Hospital Birth | Clayton, NC To give to help Naomi, click here! To keep updated on Naomi, like Naomi's Heart Journey on facebook! Bethany and Jared hired me for doula services early on in Bethany’s pregnancy. They were expecting their second child. They had a 2 year old daughter, Kathryn. Bethany had a long labor with her first daughter, and she ended up getting transferred from the birth center she planned to deliver at to a hospital. After Kathryn was born, she ended up having to spend some time in the NICU due to meconium aspiration pneumonia. For this birth, they really felt they could use the extra support that a birth doula could provide. Bethany and Jared decided to deliver at a hospital that was very close to their house. Bethany really liked one of the OBs that worked there, because she was very much on board with Bethany’s choices. Near the end of Bethany’s pregnancy she began having dizzy spells due to low blood pressure. With this, combined with the worry of meconium and a few other factors, Bethany and Jared felt it would be best to induce labor at 40 week and 2 days, if Naomi did not come on her own before then. On Sunday evening, March 20th, 2016, Bethany went into the hospital to begin the induction process. She sent me a text around 6:00pm to let me know that she had been admitted at the hospital, and that they planned to place the foley bulb in about 15 minutes. She said they had done a cervical exam, and she was still 1 cm dilated. At 10:30pm, she let me know that she was going to take an ambien to try and get some sleep, and that the OB planned on breaking her water between 7:00-8:00am the following morning. I suggested she sleep as much as she could, and to try and get a good breakfast in the morning. The next morning, March 21st, around 7:00am, Bethany let me know that the foley bulb had fallen out in the night. She said she wasn’t contracting regularly yet, and that she was able to sleep through everything the night before. I told her that was great and recommended to continue eating and snacking until the OB came in to break her water. At 8:26am, Bethany let me know the OB had broken her water, and the fluid was clear. This was a relief to Bethany and Jared. She also said, she was about 3 cm dilated, and hadn’t had any contractions yet that morning. She said she was doing a non stress test, and then she planned to get up and walk. I told her that was great and recommended maybe doing some squats and lunges as well. At 12:26pm, Jared called me to give me an update. He said they’d been doing a lot of walking and going up and down the stairs, but there were still no contractions. He said Bethany was beginning to get tired and disappointed. I suggested that she try taking a little break for lunch, getting a good meal in, and maybe trying to take a nap. I also suggested that nipple stimulation usually works well, if she could stand it, but Bethany had previously said it was too uncomfortable. Around 3:30pm, Jared called again to let me know that Bethany still wasn’t having many contractions, and that they planned to start pitocin around 5:00. He said that Bethany would like me to arrive not long after she started the pitocin. I arrived at the hospital at 5:45pm. When I got there Bethany was sitting on the birth ball next to her bed. She was on a very low dose of pitocin, and contractions hadn’t picked up yet. We sat and talked for a while waiting for contractions to pick up. Bethany and Jared told me a lot of fun stories, some about how they met and fell in love, some about living overseas, others about a really annoying mocking bird, and many more. We spent several hours talking and doing lots of laughing. Finally, around 9:00pm, when contractions still hadn’t picked up any, I suggested that maybe everyone should try to sleep. I wanted Bethany and Jared to get as much sleep as possible before active labor began. They agreed. They set up the pull out bed for Jared, and Bethany slept in the hospital bed. I returned home, and told them to call me as soon as things picked up. I came home and slept for a few hours, and then around 12:45am, Jared called me to ask me a question about the pitocin, and to let me know that Bethany’s contractions were now 3 minutes apart and fairly intense. I told him I would get up and head their way. I arrived back at the hospital at 1:20am. When I walked in the room, you could definitely tell Bethany was in very active labor. She was sitting on her knees on the floor and leaning on the seat of the recliner. Jared was rubbing her back and saying encouraging words. I went and warmed up the heating pack, and applied that and counter pressure to her back. I also wrapped the rebozo around her to do a hip squeeze. She stayed in this position until 2:10am, and then decided to sit on the birth ball for a while. She sat on the birth ball for 15 minutes, and then was feeling very tired. She decided to try side lying on the bed to see if she might be able to rest in between contractions. Either Jared or I would apply heat and counter pressure to her hip during contractions. Bethany stayed in the bed until 2:50am. Then she decided it was too uncomfortable to lay down during contractions, so she got back on hands and knees on the floor and leaned on the recliner. Jared and I continued to encourage her and apply heat and counter pressure to her back and hips. She stayed in this position for about 30 minutes, and then decided to sit back on the ball. She said she was telling herself that she just had 60 more contractions to go, and was counting down. After about 30 minutes sitting on the ball, Bethany really began getting overwhelmed by the intensity of the contractions. She said she’d like to get checked, and if she wasn’t close to having Naomi that she really felt she needed to get something for pain relief. The nurse came in at 4:10am to check Bethany’s cervix. She was 4-5cm dilated, 75% effaced, and the baby was at a -2 station. Bethany was really disappointed to hear this. She was hoping she was much further along. We discussed all the different pain relief options. Bethany decided to try some IV pain meds. The nurse suggested trying stadol. At 4:30am, Bethany received the IV pain meds. This helped her a lot. She was able to rest and sleep in between contractions. She would usually wake up for the peak of the contraction, but it made things a lot more manageable for her. Unfortunately, IV pain meds only last about an hour, and by 5:30am Bethany was feeling everything again. She began bearing down some during contractions, and I asked her if she was feeling a lot of pressure. She said she was, so we asked the nurse to check her again. The nurse checked Bethany’s cervix at 5:50am, and she was 6 cm dilated and 100% effaced. At that point, Bethany decided she’d really like to get an epidural. The nurse told her she would call the anesthesiologist, but that she needed to get a bag of fluids in her first. Around 6:00am, while Bethany was waiting for the bag of fluids to finish, she labored on hands and knees. She felt most comfortable in this position. She stayed this way for about 30 minutes. The nurse came in to give another bag of fluids, and said they were still waiting on the anesthesiologist to arrive. Bethany was getting very tired and rolled over to try laboring on her side. She worked through a few contractions in this position. She would hold up her leg during the contraction. At one point, Jared was helping her hold up her leg, and he went to put it down, and she got really upset. She wanted it to stay up. I knew immediately that Bethany must be ready to push. We called the nurse, and sure enough Naomi’s head was right there. They turned on all the lights, and Bethany began to push. She pushed just a few times, and then Naomi was born! The OB wasn’t even able to make it in time. Bethany and Jared were so glad to have Naomi here, but it was obvious from the moment she was born that something wasn’t quite right. It’s not uncommon for some newborns to take some time to adjust to life outside the womb. We were all hoping this was all it was. Unfortunately, after several tests they found that it was a lot more than this, and Naomi was transferred to a NICU at a different hospital. As I write this, she is still there, and Bethany and Jared have learned a lot more about what is needed to make her healthy. What she needs is a new heart, so Naomi is on the transplant list, and Bethany and Jared wait until one becomes available. Bethany and Jared are amazing people. They are strong and full of faith. They have faith that God will provide Naomi a new heart. Naomi is a fighter. That’s been blatantly obvious since day one. She is strong, and she is surrounded by people who love her, believe in her, and pray for her. Bethany and Jared are incredible people. I’m so looking forward to the day that I hear she got a new heart, and that she can go home and live day in and day out with her loving, faithful, strong, beautiful family. Naomi will always hold a special place in my heart. It has been such an honor to be a part of her journey <3 Bethany and Jared have complete faith that Naomi will be provided for, but in the meantime they wait. A transplant can take a HUGE TOLL on a family, not only emotionally and physically, but also financially. A fundraising page has been set up to help raise money towards transplant related expenses. Bethany and Jared have partnered with the Children's Organ Transplant Association, the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children, like Naomi. 100% of each contribution made to COTA, in honor of Naomi, helps meet their transplant related expenses. Please consider giving to the Reeves family. The last thing this precious family needs to worry about at this time is how they are going to pay for Naomi’s transplant and all the expenses incurred due to it. Please click here to donate. I’ve also included the link at the top of the story, as well as, a link to the facebook page set up for Naomi’s journey. This is a great place to keep updated on Naomi’s progress.
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