I had just put ds2 to bed on Tuesday night (Nov 3) and was bent over to pick up the pots and pans he had been banging in the kitchen when I felt an uncomfortable sensation like my urethra had rubbing over my pubic bone. I straightened up and felt a small gush. Thinking I had peed myself I headed toward the bedroom for new PJ pants and felt a bigger gush that wet my pants to my knees. I headed to the toilet instead and discovered that the fluid was pink-tinged. I hadn't been eating beets, so I was pretty sure this was amniotic fluid and not pee. I had just said to my doula that I was somehow feeling like babe would come on Wednesday and here I was Tuesday night with broken water...would my prediction prove to be accurate?
I called my midwife and doula to give them the heads up. None of us thought I would go into labour soon since my water was broken for 36 hrs before I went into labour with ds2. Soon my DH came home with sleeping ds1 and put him to bed. DH was stunned. I wasn't officially "due" for another 5 days and we both suspected that date to be off (too early) by several days. We spent the evening tidying and setting the house in order. I finished organizing the birth supplies and tried to finish the pair of booties I was knitting. I finally went to bed at 11:30.
I was woken up at 2:30 with a stronger than usual BH contraction and again at 3:00. I decided to get up and see if I could get things going. Not much was happening so I got the kids up at the normal time. I asked DH to stay home because I *knew* that if I was alone with the kids I wouldn't be going into labour any time soon. He ended up taking them to the park while I went on a long walk with some friends. I had a few strong BH contrax when we started the walk and then again when we stopped for coffee mid-way, but still nothing regular.
DH had to go into work for a few hrs in the afternoon so we went home for lunch and he took a taxi to the office. My MIL was supposed to show up at 12:30 to mind the boys while I went for an acupuncture appointment but she still wasn't there by 12:40. I called her and she had forgotten.
I quickly called DH who cancelled his afternoon at work so I could go to my appointment.
As I was getting out of the car at the acupuncturist's office, I had my first "real" contraction - it was 1:11PM. The acu was great. I had 4 more contrax laying on the table. When I was done, I called my doula and agreed to meet me at home.
She was waiting on our steps when we got there. DH left with ds2 to take ds1 to his friend's house and my doula and I tidied the house (again...) and got the pool set up. It was 2:30 at this point and I was having to stop and breath through contractions but I could still function in between. They were coming every 8-10 minutes and lasting 45 seconds to a minute but some were shorter so I was still a little nervous that things would peter out.
I started to get really warm and wanted to lay down on the couch. It was easier to labor all stretched out as bending over to clean seemed to bring on a contraction and was excruciating. I kept wanting to arch my back and make my body as straight as possible. I was able to deal with most contractions by just breathing and focusing instead of vocalizing through them as I had during my labor with ds2. I called my midwife and relayed to her that contrax were now 5-6 min apart and lasting 1-2 minutes. She said they'd be over in about an hour. I have no idea what time it was but I know DH came home and left again to take a backpack of food/diapers/clothes to ds1 in case he needed to stay the night at his friend's.
My doula suggested I might like hanging from a sheet slung over a door. I kept feeling nauseous so I headed to the bathroom while she set up the sheet. I ended up not using the sheet but hanging from the bathroom door with my arms crossed was heaven. Thank goodness for old, sturdily built houses. I'm not a small person and would've probably torn the door off the hinges in a newer house. This door held me fine an I swung back and forth as the contractions came closer and grew in intensity. At this point my doula started to get nervous and asked if she could call my midwife to hurry her along as I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes now.
I got in the pool finally and was so happy to be there. I reclined and hung my arms over the side. Contractions were so much easier like this. My midwife showed up and I had my first and only vaginal exam of the pregnancy. I was at 9 cm and babe was "right there". She also said that babe's head was completely unmolded. She called the back up midwife to come over as we knew it wouldn't be long.
I kept waiting for the urge to push. I changed positions to my hands and knees. This only made contractions harder to handle but I still was feeling nauseous and I didn't want to puke in the pool. This way I was able to have the puke bowl right under me as I hung over the side. My birth team (doula, midwife and her student, back up midwife) were just sitting and watching me in the pool and it was making me self-conscious. I asked if they would please just chat and my doula remembered that I had told her last time that I was comforted to hear people talking about everyday events as I labored. So they chatted about the c-section rate in our city and I piped in when I could (I'm the co-leader of our local ICAN chapter).
I finally decided to try pushing during contractions to see what would happen. I wasn't yet feeling the urge. I flipped onto my back and braced my feet against the sides of the pool. I think I tried pushing during a few contractions without any real results. Suddenly I felt the shift forward and my body started pushing of its own accord. The birth team flew to the side of the pool and and I squeaked and grunted through my first push. Someone asked me if they should get my husband who was watching videos with ds2 in the nursery. "No!" I replied. My midwife asked me if I wanted to get out of the pool to push. "No" again. I had wanted to deliver outside the pool this time but I just couldn't wrap my mind around anything *changing* at this point. It wasn't that I didn't want my husband, I was just so in-the-moment.
Soon babe was crowning and my midwife was trying to talk me though slowly letting the head out. I tolerated it as long as I could then gave a push and out came my baby girl. I called then for my husband and pulled babe to my chest.
Mia was born at 5:53 P.M. on Wed, Nov 4, 2009. She was 7 lbs 14 oz and 20.5 inches long.at birth. We are beyond thrilled with our little blond girlie!!
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I called my midwife and doula to give them the heads up. None of us thought I would go into labour soon since my water was broken for 36 hrs before I went into labour with ds2. Soon my DH came home with sleeping ds1 and put him to bed. DH was stunned. I wasn't officially "due" for another 5 days and we both suspected that date to be off (too early) by several days. We spent the evening tidying and setting the house in order. I finished organizing the birth supplies and tried to finish the pair of booties I was knitting. I finally went to bed at 11:30.
I was woken up at 2:30 with a stronger than usual BH contraction and again at 3:00. I decided to get up and see if I could get things going. Not much was happening so I got the kids up at the normal time. I asked DH to stay home because I *knew* that if I was alone with the kids I wouldn't be going into labour any time soon. He ended up taking them to the park while I went on a long walk with some friends. I had a few strong BH contrax when we started the walk and then again when we stopped for coffee mid-way, but still nothing regular.
DH had to go into work for a few hrs in the afternoon so we went home for lunch and he took a taxi to the office. My MIL was supposed to show up at 12:30 to mind the boys while I went for an acupuncture appointment but she still wasn't there by 12:40. I called her and she had forgotten.
I quickly called DH who cancelled his afternoon at work so I could go to my appointment.
As I was getting out of the car at the acupuncturist's office, I had my first "real" contraction - it was 1:11PM. The acu was great. I had 4 more contrax laying on the table. When I was done, I called my doula and agreed to meet me at home.
She was waiting on our steps when we got there. DH left with ds2 to take ds1 to his friend's house and my doula and I tidied the house (again...) and got the pool set up. It was 2:30 at this point and I was having to stop and breath through contractions but I could still function in between. They were coming every 8-10 minutes and lasting 45 seconds to a minute but some were shorter so I was still a little nervous that things would peter out.
I started to get really warm and wanted to lay down on the couch. It was easier to labor all stretched out as bending over to clean seemed to bring on a contraction and was excruciating. I kept wanting to arch my back and make my body as straight as possible. I was able to deal with most contractions by just breathing and focusing instead of vocalizing through them as I had during my labor with ds2. I called my midwife and relayed to her that contrax were now 5-6 min apart and lasting 1-2 minutes. She said they'd be over in about an hour. I have no idea what time it was but I know DH came home and left again to take a backpack of food/diapers/clothes to ds1 in case he needed to stay the night at his friend's.
My doula suggested I might like hanging from a sheet slung over a door. I kept feeling nauseous so I headed to the bathroom while she set up the sheet. I ended up not using the sheet but hanging from the bathroom door with my arms crossed was heaven. Thank goodness for old, sturdily built houses. I'm not a small person and would've probably torn the door off the hinges in a newer house. This door held me fine an I swung back and forth as the contractions came closer and grew in intensity. At this point my doula started to get nervous and asked if she could call my midwife to hurry her along as I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes now.
I got in the pool finally and was so happy to be there. I reclined and hung my arms over the side. Contractions were so much easier like this. My midwife showed up and I had my first and only vaginal exam of the pregnancy. I was at 9 cm and babe was "right there". She also said that babe's head was completely unmolded. She called the back up midwife to come over as we knew it wouldn't be long.
I kept waiting for the urge to push. I changed positions to my hands and knees. This only made contractions harder to handle but I still was feeling nauseous and I didn't want to puke in the pool. This way I was able to have the puke bowl right under me as I hung over the side. My birth team (doula, midwife and her student, back up midwife) were just sitting and watching me in the pool and it was making me self-conscious. I asked if they would please just chat and my doula remembered that I had told her last time that I was comforted to hear people talking about everyday events as I labored. So they chatted about the c-section rate in our city and I piped in when I could (I'm the co-leader of our local ICAN chapter).
I finally decided to try pushing during contractions to see what would happen. I wasn't yet feeling the urge. I flipped onto my back and braced my feet against the sides of the pool. I think I tried pushing during a few contractions without any real results. Suddenly I felt the shift forward and my body started pushing of its own accord. The birth team flew to the side of the pool and and I squeaked and grunted through my first push. Someone asked me if they should get my husband who was watching videos with ds2 in the nursery. "No!" I replied. My midwife asked me if I wanted to get out of the pool to push. "No" again. I had wanted to deliver outside the pool this time but I just couldn't wrap my mind around anything *changing* at this point. It wasn't that I didn't want my husband, I was just so in-the-moment.
Soon babe was crowning and my midwife was trying to talk me though slowly letting the head out. I tolerated it as long as I could then gave a push and out came my baby girl. I called then for my husband and pulled babe to my chest.
Mia was born at 5:53 P.M. on Wed, Nov 4, 2009. She was 7 lbs 14 oz and 20.5 inches long.at birth. We are beyond thrilled with our little blond girlie!!
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Picture2
