Sun 5 Jan 2003
Sadie’s Birth
Posted by Sandi Atherton under birthday, germany
No Comments
Ken has been on vacation for the last week and I was bored out of my mind. I told him I was ready to have this kid just so that I would have something to do! It’s funny that I was willing to face the pain of labor for that reason. We decided to take a drive around the country that morning and ended in a place called Titisee. (Ken says they name things here for his amusement!) The town and its surroundings were stunning. It was situated on a lake with mountains covered in evergreens and rising in the background. We walked and shopped int eh town that afternoon and finished up around dinner time. That evening after we arrived back home, I made the decorations for the baby’s birthday cake and accomplished other last minute things on the “to do” list. Ken and I stayed up talking until midnight and I finally gave up and went to bed. I woke up again around 3am and could not go back to sleep, so at 4am I went to the computer. I found my friend Christy on-line and started talking with her.
At 4:35am, the first contraction hit. It was not painful, so I did not do much, just mentioned it to Christy. We began joking about a New Year’s Eve baby. The contractions were every 5 minutes and still not painful. At 5am, Ken woke because Celia was up crying. We decided to call the midwife. Soon after, Carissa woke up because of the commotion. Yeah!! The whole family was awake. I am sure the people downstairs loved us!
Me in labour…can you tell?
The midwife arrived at 5:35am and checked me. I was 8cm after only one hour of labor. This made me nervous as well as ecstatic. I walked around, talked to Ken’s mom on-line and arranged things in the house. Somewhere around 6:15 the midwife told me to get comfortable because it was time to start pushing. I knelt on our bed with my head in on a pillow and hanging off the foot board.
After one of the contractions Celia came to me for a hug. She looked me in the face and said, “it’s OK, Mommy… It’ll get better!” I could not help but smile.
My water had not broken yet, so labor was still not very painful. After a few small pushes it ruptured and it became the difference between sitting on a sharp rock with a pillow and just sitting on the sharp rock. Carissa, who was a little nervous about the whole event, was in the hall entertaining my parents on the computer camera when she heard us discussing the water bag breaking. She asked what made my water break and said she needed to find something to fix it! It was good to have the kids around to ease the tension during this time. I was in so much pain at this point that I found myself not wanting to push. Then I realized that if I just pushed hard it would be over soon. So I got down to business.
Ken says that it only took 4 or so pushes before Sadie came out, but to me it felt like 4 hours. I was not prepared for the burning feeling (I felt like someone had lit a bonfire under me) and the feeling like I was going to rip in two. Everything had seemed so easy up to this point and I was finding it hard to adjust to the pain. My legs had begun to shake and I wanted to change positions but the contractions were right on top of each other–it was impossible to catch my breath between them, much less to find time to move around.
The midwife, her student, and Ken were very helpful, though. The midwife used a washcloth soaked in warm coffee to relieve some of the pain, the student held a cold washcloth to my forehead to cool me down, and Ken rubbed my back and even offered his hand to squeeze. In the beginning, I was afraid that the kids would be a handful and demand my attention, but I was not even aware of them. I was later told that Celia was in the room the entire time and Carissa was in the hall until Ken told her that the baby’s head was out. Then she came in to watch. The midwife suctioned the baby’s nose and mouth and told me to give one more push. I am not sure how I found the strength for that last push. The midwife announced Sadie’s arrival and laid her on the bed in front of me. I so happy that it was all over. Sadie became pink pretty quickly and let out a few small cries.
Sadie was born at 6:47am so I was in labor a total of 2 hours and 12 minutes. This news shocked me when I heard this. Thankfully, my labor was quick. The home birth went well and I am so glad we chose to do it this way, as I would not have made it to the hospital in time for the birth. Besides, Ken was not up to date on birthing babies. The other benefit of a home birth is that I have had no adjustment issues with the girls as I had with Carissa when Celia was born. I think it helps that they saw how this baby was born rather than having mommy go away for a few days and return with a baby.
Just what every woman loves…getting weighed.
Sadie was cleaned, weighed, dressed, and announced to the world quickly. The web camera and Internet played a great roll in this. My parents were able to listen to the entire labor (lucky them!) and hear the wonderful news immediately. We also had other family and friends on line with instant messenger to tell the news. The midwife mentioned that she was impressed with our “cross continental” birth and that this was a first for her.
The rest of the day was a blur. Ken went out to buy food for a big breakfast while Celia, Sadie, and I slept a little. I made the birthday cake and decorated it. I have been asked how I had the strength for that and I can honestly tell you… I have no idea. It must have been the adrenaline going through me. We celebrated Sadie’s birth at that night by singing, blowing out the candles on the cake (Carissa and Celia both took turns), drinking champagne, and eating ice cream (shaped like a champagne bottle).
The translation of this bottle is “Little Red Riding Hood”
This is the ice cream we had. It is half chocolate and half french vanilla with a small cherry layer in between. The ice cream is then coated with chocolate. Even the label was made from chocolate.
On New Years Eve here in Germany, many people set off fireworks to celebrate. Not just simple fireworks and sparklers, but huge sky displays like you see on the Forth of July in the US. It was wonderful to see the huge displays and they made our celebration even more fantastic. Ken and I stood on our deck, which is situated on the top of a hill looking down upon the town, at midnight and watched the scene. Ken and the girls were able to shoot off a few small ones earlier in the evening. Carissa now thinks that you have fireworks when a baby is born. Maybe that is not such a bad idea.
