Guest Post: A Birthing Center Story - Brett Vincent Woytek

On Tuesday February 8th, I woke up at 5am and couldn't go back to sleep. I was definitely feeling real contractions for the first time during this pregnancy. Later that morning, after getting Elle off to preschool, I started timing them. The contractions were very random... anywhere from 9-10 minutes apart to sometimes 25 minutes apart. Kyle and I went to walk around the outlet mall and have lunch. (A fun memory of that afternoon: We bought a few things at A Children's Place and the cashier lady asked me when I was due. When I told her "yesterday" and that I was in the start of labor, she was shocked and thought I looked too happy and relaxed for that to be true. She said "Don't you need to call your doctor or go somewhere!" After talking to her more, we found out that her daughter delivered at the Birthing Center and loved it! Also, when Kyle was getting us lunch at Freebird's, the guy making our burritos asked him if he had anything exciting going on. Kyle said "well, my wife is in labor out in the car!" The guy said he didn't expect anything THAT exciting! ha ha)

That afternoon, I called into Austin Area Birthing Center and talked to the midwife on call, Mary. (It just so happened that we had met all seven other midwives at our prenatal visits except for Mary simply because the scheduling didn't work out.) Mary said I was in prodromal labor (or some call it "false labor" although there is nothing really false about it). She suggested I relax and take a bath as the evening settles and even have a half glass of red wine if I wanted. Mary said the wine could help me get some sleep or it could jump start true labor. The timing of the contractions was not progressing but the intensity seemed to be, so after dinner I did as the midwife ordered. To my surprise, things started to pick up... and fast! (I thought this prodromal labor may go on forever and I was dreading not being able to sleep to rest up for the true labor that was still to come!) My contractions quickly grew closer.

By 8pm, I was in active labor (4-5 min apart), having very intense contractions. I did my best to use what we learned in our Birth by Nature classes to ease my mind, relax my body, and let the contractions do their work. (That was hard!) Kyle called his parents to pick up Elle. Elle was being so sweet though and wanted to be right by me. She was so curious about what Mommy was going through and I felt bad because she would ask me questions and during a contraction I could not answer her. Kyle also ran around the house and made sure that we had everything we needed in our bags and loaded into the car. Kyle called Mary and packed up the car and we were headed out at 11pm.

With Mary, we made the decision to go to Austin Area Birthing Center South, a beautiful brand new location for AABC. We had been warned of this chance the week prior since they are remodeling the birthing rooms at the North center. They had just painted and they warned any birthing mothers of the possible smell of paint fumes. We didn't want to chance that since my sense of smell is very sensitive. I was worried about the drive all the way to William Cannon and being comfortable during contractions in the car. It was hard since I couldn't move around at all and just had to sit there. I closed my eyes, hugged my pillow and used relaxation breathing like crazy! The contractions progressed to every 3 min on the way down there. I could also feel A LOT of pressure downward as if the baby was almost ready to be birthed!

We arrived at 11:40pm. Mary met us at the door and showed us the three rooms we could choose from since we were the first birthing couple that night. We chose the Austin Music Scene room and Kyle left to go to the car to get our bags. My first contraction at the center, I leaned over the bed and said that I felt like I needed to push. My water broke right there and Kyle came back in surprised! I kept feeling like I needed to push so Mary encouraged me and told Dana, the midwife assistant, to "prepare for birth". I was thinking, "oh my goodness, this is really happening!" I couldn't get comfortable and didn't know what position I wanted to be in. I suggested that I get into the tub for a water birth, but they told me there wasn't time to fill it! Things were really happening fast! (I think they turned the tub on to make me happy, but there truly was not enough time!) I pushed through every contraction for about 19 minutes and Brett was born at 12:04am!!! Mary and Dana were absolutely wonderful and encouraging, letting me know the baby's positioning through my pushing. I remember the best thing I heard was: "the next push might deliver your baby's head". I was so excited and pushed harder and longer than ever! Awesome, intense, and indescribable feelings!!

I look back and thank God over and over for the speed of my labor (4 hours total). I was hoping that we wouldn't arrive at the birthing center and still have hours and hours to go. Things truly worked out perfectly to welcome Brett into the world. After he was born, he was immediately put onto my chest and Mary and Dana did everything to make sure he was okay. He was perfect!

The next several hours consisted of making sure Mommy and Baby were okay. AABC was such a relaxed environment. Loved it! And, since everything went perfectly, and Brett and I were completely healthy and doing very well after his birth, the AABC wants you to be in the comfort of your own home. We left the center at around 7am to make the trip home!

It was Austin's second ice storm of the season that morning. The temperature outside was in the 20s and we had to wait for ice all over our car to melt. Along with the other cars on the highway, we drove slowly home. Brett slept all the way home and didn't make a peep. When Elle came to the center to meet Brett with Papaw and Mamaw, she stayed with us and fell asleep after the excitement wore down. (Another blog post about Elle meeting Brett for the first time!) She also slept all the way home.

What an unforgettable night!

Brett Vincent Woytek
February 9, 2011
12:04 am
8 lbs 15 oz
22 inches