Thursday, March 5, 2009

Birth Story

At long last I have finished writing the story of Teresa's birth! I will admit I was a bit daunted by the task of remembering (and reliving) the somewhat traumatic experience. But it was good to take account of how we were successful (in the sense that Teresa was delivered vaginally without my having taken any medications) and what we learned.

I've uploaded the birth story to Google Docs. All told, the detailed version is 6 pages single spaced in Word. For those less interested in reading about every aspect of our experience, the abbreviated version is 2.5 pages.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave comments on this post or email me. I am very open to discussing our experience in the hope that it might help someone faced with similar issues/options in the future.


Here I am managing a smile between contractions. I am covered with a blanket because it was SO COLD in that room and the nurse surreptitiously lowered the thermostat every time David tried to raise the temperature for me!

4 comments:

Melissa said...

I love birth stories! Yours is amazing. Great job, Frances! (And David!) And, just because I'm so curious, it's always fascinating to me to see what are "issues" for other people...so I'm glad you included lots of detail! And, as a perinatal nurse, I couldn't help but smile through some parts because I've totally been in that nurse's shoes. (Although I've been in yours quite a few times now, too!) It's strange to be able to appreciate the story from both sides.

I'm so happy you achieved the birth you desired, even if it didn't follow the plan to the letter. Flexibility is important and it sounds like you reached fair compromises! What's important, anyway, is that both mom and baby are healthy and happy!!! Praise be to God!

Hope you're still very much enjoying your babymoon!

Shannon said...

wow! you're amazing, Frances!
First labor and delivery and a heroic one on top of it!
Thanks so much for sharing, dear Frances!

You are a strong woman of God!

Hope you're enjoying your beautiful little one.

Prayers!

*carrie* said...

Frances,

It's amazing to me how different each birth experience is--thanks for sharing yours. I am getting quite anxious to meet my little girl!

David said...

You're amazing Frances...I love you.