After 41wks 1day - I finally went into labor yesterday morning at 5am. I managed contractions of 10 minutes apart and short (very bearable - walking/talking contractions) until *5pm* (eek!). Took a little nap around 3pm and my contractions moved to 5 minutes apart while watching Mary Poppins with my kids and eating Subway around 5-6pm. They jumped to 2-3minutes apart around 6pm and I was encouraged to send my 2.5 and 4.5yo to my parents house (7 houses away) for the night... the midwife and assistant were concerned that I was holding things back. So, my dh packed the kids and took them to my parents house. I called the birth assistant and told her to come and then the midwife and with 1.5 hours they both had arrived. My labor picked up as soon as the kids were gone and got intense quickly. I labored in my glider rocker chair most of the time (so much more bearable than my bed) and at 9 something they encouraged me to go pee.... I knew that would be intense. I sat on the toilet, my water broke, his head dropped and 13 minutes later he was born. That was a dousy of an ending ... my body was so out of control from the intensity and the sudden shock of my water popping and being ready to push (I knew that I was probably around 10cm). DS#3 was 9lbs, 14.25cm noggin, and 21.5inches long and born at 9:38pm last night. My biggest baby yet and *no* tears (just a skid and a small rip not even worth a stitch). The midwife and birth assistant (who live a ways away) left by midnight after cleaning things up, checking us out, and doing their paperwork. I spent the night clinging to my bed in afterpains (ARGH). They are still intense. He's a sleepy fellow and not interested in nursing much yet, but he's still less than a day old and I'm sure things will pick up. For now, I'm enjoying my postpartum tea, and basking in the fact that I was in almost disbelief about starting labor --- I was getting so late in my dates. I did a lot of prayer to ask for it to begin and some major window shopping in two big stores the day before with a lot of RRL tea. Hang in there if you're still waiting for your birth - it will happen. My little 41 weeker still had vernix and looked more like a 40 weeker according to the attendees.
Tammy
Tammy
