John Anders Maki
8 lbs., 13 oz., 21 inches
Birth Story for John Anders Maki
by Anita Maki Sept 2010
I had seen ads for Morning Star in Menomonie many years back and wished we had something like that near us. I thought it sounded wonderful. But we didn’t have anything like that around here so I had 3 girls in the hospital with midwifes.
I was 24 weeks along with another pregnancy when I found out Morning Star had opened a birth center 40 minutes from us. We went for a consultation and tour and decided we wanted to experience this birth center.
About 27 weeks along we realized I was battling signs of gestational diabetes. Paula gave me nutritional counseling and told me what I needed to hear. She told me if I don’t change the way I eat and get it under control, I won’t be able to deliver there because then it is a medical condition. Wow!!! That was an eye opener. I did very well with the support and encouragement from everyone there! My appointments after that were pretty uneventful but very nice. Everyone knows you. There is hardly any wait time and they sit and visit with you. I never once felt rushed or not listened to. They wanted to know you and your concerns and thoughts.
Towards the last month and a half I started to get nervous. I found this to be odd since I had been through it four times before (I also had a stillbirth at 24 weeks in addition to my 3 girls) and I have good labors and deliveries. I told Paula of my fears. She spoke with me about how it is a natural process, our body knows what to do and how wonderful it is. She asked me if I pray. I thought that was a very nice reminder that God is with me and is in control. Also it struck me that they would never ask that at a clinic. She also suggested looking into Hypnobirthing. I borrowed a DVD from her but got it too late to practice that. I did get a book with a CD to listen to. The book had good pointers and reminders (it also had stuff I didn’t agree with but I just filtered that) and the CD provided good practice for relaxing.
Unfortunately by the time my baby decided to arrive, Paula was out of town. But Catherine and Angel were there and they were wonderful. It was 1:00 AM when my water broke at home. I knew my contractions would start within the hour. I called Catherine to let her know. I tried to go back to sleep after calling for my sister to come. They started to get to be about 4 minutes apart around 3:30 or 4 AM. At 5 AM they were 3 minutes apart. We decided to head in as a lot can happen in 40 minutes. I called Catherine again to let her know the scoop and that we were coming in. I was so worried we were going to get there too early and be waiting. In the van the contractions were 2 minutes apart. We got there at 6:00 AM. Catherine commented that I looked serious already. She checked me and I was to a 7. So I got into that wonderful tub and relaxed. Whenever a contraction came I really concentrated on taking a deep breath, relaxing and opening up. I sang songs and hymns in my head. I started to get hot and had to keep lifting my arms out of the water. All the sudden I had a pushing contraction! I was so surprised. Catherine recognized it and asked if I thought I was getting close. She checked me and said the baby was +2. A couple of pushes and John Anders was born. It was 7:10 AM, a little over an hour after we got there. I guess I didn’t have to worry about getting there too soon. He had his hand up by his face and was 8 lbs 13 ounces. I would never have been able to tell, though. I had no tearing or anything. It was my first delivery in the water. I think it really helped! He didn’t want to cry. He was just content to lay there.
After we got everything taken care of, Anders and I were able to lay with John and nap. That was so nice! When we got cleaned up Catherine and Angel came in and we sat around and visited. That would never happen in a hospital. We were the only ones there and it was so nice. We left for home a little after noon. 5 hours after I had my baby we went home. He was welcomed by Adelyn, Alayna, and Charlotte.
I know I wrote a lot about before the delivery but I feel like a birth starts before the delivery. All of our choices will affect our delivery. One other interesting thing is there was no birth plan to write. We were all on the same page. There was no need for one. I would rather write a birth story than a birth plan.