Clearing Webs

Atticus Grey Perkins - Birth Story and Contest

So first the name. Two different literary references. Atticus is easy and if you don't know the book and character you should feel deeply ashamed, Google it as quickly as you can and go read the book! Grey is the harder literary reference though it's from a well-known character these days. Grey is after this character and also in honor of my Dad - this perhaps being a hint to my family members. If we've already told you where Grey came from, don't cheat! For the rest of you, if you're the first to guess correctly on the character we'll send you a copy of the cheesy movie version of the book that's so precious in my childhood memories thanks to my Dad.

Atticus was born at 11:34 Sunday night, the 20th. He was 8 lbs and 20 inches, a water birth which I was very grateful for with back labor. It went really well and at a good quick pace. Contractions were about twenty to thirty minutes apart all morning. We went to church and out to Cracker Barrel for lunch. By the end of lunch things were about ten minutes apart but I wasn't sure this was "it". We went home, got the boys napping and took a long walk which got us to about six minutes consistently. By about five they were four to six minutes apart but I wasn't fully convinced b/c I was still handling them easily, talking through them and still in a pretty good state. Around seven there was a little stress about our kid watchers being able to be there through the night. So I started crying and Andy said we should go on to the midwives. I still wasn't too sure, but went w/Andy's decision and of course he was right. Things slowed down as we got settled into the beautiful new birthing center around 8 or 8:30 but soon picked back up again. My friends Chelsea and Danielle were there along w/Gideon and our most frequent babysitter Amy. We all took a walk around the block with Danielle and Andy getting on all fours for me to lean over during contractions while Chelsea put pressure on my back. Amy and Gid skipped and ran up and down the sidewalks together. She was so perfect with him. He got to experience everything, have an awesome time w/Amy and we felt zero worry about him being well taken care of. We were contracting by one house & this man came out apparently pretty upset, wanting to know what was going on. They told him we were in labor & would be moving on soon. The man said, "Good. The hospital's right there," pointing towards the nearby hospital (where we weren't birthing precisely b/c we wouldn't have been allowed labor speeding and calming options like taking a walk around the neighborhood). I think he was the only real downer in our awesome birth experience. By the time we were back to the birth center things were getting more serious, taking lots of concentration and 2 to 3 minutes apart consistently. We ran the water and I got in the tub. At this point I had a couple panic attacks, feeling very scared about the pain I knew was coming. God was so good and gave me peace and the ability to handle that. Andy and the others were just so awesome, too. We got to be the first to birth in our midwives' new center which was really cool, but it also meant helping them work out the kinks. They were on a temporary water heater cause of red tape stuff w/their permanent one so we could only get the tub halfway full with warm water. Megan, one of the midwives went back and forth, back and forth heating water in the kitchen and putting it in the tub. It would have been nice to have had it more easily filled but God just kept making me so grateful for everything so many people were doing for us and for how extremely mega-blessed we are.

Transition hit pretty soon and I was so grateful for the water cause my back was hurting horribly. I was very vocal this time, making lots of low-pitched "ooh" sounds throughout transition. It's amazing how it helped ease the pain. Studies show the link b/twn making these noises and the better relaxation of the cervix. It's cool that God had me react instinctively in a way He knew would ease my pain and speed the process. I think the worst part of transition was leaning out over the tub throwing up during a contraction while I was having pinched nerve pains shooting down my right leg. Excruciating. There's nothing like labor to make you depend solely on God. Andy got in the tub w/me (don't worry folks - he wore his bathing suit) and was the most wonderful support and strength in the whole world. (When the midwife came to our house today to check on us she told me we're the best labor team ever, that we worked so well together.) My nerve kept getting pinched during contractions, they were very close together w/multiple peaks and the back labor was bad but God kept reminding me it wouldn't go on forever and as all I could do was cry out to Him He gave me such good peace. Andy was holding me & helping the midwives know what would help me best and Chelsea & Dani held my hands, stroked my head & took pictures. I was so loved and well supported. Gid handled my pain very well. It was comforting to hear his feet pitter patter back and forth every now and then. I couldn't hear it at the time but my friends say when things started getting rough he was squealing, clapping & jumping. We've had lots of talks over the last few weeks that the more pain Mommy's in the closer we are to seeing our new baby. Apparently it worked for him. He handled my pain okay but when I pulled out the sh- word he ran out of the room. Amy followed and he told her "I don't think we should stay in there while Mommy is using those words." My mom is so proud.

I thought I started to feel the urge to push so I had the midwife check me b/c I didn't want to push too early and swell my cervix. She said I was about nine cm and was good to push if I felt the need. I tried not to but found myself instinctively grunting and when I pushed it felt so much better. Those low-pitched "ooh"s turned into some major noises and I couldn't deny it was time to push. Well, I was right cause I gave my first major conscious push and my urges were confirmed with Atticus crowning! Holy cow. That's some major pain. Of course my urge was to push more and harder and get him out to end the pain but it's best to stop pushing so you won't tear at this point so my midwives (who were awesome) urged me to stop. That seemed rather impossible and at this point the outside world was barely registering. Midwife Megan got gently in my face, making eye contact and kept telling me, "Don't push. Relax. Breathe your baby out. Just breathe your baby out." It was perfect, the exact focus I needed. So I lay there on my side in Andy's arms staring at Megan w/crazy fierce intensity and breathed for all I was stinkin' worth and Atticus' head finally came out. Midwife Paula said to give her one more push to get him out. I was spent. At that point I was just calmly like, "I can't. Pull him out. Just pull him out." Silly birthing girl. Paula asked again and I realized I really ought to push so one more really good push got him out and those of you who have given birth naturally understand the unspeakable joy and immediate relief of suddenly having all that work & pain gone and that baby in your arms. Good stuff. He was beautiful but we did have a scare cause he wasn't breathing and his heart rate went down but we rubbed him really well and let him breathe some oxygen and he was soon doing really excellent w/well-cleared lungs. They moved me to the bed to deliver the placenta while Andy sat in a tub of bloody water. We forgot to pack him an extra shirt so Dani went later & got him a new one from the gas station. It's plain black and I want to make it say, "I soaked in a tub of my wife's blood and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."

We stayed at the birth center and came home a little after noon the next day. I didn't tear at all and am feeling fabulous, considering. That's to say I feel like I've been run over by a truck and beaten in the lower back and tailbone from the inside, but I'm able to get around well and feel like I'm going to heal up and restrengthen quickly. Andy's taken off work all week and our babysitter Amy is staying with us indefinitely this week. Our house is well set up for letting me rest upstairs while the boys still have plenty of indoor room to play freely w/out disturbing. The older boys are smitten w/Atticus. So far he's been very easy, eating well and sleeping so long I have to wake him after four or five hours to feed him. I pray he stays this easy.