I had a great last weekend before having a baby. I was only a few days past my "due date" and feeling pretty good all things considered. I spent the Saturday with my mother, visited my previous church Sunday morning, enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with my best friends celebrating a soon-to-be bride, and spent time with the in-laws Sunday evening. This whole time I was having back aches which my mother warned was how her labours started...but I wasn't too focused on that idea! My husband and I got back home late that evening but I decided I wanted to finish up the dishes that were in the sink and figured I would dance while doing so! I danced, did the dishes, then went to bed.
Not long into my sleep (2am!), I was woken up with a really sore back. I had a hot shower to try and relieve the discomfort, then attempted to go back to bed. As soon as I lied down, I had my first contraction, then another one 10 minutes later! I figured I would try to contact my momma (doula!) at this point. I tried to tell her to go back to bed and not worry, but she was already up and almost in the shower by the time I hung up the phone!! By 3am, my mother and I were sitting together in my living room (husband sleeping), watching shows on netflix.
Contractions showed no signs of stopping, only increasing in length, time, and frequency so we woke up the hubby! This made me so happy!! I was not in pain....my body was working hard, but well. I used my voice/long slow breathing to move through each tightening. Plus my husband, he had to hold/put pressure on my lower back through each one, I could't have done it without him!!
By sunrise, my sister had joined us, bringing with her goodies (apple juice and cheese strings yum!). We were in contact with our midwife who told me a couple times to take a gravol and tylenol, have a shower, and try to sleep. (This is to slow down pains if it isn't active labour yet). I half obeyed and showered but that only brought labor on stronger! Around 9:30 or 10 am, my mom made the call that we should go to the hospital (a half hour drive). My team packed the bags, loaded the cars, and we were off!
God blessed my husband and I with a beautiful moment on the way there. The song "Cowboy Take Me Away" by the Dixie Chicks came on the radio. We cried and held each other in the back seat (my mom was driving) and enjoyed one of our last moments of being just the 2 of us. (....thinking back to that always makes me teary!)
We arrived at the hospital around 11 (I think!) and my mother parked at the back of the parking lot! Her birthing motto is "gravity works!" so she saw it fit for me to walk as much as I could on the way to the maternity floor...and of course she was right! The more I walked, the more frequent my contractions happened! I believe it was 11:30 by the time I got into triage and met the midwife. She checked and I was dilated 5 cms ( another guess my mother had made, she is a birth genius!) and ready to go to a room! Yay! I sat up for the next tightening (lying down in the hospital bed was very very uncomfortable!) and sploosh! My water broke!!!
**At this point my one sister called my other sister and told her to get to the hospital quick because it won't be long. Finally my team was complete!**
Bam, that's when things got serious. I entered the difficult part of my labour. Before that, it was all exactly what I was expecting and easy to manage with the tricks I had learned! But once my water broke, I entered a whole new level that required concentration, my husband holding my back, me holding my mom's hands, and lots of vocals! I took a quick walk (thankfully) to my tub room, had one contraction, then said "I can't do this".
With all my previous researching and encouragement from other moms, I knew my body could do it. I had no doubts! But to me "I can't do this" meant something needed to change and change fast for me to be able to continue on! So into the tub I went!!!
Having a room with a tub was such a blessing, I could not have done it without the tub! It made it so I could lay down comfortably and gave my feet/legs a break. With my mom on one side and my hubby on the other holding my hands, my body started to push! My midwife was scrambling to fill out her paper work before she came and checked me again. My mother told me to do the "hee-hee-hoo" breathing so my body didn't push before it was ready!! It worked, but was the hardest part of my labour. Finally I got the okay from the midwife to push so I wasted no time. (it was probably around 1:15 at this point) I climbed out of the tub (not easy) and onto the bed (also not easy!) onto my hands and knees. I was just following my body, it was telling me what to do. Then we pushed, my body and I, my baby directing us.
In 3 pushes, 13 minutes I'm told, my husband was holding our baby! Our baby girl he announced! She was passed to me and my world shifted. The beautiful rush of hormones took over and all I could do was kiss and hold her and tell my baby how much I loved her.
I was fully transformed. I became a new woman that moment. God and Jane changed me.
The next couple hours were a blur (...literally). While getting stitched up (I had a partial 3rd degree tear from how fast the pushing went!) I used the laughing gas...that was a crazy experience. I got really out of it quickly because of how much I was breathing! The nice thing about the gas (entinox) is that as soon as you stop breathing it, it dissipates from the system so I was back to normal in 30 seconds! I also had some dizzy/blackout spells when I attempted to have a hot shower! Thankfully Jane was safe with Josh and the midwife and my mom were right beside me in the shower!
My labor was calm, it was beautiful, it was relaxed. I was able to be at home up until the last few hours. I used the tub to ease my discomforts. I got to control where and what I did. I chose the position to birth my baby. I felt empowered by the birth of my child!
I can not thank my team enough for the amazing experience! My husband, mom, sisters, and midwives. Also those people who have taught me so much about the joy of childbirth and bringing a baby into this world! <3 Thank you <3
Here are some amazing pictures that are very dear to me!
