Gilbert Asher Dylhoff’s birth story:
Monday, September 21st, 2009
Born at 11:12pm
Length 18 ½”
Weight 7lb 2 oz
Daddy left early Monday morning for training in the Quad Cities. Mommy woke up at 7:00 and thought her stomach hurt so she didn’t want to get up, so she hit snooze, twice. Then it was time to get up cause Charlie would be here soon. Charlie and mommy ate breakfast and waited for Charlie to wake up. Meanwhile mommy was having contractions every 2-3 minutes, but they were only lasting about 10 seconds each. They were getting more intense and mommy could not sit through then. She was up walking around and trying to go to the bathroom every few minutes.
By 11:00, the contractions were still there every few minutes. Mommy called her friend Angie (who has four boys) to ask her how to tell if it was false labor, practice labor, or the real deal. After asking lots of questions she said I should call my midwives and see if they wanted me to come in and get checked. Angie offered to come pick up Charlie and me after she took her Jonathan to preschool. I called and Kathy the other midwife was working in the office (Deb was on call for deliveries). Kathy asked if I could come in at 1:00 to get checked.
I e-mailed Jonathan and told him not to freak out but that I had been having short contractions all morning. I just wanted him to know but not to rush back from the training cause I was doing fine. I told him I was going in at 1:00 to be checked and I would keep him posted. After giving about 45 minutes for him to get the e-mail I tried his cell phone, but only let it ring twice before hanging up so I wouldn’t interrupt training. An hour after my first attempt to call Daddy, mommy e-mailed Charlies parents to let them know what was going on. Since Angie was coming over, we would have a car seat and he would be just fine. Scott called daddy and asked if he was excited yet. Daddy had not gotten the e-mail and saw the missed call as Scott was calling so he did not know what was going on yet. He called and I told him not to worry and I would keep him posted.
Angie arrived around 12:30 and we headed to the doctor. Angie was timing contractions and they were one to two minutes apart. They called Mommy in to the exam room. I weighed 149, I was 26 pounds less than when I found out I was pregnant!!! I waited in the room for Kathy to get back from her lunch pacing around the room because I couldn’t sit down except briefly between contractions. Kathy finally came in and checked me. I was dilated to between 2 and 3 centimeters. She told mommy they could admit us to the hospital or we could go home to labor as long as we wanted unless my water broke then I would need to come in right away. Mommy was going home!!! We called to let daddy know what was going on and asked him to call when the group got back to Dubuque before he took off on the motorcycle so we could tell him if we wanted him to meet us at home or at the hospital.
Once home Charlie went back down for his nap. Angie was going to stay with mommy till daddy made it back. She was franticly looking for things to do to keep herself occupied between timing contractions. Mommy was just walking around the house. Trying to go to the bathroom, and packing some stuff for daddy for the hospital.
Charlie’s mom came and picked him up a little early so mommy did not have to worry about taking care of him too even though I told her not to worry about it that we were fine. (Mommy found out later daddy called and asked them to pick him up.)
Everything was continuing about the same. Mommy just kept breathing through the contractions. Angie was excited enough for both of us. Mommy ended up throwing up, getting shaking, and contractions were starting to last longer. So Angie said we needed to find out where Daddy was now and she called him. He was around Maquoketa so about 45 minutes away. Angie told him to go ahead and plan on meeting us at the hospital; because, she knew mommy was in active labor and she did not want to have to deliver you at home or in the car. So we started packing up.
We arrived at the hospital at 4:00. They were just wheeling me upstairs when Daddy called to say he was at the motor cycle in Dubuque and would be there soon. They checked me again and I was dilated to 4 almost 5 centimeters this time!!! The nurse said it is hardest for first time moms to get past a 4 and I was there. They were just finishing admitting mommy when daddy walked in the room. Mommy had to be on a monitor for 20 minutes every hour to monitor your heart rate and her contractions. Once we finished monitoring the first time mommy got a dose of antibiotics because she was a carrier of strep. Once that was finished, Mommy and Daddy went for a walk around the halls. We were laboring in several different positions. Then they filled up the birthing tub for mommy to labor in. While mommy was in the tub, around 7:00, Deb arrived and checked me again. This time we were between 6 and 7 centimeters! So Deb said she would stay there down the hall in the doctor’s room. We got out of the tub and walked again before getting hooked up to the monitor for another 20 minutes. The nurse was very nice and asked us all the time if she could get us anything. Daddy was fantastic too, he never left my side except to get more ice. He sat and rubbed my feet, breathed with me and encouraged me with all kinds of praise! He was so excited to meet you.
After the next monitoring, the nurse asked if there was anything she could get for us. Mommy said no but I have a question. Is it normal for me to feel like with every contraction I’m either going to throw up of poop the bed. She said yes and that she was going to go get Deb! Deb came down and rechecked us. Up to 8 centimeters this time, so Deb asked if mommy wanted her to break her water to speed things up. Mommy said sure. We continued to labor on the bed for a while and they warmed up the birthing tub to get it ready for your water birth. Daddy was sitting in from of mommy rubbing her arms and Deb was lightly rubbing her back. Then we moved into the tub. The whole time we were in the tub mommy was hooked up to the monitor mainly to monitor you. Deb sat in the room around the corning leaving daddy and mommy to enjoy this time together. Shortly after getting in the tub, Mommy ask how long she needed to wait till she started to push. Deb said as soon as I felt like pushing and they started getting ready.
Daddy was helping support mommy during each contraction and push so that she could brace herself on him or the foot of the giant tub. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him. Between each contraction mommy want back to the front of the tub and just relaxed. Mommy had just mastered pushing when Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Becca, and Great Grandpa Marquis arrived in the waiting room. We were getting lots of encouragement from daddy and Deb. Daddy was so excited when he could start to see your head! After a while of pushing they said your head was partially out and with one of these pushes you would just slip right out. Deb told me I could feel your head if I wanted to. I touched it and she said I could feel/push on it if I wanted to, but I told her I didn’t want to push you back in, everyone laughed (except me I had done a lot of work to get that far). Just before 11:00 mommy was asking how much longer. Your head was about half way out.
Shortly after 11:00, mommy had just finished a contraction and was relaxing and mommy thinks God said go to sleep so I wouldn’t know what was going on so I would remain calm. Because the next thing I remember was Deb calmly saying “ok time to get out of the tub. Stand up with your legs spread apart and crawl up on the edge of the tub onto the bed. You can stay in that position and push if you want to. Just a few more pushes.” I heard Jonathan say, “please Lord”. My head was spinning wondering what I had done wrong why did I have to get out of the tub, did I fall asleep? They were trying to get oxygen on me while I was trying to push. Had I past out and that was why I felt like I had fallen asleep. Deb had me roll onto my back and give one final push. The baby was out. But as I sat there and listened I slowly figured out what had happened. The cord was rapped around your neck twice which had caused your heart rate to start to drop. Deb struggled to get the cord off and was about to cut it off your neck when it slipped off. The nurse rapped a blanket around you, placed you on my chest, and moved the oxygen from me to you. Daddy was right next to me and looking at you and then at me. I looked up at your daddy and I knew we were thinking the exact same thing. I was speechless. Finally daddy couldn’t wait any more and ripped the blanket off and said, It’s a BOY!!! All the excitement and they forgot to tell us. Daddy cut your umbilical cord. Once the cord was off everything settled down and we had a beautiful healthy baby. Mommy held you for a while gave you to your proud daddy, then daddy gave you back so he could tell Grandma, Grandpa, Becca, and Great Grandpa our baby boy was here. After you were weighed, foot printed and everything else your first visitors came in to meet you. You were so alert! Those big bright eyes were soaking in everything. Daddy was so proud of us both and bragged about how we did it with out any pain drugs!
