The Birth of Nur . . .
Greetings! As the Birth of the new bundle is more eminant I wanted to reflect and share the birth of my first daughter....
On the morning of Thursday, November 4, 2010 around 9 am, DeAndrea and Hannibal went to Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, AZ for a non-stress test. During this test, the nurse found DeAndrea’s blood pressure to be slightly high. After a call to the doctor, the decision was made to induce labor at 3 days past her due date of November 1. After waiting quite a while for an available room, the couple was admitted to Room 332. Since the doula had arrived, Hannibal made a quick trip home to pick up the pre-packed hospital bags, a few extra items like food, lotion, and movies, and to print out the birth plan. After his return, the resident doctor checked DeAndrea’s cervix. She and the charge nurse, Rhonda, agreed she was “closed and thick,” but the baby was head down. At 12:50 pm, DeAndrea decided to get up and move to help her baby make her way down. Shortly after, the day shift nurse, Shawna, arrived and introduced herself. She had a warm spirit and was very supportive of the couple’s natural approach. At 2:15, Shawna placed the drug, cervidil, which would help to soften the cervix in preparation for labor. The cervidil had to be in place for 12 hours. The couple advocated for themselves and DeAndrea was able to get of bed and walk every other hour. A few hours later, Dr. Sharon Thompson, the couple’s obstetrician, came by to briefly explain the process and stated she would check back in the morning. DeAndrea was vigilant about walking. She counted down the minutes until she was able to get up and move, all in the hopes of making the baby’s arrival easier. At 7:15, the night nurse, Bailey, came on duty. During the 8 pm break, the couple shared a conversation and some special time while on the birth ball. There was lots of kisses and hand holding. Around 9:30 pm, DeAndrea got into the shower and tried some natural techniques to get the contractions going which were coming, but not very strong. By 10:30, we were in contraction city!
This was the turning point of the labor, because the contractions kept coming, longer and stronger as the hours passed. Hannibal was a rock for DeAndrea, supporting his wife through each contraction with massage, encouragement, affection, and his undivided attention. He was a role model support person. Some of the natural comfort measures that helped DeAndrea were: Position changes Slow dancing Massage tools The birth ball The peanut ball The rebozo Tennis balls Dum dum suckers A rolling pin Heating pads DeAndrea kept describing what she felt as pressure. She never said the word, pain. At 2:10 am, the cervidil was removed and DeAndrea had dilated 4 cm! At 2:30 am, she got a heplock IV placed while standing with Hannibal holding her in his arms. In the meantime, DeAndrea developed a case of the shakes. This was a sure sign that her body was preparing to deliver this baby. DeAndrea’s cervix was checked again when she requested pain medication. She was given Stadol through the IV and found that within the past hour she had dilated another 2 cm. It was at this time that the nurse noticed the baby’s heart rate dropping during contractions. Recommendations were made, but once again the couple advocated for themselves. With oxygen and IV fluids, Dr. Billie Zoby determined that birth was imminent. After having her water broken and internal monitors put in place, DeAndrea dilated to 8 cm while shaking uncontrollably. She fought though the next few contractions in her husband’s arms. While Hannibal was suiting up to catch their baby, DeAndrea felt the urge to push. With 4 big warrior mama pushes, Nur Al-Huda Maryam Muhammad was born into her father’s waiting arms at 4:47 am, November 5, 2010. When DeAndrea, who was still pushing, opened her eyes and saw her beautiful baby girl for the first time, her smile could have rivaled the sun. She gleamed with pride at the work she had done. After being placed on her mom’s chest, Nur promptly peed! The couple soon discovered their daughter weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and was 19 ½ inches long. Even after enduring a rough repair, the brand new mother’s only thoughts were getting her baby to the breast. (Prepared by Doula Lakisa, 2010)
On the morning of Thursday, November 4, 2010 around 9 am, DeAndrea and Hannibal went to Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, AZ for a non-stress test. During this test, the nurse found DeAndrea’s blood pressure to be slightly high. After a call to the doctor, the decision was made to induce labor at 3 days past her due date of November 1. After waiting quite a while for an available room, the couple was admitted to Room 332. Since the doula had arrived, Hannibal made a quick trip home to pick up the pre-packed hospital bags, a few extra items like food, lotion, and movies, and to print out the birth plan. After his return, the resident doctor checked DeAndrea’s cervix. She and the charge nurse, Rhonda, agreed she was “closed and thick,” but the baby was head down. At 12:50 pm, DeAndrea decided to get up and move to help her baby make her way down. Shortly after, the day shift nurse, Shawna, arrived and introduced herself. She had a warm spirit and was very supportive of the couple’s natural approach. At 2:15, Shawna placed the drug, cervidil, which would help to soften the cervix in preparation for labor. The cervidil had to be in place for 12 hours. The couple advocated for themselves and DeAndrea was able to get of bed and walk every other hour. A few hours later, Dr. Sharon Thompson, the couple’s obstetrician, came by to briefly explain the process and stated she would check back in the morning. DeAndrea was vigilant about walking. She counted down the minutes until she was able to get up and move, all in the hopes of making the baby’s arrival easier. At 7:15, the night nurse, Bailey, came on duty. During the 8 pm break, the couple shared a conversation and some special time while on the birth ball. There was lots of kisses and hand holding. Around 9:30 pm, DeAndrea got into the shower and tried some natural techniques to get the contractions going which were coming, but not very strong. By 10:30, we were in contraction city!
This was the turning point of the labor, because the contractions kept coming, longer and stronger as the hours passed. Hannibal was a rock for DeAndrea, supporting his wife through each contraction with massage, encouragement, affection, and his undivided attention. He was a role model support person. Some of the natural comfort measures that helped DeAndrea were: Position changes Slow dancing Massage tools The birth ball The peanut ball The rebozo Tennis balls Dum dum suckers A rolling pin Heating pads DeAndrea kept describing what she felt as pressure. She never said the word, pain. At 2:10 am, the cervidil was removed and DeAndrea had dilated 4 cm! At 2:30 am, she got a heplock IV placed while standing with Hannibal holding her in his arms. In the meantime, DeAndrea developed a case of the shakes. This was a sure sign that her body was preparing to deliver this baby. DeAndrea’s cervix was checked again when she requested pain medication. She was given Stadol through the IV and found that within the past hour she had dilated another 2 cm. It was at this time that the nurse noticed the baby’s heart rate dropping during contractions. Recommendations were made, but once again the couple advocated for themselves. With oxygen and IV fluids, Dr. Billie Zoby determined that birth was imminent. After having her water broken and internal monitors put in place, DeAndrea dilated to 8 cm while shaking uncontrollably. She fought though the next few contractions in her husband’s arms. While Hannibal was suiting up to catch their baby, DeAndrea felt the urge to push. With 4 big warrior mama pushes, Nur Al-Huda Maryam Muhammad was born into her father’s waiting arms at 4:47 am, November 5, 2010. When DeAndrea, who was still pushing, opened her eyes and saw her beautiful baby girl for the first time, her smile could have rivaled the sun. She gleamed with pride at the work she had done. After being placed on her mom’s chest, Nur promptly peed! The couple soon discovered their daughter weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and was 19 ½ inches long. Even after enduring a rough repair, the brand new mother’s only thoughts were getting her baby to the breast. (Prepared by Doula Lakisa, 2010)
Beautiful...a strong Woman indeed! I pray I can go natural as well!
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