He’s finally here. It was a long 9 months and it’s no secret
that I was anxious for it to be over.
First consistent indication that labor was soon started on
Sunday at church. Contractions were about 15 minutes apart but very mild. It
went on for several hours and then faded off just before bed. Of course around
3am contractions started up again but were still pretty mild but it was enough
to disrupt the rest of my sleep and Monday morning. I had an appointment Monday
at noon where the midwife told me I was measuring at a 3 and 80% effaced and I
went ahead and had a membrane sweep. We came home and the kids went to bed very
quickly for naps while I proceeded to clean the entire house in a hopeful
attempt to get things going again. I thought maybe it had since I started have
more mild contractions but by evening they were nothing and I was pretty
bummed. Just before going to bed though I lost my plug and knew that was a
pretty good indication that coupled with the sweep and the contractions
(despite how ever so sporadic) this could mean something. I text David’s cousin
Catherine (our go-to babysitter) that there was a chance it could be tonight
but of course no guarantee. She decided to come over and spend the night in
case we did have to go to the hospital and I can't say enough what a relief
it was.
2am I woke up with contractions somewhat intense and
consistently almost 5 min apart for an hour, then 7 min for an hour, then
jumped to 10 min. Finally at 4:30 I went back to sleep, figuring if it picked
up again I would wake up. 6:30 I was up again with contractions and by this
point I was really thinking it was the day. David got up just after and I told
him I was thinking it would be today but since there was still plenty of time
he decided to go to work for an hour to finish up a project then he’d be back
and we would go walk the track around the hospital to get things really moving.
So he left and I proceeded to do every little last minute thing I could think
of that needed to be done before leaving for a couple of days. Time was passing
and contractions hadn’t picked up and I was really starting to question myself
as to whether or not I was doing the right thing by having David come home or
Catherine stay to babysit in case we did have to go to the hospital.
Around 10 David came back and we went to the hospital to
walk the track. Before getting out of the car though we said a prayer that if
Parker was to come today things would quickly progress and that everything
would go smoothly with the delivery. Then we walked. A mile around the hospital
and there were only a few contractions that actually made me stop. I was bummed
and David kept saying nothing was happening and we were trying to decide if he
should go back to work or if Catherine should go home – I was really unsure of
things. We went back home and tried to nap but just after falling asleep
contractions woke me up again. At this point I was really tired and hungry
since nothing sounded appetizing. I got up and had an apple before heading back
to the track. David was still asleep so I just went by myself and on the walk
there were still only a few contractions but they were more intense. David
showed up about 1/5 into the mile and walked with me but since there was still
really nothing we went back home. I called my mom and told her how things were
going and after 2 contractions on the phone with her that made me stop talking
and focus she said she definitely thought I was in early labor and having this
baby today. It gave me hope! Contractions were still over 10-15 min apart so I told
Catherine she could head out and it would probably be hours before anything was
to happen, if anything was to happen. It was probably 1:30 at this point. David
and I went outside with the kids and threw the football around and contractions
stayed 10 min apart for a little while but then faded… again! So I took a
shower and laid back down, still with no contractions. Over an hour went by and
they started up again, hard, far but hard. I text Catherine around 4:00 just
telling her they were more intense but there was still plenty of time before
she would need to be back. I was quite wrong. They went from being 13 min apart
to 7 to 5 then 4. I text Catherine back just 15 min later telling her they were
closer and intense and wondering how much longer she would be.
At this point the intensity was quite extreme and I really
had to focus on relaxing my body with each one. I hadn’t spent time practicing
relaxation during the pregnancy like I should have but I remembered that
tension increased pain so with each contraction I visualized my abdominal
muscles relaxing and repeated over and over to myself “relax the body”. It
worked very well.
Catherine said she’d be about 20 more minutes so with the
contractions a consistent 3 ½ minutes apart we got ready to go. David called
the hospital so they could contact my midwife since I knew she wasn’t on-call.
We were outside waiting and David kept telling me to get in the car but I found
it so much more soothing to squat during contractions so kept telling him I
wasn’t going to until we were actually leaving. He even started the car he was
so anxious to go. Once Catherine and her fiancé Nathan pulled up though we were
gone. It was about 5:00p now. The hospital was literally only 2 blocks away so it
was a very short trip but the contraction on the way was no fun, especially
when going over the speed bumps in the parking lot. David dropped me at the
front to park and I made it to the front desk before having another
contraction. I checked in and they hauled me back.
They usually put you in a holding room to check dilation and
monitor to be sure you are in active labor but apparently they figured I was in
real labor with how I acted so put me straight into a room - at least that is
what the nurse said. I was dilated to a 6. I literally shouted “YES!” Then we
went through all the boring stuff of answering questions, half of which David
had to answer because I couldn’t talk. The nurse asked if I was planning on an
epidural and when I said no she responded, “Are you sure?” I was sure. She
reminded me that I could change my mind at any point. I was glad when she left.
Another nurse came in and told me my midwife was not able to make it so I would
have the on-call midwife. I was a bit bummed since my midwife had delivered
Morgan and Eli and she and I had become friends during the course of all these
pregnancies, but I had heard great things about the other so knew it would be
fine. It was better than fine. When the midwife came in and told me Dena
couldn’t make it and I’d be having a “Jennifer-birth” as she put it, I had a
contraction and she did counter-pressure and it was amazing. The moment it was
done I told her I loved her and she was awesome. She had to step out to make
some calls but said she would be back to do more labor support and showed David
what to do for the counter-pressure while she was gone.
Things went on and I continued my focusing and David was
rockin’ the counter-pressuring. When the midwife came back she asked if I was
interested in using essential oils. I was one step ahead and had some oil
blends pre-made and labeled as to what I wanted it used for and when. She
started applying the one for pain (white fir, basil, lavender, black pepper,
FCO) on my back, legs, and ankles and it felt so good. Labor continued and they
were all amazing helpers – I kept reminding them of that so they wouldn’t stop
what they were doing. I even apologized to them that it was boring since I
didn’t like anyone talking when I was focusing. I started to feel a lot of
pressure from the water so the midwife kept asking if I wanted her to break it
but I was really hoping it would do it on its own so said no. I was at 8cm so
in transition and the contractions were very strong. She told me if she broke
my water it could mean only 5 min until Parker came or it could mean 30
min. I was nervous of having more
intense contractions because it was getting harder to focus on relaxing and I
needed more help from David to relax. Finally I agreed to have her break my
water just to relieve the pressure. Shortly after I vomited and the midwife
told me that if I moved sides then it would move him down and speed it up. Even
though I wanted it to be over I did not want to intentionally do something that
would bring on more intense contractions. I did though. She told me I could
groan but I was too focused on my “relax the body” to make any other sound,
until it was almost time to push. Then I tried the moaning and it felt pretty
good. I heard the midwife say it must be close since I was moaning. That’s when
I felt like pushing so she said on the next contraction I could and gave me
instructions on how I was to do it. The nurse was right by my side coaching me
through it which was super helpful, and David was on the other side of me telling
me how close I was - which was so nice to hear at that point. Anyway, 2
contractions later and Parker was here.
Epidural would definitely have been easier but this was way
more beautiful. I felt so proud of myself – strong and empowered. It was such a
touching experience and for any future kids I definitely plan to do it natural
again.
