2nd Natural Birth Yesterday (long birth story)

Tash13 · August 2012

Hello ladies! We had our darling daughter at 10:29 last night (we were team green so this was a surprise and we haven't narrowed down a name yet, we're between Hayden and Mackenzie but I think I'm starting to lean toward my husband and agree on Hayden). I thought I was having prodromal labor all last week. I'd get BH regularly for a few hours no matter what activities I did and then they'd eventually fizz out. SO frustrating. Then I felt great over the weekend. Hardly any BH, energy level up, etc. I kept laughing that this was just my body's way of getting some rest before going into the real thing.

So, Monday morning rolls around and I'm crabby and not feeling well. I had woken up with some cramping and contractions the night before but thought I was getting a UTI. As the day progressed I started getting contractions sporadically. They weren't regular or close together (15 minutes apart, then 30 minutes, then an hour with nothing) but they were progressively getting stronger. By about 5 they had regulated to about 15 minutes apart but I had to stop and take deep breaths when they hit because of the deep pressure in my hips. My husband told me I should probably call our MW before the office closed just to give them a heads up (they prefer this). So, thinking he was overreacting, I did and she told me to call her cell around 8pm just to let her know how I was doing.

Around 6:30p my contractions started getting really strong. I had laid down on my left, with my belly low supported by pillows, since baby had been posterior. Between 5 and 6:30p I could feel the contractions getting stronger and the baby slowly shifting over and moving down. At 6:30p I decided to get into the shower to see if it would ease some of the pressure in my hips. I spent over an hour there (thank god for a good water heater). I used the wand on my belly, hips, and back to help provide counter pressure and it felt so good I didn't want to get out. I had no concept of time or how close my contractions were. Finally my DH came in to see how I was and see how far apart my contractions were. After timing them, we realized they were coming every 3-4 minutes and we should probably call the MW about coming in. After speaking with her, she agreed, and my DH started packing the car. It took him a while to do that, get my DS settled and head out. My DH was so worried about DS feeling left out that he felt bad about leaving and kept taking his time? i almost killed him.

The birthing center is about a half an hour away and I had at last 6 contractions in the car. Probably the crappiest part of the whole thing. We got to the center at about 9:30p. They checked my vitals while I sat on the birthing ball and I kept saying that I probably came in too early since the contractions weren't THAT bad and even told my DH that I'd be so embarrassed if I got sent home for being under 5cm. Well, they checked me and I was at 7, 75% effaced and -1 station. Score! I got in the bath, which they had already filled for me It was wonderful and just in time, as the contractions got much stronger. I was still getting a couple minutes in between to catch my breath and would pull myself partially out of the water so gravity was providing the counter-pressure on my hips and allow me to relax into the contraction. The MW's left us alone to labor in peace but about 15 minutes later I felt the urge to bear down. My DH called the MW's back in, told them I felt the urge to push, and they came in and started pulling out the little baskets with the birthing tools in it. I started bearing down with contractions and I have to input here that my water was broken by the MW with my first and the pressure of pushing with the water broken was much easier but I'm glad we had less outside interaction this time. My water broke within the next contraction or two and I could feel the head crowning and pulling back slightly while rotating. It was amazing to feel each stage of labor progress internally and know exactly what was going on. It also made it much easier to cope with everything because I could rationally say to myself "ok, baby is working it's way into the best birthing position, it's moved to anterior, this is good and will make things easier. Relax into it and let your body do it's job" even though the physical experience was so overwhelming. Baby's head was out in 2 contractions, shoulders out in one and suddenly, 15 minutes after turning over to push actively, baby was on my belly. The cord was wrapped around the neck, so we got that sorted and heard that glorious cry. My DH and I then unfolded her together to discover that we had a baby girl! My DH was crying and I was smiling like a loon. It was seriously a glorious experience.

After a few minutes I delivered the placenta (which didn't feel great, btw) and DH cut the cord. We got a few minutes of skin to skin and then DH sat on the bed so he could hold the baby while I hosed off and got out of the tub. I was shaking so badly (forgot this part) and was happy to be comfy in bed next to them a few minutes later. We stayed for about 4 hours (I had absolutely no tearing, baby was doing great, no reason to stay) and went home about 5 hours after our arrival. Wam, bam, thank you ma'am. I can't imagine having a baby in a hospital after this experience, it was so wonderful. I loved out midwives and the center. It made the experience that much more spectacular. For anybody thinking they can't do it, you can and the high afterward is out of this world!