Ridiculously long/unedited birth story of my baby girl! 
Sunday 8/17
41 weeks 5 days...
I woke up on Sunday suddenly feeling really peaceful about the long long wait to go into labor. I decided to spend the day doing only things that would make me feel better – I hoped to find somewhere to get a massage that afternoon but couldn’t find anywhere that was open. Adam and I went for a really long walk that afternoon from our house into downtown to “our bridge” – a really gorgeous footbridge in our city where we had our first kiss, and later where he proposed. I kept saying that maybe if we got all the way there that all the positive energy we have in that spot would make my water break. Adam didn’t think that was such a great idea since we were like two miles away from home, but funny enough when we got up there, his aunt and cousin were eating outdoors at a restaurant right there at the bridge and I said, “See! There is our ride!”
No such luck though 
We came home from walking and ate lunch and laid down for a nap. At this point I was just trying to keep up that peaceful emotional state I had been in all day, and after a few minutes I started to feel some contractions that I realized were continuing to happen without me doing anything to help them (lots of nipple stimulation had been producing contractions over the week beforehand, but would stop pretty quickly after I quit helping.) This was about 6 pm. I told Adam around 6:45 that I thought I was having enough contractions to be able to time them – right off the bat they were consistently 6-7 minutes apart, and anywhere from 15 to 80 seconds long, just all over the place. Over the next several hours Adam timed them (using contractionmaster.com) and I paced around our driveway and inside our house. By midnight they were at 5 minutes apart, but not really quite a minute long. We called our midwife Sandy around then because she had told me to give her a ring when I couldn’t talk through them anymore. She advised us to go to bed and get some rest if at all possible and see what was happening in an hour or so – she did not think that I was ready to come to the birth center yet, but let us know she was going over there anyway to fill up the tub and get some rest while she waited to hear from us.
I did end up being able to get some sleep between some of the contractions, and I think they had probably spaced out to being 10-15 minutes apart once I was in bed again. The worst thing overnight were the contractions that woke me up – I just didn’t have enough time to catch my breath and I was really getting tense throughout those. I got back out of bed around 5 on Monday morning and they were still coming very strong, but not consistently spaced – I called Sandy to let her know that it still had not progressed to the point I had been at the night before. She suggested doing nipple stimulation to see if that would bring them on stronger, and right away when I tried that, they got to the point where I really started moaning through them. I could only do the stimulation every 3 or 4 contractions because it was so overwhelming. Everything continued to really progress though and by 1 in the afternoon Adam had called Sandy back to let her know how very strong and steady the contractions were (I can’t remember exactly how long they were at this point) and she said she knew we’d be coming in soon and that everything was ready, but to wait until I absolutely could not wait any longer before getting in the car – we live 25 minutes away and she didn’t want the journey and excitement to slow me down. I remember saying to Adam, “Do NOT get excited. I am NOT getting excited. I will probably still be pregnant a week from now.” The other thing I remember thinking over and over again was to just really give in to the pain, because whatever I was feeling now was still “early contractions”. I prepared myself to be at 3 centimeters when I got there. I truly did not want the emotional disappointment of possibly misjudging my pain level to throw off my mental capability of handling each contraction!
We finally left the house when I said, I can’t take it, let’s go. Adam called her and said my contractions had been a minute long and 3 minutes apart for an hour, and that for the past few hours I had been “very loud”. We got to the birth center right at 3:00, and as far as I could tell, that car ride did not slow my labor down at all. I barely got in the door before I was leaning over the bed yelling. She checked me after we’d been there about 20 minutes, and I was 7 centimeters. I was so relieved, and I absolutely could not believe it, and I was soooo glad we had waited as long as we did to come in so that I knew things were really happening. She left us alone for a few hours and Adam breathed and meditated with me through every contraction. It was interesting to me that one thing I had been so focused on the past few months was how Adam would be able to physically help and comfort me through labor, but I never once asked him to do any massage or counterpressure or anything – it was just easier to yell and get comfortable myself. He was amazing as a calming presence though - I really knew his heart and soul were right there with me and that none of this was scaring him or stressing him out at all.
Sandy checked me again at 5:30 and unintentionally broke my water bag. She said then that I was “not yet complete” – which I am sure was to not disappoint me, so I never knew just how dilated I was then. She said I could get in the birth pool or the shower anytime I felt ready, but to wait until the last possible minute to get in the pool. She left us alone again and by around 6:30 or 7, I got in the pool. It felt good because it was so warm, but honestly I could never get in a comfortable position for contractions. We filled up the tub some more but that didn’t really help. However, I was only in there for about 30 minutes before my contractions stopped completely. I knew that might mean I was fully dilated, but we were by ourselves in there at that point and it made me nervous that my labor had regressed! When I started having contractions again after about 15 minutes, Sandy came in and I told her they had stopped for awhile and she said that was great news and that if I felt like “just opening up and letting her come on out” that I could do that anytime. So I guess transition was not all that bad for me – very quick and not really any worse pain-wise than the last few hours had been. I remember looking at the clock at that point and it was 7:25 and thinking, you’re right, let’s have this baby by 8 pm I was telling myself “open open open” and I started pushing somewhat involuntarily shortly after that. Again, I had been picturing all this time that Adam would be in the pool with me, but in the moment I didn’t want that – I felt like I needed all the room in there to spread out.
I pushed in the pool for about an hour and a half. Still had not found a position that was really comfortable or super-efficient while I was in there. I had been holding myself up in the water with my arms out on either side of me, and that REALLY wore my upper body out. During that time I had gotten her down past my rectum but Sandy really couldn’t tell if I was progressing as quickly after that, and she and the assistant midwife suggested that it might be best if I was on my back in the bed. If I had been able to talk at that point, I would have said, you have got to be kidding me – two generations of women on both sides of my family have been having c-sections because the doctors all said they had small pelvic structures, and you are saying this is what I need? I mean I was all for getting out of the tub – I was hotter than hell and my arms hurt, but I just couldn’t believe I was about to give birth laying on my back I had just assumed that my whole success with the natural birth thing was dependent on being in the pool or walking around and squatting, etc. So, on the bed, there was another hour and a half of pushing, much MUCH more productive than in the pool. I was really able to feel everything down there better while just holding on to my knees rather than having my arms out to the sides.
Adam and Sandy seemed like they were cheering every time I pushed – they really were able to see her move down every time. The 3 hours of pushing were by far the hardest part of the entire birth. Some people say it is the relieving part of labor, that it “feels good to push”, and that they were able to just let their uterus do the work involuntarily, but none of those things were true for me. It was certainly very very hard work for me. The last half hour of pushing was really like an out-of-body experience – the pain was just mind-blowing, and Adam said when I would take a break from pushing and screaming, that I was still screaming. I remember it was like I heard someone screaming, but that it was not really me. I did reach down and touch her head twice – once when I was first crowning, and then again when her whole head was out. After I felt her whole head, my body just went for it – I pushed with no breaks until she was out. Adam helped catch her and when they pulled her up to my chest we both just started crying out of happiness. I could NOT believe I was finally looking at my little girl’s face. I could NOT believe I had just given birth naturally and so easily!! In that moment I pretty much felt like I had won an Olympic medal and met the love of my life at the same time. Absolutely amazing. Allison Eliza was born at 10:17 pm on 8/18/08.
I don’t remember them talking about agpar scores, but she was just perfect and pink right away and made little kitten squeals while still laying on my chest. For several minutes I was so in awe that I couldn’t even move, just held her there and looked at Adam and recognized that “moment” we were both having that we had been looking forward to since day one of our relationship. Truly magical and really the pinnacle experience we had both been hoping for.
She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz, not even as much as Sandy had guessed she weighed at my 40 week appointment. Just right for both of us I suppose She latched on right away when we put her on my breast. Breastfeeding and recovery over the past week has gone so well, far exceeding all my expectations. She is so sweet and content and laid-back. I worried while I was pregnant that Adam and I would lose the relationship that is “just us”, but now that she’s here, it’s like I am sad she wasn’t here for all the time we’ve been together already. 
Pictures from the birth center and the past week...
Sunday 8/17
41 weeks 5 days...
I woke up on Sunday suddenly feeling really peaceful about the long long wait to go into labor. I decided to spend the day doing only things that would make me feel better – I hoped to find somewhere to get a massage that afternoon but couldn’t find anywhere that was open. Adam and I went for a really long walk that afternoon from our house into downtown to “our bridge” – a really gorgeous footbridge in our city where we had our first kiss, and later where he proposed. I kept saying that maybe if we got all the way there that all the positive energy we have in that spot would make my water break. Adam didn’t think that was such a great idea since we were like two miles away from home, but funny enough when we got up there, his aunt and cousin were eating outdoors at a restaurant right there at the bridge and I said, “See! There is our ride!”
No such luck though We came home from walking and ate lunch and laid down for a nap. At this point I was just trying to keep up that peaceful emotional state I had been in all day, and after a few minutes I started to feel some contractions that I realized were continuing to happen without me doing anything to help them (lots of nipple stimulation had been producing contractions over the week beforehand, but would stop pretty quickly after I quit helping.) This was about 6 pm. I told Adam around 6:45 that I thought I was having enough contractions to be able to time them – right off the bat they were consistently 6-7 minutes apart, and anywhere from 15 to 80 seconds long, just all over the place. Over the next several hours Adam timed them (using contractionmaster.com) and I paced around our driveway and inside our house. By midnight they were at 5 minutes apart, but not really quite a minute long. We called our midwife Sandy around then because she had told me to give her a ring when I couldn’t talk through them anymore. She advised us to go to bed and get some rest if at all possible and see what was happening in an hour or so – she did not think that I was ready to come to the birth center yet, but let us know she was going over there anyway to fill up the tub and get some rest while she waited to hear from us.
I did end up being able to get some sleep between some of the contractions, and I think they had probably spaced out to being 10-15 minutes apart once I was in bed again. The worst thing overnight were the contractions that woke me up – I just didn’t have enough time to catch my breath and I was really getting tense throughout those. I got back out of bed around 5 on Monday morning and they were still coming very strong, but not consistently spaced – I called Sandy to let her know that it still had not progressed to the point I had been at the night before. She suggested doing nipple stimulation to see if that would bring them on stronger, and right away when I tried that, they got to the point where I really started moaning through them. I could only do the stimulation every 3 or 4 contractions because it was so overwhelming. Everything continued to really progress though and by 1 in the afternoon Adam had called Sandy back to let her know how very strong and steady the contractions were (I can’t remember exactly how long they were at this point) and she said she knew we’d be coming in soon and that everything was ready, but to wait until I absolutely could not wait any longer before getting in the car – we live 25 minutes away and she didn’t want the journey and excitement to slow me down. I remember saying to Adam, “Do NOT get excited. I am NOT getting excited. I will probably still be pregnant a week from now.” The other thing I remember thinking over and over again was to just really give in to the pain, because whatever I was feeling now was still “early contractions”. I prepared myself to be at 3 centimeters when I got there. I truly did not want the emotional disappointment of possibly misjudging my pain level to throw off my mental capability of handling each contraction!
We finally left the house when I said, I can’t take it, let’s go. Adam called her and said my contractions had been a minute long and 3 minutes apart for an hour, and that for the past few hours I had been “very loud”. We got to the birth center right at 3:00, and as far as I could tell, that car ride did not slow my labor down at all. I barely got in the door before I was leaning over the bed yelling. She checked me after we’d been there about 20 minutes, and I was 7 centimeters. I was so relieved, and I absolutely could not believe it, and I was soooo glad we had waited as long as we did to come in so that I knew things were really happening. She left us alone for a few hours and Adam breathed and meditated with me through every contraction. It was interesting to me that one thing I had been so focused on the past few months was how Adam would be able to physically help and comfort me through labor, but I never once asked him to do any massage or counterpressure or anything – it was just easier to yell and get comfortable myself. He was amazing as a calming presence though - I really knew his heart and soul were right there with me and that none of this was scaring him or stressing him out at all.
Sandy checked me again at 5:30 and unintentionally broke my water bag. She said then that I was “not yet complete” – which I am sure was to not disappoint me, so I never knew just how dilated I was then. She said I could get in the birth pool or the shower anytime I felt ready, but to wait until the last possible minute to get in the pool. She left us alone again and by around 6:30 or 7, I got in the pool. It felt good because it was so warm, but honestly I could never get in a comfortable position for contractions. We filled up the tub some more but that didn’t really help. However, I was only in there for about 30 minutes before my contractions stopped completely. I knew that might mean I was fully dilated, but we were by ourselves in there at that point and it made me nervous that my labor had regressed! When I started having contractions again after about 15 minutes, Sandy came in and I told her they had stopped for awhile and she said that was great news and that if I felt like “just opening up and letting her come on out” that I could do that anytime. So I guess transition was not all that bad for me – very quick and not really any worse pain-wise than the last few hours had been. I remember looking at the clock at that point and it was 7:25 and thinking, you’re right, let’s have this baby by 8 pm
I was telling myself “open open open” and I started pushing somewhat involuntarily shortly after that. Again, I had been picturing all this time that Adam would be in the pool with me, but in the moment I didn’t want that – I felt like I needed all the room in there to spread out. I pushed in the pool for about an hour and a half. Still had not found a position that was really comfortable or super-efficient while I was in there. I had been holding myself up in the water with my arms out on either side of me, and that REALLY wore my upper body out. During that time I had gotten her down past my rectum but Sandy really couldn’t tell if I was progressing as quickly after that, and she and the assistant midwife suggested that it might be best if I was on my back in the bed. If I had been able to talk at that point, I would have said, you have got to be kidding me – two generations of women on both sides of my family have been having c-sections because the doctors all said they had small pelvic structures, and you are saying this is what I need? I mean I was all for getting out of the tub – I was hotter than hell and my arms hurt, but I just couldn’t believe I was about to give birth laying on my back
I had just assumed that my whole success with the natural birth thing was dependent on being in the pool or walking around and squatting, etc. So, on the bed, there was another hour and a half of pushing, much MUCH more productive than in the pool. I was really able to feel everything down there better while just holding on to my knees rather than having my arms out to the sides. Adam and Sandy seemed like they were cheering every time I pushed – they really were able to see her move down every time. The 3 hours of pushing were by far the hardest part of the entire birth. Some people say it is the relieving part of labor, that it “feels good to push”, and that they were able to just let their uterus do the work involuntarily, but none of those things were true for me. It was certainly very very hard work for me. The last half hour of pushing was really like an out-of-body experience – the pain was just mind-blowing, and Adam said when I would take a break from pushing and screaming, that I was still screaming. I remember it was like I heard someone screaming, but that it was not really me. I did reach down and touch her head twice – once when I was first crowning, and then again when her whole head was out. After I felt her whole head, my body just went for it – I pushed with no breaks until she was out. Adam helped catch her and when they pulled her up to my chest we both just started crying out of happiness. I could NOT believe I was finally looking at my little girl’s face. I could NOT believe I had just given birth naturally and so easily!! In that moment I pretty much felt like I had won an Olympic medal and met the love of my life at the same time. Absolutely amazing. Allison Eliza was born at 10:17 pm on 8/18/08.
I don’t remember them talking about agpar scores, but she was just perfect and pink right away and made little kitten squeals while still laying on my chest. For several minutes I was so in awe that I couldn’t even move, just held her there and looked at Adam and recognized that “moment” we were both having that we had been looking forward to since day one of our relationship. Truly magical and really the pinnacle experience we had both been hoping for.
She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz, not even as much as Sandy had guessed she weighed at my 40 week appointment. Just right for both of us I suppose
She latched on right away when we put her on my breast. Breastfeeding and recovery over the past week has gone so well, far exceeding all my expectations. She is so sweet and content and laid-back. I worried while I was pregnant that Adam and I would lose the relationship that is “just us”, but now that she’s here, it’s like I am sad she wasn’t here for all the time we’ve been together already. Pictures from the birth center and the past week...
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