From: connie@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Constance Stillinger)
Subject: Birth story
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 05:07:49 GMT


Finally I have a few minutes between nursings to compose and post
mine and Morris's birth story.

Morris Andrew Alper was born to me (Connie Stillinger) and my husband
(Ted Alper) at 1:26 am on Dec 23.  He was 6 lb 3 oz and about 20.25"
long at birth.  (Actually his length was measured the next day when we
remembered to have it done.)

Labor lasted about 14 hours (from 11am to 1:30am), of which I spent
about 13 hours at home pretty much ignoring it, eating (constant
snacking---I was really hungry the whole time) watching TV and
browsing at the local magazine store.  In retrospect, I probably
waited too long to go to the hospital.  I wasn't immediately convinced
that it was real labor because it didn't get THAT painful until near
the end, and the pains never "started in the lower back radiating to
the abdomen" like all the literature says.  I would feel each
contraction as a rush of blood to my *feet* and then as pain mainly in
my abdomen.  On top of which I had trouble timing the contractions
because I couldn't always tell when one started and when it ended.

When I finally strolled into the hospital I was greatly surprised and
foggily pleased to hear I was almost all the way through transition
already (9 cm dilated).  About 45 min later it was time to push him
out, which took 11 minutes, according to the midwife.  The pushing
left me with broken capillaries on my shoulders and chest (which
cleared up within a few days).  You know, it never did occur to me to
ask for drugs but I did have to have an episiotomy in order to blast
him out as fast as possible.  Heck, I didn't even *feel* the
episiotomy or the internal monitor they put on him at one point.
Morris's cord was being compressed during pushing and his heartrate
decelerated to 60.  They were preparing for a forceps delivery if he
didn't come out quickly, but fortunately that was not necessary.
Despite the episiotomy I tore in a couple of places anyway and
required 12 stitches.  I didn't even see Morris when he came out
because they rushed him with lightning speed to the adjoining room to
get him breathing.

Poor Ted held up my feet while I pushed and as a consequence watched
ALL the bloody details including the episiotomy, but didn't flinch
until afterward when it didn't matter any more.  He's a hero!

All the foregoing is just my macho war story.  The really important
good news is that although Morris was as blue as a Crayola Sky Blue
when he emerged (with the cord tangled all around his shoulder and
neck) he was perfectly fine a few moments later.  

I was emotionally numb after giving birth, partly as a consequence of
the trance I was in during the preceding few hours.  When they handed
Morris to me a few moments after birth, once they had got him
breathing, I had no feelings whatsoever toward him.  The nurse had to
remind me to kiss him when she took him off to the nursery.  I was
happy enough to let him go for a couple of hours while I got some
rest.

Indeed it took a couple of days before I really started to love my
son, but now I am consumed by love for my beautiful sweet child!

My perineum was rather sore for about 10 days afterward, but the
broken blood vessels on my shoulders and chest from the pushing
cleared up in a couple of days.  I would advise anyone who tears or
has an episiotomy to go get THIN maxi-pads.  I started to feel a lot
less sore once I switched from thick pads to thin ones.

Regards to all,

Connie (& Morris)
Newsgroups: misc.kids