A Miracle Birth- Hospital Water Birth
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This is such a sweet and miraculous birth story. I just loved it.
Was birth a spiritual experience for you?
Enjoy!
This story begins in January 2013, just one month after I married my best friend. My body and my heart were telling me I was pregnant, although it was just our first month of trying for a baby, I still felt like this was it. After multiple negative results and just that single pink line on all those tests, I was beginning to get discouraged. I had so many early pregnancy symptoms. So I made an appointment to visit my OB. She gave me a full exam and did a blood work up...nothing. At this point I was 2 weeks late and I was for sure I was pregnant, so to hear my doctor say that I was 100% not pregnant was upsetting. She wrote me a prescription to induce my period and said my body was probably just out of whack from all the stress of the wedding.
Well earlier that week I had sat down and written a note to God and I simply asked him to help me be patient on my positive pregnancy test. In the note I made a promise to Him and to myself that I would not take another home pregnancy test until I would be about 8 weeks.
When I left the doctor's office I was very upset because I had been thinking that whole time I was pregnant and all I really needed was a blood test to confirm it. I went to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription for the drug that would bring on my period. On the way home I was going back and forth on whether or not to take the medicine or just let my body do what it's going to do. That's when I remembered the note I had written to God just a few days before. I made the decision to do exactly what I promised. Wait and take the test at the point I would have been 8 weeks. At this point I was convinced I wasn't pregnant but I wanted to keep my promise.
Almost two weeks later I woke up to use the bathroom in the early morning hours and remembered the test I was going to take. I knew the results would be negative, but I was going to do it anyway for my own peace of mind.
I went to the bathroom washed my hands and before I walked out of the bathroom, I glanced down at the test and saw those two little pink lines I had been waiting on the last few weeks. I immediately woke my husband, I was so excited and thanked God for giving me the patience to wait on this little miracle.
I decided about halfway into my pregnancy that I wanted to do a water birth and have the experience I didn't have with my first daughter. At the time I had my daughter, 3 years ago, I was a single mom, just 20 years old, and I hadn't put any thought into a birth plan. I just figured I would get an epidural. She stopped growing inside of me at around 33 weeks and I had to be induced at 37 weeks. I did not feel a bond with her until the next day, so this time around I wanted to do my best to have an amazing experience.
We chose not to find out the sex of our baby and at 37 weeks I picked up my birth pool. At that point it was feeling real and I was beginning to doubt myself and worry about the pain I was going to be feeling very soon.
October 11th, 2013, at 39 weeks and 1 day, I woke up at 2:30 knowing that was the day. The contractions were different than the ones I had been having for the past several weeks. Since the hospital was 45 minutes away and my parents lived 5 minutes from the hospital we decided to leave fairly soon after labor started and hang out there. I had already been 4 cm and 90% effaced and my daughter came very quickly at the end, so I did not want to take any chances.
As I labored at my parents house I tried to make time to cuddle with my daughter as she watched Dora in her cozy bathrobe. Everyone was too excited to go back to sleep. My early labor lasted for several hours and we got to the hospital at about 2:00pm that afternoon. At that time I was about 5-6 cm.
For the last several hours I had been praying and asking Jesus to be with me through this difficult yet amazing experience. I asked Him to give me a sign, a sign that I should continue with my water birth plans or get an epidural and let my body rest. At this point the contractions were very manageable and I was breathing through them and groaning every now and then. My biggest fear was the pain of pushing the baby out.
Right before my IV was put in for the epidural, my midwife told the nurse not to let me go through with it until she got to talk to me about my decision. About 20 minutes later she came in and we talked and she asked if I could at least try the water and I could always get out and get the epidural if I wasn't liking the it.
At that point I was about 6-7 cm and my midwife said I had plenty of time. She and my husband quickly put the pool together and started filling it while I swayed back and forth on a birthing ball to help ease the pain in my back.
It was 5:45 when I got into the water and at first it felt amazing, that is until the first contraction came. I was surprised! This was the most painful one yet! I had thought the water was supposed to ease the pain. I looked over at my husband and said, "I'm going to give this one more contraction and I'm getting out for the epidural. Well since I had decided not to listen to the first sign God had given me when the midwife came in and tried to convince me, with then next contraction was the crazy, intense urge to push, I guess that's a sign I had to listen to. It was too late to get out of the water and although I was scared, I knew I was going to get the amazing birth I wanted.
After a couple of intense pushes my baby's head was out and that was when my water finally broke. One more big push and there he was. I had a perfect baby boy and I fell in love with him instantly! He was born at 6:05pm, just 20 minutes after getting into the water.
It's hard to think if I had taken the medicine the doctor prescribed, my son would not be in my arms today.
Well earlier that week I had sat down and written a note to God and I simply asked him to help me be patient on my positive pregnancy test. In the note I made a promise to Him and to myself that I would not take another home pregnancy test until I would be about 8 weeks.
When I left the doctor's office I was very upset because I had been thinking that whole time I was pregnant and all I really needed was a blood test to confirm it. I went to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription for the drug that would bring on my period. On the way home I was going back and forth on whether or not to take the medicine or just let my body do what it's going to do. That's when I remembered the note I had written to God just a few days before. I made the decision to do exactly what I promised. Wait and take the test at the point I would have been 8 weeks. At this point I was convinced I wasn't pregnant but I wanted to keep my promise.
Almost two weeks later I woke up to use the bathroom in the early morning hours and remembered the test I was going to take. I knew the results would be negative, but I was going to do it anyway for my own peace of mind.
I went to the bathroom washed my hands and before I walked out of the bathroom, I glanced down at the test and saw those two little pink lines I had been waiting on the last few weeks. I immediately woke my husband, I was so excited and thanked God for giving me the patience to wait on this little miracle.
I decided about halfway into my pregnancy that I wanted to do a water birth and have the experience I didn't have with my first daughter. At the time I had my daughter, 3 years ago, I was a single mom, just 20 years old, and I hadn't put any thought into a birth plan. I just figured I would get an epidural. She stopped growing inside of me at around 33 weeks and I had to be induced at 37 weeks. I did not feel a bond with her until the next day, so this time around I wanted to do my best to have an amazing experience.
We chose not to find out the sex of our baby and at 37 weeks I picked up my birth pool. At that point it was feeling real and I was beginning to doubt myself and worry about the pain I was going to be feeling very soon.
October 11th, 2013, at 39 weeks and 1 day, I woke up at 2:30 knowing that was the day. The contractions were different than the ones I had been having for the past several weeks. Since the hospital was 45 minutes away and my parents lived 5 minutes from the hospital we decided to leave fairly soon after labor started and hang out there. I had already been 4 cm and 90% effaced and my daughter came very quickly at the end, so I did not want to take any chances.
As I labored at my parents house I tried to make time to cuddle with my daughter as she watched Dora in her cozy bathrobe. Everyone was too excited to go back to sleep. My early labor lasted for several hours and we got to the hospital at about 2:00pm that afternoon. At that time I was about 5-6 cm.
For the last several hours I had been praying and asking Jesus to be with me through this difficult yet amazing experience. I asked Him to give me a sign, a sign that I should continue with my water birth plans or get an epidural and let my body rest. At this point the contractions were very manageable and I was breathing through them and groaning every now and then. My biggest fear was the pain of pushing the baby out.
Right before my IV was put in for the epidural, my midwife told the nurse not to let me go through with it until she got to talk to me about my decision. About 20 minutes later she came in and we talked and she asked if I could at least try the water and I could always get out and get the epidural if I wasn't liking the it.
At that point I was about 6-7 cm and my midwife said I had plenty of time. She and my husband quickly put the pool together and started filling it while I swayed back and forth on a birthing ball to help ease the pain in my back.
It was 5:45 when I got into the water and at first it felt amazing, that is until the first contraction came. I was surprised! This was the most painful one yet! I had thought the water was supposed to ease the pain. I looked over at my husband and said, "I'm going to give this one more contraction and I'm getting out for the epidural. Well since I had decided not to listen to the first sign God had given me when the midwife came in and tried to convince me, with then next contraction was the crazy, intense urge to push, I guess that's a sign I had to listen to. It was too late to get out of the water and although I was scared, I knew I was going to get the amazing birth I wanted.
After a couple of intense pushes my baby's head was out and that was when my water finally broke. One more big push and there he was. I had a perfect baby boy and I fell in love with him instantly! He was born at 6:05pm, just 20 minutes after getting into the water.
It's hard to think if I had taken the medicine the doctor prescribed, my son would not be in my arms today.
Comments
Somewhat similarly, I know several moms who were bleeding and were told they were miscarrying and were recommended a d&c. With one it turned out that the doctor's dates were wrong which is why they couldn't find the heartbeat and thankfully, mama listened to her body and trusted. Her little one was just earlier than they thought and she was just spotting. Had she followed the doctor, they would have killed her baby. Another one in a similar situation was recommended a d&c but didn't listen and thank God because she was miscarrying one twin and the other wasn't caught on the u/s. That baby survived. It breaks my heart how often this must happen and the baby is killed unknowingly!!