My birth story-
I'll save you all the gory details because I'm sure not everyone wants to hear them. BUT if you do want to hear them and/or are interested in more details of un-medicated natural birth, please send me a message and I'll be happy to fill you in on all the details. (I only say this because I know I wanted to know everything I could about natural birth from women who had done it before, before I went into labor)
Kate was due Thursday September 20th, my last day of work before maternity leave was Friday the 21st and I was convinced she would arrive the following Tuesday or Thursday. Well she was considerate enough to wait until after my last day at work but didn't wait much longer than that. I went to bed around 10:00 Friday night and woke up around 10:30 to go to the bathroom. Well, it wasn't so much that I needed to pee as much as it was that my water broke! At first I didn't think that's what it was so I went to the bathroom and went back to bed. About as soon as I laid down I got right back up and headed to the bathroom again. This is when I was like hmmm OK I'm pretty sure my water broke and that means I'm going to have a baby (ahhhhhh!!!). I told Erick and he said I should take the advice we'd been given before by the birthing class teacher and midwives and go back to sleep. Well that my friend is much easier said than done. So what do I do? Well, I started a load of laundry, watched some TV (which in the middle of the night there is nothing good on), and took a shower. I tried to sleep some but my mind was racing so it was hard to fall asleep. My contractions started to pick up and get regular around 5 or 6am. They weren't too bad to where I couldn't talk through them but were becoming more frequently. I finally called the birthing center around 6 to let the midwife know that my water broke and I was having contractions. She asked if I felt like I wanted to come to the center yet or wait it out at home. I chose to wait at home for the contractions to become more frequent and more intense. I called Everly, the midwife, back around 9:30 and she said to come on and head over to the birth center. So, we grabbed our bag and Kate's bag and headed off to have a baby :-)
Everly and Erick's parents were there when we got there. We settled into our room and just hung out. It was really hard to wrap my head around the fact that I was going to have a baby. We hooked up my phone to stereo and turned on Jack Johnson on Pandora. This turned out to be an awesome awesome thing because we weren't listening to the same songs over and over again. My contractions started to pick up around 2:30-3:00 and I decided to get in the tub. Oh man it felt great. The tub relieved a lot of pressure and made the contractions less intense. My original plan was to deliver in the tub so I figured that since my contractions were very close and intense it wouldn't be long at all and I would deliver her in the tub and Erick would help to catch her. Erick was amazing through the whole thing! He was constantly by my side, rubbing my back and/or holding my hand, whatever I needed he was there to help. He was encouraging, loving and everything I could have asked for him to be and the best part was that I didn't have to ask. Well my plan was short lived and it turns out God had it planned a little differently.
After being in the tub for about 3 hours and feeling like things weren't progressing I got out of the tub and moved to the bed. I really wanted to deliver in the tub but I felt like I couldn't get comfortable and that I needed to stretch my legs. So out of the tub I went. I guess I was out of the tub for a few hours but honestly it only felt like a half an hour if that. I had begun pushing while still in the tub and was really disappointed to find out that I wasn't as close as I thought I was to having her. Laying on the bed wasn't working and Kate's heart rate was dropping due to the position I was in so Erick suggested I get off the bed and squat. That sounded great to me because at this point all I wanted to do was stand and push this baby out! Everly got the birthing stool, which is just a semi circle stool to sit on. Erick sat behind me and basically held me up. At this point I was exhausted and felt like I had zero strength. I was starving, weak and really wanted to give up. I had been pushing for hours, hadn't really eaten all day and hadn't slept but maybe an hour in the last 24 hrs. I remember thinking I just wanted this to be over, take me to a hospital, give me drugs and get this baby out! I honestly didn't think I could keep going and had no clue where I would get the strength to push this baby out.
Everly, Mary (the birth assistant) and Angela (birth photographer/now a part of our family) kept telling me "You're doing awesome, you're almost there, keep going" and all other sorts of encouragement. Erick stood/squatted behind me, held me up, prayed for me and continued to support and encourage me. Everly brought a mirror over so that I could see what was going on and as I was pushing I could see her head, finally! (some of you might think that's super gross but it helped me so much to actually see that I was making progress) It certainly felt like her head was much farther out than it really was but that's OK because at least now I knew that there was progress and she would soon be here! Another part of my original birth plan was that Erick and I were going to "catch" her. That means we were going to be the ones who helped her come out and pull her to my chest. Well considering that Erick had to be behind me in order for me to be standing/squatting I didn't want him to move and I was so concentrated on pushing that that was all I could focus on. When she came out Everly lifted her up into my arms and I can't even express the love I felt instantly. I think I was in a state of shock. Shock that I just went through labor and delivered a baby with out any form of pain medication, shock that the baby that had been moving inside me for the last 9 months was now in my arms, shock that it all was over- the pregnancy and the anticipation of labor and giving birth, all these things I had been thinking about for the last 9 months and looking forward to and worrying about was now in this moment over. Right after she was born she looked right up at me bright eyed and so alert. Erick cut the cord and while I got situated and back on the bed he was able to hold her skin to skin for a little while. Once I was up on the bed, they gave her back to me and once again she looked up at me and then rested right on my chest just as alert and content as can be. After a little while I tried to breast feed and she latched right on :-)
I will admit as I was pushing her out, the thoughts going through my mind were "now I know why people get an epidural" and "I'm never having another baby!". But about 15 minutes later, as I lay there with my daughter in my arms looking up at me, I said to myself I would absolutely do this again! Seeing the alertness in Kate and feeling as great as I did right after giving birth made me realize why I chose to give birth the way that I did. I'm not trying to say everyone should have an unmedicated birth, but I am saying it was the best way for me. I believe that each woman can choose how they want to bring their own baby into the world (excluding emergency situations). I would highly recommend going with a midwife solely based on their philosophy of care and the relationship you build through your pregnancy. I am so over the moon happy with the care I received from the midwives and staff at the birthing center throughout my whole pregnancy. I was able to stick to my original birthing plan (with some changes) and not have any medical interventions. I feel like I was in charge of what was happening during labor and never felt like I had anyone telling me what I should do or how to do it. I was told to listen to my body and trust that I could do it. I think after all the initial shock wore off, and I was settled in back at home and had a moment to think about the birth, I realized how empowered I felt with how everything went. It was seriously the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life but it was the most rewarding thing as well.
Here are some pictures-
Erick and I hanging out in between contractions
Erick helping me through a contraction by pushing on my back
The very fitting sign next to the bed.
Erick was my rock through labor, he kept me strong but calm.
Right after she was born. I kept looking at her and couldn't believe she was here in my arms! I was instantly and completely in love!
My precious little peanut
Here is one of the pictures Angela took and I absolutely love the emotion in it. Like I said earlier she started as our birth photographer and has quickly become a very special person in our lives. She has such a sweet and kind heart and it's hard for anyone not to love her. Not only did she make me feel comfortable with her there during the birth but she also helped me to relax through contractions and encouraged me to keep going when I thought I couldn't. Thank you Angela! We love you!!! Check out her awesome work- www.lovinglegacyphotography.com
A very happy and proud (and exhausted) daddy! Getting a little sleep before we leave the birthing center.
It was about 3:30 am and we are ready to take our little peanut home :-)
