Okay, I have a few minutes so here is my version of the birth....T
The birth of Hanna Grace
Monday I had a midwife appt at noon and had my membranes stripped in hopes of getting the show on the road. I was 41w4d on monday and had been having prodromal labor for weeks!! She was confident that something would start within the next 24-48 hours. Especially cause both of her assistants had just left for vacations and that night was to be the full moon. After the midwife left I had a bunch on bloody show that continued throughout the day. I was not having any contractions but felt generally crampy and blah for most of the day. I did get a strange urge to organize everything in site though!!! (nesting urge) So, dh got home around 7:00 and we decided to have a little alone time. Ds watched his cartoons and we had a little time to ourselves, but to no avail. I went to bed that evening with still no contractions. Disappointing cause usually dtd would at least give me bh contractions. I woke up about 12:00 to go pee and then back to bed. At 12:30 I was startled awake by an intense contraction. I lay there and tried to go back to sleep. 10 mins later another one came and I just couldn't lay down during them. So, I got up and went out to the living room. I checked the board here to see if anyone else was in labor, but didn't post anything cause I didn't want to send another false alarm!! After about 2 more contractions I decided to watch a little tv to distract myself and change positions to see if anything would make the stop/go away. Nothing slowed them down, but they were still like 10mins apart. At 2:10am I called my stepmom to tell her to head up cause it was the real deal. Within minutes my dh stumbled out of bed to join me. He said that he figured if I had picked up the phone and started bothering people then it was serious and he would come see if I needed his assistance
After about 2 more contractions he convinced me to call the midwife since she lives like 45 minutes away. I called her and told her not to hurry since they were still like 8-10 minutes apart. As soon as I hung up I got a huge contraction and from then on they dropped to 5 minutes apart. Dh helped me make the bed with the shower curtain. I had tried to get it done weeks before but it was so uncomfortable to sleep on that I kept pulling it off. So, there I am in labor making my bed
When we finished I asked him to call my doula so that I could go ahead and get into the bathtub. I heard him on the phone telling her that they were 5 mins apart, that I had already called the midwife and then he told her I couldn't walk and talk through them anymore. When he hung up he came into the bathroom to tell me she freaked out when he said I couldn't walk and talk since she also lives almost an hour away. He told me he wasn't ready for a uc and that I needed to hold her in there a little while yet.
: That is my happy face at this point.
3:30 am my stepmom and doula arrive almost at the same time and they sit with me in the bathroom and start timing the contractions-something I had not done since I called them. They were coming about 2-3 minutes apart and starting to hurt really badly in my back. I decided I had to pee and got out of the tub. Once I was out I couldn't get back in-they were so strong I couldn't move from a standing/spread eagle position -bent at the waist-with my head braced against the changing pad I had made. I starting feeling really nauseous and asked for a trashcan just in case. My stepmom got me a cool washcloth for the back of my neck and it felt like heaven. I had both my stepmom and my doula pressing HARD on my lower back for counterpressure against the intense back labor I thought I was having. It is now about 4:00am(from backtracking when I had her) and both ladies were asking where the midwife was and asked my husband to call her. He finally got ahold of her and she said she was like 10 mins out and would be there soon. That was a long 10 mins cause I started feeling pushy and would grunt at the end of my contractions. They kept telling me not to push, and I was like "I'll push if I feel like it"
: When the midwife finally got there it was such a huge relief, but painful too. I think my body finally relaxed enough to finish everthing cause the contractions started coming only 1-1.5 mins apart. There was only like a 30 sec break in between. She checked me and I prayed silently--I knew I couldn't do this much longer. When she said "you're complete with just a little lip in the front" I couldn't have been happier. She suggested that I get down on all fours and lean over the birth ball for support. This worked pretty well with my husband up front holding my hand for gripping support, and the other ladies in the back still applying counterpressure to my back. The midwife told me to push at the top of the contractions to get rid of the lip. I did this for about 5 or 6 contraction and then started feeling immense pain in my pubic bone. I asked why it hurt so much and she said it was the baby moving under my bone..(duh- I should have known that one) On the next push there was a little water and it had some meconium in it. The midwife checked her heart tones but I don't remember what she said. I do remember her saying to the ladies that they were to "push on both sides of my hips on the next contraction" and that "we need to get her out now"!! The next contraction came and I had the most unbearable urge to push ( I know you hear it all the time, but until it happens to you, you will not understand the intensity
) I had been moaning and breathing up until this point though the contractions, but with this pushing contraction I let out a gutteral growl (nothing else describes it) I didn't even realize it was me at first. The sound was completely involuntary as was the pushing I was doing. I pushed 3 times on that one contraction and on the third one I felt her crown and explode out of me all at once!! (the midwife told me later that she put her hand up to check for a cord and ended up catching the entire baby) The water bag and lots of blood gushed out at the same time, all over my bedroom carpet ( thank God it is dark green) I stayed in the same position just breathing and listening to everyone around me. My husband was all but in tears telling me how wonderful I was. My doula said "pink was a good color" cause I was secretly fearing she was a boy. And my stepmom was balling and saying "how amazing, that was wonderful". My little girl was passed up to me between my legs and I got to hold her slippery little body for the first time. She stopped crying almost as soon as I took her and just looked at me. I can't say I immediately forgot the pain, but looking at a sweet and fresh newborn sure does dull it down tremendously! She was born at 4:47 am in the caul-for the most part- and on a full moon!!
We were moved to my bed and she checked me out while Hanna started to nurse. No tears-just a few skid marks. After about 45 mins we weighed her and did her newborn check up. Only 6lbs4oz and 18 1/4 inches long!! She is such a little peanut. By 7:00 my son had woken up and I was drinking some tea for the bleeding. He got to come and meet his little sister for the first time and was very suprised that she was so little. I think he was expecting a play mate!! Everything went so well and we are so immensely pleased with the homebirth experience. I would never do a hospital birth again. My husband said that it was amazing, so much more relaxing and that the baby was not poked and prodded and stuck immediatley after birth. He was really impressed and that makes me happy, cause I had quite a fight at the beginning of my pregnancy to get him to agree to it!!
After kicking everyone out we settled down in bed and enjoyed the start of our babymoon.
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