Est. 2006 The Schreibman: Baby Brother's Birth Story Debut!

Part 1: Birth Story

Baby Brother (which is what he was referred to till 36 hours after his birth when we finally decided on a name) decided he wanted to be just like his big brother. 2 days late. Some said my due date was the 19th, others the 21st. After the 19th I begin every attempt to evict the baby from my body. I had already been off of work for a week (by choice between exhaustion and sickness) and I was ready to have this baby. Friday night Asher spent the night at Nana and Poppy's "just in case". NOTHING. Saturday we decided to take a stroll on the greenway, just us. I cant tell you the last time we did something like that. It was so nice. I use that term lightly because I was pretty uncomfortable but dead set that I was going to walk this baby out of me, literally. We walked about two miles. Nothing major. Then we headed over to trader joe's for a few things and off to earth fare for raspberry tea and primrose oil. Both are recommended to kick start labor. I drank about 5 cups of raspberry tea that day and took 2 primrose oil pills. I also took a nice nap after our morning excursion, pumped to stimulate contractions (yes nipple stimulation is supposed to bring on labor) etc. By 4 pm I was still pregnant. We decided since I was feeling fine that we would meet up with my parents at their pool so we could see Asher and decide the plan for that night. As we approached their neighborhood the sky fell out in a horrible storm. They had to run for safety into the clubhouse and we waited out the storm in the car. After the sky cleared we decided swimming was not going to happen and dinner time was approaching. We headed to an Italian restaurant near their house where we ate Pizza, Chicken Parm, Salad and Garlic Knots. By 7:30 we were headed home...just the two of us. We decided that Asher should spend the night again with nana and poppy just in case all of my herbal remedies worked....

Once we got home I laid in bed and began working on the invitation for the Bris. I knew it would take time so I wanted to set it up in advance with the email addresses. I distinctly remember feeling and hearing a pop noise around 8:15. Philip was downstairs studying (for his MBA classes) and I called him on his cell to tell him. Nothing happened other than this weird noise and feeling. About 5 minutes later i moved and i felt the gush. i knew my water had broken. i sat up and there was a puddle of water and my boxers were soaked. i googled online "water break" and found that it should smell like bleach. of course since i had been sick my sense of smell was compromised but i could still tell it had that same odor. i called down to philip and the contractions began to come fast. 2-4 minutes apart lasting 45 sec- 90 sec. i timed them on my phone with an app i had bought earlier that day. i knew this was stage 3 of labor already. i called into the dr's line, got a call back from the nurse, then a call back from the hospital to tell me that the midwife was in a delivery, but to go ahead and come on down to the hospital. philip was frantically packing things up into the car. by this time the contractions were getting stronger, but i could still talk through them. i alerted our moms it was game time and they both packed up and met us at the hospital.

we arrived at the hospital and checked in at 10:15 pm. it was a full house. unfortunately there were so many patients i didnt get to use the family birthing room we had hoped to use, however i still got a huge room with a whirlpool tub and could have the delivery that i wanted, just not with a platform bed...instead it was a hospital gurney. by this point it was hard to talk through my contractions

i put on my special gown and they strapped me to the monitors for 20 minutes of monitoring and information gathering. the midwife on call was still in a delivery. i believe her third of the evening. i also found out that after i called in two more midwife patients called in and were right behind me on their way to the hospital to have their babies... BUSY. while they were monitoring me philip filled up the tub for me. after they removed the monitors i got my bathing suit top on, my ipod in my ears and got into the tub. i was able to labor in the tub for about 30 minutes... listening to my birthing cd's, breathing through each contraction while philip was putting pressure on my lower back. instead of laying in the tub i got on all fours and held myself up on a ledge in the tub with my arms allowing my stomach to hang down into the water. between the water and the position it took a lot of the edge off the contractions which were now coming very strong and very fast. i finally felt the urge to push and had to get out of the tub. i was shaking all over (i was in transition) my body while attempting to dry off, get my bathing suit off and put my gown back on. i finally made it back into the bed and attempted to breathe through contractions on my side. we discussed laboring and delivering on my side to minimize tearing, but i couldnt get comfortable on my side. the urge to push came on strong. the nurse checked me and i was 9 cm...so close! she said that after she checked me i would go to 10 cm most likely from being checked....and i did. the midwife was still finishing up another delivery. they mentioned bringing in the dr on call to assist since they were unsure if the midwife was going to make it....this was moving fast. they allowed me to do two test pushes...i was ready. in walked the midwife apologizing and all i remembering saying was "im ready, lets go!" after less than 10 minutes of pushing, lots of hollering "help", grunting and sensations that can only be described as the "ring of fire"....out came our BIG boy at 11:50 PM. i remember every single sensation and feeling from his delivery. it was amazing. the most unbelieveable feeling came with his full exit and the gush that followed it.

i commited myself to delivering him without drugs, without any intervention. no iv on admission. my birth plan was granola. there is no denying it. for me this was just as mental as it was physical. my body was so traumatized with asher's delivery that i wanted to take this situation into my own hands, and that i did. the sense of accomplishment that i was able to birth this life into this world, on my own, and feel every single sensation associated with it took my breath away. god was watching over me.

the tears strolling down philips face, the excitement in the room, his first cries and his warm skin against mine. some of the best things in life at that very moment.

its amazing to think that less than 4 hours after my water broke i delivered this baby... i was only in the hospital 90 minutes prior to delivery. if you wouldve asked me my ideal birth prior to delivery day i would've told you this exact story. FAST with a chance to labor in the tub. my prayers were answered.

on the evening of saturday, july 21, 2012 at 11:50 pm we were so very blessed with a big ( 8 lbs, 9 oz, 21 inches ) baby boy. i still cant believe how big this baby was. i swore in the last month of my pregnancy my stomach was significantly larger than last time, but they said he would be average sized, probably just like asher. clearly that was not the case. asher was 7 lbs, 4 oz. thankfully i didnt tear as badly with this delivery as i did with asher. 1st degree superficial tear. getting stitched up without an epidural was definitely different and painful. yikes. however i was thankful that my tear was minimal compared to last time. i knew i could handle any recovery after what i had been through with asher and a drug free birth this pregnancy...

after the umbilical cord stopped pulsing philip got to cut it!

and i began to attempt to nurse while we all celebrated together...

philip presented me with a lovely present...earrings. one for each ear to represent our two boys. they were gorgeous and i have not taken them off since that day! i guess i will need to eventually to clean them.

daddy and his pride and joy

after an hour and a half our parents kissed us goodbye to head home for a decent nights sleep (it was already past 1 am) and they knew the next few days would be busy. we headed to our new room with a stop at the nursery to drop the little man off. upon arrival the nursery was PACKED full. they measured him for the first time and we opted to skip the bath since it was packed and they were busy. they offered to come bathe him in the room the next morning prior to big brother asher's arrival.

when we arrived in the nursery i heard the song "Your body is a wonderland" by John Mayer playing on the radio. foreshadowing....i think yes.

his toes and fingers were so long, just like mommy...

we finally arrived in our new home for the next few days and both tried to settle down to catch some sleep. we knew they would be bringing him in to me shortly to nurse. we requested that they only bring him if he wakes or was crying. by 6 am our little man arrived in the room. he was super sleepy the first 36 hours, never latched and really only wanted to sleep and/or be held.

they bathed him in the room and we dressed him anxiously awaiting asher's arrival to meet his big brother. i was able to face time with asher early that morning so he could see his baby brother before coming in to the hospital. he was so excited that he wanted to go right then and there! asher arrived around 10 am and immediately wanted to meet him, kiss him and hold him. and just as any big brother should, he did!!