Birth Story

I will preface that this is the real version, it's TMI, and very long, so you have been warned :)

I had started having more painful contractions on Thursday, which continued for the entire weekend. There were many points that I thought I was in labor. I also had lost my mucus plug (yes, that is exactly what it sounds like, ha ha), and feeling crampy and just ready to have the baby.

Well, the weekend came and went, and even no baby on Mother's Day. I even woke up that day and cleaned all day (that was relaxing to me for some reason) and made cinnamon rolls and took two naps :) That Monday, May 9th was my due date and I woke up with NO contractions. They stopped and I felt like maybe I had been making up the weekend. I went to the grocery store, and then went and saw my midwife Cathy, and was only 3 cm dialated. She said she thought it could still be a little bit and the baby was pretty high. I was kind of discouraged, but just decided that I needed to just let it go, and enjoy the last bit of pregnancy that I had.

My friend Kirsten's son Sawyer was turning three and his party was that afternoon. I took the boys and they had a blast, so I was glad that we were getting out of the house. I started feeling really funny at the party and having lots of contractions, about every ten minutes, and they were really getting painful. We left the party, and when I got home, they had started coming every 6-7 minutes. I was still in denial at this point, so ate dinner, took a shower and put the boys down.

At this point, there was no denying that I was in labor, they were coming every 4-5 minutes and I could not talk through them. I texted Cathy and she got to our house around 9pm. And then a few minutes later, one of the assistant midwives Melissa, who is in training showed up as well. I kept saying how bad I was going to feel if I was not really in labor, as they were setting up everything and were having to come over so late. They checked me and I was at 7cm if she stretched a bit, so then I started thinking, awesome, this is going to be really fast :) Sometime during this time, the other midwife Connie got there as well.

I got in the bath, and labored there for awhile and it really helped with the pain. I also had read online that holding a small hair-comb and squeezing really hard on the pressure points on your hand helped with pain, so I did that a lot through the labor. As well, sweet Melissa rubbed my back almost the entire time, and I would not have made it through without her.

I got out of the tub and labored a bit in my room, but it was much worse that way. I had them check me and I was at a nine (woo hoo, or so I thought). I thought I was in transition, and could not find a comfortable position, and after trying for awhile, I got back in the water. This time my contractions were so much harder, and I was having a pretty hard time. I thought for sure I was about to have the baby, so they checked me again and I was still at a 9! Wait, what?!?! I felt urges to push and tried a bit to help me dialate, but it never changed.

Up till that point, I felt pretty in control of the contractions if I could stay relaxed, and didn't seem to lose it much. But after I had not gotten to a ten yet, I started to lose it. I got out of the tub again completely deflated and started getting upset. They also tried breaking my water and could not even do that. They had me try all these different things to get him to come down, since he was still so high. That was the reason that I was not dialating anymore. I finally laid down on the bed, and for about 10 minutes I completely lost it. I started asking to go to the hospital, for drugs, and saying that I could not do it anymore. It felt like an eternity though.

Then Cathy sat near my face and started talking to me, telling me to calm down and relax. Blaine and the other midwives were rubbing my back and talking to me as well. It took me a few contractions, but somehow I did. I also had this beautiful picture of Jesus on the cross saying to me "SURRENDER", and He just kept saying it over and over. He did, that was how He ended up on the cross, and it was the only way little Eli was going to come into the world.

All the sudden, I had this huge urge to push and it killed, so I thought for sure I was pushing too hard and had made my cervix swollen (that is what happens when you push too early). I kept saying it kills and I think something is wrong. Cathy checked me and said "you ready to have a baby?" I could not believe it. In that little window of time it changed. I got on my hands and knees (for some reason this is the most comfortable, and the most ridiculous to look at ;) and started pushing. It was maybe two contractions and I felt his head come out. The cord was wrapped around his neck twice pretty tight, so I waited for Cathy to loosen it. And the next push brought my precious boy into the world at 1:44 am on May 10th, weighing 7lbs 12.5 oz and 21 inches long :) The whole labor was only about 8 hours, but golly did it feel like 20!

He was COVERED in vernix (a white waxy coating that protects their skin in the amniotic fluid), and so it made him look kinda funny :) He did not make a single sound for awhile, so of course I was freaking out, but he scored a 10 on his APGAR test and nursed right away, so my fears melted away.

I did tear a bit since he came out so fast, and that has been the hardest part of the recovery for me. I really have a new sympathy for my friends who have had have episiotomies or severe tears. Ouch! But I would take a two or three push second stage any day to my other ones which were much longer!

This is me about five minutes after I had him :)

The midwives stayed for a few hours, checking Eli's vitals, making me a grilled cheese sandwich, drawing the baby and I a bath, repairing my tear, talking over my birth with me, etc. What a blessing to have them there. We finally went to sleep at around 5am, and then were awoken by sweet little Noah at 6:30 who had slept through the entire thing, only to find a new baby brother in his parent's bed. Hudson woke a few minutes later and we had everyone in our room, it was a precious moment, and one of the reasons why I LOVE homebirth :)

Eli is a sweet little guy and I am so in love. He is pretty gassy, but besides that, so far, things have been pretty good. He does get up a lot at night with the screaming legs to the chest thing, but I know that it wont be that way forever.

The hard things for me right now are that my tear has gotten worse, and that has not been fun. As well, he does not nurse very often, and falls asleep really easily when he does, so I am having a lot of problems with clogged ducts, as well as because I have a ton of scar tissue left from Hudson :( Also had a bladder infection that I think is on the way out (or at least I hope so!) If you are out there and reading this, I would not mind the prayers about this stuff. I am in good spirits and finding joy in Christ, but also having a really hard time recovering this time, which is a new one for me.

I think I have bored you enough, or at least told you WAY too much about my personal life so I am off to eat :)