Below is my birth story. My mind is tired so I will do best to write as eloquently as a mom with a one month old baby can!
I was supposed to have a wonderful baby shower in late July. My due date was August 18th, so I had plenty of time before the baby was due to have a special night. We planned a BBQ and my friend Tanya was going to host. That afternoon I started having light but very consistent and contractions. I never had false labor before, so I thought it might be the night! I ended up cancelling the party and packing my bags for the hospital. Unlike the labors of Brooke and Oliver, this did not turn into anything. Again and again in the weeks leading up to the birth I would have false labor that would keep me guessing.
I was starting to get a little frustrated and anxious with all this waiting. So I stayed busy with craft projects, swim lessons with the kids, bike rides, and visiting friends. At this point I was quite uncomfortable and getting really ready to have the baby! My midwife had mentioned that the baby's head was in a bad position (sunny side up) so I spent hours and hours on my hands and knees trying to get him to rotate. I felt good that all these contractions were getting me closer to the day, I remember that I was 3cm dilated at one appointment.
In the afternoon of August 13th, I started getting contractions that felt different than all the days before. They were not spaced evenly apart, but they felt painful. 12 minutes, 35 minutes, 50 minutes, they continued all afternoon in very strange intervals yet still painful. Around 6pm we had our hospital bags all ready and we were lured over to Caitlin's house for some food and ice cream. The contractions picked up a little bit, 14 minutes, 10 minutes, 7 minutes... I ate part of a Subway sandwich and left half of my ice cream (which means this must be serious). Eight o'clock hit, the kids were being put to bed and I noticed consistent 4 minute contractions. This IS getting serious! My mom was at Caitlin's front door trying to push me out while I was scaring her half to death by not moving, but texting our midwife. My mom was so relieved when we hopped in the car around 8:30pm, the same time we had driven to the hospital with Brooke and Oliver!
Thankfully I had longer stretches between contractions while in the car. Our midwife followed us on the highway all the way to the hospital in Wenatchee. We checked into the hospital and got a room. It was so cold! I got into the robe (brr!) and laid down with a few warm hospital blankets. I was doing my best to control my anxiety and relax. My legs would get shaky and so I would practice breathing and calming techniques. My phone played a calming Pandora radio station and I tried to get comfortable. I was having very strong back labor, so I would tell Kent every time there was a contraction and he would put a bag of ice on my lower back. This helped quite a bit with the pain. I opted out of any IV's or drugs, so I was thankful for any help I could get!
The labor progressed and got very painful near midnight. I started to get very worried about how the labor was progressing. During my past pregnancies, I was able to relax and breathe through the contractions with hardly making a peep. This was getting so painful and I had no urge to push. WHAT WAS GOING ON?!? I was told that his head was in a bad position but that everything was okay. It was getting so painful that I was about ready for an epidural... I had opted out of all the blood work, so it would have been a long time to get any help that way. I tried my best to reassure myself that I could do this. There was a suggestion to move onto my arms and knees to see if the baby would rotate, so everyone helped me move. The pain was horrible, but I had Kent helping me with ice (later I found out that he was literally punching the ice on my back to get the pressure I wanted) and my midwife squeezing my hips. After a few very tough contractions, the baby's head started to rotate and I felt like I could probably try and push. I didn't want to move, so I just stretched out my legs and in a few minutes, Finn was born. They urged me, "Look down, look down!" and there he was, crying and laying below me. He had a short little umbilical chord which I got to cut. I believe my first words were, "You were the hardest thing I have ever done, and you are so worth it."
Finn was born at 12:30am. He weighed 6lbs 10oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.
All evening we watched a HUGE thunder and lightening storm out the large windows of the hospital.
The birth was quite traumatic for me and especially Kent. I can't imagine being the support person who can't take the pain away from their loved one. I remember not wanting to talk about it in detail for quite some time. I am finally more comfortable bringing back some of the memories that were so raw for so many days/weeks. This experience was by far the most painful and challenging thing I have ever done in my life. I am amazed at the the human body and what it is capable of. Pregnancy and giving birth is a crazy amazing experience!
