1/21/13 5am
I got up for the billionth time in my pregnancy to go pee in the middle of the night. It was normal, routine. I didn't think I would be in labor that day. I was actually beginning to think I would never go into labor! Well 5am rolled around and I started feeling contractions. Okay, nothing new, I thought. Better not get my hopes up. Well after an hour of constant contractions every five minutes I knew this was it. It had to be!
I woke Joe up and told him that I was in labor. He immediately went into action, preparing the house, fitting the tub. I called my midwife to tell her and she told me to call back when the contractions started getting longer and stronger. I called Joe's mom (as her and Joe's sister would be attending the birth) and told her that this was it! (I had also called my mother and sister to inform them)
1/21/13 6am-12pm
I went back to bed trying to sleep knowing I had a challenge ahead of me. Sleep didn't come again. Joe and I layed in bed for some time trying to rest and relax. Joe and I decided to walk to the store to help things along. It was nice to walk and take some pressure off my back. It was lovely outside, nice and cool. I picked up some apple chips and a protein shake. When we got back, Joe's mom had already arrived and was avidly cleaning and had brought over some fruit salad along with some other goodies. (She cleaned the kitchen and bathroom vigorously and then proceeded to rake the leaves outside) Hiddie (Joe's sister) arrived shortly after making a wonderful meal of alfredo, salad and cheese bread.
The next several hours kind of blurred together but I will try and pick it apart the best I can.
1/21/13 5pm
The contractions were getting more intense towards 5pm when the midwives showed up. I had taken a couple showers to relieve the pressure I was feeling in my back. It was nice! I was needing to remind myself to breathe and relax. I would moan and that seemed to help me release what I was feeling. The birthing tub was ready by around 6-7. By that time I was desperate to get in. The contractions were really intense now. The midwife checked me telling me I was about 7 cm dilated. Thank God!
I got into the tub and it felt amazing! The warm water was really helpful and I stayed in there for four hours. By that time, I was feeling overheated so the midwife suggested we go to the bedroom for a bit because I would be read to start pushing soon.
1/22/13 12am
I was getting pretty overwhelmed by the contractions, trying to ride them out the best that I could. I layed in bed for some time just feeling the waves and letting them drive me closer and closer to pushing. One of my midwives got my attention and told me I needed to focus! I was starting to fade in and out completely being overwhelmed by what was going on. I knew it was time to put my game face on. I got on the bed and they taught me how to push correctly. I pushed for quite a bit moving from the bed, to the floor, to the toilet. At around 5:30am my water broke. There was alot of meconium and my midwives were starting to get concerned. The baby's heartbeat was a bit erratic and he wasn't recovering well. By this point, I was exhausted. I tried with all my might to push that baby out and I wasn't progressing quickly enough. It was time to intervene.
It was a mad dash to the hospital. As Hiddie scraped the ice off her windshield, I was rushed out in my robe and oxygen on my face. Thankfully, I live 5 minutes away from the hospital so it was not so bad. The hardest part was not pushing in the car. It was difficult fighting my body's urges as the baby was crowning. We got to the hospital and about ten minutes later the doctor showed up. He said hello, good morning and informed the nurse that he was going to get some coffee. He left the room and the nurse called him back in within seconds telling him this baby was coming now! Everything went pretty smoothly after that. His head had molded quite a bit and the hardest part was getting past his ears. After the ears, all of him came out with one big push. I pushed and pushed (no drugs, no interventions) and finally at 6:50am on 1/22/13 my precious boy came into the world. As they layed him up on my chest, I couldn't believe he was finally here. I was blown away by how big he was and how alert he was from the get go.
Thanks to:
Joe, my incredible rock throughout this whole experience. He was solid and never let me doubt myself.
Paula & Deb: The knowledge and experience I needed to make the right choice to go to the hospital. I couldn't have done what I did without them
Tina: Her loving hands on me while I was riding the waves. She never tired or stopped and was an incredible support
Hiddie: Her upbeat attitude rocked me. She always had something right to say to lift my spirits up. She made me dinner (although I later threw it up) and took care of me even though she is 15 weeks pregnant herself.
