Finally!

I've been looking for some backup CDs that I knew I had made from our desktop computer. There were some important documents that I wanted...one of them being Mitchell's birth story.

I was cleaning out our closet and found a box of old bills, mail, magazines...and *the* backup CD that I was looking for!

We hired a doula (Julie Tully) for Mitchell's birth. I happened to go into labor on the same day as 2 of her other clients. Julie worked for a company called A Labor of Love, so the owner of the company (Teresa Howard) sent a backup doula (Susan Peavy).

Even though I had never met Susan before that night, she did an amazing job as our doula. It was a truly wonderful experience and whenever anyone asks about doulas, I highly recommend that they hire one! Along with the beautiful birth story that Susan wrote for us, she took some amazing pictures during the c-section. I won't post them here as some of them are pretty graphic.

Sadly, I've lost touch with Susan. And my midwife, Alisa, left the practice and moved to California.

This is Mitchell's birth story as written by Susan:

What a Blessing!

On the nineteenth of November, Tracey’s water broke around 11:15 pm. Contractions started quickly so Dave and Tracey headed towards the hospital and arrived at 12:30 am. Meanwhile, I was exchanging phone calls with Julie Tully and Teresa Howard to learn as much as possible about Tracey since we had never met.

I arrived at Northside Hospital at 2 am and spoke with the midwife on call, Desiree, before meeting Tracey and Dave. Desiree informed me that Tracey was 3-4 cm dilated, almost 100% effaced and at -2 station. She also mentioned to keep Tracey in bed until her blood pressure came down.

When I entered the room, Tracey was calmly breathing through her contractions while lying in bed. I spend the next hour getting to know Tracey and Dave. Around 3 am we were given the OK to move around. Tracey spent much of the next few hours on the birth ball and in the rocking chair. Her contractions were consistently every 2 minutes and lasting 60 seconds. Around 4:25 am, Tracey was 4-5 cm dilated, 100% effaced and at -1 station. The long night of contractions were making Tracey sleepy. Around 6 am, the nurse gave Tracey the second dose of antibiotics. Unfortunately, Tracey’s IV was not working well and a new one was started around 7 am. We were finally able to get Tracey in the tub around 8 am.

Alisa Sajadi replaced Desiree as on the on call midwife. Alisa was impressed with Tracey’s ability to handle the relentless contractions. Tracey was contracting every 1-2 minutes for at least a minute. Tracey spent several hours in the tub with one of us pouring warm water over her belly. The tub really seemed to help with the contractions. Tracey actually drifted off to sleep between contractions. Around 8:30 am Alisa checked Tracey in the tub. She was now 8-9 cm, 0 to +1 station. Tracey felt like pushing during some of her contractions.

Alisa and I suggested that Tracey get out of the tub around 9:55 am. At this point, she only had an anterior lip of the cervix left. Around noon, we tried the squat bar. Tracey’s pushing was very effective…the baby moved from +1 to +2 station, but then retracted after each contraction. After hours of no progress, Alisa recommended using Pitocin. The Pitocin was started at 1:51 pm. The Pitocin did increase the frequency of the contractions, but it did not help bring the baby down. Around 3 pm, we decided to order an epidural to see if it would help relax involuntary muscles and let the baby move down. Julie joined us around this time. At 4 pm, the doctor attempted to use forceps, but was unable to pull the baby down without risking injury to Tracey and the baby.

At 4:20 pm it became obvious that Tracey need to give birth by cesarean. Although it was disappointing, we all knew that Tracey had done everything in her power to birth naturally. She worked harder than anyone woman I have seen in labor without a single complaint. Mitchell Scott was born at 5:16 pm, weighing in at 8 lbs., 6 oz. and 21 ¾ inches long. I feel so blessed to have been a part of this labor of love!

Susan Peavy
November 20, 2003