Birth Story

I love reading birth stories and wanted to make sure I wrote up ours before I forgot the details. Be warned, it does include all the details, so if you are squeamish about the biology or just don't want to know those gory bits about me, just skip this post!

On Friday, May 6^th, at 40 weeks, 5 days, I was starting to feel a little discouraged. While, I knew it was perfectly normal for women to remain pregnant through 42 weeks, it had never occurred to me that I would actually go that long. And with no labor symptoms whatsoever, I was starting to think that I would actually have to go to the non-stress test appointment and start to consider at what point we would think about induction, etc. Generally, I was uncomfortable and cranky! It was a gorgeous day and my mom, Finn, Lily and I went on a long 3 mile walk. I pushed Finn in his stroller and kept a good pace. Then, when we got home, we walked with Finn while he rode his bike. I was really active all day. I spent the afternoon weeding the garden. I was trying so hard to remain positive, but I remember being really short and having very little patience with Finn and feeling terrible about it. Friday evening we were invited over to our fabulous neighbors for dinner and it was nice to have a break while Finn could run around and play with everyone. Although, it was a little hectic and we didn't get home til a little later to get Finn to bed. Once, he was settled, I was sitting at the computer and feeling some aches in my lower back. Thinking I was really tired, I decided to crawl in bed and get some rest. I first woke up around 10:30 with more aching in my back and around my pelvis. On some level, I wondered if it was a contraction, but I managed to fall back asleep. I was pretty restless, but also very groggy as I got these “aches” periodically through the night. Finally, at 3am, I realized I should get up and figure out what was going on. I had a contraction as I got up and then quite soon after going to the bathroom. I decided it was pointless to try to sleep and so I got up and turned on the light. I decided to warn Sean and I woke him up and told him that I was having contractions, but they weren't terrible yet. Then, I started putting some last minute things in the hospital bag. Sean got up and asked me to tell him when the contractions were coming and he would time. I told him as a couple of hit and he looked and me and said, “Sadie, that was three minutes apart, are you kidding me?” And, really, that is when it hit that things were really happening. Then, I became nauseous and vomited and that is when I really knew. I had a lot of that with Finn as I was going through transition. We called the hospital to let them know we were on our way.

As we made our way out to the car, the contractions made me stop and I had to breathe through them. The car ride was uncomfortable for sure with each contraction requiring all my attention on breathing to get through. They were really intense in my back before they moved around to my lower abdomen. I had to vomit several times on the car ride in, but it wasn't quite as bad as when I labored with Finn. We made it to the hospital around 4:10 am. We entered through emergency and I was really irritated that they made me ride in a wheelchair to The Family Place (labor and delivery). When we got there, they took me into Triage to assess where I was in labor. I requested that fetal monitoring only be done intermitently, but they wanted to get an initial 20 minute read. They probably only went for about 5 minutes when they decided they better get us to a labor and delivery room before we had the baby. I was at 8 cm at that check. At 4:45 they got us to our room. I requested a birthing ball as that had been the most comfortable when I was laboring with Finn. Contractions were really intense through my back and abdomen at this point and I was really hoping things were going to progress faster than they had at that point with Finn because I didn't know how long I could do it. I breathed and moaned through each one and focused all my internal energy on visualizing my cervix opening and having the baby move down. I really liked the nurse who sat with us through it. She was very reassuring that my body would tell me when it was time to push and we would just wait for it all to happen. While it seemed like a long time to me, it wasn't very long until my water broke on its own and they asked that I get up from the birthing ball. I was on my hands and knees on the bed when my body really did take over and tell me to push. I turned over and began pushing with the contractions. I had requested a mirror to watch the process and I am so glad I did. It was completely amazing to watch and it helped me stay motivated to see the progress. It really wasn't very long before Josette's head came out. We stopped for a moment there. I had requested that they not cut the cord until it had stopped pulsing, but it was loosely around her neck and they had to cut it before her body came out and pulled it tight. She began crying right away. After that, one more push and out she came. The nurse told Sean to “catch” her as she came out and he handed her to me on my chest. She was officially born at 6:28 am. We both looked at the same time and Sean announced that we had a girl! I couldn't have been more shocked! The nurse wrapped a blanket around us and within 10 minutes, Josette began nursing. She was a latching pro right away! We cuddled with her on my chest for at least an hour before they came to weigh and measure her. I had just a small tear (between 1^st and 2^nd degree) that required a few stitches. It was a fast and furious delivery. It was incredibly intense on all levels. I can't help but compare with Finn's delivery which lasted so much longer. This time around I was so much more aware of what my body was doing and what was going on around me. Recovery is also so much better. I have to remind myself not to do too much because I feel really good and then I overdo it.