Birth Story for Sadie Alma Zippin

On Monday, May 18th, Sadie’s “due date,” I began having contractions in the morning. It was my first day not working, and I was ready. I called my doula (Anne) to say that I thought things were progressing (I was, after all, already 1.5cm dilated and 50% effaced) and excited. She told me to relax and that I was probably in very early labor. She also told me that a lot of first time moms have a full day of contractions, only to stop abruptly at night and not continue again until 2 days later. I did not like hearing that, and of course, immediately dismissed this option for me! I called a few friends and my mom and told them I was in early labor. However, by noon, the contractions had subsided, and I had to go back to the waiting game (something at which I am not skilled!)

Meanwhile, the friends and family whom I had called kept checking in about how I was doing. I began to feel pressure (mostly from myself) and had a little breakdown. I called Anne and she assured me that these feelings were normal and that I should turn off my phone and relax and that the baby would probably come sometime this week. I did just that.

At my next ob/gyn appointment on Wednesday the 20th, Dr. Thomas said I was 2 cm dilated and probably 75% effaced and that things were progressing. I made my next appointment with her in case I did not give birth within the week, and asked her if she had any suggestions to get things going. (Keep in mind, I knew about Preggo Pizza and castor oil and nipple stimulation and sex and pressure points, but I figured I’d ask the doc what she thought). She said that the only thing proven to be effective is walking. I knew that, but given that I had been walking and hiking regularly throughout the pregnancy, I wasn’t sure that would really work for me.

Nevertheless, I took it to heart. On Thursday, May 21st, I took Bug for a 7+ mile hike at Redwood Park. I knew it was pushing it to be 9-months pregnant and hiking, but I also figured that in order to have a real effect on getting labor started, it had to be extreme!

So, it took us almost 4 hours to complete the hike. We got home, I showered and ate, and my contractions began at about 1:30pm! I took a 2-hour nap and was happy to wake up to continued contractions, about 15 minutes apart. I called Anne to tell her the news, to which she replied, “shit!” As luck would have it, she had another client whose water had broken that very morning (3.5 weeks early). So, she asked if she could come by in the evening and see how I was doing. We took a walk around the block so she could assess where I was in the process. She said that I was in early labor and that I would likely have the baby tomorrow (Friday the 22nd). She also said we should call her when the contractions were 5 minutes apart or if they were waking me up from sleep and that she expected to hear from us between 2 and 4am. She suggested we relax, get as much rest as possible and have sex.

So, we puttered around the house, packing our bags, cleaning up etc. I told my mom to please book her flight to northern California and we tried to not get overly excited.

Sleep was tough that night. My contractions were very consistently coming, eight minutes apart and got more intense, a few of them waking me in the night. They were certainly manageable, but when they dropped to 5-minutes apart, we called Anne. It was 4:45am. She did not answer. We just continued to time the contractions and stay focused. Anne called back a few minutes later to say that she was with her other client, who was about to start pushing her baby out, and that she could be at our house around 6am.

At 6:45, Anne arrived. We went for a walk and my labor began to pick up around 8am. Around 9:30am, we all took naps. At 11:20, Anne suggested I take a shower. After the shower, Anne said that from as far as she could tell, I was in active labor, meaning I could be anywhere from 4cm-10cm (all births and moms are different, so there’s no way to really say definitively). She said she didn’t think there was any rush to leave the house and go to the hospital, but that whenever I wanted to go, we could.

Although I felt like I was doing well with the contractions (leaning on Anne and swaying throughout most of them), I was also really curious about how dilated I was. Given that I had been in labor for some time, I also thought I must be pretty far along. I was also a bit worried about the transition to the hospital and having to cope with contractions in the car. My back labor was particularly excruciating, and sitting in a car would not be ideal.

We ended up arriving at the hospital at 12:50am. Having lain down in the backseat during the transit was bearable, and I was lucky to only have had 3 or 4 contractions on the way. They immediately checked me in triage and said I was 5cm dilated, 100% effaced, and at 0 station (meaning her head was at my cervix). I had hoped for more, but figured the rest would go quickly!

We finally got in Room 20 at 2:20pm and then immediately went for a walk to the rooftop. It felt nice to sit in the sun. I remember being really relaxed in between contractions but really not getting much relief for my back.

By 4:10pm I was at 7cm, +1 station and the nurse and doctor were hoping I would deliver before the end of their shift (6pm). So was I! I took a shower to get things moving again, but the shift change came and went.

At 6:35pm I was at 8cm with a bulging bag. The doctor and nurses suspected that because my sac had not ruptured, the dilation was at a stand still. They suggested we consider breaking my water, especially because I had already been laboring for a while, hadn’t really slept the night before, and was exhausted. They also mentioned, however, that rupturing the sac might mean that dilation may go backwards before it goes forward again. They ruptured my bag at 7:15pm, and I was 7cm dilated at that point. Labor continued, and my stamina was diminishing quite a bit. At 9:30pm, I asked to be checked, and my dilation was at 8cm and I was discouraged and exhausted. I asked for my options in terms of relief and ended up getting a dose of fentanyl. Soon thereafter I threw up and went into relaxation mode, being able to sleep in between the contractions. Anne and Saul both got a nap in this time too!

At 11:15pm I was 9.5 cm and FINALLY, at 11:52pm I was at 10cm! Celebration time! Pushing took a bit of time to get used to, but, as it turns out, I had more than 3.5 hours to get used to it! It was a lucky thing I had gotten some relief and rest with the fentanyl because I certainly needed it to complete the marathon.

Sadie Alma Zippin burst into this world at 3:44am on Saturday, May 23, 2009, weighing 10 pounds, 2 ounces, and reaching a length of 22 inches – a big girl for sure, but all the more to love.