Darwin Michael Weidert's Birth Story



Friday, July 8, 2005: (HOME) Woke up around 2:30 am to find that the castor oil had finally stimulated my GI tract. I had to run to the bathroom about every 10-15 minutes for an hour or so. The cramps were pretty bad, but it started to dawn on me that my method just may have worked. Once the diarrhea was over, I was still having pains every 10 minutes. I still wasn't sure if it was really contractions yet. Each time one would come on, I would push with my arms into the heavy slate coffee table in the living room, the closest doorway, or the frame of the guest bed upstairs. Each contraction had a distinct beginning, middle and end, with only the middle being really painful. In between contractions I decided to pay some bills on the computer (in anticipation of an impending hospital trip) and nap on the couch. The contractions were about five minutes apart. I read over the birth plan again and made sure bags were packed. I woke Andy up around 5am to let him know, but to tell him to go back to sleep for a bit because I thought it was still pretty early labor. He got up around 7am and started to help by timing the contractions on a stopwatch I got at the last gypsy moth meeting, and by pressing down hard on my lower back during the painful ones. We decided to leave for the hospital around 10:45 am, once contractions started lasting around a minute. I had two contractions on the way there, but I insisted that Andy drive slowly and not to panic. We parked on the fourth level and walked to the entrance, where I had another painful contraction on the sidewalk.



(HOSPITAL, Labor in the Waiting Room) We rode the North elevators up to the 8th floor, where we checked in at the front desk. The person working there asked why I was there?? Then he told us that all their labor rooms were occupied and that he would have to temporarily put us in the waiting room! We were the only one's there except for this annoying elderly couple. The man quickly got up and turned off CNN, where Tony Blair was discussing the terrorist bombings that occurred in London earlier. He then turned on a violent western, complete with guns and violence against women. Needless to say, that didn't make the contractions go down any easier. I would basically just writhe in the chair or run to the bathroom when they would come. Andy talked to the front desk again to explain that we REALLY needed a room. After a few more minutes (that seemed to take forever), they led us to an interim room. My midwife, Carole Landry, arrived and checked my cervix to discover that I was already 9 cm dilated! She insisted that they get me a room to avoid delivering in the hallway! Meanwhile the nurses handed me paperwork and stuck me with needles, trying to locate a vein for the IV well. I have small veins, and the first one they tried collapsed. It was a painful addition to the contractions, so I asked if it was critically needed, but they said it was. Finally they got a vein, and then they led us to a real room that just opened up.



(HOSPITAL, Labor and Delivery Room) At around noon, somehow we lucked out and got a room with a beautiful view of the Susquehanna River. Carole directed us to the bathroom, where Andy and I filled up the Jacuzzi tub. Our hospital bed was making this awful beeping/buzzing noise that sounded like it might electrocute me when I got in! That coupled with the loud noise of the tub was not relaxing for me. So after a little while, I got out and put my gown back on. Andy turned on the iPod and I would just request artists, like Morcheeba, Helium, Beth Orton, Beck, Wilco, and Catpower to play during the contractions. Each time one would come on, similar to at home, I would push my arms into the writing desk in the room and Andy would push down on my back. At around 3pm the nurse Amy M. and Carole checked on me and found that I was still not completely dilated. Since the cervix was still at 9.5 cm, Amy suggested that I have Carole break my water, and I agreed. As I recall I soon became fully dilated to 10 cm after this. The contractions kept coming after that, but they were still around 5 minutes apart. At around 4:30 pm, they suggested that I try taking some Pitocin to bring on the pushing stage of the labor. I would only agree if they could assure me that it would not lead to C-section, and if the nurse agreed to stay with us for the rest of the time. Pitocin required me to lay in the bed and get hooked up to tubes for the drug, and IV drip, and blood pressure monitor. The bp monitor would inevitably constrict like a boa almost every time I had a contraction. It was hard to get through the contractions while on the bed on my back like a beetle! I tried to look out the window and stare at a distant water tower across the river to get by. Also I squeezed Andy's hand a lot! Soon I got the urge to push. It was hard to not tense up my legs during these painful contractions, and this caused me to use a lot of energy. Carole suggested that I try squatting positions if I wanted to, so that got me away from the tubes and monitors. It felt good to push that way, but it was difficult for others to see if I was progressing and to rest in between contractions. However, every time I did push in the squatting position, the baby's heart rate would improve compared to when I was on the bed and needed an oxygen mask. I felt like I had to pee a couple times but it was a challenge. The contractions were just one right after another. I kept chanting that it can't last forever. I was making some progress, and pushing really hard in a way that made me thankful that I had voided my GI tract earlier! I never saw the baby while I was pushing even though I had a mirror, as I just needed to close my eyes and focus during the contractions. Andy could see the baby's head, and he kept yelling, I can see the baby- he has lots of hair and he's GREEN! Also, the pushing had swollen up my bottom, and Andy kept joking about chicken breast, which was funny. Andy was so excited and encouraging to me and I appreciated his humor. But after about two hours of pushing, Amy and Carole asked me if I wanted to push for another hour or if I wanted Dr Hanford, known as Hank, to assist the pushing with vacuum extraction. I knew I COULD push for another hour, but at that point I did not want to! His face was what they call sunny side up, or facing the ceiling, and this was making progress through the pelvic bones more difficult. I agreed to the vacuum. Carole also informed me that because I apparently have a short, fat perineum, I would need an episiotomy. She promised to make it stingy, meaning only cutting minimally to get the baby out without a serious tear. At that point I just wanted the baby out, so it didn't bother me TOO much.



(HOSPITAL DELIVERY) After just a few more vac-assisted pushes, I felt a HUGE RELIEF as Darwin's head, quickly followed by the rest of his body finally came out. Carole asked how big I thought he was, and I said (based on the pain!) at least 8 1bs! Turns out he was 7 lbs, 10 oz, and 20 inches long and extremely cute. He had swallowed some meconium tainted amnionic fluid as he gulped his first breath of air on the outside, so they had to use the bulb aspirator on him. Andy tried to comfort him and take some pictures as they cleaned him up. Darwin quickly recovered and they brought him over to me. He latched on almost immediately and began to feed on colostrum. At that point, I thought he was the most precious, adorable (albeit a bit cone-headed from the vac) being I had ever seen. I was feeling SO exhausted and had a lot of pain in the nether region. Andy turned on the TV and I started commenting on a sexist comment a man made. The nurse heard me and I told her that I must be feeling better if I'm yelling at the TV! We started to discuss issues like mandatory overtime for nurses, family medical leave, and universal healthcare. I gave her my card with some info about Harrisburg NOW before they wheeled us up to the postpartum room.



(HOSPITAL- POSTPARTUM ROOM) We called just the essential folks: my dad, Joe and Mary and Judy, then we ordered a barbecue chicken pizza and some stuffed olives (which were misdelivered as equally delicious stuffed mushrooms) from Al's Pizza in Camp Hill. My legs were shaky and I was so tired. They took the baby to the nursery for a bath and let me rest up until about 11pm. They took my vitals and I was doing well, but exhausted. Andy slept next to my right in a recliner that folded all the way down into an uncomfortable bed. Darwin slept in the clear nursery bassinet on my left. Darwin woke up a couple times during the night to feed, but he was so good- barely made a sound. All was well in the world.

Vital Statistics

Date of birth: 07-08-05
Time: 06:58 pm
Place: Harrisburg Hospital
Weight: 7 1bs, 10 oz
Length: 20 inches