My Birth Story: Giuliana born at NYU Hospital on New Years Day

*Here is my unadulterated birth story, not for the faint of heart, but yet beautiful and empowering all the same*

I woke up on New Years Eve after having a dream that said “this is the beginning of your birthing time.” This line that I dreamt about was similar to the hypnosis tracks I had been practicing with Hypnobabies since I was 32 weeks pregnant. While I could have dismissed this as my subconscious reminding me that me due date was a day away, I also had light cramping. Deep down, I knew this could be the beginning signs of early, early labor.

I told my husband Phil that I thought this was the very beginning so we took showers, I blew out my hair and had a hearty breakfast, all the things that my birthing community (IE: my doula, my friends at Poppy Tribe and everything I read from Ina May Gaskin) suggest that you do in early labor to relax and ready yourself for what’s to come. 

We were planning to have New Year’s Eve dinner with my parents at a local Italian restaurant Norma, a few blocks from our apartment. I told Phil that we should play dinner by ear and if I didn’t feel up to it, we could pick up dinner instead and stay at home. We called my parents to let them know the latest and they were on board with the plan.

We took a walk in our garden and we noticed I was experiencing intermittent contractions about noon and we ordered in Shake Shack for lunch. By the time my parents came in the evening, we decided to stay home and bring food in. By this point, Phil was continuously monitoring my contractions with his birthing app.

I had been playing my hypnosis tracks throughout the day to stay calm and to try to maintain a sense of peace. As the day grew on, I felt irritable from the hypnosis and stopped using it and made sure I was eating and staying super hydrated. 

After a Sicilian dinner from Norma at home, my folks packed up to head home and we hoped I would get some rest for the evening before labor picked up. We called our doula Bonnie to let her know I had lost my mucus plug and that my contractions were becoming stronger, but still not consistent.

The ball dropped at midnight while I was on hands and knees having a contraction and my doula made it to my apartment by 1am. I was having bad backpain and was never able to get any sleep. Bonnie dimmed the lights in our bedroom and put on some aromatherapy to create a calming atmosphere at home while I labored.

Phil and I had decided that, if possible, we wanted an unmedicated, low intervention birth. Given that I was low risk with minor complications throughout pregnancy, we hoped we could achieve this, even though we hoped to deliver in a hospital setting. I read a great book called Natural Hospital Birth and spoke at length with Bonnie about how best to achieve this. We ultimately decided we needed to labor at home as much as possible before heading to the hospital (a mere block away from our apartment) so that this could be achieved. 

I continued to labor until around 7 am or so at home. By then, my contractions were coming hard and fast and I told my husband and my doula that it was time to go to the hospital. We got ready and Phil and Bonnie decided to call an Uber to get me to NYU even though it was down the block from our apartment. I had past the point of walking down the block and I knew that delivery was imminent. 

It was hard even getting into the elevator and I had two contractions in the lobby of our building before we got into the Uber to take us around the corner. (Two of our doormen thought I was having our baby in the lobby. They now feel very connected to Giuliana!) By the time we got to the hospital, Phil ran to get me a wheelchair and I was wailing on the way up through contractions.

We came in hot, as I like to say, something straight out of a movie where the women is writhing in pain and screaming in a wheelchair as she arrives at the front desk. We were greeted by a slew of nurses (apparently it was a slow day) and was escorted into triage where there was no time to waste. 

A midwife quickly checked me and we were all delighted to hear that I was 8cm dilated and at 0 station completely effaced. (Que Bonnie and Phil high-fiving each other). They got me into a delivery room immediately and read through my birth plan and my OB showed up moments later.

I wound up pushing pretty quickly on my side at first and then on my back with a push/pull thing happening with my legs, each being supported by Phil and Bonnie respectively. Between contractions I was cracking jokes and saying nonsensical things that had my birthing team laughing at me. I still can’t really remember what I was saying and Phil can only remember that I was “hysterical” but not sure of what I said.

I did have an anesthesiologist show up at my bedside asking me to sign a form in the event I needed drugs and also asking me if I wanted an epidural. I was literally seconds away from pushing and remember being so aggravated when I said multiple times I didn’t want the drugs. I had gotten this far and, clearly, they weren’t going to make a difference anyway. 

I started to bear down when I felt the baby coming.

I pushed for about another 10 minutes before Giuliana was born. We didn’t find out the sex of the baby beforehand so I was looking around afterwards until Phil shouter out “It’s a girl!” They cleaned her and put her on me but had to wait a few seconds until the umbilical chord stopped pulsing so Phil could cut it. I did wind up having marginal chord insertion in my pregnancy so my chord was shorter than usual. Once it was cut, she was placed on my chest where I cried and was able to hold my beautiful baby girl for the first time.

Phil stood by my side for the entire labor and delivery and even witnessed Giuliana being born as it was happening. Honestly I was quite shocked he wanted to watch it, but he was fascinated by this beautiful event and is able to see he watched it all. He was a true pillar of strength and support for me, as was Bonnie, during one of the most challenging moments of my life.

Giuliana came out sunny side up---what a way to come into the world!

I later found out a few things about baby’s who are sunny side up. One is that it only happens in 1% of vaginal births and two, that’s what was causing the immense back labor and arguably more intense contractions. 

Shortly thereafter I birthed the placenta and was stitched up for two natural second degree tears. I had experienced a natural, medication free hospital birth thanks to my birthing team and my will to do what I needed to do for my body, spirit and child.