birth – Sweet Beginnings by KAVI

Kelly’s birth story, as told to Kimberly Isburg

Leading up to your due date I was feeling good. Pregnancy had been fairly good to me, even the second time around, and I loved being pregnant. I had more nausea early on with you, which made me think I was having a girl. But mostly I was just grateful that you were OK. We lost a baby in between you and your brother Easton, so throughout pregnancy, I was especially thankful that you were doing well.

As my due date approached, the doctors had told me they would like me to be induced sometime the week of your due date, since I was over age 35 and because your brother had been so big (8.8 lbs!). I didn’t want to be induced because I knew those labors could be long and extra painful.

I went in for my regular appointment on Wednesday and everything looked good, but they wanted me to come in that night to start the induction process. I asked if I could come in the following morning instead and they agreed.

Your Grandma Janet had come to help with Easton, and we all went out to eat Wednesday evening at The Hall. It was such a beautiful, warm summer day and I remember thinking that it was so strange to know I’d be having you the next day.

Thursday morning we said goodbye to Easton and Grandma Janet and headed downtown to Methodist Hospital around 7:30 a.m.

My nurse’s name was Erin, which was also the name of my OBGYN (Erin Lehman) from Lake View OBGYN. Thankfully, she was the doctor on call that day, too. The nurse and I joked because my best friend’s name is also Erin, and my nurse had just found out she was pregnant.

We were on the fifth floor of Methodist facing south (in room 614, to match your birth date!), and as I labored I could see a big summer storm rolling in. The clouds were really dark and low, and I kept watching them as they approached.

“The greater your storm, the brighter your rainbow.”

Contractions were just starting to get a bit uncomfortable when they came in to ask me about getting an epidural. I wasn’t sure about having one until the moment I decided. My doctor said something about having one with all of her kids and that they turned out fine, so I decided to go ahead.

About the time the epidural started to kick in, your dad was on the phone with Uncle Gregory talking about work stuff. He hadn’t had breakfast and was starting to get hungry. We talked with the nurse and she thought we had some time, so your dad headed off to Gateway Market to get some breakfast. Around 11:30 a.m. I decided to roll on my side and put a birth ball between my legs.

Shortly before your dad got back, I was starting to feel more pressure. When your dad came back he was on the phone again. At that point, I was starting to feel like I needed to push, so I snapped at him to get off the phone and go get the nurse. Nurse Erin came back in and took a look and told me I was ready to start pushing.

Once everyone was settled, I started pushing. I remember your dad was standing up by my head where he couldn’t see anything. He’s always white as a ghost in these situations and trying not to throw up because hospitals make him so nervous.

I only had three rounds of contractions where I was pushing. I was accustomed to pushing so hard because of your brother, and Dr. Lehman actually told me to back off a bit.

And just like that, you arrived into the world at 12:53 p.m., a sweet rainbow born in the middle of a summer storm. You were ready to come out, and I was thankful for a fairly smooth and quick delivery.

I remember thinking that you looked a lot like your big brother, but that your features were just a bit smaller. I looked at you and instantly fell in love. Your dad, of course, was crying, as he always does in these moments. I remember him saying “He’s just so cute. Precious,” and telling me I did great. “You were perfect,” he said.

I was able to hold you skin to skin right after you were born and felt more in control of the entire process, so I could hold you as long I wanted to. I knew I could make the decisions and there was no rush, which was a lovely feeling.

Your big brother and Grandma Janet came later that day to visit. Easton was probably more excited about being in the hospital and sitting in the window seat than about meeting you. He was old enough to understand that you were coming, but not old enough to understand how his life was going to change.

Your birth was a lot calmer and serene than that of your big brother. I was so happy you had arrived and that everything worked out the way it was supposed to.

Welcome to the world, my sweet Arthur Graham. We’re so glad you’re here.

Birth Date: June 14, 2018
Weight: 7 pounds, 6 ounces
Length: 20.5 inches

I’d love to help you preserve and document your birth story for the future, whether your baby is now a Kindergartener or you’re still waiting for your baby to make his or her grand entrance.

Read more about my Birth Story Writing Service.
Contact me to reserve a spot on my writing calendar.

If you’ve had a baby before, you probably know labor and delivery don’t always go according to plan. If you’re still waiting for your first baby to arrive, it might be hard to know what to expect when it comes to your birth experience.

The process of birth is as unique as the babies themselves. Every birth is a little different. Some are long, some are short. Some are a natural progression and others follow a squiggly line that eventually leads to a baby arriving in the world.

No matter how your baby is born or what kind of birth you are planning, every birth story deserves to be celebrated. You deserve a moment to shine, a moment to share your story, and to acknowledge the love, hard work, determination, and commitment you showed in bringing a new life into the world, whether you had a natural vaginal birth with no meds and interventions or long labor and an unplanned cesarean delivery (or something in between).

In the article “Honoring the New Mother- Telling Our Stories, Tending Our Souls” the author, Marcy Axness, Ph.D., says that as recently as World War II, ancient warriors returned from battle sharing their stories of horror and heroics with their fellow warriors and eventually with their communities.

Birthing women also did this in the past through storytelling, dancing, music, poetry, and chanting. According to Dr. Axness, by recounting her personal story a woman can integrate the intensity of her birth experience into everyday life and into her own consciousness.

Unfortunately, we have largely abandoned these postpartum rituals in our culture and the window of time for sharing our stories with others is very short. Visitors come asking to snuggle and hold the new baby, preferring to ask how the baby is sleeping than to hear about how the little one arrived into the world. Today the most common messages about birth are exaggerated punch lines in movies and sitcoms.

Hearing other women’s birth stories (and sharing my own) has become one of my favorite rituals since I first became a mom. I didn’t know what a crazy, amazing experience it was to birth a baby until I had been through it the first time. Every time I hear a birth story, I find myself amazed that any of us even think about doing it more than once.

My own birth experiences were as different as my boys are. But the common thread with both were my feelings of pride and accomplishment. I wanted to shout my birth stories from the rooftops for all to hear. But outside of a few close friends and family, I found that most people didn’t really care to hear about my birth experiences. So after a couple of weeks, I put these stories on a shelf and filed them away to share again at the right place and the right time.

I decided to offer a birth story writing service because I hope to give new moms the time and space to share their story, process their birth experience, celebrate their accomplishment, and preserve their memories for the future. To be able to put a beautiful book of memories on their shelf to pull out and share or celebrate whenever they choose.

And by sharing these beautiful birth stories on my blog, I hope to bring these experiences into the community, so the next generation of women can begin to understand how they’ll experience the complex process pregnancy, labor pain, birth, and motherhood.

I’d love to help you preserve and document your birth story for the future, whether your baby is now a Kindergartener or you’re still waiting for your baby to make his or her grand entrance. Contact me today to reserve a spot on my writing calendar.

Tag: birth

Welcome to the World: Arthur Graham

Kelly’s birth story, as told to Kimberly Isburg

“The greater your storm, the brighter your rainbow.”

Birth: Let’s celebrate our stories