I've read "The Husband-Coached Childbirth" and I truly believe in the Bradley Method, but it doesn't exactly work for us. As you may have remembered from previous birth stories, my husband tends to spend a good portion of my labors asleep. It's not entirely his fault. It seems I always end up laboring in the middle of the night. So we were pretty enthusiastic when it appeared that this would be a day-time baby. And yet, we both ended up falling asleep anyway.
So there we were, sitting in a now-dark room, listening to the rain beat against the windows. I was thinking about how much I didn't want to go back to the house, and how much I just wanted to have this child. And Jon was thinking about how much he didn't want to go back to the house only to end up turning around and coming right back again. So we decided to rally and give it our best shot. When the midwife came back in we asked if we could stick things out and maybe hit the stairs. Since she was in the thick of the labor next-door (that unlike ours, from what we could hear through the walls, was progressing right along) she was fully supportive and even demonstrated her recommended move - lunges on the steps.
So that's we we did for a little while. Me lunging, two steps at a time, and Jon standing close by in case I suddenly lost my balance. Then we decided to take a few laps around the office. So I started pacing the hall and circling the waiting room. Meanwhile, the thunder is growing louder and the lightening flashing closer, and the lights in the Birth Center actually flickered off for a hot second. We were finally starting to get somewhere with contractions and Jon decided he'd man the Contraction Master phone app. So he pulled up a stool and put himself in charge of pushing the button whenever I would tell him a contraction started and ended.

And then his athletic side really started to come out and he suggested I throw in a few lunges every couple of rounds. At this point he was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle and thought 10 jumping jacks might be helpful too. And, being the submissive wife that I am, or perhaps just a desperate mom in semi-labor, I thought it sounded like a good idea too. So for the next 30 minutes I'd speed-walk a few rounds in the office, do lunges the whole way down the hallway, and finish off with 10 jumping jacks. And since there is no shame in childbirth, I'll even share this video my thoughtful husband decided to capture.
2 comments:
Woohoo! Yea Mommy and welcome Jocelyn! I loved reading about her arrival.
Well done! Four babies! I admire your ability to persevere. She is beautiful!
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