Make Way for Piper Blue

The Birth x 2

In an effort the get Piper to spin from breech to vertex, really the last ditch effort, I started going for Mayan Abdominal Massage. This is not the type of massage that just makes you feel good, rather, it is intended to help prepare babies to be born. Part of the purpose of the massage is encouraging babies to shift to head down; part of it is to help ensure a speedy labor.

I had my first massage on Thursday. Jennifer, the M.A.M., was very calm, almost mystical and helped foster a feeling of peace and relaxation in me. She would pause during the massage to 'speak' to Piper and ask her to turn head down. Piper rolled around slowly inside me, but didn't turn. I scheduled two more sessions for Friday and Saturday. Jennifer asked me to have Griffin come with me - 'just in case'. She said that there are points she could work to help the baby move, but they could also trigger labor. I was rather doubtful of that, but asked Griffin to go with me for the next two appointments anyhow.

On Friday she taught Griffin a few moves to help labor progress if we needed it. They both worked on stretching my body: Griffin took a foot and Jennifer took a hand and they gently pulled. It felt great. The next day we went to our four o'clock appointment and she did the same basic things, plus a few more.

It was Saturday and our 6th anniversary. We met my in-laws, Jan and Claire, for a celebratory dinner at the Black Forest Inn, a German restaurant. Dinner was delicious and I managed to save room for some ice cream - soft serve chocolate and vanilla twist. Yum! We talked about the fact that Piper might actually be coming late. We were so sure she was going to be early, but it wasn't looking that way anymore. I was 39 weeks pregnant.

Griffin and I were pretty pooped and we went to bed early at just past nine. Shortly after midnight, I woke up feeling 'off''. I had a coughing fit and went into the bathroom and threw up in the sink a little. This wasn't an unusual occurrence, my stomach had be squashed by Piper for a couple of months and food backed up rather easily. I felt a little crampy and went back to bed. Ten minutes later I felt really crampy and went to use to toilet. It felt like my dinner was disagreeing with me.

I returned to bed to try to sleep it off. At this point Griffin was awake and asked me what was wrong. I told him that I either had food poisoning or I was going into labor. We tried to sleep, but ten minutes later I was back in the bathroom on the toilet feeling miserable and my stomach lurched. I launched my dinner and dessert into the bathtub next to the toilet with a splash. It was disgusting.

Griffin got up and cleaned the tub. I sat on the bed and moaned at my belly pain. We decided there was no use trying to sleep anymore, so we went downstairs. This was just before 1am. We sat in the library and Griffin read something and I tried to relax when a real contraction hit me. It was like really bad gas pains stabbing me in the belly. I checked my phone for the time at it was shortly after 1am. The next contraction hit me a little harder ten minutes later.

If we were going to go the the hospital, as I figured would be happening since I could feel Piper kicking the same low spot in my belly, we needed to get some stuff done. I managed to get my things together that had been sitting in a drawer, just in case. I gathered some stuff together for Piper. Griffin ran around the house gathering odds and ends and doing some last minute things for the house.

Back in the library, we started discussing calling our midwife Judy. The birthing class we took said to wait until the mother starts ripping off her clothes because she is so hot she can't stand it. I told Griffin to call NOW! He talked to her and told her what had happened so far. I was on the couch on all fours moaning loudly into a pillow through another, stronger contraction, still 10 minutes apart.

Judy wanted to talk to me so Griffin handed me the phone. I spoke to her for a few minutes, I have no idea what I said, and another contraction came. I was on all fours on the overstuffed leather chair. I waved the phone at Griffin because I couldn't speak, only moan.

She asked him a few questions, something like: How far apart are the contractions? 10 minutes, maybe a little closer. Is the baby still breech? Yes. Do you want to go to the hospital? Yes. Which hospital?

Which hospital. We just had this discussion the day before. We decided that we liked the doctor who worked out of Hackensack much better than the one that tried to do the version on me who was in Morristown. Yes, Hackensack was farther away, but it would be nice to work with someone who seemed to care a bit more about us and our options. So.

Which hospital? MORRISTOWN! I don't know why I knew I needed to get to help as fast as possible, but I did. I moaned horrible guttural sounds with each contraction. Griffin called the office of the doctor that worked out of Morristown Memorial Hospital, he got the machine and the number to call if a mother is in labor and dialed that number. The person answering the phone asked him a few questions and said the doctor would call us back.

When the doctor called it was after 2am. The contractions were coming closer together - every eight minutes or so. Griffin talked to him for a few minutes and it was decided to come into the hospital right away. Griffin called Judy again and she said she would meet us there. Griffin phoned his parents to let them know what was happening - there was no answer, so he left a message. We packed everything into Griffin's Ford Ranger and we were off at just after 3am.

The contractions were stronger still and closer still. He drove carefully and I moaned a kind of "uuuuuuuggggghhhh-oooooooo" sound with each one. I was trying to get onto all fours while wearing a seat belt. It was very awkward, I practically climbed into Griffin's lap. I think the contractions were about 7 or 6 minutes apart when we left our house and when we got to the hospital they were more like 5 minutes apart.

We parked in the garage and I walked as fast as I could until the next contraction hit. Griffin carried all of the bags and helped me walk. We went through the halls following the Labor Ward signs and when the next contraction struck, I veered off into a bathroom to sit on the toilet. It lasted a minute or so and I weakly washed up and we were off again. We made it to the nurse's desk and signed in. I growled through a contraction as they tried to find a room for us. It was a little before 4am and the contractions were 5 or even 4 minutes apart by then.

The nurse got us into a room, had me strip and put on a johnny, and give a urine sample. I have no idea how I did any of this. Griffin helped me through it. I got onto the bed and a nurse strapped on a fetal monitor belt. When the contraction came, I tried to flip over onto all fours and moan through it, the nurse tried flipping me back. We compromised on letting me lie on my side and press my face into Griffin's belly and make demonic noises.

Judy arrived and she and Griffin helped me labor. One nurse tried to get an IV in my arm while another one tried to take blood. Still another nurse came in to check the baby on ultrasound. Yes, she was still breech, footling breech now. Her two feet were aimed right for the exit ramp. I writhed on the bed in pain as the contractions came faster and harder. My head pounded. Everyone moved in slow motion. I cried that I felt like I needed to push. "Don't push!" they said. One nurse finally checked my dilation. Judy asked her what I was at. The rather confused looking nurse said 8 centimeters. I screamed I could feel the baby coming out. Everyone stood around like they were made of lead.

Finally Judy jumped into action: she reached inside me and felt around. She told them that my bag was bulging and she could feel a foot. She barked orders at people and everyone started to jump into action. The doctor finally showed up. The contractions were nearly on top of each other as they got me onto a gurney and wheeled me towards the operating room.

The anesthesiologist tried talking to me about what was going to happen. Nurses shaved me and strapped down my arms. They said there was no time for an epidural and that I needed to go under general anesthesia. I screamed that the baby was coming. A panicked nurse saw feet coming out of me still inside the sac. Someone yelled to push them back in. She grabbed Piper's feet and shoved them all the way back inside me. She must have had her whole hand in there stuffing Piper back in. Piper was almost born!

Finally the IV started giving me the general anesthesia and I was out like a light. The doctor made a huge, and possibly panicked, incision across my pelvis. The second one went from navel to pubic bone through my angry uterus. Piper was born for a second time at 4:21am.

When I woke up in recovery an hour later Judy was with me. She told me Griffin was with Piper and she was fine. (I am crying now just writing this. I was so relieved.) Judy started pestering the person in the recovery room to get the baby in here. Within a half an hour I got to hold my baby girl for the first time. Judy adjusted Piper and helped me feed her for the first time. It was like magic. I was instantly in love.

By 6am I was in my hospital room with my loving husband and my precious baby girl, Piper. We bonded and fell in love all over again. That morning I held and kissed her and stroked her every chance I got. As my grogginess wore off. I made sure that no one took her out of the room for anything. We didn't want her to have a bottle, formula, a pacifier and didn't want her sleeping in the nursery. She fed from my breast like we had been doing it forever. I told Griffin over and over how much I loved him and how much I loved Piper. I was on top of the world!

The next three days in the hospital were an adventure in and of themselves, but that will have to wait. I am off to hold my sweet baby girl, Piper Blue.