Anja Olivia Spiegel
Melissa and Benjamin were expecting a second daughter in early December. Eleven-year-old Abby rounded out their wonderful family. Melissa would be delivering at Brigham and Women’s Hospital under the care of Dr. Carolyn Cline. Tammy and I were delighted when they asked us to be their doulas.
I heard from a very excited Benjamin on Tuesday afternoon around 1:30. Melissa was having contractions every 6 minutes. She also had some bloody show and thought that her water had broken. They were on their way to the hospital.
I met Melissa and Benjamin in the triage area. They settled into room 517 with the help of Nurse, Sherry. Melissa was in early labor with contractions every 5 to 6 minutes. It wasn’t too long before her contractions became longer and stronger and she began to feel them more in her lower back. Melissa was coping very well as she and I both tried to calm a very eager Benjamin. He was so excited that this day had finally come. At 5 pm, Abby arrived. She was thrilled at the thought of her new baby sister. It was wonderful to be a part of a family birth.
As doulas, we offer continuous support throughout labor. Once in a while our clients overlap and we share the births. Since I had just come off of a long birth, Tammy would be taking over so I could go home and get some sleep. The plan was that Tammy would be there throughout the night and I would return in the morning. As I was leaving, Dr. Cline assured me that since this was Melissa’s second baby, she would deliver long before morning.
Luann called me at work early Tuesday afternoon with the exciting news that Melissa was in early labor. Since Luann had been up all night at another birth I would head over after work to relieve her. I arrived around 5pm to find Luann, Benjamin, Melissa and Abby in their room. I too was thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of a “whole family birth”. When I got there Melissa looked beautiful and relaxed sitting in the rocking chair. Soon after I arrived, Luann filled me in on what had been happening and we said our goodbyes hoping that baby would be here before she would need to return…
Around 6:45pm Dr. Zinner came by to say hello. She was not going to examine Melissa unless there was a need. After she left, Melissa decided the shower would be a good option. She and Benjamin headed into the bathroom around 7:15 until 8pm. Melissa was comforted by the shower, Benjamin not so much. Even though Benjamin was in an awkward position, he did whatever he could to offer Melissa comfort measures while she relaxed in the shower.
Abby and I had a wonderful conversation about all her favorite books and TV shows. It was no big surprise that she is a big fan of the all the vampire series, just like my daughter. She gave me lots of great suggestions that I could pass along to my 11 year old. Abby is such a special girl. It was lots of fun hearing about the things she likes, her school and her thoughts on becoming a big sister.
After the shower Melissa wisely started walking the floors of the Brigham to keep her labor moving. At 8:30 it was time for Melissa’s 3rd dose of penicillin. Melissa was obviously exhausted. She does not sleep much in general and had been up for many hours at that point. I suggested she take advantage of the time in bed and try to rest and rebuild her energy stores. By 8:55 she was so relaxed that her contractions had spaced out. They decided to let her rest for a while longer then check on her progress. At 9pm Abby climbed into bed with Melissa. It was such a lovely sight to see mother and daughter cuddled up together. I cannot think of a nicer way to spend time in labor.
At 9:25pm Melissa decided to get up and walk some more to see if she could get things moving before the doctor came back to check on her. Benjamin and Melissa were both very focused on all the important things they should be doing to move labor along. They walked together and did squats together. What a great team. Benjamin and I traded off walking with Melissa. Melissa was completely committed to doing whatever it would take to help her labor. I suggested she could try walking through the contractions. Even though it was very uncomfortable she did it, walked right through each contraction!
Around 11:15pm Melissa went back to bed so Tracy (the night nurse) could get a reading on the baby. Dr. Zinner came in to check Melissa’s progress at 11:35pm. We were all surprised to hear that Melissa was at 2cm, 90% effaced and the baby was still high after all her hard work. They decided even though the contractions felt strong to Melissa they were not strong enough to change things. To help move things forward, a Pitocin drip was started at 12:25 am. I think both Melissa and Benjamin were a little disappointed at that point. Tracy assured them that she would be very conservative with her dosing of the Pit. She was really great and increased it very slowly. Melissa was able to lie in bed and sleep for a while. By 2am Melissa was sleeping in bed between contractions and Benjamin and Abby were snuggled up in the cot resting as well.
At 4:45am Melissa was checked again and found that there had been no change. Melissa and Benjamin put much thought into what to do next, as they had about all their decisions to this point so far. After much consideration they decided Melissa would get an epidural and they would increase the Pitocin.
When Luann arrived, I said my goodbyes. While I was very sad to leave without meeting their new little girl, I was very grateful for the time I was able to spend with Abby, Melissa and Benjamin. It was most inspiring for me to spend the time I did with such a loving strong family.
I was a little surprised when early the next morning I had not received an email from Tammy saying that Melissa had delivered her
baby. I arrived back at the Brigham at 7:30am to find Melissa getting some well-deserved rest. She had clearly worked very hard throughout the night. Benjamin and Abby were sleeping soundly together on the cot – a very cute picture. When they woke up, their immediate concern was Melissa. They were both so loving and attentive to her, which was so sweet to watch.
Dr. Leila Schueler was the covering doctor and Mary was the nurse. When Melissa started to feel pressure, Dr. Schueler came by to check. Melissa was 4 centimeters and 90% effaced. Slow and steady progress. We passed the morning chatting easily about the places they had traveled. I was fascinated with all of their adventures. Mary was in and out. At one point, she talked to Melissa about the possibility of a cesarean delivery if the baby didn’t drop or if Melissa didn’t continue to dilate. This was not something that any of us wanted to hear. I told Melissa not to worry too much about this until she had further information from her next exam. I had my fingers crossed when Melissa mentioned a couple of times that she was feeling pressure.
At 11:45, Dr. Schueler checked Melissa. We were all thrilled to learn that she was fully dilated and the baby’s head was “right there.” With Abby and Benjamin each holding one of Melissa’s hands, she was ready to begin the next stage of her labor. It was no surprise that Melissa caught right on to pushing. Counting helped Melissa as she did her best to make every push effective. Even though Melissa was doing a great job, the baby didn’t seem to be tolerating pushing. The Pitocin had to be shut off and Melissa’s contractions began to space. This meant that Melissa had to give it her all with every push. When Dr. Schueler came by, she explained to Melissa that she wanted her to do all the work, but she was going to use forceps to help. With the love of Benjamin and Abby and the guiding hands of Dr. Schueler, Melissa welcomed her daughter.
Anja Olivia Spiegel came into this world sunny side up on Wednesday November 25, 2009 at 12:31 pm. She was a petite 6 pounds 13 ounces and was 18 ½ inches long. It was love at first sight for everyone.
Benjamin and Melissa, thank you so much for letting us share in the birth of your beautiful daughter.
Fondly,
Tammy Brown and Luann Richardson
