I still haven't posted how my second was born so I thought it was time since in a couple of months I will have a new story to share :)
Just like in Sammy’s pregnancy I started having contractions
on and off again for a couple of weeks before I actually went into labor. A few
days before, I really thought I was in labor but it turned out that I was just
really sick with some stomach bug. Thankfully I got over that in a day and I
actually had the best 3 nights of sleep of my whole pregnancy before I did go
into labor. Every night I would go to bed wondering if this would be the night
I would wake up to contractions and Tuesday night was no exception. My best
friend was home from the Bay Area so I knew I was in the clear then since I
really wanted her to be there. But I wasn’t even 41 weeks yet so I wasn’t
expecting much. Wednesday morning around 6 am my daughter woke up to potty and
nurse. I usually have contractions while nursing so I wasn’t surprised when I
got the first one but I noticed it was a bit different and more intense than
usual. I needed to breathe through it. Then very shortly after, I had another
one that I also had to breathe through. Then came the 3rd, which was
even more intense that I moaned through it which woke up my husband. He asked
if there was anything he could do and I muttered “no” but what I wanted to say
was get her off me. Toward the end of the contraction I felt goop come out so I
jumped up and ran to the bathroom to find that I had just lost my mucous plug.
The contractions kept coming at the same intensity and
frequency which was about 1-2 minutes apart. Chris and Sammy got up and started
getting the house ready just in case it was in fact labor. I thought it was but
I wanted to be distracted in case it wasn’t and to help time go by faster so I
started working on a Christmas card project. I was supposed to have a midwife
appointment at 10 that morning and we started thinking that I wasn’t going to
be able to make it. At about 7:30 I called one of the midwives to let them know
I was contracting and that I didn’t think I was coming to the appointment. She
told me to think of myself as not in labor yet and distract myself and to
continue to plan on coming in. Maybe we would have a baby that night. So I got
back to work on the project. But I couldn’t get very far. My contractions were
so close together that every time I would start cutting I would have to stop to
breathe through them and then try again. It took me an hour to finish cutting
out one thing! We started to call our “birth team” which was my mom, who was to
watch Sammy, my best friend and photographer, and then another friend that had never
seen a birth.
My contractions got stronger and I realized there is no way
I was going to get in the car to go to the appointment. They were at the point
that I needed Chris to get through each one, so at 9 we called the midwife and
told her we weren’t coming and let her listen to me while having a contraction.
Right about the time we called they kicked up a notch and it was obvious we
were having a baby today! We really wanted to labor alone for as long as
possible so she told me to call immediately when I started feeling pressure.
Right then Brittany walked in and I was very glad to see her face! Chris needed
to work on setting up the birth tub so she started helping me through my
contractions. We moved around and tried different positions to help me through
the contractions. Then I felt like I needed to poop so I labored on the toilet
for a little bit which felt great… until it didn’t. I walked out of the bedroom
and made it to the doorway when I had another contraction that was another
level of intensity. After that contraction I didn’t want to move in between so
I stayed bent over with my hands on my knees. A couple contractions later and I
started feeling pressure on my bum so I told my mom to call the midwives. I
thought to myself how I should probably move off the carpet onto the pads they
laid down in case my water breaks but the thought of moving was not fun.
Shortly after Chris told me to rotate around so that I would be standing on the
pads. At this point I was still leaning over on my knees and sometimes the bed.
The pressure continued and my contractions kept intensifying. Chris told me it
was time to take my pants off and the next contraction I squatted and my water
broke and the pressure became way intense. I reached down to see if I could feel
anything and sure enough I could feel the baby’s head crowning. Then my body
started pushing. This was the most incredible feeling ever! The best I can
think to describe this moment was it was like my body was an incredibly
powerful train that was taking me a long for a ride and I was just there
enjoying it. It was so overwhelming and powerful and not that I wanted to but
there was nothing I could have done to stop it. One big amazing push and at
10:05 am I felt her body slide out of me and onto the ground. My body continued
to push for a couple of seconds and then I picked up my baby and was so
ecstatic that I had just birthed her so easily!! Seriously one of the best
moments and feelings in my entire life!!!! She cried immediately and we were
all so excited! Chris looked and announced, “It’s a Girl!” My mom brought Sammy
in right as she heard the cries and I stood up to sit on the bed while we
waited for the placenta. About 10 minutes after she was born the midwives
walked in and laughed at the sight of me just sitting on the bed with the baby.
A couple of minutes later I delivered the placenta and she nursed immediately.
The midwives helped clean everything up and take out the barely filled birth
tub. And we snuggled into bed together as a family. I only had a small scratch
and it didn’t even feel like I had just given birth! My recovery was so easy;
it was really surreal that I just had a baby! Woke up at six and had a baby by
10! Such an ideal birth!
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