Introducing baby Phoenix Calcifer.
On February 24th, 2022 Phoenix made his debut.
Of course he came on his own time. After going in for my regular check up since I was pass my due date, my midwives all bet he would’ve came on the 20th but he said, nope, he’ll come when he was good and ready.
Thursday, February 20th after my last OB appointment. After talking with my midwife, the plan was to get induce another week pass my due date. I wanted his birth to be as natural as possible so, I wanted to delay inducement as much as possible. Here we are 41 weeks and still no Phoenix.
I called my doula Michelle and we went over all the details that my midwife and I discuss. One of the biggest concern was my midwife couldn’t feel the baby moving, after an ultrasound confirmation that he was in fact moving and his heart rate was very normal, I went home and did some routine exercise with my doula Michelle.
That Friday, my doula and I went for a long walk, we did some stretches and I spent most of my day on my exercise ball. Which I must recommend to all my pregnant mama. I got mine from Amazon.com, I got the XL which is 65-75cm. Best decision I ever made.
I wanted to avoid being induce as much as possible so I tried all the natural ways to active my labor, which as it turned out I was in labor just not active labor. At my last appointment the day before, I was 2cm dilatated. Hence the reason why my midwives thought Phoenix would arrive by the weekend.
I did every thing naturally as possible. So yes, from sex, masturbation and all the working out I could do. Even breast pumping which I do not recommend unless you’re at your due date and with your doctors permission.
My last resort was castor oil. YUCK! For those of you that don’t know, castor oil is used as a laxative but it is also good for your skin and good for hair growth.
What does castor oil has to do with labor?
Well, according to most researchers and back in the day home remedies, drinking castor oil will help jump start labor for some women, but some unwanted side effects are vomiting, nausea and could also cause stress on your baby, so please consult your healthcare provider before trying castor oil for labor induction.
In my case, I was already familiar with properties of castor oil and the effect it would have on my body. I added about 4 tablespoon of it to my smoothie and hope that would’ve induce my labor.
Friday came and went and still nothing.
I woke up Saturday, February 22nd and continued my routine. Made breakfast, added castor oil to my smoothie, went for a walk, nap, have sex, sat on my exercise ball.
By mid-noon I grew impatient so, I drank the entire bottle of castor oil without adding it to my afternoon smoothie. Yes, you read that correct. I downed the entire bottle and it was GROSS.
But my water broke! That night my water broke. I got up to use the bathroom and immediately as soon as I stood up, I felt a liquid flowing down my legs. I knew for a fact I didn’t pee on myself so, my “ha ah” moment kicked in and I called my doula to let her know my water broke.
My water broke around 7pm, by 10pm I was having some kickass contractions but nothing I couldn’t handle. Naturally, this was also due to the fact that I drank an entire bottle of castor oil. My doula checked in with me and asked if I wanted to go in to the hospital, I told her I wanted to labor at home as much as possible.
After finding a comfortable position to sleep in I was feeling pretty good. I was calm, relax and excited.
Sunday, Feb 23rd, I woke up around 4am to use to bathroom and the color of my water changed. This could mean multiple things one of them being, Phoenix had poop in uterus which mean he could also ingest it which wouldn’t be good.
This is called “aspiration.” This can cause an infection in their lungs or lung inflammation. Pneumonia can occur due to an infection or meconium aspiration. Meconium aspiration is more common in full-term or post-term babies, rather than premature babies.’
I immediately called my doula and informed her that I was going in and she agreed and met me at the hospital.
This is also the weekend we had our bonus son, so naturally I called my husband whom was at work at this point to inform him that IT WAS TIME.
I made breakfast, got dressed and gathered my hospital bag.
My sister-in-love came and picked up our soon to be big brother and I was off to the hospital. I made sure to call ahead and informed them that my midwife was on call there as well.
I arrived at Jefferson Health Hospital around 8am. Once I got checked in and was check out to make sure it wasn’t Meconium aspiration, all my test results came back cleared. Everything was ok, baby was ok, he didn’t poop and he had a strong heart rate. Something every doctor tells me at all my appointments
A part of me regretted coming in once I knew he was safe because I knew from that moment they would’ve tried to induce my labor. Once my doula arrive, I informed my birthing team that I would like to hold out as much as possible before agreeing to the Pitocin.
What is Pitocin?: Pitocin is a synthetic version of oxytocin that is used to help induce labor.
What is Oxytocin?: Oxytocin is naturally made in your body. It’s your love hormones. Oxytocin stimulates uterine contractions in childbirth and lactation after childbirth.
It’s now around 10am and I was only 3cm dilated and it’s been over 12hrs since my water broke. After going over things with my birthing team, I went for a walk throughout the hospital. Then did some hand expressing breastmilk with my doula. We asked the hospital for a breast pump to help the process as well.
At first, they didn’t want to give it to us. But, after talking things over with my midwives they finally agreed. Especially since on the monitor it showed that it was increasing my contractions. As we sat patiently waiting, resting and breast pumping ever 30mins to an hour, I wasn’t feeling the contractions. But, they were showing up on the monitor.
Around 3pm, my birthing team came in the room and checked to see what my cervix was like. And sure enough, I was still only 3cm dilated. Phoenix said, NOT TODAY!!
Hospital policies doesn’t always know what’s right for you. And often times you have to advocate for yourself and your body. I’m forever grateful to my amazing midwives and my doula.
Around 5pm I agreed to the Pitocin. They stated me off in small dose which was manageable. I was starting to feel my contractions more intensely. But having my husband there and my doula made things pretty good. We were laughing and telling jokes and I even got to sleep at times.
Around 10pm, I was angry and snapping. I began to grew uncomfortable, I felt like I was being forced to push. Everything in my body was telling me this was wrong. I went like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I didn’t want to be touched and more over, I was starting to feel sick. Not once was I ever nauseous throughout my pregnancy but here I was, feeling like I was being poisoned.
Standing up for yourself is not a sign of disrespect. Not speaking up for yourself is a betrayal to yourself.
I immediately knew something was wrong. I asked for my midwife ASAP because what I was feeling was not natural at all. As it turned out, the night nurses had my Pitocin turned up to the highest levels. When I asked them to turn it down, they refused. They tried talking me into just breathing through it. They tried explaining it was necessary and at this point, I felt like they weren’t listening to me.
After my midwife arrived, I immediately expressed to her how I felt. I expressed how I felt like my labor was being rushed. I express that I felt violated and that I would like new nurses. And that I want to be off the Pitocin immediately.
No one knows my body better than me. And I will always stand up for myself.
After talking with my midwife, I was 6cm dilated. Phoenix was taking his sweet time and I wasn’t going to let anymore rush him.
Around 12am, Monday Feb 24th, I was feeling normal again, I agree to finish out the Pitocin I was on but at a very lower rate. I felt like I could breathe again, I wasn’t feeling sick and I was able to rest more comfortably.
Then it happened. I woke up and I felt like I had to push. I remember my doula rushing to get the nurses and my midwife and sure enough, as soon as they came in there was his head. I can’t say for certain how many pushes I did but it was definitely less than 5. I laid on my side as my doula supported my legs and out came Phoenix around 2am, Feb 24th, 2020. He came out really fast, so fast I had to get stitches.
Once Phoenix was born, we did delay cord cutting. He was attached to his cord even after I delivered the placenta. Before he was born, we asked for the room to have very minimal light and I didn’t want any kinds of medication. I wanted my birth to be as natural as possible and It was. After my midwife finished with my stitches, with the help of my doula I was able to take a shower and our new journey began.
6 pounds. 15 ounces and 20.5 inches long.
