Kyveli's birth story, Volume 2: At the Hospital

When we got to Kaiser, Mireille knew exactly where we had to go since she had assisted with deliveries there before. That was a very good thing because nobody was at the information desk and the halls were pretty much deserted. I started getting really emotional being wheeled through those halls, knowing the reason that I was there and that when I was wheeled back out, I would be holding our baby – my baby – in my arms. The led us into the triage room where our Labor & Delivery nurse, Marcia, evaluated me. She took my temperature and hooked me up to the external fetal monitor to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. Both were elevated enough to make them worry that I was either dehydrated or that I had an infection, though an infection was not likely because my water hadn’t broken yet. She said she wanted to start me on an IV and right then, Mireille pulled out our birth plan and let her know that we were really hoping to avoid one. Mireille asked the nurse if there was anything else we could try before the IV, and after consulting with the OB on call, Marcia told me I could try drinking a whole lot of water and after 45 minutes if the situation hadn’t improved, I’d be getting an IV. Fortunately, the water lowered both my temperature and the baby’s heartbeat! No IV needed – woot! The OB, Dr. Bender, came in and checked me and said I was 5cm, 90% effaced, and at -2 station. We were definitely staying, and I was definitely in active labor! We were all thrilled because this was exactly what we had been shooting for but up to then, we had no idea how far I had progressed aside from Mireille’s assessment of my labor progress, which ended up being spot on.

Around 7pm we were led into the delivery room and got settled in. I lost all track of time at this point. My contractions were getting much stronger, longer and closer together and at some point I entered transition. I vomited during one really strong transition contraction, which was no fun since it caused me to tense my up my muscles. At 9:30 I felt a pop and a gush…my water broke! I felt an uncontrollable urge to push after that, and Mireille had to call Marcia back in to let her know that my water had broken and I was pushing. The room filled with people and in walked the OB who would be delivering me, Dr. Nichole Mahnert. Mireille said “oh hi Nichole, are you staying for the delivery?” and there was a grand reunion. Apparently they had done deliveries together before and knew eachother on a first name basis. Mireille told us later that there was nobody else she could have chosen for our delivery, even if she could have had her pick of anyone, and that Dr. Mahnert probably heard that we were going natural and wanted to be a part of it. Sweet! Dr. Mahnert ended up being fantastic.

I started pushing in a semi-reclined position, but that quickly became really uncomfortable and I decided needed to be upright. A squat bar materialized out of nowhere and I pulled myself up on it in sort of a kneeling position. With each contraction the urge to push was unimaginable. I could not have held myself back if my life depended on it, and I had absolutely no control over what I was doing. I just had to take a back seat and let my body do what it needed to do. This part was incredibly intense and to be honest, incredibly painful. I’ve heard so many mothers say that they pushed for two or more hours, especially with their first babies, and I remember thinking that there was no way I would survive if I had to do that for even one hour. It felt like I was being ripped apart. But looking back, I think it was as intense as it was because the baby was coming so quickly. All the while, Dr. Mahnert was literally kneeling on the floor at the foot of the bed and looking up at the action. I have so much respect for her for letting me be in whatever position was most effective and comfortable for me, regardless of her own personal comfort or convenience. After 20 minutes or so, Dr. Mahnert told me to reach down and feel my baby’s head beginning to emerge. It was all wrinkly, warm and incredibly soft. What a strange sensation! A couple of contractions later out she slid – head, shoulders, body and all - in one big gush. I had done it! I had given birth to a beautiful, perfect baby girl after pushing for all of 27 minutes!

They lifted the baby onto my belly and I began getting to know our daughter. She was crying and healthy, and held onto my finger with her little hand. I didn’t even realize it at the time, but the nurses did her APGARs while she was still on my belly, and she scored 9s on both the 1-minute and 5-minute evaluations. Kailen cut the umbilical cord about 20 minutes after the baby was born, when it had nearly stopped pulsing. Then it was time for him to have a turn holding her. It was important to Kailen that his first contact with his daughter be skin-to-skin, so he ripped off his shirt as the nurses handed her to him. He got some funny looks from the nurses, but it was really sweet. While Kailen held the baby, Dr. Mahnert began “inspecting the damage,” which wasn’t bad considering how quickly she came out – just a 1st degree lateral tear (they later upgraded it to 2nd degree, but still not bad). We had asked the nurses to delay all newborn procedures for at least the first hour to allow time to bond with the baby, so we didn’t even know now much she weighed until she was over an hour old. I was on the phone with my mom when they finally did weigh her, and we all took turns guessing, which was fun. Turns out she was 7lbs, 2.3oz and 19” long. I don’t even remember who won the bet!

Mireille stayed long enough to help us get breastfeeding established, which went very well and still is. Finally, she left us in the good hands of the Kaiser staff after being with us for nearly 20 hours and making such a wonderful contribution to our labor and delivery experience.