Natural Birth Story

I will try to be as detailed as possible before my baby girl wakes up... We were team green and thrilled to have a girl on her due date of July 16. She was a healthy 8lbs and 11oz 21 1/4 inches long. We named her Lyla Ann.

We had taken Bradley classes to prepare for natural child birth and I also see 2 midwives (with an OB if medical interventions are necessary).

At 37 weeks I was 2cm and 80% effaced...38 weeks I was 3 cm and almost 90% effaced. I skipped the internal at 39 weeks. On July 15 I had a normal day... my husband and I went out to run some errands that night and have dinner. I was feeling totally fine. I would have contractions here and there but that had been going on since 37 weeks without pain or pattern so I knew it was just my body getting ready for the birth.

That night I was pretty certain that I was going to skip over the due date like most first time mothers. I e mailed my Bradley Birth instructors and told them that I was doing well and thought that maybe I would be entering another week of pregnancy. I watched a movie and DH went to bed. At 1am I finished the movie and went to use the restroom to go to bed... I felt a pop while peeing and a warm gush and of course heard it hit the water in the toilet. I looked and it was cloudish but clear.

I called my Doula who told me that contractions could start immediately or in 6 hours. She said to get some rest. I also had the same response from the midwives. I went to bed and was woken up at 2 with what I thought was still mild contractions. I was too excited to go to bed. They were about 5 mins. apart but pretty easy to manage. I took a shower, made my bed and got some things ready to go. My Doula came over at 3. We were laughing and talking between contractions.

I decided I needed to do a load of laundry because all of my tank tops were dirty and I wanted them for the hospital. We put them in the washer and all of a sudden my contractions turned on a dime. I felt a lot of pressure with each contraction. My Doula said we needed to go NOW (4:30). The only thing that helped me was counter hip pressure because most of the pain was in my hips-they felt like they were being torn apart. DH and my Doula traded off with that. We started grabbing bags and things for the hospital. I had called my midwife at 3 when I was doing ok and she had told us to call her when we headed to the hospital.

I quickly realized that the car ride was going to be horrible and I was afraid to get in the car. There was no way I could sit. I needed to be on all fours getting the counter hip pressure. We rode in the back of the Doula?s SUV so my DH could do the pressure. The hospital is 20 mins away and at one point I said I had to push and we almost had to pull over. I made myself overcome the urge to push and just told her to hurry. We got to the hospital? I was still contracting (they were about 30 seconds long and 1 minute apart). I was still managing them with counting and breathing. I kept myself in total control. My DH was nothing short of amazing through all of this.

Some guy was outside the door of the hospital smoking a cigarette and I think he was totally freaked out because I was clearly in labor. I wish I could have seen his face but I remember him asking me if I needed a wheel chair? I told him I was fine. I am sure he thought I was nuts.  I asked my Doula what transition was going to be like because I wasn?t sure I could handle it and she said, ?You?re in it!? We got to the room and the midwife was there ready to check me (5am). I asked about getting in the tub and they told me to hang on? There was no time for the tub because I was already 10cm and +3 station?They got everything ready for me to push.

I pushed for 1 hour and 45 mins. It was HARD HARD work and the ring of fire felt like a blow torch but it was over so fast. The euphoria I felt coming off a natural birth has been incredible. I will hopefully be able to have all natural births but based on how fast it happened I will have to camp out at the hospital or have home births. Having a Doula was amazing for me and DH. She said he is the calmest father she had ever worked with. I never felt like she was intruding. She took 107 pictures starting from the moment we got to the hospital to an hour after Lyla was born. I am so glad that I have them.