Layla's Birthstory

Okay people, here it is, the birth story. Written in my own words, my own voice, with no regard for sound or style. This is how I would tell you the story if you asked me in person :)

Layla's Birth Story

The morning of September 23^rd, 2012 I woke up and felt a contraction while lying in bed. I didn't think anything of the contraction because I had been having them in the mornings before getting out of bed, but nothing ever came from them. I was happy that I felt something, since I hadn't felt anything since my midwife appointment several days earlier. I got out of bed and began getting myself and Danny ready for church and running errands after Mass. I felt a few more contractions, which surprised me because I hadn't felt a legitimate contraction other than in bed during the whole pregnancy. 

Layla two days old

We went to church and then to run errands. While we were shopping I felt a few more contractions. These contractions actually hurt a little, I kept wanting to describe them to my husband as “more than uncomfortable,” but I didn't want to get my hopes up that I was going into labor. I was four days past my due date and was trying to come to terms with the fact that we had scheduled an induction for the upcoming Friday. I had four days to go into labor on my own or I would be going down the long induction road that I had so hoped to avoid.

The contractions continued throughout the day, painful, but not killer, and they were not coming in any kind of pattern. We finished our errands and went home. I cleaned up the house and did some laundry, then Stephen spent time raking the yard while I swept the decks and watered flowers. My sister decided to come over for dinner, before she came I called her and told her “just in case” to bring some clothes to sleep in, that I was having contractions, “I didn't think it was labor,” but didn't want her to drive all the way to our house and end up staying over without anything she needed, in the off chance we had a baby tonight. By four o'clock my sister had been over for an hour or so, we were playing with Danny, and I was definitely having painful contractions in a regular pattern. As I was making dinner I started tracking the action on my husbands iphone. The contractions were coming about 8 minutes apart and lasting 30-45 seconds. It wasn't time to call the midwife, but I was definitely in labor. I didn't think I would be having a baby that night, but probably early the next morning.

The contractions kept coming, through dinner and getting Danny bathed they got more intense and lasted longer. While I was bathing Danny I had some really painful contractions, I actually had to stop what I was doing until they were over. Again, I was finally convinced I was in labor, but I didn't think it was going to happen soon because I felt totally fine during the breaks, and the breaks were lasting more than five minutes. I decided to put Danny to bed myself, thinking it might be the last time I put him to bed without a baby distracting me, I took special care and time getting him down that night.

Layla one week old.

When Danny was out for the night I decided I should time the contractions again. I found they were coming every five minutes, but lasting 60 seconds each. This meant it was time to call the midwife, if it kept up for an hour. Before I could get to an hour I began to feel a little bit of pressure (I kept thinking I needed to go to the bathroom, but I didn't). I also realized that I was having shorter contractions in between each that came every five minutes. By this time it was past nine o'clock, I decided to call the midwife and see what she thought. When the midwife on call, Shaina, called me back we talked about what was going on. She said, very much to my surprise, that I could head to the birth center if I wanted to. She said not to rush, but that it sounded like I was heading into active labor. I couldn't believe she wanted me to come in, I was talking to her on the phone and was perfectly calm and feeling fine, I was only in pain during contractions, but I had a nice break between each. I told my husband (who didn't even know I had called Shaina), that it was time to head to the center. We didn't have to rush, so we checked my bags and put some laundry away before we left. I also gave my sister a thousand instructions and tips on how to deal with Danny in the morning when he realized we weren't there.

By the time we got to the birth center it was about 10:45 pm, Shaina met us at the door and led us into the birth center. It was so weird to see the midwife office and birth center at night, with no one there. Shaina checked me and found that I was 8 cm dilated! I was so shocked, I kept thinking it was going to be a long drawn out labor, but I was already so far along. I felt so happy that I had done so much earlier in the day, I was sure that I helped myself out big time by keeping busy all day. Shaina said that she could break my water if I wanted, but warned that it would make contractions come much stronger and closer. I decided against that, thinking that it would just make labor harder and might not speed it up. I changed into my cute red nursing night gown and headed to the family area of the birth center. There was no one else there, and the family area was the only place that had a TV, my husband figured that since I was still feeling good we might as well watch the Ravens game.

I sat on the birth ball and got ready to watch football. It wasn't more than ten minutes when I suddenly had the worst back pain of my life, compiled with a killer contraction. I kind of started to freak out, my pain essentially went from zero to HOLY CRAP in a matter of seconds. I asked Shaina to fill the tub, thinking it would feel less bad to have contractions in the water. As she went to fill the tub I started feeling the worst contraction I could have imagined with a ton of pressure. I asked Stephen to help me to the bathroom where I sat down and felt a big pop. I obviously knew it was my water breaking, but it wasn't really clicking with me since there was no gush of water. I think her head must have been too low for the water to gush out like it often does. I got into the tub, even before it was finished filling up, because I just felt like I had to do something. I thought the water would make a world of difference. It didn't, but it did give me a tiny bit of relief. It was weird, I was so set on doing something in that moment, something to find relief. Now I know it was just time to have a baby, and nothing was going to make it not hurt.

Like I said, I was kind of freaking out at this point. I couldn't get in the zone that I had thought I would so easily get into when it was time to push. I wanted to get my mind to a place where I just breathed through the pain and worked through it, but I couldn't! The pain was so bad that I couldn't focus on my hypnobirthing breathing that I had practiced for so many months. Shaina checked me while I was in the tub, to “make sure I was at 10cm and ready to push), and she said “oh, her head is right there.” At this point I was on my knees with my head down, just trying to get into my zone. I remember telling Shaina “I am a numbers girl, how many contractions is this going to take.” She said I could get her out in 1, I said “ok, good, now that I know it is almost over I know I can do this.” It is kind of a blur everything that was said and done after this. I remember being really annoyed at Stephen and Shaina, because they were laughing, not at me, but at things I was saying. Stephen was probably teasing me, and I snapped at him stop laughing at me. I asked for my water and Stephen jumped up to go get it and I about had a cow because I didn't want Stephen to leave. I remember telling Shaina that I liked her, but I needed Stephen to not leave :). When Shaina came back I apologized to her because I thought that I was about to start cursing like a sailor. She laughed and said she has heard it all. I just didn't want her to think that I usually talk like that. I was also annoyed because Shaina told me I had to be on my back to push. This only annoyed me because I had seen a video of a friends water birth, she was so calm and relaxed—and on her knees that I had it in my head that it would be more comfortable. But birthing in a tub instead of a pool doesn't allow for that. 

Layla two weeks old.

 It was time to push, and all I can say is man, epidurals are amazing (I had one with Danny and didn't feel a thing). I couldn't really focus on pushing because the pain was so bad, but somehow I did pushed. **Side note, at this point I just wanted to let my body push her out, but I was pretty much being coached to push. I wish I had discussed with the midwives at the practice that I might want to just let my body do the work because I really didn't feel like I was pushing right, and I know she would have come out on her own if I just let my body do its job.** Stephen and Shaina kept trying to cheer me on, and to be honest, it annoyed me so much. I knew what I needed to do to get the baby out, I didn't need them to remind me. I wanted to tell them both to shut up, but of course I didn't. One push and Layla was right there, ready to come out. Two pushes and I asked Shaina if it was ok if I screamed, she said yes, I screamed. At first I was embarrassed to be screaming, and I never thought I would share with other people that I did, but it really helped me to focus on pushing, for some reason it was the release that I needed to actually push effectively. Three pushes and her head was out (I didn't know this), I asked if I could take a break and Stephen was like “Ella, her head is out, you have to push.” Four pushes and Layla Beverly made her grand entrance into the world at 11:22 pm, not even an hour after we arrived at the birth center.

According to the birth record I was checked at 11:10 and was 10cm, and began pushing at 11:15, so that long paragraph you just read was only seven minutes worth of real life.

Layla was immediately put in my arms where she decided to poop on me. . .at least she waited till she came out to do her business. It was so surreal holding her the second she was born. She was all wet and clean, and just kind of squirmed on my chest and let out a few little cries. She was perfect <3. After a minute or two Stephen cut her cord and took Layla so Shaina could help me get out of the tub and in bed.

It was such a surreal experience! Childbirth is an incredible and surreal experience no matter how it occurs, but for me, having Layla without medication, in a birth center, with just my husband and midwife there was such an incredible experience. The whole thing was just so real and natural. As incredible as it was, it was also no big deal. I had a baby, people have been having babies for as long as the world has existed, there wasn't any unnecessary hooplah. It was amazing.

The best part about the birthing center was that we got to go home almost immediately. We only stayed long enough for me to get myself together and have Layla checked out. We live about 30 minutes from the birth center and were home before 2am on Sept. 24^th.

I am so happy that I got to experience a natural birth like I so wanted. I doubted myself throughout my whole pregnancy because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it, but I did and I am grateful.

Layla Beverly Bray Rice

7 lbs 5 oz 21 ½ inches

September 23^rd, 2012 11:22 pm

Lay Lay two weeks old.

Danny's Birth Story

In honor of my 25th birthday (Happy Birthday to Me!), I am going to post my sons birth story. I wrote it when he was several months old, but didn't finish it until he was ten months old.

Looking back at this story, I realize that I was bullied into a lot of things by my doctors and the hospital, although it isn't really reflected in the story, but it brought back a lot of memories. It is no wonder that I am hoping for a birth center birth with my baby girl.

So without further ado, here is the story of how my sweet Danny Boy was born.

Daniel Thomas Bray Rice

April 16^th, 2010

7 lbs. 5 ozs. 20 inches long.

Exactly one month before you were born, on March 16^th, 2010, I was told by my doctor that I had tested positive for Gestational Diabetes back in January!! He had overlooked my test results, even though I had asked him about the results several times. It made a lot of sense that I had GD because I had been having really bad dizzy spells, I had swelled up a lot, and my vision was really suffering. My diabetes was treated with diet only, it was a really emotional time, the last few weeks of my pregnancy. I suddenly had to change my diet completely, and I was terrified that there would be something wrong with my baby since I had this terrible disease without treating it for so long. My doctor decided that he would induce me on my due date because of the GD, but I fought to do it sooner. I wanted to do it when he was on call at the hospital, I wanted him to see me through the mess he made, but I also wanted the baby out of me ASAP. I felt like my body was hurting the baby, and the sooner he/she came out the better off he/she would be. We decided to induce on April 15^th, 2010, I was 38 weeks and 5 days pregnant.

Thursday, April 15^th we woke up early to get ready to go to the hospital and start my induction so we could have “the baby”. We didn't know if you would be a boy or a girl so we called you “the baby” or “otter” while I was pregnant. I couldn't sleep the whole night before we went to the hospital, I was very nervous, but also excited at the same time. I was afraid of what labor would be like, but so excited to find out if I would have a son or a daughter, to see what you would look like and to hold you for the first time.

We woke up around 5 am so we could take showers, pack our bags, and eat breakfast. We got everything ready to and left for the hospital. We were so excited, but right when we left the base I realized we forgot to bring the laptop, we knew it could be a day or two before you would make your big entrance and we really wanted to have the computer with us. We turned around and went back to our house to get the computer. We got to the hospital a little late, around 7:45 am, luckily the nurses were running late getting our room ready so we actually got there at the perfect time. They made me go back to the room for a little while without Daddy which made me very upset. I didn't want to be in the hospital at all without him because I was so nervous. My nurse, Jenny was very nice and let Daddy come to our room right away because I told her how much I wanted him there. I got changed into my funny looking hospital gown and sat in the bed waiting for the doctors and nurses to come in. The nurses came in and started taking my temperature and all my vital signs. They hooked me up to machines to monitor contractions, your heartbeat, and my blood pressure. I was surprised that there wasn't a doctor around to check me out before everything got started, but by the end of the day I realized that the nurses do most of the work, and the doctors are there in case there is a problem. Once I was on the monitor I was happy to hear that I was already having sporadic contractions, even though I couldn't feel them I was happy to know that my body was starting to get ready for labor on it's own, and we weren't taking you too early. After a little while the nurses came in to give me an IV, I needed to have antibiotics constantly in my system because I tested positive for Group B Strep, which could have made you sick when you were coming out if I didn't have the antibiotics. Jenny had a hard time getting the IV in, she was a new nurse so she asked for help. A different nurse came in, she was really mean and hurt me...I had a really big bruise on my arm from her failed attempt at giving me an IV. Next the vein specialist came in from the Maternity ER and she gave me an IV with no trouble. My arm still hurt from the second try at the IV, but I was happy to have that part over with.

It was about 8:30 am and I was finally given medicine to start labor. I got a pill to swallow that was supposed to give me contractions. I was happy to hear your heartbeat all day long. My favorite time of the month while I was pregnant with you was when I would go to the doctor and we would listen to your heartbeat. There is something so special about knowing that your baby is alive and growing inside you. I knew, at this time, that I would really miss hearing your heartbeat and feeling you kick and move after you were born. You started moving around a lot like you did every morning around that time, I loved feeling you wiggle and kick. There is something so sweet about pregnancy and motherhood, you are so excited to meet your sweet baby for the first time, but you also love having the baby inside you and knowing he or she is safe. I really enjoyed our last hours together where it was just you and me.

Throughout the day the nurses would check to see if I was dilated, and I wasn't, they would give me more medicine to induce contractions, and they would make me walk around the hospital to try to get you ready to come out. I looked like a giant in my robe walking around the hospital, but your Daddy always said I looked beautiful. Daddy always went walking with me, we would get so bored walking around in circles at the hospital. The nurses also let me sit on a medicine ball instead of walking...I thought that was fun and I could be on the computer and Facebook with my friends. All day everyone kept calling Daddy and I to see if you were here yet...our friends and family were so excited. Momo and Grandpop called, all of your Aunts called, and our friends too. Mommy's cousin Kathryn is a Labor and Delivery nurse and she was calling and texting me all day to give me advice and find out how we were doing. It was so nice to know that we had so many people praying for us and excited to hear if you were here. Daddy and Mommy's friend Mickey sent us flowers the first day we were at the hospital, they made the room smell so nice.

Once it was nighttime our nice nurse, Jenny, had to go home and we got a mean nurse who didn't take very good care of me. I kept getting medicine to get labor going and it never seemed to work. We walked around the hospital every hour for about 30 minutes to try to get labor going. I started feeling contractions around 10pm, they didn't hurt too bad but they were uncomfortable, it was hard to walk around this time because of the contractions and pressure on my belly, you were feeling very heavy! This continued most of the night, and around 1:30 am Daddy went to sleep and I stayed up watching TV because I couldn't sleep. A little while after Daddy went to sleep the doctor came in to see how I was doing, I woke Daddy up because I was nervous that it would hurt when he checked me, it did but I survived. Daddy helped me get through the hard stuff, and the nighttime doctor was very nice. I was really excited to see you and very tired but I couldn't fall asleep. A little while after Daddy fell asleep my contractions started to hurt really bad, the nurse came in to check to see how dilated I was and I was only at a 1 so they didn't give me any more medicine for the rest of the night. I still had contractions all night that hurt but I just thought about how each contraction brought you closer to being born so it would make them easier to get through. I must have fallen asleep around 3:00 am and slept for a few hours.

The next morning the new morning nurse woke me up and told me she needed to check to see how dilated I was. I was still only about 1 cm dilated. I wasn't making much progress and I was very frustrated. I thought that I was being put in a lot of pain from the contractions and it was all for nothing. My nice morning nurse unhooked all my monitors and the IV so I could take a shower without all the wires being in the way. I took a nice long shower and I kept thinking that it might be the last relaxing shower I would take for a long time. I also kept thinking that I really really hope my baby will be born today. I could not wait to meet my sweet baby, to know if you would be a boy or a girl, to see who you would look like and to give you a kiss. I had been waiting my whole life for you and I didn't want to wait any longer.

After my shower we had a slow morning. We ate breakfast and talked to the doctors and nurses about what we should do to get this baby to come out. The doctors decided to give me pitocin to give me more contractions. The pitocin worked and around 12:30 p.m Doctor Grogan, from my doctors office, came in to check my progress. I was 2 centimeters dilated but it seemed like things were finally progressing so he broke my water. I immediately began to have extremely intense and painful contractions. The contractions were coming right after each other so I was not getting a break. The nurses called the anesthesiologist to come give me an epidural but he was in the operating room with another Mommy so we had to wait. It was very hard to go through that pain without any medicine to help me. I took it one contraction at a time, took deep breaths and closed my eyes during the hardest parts and before I knew it an hour had gone by and the anesthesiologist was ready to give me some medicine. I was afraid of the big needle he had to use and I was upset because the doctor was mean and wouldn't let Daddy stay with me. The procedure to insert the epidural turned out to be pretty easy and not scary at all. I didn't feel any pain other then the contractions that I was feeling. Once the doctor was finished Daddy was allowed to come back in to be with me and I was soon feeling very good. Thanks to the medicine I was able to get some sleep before it was time to deliver my sweet baby. I woke up from my nap around 4 p.m and felt like it was time to push. Doctor Burkett, a doctor I had never met before, came in and checked my progress, I was finally 10 centimeters! I was so happy to hear this because I was ready to have you. The nurses didn't want me to start pushing yet, they wanted to see if you would come down on your own a bit. I was upset about this because I really wanted to push. I felt ready and I wanted you to be born before it was too late to call everyone in Maryland to announce your big arrival. Around 6 p.m I told the nurse that I was ready to push and she still didn't want me to. Daddy and I think it was because the nurses were getting ready to go home and they didn't want to get stuck in a delivery. Finally around 7 p.m we got new nurses. The new nurse, Paula, was very sweet and said it was time to have a baby! Because Dr. Grogan and Dr. Burkett had gone home we were lucky enough to have Marsha Keechler, a Midwife from Mommy's doctor office help deliver you. She was a very nice woman who did everything she could to make sure you arrived safely and to make sure I didn't get hurt. I started pushing sometime after 7:30. It was a lot of work to push baby out but it wasn't too painful because I had a great reaction to the epidural. While I was pushing the Detroit Red Wings hockey game was on TV. The Wings were losing the game but once I started pushing they came back and ended up winning 7-4. You must have been good luck for Daddy's favorite hockey team. While I was pushing Marsha said that she was very upset that the nurses wouldn't let me push earlier. She said that she had never seen any Mommy sit around at 10 centimeters dilated for as long as I had. She told me that because you were ready to come out for so long but weren't able to that you might have a cone head, but that it would go away in 24 hours. I had never seen a baby with a cone head before so I was a little scared. While Mommy was pushing Marsha also said that you were a little big for Mommy to get out so she did some extra work to help you along, she was so great that she didn't need to use any special tools to help deliver you.

At 8:21 p.m on April 16^th, 2010 in Yuma Arizona, my beautiful son Daniel Thomas Bray Rice was born. That was the happiest moment of my life. When you were born Marsha had to unwrap the umbilical cord from around your neck, it was wrapped around twice which was very scary, but you were in perfect health. Marsha held you up so Daddy could see you, he looked at you and then told me that you were a boy. I was so happy that my Danny Boy was finally here. The nurses took you over to the table to clean you up and make sure you were healthy while Marsha made sure that Mommy was doing well. The nurses cleaned you up and weighed you, you weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz and you were 20 ½ inches long. Once you were cleaned up the nurses gave you to Daddy, he was the first one in our family to hold you. He was so happy to hold his little boy, I will never forget the look on his face, he was looking at you as if you were the most amazing thing in the whole world, and you were. Daddy brought you over to me, and he showed me how handsome my little Danny Boy was. I asked him if I could hold you and he handed you to me. The first time I held my sweet Danny boy you were bright eyed and bushy tailed. You were looking around at everything in the room. You even sucked on my finger. You were the sweetest baby I had ever seen in my life. Daddy and I were so happy to have our first child, we were now our own family.

Once things calmed down in the delivery room, about 20 minutes after you were born Mommy and Daddy decided it was time to call our family and friends who were back in Maryland to tell them our exciting news. First we called Uncle Joe, your Godfather, then we called everyone else. Although it was a long, 36 hour induction, it was all worth it because I got to hold my sweet little Danny boy.