Bridget Grace :)

kat9er · February 2013

First I want to say thank you so much to everyone who contributes on this board. I didn't post a lot, but I read A LOT. Your stories and advice brought me so much encouragement and knowledge.

Here's my birth story for Bridget Grace who was born on January 25th weighing 8 lbs. 7 oz. and 20.5 inches long.

I had my 40 week appointment on January 24th and was 4cm. I had been 3-4cm for 2 weeks. I hadn't had any painful contractions at that point. We scheduled my NST for Monday.

The night after my midwife appointment, I woke up at 12:30am with my first painful contraction and thought, "ok. that's what it feels like." I went to the bathroom and went back to bed. I woke up at 2-2:30am with another contraction and stayed up thinking, is this going to be it? I labored at home until about 6-6:30am when my contractions were very intense and coming 6 minutes apart for well over an hour. My husband and I were debating when to go to the hospital which is 30 minutes away, and my mom said she thought I'd be in transition by the time we got to the hospital. (I hoped she was right, but was afraid to believe it. What if I still had a long way to go?!?!) My husband called our midwife's answering service and they said, "You're on your way to the hospital, right?" So my husband said, we're about to leave now.

When they checked me at the hospital, I was 7.5cm! & that's when I thought, "Ok. I can do this!" My midwife arrived shortly after that and was amazing! (I switched from an OB around 25 weeks.) I was complete and started pushing around 7:58am. When I started pushing, I felt exhausted and like this could go on forever. In between contractions I gasped, "I NEED A REST". My midwife told me to relax, breathe and listen to her voice and do what she says. I realized afterward that she was giving me a minute to re-energize and at the same time getting me focused so she could help me not to tear. From then on, we found our groove and she told me when to push a lot and when to push a little and after what felt like an eternity, Bridget Grace was born! Later my midwife told me that I had only pushed for 16 minutes... it FELT so much longer. And, I only had a small internal tear that didn't require any stiches.

I'm so thankful that I switched to my midwife and for the wonderful support from my husband and mom. I really couldn't have hoped for a better labor and delivery.

Thanks again for all the support and sharing that goes on here!