Birth Story: Koze

He is here. Just shy of the 32 week mark my little Koze made his way into the world early this morning at 2:19am, during the Leonid meteor shower. Completely unexpected, my water broke last night at 11:05. Thinking there was no way I could possibly be in labor I had almost made up my mind to just go back to bed and call Laura, my midwife, in the morning. Thankfully I ended up choosing to play it safe and called Laura at 11:18. After explaining to her what had happened she felt confident that my water had indeed broken and that I could have this baby very soon.

I had been a little crampy that day since early afternoon but, again, never imagined that I was in labor since I still had a good 2 months to go and the cramps weren't even as painful as a menstrual cramp. Laura suggested that we meet at the birth center so she could do a test to be 100% sure that my water had broken. My good friend, Theresa, drove me to Alma where we arrived shortly before midnight. Laura tested my water and confirmed that it was BROKEN. I could barely believe it.

At this point I began to realize that there was actually a rhythm to my contractions and I began to accept that my little boy was on his way. Laura had already called ahead to Emanuel Hospital in North Portland to let them know we would be coming so Theresa and I, followed by Laura headed over and I was admitted. Because my contractions appeared so mild we all prepared for what we thought could be a long wait - several hours to a couple days is what I was told to expect. After I was all settled in my room Laura decided to head home to get some rest and told me to call her when things progressed. I felt totally relaxed and agreed that there was no reason for Laura to wait at the hospital with me. We were just getting ready to say good bye when I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up and said so to Laura. I knew this was often a sign of transition and remember feeling like it was strange that I would be getting sick so early on in labor. Laura quickly grabbed something for me to throw up into and I threw up all the soup I had had for dinner that night. After this happened the MD on duty checked me and found that I was 7 to 8 centimeters dilated.

Much further along than the 3 centimeters she had predicted just minutes before. It was a very busy night for labor and deliveries and there were no immediate rooms available for me to go to so they moved me into the O.R. Once there my contractions began to intensify and I soon felt the urge to push. I finally began to become more vocal about how I was feeling as I felt the force of what was going on in my body rapidly gaining strength. My nurse told me not to push yet. The contraction eased up a little and with the next one she said I could push so I did and almost immediately it seemed he was crowning and that was the first real pain I felt. It was so intense that for a moment I was afraid to continue pushing but everyone around me encouraged me that I was doing so well and someone told me that his head was almost out and asked me if I wanted to feel him. I reached down and felt the top of his head, which was covered in hair.

Suddenly my perspective shifted from fear to determination and I began pushing as hard as I could until I felt his head followed by the rest of his body slide out. The relief was instant and I could see him and hear him crying right away. Since he was so early they had to cut his cord and whisk him right away to the NICU. I didn't feel any disappointment that I was not going to be able to hold him right away like I had wanted - I was grateful that he was in very capable hands and felt confident that everything was being done to give him the absolute best start under these circumstances. I was so grateful for Laura's presence. Her confidence in me gave me so much strength and her calmness in the midst of the whirlwind of nurses, doctors, questions and hospital equipment was beyond comforting.

I would say I had an incredible experience with this birth and am incredibly grateful. After the placenta was out and I was given a stitch or two for a small tear I was able to see Koze almost immediately. He did great right from the start and has been breathing all on his own. He weighed 4lbs 12oz and is absolutely the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Ever. I am so in love with him that it makes my heart so happy and also ache just a little.

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