Baby Isaac’s Birth Story

This post is, like my other birth stories, fairly detailed. If you’re not comfortable hearing details about birth (including pictures of umbilical cord and a brand new baby), you might not want to read on.

I’ve already written the beginning of my story on my Facebook page. You can read it here.

After the stress of finding a place that would deliver me, I was finally ready to have my baby. My midwife was back in town and I was five days past my due date. That was pretty normal for me though as I’ve never had a baby on or before my due date before.

I was feeling ready and getting tired of being pregnant and the prodromal labor was wearing on me. Like with my previous two babies, it went on for several weeks without producing any real labor. I finally decided on March 5th (5 days past my due date) that I wanted to go and tour Research, the hospital where I was going to be delivering. I called them to set it up only to be told that they only do tours on Tuesdays. I asked if there was any way I could get a tour that day since I was already overdue and was hoping to have had my baby by Tuesday! They were kind enough to arrange it and I went in with my mom to look around.

It wasn’t anything fancy, but the labor and delivery rooms were nice with large jacuzzi tubs that I was looking forward to using. I left feeling much more relaxed about the whole situation. I joked with the nurse that I hoped to see her that night.

Well, my intuition turned out to be right! All afternoon, I had contractions. This was a pretty normal thing since they were always coming when I was active. That evening after the kids went to bed, I sat on the exercise ball while Brian and I watched Netflix. Around 8:30, I realized that the contractions hadn’t gone away, even though I’d been sitting for a while. I was pretty sure this was the real deal! I wrote to friends and family asking for prayers and continued to relax.

Eventually, I couldn’t sit anymore. The show was still on Netflix, but I wasn’t focusing on that anymore. I moved around in different positions focusing on moving the baby downward and opening things up. Things were intense, but actually weren’t too bad. I timed contractions for a while and at about 11:00, we decided it was time to the hospital. Brian’s parents had come to stay with the kids and my midwife along with the midwife who was going to be delivering me had been called.

The one funny thing I remember is standing in the room right outside our garage waiting for Brian as he showed his parents where the breakfast stuff was and how to use the Netflix remote. I was like, “COME ON!!!”

We finally got on our way and contraction actually slowed down some in the car on the way there. We went in through the emergency room and found Julie (my midwife) and Cathy (the midwife who had volunteered to deliver me) waiting in the labor and delivery unit. I was also excited to see there was a tub room available! They put me on the monitor for a few minutes (the only time I was hooked up) and checked me. I was dilated to an 8! I was so proud of myself for showing up at just the right time!!

I started telling Julie how labor had gone and, at one point mentioned that I’d tried side lying, but had to get up because it was sooooooo painful. Cathy interjected that maybe we should try that again because it must have been doing something! It was at that moment I knew I wasn’t going to love Cathy’s style. Why would I need to do something that caused me pain when I was obviously doing just fine without horrible pain. I was at an 8, for crying out loud! I just ignored her. She then suggested I do some asymmetrical things “to get things moving” like putting my leg up on a chair and I ignored that as well. I’m all for trying those things if labor is going on for a really long time, but so far, this had been my shortest and easiest labor and I saw no reason to make it more difficult.

I was so thankful for Julie. She suggested we walk the halls, so that’s what we did. While we walked, she asked me questions and we talked about all kinds of things. I don’t even remember all of them, but I remember one thing she asked was how Brian and I met. It was a wonderful way for me to keep my mind off the discomfort and keep me moving. When a contraction would come, I’d use the rail in the hall and she and Brian would push on my hips. She would suggest different stances for me to take to help the baby descend better.

After about an hour, I was ready to get in the tub. The warm water was so relaxing that I was really able to rest through everything. Julie and Brian were right there to hold my hand during contractions and it was so peaceful. I had made a playlist of “birth” songs and as it played, I gained strength from the words.

“Lord Jesus, think on me, with care and woe oppressed, let me Thy loving servant be and taste Thy promised rest.”
“Oh love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee.”
“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing. Our helper, He amid the flood, of mortal ills prevailing.”
“But everything I had to lose, came back a thousand times in you, and you fill me up with love, and you help me stand.”
“They didn’t have you where I come from. Never knew the best was yet to come. How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough, is forever enough?”

As these songs and more filled the room, I was reminded of God’s goodness and grace. I was reminded of His power and how he had placed this little life inside me and I was overwhelmed with the knowledge that he would deliver this baby safely into my arms.

As the contractions came closer together, they began to change and I felt the overwhelming urge to push. Cathy freaked out that I was pushing in the tub and insisted I get out immediately. Julie again acted as a buffer and got me through that contraction first. I got out and was wrapped in warm towels and headed to the bed.

I tried pushing in the same position I’d pushed David out, kneeling while holding on to the back of the raised bed, but it was incredibly painful. There was an awful pinching in my hips, for some reason. I moved down and Julie helped me into a side lying position. I don’t remember how many contractions I did in that position, but it was only a couple before I could feel his head. I remember on those last couple contractions like my body was taking over and I was totally out of control.

I had wanted to catch my baby, but I was flailing, reaching out to grasp whatever I could. A couple things happened right about at that time. My mom, who had been close the whole time, said with tears in her eyes, “what a perfect song!” and I tuned back in to hear this song. Although I didn’t listen to the whole thing, I knew it all by heart and the spirit of God rushed over me.

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change, at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found?
Could a garden come out from this ground, at all?

… You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

… All around,
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found, in you

… You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

Shortly after that moment, Cathy said, “reach down and catch your baby.” I said I couldn’t and she firmly said, “yes you can. Just reach down and pick up your baby.” And I did! It was the most amazing feeling, pushing that baby out into my own hands. And he was a beautiful thing! Pretty and perfect and mine!

He was a miracle too. As they examined the cord, they found a true knot in his cord. Another miracle! As a tiny baby, he’d flipped and turned and tied a knot that could have ended his life, but it didn’t.

We named him Isaac Peter. Isaac was a name I had loved before we had David. I compromised and went with Brian’s first choice for our first son, so I got my way with Isaac. It was really perfect though. In all the turmoil of the past two years, there was one thing we really needed in our life and that was laughter. Isaac is a reminder that God will turn our mourning into dancing and our tears into laughter. He makes beautiful things.

This next part of the story, I considered writing completely separately, but I decided ultimately to put it all out there at once. Read on if you’d like, but feel free to stop here. This is where the warm, fuzzy part of my birth story ends.

After all the normal post-birth stuff was taken care of (weight, length, blood tests, etc) my midwife tucked me in and went home. I went to sleep, but woke up shortly after feeling off. Something wasn’t right. I realized I was bleeding a lot more than I thought I should. I called in the nurse who checked on my bleeding and said it was more than they like and that they’d keep an eye on me. I went to sleep again and when I woke up a little while later, I felt incredibly weak and was shaking hard and couldn’t stop. I called the nurse again (or rather, had Brian call them because I couldn’t) and they came in again. They assured me the shaking was normal (I’m still not sure if that’s true or if they were just trying to reassure me), but checked my bleeding again. They left the room to go call ended my midwife and time seemed to move so slowly.

During the time they were gone, I was so afraid. I felt weak and was still shaking. I began to look around the room, trying to focus on something to help me calm down. That’s when I remembered the posters I’d made and colored with my kids.

Those words brought me so much comfort. What’s really amazing is that I’d made those posters to reassure me during labor and I hadn’t looked at them once. But God knew I’d need them. As I focused on those words, a peace came over me and I knew that everything was going to be alright.

Finally the nurse came back. She’d talked to my midwife who had them give me three different medications to stop the bleeding. They made the cramping incredibly painful, but they did the job and I didn’t have to do a transfusion.

The weakness didn’t get better right away and, in fact, it took a long time to feel myself again after the birth, but with lots of rest, orange juice, iron, and help from my family, I regained my strength. Hemorrhaging was not an experience I’d like to ever repeat, but I know that God was taking care of me through it all. He is my provider and the great physician.

Isaac’s birth is such a great reminder of God’s love and faithfulness. He is good, all the time, and He holds us in the palms of His hands.

Enjoy birth stories? You can read Hannah’s, Miriam’s and David’s here on my blog as well!