much closer and I was not getting much of a break in between. Suffice to say that and being sick was getting me down and I wanted the pain to go away so I opted for an epidural (not my original plan). I thought that within 20 minutes of getting the epidural that all would be great but it was after 1:30pm when they topped it up that I actually felt OK. The contractions were no longer painful and I was able to watch some of Ed TV with Josh and have an OK time. By this time I was about 5 centimeters which was as far as I got. The Doctor came down and told me that the baby was posterior and that unless he was easily able to rotate him once I was better dilated that he would have to consider a C-section, as he was not a big fan of forceps deliveries. It didn't matter as by 6:00pm I was no better dilated and my Doctor went home to have some dinner and left instructions that unless I was fully dilated by 8:00pm to prep me for the C-section. The end result - Lachlan was born by C-section at 8:53pm on Monday night. He weighed 3.97kg (which is about 8.4lbs) and according to my Doctor who had a hell of a time pulling him out he doubts I would ever have been able to get him out naturally.

Jennifer's Story

Gavin Edward was born on December 16th 1999

Birth Type: Induction and Epidural

On December 16th at 6:15am Patrick and I left our house for the hospital. Today was the day we would have our baby. I was 13 days overdue so we were evicting our child - it had cooked enough! We were a little late checking in to L & D but they got us all caught up. At 7:30am they started the drip but I didn't feel anything till about 8:30am. I was having regular minor contractions for days so they just blended in. I started to get uncomfortable around 9:30am but realized at this rate I would be there all day so I asked to increase the dosage. At 10:30 I was checked - very little progress, so I asked for my epidural. It took the epidural guy almost an hour to get to me and have the line placed. I was positive I was dying. The epidural was all I could hope for. Once I was comfortable I was checked again - 7 centimeters and 100% effaced! Rene our nurse got the room ready and called the resident to break my water. When he checked I was 8 centimeters! We were really moving along! Once my water was broken I went almost straight to 10. Unfortunately there was meconium in it so they had to scramble. The NICU was alerted as was my pediatrician and OB. Dr Hicks arrived just in time. Gavin Edward was born at 1:09pm. They flushed as much fluid out as they could prior to delivery and suctioned him very well once he was born. He was declared okay and given back to me. We are so glad to have him with our family.

Deeanne's Story

Karisma Geneva was born on December 6th 1999

Birth Type: Natural

At 9:00pm on December 5th, my water broke. Not knowing that was what was happening, my husband and I went to sleep and I woke up with it still coming out at 1:00am on the 6th. It had some pink in it, so we called the Doctor, he told us to come on in. We checked in after 1:30am and around two, very mild contractions started at about 5 minutes apart. Not sure when it happened, but they slowed down to maybe one an hour. Around 9am, the nurse started the pitocin to start the contractions back up again. They got stronger but didn't really hurt until around 10:30am. They would only give me relaxers because they were afraid that if they gave me an epidural it would stop the contractions. And I was dilated to 8 centimeters by the time I really wanted one anyway, which is when they won't let you have one normally. I felt the urge to push at 12:15pm but there was a tiny "lip" left on my cervix. At 12:30pm they told me I still couldn't push, but they would take me to delivery and it should be about an hour of pushing when I would be able to. After listening to me cry, the nurse said I could push one time. I did, and Kari's head almost popped out. They told me to stop and yelled for Dr. Lynn Hutchins to come in if she wanted to be involved in this birth. She was delivering another baby five minutes before Kari was born. She ran in, washed up, and caught Kari on my second push. Karisma Geneva Quist was born on December 6th, was 6 pounds 8 ounces, and 19 inches long. She only lost 3 ounces before we left the hospital.

Leanne's Story

Kevin Alexander James was born on December 28th 1999

Birth Type: Induced and Epidural

I arrived at the hospital on Tuesday, December 28th 1999 at 8:00 am, to be induced as I was 10 days overdue with my first baby. My nurse Sue began took all my vitals and hooked me up to the fetal monitor. At 8:30am the OB came in and checked me.. 1.5 cms and my cervix was ready for induction. They began the drip at 9am, Sue kept moving it higher every 30 minutes or so, I did well until about 11:45am, when Sue informed me that once I got the epidural (which I KNEW I'd want) she'd boost the pitocin so that things would move faster, so off we went to get the epi! I had the epi in by 12:00pm, didn't hurt a bit and was feeling no pain. I relaxed in bed and was checked again at 2pm when they broke my waters (I was 6-7 cms dilated) I relaxed some more until 3pm, when I asked for my epidural to be topped as I could feel some increasing pressure. They came in again at 4pm to check me, and I was 9.5 cms dilated with a bit of a lip. The OB said that the delivery rooms were all full, but they were moving some ladies to the post-partum rooms and to let them know when I was ready to push. At 5pm, she checked me again and I was 10!! WOOHOO!!!! They got me ready, took my catheter out and wheeled me down to the delivery suite. I took my 1st push at 6:00pm, and pushed for about 30 minutes, when the nurse noticed Kevin's heartrate was dropping just under 100 every time I stopped pushing with the contraction. They called for the OB to come, and she arrived at 6:50pm. We talked and decided to use the vacuum to get him out a bit faster, so they got me all hooked up and waited for that "final" contraction. 7:10pm, Kevin was born, and about 5 minutes later the placenta delivered itself. The cord was around Kevin's neck..that's why his HB was dropping. Kevin Alexander James MacLeod was born at 7:10pm on December 28th 1999 and weighed 5 pounds 11 ounces. We are SO happy to have our little miracle.

Kristen's Story

Irene Rebecca Peace was born on December 22nd 1999

Birth Type: Induction and Un-scheduled C-Section

At 4:00 pm, December 21st, I went to the hospital to get me admitted and to start the cytoteck (to help soften my cervix) That was put in at about 5:00pm. I started having some mild contractions about 1 hour later. I was hooked up to a monitor to keep tabs on Irene. The next morning, bright and early, the pitocin drip was started. Again, I was monitored. Nancy (my other midwife) came in at about 9:00am hoping to break my waters. She checked me out still only about 1 1/2 cm and maybe 30% effaced. She said she'd be back around 12:30pm or so to check me out again. The contractions continued along and the pitocin continued to get upped little by little. Nancy came around 1:30pm and I was really starting to feel the contractions. She checked me out, I was 3 cm and 80% effaced. I asked her about having a shower. She talked to the nurse who nixed it entirely, she was the only non supportive nurse that we encountered ("We all had a good laugh at your birth plan. Only first time mom's have them and they NEVER go according to plan, look at you, you're being induced"). Nancy came back around 4:30pm or so and checked me again, no progress, the pitocin was upped more and the contractions were getting quite painful. Rob was great and just kept telling me softly to breathe thru them. He held me when I needed to be held and was just amazing! Nancy asked if there was anything that I wanted - I said - a long shower would be wonderful. Well we had another nurse by that time and she thought it was a great idea - so off came the monitors and in we went to the shower I got ONE WHOLE HOUR!!! It was still good to be in the shower but the pitocin was really making the contractions hard to get through so when I got out of the shower, I asked Kris (the RN) about the different drugs - just to know what my options were. Phentenol is what they have to "take the edge off" between contractions. Nancy came in, we talked some more she checked me again still the same. Soon after I decided to try the phentenol. This helped greatly for a short time - but with the pitocin being upped so much, it was really hard to keep on top of the contractions. The contractions were getting stronger and stronger so Rob reminded me to make my low open sounds - amazingly that did help but GOD did it all hurt - there was very little time between the contractions, but the dang things weren't ever regular they'd be every minute and then there would be 3 minutes of nothing. I could tell by Irene's heartbeat when another one was revving up. I tried to relax as best as I could but was losing control a bit. Rob was still doing great! I really can't imagine doing this alone. At about 7:00pm or so, I was really hoping for the walking epidural but I had to be 5 cm well, after 5 hours or so, I thought I would be. The Doctor came in (he was just in to do some paper work) at the request of one of the nurses to check me. You got it I was still 3 cm and 80% effaced. At that point, the bottom dropped out from under me, I just wanted to die. How could I only be 3 cm? The Doc called the on call OB who was about 1/2 hour away or so and told him how I was doing. When the Doctor finally arrived, he was just as terrific as Dr.Eric had said he'd be, very calm and soothing. He talked to me and rob about the situation, at one point, I said, "If where you are going with this conversation is that I might need a c-section, that's okay. I won't regret that decision at all" In fact, it was harder for me (emotionally) having to be induced then having a c-section would be. Dr. Ben said that we I had about a 30% chance of delivering vaginally. Rob let the Doctor know that I'd worked hard enough and 30% chance wasn't a big enough chance. So, the c-section was scheduled for 1/2 hour later. Once the spinal was in, all was finally well with the world - no more contractions! At about 10:00pm or so, all was prepared and Rob came into the room. He sat by me and asked how i was doing and suddenly, Dr.Mcbride (surgeon) said "hey dad, look at your baby" so he did - and they brought out our little Irene. At 10:04pm Rob said "she's a girl!" and we were ecstatic! I can't even begin to describe how amazing a feeling it was right at that moment. Rob went over and cut the cord, took pictures, found out the apgar scores (9/10!!!) and then went up with her to the nursery while they put me back together again. While the docs were doing that, they were talking to me and said that she'd have had a very very difficult time coming vaginally and she must've known what she was doing because she was in a "bandolier wrap" by the cord - this means that the cord was between her legs and around her neck.

Lori's Story

James Randall was born on December 19th 1999

Birth Type: Home Birth

The contractions that I had been having forever started to be consistently crampy starting a little after midnight on December 18. I was able to sleep with them and they continued on into the day on Saturday, getting progressively more painful throughout the day. They were tolerable, although they did get my attention and distract me from whatever I was doing. They started to get pretty painful around 10-10:30 p.m. (after 10, time is hard for me to remember since I wasn't looking at a clock), I really had to concentrate and breathe to get through the contractions, which were 5 minutes apart and lasting about a minute.We laid down around midnight (by this time I was in considerable pain). Just before 12:30am we were laying there waiting for the next contraction, which I could feel coming on, when I felt a rumble go down my lower back, which was followed by the explosion of my bag of waters (my water didn't break, it exploded). We heard it burst, and Jim said he felt the whole bed move. He jumped up really quick to make sure I was okay and then he called the midwife again, she said she would be on her way. Then he went to finish filling the birthing tub (he had been waiting for more hot water to build up in the water heater). After my water broke, I only had a couple more regular contractions, then I started to have an incredible urge to push (I didn't know that these pushing contractions felt so different from the others, as I had an epidural with my daughter and couldn't feel when to push). I was amazed at how they just take over your whole body and by the power of them. Since Jim had just called the midwife, I knew she wouldn't be there real soon and I wasn't about to start pushing yet for fear of delivering without a midwife present. I did my best not to push. Jim finally got enough water in the tub and he helped me stagger to it, and then he supported me (literally) through another contraction before I could climb in. Once I got in, I tried a few different positions to see what felt the best, and decided that hanging over the side was most comfortable. I'm not sure what time it was, it must have been shortly after 1 a.m., when Marilyn finally arrived. We told her I had been wanting to push, and she said 'Go for it', so I did. After a couple of pushes, she checked the position of the baby's head and told me it only had about an inch or so to go, I was amazed. After a couple more contractions, the other girls, Rhonda and Beth, showed up, just in time to deliver the baby. Rhonda came around in front of me, where Jim was, and I really focused on her as she helped me breathe right while the baby crowned (which was extremely painful, I might add). I was too involved in the pain of it all to get very emotional. The baby's head came out, then part of his body, and I thought he was all the way out. Then they told me 'Just a little more', so I pushed the rest of him out and I felt the most wonderful sense of relief that I have ever felt in my life. I turned around and there he was, all pink and wonderful. Jim went to wake up Brianna, as it was 2:04 a.m. I don't know how she was able to sleep through my yelling. I was shocked when they weighed and measured him at 9 ½ pounds and 22" with a perfectly shaped 15" head.

Darcy's Story

Emily Jeanne was born on December 23th 1999

Birth Type: Induced and Epidural

I went in at 7:30 a.m., they broke my water at 8:00 (which was more awkward than ever before!) and then they immediately began Pitocin. I thought I could manage the contractions with Stadol, but they were extremely intense. So after a few hours of no pain relief and only dilating to 5 cm, I opted for an epidural. And I think I will love the anesthesiologist FOREVER! After the epidural began, he asked how the contraction felt that had just happened. I replied, "WHAT contraction?" The nurses were cracking up. Apparently, he was only hoping to cover 80% of the pain. A couple of hours passed, and everyone thought I was still at 5 cm and I was beginning to feel lots of pressure vaginally. He "upped" my epidural and then asked when I was checked last. We couldn't remember, so he asked a nurse to check me quickly and apparently the baby was already coming out! So with a refreshed epidural, a happy attitude, and a willing body, I pushed the baby out in 3 contractions with no problems. HOORAY! Emily Jeanne Wharton was born at 3:54 p.m. on 12/23/99.

Deena's Story

Kierstyn Alexandra was born on December 8th 1999

Birth Type: Induced and Medicated

I got home from work about 6pm Thursday, and had to be at the hospital between 7-7:30pm. So we threw everything together real quick and got to the hospital about 7:30pm after dropping Zack w/my brother and SIL. The inserted the cervidil at about 8pm to ripen my cervix and also put me on the iv. I had to leave that in all night and sleep in labor and delivery. I was up every 1-2 hrs to use the restroom and also cuz the bed was so uncomfy!! i got up at 6am to find my water had broken, so i called in the nurse. She said she would have the doc check me when he got in to see how I was doing and see if he still wanted to start me on pitocin. I wasn't supposed to get that till 8:30am. Doc checked me at 7:30 and I was 3 cm and my contrax were coming regularly every 3 min. so they decided to wait and see if I was progressing. About 9:30 i got checked again and was still at 3cm and the contx were only about 3 1/2-4 min apart, so they started my pitocin. The contx the whole time were pretty painful. So about 10:30, I asked to be checked (was at 4cm) and asked about pain medication and was even considering an epi. I decided to just get a shot of nubain instead even though I really didn't want it cuz I didn't want her to be groggy when she was born. But it REALLY helped me relax through the contrax, cuz before i was tensing up during the contrax and it made them more painful. So after a few minutes, the nurse tells me to let her know when I start getting the urge to push. I'm thinking 'I'm only at 4cm... it'll be a while! Little did I know, cuz about 15 min later I had the urge to push. She checked me at about 11:15am or so and I was at 8 cm!! They started calling in the doc, but were having a hard time getting a hold of him. I was having contraction after contraction and it seemed like no break in between. Finally, the nurse had me start pushing. Dh said I only pushed for 9 mins, so that must have been about 11:44am... still no doc! Pretty soon, the doc comes in and has me push a couple more times and decided he needed to do an episiotomy. A couple more pushes, and she was out. She came out sunny-side up and I guess was also lying on her cord, so her hb kept dipping. Dh was still pretty upset cuz he thinks the doc cut more than he needed to. He says he can't get the image out of his head. Anyway, they put her on my tummy while daddy cut the cord then took her to clean her up and put her in the warmer. I finally got to hold her for the first time at about 3pm, but I was still kind of groggy and out of it. It was so wonderful tho!!

Kris's Story

Jacob Nicolas was born on November 10th 1999

Birth Type: Medicated

I went to the bathroom on November 10th after having contractions all night long and came out and told DH I need to call the doctor see what they want me to do because more of my plug came out and the contractions are irregular and a bit stronger. I get a hold of the doc and they tell me to come to the office. I go to the office and sit there for about a half an hour and I am cramping a bit more and they are coming a bit closer together. They finally get me in to the docs and he does his normal check and then he does a pelvic exam and says "OH MY Goodness you are 4-5 cm already and your bag is bulging!" I am like NO WAY I have 4 weeks to go! He says go to the hospital and since you are early we will try and stop your contrax and if it doesn't work then you will just have the baby. We get to the hospital and checked in at 1PM. I get to L&D and they get me settled in and about an hour later the doc on call comes in and checks me.. I am now 6 cm and he says he isn't going to stop the labor. About an hour later the doc comes back to check on me and I am 7 cm and he decides he wants to knick my bag to see what happens. Well of course I have a water fall shooting out lol! Then all hell broke loose and my contrax were HELL! The nurse asks me if I want some painkillers and I tell her YES! She gives me Demerol and it doesn't do anything but make me light headed and can't keep my eyes open! I can hear the nurse telling Eric "She has a VERY HIGH tolerance for pain!" I ask her when I am going to get the epidural and she says you probably won't have time to get it! I was not a happy camper at this point and time. She leaves the room and tells me when I feel like I need to push call her and let her know. So about 3 HARD contractions later I tell Eric to get the nurse because this baby is coming. He is like are you sure? She comes in and says yep I can see his head for me to start pushing. I push a few times and she says stop so I can get the doc. I am like WHAT???? HE is there and he needs to come OUT! Finally the doc says to start pushing. I start pushing. I can feel the baby's head right there and the docs says STOP! I stop and he does what ever he is doing..lol he tells me to start pushing again and I do! Here he comes! I pushed his head and shoulders out at the same time..lol The doc couldn't believe it lol. Then the rest of the water came out behind Jacob. It was like another water fall! I got to see and hold Jacob for a few seconds then they take him to NICU because his breathing was labored.

Laura's Story

Andrew Joseph was born on December 9th 1999

Birth Type: Epidural

I woke up at 5:00 am on Thursday for yet another potty trip and noticed extra liquid coming out without any effort! I went back to bed and had an extremely painful braxton hicks contraction. I got up at 6:00 again and had the same thing happen. Finally, at 7:00, after going potty again, the amount of extra fluid increased and was pink tinged. Figures, I wasn't ready for Thursday morning! I got ready at headed to the hospital at noon. They checked me quickly and confirmed that my water had broken. Then they monitored the baby for 10 minutes while they tried to locate my OB. At 12:30pm they told me to go have lunch (because I was still diabetic and hadn't eaten yet all day) then be back at our birthing room by 1:15pm. By 1:50pm, our nurse, Heidi, had me settled in bed with the monitors and started the pitocin. Let me tell you, I was worried about not knowing what contractions felt like - what a loser! They were undoubtedly unmistakable! My ob came in around 2:30 and said I was looking good. Dh and I were watching tv (loved those birthing rooms) When he came in at 3:30, he said I was looking a bit more distressed! The tears were starting to come with each contraction (I'm not a screamer, I'm a crier) The anesthesiologist finally came back around 4:00 to get the epidural going. They had been waiting to make sure my blood would clot properly before giving me the epidural (I was on the blood thinners to maintain the pregnancy). It took them 4 tries to get a good space to insert it! Ouch! I soaked a pillow sobbing while Heidi rubbed my shoulders and stroked my hair. (She was really good) My ob came in at 5:30pm and checked me before he left for the night and I was at 5 cm. I was so exhausted from the epidural ordeal I don't think I even spoke to him! At 6:00 my initial dose in the epidural started to wear off so they added more. By 6:30 I was completely frozen! Heidi checked me at 10 to 7 because the shifts were changing and I was complete! And frozen!!! They got me situated to start pushing and told me to push. So I did what I thought was pushing, I couldn't feel a thing! Then they told me to STOP and called the team for delivery. As it was, I pushed him out in 3 pushes and the ob on call missed it! The resident delivered him. He had the cord around his neck once, which scared me a bit, but he started crying right away. They brought him over to the warmer where they cleaned him up and dh held him while I delivered the placenta. I was lucky again and had no tears and no stitches. Andrew Joseph weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 19.5 inches long.

Laurie's Story

Natalie Ann was born on December 11th 1999

Birth Type: Epidural

We got to the hospital about 2am, they hooked me up to a monitor. My contrax weren't that bad, but painful. The triage nurse checked me finally to see if I was a 'keeper' or to be sent home. She checked and I was 5 cm. already! She wanted the midwife to come in to check me, since she said she thought she felt a nose coming down my cervix...? So, about 15 minutes later, the midwife came in and checked me TWICE (yes, 3 internals in 15 minutes!) just to make sure she felt correctly! She said that I was 6-7 centimeters and that I had completely effaced to 100% in 15 minutes! So, they decided I was a keeper. The only downfall was that Natalie was at a station 5--UP VERY HIGH. I stayed in triage for a bit, until I started wimpering and crying thru contrax, so they put me in my room immediately (other people in triage were hearing me) I got in my delivery room and the nurse 'tried' to hook up an IV and messed it up. She then pulled it out and stabbed me in my hand and said 'I hope this one works. Well, it took, and she thought she was gonna put some painkiller in it, but I told her NO, I want an epidural! So the race was on, since there was an c-sect scheduled very soon, and the anesthesia guy would have to be in there once the op started. We rushed thru my paperwork and I got my epi at 4:30am. The epidural was a dream come true.. I managed to doze off and sleep until 7am. My nurse came in at 7, and had to say my name like 3 times to wake me up. She did an internal and I was at 10 and ready to push! Woo hoo! During one of the pushes my water broke, and let me tell you it was a fountain! I know that sounds gross, but it was funny because I soaked everything, including my nurse! My midwife came in and did an internal and the baby was still up high, so she went out to make her rounds again. I pushed thru maybe 2 more contrax and felt an INTENSE pressure. The epi was quickly wearing off, so I was feeling everything. She felt me during my next push and the baby was THERE! She rushed to the phone, and called my midwife in saying the baby is coming NOW! She rushed around to get gloved and gowned, and to get the table over. My midwife rushed in and did the same. It was maybe 5 more pushes and my sweet baby girl was out and in my arms!!!!! It happened so fast once the baby quickly moved down. I tore a little bit, but basically felt pretty good.

Rebecca's Story

Claire Racine was born on January 4th 2000

Birth Type: Epidural

Monday morning I was getting ready to go to the non stress test at the hospital and than to my doctors office to schedule my induction for later that week. When I went to the bathroom I very obviously lost my mucous plug. Anyway...after that I felt kinda weird but couldn't really place it. I was walking down the hall to get some stuff before we left and I had a big gush. I figured it was my water so I called L&D and said I think my water broke, that or I just peed my pants. They told me to come in but to take my time because they were so busy. We got to the hospital at about 11:15 and they checked to see if my water had broken and at this point I was beginning to wonder if maybe I did pee my pants. It seemed that I had stopped leaking. Well after the midwife checked me I turned in to Niagara falls, no doubt anymore that my water broke so they got me into a room and told me to take a shower and walk around to try to get things going on my own or they would start pitocin at 6pm. I did start having contractions about 4 min apart but at 6pm I was still only 1 cm so they started pitocin. About 9pm the contractions were so bad that I wanted something for them. They checked me and I was at 4 so they said that I could have the epidural which was in place by 9:30pm and they checked me right after they put it in and I was at 5. Around 11:30p, I woke up with a terrible pain in my left side and could pretty much feel that whole side of my body. I was in tears while they were waiting for the anesthesiologist to come back with another dose. She finally got there around 12:30am and gave me a big dose. They checked me again and I was at 10 cm and +1, but still had a little lip so I flipped back and forth for awhile. We called my sister to come back and she got there at 2 am right before I started pushing. I ended up pushing for 2 1/2 hours because Claire was sunny side up, but they didn't know that for sure so they didn't try to turn her (just in case) as she was coming down her head would turn but not all the way so from 2 am til 4:30am I pushed and finally at 4:30am they offered the vacuum extractor and I hadn't wanted to use it but I just couldn't push anymore and I thought she would never come out. Also I could feel everything when I pushed and it hurt so bad. So after about 5 pushing contractions with the vacuum she was finally out. She came out screaming and I don't blame her I felt the same way.

Lynette's Story

Jesse Michael was born on December 3rd 1999

Birth Type: Un-scheduled C-Section

When I woke up I had cramping and thought there was an awful lot of liquid coming out when I was in the bathroom but figured I had just peed a lot. Then it just kept leaking. Since we had just been to L&D on Tuesday, I wanted to wait and see what would happen 'cause I really couldn't handle another false alarm:( Finally we went to the hospital around 3:00 am and found out that yes indeed my water had broke. So I got admitted and Jon went back home to get our bags and call the family and while he was gone my parents walked around with me. They had me walk around for 2 hours to try to help me dialate and then at 7:00 am they started to induce with pitocin. Anyways the nurse puts a monitor inside to measure the force of the contractions which are now coming without much of a pause in between and once she gets the reading they stop the pitocin and even prepare to stop the labor itself. About then after asking the nurse all sorts of questions about the epidural, going nuts from the pain, and seeing my husband with tears streaming down his face 'cause there was nothing he could do to make the pain go away, I said "Fuck it, give me an epidural!!!" I was sooo scared but it didn't really hurt when they put it in and once it took effect I felt sooooo much better. The biggest problem was that I wasn't dialating anywhere near quick enough. So they start up the pitocin again and for awhile all is well, then I start feeling the contractions again and this time it was the kind of contractions where you gotta push and I was nowhere near dialated enough to push!!!!! Dan (the anesthesiologist) had upped the epidural already and came back in and said that he would have to try another epidural since for some reason this one wasn't working anymore. So he took out the first one and started the new one. I felt it! OUCH!He was trying to be careful 'cause they didn't want to have the needle in my back when a contraction hit. Finally it took effect and the world calmed down again. Somewhere around 2:30 pm I had finally dialated and effaced completely!!!!! It was time to push!!!!! Jon and my mother stayed in the room to help and the pushing started. Four hours later, the doc had us stop and said that the baby's head was stuck and the only option now was going to be a C-section. She said that I had tried the best I could and that all the pushing was just exhausting me. So they got prepared for the C-section. So off to the OR we go. It was going pretty well, I could just feel pressure but that was it, they did have trouble getting him out but once he was out, he was pissed and let the world know it:) So now the docs are starting to close me up what I didn't know was that somehow the 2nd epidural had fallen out, not to scare anyone but the realization that all of a sudden I could feel what the docs were doing freaked me out and the anesthesiologist were shooting stuff directly into my I.V. bag to try to get me through the rest of the surgery. Finally whatever they had shot into my I.V. knocked me loopy and I have no memory of the rest of the surgery or being taken to my room. I finally got to see Jesse around 2:00 am. He's perfect, I absolutely love him!!!!!! It was worth going thru all that hell to have this little boy in my arms:) Jesse Michael Voits born on Dec 3rd at 7:43 pm.



Lisa's Story

Nicholas Marc was born on December 22nd 1999

Birth Type: Induced and Epidural

Labor was wonderful, but pretty much uneventful. We got to the hospital at 7:40am and the Dr was in a c-section, so the nurse couldn't get the authorization to start my pitocin until 8:30am. Shortly after I starting having contractions, but nothing too bad, really just cramping. At 10:00am the Dr. came in and broke my water and said that the Dr. who checked me the day before had small hands and at that point I was really only ALMOST 2cm dilated. I was so tempted to just raise my leg and kick him...he was so snotty about it and Marc was so funny, everytime he would leave after a quick check, (all of maybe 4 times the whole 24 hours) Marc would mutter under his breath, "Dickhead". He thought I was over reacting about what a jerk this guy was! So anyway, he broke my water at 10:00am and by 10:30am I was having the most awful contractions I had ever felt...coming 2 minutes apart! So I hit the nurse button and in tears asked them to send in Barbara. When she got there I was on my side facing away from her holding on to Marc for dear life and all I had to say was "I'm ready" and she knew. She called the Epidural man and then came and looked at my monitor and was amazed at how I had responded to having my water broken. She could see how much pain I was in so she stopped the pitocin until after the epi was in. She did a quick check before the guy got there and I was still only 2-3cm. At this point I was getting worried. I mean, these contractions where AWFUL...how come they weren't doing more??? And on top of that I knew that the epi would more then likely slow things down, so I was now preparing myself for the long haul. So my pitocin was stopped at 10:45am and I got the epi and the pitocin was restarted by 11:00am. Marc had to leave for the epi, so I told him to go find himself some lunch so he wouldn't have to leave again. So as soon as I started to feel comfortable I felt myself starting to drift off and the next thing I knew it was 12:35pm and Barbara was coming to check me again. I could tell by the look on her face that something as up. She just looked at me and said, "I'm going to find Dr. Valove and tell him it's time!" I was SHOCKED!!!!! So he came in, Marc quickly started the video camera and it started. By watching the tape, my first push was at 12:47pm and Nicholas was on my stomach at 12:49pm. The Hospital clock said 12:50pm, so that's what we go by. He weighed 7lbs. 11oz. and was 19 inches long. His apgar scores were 8 and 9 and he is wonderful!

Sarah's Story

Noah Samuel was born on December 15th 1999

Birth Type: Natural

On Wednesday, December 15th at 2:52 am I gave birth to Noah Samuel. He weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 21 inches long. My labor went absolutely wonderful. I have to say that the Hypbnobirthing I researched paid off. i don't think it could have went any better! Tuesday I think I had lost my mucus plug, all day I was having mild contractions about 7 minutes apart. After my hubby Jay, got out of work at 6 pm we went to the mall to finish up our x-mas shopping. We were there for about 3 hours a little less and had dinner there. My dad told me to eat tacos cuz they would put me in labor so I did! we left the mall and got home around 9 pm and my contractions were at 5 mins apart and becoming stronger. So at 10 I called my midwife and she asked if I was going natural or if I wanted the epi. I said Natural all the way! Well she said to stay at home until I couldn't take the contractions any more. So my hubby and I started listening to my hypnosis tapes and relaxed in bed for 2 hours. I told him at midnight that we needed to go to the hospital. so he called my midwife and told her we were on the way. We got into the car and the coolest thing happened. On our way on to the highway we both saw this rather large bright shooting star! It was incredible! We knew it was a sign. We got to the hospital and I was checked in by 1:15 am. The nurse was going to check my dilation and all I could think of was if I was just imaging this and they were gonna send me home, cuz I was expecting pain. I said to her "Please tell me I'm at least 8 cm!" She checked and said "nope, you're about 9.5 cm!!!" So she got the midwife in there and less than 2 hours my baby was in my arms! It was wonderful! I tore naturally a little due to the fact that he had a large head. But he's here and i don't think I could be any happier than I have been this week!

Stacey's Story

Ashleigh Rose was born on December 4th 1999

Birth Type: Epidural

Well on Friday the 3rd me, my mom and Tyler went out shopping for about an hour. We got chinese food for lunch and when we got back to my house I put Tyler down for a nap and decided to lay down myself. Tyler started crying about an hour later so when i got up to see what was wrong my water broke!!!! It wasn't a huge WHOOSH!! Just a steady trickle down my leg! We got to the hospital at about 2:30pm. The doctor on call-- (who is an absolute sweetheart) decided to have me wait a couple hours to see if I would start to have contractions. By 8pm still no contractions so he started the pitocin. By 8:30pm the contractions started but they were tolerable. By 9pm I was practically in tears cuz the contractions hurt so bad. He checked me but I was only 2 centimetres dialated so he didn't want me to have the epidural just yet. I went into the jacuzzi bath and that was real relaxing. I stayed in there for 30 mins and the second I stepped out I was in tears. I am such a wimp when it comes to pain!! He checked me again and I was at 3 so he called the epi guy and told him I was ready, the epi guy said he'd be up in 20 mins. I got a shot of NuBain and felt drunk out of my mind!! It took the edge of the contractions which was a good thing! When I got the epidural it took about 15 mins for him to complete it and when he did I just knew there was something wrong cuz I could still feel tons of pressure on my right side whereas when I had the epi with tyler i felt NOTHING!! The epi guy went to get the doctor and when the doctor checked me again the look of surprise was written all over his face--I was completely dialated and ready to push! He was amazed cuz I went from 3-10 centimetres in about 1 hour!! He had to tell me when to push cuz the rest of my body was numb and I only pushed twice and she slipped right out! I didn't even feel her coming out! The second she came out she started screaming!! The doctor said I was only in real labor for 4 hours. I am so thrilled shes finally here:)

Susannah's Story

Sydney Abigail was born on NOvember 18th 1999

Birth Type: Scheduled C-section

It started on Thursday, November 18th around 9am when I called my OB to find out the results of the amino we had. It turned out at 37 weeks her lungs looked mature and after 20 weeks of high blood pressure, problems with my heart, and frequent and large dips in her heart rate the doctors decided it was time for my baby to come out. I was to check into the hospital for a scheduled c-section at 3:30pm that afternoon. I got to the hospital at 3:30pm and was checked in by 4pm, and things went so fast from there. I had all my blood work done and back in an hour where they discovered my liver and kidneys were shutting down (a problem that comes with pre-eclampsia) the doctors had been monitoring it for several weeks. By 5:15pm I had the epidural, which was fantastic, by 5:30pm we were wheeled into the OR waiting for the doctor who was helping my OB. By 5:45pm my doctor had made the first incision. It should only take 5 minutes to get to the baby with c-sections but because this was my 4th c-section, I had a lot of scar tissue and it took more then 1/2 an hour to get to her. At 6:20pm my beautiful baby girl, Sydney Abigail was born, at first she wasn't breathing but the gave her some oxygen and by her 1 minute apgar she score and 8 and at her 5 minute apgar she scored a 9. They sewed me up which took almost an hour and I went to recovery until 9pm. It was 10 pm before I got to hold my sweet angel. She was 6lbs 12 oz and 18 1/2 inches long.

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