Charlotte’s Birth Story by Vicki from “Life in the Clown Car”

Continuing with this months AMAZING births, we share Vicki’s second baby birth story from “Life in the Clown Car”. Here is her special birth story of her first baby girl, Charlotte!


 

Dear Charlotte Clare,

On September 12, 2008, I woke up at 3:30am with terrible back pain and nausea. I had the chills but really wasn’t cold. I repeatedly tried to go back to sleep but I was unable to. Finally, at about 5:30am I decided to take a bath to see if that would ease some of my discomfort. That didn’t help either.

Reading books for signs of labor, it all begins!

At 6:00am Daddy woke up and started getting ready for work. I told him what was going on but he didn’t think it was labor because I still had over 3 weeks before my due date. I started reading in my labor books to see if this was pre-labor symptoms. It didn’t sound like anything I was reading but I called my doctor anyway. Unfortunately, my doctor was away from her pager so I was unable to get a hold of her. About 6:30am I started having contractions. They weren’t regular but we decided to head to the hospital.I remembered how fast I delivered Remie so I decided it was better to be safe than sorry and get to the hospital!

Taking control of a slight scare

When we got to the hospital, the nurses did a vaginal exam and I was already 4cm dilated! All of a sudden, nurses and doctors started rushing around and poking me because the your heart rate was over 200bpm. They cancelled the pending Cesarean section because they thought that they were going to have to do an emergency c-section on me. The hospital attending doctor told me that she was going to give me some medication to help the your heart rate slow down. I told her that I wanted to give you some time to calm down on your own and if you weren’t able to, then we would discuss medication. Finally, after much attention, the your heart rate slowed down and the nurses monitored your heart rate very closely.

Ready for an epidural?

After all the excitement of the your accelerated heart rate was over, I was brought to the labor and delivery room. Soon after, my doctor broke my water and the contractions intensified. The nurses kept asking me if I was ready for an epidural but I turned them down repeatedly. I wanted to deliver you without any pain medication and with little interventions so that you would be completely healthy. At one point, the nurse asked me why I was willing to go without pain medication when it was readily available and safe. I informed her that I wanted the least amount of interventions as possible. A short while later, I assumed that I was in transition because I was really hot and doubting my abilities to go natural. I didn’t think that I could handle the back pain any longer. Dr. Gilbert did a vaginal exam and I was only 6cm dilated! She also told me that it looked like you were in a posterior position. I was losing control and not able to focus. My doctor helped me into a vertical position that would make you descend into the birth canal more quickly. She explained that if you did not turn on your own, I would have to move into some positions to help you rotate. Daddy turned on my relaxation music and I was able to focus through each contraction. The music helped me to remain calm.

Love at first sight!

Finally Dr. Gilbert checked me again and said I was 9cm dilated and she was just waiting for me to feel the urge to push. I waited and a little while later I felt like I needed to push. I didn’t need the doctor directing me when to push because my body did it naturally without any thought. After only 15 minutes of pushing, at 11:27am, my beautiful baby girl was born!

Charlotte Clare was born weighing 7lbs, 11oz and 20 inches long and completely healthy! The doctor placed you on my chest and I had my first glimpse of my daughter. I was immediately in love with you! Giving birth to you made me a believer in love at first sight!

I Love you!
Love, Mommy

Charlotte

 

Life In the Clown Care blog

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