Madeleine, Mike and Livia

Livia Kathleen Richardson-Michel was born on May 22, 2007 at 3:39 am after only about 7 or 8 hours of labor—4 hours of active labor. Livia came at the perfect time—just two days after I graduated from college, one day after Mike and I finished setting up our apartment, and four days before our due date (so her very anxious mother didn’t have to wait!).

It all started the previous morning (May 21, 2007) at about 1 am when my water spontaneously broke after I had awoken to go to the bathroom. When I got back into bed it felt like I was still peeing, so I ran back to the bathroom. By the time I pulled my pants down, the clear liquid with little white specks gushed out all over the floor. Of course, this is the uncommon way to start labor and I immediately did all the things that Aszani had told me not to do: woke up my partner, Mike, got really anxious for labor to start, emailed all my friends and family, and stayed up almost all of the rest of the night because I was too excited to sleep. By 8 am—when I called Aszani to tell her the news—I was exhausted. I went to the Birth Center to talk to Aszani at 10 am that day, where she told me to rest, eat well, and be patient. My mom took Mike and I out to a fancy sushi lunch after my appointment and then I went home to rest. It was difficult to rest—especially because our families had driven from out of town for the occasion. They wanted minute-by-minute updates, but there wasn’t much to tell at that point. It was also extremely hot in our apartment and I was having a hard time getting comfortable. By 5 pm on the 21st I had still not had any real contractions.

Finally, around 8 or 9 pm I started having some heavy-duty contractions. I was practicing my breathing, as I knew they were going to get more intense. Mike called Aszani to let her know things were moving along, but we stayed home and tried to stay comfortable. For the first part of labor I tried to sleep through the contractions as much as possible. By 11 pm, however, I was beginning to feel nauseous. I vomited one time, after which we called Aszani to let her know things were getting serious. She told me to try showering and relax as much as possible. Showering might have been comfortable at a different apartment, but we ran out of hot water after about 10 minutes, so I moved out into the living room. I don’t remember many specific details about the next few hours, except that rocking forward and backward on my hands and knees as well as biting pillows seemed to help me cope the best. Mike fell asleep for a few hours during this time—holding the green pen that he had been using to write down the times of my contractions. The pen leaked all over the shirt he was wearing, leaving a large green inkblot. To this day we call that shirt his “birthin’ shirt.”

Somewhere around 2 or 2:30 am on the 22nd Mike called Aszani for the final time and we were on our way to Birth Center. Mike also called my mom so she could meet us there. By the time we were on our way to the car I couldn’t help making noise. I didn’t expect to be the type to yell during labor, but I did…and I couldn’t control it. The drive was a memorable experience. We took University Avenue through downtown, which was still bustling with students on their way home from the bars. We also drove right past the studio apartment I had lived in just ten months prior; it felt like I was saying good-bye to those carefree college days forever. As we crossed over Park Street I momentarily dreamed of turning toward Meriter Hospital , where I had originally planned on having the baby, and experiencing the relief of an epidural. Fortunately, another contraction hit at the perfect moment, so I couldn’t speak up in time. (When I was about 30 weeks into my pregnancy I found out that water births were offered in Madison by the Birth Center AND that my insurance would cover 80% of the birth there, so I immediately switched from the UW Health Nurse Midwives and am SO grateful that Aszani was able to accept me so far into the pregnancy. Switching providers was the best decision I ever made!) Just as University Avenue split and we drove onto Campus Drive I felt the uncontrollable urge to push. I think that is when Mike started getting scared. “I can’t push yet,” I was thinking, but I really had no control. My body was in charge and the baby was coming.

When I got out of the car at the Birth Center I saw Aszani standing behind the front counter and felt immediately calm and ready to give birth. Then another contraction came and I dropped to my knees on the sidewalk outside the front door. With that contraction I felt the baby drop and a warm gush of liquid ran down my legs; the baby was in birthing position. Aszani came outside and helped me walk into the Kitty Ernst Birth Room. She started running the water so I could get into the birth tub, then told me to relax and do whatever I needed to do. Everything was fine, I was doing great.

When I first got into the tub Mike sat on the edge of the tub behind me and I rested my arms on his knees. At that point I spoke—almost the only words I had spoken to him up to that point: “Go brush your teeth!” I was a little over-sensitive to his morning breath, I guess. I was in the tub by myself for the rest of the birth, mostly on my hands on knees, sometimes with one leg up by my hands in a runner’s starting position. I made a lot of noise and often blew bubbles into the water while I was breathing. After maybe 40 minutes of pushing, I remember asking, “Is she almost there? Am I almost done?” Although I wasn’t tired, I didn’t think I could take any more contractions. The next thing I remember is reaching down and feeling the baby’s head. At that point Aszani told me to try and slow my pushing so my perineum could stretch slowly. Although I tried, I found it almost impossible. Once the head came out, the rest of Livia’s body seemed to slide out effortlessly. Mike lifted her out of the water as I swung my leg over the umbilical cord so I could turn around and hold her to my chest. I clung to her and wept with joy (and relief), then checked to make sure she was really a girl, as I had heard that ultrasounds can be wrong.

As soon as I lifted the new baby to my chest the water in the tub starting turning bright red. Thinking that I was bleeding from the birth, Aszani gave me a shot of Pitocin to assist my uterus in contracting to stop the bleeding. I got out of the tub and we realized that there was a small tear in the umbilical cord. Although Livia never seemed to suffer any consequences from this tear, it was scary to see the blood. The cord was clamped and cut and we started cuddling and trying to nurse almost immediately, although I did have to stop to deliver the placenta. (I expected this to be painful, but it was WONDERFULLY easy in comparison to the baby and not painful at all!) Then came the big decision Mike and I had been avoiding—picking a name. Although we had a few ideas, I only knew what I wanted her middle name to be for sure. I suggested Livia and Mike agreed. So it was decided: Livia Kathleen Richardson-Michel.

I requested that my mother join us after we decided on a name—I had not told her that the middle name would be hers and I was eager to tell her.

Livia was a magnificent delight from the moment she entered the world. She has brought us unending joy and I reflect on her birth with tremendous pride. Although I was initially embarrassed by how much noise I had made and how “out of control” I felt, I realize now that I did what I needed to do. Having a natural childbirth with a midwife is one of the achievements in my life about which I am most proud. I am so grateful to Aszani and her staff for offering this type of birthing process and supporting women so completely—especially throughout an experience like childbirth, which is so beautifully and uniquely feminine and has the potential to be so empowering.