Our birth story

We were supported during the last weeks of our pregnancy, during labor, and in the days after Andrin was born by our wonderful doula, Julie. I wished we would have made the decision to work with her a lot sooner, but we still had the possibility of talking to her, verbalizing our ideas and expectations, and our questions. Clemens and I just realized toward the end of our pregnancy that we wanted Andrin's birth to be special and natural. We were taken back by accounts of nurses interfering, administering quickly medications, and felt that an emotional support person might be our best advocate. We could not have picked a more caring, loving, and wonderful person than Julie! Julie is so calm, but also determined and willing to fight for things that she believes in and that she knew were important to us. We feel blessed that she entered our life and feel like she is a part of our family already in sharing our birth with us. Julie never was invasive and when she asked to come for a postnatal visit, I had to repeat several times that she would always be welcome at our house. She really did not want to intrude.
Julie wrote for us Andrin's birth story that we would like to share with you. I cannot tell you how I felt when I first read it. Tears were streaming down my cheeks and I was just overwhelmed. As I am rereading the birth story, I am finding all these comments and things that I do not remember at all. Asking Clemens about it, he also does not really have a recollection of them. People have asked me if I had taken so much medication that I do not remember, but I think I was so focused and concentrated that I did not pay any attention to anything else than being in sync with my own body. I have been working on my version of the birth story, but life with a baby boy has been keeping me busy ... I hope that I will be able to publish it sometime.

But here is Julie's recollection of Andrin's birth:

On Saturday, September 27^th, two weeks prior to her predetermined due date, Femeke began experiencing contractions. They began suddenly at 10.30 pm, and neither Femeke nor Clemens was able to get to sleep.

Julie received a call on Sunday morning at 1.55 am from Clemens telling her that they had spoken with Dr. Stenshoel, who told them to come to the hospital for an exam. Femeke told Julie that her contractions were coming about every 3-5 minutes, but that she was still able to talk through them. She suggested that Julie wait at home until they were certain that she was in active labor. Julie, convinced that Femeke indeed was in active labor, began to prepare to follow them to the hospital.

Femeke and Clemens arrived at Riverbend at about 2.25 am. After they checked in and Femeke was monitored for the required 20-30 minutes, the nurse examined Femeke and found that she was 3 centimeters dilated. It was 2.45 am.

Julie arrived at 3.15 am and found Clemens and Femeke walking the room. Clemens supported Femeke each time a contraction came. Femeke seemed to be experiencing very intense contractions judging from her breathing and sounds. At 3.30 am, Femeke began to feel increased pressure and a slight urge to push. When the nurse examined her she was 8 centimeters dilated. Her cervix had dilated from 3 to 8 centimeters in only 30 minutes, which is extremely fast progress.

Femeke decided to get into the tub. Immersion in water made the intensity of her contractions much easier to get through. Discovering from Clemens that they had not had the time to print out their birth plan, Julie quickly listed for the nurse the most important requests that Femeke and Clemens had - spontaneous pushing, allowing the chord to cease pulsing before clamping and cutting, no suctioning unless indicated, and skin-to-skin contact with an hour of uninterrupted time before weighing, measuring, bathing, etc.

At 4 am, Dr. Stenshoel arrived and asked to examine Femeke. She did so with Femeke still in the tub, underwater, and from an awkward position. Tammy said, “The head is right there, let’s get out of the tub and have a baby”. Femeke was feeling the urge to push. Meanwhile Julie, knowing that Femeke wanted the freedom to push at her own pace and in a variety of positions, asked the nurse to please make the birthing bar available to that Femeke might be able to use it in a squatting position at the foot of the bed.

Femeke was very focused as she made her way from the tub to the bed. The nurses who had the privilege of attending Femeke were already quite impressed by the instinctive and focused way that Femeke was moving through her labor. They had been making comments throughout to Julie. Now, they stood quietly watching and a little in awe as they watched her push her baby out of her body and into the world. Femeke gripped the bar and began to push intensely at 4.05 am. At about 4.15 am, Tammy suggested that a different position might facilitate the baby’s descent, so Femeke lay back on the bed and grabbed her legs with her hands as Tammy instructed. Between contractions she lay back on pillows and rested. Tammy asked Femeke if she wanted to feel the baby’s head. Femeke reached down and touching her baby’s head said “oh my god”. At 4.26 am, three or four contractions later, Femeke and Clemens’ beautiful baby boy was born. His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck (which is fairly common), and Tammy quickly unwrapped it. Since there was s mall amount of meconium in the amniotic fluid, the nurses gently but quickly suctioned fluids from the baby’s mouth and nose to prevent him from aspirating any of the fluid. Andrin was covered in a thick layer of vernix and had long fingernails. He cried right away, within seconds of emerging from Femeke’s body. He was scope dup onto Femeke’s chest and Tammy waited for the umbilical chord to cease pulsing. Then she clamped the chord and offered Clemens the scissors. Femeke and Clemens were in joy and amazement to see their beautiful baby boy. Femeke asked “is it really a boy, has anyone looked?” Femeke and Clemens unwrapped their baby so that Femeke could see for herself. Clemens grabbed the camera and Julie took some pictures. After a period of gazing and nuzzling with his mama talking to him and encouraging him, Andrin latched onto his mama’s breast and began to nurse. Julie asked to have the bright lights dimmed so that it would not be too bright for the baby to see his mother and father’s faces.

Andrin nursed and dozed for the next hour. Sometime during the last part of this hour Clemens took his son from Femeke and cuddled him to his chest. At 6.15 am Julie left the blissful couple to enjoy their new family.

Thank you so much, Julie!