Announcing the Birth of
Hailee Nicole Allan
December 8, 2005

The Birth Team

We had an amazing birth team who helped us not just during labor and delivery, but long before.

Of course Casandra, being the lead midwife, was involved from early on with pre-natal check-ups.  In addition to the research Cheri did, Casandra also provided helpful input when we were pondering Cheri's heart problem, and trying to decide which route to go.

On Sept. 15, a "Long QT" heart rythm showed up in an EKG taken on Cheri at a clinic because she had been experiencing shortness of breath and chest pains following exercise.  Long QT Syndrome is usually a genetic condition, and manifests in sudden cardiac arrest in otherwise healthy individuals.  Gratefully, it only showed up that one day, and not in three subsequence EKGs taken thereafter.  A "King of Hearts" portable monitor that Cheri wore for a couple of weeks just one week prior to the due date, recording a dozen or so heart profiles during some shortness of breath episodes, came out clear, showing no irregularities. (Pregnant women sometimes experience difficulty breathing because of the competition for space inside their body.)

Notwithstanding these encouraging results, we still knew that because the Long QT had shown up that one time, and because Cheri has a life-long history of not being as able to handle physical exertion as others, that we should be careful in how we handled this delivery.

We looked into having a hospital delivery, and went to see Doctor Mark Saunders, who is part of a nurse-midwife group that works with American Fork Hospital.  He said that if we do have a cardiac concern, that he would refer us to a hospital more able to handle the possible problems might arise.  That was before we had the results from the heart monitor.

Notwithstanding the good news that came with the monitor results, the second of the two midwife assistants that were going to help Casandra in our birth backed out.  The first had balked out when we first learned of the Long QT showing up on the first EKG.

Despite the possible risks, Cheri and I chose to go the home birth route, feeling that it was the best, and safest route to go, considering the relaxing environment we could create there, and considering our confidence in those who would be assisting us.

Knowing Karie was going to be there to help maintain a calm environment was one of the major factors.  In the place of the two assistant midwives who had backed out, we approved Casandra's selection of Rochelle Jolley to help out.  Rochelle is the wife of a business associate interested in helping secure financing for a clean energy technology.

Karie came once a week, four weeks prior to the birth, to give Cheri a massage and do some "energy work" with her.  We are confident that this helped reduce the risk level.  She also gave Cheri a massage when she showed up the night of the birth, while I set up and filled the AquaDula birthing tub with warm water.

With the arrival of the entire birth team on the evening of Dec. 7, Cheri's contractions went to 20 - 25 minutes apart.  She was concerned that they had all come such long distances, and she didn't think she was that far along.  Cheri's mom advised me that she needed to let go of that thought because it was what was slowing down the contractions.  I added to that the assurance that this was the best way to go -- have the birth team arrive and get fully set up and ready to go, then let them go get some rest (they were on couches and spare beds), while we worked up to deliver -- rather than them showing up at the last minute, adding the stress of set-up to the stress of delivery.

During the final hours of delivery, after the midwife team went to sleep, I was with Cheri during each contraction, talking her through them, helping distract her by painting verbal images of serene scenery, and reminding her to relax, and saying such things as "The baby's going to be here pretty soon," and "I love you."  These are things we learned as part of our Bradley husband-assisted birthing class that we took for the birth of our first child.  An important part of that education is learning about the birthing process, so that we know what to expect at various stages, and how best to deal with them.

Around 1:00 am, when Cheri began to start shaking, we got into the birthing tub, and her shaking subsided almost immediately.  I had filled the tub nearly to the brim, so we were nearly floating in it, which made it very comfortable, in addition to the soothing of the warm water enveloping us.

During the final hour or so of the most strenuous labor, Karie was there next to the birthing tub Cheri and I were in, daubing Cheri's forehead with a cold wash cloth and rubbing on an essential oil.  We had two candles lit for our light source, and were playing "Music by Marcey" (sampler excerpts), some meditation-like music that Karie had recommended from her last birth.

In Cheri's view was the crib Cheri had decorated (for a boy!), and a dresser I had newly painted per her request.

While the contractions came with increased intensity, they did not grow much closer together as they have in previous births.  They were still 5-6 minutes apart an hour before the baby was born, giving Cheri time to rest in between.  Cheri remarked afterward that she was very surprised when the she started getting the urge to push the baby out.  She had not gone through the typical "transition" which is the most difficult part of labor, when one feels like they can't make it (and in a hospital, it is often when they ask for the drugs to help, if they had otherwise wanted to try for an unmedicated birth [and ironically, the drugs usually don't kick in until after transition is over]).

Casandra had Cheri breath through about four or five contractions before starting the pushing.  That is the hardest thing for Cheri to do, she said of previous births -- not push when the urge to push comes.  When Casandra finally gave Cheri the go ahead, it seems all she did was push, with hardly a breath in between.  She got into the squatting position for this birth.  The baby was out seven minutes later, and the placenta followed just a couple of minutes after that.

Cheri said that this was the easiest birth she has done so far.  The baby had not experienced any distress, but had a healthy heartbeat throughout the delivery.

After the birth, in addition having Cheri drink the herbal concoction they had prepared, Rochelle kept close watch on Cheri, checking her blood pulse and pressure approximately every 5 minutes.  At one point, the pulse went up to 140.  They rubbed an essential oil Casandra had researched called "Joy" around the heart region; and a minute later, the pulse was down to 104.  That was the only heart-related "incident" of the entire birth.

There was no hemorrhaging this time, as Cheri had experienced in the last two births.  She was very sore, though, from a deep skid mark, which made it difficult for her to sit up to nurse the baby.

Three days later, now, Cheri is recovering well.  The baby is doing just fine, though she is a demanding one, hard to appease.  Dad is growing in appreciation of mom, as he takes care of household concerns while mom recovers.

One of the things we like about home birthing is being able to have the other children come in and witness the baby come out into the world.  Here Aubrie looks into the very birthing tub where she was born a couple of years earlier.

Baby's first picture.

Arrived, at last.

I know it may seem kind of strange to most people to post a photo of the placenta.  I thought it was pretty cool looking.  I bet some day not too long from now, there will be an entire science that studies the vein pattern in the placenta to learn all kinds of probable-scenario things about the baby's past and future.

Tree of Life

Karie Clingo, Sterling's sister, and dula for this birth.  What a fantastic contribution she made!  She canceled a flight to a four-day course in hypnotherapy in order to attend the birth.  She said the birth experience was a highlight of her life.  The feeling is mutual.  If anyone reading this is considering Karie for a dula, we give her the highest recommendation.  If you can, have her involved long before birth as well.  She is highly intuitive, knowing what herbs and essential oils to use, and what messaging to do, not as a matter of learning as much as from a sixth sense.

Casandra and Rochelle count fingers
and toes and belly button and such.

Baby's first clothes.  Christian watches on.