We headed to Ginger Pop that
evening for a nice dinner and then I met my small group from Church. Our small group was special, we were all
pregnant. As we were getting ready to
say goodnight, Karen Rose made a comment that it might be the last time she saw my
belly. I told them I wouldn’t be
surprised if I was holding my baby the next day. I was really uncomfortable and had been
feeling a lot of pressure all day. I was sure baby was really low. And I felt
ready.
When I went into labor with
both Riley and Kyler, contractions had started in the middle of the night and
they were in my arms by the afternoon. I
had been told so many times that the 3rd baby was a wild card, but
I still expected things to happen like it did with the older boys.
I settled down on the sofa
that evening to sleep, like I had done for the last few weeks. I got a good
night's rest and woke in the early morning.
Contractions had not started, but I felt a bit of
pain. I sat up to roll over to my other
side and said, “God, isn’t this supposed to happen today?” Then I felt a trickle and a burst. My water had just broken. I had never experienced that with the older
boys. I was so excited! I headed to the bathroom and passed by my
bedroom. I yelled to Dylan, “My water
broke! What time is it?” No response.
Again I asked, “What time is it?” Dylan responded, “6:00.” I asked him if he had heard what I said and
repeated that my water had just broken. He got out of bed for a bit and we talked. He decided to try to get some more rest.
There was no way I could go
back to sleep. I cooked some breakfast and
waited until about 8:00am to text my midwife, doula and birth photographer. I told them my water had broken but nothing
else was happening yet. My doula (and friend), Amber,
was headed to work soon. She decided to
make a home visit and check on us.
There were a few things that Amber told us we still needed for the birth, so we decided to run to Fred Meyer. When
we were done shopping, we let the boys look at the Lego aisle. There
happened to be a chair close by so I sat down and waited for
Dylan to grab a couple of things that we forgot. It was about 10:00am now
and my first contraction hit. Unfortunately, with the contraction came
more water. Dylan took my cart and the kids while I got the van as fast
as possible.
Our plan was to set up the birthing pool in the backyard. As long as
our new little guy didn't arrive in the middle of the night, it
would work out. Dylan mowed the lawn, set up
our canopy, and blew up the tub. It was a beautiful, clear, 80 degree
day.
After lunch I felt like I wanted to go for a walk and see if it
would help. We decided to walk to Dairy Queen for some ice
cream. As we were enjoying our ice cream, just after 2:00pm, I remembered that I had made a chiropractor appointment for 2:45pm. Since
contractions were still inconsistent, we decided to go to the
appointment.
We got to the chiropractor's office a little late, at about 3:00pm. He did
a technique which was supposed to help get labor going.
When we got home we decided to try to get a little rest.
Dylan took a nap. I just couldn't sleep, but tried to relax.
Contractions seemed to be anywhere from 5-15 minutes apart, lasting 30
seconds, and not too strong.
We were at the point in the day where we needed to start thinking
about dinner. It was still fairly early but I wanted to get some food
in me in case things picked up. We decided to get Burgerville so we
wouldn't be in the middle of cooking and have to stop. While Dylan was
out getting the food, I laid down on the sofa and once again attempted
to sleep. Two stronger contractions hit me and I was no longer
comfortable laying down. I felt like I needed to change into my
swim skirt that I had picked out for the birth. A lot happened when
Dylan got home. I'm not sure of the order in which it all happened. It
just happened so fast.
I
ate about half of my burger and simply couldn't eat any more. I told
Dylan, "fill up the tub!" I didn't want to
contact my midwife team and doula too soon so I called my birth
photographer (and friend), Karyn. She said she would head over after
swinging by the store.
I
went outside to check the pool. Dylan wanted to know which direction I
wanted it facing before it was too full to move. I noticed that we had
forgotten to put the liner in, so we dumped gallons of hot water out and
started over. We could have just kept filling and sanitized the tub when
we were done, but everything worked out in the end. I went back to the
bathroom. Contractions were getting regular at this point.
Amber is also my Bradley class instructor. During one class, she had suggested the bathroom as a good spot to labor. I thought she was a bit crazy. I'm sure I gave her some funny looks when she said this, but that's where I found myself. The birth ball just didn't feel right; I wanted to be sitting upright. I liked the hum of the fan. It calmed me. Dylan would check on me while he wasn't busy taking care of kids and getting things ready. Everything happening so fast. I had my phone with me to track my contractions. For some reason I checked Facebook. I had been communicating with my friend, Annie, all day. I had just met her when I bought cloth diapers from her a few days prior, and we had discovered that we were due within a week of each other. Later we discovered that we had a mutual friend due around the same time and we were all using the same midwife team. They had been joking around that they were going to go into labor at the same time. Annie had seen my post that morning that my water broke. She was having contractions throughout the day, so we were messaging each other. She had also gone to her chiropractor at 3:00. But apparently, things happened even faster for her. When I pulled up Facebook, there was a post by Amber, tagging Pita from my midwife team, with a picture of a new baby. My entire birthing team was at another birth! I looked at my phone notes, 5:23, 5:27, 5:30. . . My contractions were consistent and getting stronger.
I waited as long as a could. I texted Amber, "Are you all going to
be much longer?" My phone rang shortly after. I told Amber that my
contractions were 3 minutes apart. When she asked how long they were, I
told her I didn't know, it was too hard to keep track. Then
another contraction hit, so I handed the phone to Dylan. Amber knew it
was time for them to head over. Luckily they were close by.
At 6:00pm a swarm of people showed up. My midwife team: Mary, Pita and
Patricia; my doula, Amber; and my photographer, Karyn. Suddenly the house
was buzzing with excitement. I had found my way out to the tub just
minutes before everybody showed up.
I sat in the tub listening to the wonderful noise of familiar
voices. Excitement was in the air. I loved being at home in my own
backyard, listening to the familiar sounds of my home, like the creaking
of the
screen door. It was much better than the sounds of the hospital.
In between contractions, Patricia checked Oliver's heartbeat with
the Doppler. Everything sounded good. Had I been in the hospital, I'm
sure I would have wanted to be checked and told how many centimeters I
was dilated. But for some reason, with this birth, the thought never
crossed my mind. Somehow, both Dylan and myself, we just knew. We knew to trust
my body.
I was sitting with my arms over the back of the back of the tub. I
thought this would help keep tension out of my shoulders. The tub ledge
was high, it hurt my shoulders a little, but it seemed to help if I
rocked with each contraction. Amber asked if the rocking was making me
unable to let go fully with each contraction. I wasn't sure. Amber noticed a lot of
tension in my brow, so she would place her fingers, pointing down, on my
forehead during each contraction. She told me to let go, imagine a
waterfall. It was hard to do. I wanted to hold everything in, but I knew
I had to let go. I had a few strong contractions and allowed myself to relax. After a few more contractions I
decided to move to the other side of the tub to sit on the tub seat.
I felt an urge to push, but didn't feel the need to push hard. I
didn't ask anybody if it was okay. I didn't tell anybody. I didn't ask
to be checked. I just did it. I think Amber noticed first and asked me
if I was pushing. I just nodded my head. Mary checked, and said, "Your baby is
right there." I still laugh at what Amber said next. "During your next
contraction, reach down and feel your baby. I DARE you." I
didn't want to move, but she dared me. So on the next contraction, I
felt baby. He was so close. A few more pushes and we will meet our
baby! Another gentle push and his head is out. One more push and he
will be
here. I push and Mary helps me catch my baby and bring him to my
chest.
He is perfect, perfect, perfect! It's 6:33pm.
Just over an hour of active
labor and only a half hour in the tub. I spend what feels like only
minutes in the tub, looking at our new little addition, but we were in
there for a while. I deliver the placenta and Dylan cuts the cord.
It's time to get out. I hand our new little guy to Dylan so I can get
out and take a shower and clean up. Just a short time later I'm on the
sofa with my family. They weigh Olly - he is 6lbs 8oz like both his
brothers! What are the odds?
Soon everybody is packing up, all exhausted from the busy day. The house is calm and quiet again. The older boys get tucked into bed and Dylan and I snuggle in our bed soon after, just like any other night. . .
