Oswin Henry Evans’ Birth Day. (4th Oct 2007)
I suppose Oswins Birth story should begin on 6th September when I had my first sleepless night due to contractions. I was getting contractions every 15 minutes and emptying my bowels from about 12am until 7am, when the children started to get up wanting breakfast and the contractions stopped completely. I had similar experiences on the 9th September, 11th September, 18th September, 21st September and 1st October. Obviously I was quite tired and spent many of the last days of my pregnancy coping with disappointment each time the labour stopped. This was difficult but not as difficult as having to face people and listen to their comments and jokes about my size and when I was going to ‘let the baby come out’ etc.
I was also given ample advice about various method of inducing labour which of course all ‘work every time’! Here are the ones we tried:
A hot curry, a hot bath, a hot bath with clary sage, a brisk walk, a jog, walking sideways up the stairs (!), raspberry leaf tea, strong coffee, aromatherapy massages (using oils made up for me by Lin), nipple stimulation, (in the form of breast feeding Amaris), sex and finally reflexology.
Nigel contacted Lesley, (the reflexologist), the weekend before Oswin was born but she was unhappy about helping in case of complications. However, she got back in touch on the Tuesday after she had researched reflexology as a method of inducing labour. We arranged an appointment for Wednesday afternoon and reluctantly took the children ice skating on Wednesday morning. This was a good decision as we were able to avoid most of the people we didn’t want to see and spent lots of time with friends who were able to sympathise and make helpful comments that helped us to feel much better, especially hearing how many people went way over their due dates.
Reflexology went well. I asked Lesley to use the last of the oils that Lin mixed for me. Lesley said that everything was perfectly healthy I just had lots on my mind and I was quite constipated. I already knew this but hearing it put my mind at rest. After my treatment I went to the toilet several times and went to bed feeling much more comfortable and relaxed.
The Labour.
I was awoken during the early hours of the morning with some good strong contractions. After the 3rd one I checked the clock. It was 5:30am. This seemed like a very reasonable hour and so I decided to get up. At this point I felt positive and refreshed, mainly because Sol had slept well for 2 or 3 nights previous.
I went downstairs and made myself a pot of raspberry leaf tea, I was determined to maintain good contractions this time. When the rest of the family joined me we took photographs of us to mark the momentous occasion, the last time our family photos would only contain 5 people! Nigel took a picture of me and the children and then set the timer to take one of all of us. During which time I had another contraction and my face was bright red for that photo!!
We carried on as normal until lunchtime when I settled myself upstairs because I felt that the contractions were getting extremely strong. A short while later I asked Nigel to call his Mom to help with the children because I felt like I needed Nigel’s support. She arrived within minutes.
The contractions continued to get stronger and closer together for the next few hours. Nigel was wonderful and kept me well topped up on rescue remedy, homeopathy and phytobiosphysics. I was continually asking for reassurance because I felt that the labour was so much more intense than I remembered the others being. Nigel also reminded me to remain active, for most of the labour I chose to have one contraction whilst sitting on the toilet and one standing up holding on to Nigel. Nigel helped me to stay focused and his confidence in me made me feel energised during the early stages.
It was probably about 4pm when I asked Nigel to make sure the children stayed out because I felt I no longer had any control over the intensity of the contractions and I knew I would be bearing down soon. I want to say more about the effect the contractions were having on me but it is so difficult to explain. For a start I knew that he was going to be a big baby because I felt that the birth canal was filled to agonising capacity which really frightened me. And with each contraction I felt my entire body contract with my uterus. I am used to having a midwife scream ‘one last push before the contraction finishes’ and each time I’ve decided whether I want to give one last push or not. Usually not! But this time I had no choice my body took over and my mind panicked. I shouted and grunted like a wounded animal, but in my defence I have never had such a painful, intense labour before and hope to never have one like it again! Nigel had to ask me to get off the toilet because he noticed how fierce the contractions had become. I think he was afraid I’d give birth into the toilet. However, I really didn’t want to because each contraction was bringing a bowel movement! He was right to be concerned though because it was only minutes later that Oswin arrived!
At one point with my head swimming and my body reeling, I was holding onto the bathroom sink whilst Nigel did a wonderful job of strategically putting pressure on my back, I remember crying out ‘wait’. I’m not sure who to, perhaps the baby, but I was just so desperate for 2 minutes break. Nigel rightly interpreted this to mean I was starting to flag and advised me to get on all fours to slow the process a little. However, I didn’t feel I could have shut my legs enough to put both knees on the floor and only managed one knee and one foot, well, tip toes actually. It wasn’t until afterwards that we realised I had dreamt about giving birth in this position weeks ago but I’d dismissed it because I hadn’t ever considered this position before and had no intention of giving birth in the bathroom!
At one point I could here Kath reading to the children and each time I shouted she raised her voice until by the end of the contraction she was shouting to muffle my cries! I remember thinking ‘this would be funny if it didn’t hurt so much!’
I soon decided that even though I was certain I was about to tear I had to just do whatever I had to get the baby out safely. Nigel began giving me a commentary on what he could see. This was extremely helpful especially because I wasn’t sure he was coming out right. Nigel explained that the head was crowning and then that he could see his forehead. At some point around now Nigel encouraged me to feel for myself and I was amazed at how odd the fluffy little head felt. But I was able to satisfy my concerns. Nigel continued to comment, ‘his eyes are out…..I can see his ears’ etc. he instructed me when to breathe, pant etc to ensure minimal tearing. He did well because even after all that I only grazed and didn’t require any stitches! Yay!
Another odd sensation I have never experienced was when the baby began to turn to manoeuvre the shoulder out. In the past a midwife has turned the baby with much discomfort. But this time Oswin gently began twisting round until I felt one last intense pain which was obviously a shoulder squeezing through before a huge gush of water pushed him free and into Daddies hands. I snatched a glimpse and instinctively knew he was beautiful, whole and complete and so I was able to spend a few precious moments recovering!!! This was a nice feeling because I knew hew was safe with Nigel rather than feeling the need to snatch the baby from the midwife quickly!! I think at this point Nigel asked me if I wanted to sit down. I answered 'No' and asked him to pass me the baby and help me to the bedroom. Nigel couldn't work out how we could do this without me stepping over the cord, but I asked him to pass him through my legs. He did and then we had an odd wobbly walk to the bedroom, past all of the fluid and meconium on the bathroom floor. I remember feeling shocked that I couldn't walk upright with him because the cord was too short. I was reluctant to tug on it for fear I'd do some damage and so Nigel just supported me as I limped to the bedroom. Wanted to rest somewhere I wouldn’t have to move from for a while, I really needed to rest. At this point the children and Kath rushed to the bottom of the stairs, they had heard him cry and were asking if they would come and see him. I asked them to give me a moment because I wanted to settle first. as soon as I was in bed Nigel called them in. the all had a hold , (which was an odd sensation because the cord was still attached), and Nigel took some pictures. In all the excitement I realised we'd forgotten to check the time of birth. I'd given birth in the only room without a clock! Fortunately my mother-in-law checked her watch the moment she heard him cry and informed us it was 5:10pm.
Nigel then called the hospital to tell them about Oswins arrival. At the time I wasn't sure what was happening but it was obvious that the telephone conversation wasn't going brilliantly. The midwife Nigel spoke to wanted me to go into hospital because I hadn't yet delivered the placenta, (minutes after birth!?!), Nigel argued my case wonderfully but they still sent paramedics in an ambulance with sirens and flashing lights etc!
We were determined not to go into hospital after everything we'd been through. I felt that it would endanger us both as it was early evening and taking the baby out would cause his temperature to drop and making me walk down the stairs before I’d delivered my placenta could be dangerous too. I knew that if we agreed to go to hospital we'd have to staying due to complications that they had caused.
When the paramedics arrived we asked the children to leave as the room was really crowded. later, I found out that Sol was crying, concerned that the paramedics were going to hurt me! :o(
They were nice however, and obviously didn't want a confrontation. upon arrival she asked if I’d delivered the placenta and when I said no they said they would have to take me to hospital as I'd only got 20 minutes from birth to deliver it! I told them I knew it took up to 2 hours and they agreed to just wait with me until a midwife arrived. we then sat and had a conversation about how useless midwives are until 40 minutes after birth when the I delivered the placenta, whole and healthy and...easy!
the midwife arrived a short while after, by which time I felt much more in control and confident. after a rather rough internal examination,( bitch !), after which she concluded that I was grazed and if I was in hospital they might put me a stitch but as there was no gas and air handy it would be too difficult! (I wouldn't have had any anyway!), the children came back in. The midwife continued hr checks etc. while we all admired the baby some more. We decided to ignore her as much as possible because intervention had once again threatened to turn a wonderful, glorious celebration into a nightmare!
I'll never involve the midwifery services gin, should we ever choose to have more children. Still alls well that ends well, and we certainly live and learn. What a fabulous experience and whatever else happens I'll be forever in Nigel debt for all of his care, he was calm and reassuring throughout despite having concerns himself. and because he knows me so well he knew that despite my hysterics I still didn't want a midwife present or any intervention. I'd chosen to give birth to my baby as nature intended and it was miraculous.
We spend many days talking about how amazing the whole experience was and we realised an amazing thing. I reminded Nigel that I'd dreamt about giving birth in the bathroom on one knee and one foot and that is how it happened. Nigel explained in detail what he saw and told me that when his head was first visible it looked like puckered skin. This scared him because he thought that the cord was coming first which would have resulted in the baby suffocating. However he gave it a prod and realised it was his head. It was just that the way the bones overlap to fit through the birth canal had caused the skin to pucker up! Phew. He then remembered another dream I’d had which really scared me at the time where the baby told me that when he was born there would be some issue with the top of his head and that I shouldn't worry. I did worry though and so put it to the back of my mind, but we now knew what it all meant!
The whole experience was really spiritual and well worth it! He is amazing baby.
I suppose Oswins Birth story should begin on 6th September when I had my first sleepless night due to contractions. I was getting contractions every 15 minutes and emptying my bowels from about 12am until 7am, when the children started to get up wanting breakfast and the contractions stopped completely. I had similar experiences on the 9th September, 11th September, 18th September, 21st September and 1st October. Obviously I was quite tired and spent many of the last days of my pregnancy coping with disappointment each time the labour stopped. This was difficult but not as difficult as having to face people and listen to their comments and jokes about my size and when I was going to ‘let the baby come out’ etc.
I was also given ample advice about various method of inducing labour which of course all ‘work every time’! Here are the ones we tried:
A hot curry, a hot bath, a hot bath with clary sage, a brisk walk, a jog, walking sideways up the stairs (!), raspberry leaf tea, strong coffee, aromatherapy massages (using oils made up for me by Lin), nipple stimulation, (in the form of breast feeding Amaris), sex and finally reflexology.
Nigel contacted Lesley, (the reflexologist), the weekend before Oswin was born but she was unhappy about helping in case of complications. However, she got back in touch on the Tuesday after she had researched reflexology as a method of inducing labour. We arranged an appointment for Wednesday afternoon and reluctantly took the children ice skating on Wednesday morning. This was a good decision as we were able to avoid most of the people we didn’t want to see and spent lots of time with friends who were able to sympathise and make helpful comments that helped us to feel much better, especially hearing how many people went way over their due dates.
Reflexology went well. I asked Lesley to use the last of the oils that Lin mixed for me. Lesley said that everything was perfectly healthy I just had lots on my mind and I was quite constipated. I already knew this but hearing it put my mind at rest. After my treatment I went to the toilet several times and went to bed feeling much more comfortable and relaxed.
The Labour.
I was awoken during the early hours of the morning with some good strong contractions. After the 3rd one I checked the clock. It was 5:30am. This seemed like a very reasonable hour and so I decided to get up. At this point I felt positive and refreshed, mainly because Sol had slept well for 2 or 3 nights previous.
I went downstairs and made myself a pot of raspberry leaf tea, I was determined to maintain good contractions this time. When the rest of the family joined me we took photographs of us to mark the momentous occasion, the last time our family photos would only contain 5 people! Nigel took a picture of me and the children and then set the timer to take one of all of us. During which time I had another contraction and my face was bright red for that photo!!
We carried on as normal until lunchtime when I settled myself upstairs because I felt that the contractions were getting extremely strong. A short while later I asked Nigel to call his Mom to help with the children because I felt like I needed Nigel’s support. She arrived within minutes.
The contractions continued to get stronger and closer together for the next few hours. Nigel was wonderful and kept me well topped up on rescue remedy, homeopathy and phytobiosphysics. I was continually asking for reassurance because I felt that the labour was so much more intense than I remembered the others being. Nigel also reminded me to remain active, for most of the labour I chose to have one contraction whilst sitting on the toilet and one standing up holding on to Nigel. Nigel helped me to stay focused and his confidence in me made me feel energised during the early stages.
It was probably about 4pm when I asked Nigel to make sure the children stayed out because I felt I no longer had any control over the intensity of the contractions and I knew I would be bearing down soon. I want to say more about the effect the contractions were having on me but it is so difficult to explain. For a start I knew that he was going to be a big baby because I felt that the birth canal was filled to agonising capacity which really frightened me. And with each contraction I felt my entire body contract with my uterus. I am used to having a midwife scream ‘one last push before the contraction finishes’ and each time I’ve decided whether I want to give one last push or not. Usually not! But this time I had no choice my body took over and my mind panicked. I shouted and grunted like a wounded animal, but in my defence I have never had such a painful, intense labour before and hope to never have one like it again! Nigel had to ask me to get off the toilet because he noticed how fierce the contractions had become. I think he was afraid I’d give birth into the toilet. However, I really didn’t want to because each contraction was bringing a bowel movement! He was right to be concerned though because it was only minutes later that Oswin arrived!
At one point with my head swimming and my body reeling, I was holding onto the bathroom sink whilst Nigel did a wonderful job of strategically putting pressure on my back, I remember crying out ‘wait’. I’m not sure who to, perhaps the baby, but I was just so desperate for 2 minutes break. Nigel rightly interpreted this to mean I was starting to flag and advised me to get on all fours to slow the process a little. However, I didn’t feel I could have shut my legs enough to put both knees on the floor and only managed one knee and one foot, well, tip toes actually. It wasn’t until afterwards that we realised I had dreamt about giving birth in this position weeks ago but I’d dismissed it because I hadn’t ever considered this position before and had no intention of giving birth in the bathroom!
At one point I could here Kath reading to the children and each time I shouted she raised her voice until by the end of the contraction she was shouting to muffle my cries! I remember thinking ‘this would be funny if it didn’t hurt so much!’
I soon decided that even though I was certain I was about to tear I had to just do whatever I had to get the baby out safely. Nigel began giving me a commentary on what he could see. This was extremely helpful especially because I wasn’t sure he was coming out right. Nigel explained that the head was crowning and then that he could see his forehead. At some point around now Nigel encouraged me to feel for myself and I was amazed at how odd the fluffy little head felt. But I was able to satisfy my concerns. Nigel continued to comment, ‘his eyes are out…..I can see his ears’ etc. he instructed me when to breathe, pant etc to ensure minimal tearing. He did well because even after all that I only grazed and didn’t require any stitches! Yay!
Another odd sensation I have never experienced was when the baby began to turn to manoeuvre the shoulder out. In the past a midwife has turned the baby with much discomfort. But this time Oswin gently began twisting round until I felt one last intense pain which was obviously a shoulder squeezing through before a huge gush of water pushed him free and into Daddies hands. I snatched a glimpse and instinctively knew he was beautiful, whole and complete and so I was able to spend a few precious moments recovering!!! This was a nice feeling because I knew hew was safe with Nigel rather than feeling the need to snatch the baby from the midwife quickly!! I think at this point Nigel asked me if I wanted to sit down. I answered 'No' and asked him to pass me the baby and help me to the bedroom. Nigel couldn't work out how we could do this without me stepping over the cord, but I asked him to pass him through my legs. He did and then we had an odd wobbly walk to the bedroom, past all of the fluid and meconium on the bathroom floor. I remember feeling shocked that I couldn't walk upright with him because the cord was too short. I was reluctant to tug on it for fear I'd do some damage and so Nigel just supported me as I limped to the bedroom. Wanted to rest somewhere I wouldn’t have to move from for a while, I really needed to rest. At this point the children and Kath rushed to the bottom of the stairs, they had heard him cry and were asking if they would come and see him. I asked them to give me a moment because I wanted to settle first. as soon as I was in bed Nigel called them in. the all had a hold , (which was an odd sensation because the cord was still attached), and Nigel took some pictures. In all the excitement I realised we'd forgotten to check the time of birth. I'd given birth in the only room without a clock! Fortunately my mother-in-law checked her watch the moment she heard him cry and informed us it was 5:10pm.
Nigel then called the hospital to tell them about Oswins arrival. At the time I wasn't sure what was happening but it was obvious that the telephone conversation wasn't going brilliantly. The midwife Nigel spoke to wanted me to go into hospital because I hadn't yet delivered the placenta, (minutes after birth!?!), Nigel argued my case wonderfully but they still sent paramedics in an ambulance with sirens and flashing lights etc!
We were determined not to go into hospital after everything we'd been through. I felt that it would endanger us both as it was early evening and taking the baby out would cause his temperature to drop and making me walk down the stairs before I’d delivered my placenta could be dangerous too. I knew that if we agreed to go to hospital we'd have to staying due to complications that they had caused.
When the paramedics arrived we asked the children to leave as the room was really crowded. later, I found out that Sol was crying, concerned that the paramedics were going to hurt me! :o(
They were nice however, and obviously didn't want a confrontation. upon arrival she asked if I’d delivered the placenta and when I said no they said they would have to take me to hospital as I'd only got 20 minutes from birth to deliver it! I told them I knew it took up to 2 hours and they agreed to just wait with me until a midwife arrived. we then sat and had a conversation about how useless midwives are until 40 minutes after birth when the I delivered the placenta, whole and healthy and...easy!
the midwife arrived a short while after, by which time I felt much more in control and confident. after a rather rough internal examination,( bitch !), after which she concluded that I was grazed and if I was in hospital they might put me a stitch but as there was no gas and air handy it would be too difficult! (I wouldn't have had any anyway!), the children came back in. The midwife continued hr checks etc. while we all admired the baby some more. We decided to ignore her as much as possible because intervention had once again threatened to turn a wonderful, glorious celebration into a nightmare!
I'll never involve the midwifery services gin, should we ever choose to have more children. Still alls well that ends well, and we certainly live and learn. What a fabulous experience and whatever else happens I'll be forever in Nigel debt for all of his care, he was calm and reassuring throughout despite having concerns himself. and because he knows me so well he knew that despite my hysterics I still didn't want a midwife present or any intervention. I'd chosen to give birth to my baby as nature intended and it was miraculous.
We spend many days talking about how amazing the whole experience was and we realised an amazing thing. I reminded Nigel that I'd dreamt about giving birth in the bathroom on one knee and one foot and that is how it happened. Nigel explained in detail what he saw and told me that when his head was first visible it looked like puckered skin. This scared him because he thought that the cord was coming first which would have resulted in the baby suffocating. However he gave it a prod and realised it was his head. It was just that the way the bones overlap to fit through the birth canal had caused the skin to pucker up! Phew. He then remembered another dream I’d had which really scared me at the time where the baby told me that when he was born there would be some issue with the top of his head and that I shouldn't worry. I did worry though and so put it to the back of my mind, but we now knew what it all meant!
The whole experience was really spiritual and well worth it! He is amazing baby.
posted by Evans family @ 1:43 PM
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