22,396,047 members doing good!
about our ads
share your passions, stories, inspirations, and more
Vote for Kaya
May 7, 2008
The Birth of Our Snow Angel

I knew I was pregnant two weeks prior to the onset of morning sickness. I was able to stave full on sickness this time with the use of ginger and licorice tea. I decided early on that I wanted to have a home birth. Quinn was born in the hospital and he had to be surgically removed because my cervix wouldn't dilate any more. I was in agonizing pain for the first month and it took a total of four months to heal from the incision. I did not want to repeat that experience. No way.

So, I set out to find a mid-wyfe, did all of the necessary preparations, JP had a new job and everything was ready. I had been seeing my mid-wyfe for six or seven months. Medicare pays part of the fee for a mid-wyfe, but our co-pay is about $1,000. She was very nice and understanding of my financial situation and other matters of difficulty. It is mandatory in this state that if you are a VBAC, you must follow certain precautionary steps. I had to recover medical records from HI and she had to find another mid-wyfe to attend the birthing. My due date was scheduled for the end of October or beginning of November. This was just a guess though.

A few weeks prior to my due date, I felt safe enough about my friendship with my mid-wyfe that I told her about a medicine which I use. Instead of being understanding and respectful, she shut me down. She refused to allow me a home-birth and went so far as to tell other mid-wyfes and doctors about what I had told her in confidence. No one would help me with a home-birth anyway, because the due date was so close at hand and there were too many risks.

Letting go of that dream, I started the process of registering for a hospital birth. The hospital I went to has a mid-wyfe program and their facilities are very nice, but it is still a hospital. They took scans of our child, which we discovered would not be born until sometime at the end of November or beginning of December. The doctors kept the child's identity from us because we had asked them to. We wanted to keep something a surprise. This went on for a month or so and as the time drew nearer I became unbearably uncomfortable. November came and went, but there was still no birth.

On December third I was beginning to have intense contractions and the hospital was 45 min away from us. My husband packed us all into the car for the trip up and we headed out. When we got there, the doctor checked my cervix, hooked up the ultrasound and kept me in the delivery room for two hours. My contractions has subsided. I still wasn't dilated and they sent us home. There was a storm warning in effect, forecast to arrive that night and we were shocked. Many people have told us that babies are most often born during a storm.

We drove home and I lay down to watch TV. My contractions were sporadic throughout the afternoon and became more intense during the evening hours, but still not consistent. The storm was upon us but my water hadn't broke. These irregular contractions had been occurring for weeks with me so I didn't alert anyone. That night I put our son to bed and went to bed myself. The contractions would not allow me to get any sleep though.

At about midnight my water broke. I heard a loud pop in my inner ear and the pressure on my cerivx was diminished. Luckily I had put a pad in my underwear that day so the fluid did not get on our bed. As soon as my water broke I told my husband, JP, and he jumped out of bed. He woke Quinn up and hustled us all to the car. The snow become more and more intense and we could barely see where we were going. We live up in the mountains on a dirt road and it hadn't been plowed yet. As we were nearing the bottom of the hill our car lost grip and started slipping.

"JP, stop, JP, Stop! Stop!" I said as we plowed into a mound of plowed snow. There was no stopping the car. My contractions were getting stronger and closer together and luckily, there was a person in a pick-up who saw our car careen into the bank. He kindly helped us out of the mound and let JP use his cell phone to call the police. All the while my contractions were getting more intense.

Our car was still running and so JP drove on, the police escorting us to the nearest hospital. This hospital wasn't the one that we had been going to but I had registered here just in case. It was a good thing too. They rushed me into a delivery room and told me who the doctor on call for that night was. When we were told her name we started thinking about leaving. She is known to preform more c-sections than any other doctor at this hospital. JP made it very clear that I didn't want to be seen by her and demanded that another doctor be called in to help with delivery or we would leave.

There were six other mothers in labor or just had their baby that night so the other doctor, who I had met once, was called in. At first, he was concerned because my contractions were not regular and my cervix wouldn't dilate by the book. I would have a set of intense contractions followed by a lighter set. After remaining only 3cm in dilation for three hours, the doctor began talking about scheduling me for a c-section. JP took him out of the room and told him that he needed to just give me some more time. Three hours later I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Quinn and JP both cut her umbilical chord and she was placed on my belly and began nursing.

I had done it! Despite all of the trouble and prejudice, I had a natural birth with very little help. Since this was to be my last pregnancy, I wanted to do it the natural way. My mission has been accomplished. I am proud to introduce you to the newest member of our family:

Kaya Kekona Noelani Harroun.
She has just been entered into a photo contest and she'd love your VOTE. It takes a few minuets of your time to fill out the "promotional marketing" stuff associated with this FREE contest and the child with the most votes in a month wins a prize at the end of each month.
Thank you.

Peace, Love and Light,
Lyra
Earth College
(0) | () | | send green star | flag as inappropriate
Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted: May 7, 2008 9:40am

 
 
 
Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.

Author

Lyra J.
female, age 35, married, 2 children
Ripton, VT, USA
Shares by Type:
All (23) | Blog (17) | Alert (1) | Photo (2) | Message (3)

Showing shares tagged with: baby [show all]
ads keep care2 free
SHARES FROM LYRA'S NETWORK
May
14
(0 comments  |  discussions )
KDC Solar and North Jersey Media Group Cut Ribbon on Large Solar Facilityby Staff WritersBedminster NJ (SPX) May 10, 2013The solar operation will cover more than 60 percent of the power needs at North Jersey Media Group's printing plant. KDC Sol...
May
8
(0 comments  |  discussions )
May
6
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Dominion Virginia Power Selects Old Dominion University For First Rooftop Solar Power Installationby Staff WritersNorfolk VA (SPX) May 06, 2013File image. Dominion Virginia Power has selected Old Dominion University to be the first participant i...
May
2
(0 comments  |  discussions )
More Books Children’s Book Reviews from EcoChildsPlay Worm’s book: The Giving Tree My brand new book: ROBOT+BIKE=KITTEN Catch up on the rest of the Hank D and the Bee series at JoeMohrToons.com. For cartoon updates and other green goings-...
Apr
17
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Unleashing the power of a child’s imagination through art can yield some of the most impressive displays to understand your little one. We’ve all had coloring books when we were growing up where crayons were worn down to the nub. However,...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Save AmericaâEUR(TM)s Rivers: Stop Nutrient Pollution - ForceChange Environm ent  (tags:&nbs p;water, pollution,& nbsp;rivers ) & nbsp;Alice - 17 seconds ago - forcechange.com  A recent EPA sampling showed t...
Apr
16
(0 comments  |  discussions )
How Solar-Friendly City Permitting Processes Can Work in the US By James Montgomery, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com& nbsp;April 15, 2013   |    Post Your Comment Do you like this news? E...
Apr
5
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Every parent wants their kids to eat healthy, but if your family isn’t used to home-cooked meals, the extra time and money can make it easy to put off. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to keep your kids healthy witho...
Apr
3
(0 comments  |  discussions )
You want your child to be happy and healthy. Children learn how and what to eat from you, and forming healthy habits during their early years promotes lifelong health. Your child needs proper nutrition for optimal growth and development and healthy e...
Apr
2
(0 comments  |  0 discussions )
If you are like most people, you spend most of your days sitting in a cubicle or office with your only exercise being a trip to the bathroom. This constant sitting literally takes years off your life. Even though the gym may be only a couple miles aw...

Copyright © 2013 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved