Baby In Zurich: Birth Story

Our Baby In Zürich Birth Story

We were given the sweetest gift two weeks ago today. Our baby Liam Henning was born at 13:22 Sunday October 8th, 2017. He was 8 days early and came naturally. I was so sure that I would have to be induced on his due date as I was with both girls. But he surprised us one quiet Sunday morning. Here’s our baby in Zürich birth story from what I remember.

Sunday October 8th, 2017

5am: I suddenly woke up worried I had lost all bladder control. Part of me was a bit excited hoping this could possibly be my water breaking, but it was only a tiny bit of liquid, so I just thought maybe I was having a loss of bladder control with my third child at 38 weeks pregnant. I laid in bed until about 7am.

7am: I could feel the tiniest tingle in my stomach that I hadn’t felt before. I was so hopeful it was contractions starting but talked myself out of it. Somewhere in my mind I knew I was in early labor, so I started texting my neighbors and friends asking if they were around to possibly watch our girls if we went to the hospital.

9am: My husband, who had been asleep until now, finally woke up. I told him I think my water broke and that I’m in labor. He called the hospital and the midwife answered. She said the weather had changed and that she thought I was in labor. I thought that was really funny, but believed her and we got ready to go to the hospital.

Standing up from the sofa my water really did break and I was so surprised as it just fell out of me onto the floor! It was comical as it seemed like I was just peeing on the floor, but it was my water breaking. So fun! I was hoping for a natural labor this time and it was actually happening!

9:30am: We all drove to the hospital, with our girls, not quite sure if I was in labor or not. The same midwife who answered the phone welcomed us and took us into the delivery room, sure I was going to have the baby. I was 2cm dilated and she confirmed my water had broken and that I was in labor.

11am: My husband took the girls for a little lunch at the café in the hospital while I was in a lull in my labor, getting my blood drawn and the baby monitored for its heartbeat. Our wonderful neighbors came to the hospital then to pick up the girls and take them to their house for the day.

12pm: The midwife asked us to go on a walk out in the fresh air to get the labor going. But I felt like the baby was coming and wanted to stay by the delivery bed and get the baby out. Then, suddenly, the most horrible lower back contractions started. They were so intense that I got down on the floor on all fours. I started calling out for medicine to relieve the pain. By then I was 8cm dilated and the midwife was still with us. She was with us the whole time. I had my eyes closed and was begging the midwife for any medicine.

My husband was putting cold wet compresses on my forehead. The midwife had suggested against an epidural from the beginning as she said it’s our third child and the labor would go fast. The back contractions were so painful. Now I was on the delivery table on all fours screaming for medicine to my husband. The midwife hooked me up to an opioid drip. She said when I had a contraction I could press the button and feel the relief. I felt absolutely no relief pressing the button. None. Perhaps it was too late in the game for the medicine to take effect.

13:00: My doctor must have walked in at some point as I heard his voice but my eyes were closed tight in pain. Every contraction I would yell until it was over. My doctor got me into position to deliver the baby. Somehow I couldn’t figure out where to push. My husband, the midwife, and my doctor were telling me to breathe in and push the baby out, but the pain in my back was so great that I just couldn’t. The doctor finally took a tiny suction to pull the baby’s head out and he was so tiny he came right out. No tearing, stitches, or recovery. The baby had the umbilical cord wrapped twice around his neck. His head and feet were blue. Poor thing. He came right up to me and I nursed him right away. He was absolutely perfect.

I think my back pain could have been the baby a little bit stuck with the cord around his neck and maybe that’s why I couldn’t push him out.

Then the midwife said my placenta wouldn’t come out. In my two previous pregnancies I had to be induced because the placenta had calcified and didn’t have any amniotic fluid left. So I was always worried about my placenta during this pregnancy thinking it would lead to another induction. So the midwife pulled four needles out of nowhere and said she needed to give me acupuncture to deliver the placenta. Cool, right? And out it came. The doctor and midwife examined the entire placenta carefully and I was staring at it. It was huge and red and pretty cool to see. They formed it into a circle to make sure that the entire placenta had come out and nothing was left inside.

After a long time together in the delivery room, they weighed the baby right next to my delivery bed. He was a perfect 3000 grams, 3kg, 6.6 pounds. Our tiniest baby! The girls were both just over 7 pounds so I was surprised at this new tiny baby boy. Plus, he has a full head of dark brown hair! Whose baby is this?

17:43: We finally left the delivery room and were moved on a rolling bed to the maternity room. I was put on the window side of the room. This room is meant to be shared by two moms and two babies.

18:00: Our neighbors dropped the girls off to meet their baby brother! So sweet of them. The girls came up and fell absolutely in love with their brother and have been the biggest helpers ever since. I was so happy to have this baby at the beginning of a two week school holiday for the girls so they could spend every day with their brother. It feels like we have had him in our lives forever already. I can’t believe it has only been two weeks. And my parent’s came for a week before my Mom flew home and my Dad is here for one more week. I’m so glad they got to meet the baby.

20:00: My husband and the girls left us at the hospital to sleep at home. Visiting hours for spouses end at our hospital at 21:00 and earlier for children and friends. The midwives took wonderful care of us all through the night. I was looking for diapers at one point and a midwife took the baby for a diaper change and brought him right back. She said they would show us the nursery room in the morning where we could change him and get new clothes put on him.

Super interesting that every diaper change happens in the nursery room and all the clothes for the baby are provided by the hospital until the day we left. I assume it’s a way of keeping the maternity floor hygienic while all the babies and moms are recovering. In my room was a nice cosmetic bag filled with face cream and toiletries for the shower. I was also given a lavender essential oil and water bottle plus the underwear and pads for the bleeding.

I think I’ll write about our 5 day hospital stay next. Let me know if you have any questions about giving birth in Zürich. My girls were both born in the USA and this little one in Zürich.

Here’s our last week update before Liam was born.