This is the story of my third child. WOW, was it amazing! The exact times are a little blurry in my mind because of how quickly it all happened, but I’ll share my recollection of it. The afternoon before my due date, my midwife came for our weekly checkup. I was honestly surprised that I was still pregnant because I had both of my other children at 39 weeks. I was uncomfortable and so ready to have this baby, as is every mom at this point. I decided to have my membranes stripped in hopes that things would get going soon. I was already 3-4 cm so we knew it wouldn’t be much longer. At about 5pm I started having mild contractions that were anywhere from 7-10 minutes apart. We had a relaxing evening at home as a family in hopes that maybe this would be it. I really felt like it might be our last night as a family of four so I was trying to soak up every minute with my two beautiful children. After they headed off to bed I decided that we should go ahead and set up the birth tub as well so that it would be ready and all we had to do was fill it up when it was time. I let my midwife, doula, and photographer know that I contracting so that they could be ready just in case. At about 10pm my contractions slowed and eventually fizzled out. I was pretty disappointed, but I drifted off to sleep in hopes that baby would decide to join us then. Fast forward to 1am, after a few good hours of sleep, I woke up to some cramping. I flipped over, tried to just ignore it and go back to sleep. About 5 minutes later it happened again, and again, and again. I got out of bed to go to the bathroom and continued to have them consistently every 5 minutes and they had become more intense in just a few minutes. I woke up Lawrence and told him, and luckily he reminded me to call everyone- my midwife, doula, and photographer. My doula was at another birth so I called her back up, who was also a good friend of mine. They were all on their way so I got in the shower while Lawrence and my mom got everything else ready. Contractions quickly got closer and closer together. I tried sitting on my birth ball, but that wasn’t very comfortable so I paced around and leaned on the bar in our kitchen. I was experiencing quite a bit of back pain so a heating pad and some massage were very helpful. By 2am our doula, Maria arrived followed by our midwife Krista 15 minutes later, and our photographer Erin, just a few minutes after that. By this time my contractions were only 2-3 minutes apart. The only position that felt good was standing. Lawrence and Maria helped with counter pressure on my back and we began filling up the tub. I was also checked about this time and was 8cm and my water broke right after that. Contractions immediately became more intense. I started to sound my labor out a little more and it was much harder to relax. I knew I was in transition and that it wouldn’t be much longer. Getting in the tub really helped me to relax, especially between contractions. I also got a little nauseous, but smelling some peppermint oil quickly took care of that. I hung out in the tub for about 30 minutes when suddenly the urge to push was uncontrollable. I have never felt the urge to push so strongly with my other two children so I was pretty surprised. My midwife checked to see where baby was and sure enough baby was just about to crown and was born in just one intense contraction. A sweet new baby was brought to my arms and we immediately feel in love. I was so surprised with how quickly everything went. The entire labor was only 3 hours and 15 minutes. Maria woke up my older children, Quinn and Raelynn, as it was 4:15am. They came out looking a little confused until they saw that I was in the tub and holding a baby. Smiles immediately spread across their faces. The kids helped me discover the gender, A BOY!! And Quinn also wanted to help cut the cord. After getting out of the tub, we cuddled on the couch for a while and Logan easily latched on to eat. The remainder of the night went smoothly as we transitioned into bed and did the newborn exam. Logan weighed 8 lbs 14oz and was 21 inches long. He was more than a pound bigger than my other kids! I could not have asked for a better birth experience! |
HollieWife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. A passionate birth doula and childbirth educator. Archives
July 2020
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