The birth of Meerkitten...

After two natural "land" births I wanted to try something different for my 3rd.. So I looked into water birth. It actually wasn't until I was 29 weeks pregnant that I switched from my OB to a group of 3 midwives. I was a little nervous about making the switch so late, but after a tearful appointment of arguing with my OB about MANY things- I decided it was time. I was so sick of FIGHTING to have things go my way. And also extremely annoyed of hearing how I should wean my son when I clearly stated from the start that wouldn't be happening!

I immediately loved all 3 of the midwives. All 3 of them were so sweet, supportive, and understanding. I clicked most with Lisa. I just love love love her! She's fantastic! But I felt confident no matter who was on call when the time came to birth I would be happy and well supported.

When I was 37 weeks pregnant with Samirah I was having strong contractions often. I was sure I'd go ahead of my due date. And then. On New Years Day- I took a fall down a flight of stairs. Hard.. While holding my son. I gave my tailbone a good crack and the fall jarred my body. I stopped having all those contractions I was having- and quite honestly I was GLAD. I was so afraid of having to give birth with the terrible pain I was in. Sitting down HURT! Going to the bathroom hurt- I couldn't imagine pushing out a person at that point.

As the next few weeks passed my tailbone got a bit better- but I really felt it wouldn't fully heal until after Samirah came.. Her weight was just sitting right there and it wasn't able to fully get better. Going to my chiropracter did help some and give me slight relief in these weeks.

My last appointment with my chiropracter was on my due date! January 13th. A Wednesday. I remember being near tears telling him how I was getting SO many phone calls, emails, and texts from well meaning friends and family asking me if I had given birth yet. I was so sick of responding "no but I will let you know!!" I know they were just as excited as I was! But so not what you want to be hearing when your heading to be overdue lol.

My Mom flew in from Florida Wednesday night. I was ready at that point. I wanted her to have as much time with the new baby as possible.. so I was hoping she'd come right away! But I knew in the end. She'd come when she was good and ready ;-)

The next day was Thursday and I was showing my mom the routine for the two other kids who she'd be watching for me. I started having contractions but I told her let's continue on our day and we would see what happened. They were on and off all day.

When my husband got home that night I was lieing in bed and they were not letting up on me.. Around 6 I decided to nurse Sami and put him to bed. A half hour earlier than normal. But he hadn't napped so he was all for it. I nursed him , put him down, then called my midwife to explain to her the situation. She told me since I was so far from the hospital (*About an hour*) It would be best if I Came in to see what was going on..

I went in and got checked. 1 cm.. WHAT?! Are you JOKING ME?! This is my THIRD baby! I should be like.. 6 cm dialated! lol. She told me to get up and walk around for an hour or so to see if I made any change.

She checked me again at 10 pm. and told me maybe I had made a SLIGHT change. But she said not much, I may not be in labor- but they would keep me overnight "just in case" .. Just great! I was thinking. They wanted me to lie down and try to rest since I had only gotten 3 or 4 hours of sleep the night before and you could just see the exhaustion on my face. Roxie *The midwife on call* told me to call if and when I felt I needed a midwife with me.

So I laid down with my husband and right after my check the contractions became INTENSE. Definitely real labor contractions. I told the nurse and she said it was probably just from the exam and it was likely they would subside soon.

So I tried to rest. But I couldn't. I found myself gripping at Husam's shirt and arms with every contraction.. He was also exhausted and slept through most of this- believeing that I wasn't actually in labor and we'd be going home in the morning.. The labor room we were in had a queen sized bed and it was really nice to have him laying down with me..

Around 1 am I got up out of the bed as I clearly couldn't sleep. And I kept feeling like I had to go to the bathroom- but everytime I sat on the potty I couldn't! I was getting really frustrated. I started stomping around the room, squatting at the end of the bed with each contraction. Husam sat up and said "Come back to bed, you aren't in labor" I said YES I AM! This hurts WAY too much to not be labor- Go GET SOMEONE!!!!!

He leaps out of bed and runs to the nurses station and tells them "I think the baby is coming!" I didn't think it was that serious but I definitely wanted my midwife at this point (I knew after midnight my very favorite midwife was on call-Lisa- so I knew she'd be a great calming support for me) The nurses checked me and I was "6-8" cm - Which irritated me because I felt they should be able to narrow it down more than that...

SO they called Lisa. At this point it felt like an ETERNITY and I lost track of time. My body was shaking and fighting the urge to push- I was not checked anymore after this point. It wasn't nessecary. My body knew what to do. I asked the nurses if I could get in the tub as I had heard them filling it up for awhile but they said it wasn't filled yet. I really just think they were waiting for my midwife to get there.. They were trying to tell me "Just calm down you are in transition" NO SHIT! this IS my third child. I know what's going on here! THanks! UGH!

Finally at 1:35 a very tired looking Lisa walks in! I lifted my head off the bed and saw her. I smiled. Dropped my head back down and said "THANK GOD! Can I get in the tub?!" Lisa said yes let's go! I stripped my robe off and jumped right in. I know they helped me in. I was just so exhausted at this point. I was ready to have Samirah here!!

The Tub brought me GREAT relief. I was able to focus. And concentrate on the task at hand. Lisa was checking the babies heartbeat here and there (As you can see her doing in this picture to the left. She would announce the heartbeat each time and I remember asking "Is that okay??" She told me "I will tell you if there is something to worry about" She squatted in front of me and was so calming. I remember looking up and seeing her face and feeling calm. I told her i want to get the baby out. SHe said "Then do it!!"

I began vocalizing and letting my body push. I realized me making noise was not effective .. Although no one told me what to do. Which was a nice change from my last birth where I was arguing with my OB to not give me an episiotomy as I was pushing out my son!!!

I pushed a few times in the kneeling position you see above, then I felt i should lean back. That was the only time Lisa gave me any kind of instruction lol and it was to sit on the one side of the tub where it was more curved. So I leaned back and pushed another moment or two. The burning began and it gave me even more reserve to push that little one into this world!!!

And then.. At 2:15 am on Friday, the 15th of January 2010 She came.. . So beautifully into this world.. Floating up to greet me for the first time. She was calm and alert. She did not come into this world screaming as her brother and sister did. She looked up at me with her big beautiful eyes. I could hear her breathing. I could feel her heart beating. And we just stared into eachother's eyes in the most perfect moment. It was awesome.
It was so calm.. So perfect.. So wonderful. If I ever decide to have a 4th child. This will be the way I birth. I can't imagine anyone wanting to birth any other way.. THen the rush of those natural birth hormones kicked in. You can see the looks on my face while I was in labor. Pure exhaustion- to after.. Completely alert and in awe of my miracle.

As I lay with her on my chest enjoying this very special moment with my husband looking on. *And taking the pictures of course! Capturing the moment on film to have forever* My midwife came in with a towel "We have to hear her cry" she said "She's breathing I told her.. She's fine. She laughed- I know! But we have to hear her cry.. So she began to rub Samirah's back. Samirah seemed slightly annoyed by this. She began to grunt a little bit... I giggled. She finally let out a cry!!! Then my midwife asked if I wanted to deliver the placenta in the tub or get out- so I just stood up and out it came. I sat back down in the tub with Samirah and enjoyed her for a few more minutes and then my midwife wanted me to get out onto the bed to see what was going on with me.

I had two small tears... so I only needed two stitches. I was able to lay and nurse Samirah for the first time at this point. She was pretty good from the start. She had a bit of trouble latching on. But I'm a seasoned breastfeeding Mom so I was able to fix it pretty much right away.

I so enjoyed these moments. Our first time nursing. She was just so beautiful. So perfect.. I felt triumphant.. I felt wonderful., I felt so pleased I had given her a warm welcoming birth. She was born into dimmed lights (As you can see from the photos) And into my arms. It was perfect and I only wished I had birthed my other two in water. If only I knew how perfect a birth it was to do so. But that is the birth of the baby we now refer to as "Meerkitten" And wouldn't you know she LOVES bathtime!? My other two would scream and cry as babies in the bath. But Samirah loves it. She immediately gets a relaxed look over her face and she loves to sit in her little tub and relax. It's amazing and it makes me laugh every time at my "water baby" She is still an incredibly calm wonderful baby (As were my other two) I feel blessed to have her here.
And I'm happy to share the story of her birth with all of you!!!

Samirah Husam Shahin
Born Friday, January 15th 2010
2:15 am
8 lbs 3 oz
20 and 3/4 inches