Such a huge delay in writing about my little man’s birth story….the past 4.5 months have been a whirlwind between newborn stage, moving across the world, and transiting into a family of 4! So really, its not like I’ve had anything on my plate or anything- LOL! But alas, here is Mac’s story….
I simply cannot believe that a short 19 months after welcoming our amazing little girl Ava into this world, I found myself birthing our 2nd child, and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia no less!! You can read about Ava’s birth story here. But enough about our little diva, this one’s about big Mac :).
Let me first just say this, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, getting pregnant a mere 10 months after Ava was born. We knew we wanted our kids close in age and we felt we were not getting any younger so we decided to just give it a go and see “what happens”. Welp, looks like I’m fertile mirtle!! This pregnancy was much like my first in many ways, yet also quite different, seeing that I had a toddler to look after through it all! But thankfully the months progressed quickly and without much pain, except for a little bit of nausea in the first trimester. Beyond that, I was HUGE. Seriously, with Ava my weight was distributed all over my body and I was really very swollen in the heat of SE Asia, but with Mac I wasn’t swollen at all, but looked like I had a huge ball in my tummy; I seriously couldn’t believe how large my belly was, and this time around I had the stretch marks to prove it, ugh (regardless of how much oil I used!). Near the end I was so dang heavy it took all my energy to simply get dressed. I gained about 10 lbs more with Mac but he was also over 2lbs heavier than Ava at birth! I kept up with regular preventative osteopathic treatments throughout my pregnancy which helped with the aches and pains as I grew (thank you Dr. Nicolas at One Osteo!!)
Another amazing surprise was meeting our would be birth photographer Clare Barker Wells. With Ava we had the talented and lovely Chloe Lodge but since she moved to Dubai, we could not use her again. Luckily after meeting Clare and having her shoot our maternity pictures (which we loved!), she offered her services, never having shot a birth before. I was game, David was in, and Clare was excited to venture into this new realm of birth photography. So she settled in and waited for our call….
Anyway, because I had wanted so badly to have a natural water birth with Ava but wasn’t able to, I was desperate to try again this time around. Thankfully I had the same wonderful team- my amazing Dr. Paul Ng at Pantai and his team of nurses were fantastic and knew my body and my desires for a water birth. As the 40 week mark grew closer, it looked like my body was cooperating much better than with Ava. Mac was down in the correct position and I was beginning to dilate slightly, in fact a few days before my 40 weeks I was at 4cm- woohoo! Because I wanted a water birth we let things continue to progress, and I continued to grow and gain weight, but unfortunately even after a cervical sweep, no further dilation. Finally at 10 days past my due date, I had no choice but to opt for induction. Again, because I had such a horrible time with pitocin, I wanted none of that, so luckily as given the more gradual induction with a vaginal insert.
A few months prior I had also been introduced to Young Living Essential Oils and had researched and purchased oils designed to aid in the birthing process. Due to wanting a water birth I purchased oils to help with that- Lavender for calming and Clary Sage for contractions. I also had on hand several cold washcloths I kept in a small fridge in the hospital and some coconut water for hydration.
On the night of being 10 days overdue, David and I packed up for the hospital while my parents stayed with Ava, thank the Lord they were there! We settled in for the night after the insert was given and waited for the contractions to start. Nothing happened so again at 5am I was given another insert. Pretty much within an hour I was having regular contractions. Luckily due to the “off hands” approach of this type of induction, I was able to walk around and work through the contractions on my own however I chose to. David and I walked around the birthing wing a lot and called Clare to come down and begin shooting! We were excited and I was thankful my body was responding.
About 4 hours after my contractions began I was finally at 5cm and able to get into the birth pool. David added some lavender oil to the water and put some cold washcloths on my forehead as the contractions came and went. I had Enya playing on the iPod and Clare was discreetly shooting the birth as time went on. The nurse was there to pour warm water over my belly at regular intervals and with a waterproof wand, checked the babes heartbeat every 15 minutes or so. It was as relaxing as I was hoping it would be. The water really helped to soothe me and I felt the contractions were more manageable, even though they were intensifying.
Finally about 3 hours after I got in the water, Dr. Paul checked me and I had gotten to 7cm- Yay!!! I felt the end in sight and the contractions getting much more intense. In fact, I was given the option of a little bit more help in the form of gas and I desperately needed that push to help me breath through the pain. An hour later Dr. Paul checked me again but unfortunately had some disheartening news, I was still at 7cm. I was deflated, I was bone tired, and I was delirious from the pain. Through the haze of pain, I heard David ask how much longer it would be till I got to 10cm and Dr. Paul said probably not for another 2-3 hrs. Well folks, that was it for me. I was in SO MUCH pain and knowing that my body was not letting go and dilating, I just couldn’t breath anymore and asked to get out of the water and get an epidural. I was crying hysterically, not just from the pain, but from the realizing that I couldn’t realize my dream of a water birth. My body and my mind just wouldn’t cooperate.
Nonetheless they helped me out of the pool and the same sweet anesthesiologist I had with Ava was called in and 20 minutes later arrived to save me from my agony. Once the medicine began working I passed out for a good hour, thank God. Once I woke up, I saw both David and Clare there chatting and watching over me with concerned faces. I am so grateful for them both!! David was an AMAZING partner and coach throughout the whole thing and Clare was a comforting voice and also shared some hilarious stories with really helped to lighten the mood when it got dark from time to time.
Anyway, about another hour later I was finally at 10cm- yay!! The doc was called and in the meantime the nurse had me prepared to start pushing (Ava took almost 2 hours of pushing and help with suction to get out). After 1 push the nurse abruptly asked me to stop pushing and we all freaked out as to why! Well, apparently Mr. Malcolm was coming quick and the doc needed to arrive first- hahaha!! A couple minutes later Dr. Paul arrived, I pushed again only 1 time, and out my little prince arrived!!
Malcolm David Naber, named after David’s maternal grandfather who he was very close to, as well as sharing David’s name, my dad’s name, and my brother’s middle name, came out with a FULL head of jet-black hair and weighed in at a whopping 3.99kg (8lbs 13ozs!) at 21.5 inches long- hikers!! No wonder I was HUGE with him!!! He was healthy, crying loudly, and figured out how to suckle in a heartbeat, and very intensely and strong, I might add- LOL!
In recovery, Dr. Paul came in to check on me, and knowing how badly I wanted a water birth, helped to sooth my battle wounds. He told me not to feel disappointed or like a failure. That sometimes some women’s bodies need a little extra help and that there is nothing wrong with that, and that its amazing that there are medicines out there created to help women like me that just need some extra push to get the babies out! Clearly my body knows how to make babies and keep them warm and cozy in the womb, but my body does not want to let those babies out into the world!!! I’m so thankful for the team that took care of me and that I had no adverse reactions to the medications this time around. I’m also able to see clearly that no matter how my babies came into this world, they came into it healthy and thats truly all that matters to me in the end. I’m so grateful for each unique birth story with both Ava and Mac. We shall see what the future holds if we decide to roll the dice for #3?!……
So there you have it, the healthy and happy ending of the birth of Malcolm David Naber. Our little man Mac was truly sensational and I could immediately tell he was going to have the sweetest demeanor and a totally chill laid back personality, and you know what, he truly does to this day!!
A huge shout-out to my loving and supportive rock and pillar of strength, David, to our crazy talented birth photographer and friend Clare, to my amazing Dr. Paul, and to the team of nurses that led me through the wilderness of labor and into the light of delivery. I’m so grateful for you all. Clare you captured every emotion from start to finish with perfection. I’m eternally grateful for these memories….It truly does take a village folks!!
Until next time, revel in the beauty & wonder of God’s miraculous gift of life~
Kimbra
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