Birth Story

7 a.m. Sunday morning. June 24th, 2007. After a typical restless night, Pamela decides that attempting to sleep any longer is fruitless. Perhaps it was a bit worse than previous days...not only did contractions interrupt peaceful slumber, but the expecting mother is plagued with nausea and intense discomfort.

8:00 a.m.: Chris ensures that his wife is as comfortable as possible and heads to the prayer room for intercession and his broadcasting job behind a camera. Pam amuses herself by reading a Lamaze guide & is intruiged to discover that all of the symptoms she is experiencing point to early labor. She excitedly calls her husband with the news, but assures him that the book estimates 8-12 hours of early labor, so no need to rush home.

9 a.m. Just for fun, Pam starts timing her contractions while watching "I Love Lucy" and discovers they are consistently 6 minutes apart. This continues for hours; between contractions she busies herself straightening the house, cleaning the kitchen, and finishing baby laundry. 12:30 p.m. Chris comes home and gets an update; the two decide to call their midwife to report Pam's progress. Kim thinks Pam sounds way too chipper to be very far along, and asks her to call again when the contractions are more intense and 3-4 minutes apart for at least 2 hours. Remembering the labor project idea from birthing classes, Pam & Chris set off on foot to the store to buy ingredients to bake cookies and pick up a movie from the Redbox machine at McDonalds. After all, even when active labor starts, the book says it lasts another 6 hours.

3 p.m. Pam has to lean on the pillars in the grocery store to support herself through contractions, and stop every few minutes on the walk back to wait them out. Now is time to practice those techniques we learned in class, the "doula houla" and hands & knees positions especially.

4 p.m. Labor has intensified and is no longer fun and exciting. Picturing a flower opening or imagining herself in a garden isn't doing Pam a bit of good... so much for all that time spent learning pain-coping tactics. Extra-strength Tylenol aren't much help either... after an hour of this, Pam can no longer walk, talk, or think rationally. Yes, Kim said to wait two hours, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to call again...

5 p.m. Kim offers the option of meeting Pam & Chris at the hospital just to check Pam; Pam jumps on the idea. She is thinking she will soon die without drugs and natural birth was a dumb idea. Unfortunately, thinking they had plenty of time, the couple have not finished last-minute packing and are not dresssed to leave. With contractions every 2 minutes or so, it takes another hour before Pam is actually in the car. At this point she is in too much pain to think of calling anyone, although she is desperately wanting to ask people to pray that she lives through this! 6:30 p.m. The couple drives to the hospital in silence, Pamela in far too intense of labor to

tolerate noise. Chris calmly checks in at Research Medical Center and discovers where there are to be; they hadn't quite had time for their hospital tour yet. Thankfully he thinks of getting a wheelchair to bring Pam up to the labor & delivery floor; walking was out of the question. Pam is asked numerous questions at the check-in desk & is barely functional enough to respond. She is alert enough to sign her permission for an epidural, though! When checked by the midwife soon after arrival, Pam is dialated 7 cm. Soon after this, her water finally breaks.

7 p.m. The midwife suggests laboring in water before resorting to pain medication, so the hot tub is being filled. Before the water is ready, Pam is checked again and told it is time to start pushing! She had previously not taken their assurances seriously, "You're almost there!" "Not much longer!"...isn't that what they tell everyone to make them feel better? After all, transition is supposed to be 1 1/2 -2 hours before the last hour of pushing. But maybe they are serious.... Pam opts to push in the doula houla position, hanging from Chris's neck. Perhaps 3 contractions & a half dozen pushes later, Abigail enters the world at

7:51 p.m. Pam collapses exhausted and cradles the beautiful baby. Abigail is hardly red or wrinkled at all, and quite alert and energetic. Pam achieved her goal of natural labor, if not out of willpower, out of necessity. An hour at the hospital and out comes the baby! Abigail was born only hours before her due date of June 25th. The 24th was just on time, and had significant meaning for the couple (Pam's birthday: Jan. 24th, Pam & Chris's engagement: April 24th, their first date: October 24th, First baby, June 24th!)