Alfie Kimball

Alfie’s Birth Story

3/29/2017

11:46PM

8lbs, 11oz; 21 ¾” long

This Wednesday morning started out like any regular day with me getting ready for work. One significant difference, however, started with my breakfast. Rather than my typical cold cereal, on this day I prepared a labor-inducing Internet find: castor oil scrambled eggs. It sounds horrible, and it looked horrible, but, surprisingly, it just tasted like eggs! I know. The general recommendation is to not use castor oil for labor induction, at least not without discussing it with your provider first. So...don't be like Alyssa. After breakfast, off to work I went, with my shift starting at 7:30.

Again following what I’d read online, I decided to take another, smaller dose of castor oil around 9:00. I mixed it with Sprite, chugged it, and then chased it with straight Sprite. It was fine! Somewhere in the 10:00 hour I began to feel my first contractions. Over the next couple hours I continued to feel contractions, but when I would look at the clock and roughly time them, I didn’t find any regularity. My coworkers were getting excited as I mentioned I was contracting. To help ensure that contractions continued and that this was the real deal, around 2:30 I repeated the castor oil/Sprite regimen. Over the next couple hours I continued to have contractions at work. Still no consistency, but they persisted. I wasn’t in severe pain, but I was uncomfortable. My back was beginning to ache. Thankfully, it wasn’t a busy afternoon at work because I was worthless! I don’t think I did any direct patient care the entire afternoon. I normally clock out at 6, but even just shy of that at about 5:45 I came out of the bathroom, uncomfortable and impatient, and requested to go home. At this point, I was mildly disappointed. While the castor oil seemed to be doing the trick, I hadn’t began active labor and had a baby yet, so I would likely be laboring through the night and deliver in the middle of the night or early morning. YAWN.  Before leaving I made sure to tell Adam, my call team leader (I was on call this day!), that I likely would not be a reliable call person that night!

I got home at around 6:15 and texted Janis just to let her know I’d been contracting throughout the day. She asked if she should come, but I told her to wait. I wanted to properly time the contractions to see if there was any regularity to when they were coming. I knew from Beatrix’s birth that I didn’t want to wait too long before having Janis come, but at the same time I didn’t want her to drive all the way to us only to be waiting around for hours and hours. As it turns out, when I used an actual timer and paid attention to the contractions, they were coming regularly and consistently. I was still easily tolerating the pain, but because the contractions were close together, I decided to have Janis head our way after all. I let my mom know what was happening and she came over. Phill went to work getting the tub set up, then we got the girls into bed. They were being SO CUTE. At times during the evening Eleanor was shouting “Yay Baby!”.

Janis and Amber, the RN birthing assistant, arrived shortly after 8. I was still doing okay, tolerating moderately difficult contractions. We chatted while they got supplies around and set up. I went to the bathroom to change into a swimsuit, came back into the bedroom, and, much to my surprise, after just a few minutes my water broke while I was standing beside the pool! I was not anticipating that at all.  I continued to labor for a while longer, intermittently pausing to work through a contraction. Contractions slowly became more intense, but I don’t have this sensation that they were ever very horrible. At some point during my labor Tash arrived. This beautiful angel packed up her whole family that morning when I merely let her know that I’d been irregularly contracting and made the long trip up from Nashville. She dropped everything to be present for my birth. I love her always.

Once we confirmed that the tub water was the appropriate temperature, I got in the tub for the remainder of my labor. Some time after I got in the tub, Phill’s mom arrived. The weirdest thing about this labor was how much time lapsed between each contraction. Even up until the end, I had a good 5-6 minutes between contractions! This made it seem like a very long labor, when, in fact, it was still quite quick. I think because I had these lengthy pauses in between each contraction, it made each contraction far easier to tolerate. If it wasn’t for my impatience and Janis’ gentle encouragement to try pushing, I probably would have labored for a few more hours.

This labor process also differed from my past birth experiences because I didn’t feel a strong bodily urge to push. It was very much an active thing. This is where the real work came in for this birth. I had to work to push SO much harder than I ever remember doing with the girls. At first, I felt like I couldn’t really push. It just felt ineffective, and, like I said before, I felt like I could tolerate a little more time in this labor. However, I was ready to be done. I wanted to meet this baby. Janis suggested changing positions. She suggested I try standing. I did not like this suggestion. Up until this time I had been on my knees, leaning forward onto the edge of the birth tub. I tried sitting more upright on my knees and swaying. It didn’t really help me progress or feel like I was able to push any better. Finally, when things were really starting to get more uncomfortable, I took her advice and stood up. Admittedly, part of why I delayed standing was from a modesty standpoint. My mom and mother in law were present! I was standing and swaying, struggling to work through the discomfort. I knew that with the next contraction I was going to push as hard as I could. The contraction came and I started to push. I immediately felt baby descend, and I dropped to one knee. Baby’s head was right there at the vaginal opening. It was insanely uncomfortable. I was so frustrated not only because of the discomfort, but also because I had to wait for the next contraction (remember how far apart my contractions had been?!) before I could fully push him out! But push (HARD!) I did, and at 11:46PM No-Name baby Oprie was born! We discussed how special this birth date is because it’s the anniversary of my Grandma Carmien’s death.

I honestly don’t remember who actually caught him and brought him up. I’m assuming I did because I instinctively did that with Eleanor and Beatrix. I immediately checked to see if he really was a boy because I still half didn’t believe it! We then proceeded with the placenta delivery and all the other various check-ups and instructions. Janis and Amber left at about 2:30 and we were finally able to get some sleep. Tash slept in the spare room. We all woke up later in the morning to get the girls around and introduce them to their new baby brother! They were both immediately smitten. I ate Johnny’s breakfast in bed (my after birth tradition!) and stayed in our room all day. A truly marvelous aspect of home birth!

Alfred "Alfie" Kimball Oprie

Beatrix Kay

I woke up around 2:30AM on September 12th to regular contractions occurring about every 2 minutes and lasting 30-40 seconds each. They weren't terribly severe, but after a couple hours, I figured I should call Janice (my midwife) since they were so close together. Since I didn't sound to be working terribly hard to overcome the contraction pains, Janice suggested I take a bath, take some Tylenol, drink some water, and see if the contractions die down or endure. Even though the bath was really relaxing, the contractions continued. I was hoping I would be able to get some more rest after the bath since I was pretty tired, but the dang contractions prevented it. The contractions were particularly annoying because even though they continued, they weren't picking up much at all in severity.

Because the contractions kept going, I was pretty convinced I was going to meet my baby that day! I was quite disheartened, though, because it was seeming as though this labor was just going to take f o r e v e r , which I really hadn't anticipated. We spread the word to the masses and our loved ones started heading our way and making arrangements. Phillip went off to class for a quiz because I was confident that I wouldn't be having a baby anytime too soon. Not too long after he left for school, though, I texted him saying the contractions were more intense so he should try to take his quiz and then head back home. He agreed, but it wasn't more than an hour later that I texted him again saying the contractions were lightening up! I was seriously so confused by what my body was doing.

For the rest of the afternoon I only had sporadic contractions. Mom, Eleanor, Margot, and I went on a walk to see if that would rev things into a higher gear, but...nope. I was beginning to feel guilty thinking that all these people were headed our way to celebrate a new baby that wasn't even going to be making an appearance that day, after all.

Around 6:15-6:30PM the family (my mom, my dad, Phill's mom, Trey, myself, Phill, and Eleanor) all sat down for dinner. This is also when contractions started back up again. The contractions were painful and again starting to form a pattern, but I wasn't even thinking of them being actual labor contractions anymore. I had essentially convinced myself that it wasn't going to be tonight, especially since it was already evening. For the rest of the meal, I made frequent pauses to get through the contractions. My mom and Phillip's mom both stated they thought I seemed to be working much harder to overcome these contraction pains. After laboring around the dining room for a while and experiencing quite a bit of pain, I started to realize (although not quite believing it) that these must be true labor pains. I finally called Janis at 7:15PM. We agreed that I would labor and then call her back after 30 minutes to check progress. However, only 7 minutes after hanging up with her I had Phill call her back to have her go ahead and make her way over. I was having a hard time dealing with the contractions, so I knew I wanted her there. I also knew it would take her at least an hour in travel time.

I made my way upstairs to the bedroom and asked Phill to begin filling the birth tub. His mom helped me change into my bikini top. I was really struggling physically and mentally. The intense bodily pain I was feeling after such a short amount of time convinced me that I wasn't handling this labor as well as I did with Eleanor's birth. I remember saying things like, "I don't know what to do" and "Nothing is good!". I couldn't find any sort of comfortable position. Somehow, I ended up on all fours on the floor of our bedroom. It nearly seemed like I was beginning to feel the urge to push. I couldn't help but embrace that feeling, and then my waters broke. It was so surprising; a big ol' explosion! I remember my initial thought, after surprise, was fear because I just knew this meant things were actually about to get more strong and intense. I simply wasn't sure how I would be able to handle it. Phill called Janis to tell her my water had broken. He called her back just 6 minutes later to report that I was saying I felt like I needed to push. She was still on the road in Roanoke. The tub was only half full, but we all began to realize this baby was COMING. No time to wait for a full birthing tub! I then began crawling around the floor assisting and instructing "the moms" to cover the floor with plastic tarp, towels, and absorbent chucks pads. Janis was on speakerphone steadily giving instruction. Praise the Lord for Phill who had read through the "In Case of Fast Labor" instructions we were given. He was so in the zone and focused on delivering the baby properly and safely. It may have been an incredibly quick experience, but it's still impressive that I never for even a second saw a glimpse of doubt on his face. Other than overcoming the physical battle I was enduring, my only thought was getting the baby out and ensuring the cord wasn't tight around her neck. Mom J. and Mom O. were kiiinda freaking out, but reasonably so!

A contraction came on. I was on my knees on the floor next to the half-full tub. I swear I wasn't even pushing yet but baby was coming down and out so I had to make the conscious decision to push the baby out. More pain? Yes. Burning? You got it. I had my hands down feeling for a cord around the neck and Phill had his hands in place to catch the baby. With that one push, Beatrix Kay entered this world with a cry, perfect in every way. I glanced at the phone; it was 8:04 PM. Less than 2 hours since active labor began. I looked her over intently while making sure she was covered with the towel. I quickly noticed her dark hair just like her sister had, and vernix across her back and head differing from her sister.

It's safe to say shock was the overall feeling in the room! I didn't know what else to do, so I just brought her to breast to start nursing. We all sat there examining sweet baby and discussing our disbelief with what had just happened when Janis finally arrived and began looking us over and taking the reigns. Shortly after she arrived I felt another contraction and delivered the placenta. Janis cut the cord.

Tash arrived at some point shortly after delivery, as well. So many exact details are blurred in my mind because the whole process went so ridiculously quick! I feel like I'm leaving holes in the story, but I also know there wasn't a lot of time so perhaps there really aren't too many holes missing anyway! Elissa, the birth assistant RN, arrived, too, and the rest of the time was spent examining myself and baby. Beatrix's lungs were a bit congested so Janis began working to get her to cry to help clear the lungs. This turned out to be much more difficult than you could imagine! This sweet newborn just did not have have anything other than a little cat-like meow cry in her! Ultimately, of course, her lungs cleared out anyway and all vital signs were good.

Beatrix was nearly identical in size to what her big sister Eleanor was at birth. Beatrix weighed in at 8 lbs 3 oz (just one ounce more than Eleanor) and measured 20 3/4" in length (identical to Eleanor). I was stunned, and THRILLED to be finished with the crazy difficult labor pain. Did we really just deliver our baby on our own?! We'll always have this impressive, bizarre story to tell. It still blows my mind that I went from thinking it wouldn't be that day to birthing a baby all within the matter of a few hours.

There are literally no pictures of the labor or birth because no one had any time to take any!

Eleanor June Jeanne'

A little after 11PM on Tuesday April 30th I began feeling contractions. They were very tolerable, but they remained steady for several hours throughout the night. The contractions never increased in intensity, but after being awake all night with contractions I finally decided to call my midwife, Janis, at 4AM. Based on what I told her, Janis believed this was not real labor and that I should do all I could to try to relax and get some rest. She prescribed something to eat, a large drink of water, a glass of wine, and a long, warm bath. Although I was initially hesitant about the wine (hello, I'm pregnant), I followed her instructions and within about 30 minutes of being in the tub I was falling asleep so I headed to bed. I was scheduled to work 4 hours Wednesday morning (May 1-my due date!), but due to the up-all-night-contractions marathon I called in.

I was admittedly frustrated when I woke up later Wednesday morning to absolutely no contractions. I did hold onto some hope, though, because when I went to the bathroom I noticed bloody show. A sign that labor would be near! I had been so excited to potentially deliver my baby on my actual due date. May 1st just sounded so nice. The rest of the day went on contraction-free even after a long walk, eating a whole pineapple, and yet another walk. Also, I'll go ahead and admit it...I took castor oil. I went to bed knowing that this little one would arrive whenever he/she wanted. I anticipated it would probably be in the next couple days, but then again, who knows?

I woke up about a quarter after 1AM that night to go to the bathroom. As soon as I rose from the bed I felt a large amount of some sort of liquid coming on out! I rushed to the bathroom and remained there, on the toilet (awesome visual, I know), for a large amount of time partially due to pain and partially due to the aftermath of castor oil. I couldn't be sure, though, if the pain I was feeling, while pretty bad, where related to baby or just severe bowel cramping. While I wasn't sure at the time, I'm fairly certain now that the liquid was, in fact, my water breaking. After 45-60 minutes I could sense a pattern to the pain and began to realize I was, in fact, experiencing contractions. I knew these contractions were much different than the night before, so at about 2:15 I told Phillip to call Janis. Once I was on the phone with her she could also tell this was different due to the fact that I couldn't speak to her during contractions. After a bit of discussion she said she would be on her way in a little while.

After I got off the phone with Janis I called my mom (who, of course, was already awake at 2:30 in the morning) and Phill called his mom. I went downstairs where it was cooler and began walking around the living room, pausing every several minutes to grab onto the couch and moan during a contraction. My parents arrived shortly thereafter. My dad was having a hard time seeing me go through the pains of labor. Poor guy! I asked my mom to quickly put my hair into a french braid so it would be out of my way. After some time I decided it would probably be best to go back upstairs to our bedroom where the birthing tub was so I wouldn't wind up stuck downstairs with an inability to move due to severely strong contractions. I wanted to lie down and rest between contractions, but when I laid down on the bed I instantly found it to be uncomfortable. After one contraction lying on my side in bed, I knew I had to get up. I ended up sitting down on the floor next to the bed with my legs crossed and my back resting on the baby's pack 'n play. Somehow I found this comfortable. I'd been noticing that my back had been quite sore.

Janis arrived around 5AM and Tash came shortly after. Janis called her assistant and stated she should start heading in. I had never been checked for dilation or effacement during pregnancy and so, at about 6 o'clock I asked Janis if she would be checking me. She said it was up to me. I wanted to know and I was prepared for whatever she would tell me, knowing full well that many women expect that they are much farther progressed than what they really are. I estimated maybe 5cm; a solid halfway. Side note: it is NOT pleasant getting checked. When you're already struggling to find comfort and then you add that variable into the mix, you quickly realize it is painful, especially during a contraction. Once she was done, I looked at her with anticipation. She stared me right in the eyes and told me I only had a little bit of a rim left on one side. I was essentially 9.5 cm dilated. Stunned, I told her I loved her and began to feel quite proud. Janis told me she had texted her assistant prior to checking me stating she thought I was about 8cm judging by the way I was laboring.

Kari arrived within the 6 o'clock hour. Everyone became a little more focused on filling the birthing tub with warm water. Luckily, it didn't take long to get to just the right temperature and I was assisted into the tub. I was a little frustrated that the tub water couldn't be warmer, but 98 degrees is where it needed to be for the baby's sake. It did feel very nice to be able to move more freely due to the water. My contractions while in the water really started to take a toll, but not in the way I anticipated. My back hurt so bad. Although it was still very painful and I had begun to yell out quite a bit due to uterine and vaginal pain with the contractions, the sharp, severe back pain was taking all my attention. Kari, and then Tash, applied counter-pressure to my back while I knelt down in the tub water grasping tightly to Phillip's arms.

Phillip's mom arrived shortly after 7. My dad had gone to work, but he was going to be delayed in town so he was able to come back to the house. He waited either on the stairs or downstairs.

I knew that it must be near time to push so I asked Janis if that's what I needed to do. I didn't feel that urge that I'd heard so much about. I remember always hearing that women just feel an intense urge to push that they can't stop, but since I didn't feel that I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to be doing. Janis instructed me to try a couple pushes and see how it went. I had to really focus on the pushes. I was worried the pushes wouldn't be effective since I didn't feel an intense urge to push. Therefore, I felt I needed to push with all my might. Janis had her hands in place to feel if the baby was moving down with my pushes. She told me that with each push the baby was moving farther and farther down. My baby was coming. There was a moment where it really hit me what was about to happen. I can't remember exactly what I said, but I know there was a moment where I said something along the lines of, "My baby is coming", and it was like the first time I really recognized it to be fully true. I started to cry and others were crying as well. With the next contraction, though, I was pulled back into business. The last minutes of pushing are a bit of a blur full of encouragement from my family, friends, and midwife. They were instructing me to push, praising me for how I was doing, and exclaiming excitedly that they could see the baby! I really couldn't feel anything different than I had before, so (even though I hadn't planned to do so) I felt down for the baby. Feeling how close I was to meeting my baby gave me the final surge I needed to really bare down and puuuuush my baby out. With my hands in place down by my baby, I pushed with all my might and helped lift my baby out of the water. I immediately brought the baby to my chest, moved the cord away from his/her face and neck, checked for 10 fingers and toes, and finally checked the gender. Now, I had prefaced the whole labor stating that it was very important to me that Phill be the one to tell me whether Baby Oprie was a boy or a girl. I did not, however, anticipate catching my baby and being the one with the first access! I checked and was quite surprised to find that my brand new baby was a healthy little girl. I was a little surprised by how surprised I was. I think I was expecting a boy more than I originally realized! Eleanor June Jeanne' Oprie was born at 8:22AM on Thursday May 2, 2013.

Everyone was crying, but my dad took the cake with his sweet grandpa sobs. She came rather quickly with labor lasting 7 hours and only requiring pushing for 30 minutes. We waited for the cord to finish pulsating before cutting. Both Phillip and my mom did not want to cut the cord, so Janis did the honors. Janis' assistant, Elissa, took the baby while Janis helped me to deliver the placenta. Afterwards I was helped up to a chair where I was then able to nurse little Eleanor. Before nursing, they weighed Eleanor and took all of her measurements. She was a healthy 8 pounds 2 ounces and measured 20 and 3/4 inches long. After nursing I was helped to the bathroom and then back to bed so Janis could inspect me.  Other than a labial tear (sorry if TMI) everything looked good. While Phillip held the baby I laid in bed and enjoyed the perfect post-delivery breakfast: pancakes from Johnny's. My dad pulled grandpa-of-the-year by bringing enough pancakes, hash browns, and cinnamon rolls to feed everyone present and still have leftovers. We may make it a May 2 tradition. :-)

The rest of the day was spent resting, nursing, and falling in love with our little one. It was hard for Phillip and I to wrap our brains around the day's happenings. Even now, 8 days later, it still seems pretty unbelievable that I'm a mother. In two days I'll be celebrating my first Mother's Day as a real life mama. Last Mother's Day was one of the worst days of my life, just days after my D&C. A year later...so much has changed. Now, there is celebrating. There is renewed hope. Eleanor is here and she is precious.

Just born

Meeting Dad for the first time

Happy Birthday!

She's absolutely perfect

2 Days Old

My favorite picture so far. 4 days old.

1 week old and growing like a weed!