Not for the Faint of Heart - Audrey's Birth
For those who have asked "At Home!" and "Why a Midwife" And for my friend Helen who had such a horrible experience with her first birth... (but is expecting again!) It can be beautiful!
Audrey is our 5 1/2 month old daughter. Audrey Sarah Ruttan Ryan was born Thursday December 23rd 2004 at 5:09 pm at home. Right in the living room with Daddy (Chris), my Mom, my Dad, Beckie our midwife and Sheila the second midwife. The weather was Very cold that day. Sam (our son) woke around 6 am (unusual for him) and I went into his room to cuddle him back to sleep. At about the same time I started getting contractions about 2 minutes apart and 30 seconds long - somewhat intense. By 7:30 / 8 am I figured I better let Beckie our midwife now what was up. This was a mistake. As soon as Beckie got to our house the contractions slowed way down! (Murphy's law) Anyway, I was in pre labour, is that what they call it?, all day, and I felt badly that Beckie was patiently waiting as nothing happened. I was frustrated... so we prayed together which was very calming. Beckie left to see some other babies and moms and I had a bit of a nap while my dad played his guitar. It was relaxing - lot's of songs from my childhood... I felt like a little kid again being taken care of (except for the periods of intense pain every 5 minutes or so) Beckie returned around 2:30 pm and I was frustrated (still, even more)! She gave me a hug, which was the best thing she could have done... it said "I know". It was nice to have someone understand. I wonder if she knows how important she was to me that day.
I got angry and determined at this point. "What do we do to get this party started?! I began walking up and down our small flight of stairs, while Beckie went to get some special tea from the local organic store. I figured I'd sweat off some of the 50lbs I'd gained, if nothing else. My Mom, the trooper, joined me on the stairs... I think she was going crazy from being inside (it was to cold to go out). Within minutes of climbing, the contractions got really strong and started coming every minute and a half. By the time Beckie got back I think I was in full active labour. That was around 3 pm. The next while was a blur... there was music on and I ate a freezie... things were being set up... At some point I remember Beckie calling Anessa and Sheila to get one of them to come over and be the second midwife at the birth. Shortly after that I remember hearing "Do not pass go come directly here" Things were progressing quickly! After 2 hours of active labour and 3 minutes of pushing we had our baby girl!
A Girl?
I had convinced myself that she was a boy! A bottle of red wine was opened, a toast made, and my dad the gourmet chef (hobby) started to cook dinner. We counted her fingers and toes wrapped her up in swaddling clothes (it was almost Christmas..) and tried to nurse her... she wasn't so good at this, Sam had latched right on, no problem... I figured it would come with time. Sam came home from a day of playing with cousins (he had a blast) and met his new sister who he called "HottieChooChoo" (I'll explain another time) Beckie stayed for dinner and our little brick house in the centre of Canada was a warm cocoon of peace and joy.
The next day (Christmas Eve) Beckie came over to see how things were going. Audrey was not eating well and was very sleepy. She was only 16 hours old... After examining Audrey's mouth Beckie thought she saw "something", I thought I saw "it" too. Audrey appeared to have a large upside down V shaped hole at the back of her throat. I could feel panic at the back of my throat. We didn't know what it was but now we knew why she was having trouble feeding. Thus began the pumping with the electric breast pump (borrowed from Helen) and the puzzle of how to get the milk into Audrey. Finger feeding with a tube didn't work well, and spoon feeding was messy. By the 28th of December Audrey was down to 6lbs 9 oz (from 7lbs 2oz) and had stopped pooping (bad sign) Finally we had success with an eye dropper. Through all of this Beckie and Anessa (midwives) were visiting at least twice a day (Keep in mind it was Christmas!). They were so calm and calming but firm on the issue... she needs more nourishment! We put together a plan, 60mls of pumped breast milk every two hours round the clock. Four of us took turns: myself, Chris, my Mom and my Dad. Each feeding took 1 1/2 hours of tedious dripping into her mouth... and then we had to start again 1/2 an hour later. We quickly changed it to every three hours. After about 3 feedings, Audrey filled her diaper and we could not have been more excited about Poop! Things only got better from then on.
It was eventually stated that Audrey has a cleft soft palate. She will have an operation around 12 months old to repair the cleft. (I'm dreading it) We are part of the Cleft Palate program at the Children's Hospital which helps us take care of many issues we encounter as a result of Audrey's cleft. We get free 'Cleft Palate Nurser" bottles... Special nipple and squeezable bottle to help "pump" the milk in (she is unable to create a vacuum to draw milk properly). We've seen an ENT, a doctor of Genetics & a plastic surgeon. We will see an audiologist, a dentist and a speech therapist, down the road. There can be many issues with speech development, sometimes hearing issues (ears, nose and throat are all connected and in Audrey's case wide open so fluid can get behind the ears etc.) and some kids can have issues with their teeth. All future adventures to travel!
The most important part of this story is that we had support. Our families and friends, our church. But what really helped was the care we got from the team of midwives at Mount Carmel Clinic. Cara (was also at Sam's birth!) was wonderful at listening to all my wonderings and complaints and answering my questions throughout my pregnancy, Sheila was so nice even though I met her a few minutes after Audrey was born! Anessa got us a plan of action and researched tonnes of info on breast feeding a child with a cleft, and how to coordinate pumping, "breast training" and feeding altogether (and she was a dancer - went to York like me!) And then there was Beckie. She made me laugh at every visit no matter how large I was getting (pre) or how tired I was (post) and she made me feel like I was understood. I never felt stupid for asking anything. I hold all four of these women in my highest regard. I love them and what they did for me and do for others. Blessings on you!
That's it. There is so much more, but how much do you want to read? Midwives, in my opinion rock! I hope you get a warm fuzzy feeling from reading this. It's a great memory for me.
Audrey is our 5 1/2 month old daughter. Audrey Sarah Ruttan Ryan was born Thursday December 23rd 2004 at 5:09 pm at home. Right in the living room with Daddy (Chris), my Mom, my Dad, Beckie our midwife and Sheila the second midwife. The weather was Very cold that day. Sam (our son) woke around 6 am (unusual for him) and I went into his room to cuddle him back to sleep. At about the same time I started getting contractions about 2 minutes apart and 30 seconds long - somewhat intense. By 7:30 / 8 am I figured I better let Beckie our midwife now what was up. This was a mistake. As soon as Beckie got to our house the contractions slowed way down! (Murphy's law) Anyway, I was in pre labour, is that what they call it?, all day, and I felt badly that Beckie was patiently waiting as nothing happened. I was frustrated... so we prayed together which was very calming. Beckie left to see some other babies and moms and I had a bit of a nap while my dad played his guitar. It was relaxing - lot's of songs from my childhood... I felt like a little kid again being taken care of (except for the periods of intense pain every 5 minutes or so) Beckie returned around 2:30 pm and I was frustrated (still, even more)! She gave me a hug, which was the best thing she could have done... it said "I know". It was nice to have someone understand. I wonder if she knows how important she was to me that day.
I got angry and determined at this point. "What do we do to get this party started?! I began walking up and down our small flight of stairs, while Beckie went to get some special tea from the local organic store. I figured I'd sweat off some of the 50lbs I'd gained, if nothing else. My Mom, the trooper, joined me on the stairs... I think she was going crazy from being inside (it was to cold to go out). Within minutes of climbing, the contractions got really strong and started coming every minute and a half. By the time Beckie got back I think I was in full active labour. That was around 3 pm. The next while was a blur... there was music on and I ate a freezie... things were being set up... At some point I remember Beckie calling Anessa and Sheila to get one of them to come over and be the second midwife at the birth. Shortly after that I remember hearing "Do not pass go come directly here" Things were progressing quickly! After 2 hours of active labour and 3 minutes of pushing we had our baby girl!
A Girl?
I had convinced myself that she was a boy! A bottle of red wine was opened, a toast made, and my dad the gourmet chef (hobby) started to cook dinner. We counted her fingers and toes wrapped her up in swaddling clothes (it was almost Christmas..) and tried to nurse her... she wasn't so good at this, Sam had latched right on, no problem... I figured it would come with time. Sam came home from a day of playing with cousins (he had a blast) and met his new sister who he called "HottieChooChoo" (I'll explain another time) Beckie stayed for dinner and our little brick house in the centre of Canada was a warm cocoon of peace and joy.
The next day (Christmas Eve) Beckie came over to see how things were going. Audrey was not eating well and was very sleepy. She was only 16 hours old... After examining Audrey's mouth Beckie thought she saw "something", I thought I saw "it" too. Audrey appeared to have a large upside down V shaped hole at the back of her throat. I could feel panic at the back of my throat. We didn't know what it was but now we knew why she was having trouble feeding. Thus began the pumping with the electric breast pump (borrowed from Helen) and the puzzle of how to get the milk into Audrey. Finger feeding with a tube didn't work well, and spoon feeding was messy. By the 28th of December Audrey was down to 6lbs 9 oz (from 7lbs 2oz) and had stopped pooping (bad sign) Finally we had success with an eye dropper. Through all of this Beckie and Anessa (midwives) were visiting at least twice a day (Keep in mind it was Christmas!). They were so calm and calming but firm on the issue... she needs more nourishment! We put together a plan, 60mls of pumped breast milk every two hours round the clock. Four of us took turns: myself, Chris, my Mom and my Dad. Each feeding took 1 1/2 hours of tedious dripping into her mouth... and then we had to start again 1/2 an hour later. We quickly changed it to every three hours. After about 3 feedings, Audrey filled her diaper and we could not have been more excited about Poop! Things only got better from then on.
It was eventually stated that Audrey has a cleft soft palate. She will have an operation around 12 months old to repair the cleft. (I'm dreading it) We are part of the Cleft Palate program at the Children's Hospital which helps us take care of many issues we encounter as a result of Audrey's cleft. We get free 'Cleft Palate Nurser" bottles... Special nipple and squeezable bottle to help "pump" the milk in (she is unable to create a vacuum to draw milk properly). We've seen an ENT, a doctor of Genetics & a plastic surgeon. We will see an audiologist, a dentist and a speech therapist, down the road. There can be many issues with speech development, sometimes hearing issues (ears, nose and throat are all connected and in Audrey's case wide open so fluid can get behind the ears etc.) and some kids can have issues with their teeth. All future adventures to travel!
The most important part of this story is that we had support. Our families and friends, our church. But what really helped was the care we got from the team of midwives at Mount Carmel Clinic. Cara (was also at Sam's birth!) was wonderful at listening to all my wonderings and complaints and answering my questions throughout my pregnancy, Sheila was so nice even though I met her a few minutes after Audrey was born! Anessa got us a plan of action and researched tonnes of info on breast feeding a child with a cleft, and how to coordinate pumping, "breast training" and feeding altogether (and she was a dancer - went to York like me!) And then there was Beckie. She made me laugh at every visit no matter how large I was getting (pre) or how tired I was (post) and she made me feel like I was understood. I never felt stupid for asking anything. I hold all four of these women in my highest regard. I love them and what they did for me and do for others. Blessings on you!
That's it. There is so much more, but how much do you want to read? Midwives, in my opinion rock! I hope you get a warm fuzzy feeling from reading this. It's a great memory for me.
2 Comments:
Hey Ryans, I love your site, it's so fun. I loved reading about Audrey's birth and the midwives, maybe next time I can help out too! Wow crazy thought. Love you all---Jen
Thanks for sharing your story...wow. Midwives and home births definitely rock! (Go Jen, go!)
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