Katie Elizabeth Austin
My son's birth was not what we planned or expected-it was awful. I gave up at
5 cm and got an epidural which made me sluggish and totally out of control.
He was taken away from us 30 seconds after birth-he had heart problems. So
when we found out we were pregnant again-we were determined to do it natural
and on our terms.
Ultrasounds verified that we had a girl and that she was healthy-so we could
focus on the birth process. I had horrible back paiin for 2 weeks prior to
delivery, so when I woke up on Tues, Sep 24, 1996 and got out of bed to
discover my water was breaking-everywhere, I was happy.
We got to the
hospital by 8:30 am and by noon I was in total focus and concentration. By
one pm, my husband was really coaching me through-with our son and the
epidural he basically sat back and made small talk. Even though it seemed
like each contraction was slow and agonizing, the next few hours went
quickly- and at about 3:45 pm I told my nurses that I had to push-and they
checked me and it turned out the right side of my cervix was at 10 cm but the
left at just 9 cm. The nurse said she would try to hold the left side back
just a bit to see if I could push baby through. My first two pushes got me
nowhere. On the third, I got this amazing second wind and in one shot, she
got through and started to crown. The nurses were totally taken off guard
and called my OB- his office was about 5 minutes away and I was told not to
push to wait for him.
It took about 8 minutes for him to get there and not
pushing was worse than all the pain. Once the pushing started I was amazed, I
felt no pain just pressure. Anyway, he got to my room at 4:03 pm and at 4:04
pm, Katie Elizabeth Austin was born-7lbs 15 ounces. I held her right away, we
bonded and she my husband and I were left alone for nearly an hour-it was
heaven. I felt terrific and about 90 minutes after the birth, got up took a
shower and ate dinner with my daughter in my arms. The rewards of sticking
with it with no drugs were great and I would never ever do it any other way.
Id love to hear your concerns or comments-
Moaustin@aol.com