Baby number four..The hardest of all my births!

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim

Salman's Birth Story

Fresno, California

December 2, 2000

I really hadn't been too worried about this birth.  Afterall, the last birth had been so easy! I really expected that this one would be too.  But, boy, was I wrong!  As it turns out, this would be the hardest of the eight!  That just goes to show that each woman and each birth is unique and different.

I hope you enjoy reading these birth stories.  Please let me know if you'd like to share yours. Now on to the story...Baby number four..The hardest of all my births!...

  

As with Sarah, I realized right away that I was pregnant with Salman. My husband was

shocked. He had thought that I wouldn't get pregnant since I was still nursing Amina. His

"shock" dumbfounded me, as I had gotten pregnant with Amina while still nursing Sarah.

It was a Friday morning when I began having pains. I went to work as usual. At lunch time
I went home to rest. I returned to work and finished out the day. The pains were pretty
steady all day long. I didn't let on to anyone, not even my husband, that I was in labor.

When I got home, I made dinner and got the kids cleaned up and in bed. At 10:00 p.m. I
had my husband feel my stomach as it contracted. He pulled his hand back and said, "Stop that!"

"I can't," I replied, "I'm in labor. I'd better get some sleep; it might be a long night."

I was able to sleep right away. I woke at midnight to my water breaking. This was the first
time my water had broken at home. I jumped out of bed and rushed to the shower. With
the last two pregnancies I delivered within minutes of my water breaking. Little did I know,
this one would be different!

We made it to the hospital by 1:00 a.m. Like the other three births, I wore the fetal
monitors just long enough to ensure that the baby was tolerating the labor and then I
insisted they remove them. I tried to relax and rest during the next five hours.

When it was finally time to start pushing I was exhausted. I was pushing so hard with this delivery. This was nothing like the push-free birth I experienced last time!

Each time I pushed I could feel the baby retract back up into my womb. It was as if we
were playing tug-o-war! When I finally delivered the head I was relieved. I laid back to
rest. "Oh no," the doctor shouted, "the cord is wrapped around his neck. You have to
push the shoulders out! I can't turn him."

My coworker had just delivered a baby and had told me how she had to deliver the

shoulders because the cord was wrapped around her baby's neck. Had she not told me
her story, I probably would have argued with the doctor. 

Realizing my job wasn't done, I sat back up and pushed…HARD! It hurt more than any of
my previous births, but the shoulders came and the birth was over! I was worried I had
torn this time. After examining me the doctor assured me that I was fine and there would
be no need for stitches. 

Even so, I had a lot of pain after this birth. I was swollen and bruised. It hurt to sit. This
was the first time I really felt like I needed a "recovery time."  It was somewhat depressing,
but all in all, still a good birth.

Salman and I were both released to go home early the next morning. He nursed for
twenty-two months. I finally decided to take the breast away from him as he was almost
two years old and I was well into my pregnancy with Rayan...and on to the next birth story...