No, not 1 baby with 2 heads... 2 births back to back :)
Sunday afternoon around 2 I get a call from my client letting me know she is at the hospital and being admitted for labor. So, I get myself and my stuff together and head out. When I arrived she was having good, strong contractions that were fairly close together. She was waiting for a room to open up on the labor/delivery floor. While she waited, she could not get the epidural that she was anticipating. So, we started working hard on relaxation and focal techniques. It didn't take long for her to discover that she could work through this contractions in a productive way. After a couple hours, she was moved to the correct floor and her anesthesiologist was in the room in minutes. Once the epidural was in place, mom relaxed a little. Luckily, her labor continued to progress on it's own and by 10:30 that night she was ready to start pushing. She welcome her little girl into the world at 11:30 p.m. Mom did great work and both her and baby were healthy and alert. After getting cleaned up, baby returned to mom and she was able to nurse for the first time. I was able to assist in positioning and latching techniques and things to go very smoothly.
About 1:15 in the morning I was on my way out of the hospital.
As I was walking to the car, I received a text from another client letting me know that they were on their way to their hospital.
So, I hopped in the car and drove to that hospital and met my 2nd client for the day. She was already 5cm dilated and doing a wonderful job at relaxing through the contractions. She was moved to a labor room where she continued to work through the pain beautifully! By the time she got to 7 cm, she was ready for an epidural. Because of the excitement of what was coming, she was not able to get any sleep even after the epidural. Her body also progressed well without pitocin and she was complete by 8:45 a.m. However, baby was still fairly high up. So, nurse had her practice pushing a couple times and then decided to let her "labor down" for a little while since she had the epidural. She did this for 2 1/2 hours and contractions started to lessen in frequency and intensity. So, she was given some pitocin to help move the baby down. 1/2 hour later, she was ready to start pushing and within 30 minutes, she was holding her new baby. She was able to delay the cutting of the cord and had the baby laid directly on her chest as they cleaned him up. Within several minutes, mom had the opportunity to attempt breastfeeding.
I was completely exhausted by the time I headed home at 2 p.m. But, I truly can say that I do not wish it was any different. I loved every minute and I'm excited about my next client that was due 3 days ago.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
My First Training Doula Experience
Well, I have completed my first birth experience that counts toward my training. About 11 days ago, I received a call from one of my clients that she was officially in labor. It was about 11 p.m. on Saturday night and I headed out the door to meet the couple at the hospital.
When I arrived, they were just checking into triage and she was having very regular contractions. Once she was checked by a doctor, they gave the report that she was 5 cm and transferred her to a labor/delivery room. I met them at the room and we got everything set up for the long night. The couple worked beautifully together and allowed me to get some "hands on" experience by massaging mom's back during contractions.
This continued until about 3:30 a.m. when mom asked the nurse for the epidural. After receiving the epidural, mom (and dad) got a chance to rest. They slept off and on and after several hours, mom was checked by the nurse to see her progression. Unfortunately she was still at 6-7cm and they suggested pitocin. After weighing the pros/cons she agreed. By 10:30 a.m. she was ready to push.
She had a WONDERFUL nurse that helped her try several different positions and did everything possible to help that baby move down. It took lots of hard work and over 2 hours of pushing, but she delivered a healthy baby boy.
It was another amazing experience and I LOVED being a part of it! It reminded me why I am doing what I am doing. I cannot wait for my next client to go into labor and to have the privilege again to welcome one of God's greatest miracles into this world!
When I arrived, they were just checking into triage and she was having very regular contractions. Once she was checked by a doctor, they gave the report that she was 5 cm and transferred her to a labor/delivery room. I met them at the room and we got everything set up for the long night. The couple worked beautifully together and allowed me to get some "hands on" experience by massaging mom's back during contractions.
This continued until about 3:30 a.m. when mom asked the nurse for the epidural. After receiving the epidural, mom (and dad) got a chance to rest. They slept off and on and after several hours, mom was checked by the nurse to see her progression. Unfortunately she was still at 6-7cm and they suggested pitocin. After weighing the pros/cons she agreed. By 10:30 a.m. she was ready to push.
She had a WONDERFUL nurse that helped her try several different positions and did everything possible to help that baby move down. It took lots of hard work and over 2 hours of pushing, but she delivered a healthy baby boy.
It was another amazing experience and I LOVED being a part of it! It reminded me why I am doing what I am doing. I cannot wait for my next client to go into labor and to have the privilege again to welcome one of God's greatest miracles into this world!
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