Thank you Best Start for an amazing pregnancy and birth experience!
6 a.m. Spin class. “What the? I think my water just broke!” “Pat! My water just broke! Call the midwives and see what we’re supposed to do!” “Oh my gosh! You’re having a baby today!”
Morning: OB pier walk to make sure my water broke and was still leaking, Newbreak for breakfast and running into neighbor who also did early labor there, US wins World Cup game and OB erupts in cheers, unpacked and repacked bags to check for everything, acupuncture appointment with doc who also had her baby at Best Start, cotton root bark
Afternoon: lunch at Poma’s, groceries at People’s and stop at Liticker’s to stock long-awaited frosty beers. Shower and back to acupuncture. Best Start for 12-hour check of vitals, got to see ferny amniotic fluid under microscope, all good, but not in active labor… breast pump to bring more intense contractions closer together… mad scientist Pat on the ON/OFF switch.
Evening: Around 7:45 pm, after an hour on the pump, a check says I’m only 3 cm. I have to be in active labor to stay in a birthing suite; and I have to be in active labor by 6 am or we have to go to the hospital to get induced. We get sent away with instructions to use the breast pump until contractions are more intense and closer together. “Go home, eat a good dinner and get some rest so you have energy to labor through tonight.” We think to go to Balboa Park to have a picnic dinner, but contractions are getting stronger and I don’t want to make a scene at Balboa like I did in spin. L By the time we get home, contractions are way more intense and taking my breath away. We see neighbor Chris on the way in and I have to grab onto the fence and breath through a contraction. I go inside and get on the birthing ball on Baby’s nursery floor. Pat talks to Jesus and Heather, who also come out to hear news of the baby. Trying to get food in my belly between contractions proves difficult. After ½ hour on the ball, my back and knees hurt, so I want to walk to the sofa, but can’t, so I have to crawl on all fours. After 15-20 minutes on the sofa and Pat trying to feed me some kiwi and yogurt, I think I should go to the bathroom and we should head back to Best Start. On my walk to the bathroom, I double over on the steps. “I need to push! We need to go now!” Crazy ride back to Hillcrest… fat man with the pink-collared Chihuahua crossing the street, beat midwife back to dark, locked birth center… it’s 9:30 pm. “Hurry! We are not having this baby without you!” Brooke arrives moments later, lets us in and checks me. “Wow… 10 cm… nice work! Ready to push… do you want to have this baby in bed or in the tub?” She fills the tub. I get in and push an hour til he crowns. “You are made to have babies! You’re going to have to have a lot more!” I’m pushing, screaming, and thinking, “Bite your tongue, Brooke!” Another ½ hour to get him out… 11:21 pm. Since I was on my knees and he came out behind me, Brooke hiked Baby back through my legs to Pat so I could lean back in the tub and bring Baby to my chest. Ah, an indescribable moment. We sat in the tub together for about 15 minutes and then got in bed to deliver the placenta. Got a couple stitches, nursed Baby, and fell asleep for the rest of the night, all together in bed. Sweetness.
Thursday: Woke up and fed Baby. “What are we going to name him?” “I think I like Samuel.” “Don’t just name him Samuel because it’s my favorite.” “No, I really think I like Samuel.” Pat reads the story of Samuel in the Bible; and we name him Samuel Patrick. We pack up our things at Best Start and take Sammy home around 11am Thursday morning. The adventure begins…
Thank you, Best Start, especially Brooke and Sunshine, for an amazing pregnancy and birth experience! What a beautiful way to welcome Sammy into this world. We loved working with you all!
– Sarah, Pat and Sammy
