William Charles Bammert
8lbs. 2 oz.
Will's Birth
By Jaclyn Bammert
4th of July weekend, 2010: We were up at the cabin. It was a hot weekend, 80's, 90's. Baby was due any day. I laid in the sun and exposed my belly- had to get the babe some Vitamin D! It was a very relaxing weekend. That Saturday night was the last long, deep night of sleep I remember! Dad turned on the A/C in the one bedroom, pulled in couch from the living room and I slept there. So nice!
Monday July 5, 2010: I woke up at 5 am, got out of bed and immediately my water broke and was running down both legs. I told Charlie to grab me a towel. I called Paula about an hour later. She said to rest up! Baby was coming soon! Charlie decided to close the office Monday through Wednesday tentatively. We watched movies all day long and waited for contractions to begin. Not much happened! I went to bed thinking "tonight's the night!" We were wrong :)
Tuesday July 6, 2010: I woke up kind of wondering if baby would come in the morning or at night because today had to be the day! I called Paula and she said to do some acupuncture and use the breast pump to get contractions going. I did a lot of pumping and had acupuncture that afternoon. A few mild contractions were occurring here and there, but nothing steady or strong. We went to bed hoping babe would come during the night!
Wednesday July 7, 2010: I woke up around 12:15 am having fairly strong contractions about every 5-8 minutes. I woke Charlie around 2 am and said we maybe should go in. When we got to Morning Star, we laid on the bed and I kept having contractions, but they slowed and became more irregular - every 10, 12 or sometimes 20 minutes and not very strong. Paula had us go home and gave specific directions to rest, eat and drink well, do another acupuncture treatment, and then drink 4 oz of castor oil with some orange juice. We did just that. I slept from about 8:30-10:30 am, had acupuncture around 11:30, and drank the castor oil with lemonade around 12:30pm. Then it began. Quickly. Right around 2 pm I began having strong contractions every 4-5 minutes consistently. I told Charlie to call my mom and sister to come over to our house, just to be with us. Well right when they got over, around 4 pm, I said "ok, we need to go!" Traffic was bad! It started raining...and thank God we got our AC fixed a couple weeks before because it was hot . We arrived at the birth center at about 5:30 pm. I was having intense contractions now. Around 6 Paula checked me and I was dilated to 7 cm! I went to into the tub, which was not as much relief as I was hoping it would be. Pretty soon I just had to get outta there, and went from the bed to the floor and in a couple different positions to try to get more comfortable. The Morning Star ladies suggested I try the birthing sling - I have to laugh thinking back to that scenario because for some reason I just could not get comfortable or relax while in that sling. I was just so exhausted at that point! Finally I released myself from the sling and didn't know where I should go next. Shayna suggested I try the bed again. I remember feeling in my mind that the bed does not make sense-being on all fours or squatting seemed like it made more sense for birthing my baby, as gravity would help the most in those positions. But much to my surprise I really pushed better and made more progress lying on the bed. It didn't seem very long after that that Will was born. I pushed hard on the bed, with Charlie, my mom, and Mar at my sides, Paula and the girls by my feet, and another assistant helping me to sit up. This was a big turning point for me. I remember Charlie telling me the baby has lots of hair (which he doesn't really!) and asking me if I can just do a couple more pushes. I felt so good at that point, so encouraged, and replied "yes I can!" and really felt we must be really close to having the baby. It was so exciting! Seeing everyone right there positively encouraging me was an amazing feeling and brought on a whole new energy for me. William Charles Bammert was born at 9:45 pm, a healthy 8 pounds, 2 ounces and 20 3/4" long. I can't even describe the feeling at that time. Exhilarating is the closest word I can come up with. It was the most incredible and beautiful experience of my life. Thank God for the wonderful gift of life and this intelligent creation!
A few extra things I recall from my birth experience:
- My hypnobirthing affirmation tape was playing over and over and over....I'm sure everyone was pretty sick of that thing by the time Will was born! Even I got to a point where I thought to myself "shut that dang thing off."
- Charlie rubbed my back the entire time we were at the birth center, before Will was born....5 hours about...thanks Hun :)
- The only point in my labor where I really felt like I didn't know if it was possible for me to do it was while in the tub...and I said "I don't know how long I can do this." But instantly my brain went back to "YES, I can do this and was made perfectly to do this."
- Coconut juice and some type of organic lemon electrolyte drink were what I drank while in labor. At one point the gals asked me if I needed to urinate and suggested it might be good to at least try. Well, all I remember is taking a step into the bathroom, with the help of one of the gals, and I went, right there on the floor :) Didn't need a toilet I guess. But I barely remember that--it's very foggy in my memory.
- While I was in the birthing sling Paula told me to feel for the baby because he was right there. So I did - it was so neat!
- Right after Will was born, they laid him on my chest and Charlie didn't cut the cord until it stopped pulsing. Will pooped on me a few times before he was weighed about an hour later!
- It was an unforgettable memory - we all sat around the bed, ecstatic, relaxed, and eating and drinking and talking.
- Will and I took a herbal aromatherapy bath which felt incredible.
- Dad, mom and little Will cuddled some more and were ready to go home! We left Morning Star around 2:45 am. McKenna, one of the assistants, escorted us home to tuck us in and help with anything we needed. These women were all amazing, throughout our entire care.
- HOME SWEET HOME! We all slept four about 4 hours straight, cuddled in bed together!