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Friday, December 9th: I had my 39 week appointment. We decided we would ask her for a sweep and see if that could get things moving along. My in-laws
were due to arrive the next Friday and we were hoping to have a baby before then. She got a good sweep in and noted the baby was in a good position and
I was 3cm already! We set our 40 week appointment for Thursday the 15th but the midwife declared she didn't think we would be making it to then and she
would hopefully see our baby then. Saturday and Sunday passed relatively uneventfully, contractions came and went but nothing stuck. Although, on
Sunday I completely lost my mucous plug with tons of bloody show, so I knew we were getting close!!
Monday, December 12th: I woke up at about 4am to pee and noticed the contractions about 8 minutes apart. I dozed off between the contractions, getting out of bed sporadically to pee. I realized it was the real deal when every time Jacob moved in bed while I was having a contraction it made them hurt even more making me want to punch him. At about 7am, I finally got up for the day and went and sat quietly on the couch. Jacob's grandma woke up and I let her know about the contractions and that I was sure today was the day! This was the real deal and we would be meeting our baby soon. I had her take me to the store so I could get some labor munchies and to see if walking made the contractions any closer. When we got home Jacob and Bryce had finally gotten up and had breakfast. I told him I was definitely in labor and we made plans to walk to the park and he could fish while I enjoyed the fresh air. At about 11am I called the midwife and let her know I was in labor and things were going good so far. We decided to meet up later in the afternoon to check and see how things were. I pushed Bryce in the stroller to the park (1 mile!) and Jacob met us there with the car. We stayed at the park for a couple of hours and even saw a dolphin while we were there. There was a group of women painting the waterfront and one noticed me working through contractions while grandma massaged my back. She asked me when I was due and said it looked like I was having a baby soon and wished me a good labor. Ashley called and asked us to meet her at the birth center at 4:30, so Jacob and I headed back to the house in the car so I could shower. We met up with Ashley, I was about 3.5cm so not much progress. She asked me if she could do a sweep again to "mix things up" and I agreed. We headed home and she made me promise to lay down and rest for a while when I got home. We got home at about 5:30 and I grabbed some food, took some Benadryl, and headed off for a nap. Bryce crawled into bed with me while everyone else started up a fire outside. After an hour of laying in bed unable to sleep through contractions, I got up and decided to take a bath. It was an epic failure, our tub is much too small for a very pregnant woman to be comfortable. I got out of the tub and the contractions cranked up so much I fell to my knees and waited for Jacob to come in the house. When he came in the house I yelled out for him and cue his instant panic of running to get his grandma and calling Ashley. It was hard trying to talk to her in the 1-2 minutes between contractions but after talking to her she decided now was the time and she would meet us at the center at 8:30 but Cheryl (the birth assistant) would be there waiting if we wanted to head out sooner. After standing in our kitchen leaning against the counter and working through the contractions being about 1 minute long and 2 minutes apart we decided now was the time to go and that Bryce would stay home with Jacob's aunt since it was so late already. So off we went, I'm glad the center is only 5 minutes away because the contractions SUCKED in the car.
We finally after an eternity in the car made it to the birth center at about 8pm. We got settled and I asked Cheryl to fill up the tub and see if helped the pain. A quick check revealed I was 6cm already! It felt so good being in the tub but after 45 minutes it was stalling my labor so I got out of the tub. I was feeling a little tired so I labored in bed on my side for awhile. Deeply relaxing between contractions helped me get some energy back and decided to get up and move around. I switched back and forth between walking around and sitting on the ball. I was drinking a lot of water and kept having to pee but by the time I made it to the toilet and peed I would have another contraction, therefore I declared the toilet was in fact EVIL.
It was probably around midnight when I hit transition, I knew it was happening the entire time but I couldn't help it. I was so panicky and just wanted to go home. I decided to step outside and get some fresh air and ended up projectile vomiting over the railing into the bushes. I was starting to feel 'pushy' so another check revealed I was 9cm and my bag of waters was bulging, which I could feel. And it HURT so much, I was just hoping my water would break just to relieve the pressure! I laid in bed for a bit resting and having a snack in anticipation of pushing. Finally the nurse made me get up and out of bed and moving around to bring the baby the rest of the way down and gave me the go ahead to bear down if it felt good. But I really couldn't control the urge to push, I just had to because it hurt not to push. Then of course, I had to visit the enemy: the toilet. But for some reason the toilet felt pretty good this time, I wiggled my hips through a contraction as I sat on the toilet and then my water EXPLODED right into the toilet. It felt so amazing for the pressure to be relieved.
Around 2 am I was finally ready to push. First I tried leaning against the headboard of the bed, this was pretty fruitless. Then I tried laying on my side and that just wasn't working either. Then, the midwife pulled out the birthing stool. Now, this thing was about as comfortable as it looked which was not very. And trying to get off of the bed with a baby head in my pelvis was not easy but I did it. Jacob was sitting behind me in a chair, holding me up to keep me balanced and from falling. The stool proved to be just what I needed and the baby came quick. I got to reach down and touch his head while he was crowning, it was amazing. At one point Ashley told me to stop pushing, the baby's cord was around his neck. She pushed him back, tilted his chin and unwrapped the cord. It hurt like hell but that's not what sticks in my mind, it's the smell I remember most. No one ever said the smell of birth was so intense. And "ring of fire" is an understatement. Finally, the baby was out and she handed me my little boy. At 3:18am on December 13th, 2011 at a whopping 9lbs and 22 inches long, Asher James made his entrance into the world. Very quietly at that, he didn't even cry. He just looked around wide eyed.
-Do not read past here if you're squeamish, this part is pretty intense!
At this point, I was still sitting on the stool but now holding my baby boy and that's when things got ugly. Ashley noticed I was bleeding, a lot of bleeding. She gave me a shot of pitocin in the thigh and then they transferred me to the bed with the baby still attached. Something wasn't right though, they quickly cut the cord and clamped the section still attached to the placenta to help reduce the bleeding. I was able to hold Asher and bring him to the breast for his first feeding. After that, they handed him to Jacob because at this point it had been an hour and the placenta had not passed and showed no signs of passing. I was giving some tinctures to help move the process a long and then Ashley pointedly said I was fully dilated and she was going for it. And she did. I remember laying on the bed screaming out from the pain and begging her to please stop as she tried to remove my placenta manually. The look of pain and sadness on her face as she was trying to get my placenta to detach will be with me forever. I was given another tincture and then we talked. If the placenta didn't out very soon, we needed to ready to transfer to the hospital by ambulance. Ashley pulled me into a squatting position and had me lean against her and gave a tug and finally the placenta detached. Everyone was so relieved and so exhausted. Jacob took Asher to the sitting room while I got my 3 stitches and cleaned up. Cheryl reminded me I needed to pee before I could go home and was shocked at willingness to get up and go right away. Ashley said goodbye and headed home to get some sleep before having to come back for a full day of appointments. Cheryl helped us pack up and get ready to go home and off we went. We were home by 6:30am!
Jacob asked me if I would have a natural birth again, my answer is absolutely. Though, ideally I would prefer Ashley be able to deliver any subsequent babies. You really have a bond with someone after she sticks her entire hand in your uterus trying to remove your placenta.