my (very quick) natural birth story!

I don't post often, but I always loved reading other people's birth stories, so I thought I would share the story of my daughter's birth. The night before I turned 38 weeks, I noticed a tiny amount of spotting right before I went to bed. Didn't think anything of it, and slept through the night, until about 6 am when I got up to pee. After I went to the bathroom, I noticed a tiny amount of water, but it didn't continue to leak at all, didn't get my underwear wet after that, so I wasn't sure what it was. When my husband woke up, I asked him to pack his hospital bag "just in case." I told him that I didn't think it was anything, and that I felt fine, but he should just get some stuff together. He asked if he should stay home, and I told him I felt perfectly fine, so he left for work.

About 5 minutes after he left, I felt light cramps. I hopped in the shower, and felt better, but they were coming every 15 minutes or so. I called my doula and told her what was going on, and she said "It's a first baby. You may be in labor, but its a very long process. Eat something, watch some tv, and relax. Call if you need anything." When my contractions got stronger, I called my midwife and told her. She also told me that it was a first baby, and they were inconsistent at around 11-14 minutes apart. And if I wasn't sure if I water broke, then it probably hadn't. She told me to come to the office at 12:15 to get checked out. I called my husband and told him to come home to take me to the doctor, because  I was afraid of getting stuck in the car in labor (even though the midwife laughed at the concept).

By the time my husband got home at 10 am, my contractions were 3 minutes apart, lasting for about 2 minutes each. I couldn't talk through them, and wasn't getting much of a break in between. I started to question the midwife, but my husband called her and she said, its a first baby, just come in to get checked at 12:15-12:30. (mind you, the office and the hospital are both 30 minutes from my house - in opposite directions!) My husband threw the hospital bags in the car (just in case) and we left for the office. About 15 minutes after we left,  I felt the urge to push. I started screaming that we needed to go straight to the hospital, but the midwife wasn't answering the phone. So we went straight to the office, which was much closer at this point. When we got there and she checked me, I was 10 cm. She said we needed to get to the hospital ASAP, and she was going to ride with us, because she didn't know if we would make it.

The whole ride to the hospital, I felt the urge to push at every contraction, but my husband and midwife were yelling at me to breathe through them (I wanted to kill them both!). My husband drove like a crazy man the whole way there. The midwife called ahead so a room and wheelchair would be waiting for us. She literally ran me, as I screamed at the top of my lungs, to a labor room.

I thought the rest would happen quickly, but I had to push for a little over 2 hours. At 3:09, our beautiful daughter, Brielle Ava, was born, weighing 7 lbs, 5 oz at 20 inches long. She was born exactly at 38 weeks and was perfect! I had diet controlled GD, but all her blood glucose levels were perfect! I had a 2nd degree tear, and popped possibly every capillary in my face - but I had this perfect little girl in my arms. We were team green, so I was so excited to see who was living inside me.

I had wanted to have a natural birth, and I am so glad that I did. All of the nurses and staff have asked if I went natural, because my recovery was very easy, and I was up and walking withing minutes of giving birth. They also all noted how alert my daughter was, how quickly she latched on, and what a strong sucker she is (ouch!)

I know that my story isn't typical, and that most women won't have such a quick experience. But let this story at least provide two things: 1) listen to yourself, and don't be afraid to speak up to your doctors/midwives/doulas. You know what you are feeling. I wish I had spoken up and said: no I am not going to your office - meet me at the hospital. 2) If you want a natural birth, and are able to go have one, I highly recommend it. It hurts, but the pain ends as soon as the baby comes out, and the benefits continue long after. And know that even though you believe that you can't do it, you can. Seriously, have faith in yourself. I wanted to quit 100 times during pushing, but my husband kept reminding me that I could do it, and that I'm stronger than I believe. I'm glad I listened, because now I know exactly how strong I am.