On my first son’s first birthday, I got a call from my doctor about the results of a test I had taken to see if I had a yeast infection. I did, in fact have a yeast infection, and I was pregnant! I remember thinking that it was such a perfect day! We got to celebrate our adorable little guy’s first year of life, and celebrate the new life that was growing inside me.
I knew right away that I didn’t want to have this baby at the same hospital as our first. I did some research, and really wanted to go to this wonderful looking birth center close by, but didn’t want to pay the $3,000 for a midwife that we would have to hire, when I could use the Army Medical insurance at any hospital and have a “free” baby.
Thankfully, I found a practice of midwives who “delivered” at a hospital about 20 minutes away that had about 4 birthing rooms equipped for water births, with big, deep tubs right by the windows, and the rest of the rooms all had great sized jetted tubs that you could labor in, but not give birth in. So either way, I’d get to be in the water for at least most of it. We took the tour, and loved it! I also loved the midwife practice that I went to for all of my prenatal appointments. They were very laid back, and supportive of my birth plans.
I had a wonderful pregnancy, taking 2 mile walks every morning down a trail behind our house that led to a beautiful walking path around a pond, and I had to walk up hill to get back home. so I got plenty of exercise. I loved cooking healthy food, but would have to send the hubby out for the occasional Junior Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendy’s. 
I think my due date was April 30th or somewhere at the end of April, and at an appointment a few days before my due date, I was excited to find out if anything was happening, so she checked me and told me I was already 4cm! I had been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions the entire pregnancy, as with my first, so I thought that they must be doing something! I also had been very diligent at practicing my Hypnobirthing relaxation techniques, listening to the cd every night on the iPod before bed, and felt a lot more prepared to handle labor and birth, and also having gone through it before, I knew more what I needed to do in order to cope with the “pressures” – not pain.
Well, I was at my due date, and nothing was happening. My sister lived 2 hours away, and I really was nervous about where my 20 month old was going to go while we were in the hospital. Her husband was traveling from business right by our house back to their home, so he stopped and picked up Milo and took him back to their house. Milo missed us at night, and I missed him terribly, but during the day, he had the time of his life playing with his 3 cousins and exploring their house (we had spent lots of time visiting there while my husband and my sister’s husband were both gone working, so I knew Milo would feel comfortable there. And I was so relieved, even though I missed him, because I really didn’t want to have to drop him off at a friend’s house in the middle of the night- since I just had a feeling it would be another night labor).
The due date came and went, and on May 1st, my husband and I decided to get out of the house and do lots of walking, and just enjoy our alone time together before the baby came. So we drove up to Seattle, and spent the day wandering through Pike Street Market, listening to the street musicians, everything. It was a beautiful day out, and there were plenty of hills for me to climb! I had no idea the city was so hilly! We ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, and then later, had the most delicious Lemon Crepe I’ve ever had from a little crepe cart on the street.
On the way home, we stopped at the store to get the ingredients to make spicy eggplant parmesan, that was a famous recipe for sending women into labor. We also bought a bottle of castor oil, and then we put into practice what I learned in hypnobirthing- Hugs before Drugs! So with all three of those natural induction methods, we had quite an interesting night!
We video taped me drinking the castor oil mixed with Orange Juice. I didn’t think it was as horrible as everyone said. I only put one Teaspoon or Tablespoon, I can’t remember. I then laid on the couch and my husband went to try and get some sleep. I was too excited, and was thinking about taking another dose at around 11, an hour after I taken the first dose, and nothing was happening- when all the sudden, I had to bolt for the bathroom! That castor oil was doing something! It cleaned me out, and then I went and got on the computer, and I think I wrote something on my blog or Facebook about how it might be happening soon. Shortly after that, I went to bed, but the contractions soon started, and I couldn’t sleep.
At around 2am, they were very regular, but not painful. But I was worried that since I was already dilated to 4 cm, that we shouldn’t wait too long at home, plus, I was expecting a shorter labor since it was my second. I also had the crazy idea that since I had been so faithful at my hypnobirthing techniques that I was probably just so relaxed that I didn’t feel any pain, but I was probably dilated to a 7 or 8 already, and just didn’t know it! ( I was so naïve!)
We got to the hospital around 3:30 am, and had to register- I thought I already pre- registered, but they couldn’t find my records. So sitting at the desk filling out the paper work was kind of awkward during contractions! They were very nice, and kept joking that we had better get the paperwork done so I didn’t have the baby in the office.
So upstairs we went, to this beautiful, new, nice labor and delivery floor. Then we found out that all the rooms were full, and it might be a couple of hours before one opened up! So we had to sit, waiting in the waiting room, and we just kept laughing at how we can never have good luck when arriving to the hospital. The contractions still were very manageable, and as long as my husband rubbed my back and I did my breathing, I was fine. I still thought in my mind that I was pretty far into labor and I would have the baby as soon as I got a room.
Well, I was wrong- way wrong! I finally got a room, and was checked by a sweet nurse who informed me I was barely 2cm! I was shocked! I really didn’t want to go home, I wanted this baby born! So after monitoring my contractions, they said that I could stay for an hour, since my contractions were regular, but if I didn’t progress I would be sent home. I asked if I could get in the tub, and they said I could do whatever I wanted! So I hopped in the tub, turned off all the lights, turned on my hypnobirthing, and just zoned out. I even took some power naps in between contractions, and I just felt very peaceful. I could tell that the contractions changed from just a general tightness across my uterus, to a more squeezing from my low hips and back all the way around, so I knew things were definitely progressing. When the nurse came back to check me, I was 5cm! Wahoo! Went from 2-5 in one hour, so they were impressed. At 7 am, the shift changed, and a new nurse, Kimberly came and introduced herself. She was supportive of my birth plan, but the midwife from my group I had been seeing wasn’t there that day, and I would just get whoever was on call. And she basically didn’t show up until baby was being born. So she asked me what she could do, and I politely asked her to leave us alone as much as possible! She laughed and said she would be happy to let me labor in peace. She told me she had to check on me once an hour, and she would quietly come in, and check baby’s heart beat, and ask me how I was feeling. She was the best!
I think it was around 8:30 am that she came in and wanted me to get out of the tub to monitor me for 20 minutes straight, since they hadn’t done that in several hours. I was kind of uncomfortable in the tub, anyway, so I got out, and laying on my left side felt really good. But as soon as I got settled in the bed, I started going through transition, and things started revving up! I was able to get through it, as long as I kept my eyes closed and didn’t talk at all before a contraction hit. I had to be ahead of my breaths, or I would totally lose it during. So my husband held my hand, gave me sips of water in between and told me how great I was doing. I tried to stay relaxed, and when they were really bad, I remember curling my toes so bad against the bottom of the bed, I scraped off all of my toenail polish!
I think she checked me and I was around 7.5 cm, but I knew the baby was close. The nurse left, and not very long later, I called her back in and told her to get the midwife, because the baby was coming. She looked but didn’t see the head yet and tried to tell me it would still be a while, but my husband told her he could tell from how my breathing had changed…I hadn’t even realized I was doing it, but I changed my breathing from the breath that you do during a contraction, to the birth breathing you do to nudge the baby down. I planned on not pushing, but breathing the baby down gently.
She agreed to page the midwife. About 10 minutes later, I thought my husband was going to have to catch the baby, but the midwife walked in, put on her gloves, told me the baby was right there, and if she broke my water, he’d be here in a second. I had a very strong flashback to the first birth, since when they broke my water when I was pushing is when all hell broke loose. But I felt so much pressure this time that I don’t remember feeling before, and I truly felt that it really would happen like she said. So I agreed, and she did notice that his heart rate dipped slightly, but then it picked right back up again, and he came flying out! She barely caught him, it was more like he just landed on the bed! He was immediately handed to me, and I got to hold him for the next 30 minutes! Our little tiny Oliver was here- 6lbs 14 oz at around 9:30 am on May 2! We got to wait a little while to cut the cord this time, and I tried to nurse him while we delivered the placenta, and I can’t really remember if I held him while it came out or not, but it came out very soon after he was born. They weighed him and wrapped him up, and I got to order breakfast. While I waited on breakfast, I had to get some stitches, since Oliver shot out so fast, I tore a little. She wouldn’t tell me how many stitches, and getting them hurt worse than giving birth! I felt every one, and I don’t think she did a great job with them, because it actually took me a long time to recover from them, and I had a skinny baby!
But we were eventually moved to a different room, and got to snuggle the sweet baby all day. My sister came that afternoon with Milo, and he got to meet his new brother. He was a little confused, and it was hard to contain him when all he wanted to do was touch all the cords and buttons on all the machines. My husband took him home with my sister and her son who came with them, and helped her get him settled for the night, while they slept at our house. Then my husband came back to the hospital around 10pm and was able to sleep in a little cot in our room. Oliver was a good baby, he would sleep for a while, then want to nurse for a while. I felt more than able to take care of him all night, and at one point, he just slept with me, and we had a peaceful first night together.
We went home the next morning. We stopped at a Target to get a little present for Milo from his baby brother. I waited in the car with the baby while DH went inside to pick something out. He grabbed a Tonka truck, one of those soft ones that are bigger for little hands. When we walked in the front door, we set the baby car seat on the floor with the baby in it, and Milo came running over, saying, “Baby! Baby!” and he bent down to kiss him ever so sweetly on his head, and then before any of us saw it coming, he wacked his new little brother on the head! It was so shocking that he would do that, so needless to say, after making sure Oliver was ok- he barely cried over it- we made sure to not leave them alone with out one of us in the room at all times! And that’s how it all began with my two sweet but silly little boys! With a kiss and a smack- and they still have that kind of relationship to this day. They are best friends, and cry when they are apart, but have such a knack at tackling one another and hurting each other. But mostly, they really do just love each other.
I’m so grateful that Oliver’s birth went so smoothly. It showed me that I really did have the ability to birth my own baby, even though someone else showed up at the last minute to catch him, and even then, didn’t do a very good job.
When Oliver was about 18 months old, I started taking some classes to become a Certified Massage Doula (I was already a massage Therapist). Through that training, I was able to attend two births, each at the local Army Hospital that we now are stationed at in North Carolina. At the time, I had no immediate plans of getting pregnant, but I knew after witnessing the care there, that I would never have a future baby there. I started researching what other options are in this area, and basically the only other choice was to hire your own midwife for a home birth. After finding that out, I started researching that whole concept a lot, something I had never even thought about- and found myself loving the idea. Just like when I read “Hypno Birthing, The Mongan Method”, and Childbirth with out Fear, something clicked when looking into Home Births. It just made sense!
So, not surprisingly, when I found out that #3 was on it’s way when Oliver was just over 2, I called the local midwife in town and made an appointment. I totally love her, and can’t wait for our new arrival to get here in 8 or so short weeks! I hope to have the baby in the birthing tub. The only thing that worries me is that for some freak reason, I’ll have the baby early, and my husband will miss it! He’ll be out of town for the two weeks before I’m due! He’ll get home about 6 days before my due date. But to cover for that, I know my midwife and I can handle it. And my Mother in Law will be here to help with the boys.
So all in all, I’m just so excited to not have to leave my house, to not have to ship my kids off, to get to snuggle up with our sweet new BOY (yes, boy #3) in our cozy bed as a family and just BE together! It sounds so wonderful, and I pray that I have another easy, comfortable birth.
I don’t want to make it sound like giving birth was a walk in the park for me, but after learning how to stay relaxed and breathe properly, I truly loved giving birth. We all have the potential inside of us to birth our children naturally- but you have to work for it and prepare yourself. When I only had 5 weeks before my first son was born, I still was so proud of myself for not having medication, (until I had one intervention at 10 cm and got an epidural forced on me)even though I was having a hard time during transition. But after going through it and then being able to know what it feels like and what works for me and doesn’t work for me during labor, the second time was much easier, and besides the stitches, I don’t recall ever crying out from pain or thinking in my head that I needed pain relief. And I’m not trying to sound like I’m so tough or different than anybody else. But I conditioned my mind and body to be able to let my body take over and do the work it needed to do without interfering by being afraid and tensing up, causing more complications.
If I can do it, anyone can do it! But I highly recommend taking a birthing class to give you some coping tools to use during labor, or you WILL feel like it is pain, unless you train yourself to view it as your body bringing your baby to you. I have heard of people who don’t take classes and still are able to achieve a natural, un medicated birth, and good for them! But for the majority of women, who are instilled with fear from the beginning, and don’t question all of the unnecessary interventions, and go ahead and schedule that induction because they are 2 days past due with out even finding out their options, I think most women need to take a natural birthing class.
I’m almost off my soap box- ALMOST- even if, after reading this, and looking inward, you still aren’t interested in natural birth- that is fine- it is YOUR BODY, Your CHOICE- but still don’t throw it all out the window. I know more women than I can count on one hand, that planned for an epidural and it DIDN’T Work! They were un prepared to handle the intensity of contractions, and look back on their experience with bitterness of having to endure so much pain- or they look back and make comments like, “It freaking hurt! So what, why do all these “Natural” mom’s make such a big deal over it? I did it and didn’t get a cookie!” When if they would have AT LEAST taken a look into natural coping methods, they could have been much more relaxed, and been in less pain. You never know how your birth is going to end up, and just like my first took an unexpected turn by me having to get an epidural and forceps delivery- I was at least prepared for that- I listened to it every night on my CD- “I will be prepared to meet whatever turn my birthing takes.” So I just want to encourage all mothers out there to just be prepared. If your epidural doesn’t work- your baby is still coming out of you, and wouldn’t it be nice to know how to handle those contractions with out fear or pain? If your epidural works, and you get to sit pretty without mascara running down your face, more power to you!
But I know it truly does work, and I fully expect to be able to ride the waves of the contractions at home this time, and look forward to each and every one- knowing it is one more surge closer to my sweet little baby in my arms! That may sound very cutesy, but I really do feel that way!
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