Arriving At The Birth Center

Posted On: 2010-03-17

Below are pictures of the birth center. We choose this birth center after taking a tour of the two rooms and liked the warm lighting and the bed & breakfast feel to it. It was comfortable and not sterile like a hospital. The bathtub was a plus too because I was interested in possibly having a water birth.

We made it to the birth center around 5:15am and after just a half hour there we checked and I was between 5-6cm dilated and my cervix was paper-thin. My doula and midwife had me walking, sitting in the tub, sitting on the birth ball, and laying on my side for the next few hours. I also tried sitting in the tub which was very comforting but it actually did the opposite of what it was supposed to… when my doula realized my contractions were slowing down I had to get out and keep moving. A water birth was out of the question at this point.

At 8:55am I was between 8-9cm dilated and the contractions were getting harder. It was kind of strange because it definitely hurt to have contractions but I had the mindset that I had a task at hand and no other choice, this had to happen. With that I just kept powering through the contractions with the help of my doula whom held my hand through each and every one.

Suddenly I had the urge to push… this is an involuntary force that caught me by surprise. At 12pm I began pushing with contractions. I tried so many different positions but when Dylan wasn’t progressing enough my midwife thought that a unconventional position might work and that was to be absolutely flat on my back. No pillow for my head or anything.

Then came the “ring of fire” and oh my goodness does it burn! This is pretty much the point where everything is stretched to the max and the baby is about to come out. During this stage I literally asked “where is my next contraction?!?” It felt like it was taking forever!!! Then when the contraction came I pushed and heard a pop, immediately I asked “What was that?”. I was told to keep pushing and later found out that it was my coccyx being straightened. I kept pushing and at 2:19pm Dylan William Fisher was born! He was immediately set on my belly and not on my chest because the umbilical cord was too short.

Stay tuned for our first moments with Dylan and the trip home just 3 hours after he was born!