Birth Story : Part 2 - Levi's Birthday

I am writing this for myself so I will remember this day. I will try not to be too graphic with the details, but there's a chance it might be gross, so be forewarned. 

The night before Levi was born, I did not get much sleep. I was uncomfortable the whole night. Around 5am, I woke up and realized I was having painful contractions. I didn't want to wake Daniel up just yet, so I got up and grabbed a Gatorade so I could relax on the couch for a while. After having one contraction on the couch though, I realized that wasn't going to work out. They were much more painful while sitting down. I walked around for a while and timed them. They were 4-5 minutes apart and 1 minute long. After half a hour, I decided it was time to wake Daniel up. I was really needing to focus and breathe through each contraction. He got up and took a shower while I finished packing the rest of our things. I told him that since I already had my regular appointment with the midwife scheduled for 9:30 that day, he should just go in to work. He could come pick me up and take me to my appointment because I didn't think I could drive myself. Apparently that was a dumb suggestion, because he laughed at me and said "I just turned on my 'out of office' auto reply on my work email. I'm not going in, you're in labor!" I jumped in the shower and then started drying my hair. I had to put the hair dryer down for every contraction and lean on the counter to get through it. Daniel had called my parents to let them know, and he called the birth center as well. Dad was going to stay here with Gunner and Mom was going to go with us to the birth center. At 7:30 Dad arrived. Gunner was pretty excited to see him! I was running around trying to get ready and make sure everything was taken care of. Mom showed up a little later, I can't remember what time. I think Dad was worried I was going to give birth right then and there because he kept asking if we wanted him to load the car or call 911! I was getting pretty vocal through each contraction and it was becoming tough to do anything else. Daniel and I loaded up to head to the birth center at 9, while Mom ran to grab some more Gatorade to take with us. 

A few weeks before my due date, we bought Gunner a bike! We wanted him to have it when Levi was born, kind of as a big brother gift. We kept it hidden in the attic. Right before we left to have the baby, we got it down to give to him. He loved it! As we were pulling out of the driveway, he and Dad were waving at us and trying out Gunner's new bike. I sat in the car and sobbed because I knew the next time he saw us, everything would change and he wouldn't be our only baby. It was tough! I was so excited for him to be a big brother, but I was really afraid he would have a hard time adjusting to everything. It was an emotional ride to the birth center. I had two contractions in the car, and after the second one I said "I don't want to have another one in here!!!" 

We arrived exactly at 9:30 and went inside. From here, my midwife logged everything into my file as it happened, so I have detailed accounts of what happened and when it happened. I remember getting to the room and wondering if they needed to weigh me and check my blood pressure for my normal appointment. They thought that was funny because they laughed and said "Uh, no! We're having a baby!" I had been concerned the whole pregnancy that I would have another long and slow labor, and that I would get to the birth center too soon and have to labor for ever and ever. We decided that it might help me not worry if she checked me to see where I was. I was 5 centimeters, 60% effaced and the baby was at -3 station. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping to be more effaced, but the midwife assured me that it was great progress and that it would probably happen fairly quickly. 

I remember laying on the bed on my side for about 10-15 minutes to rest since I had been on my feet all morning. Once I got up, I wanted to wear a robe, but then decided I was too hot so I took off my tshirt. I had on a spaghetti strap shirt under that for some reason. I guess I wanted to wear layers that day! They put a big yoga ball on the bed with a towel over it for me to lean on while I stood up. That was a great position because it allowed me to lean over a little and still rock side to side, which I think helped the baby decend. 

Around 10:15, I REALLY felt like I needed to go to the bathroom. I did not realize that the baby was already low enough to be causing that much pressure. So obviously nothing happened, but I did have what is referred to as "bloody show."  (I warned you it might be gross!!) Just par for the course, and things were progressing very well. 

I went back to standing and leaning on the yoga ball, and around 10:30 we decided to try the shower. This was my favorite position. I was able to stand up and lean on the ball (which was raised on a stool) with the hot water on my lower back. While I was standing in the shower, I started pushing. I didn't realize that was what was happening, because I didn't realize your body just does it on its own even if you don't try! It wasn't forceful and I wasn't straining, but it was the start of small, short pushes. They were asking me if I was pushing and I kept saying no, but they eventually let me know that I was indeed and it was perfectly fine. I have heard stories of moms pushing too soon and it causing swelling of the cervix, making the baby get stuck and ending in a c-section. I was pretty concerned about it but my midwife assured me it was not a problem. 

Around 10:40, I moved to the birthing tub. This was "relaxing" mostly because I didn't have to be on my feet. I was starting to get really worn out and it was nice to just rest between contractions. The notes on my file state that it was at this time where I was "visibly bearing down", so the contractions were getting much more intense. My mom was sitting on a small stool to my right, and Daniel was sitting on the "dad stool" to my left and kind of behind me. They were both holding one of my hands, and taking turns getting me water and putting a cold cloth on my forehead. I labored in the tub for about 20 minutes, and the contractions were starting to space out more and more. My midwife let me know and suggested moving to a different position to keep things going. They put the ball on the bed with a towel over it, and I got up on my knees and leaned over the ball. I'm pretty sure this was when I hit transition, because I was having a hard time even staying upright. My contractions were getting very intense and I was sweating like you see in the movies when women are in labor. I was a mess, and couldn't NOT push at this point. I got up on the bed at 11:18, and at 11:22 my water broke during a contraction. Everyone in the room heard it because it made a loud POP sound. My midwife told Daniel that at this point things were going to get pretty intense. She started to explain to me that things were going to start progressing very quickly, and I said "No don't tell me that! I don't want to know!!" I think I just needed to really focus and didn't want to think too far ahead of what was happening at that moment. At this point I was at 9 centimeters, 90% effaced and the baby was at -1 station. 

At 11:40, I got back in the tub. I was starting to really push with each contraction, and I could start feeling the baby getting lower. From what I remember, I was able to push on my own for quite some time. I remember getting to the point where I could literally feel the baby's head move in the birth canal, and that was totally weird. After that contraction, I then felt him move back up and that was WAY weird. My mom suggested I try pushing as they counted to ten. That was harder than I thought because my pushing was really being fascilitated by my contractions, I wasn't really doing a lot to make it happen. It was kind of just happening on its own and I was going with it. I had to really focus on them counting. It was starting to get pretty uncomfortable because he was beginning to crown, though I didn't realize he was already that far down. I remember thinking "This is the worst it has felt so far, and I am worried he will never be born!" What I didn't realize was that his head had come out at that point! Because I had good breaks between my contractions, I stopped pushing after his head was delivered. I didn't realize this had happened, but there wasn't a lot else I could do because I was so exhausted. They kept telling me to push one more time but I couldn't until the next one started. Once it did, I did one small push and I remember opening my eyes and he was coming out of the water! They put him right into my arms and he was screaming and pink as could be! It was 12:03. Daniel was right there and Mom was taking pictures. I loved hearing him cry! Poor Gunner had lots of fluid in his lungs so he just gurgled and barely made any noise. I was so worried about him. This was so different, and I couldn't get enough of Levi wailing away. 

One thing I had requested to have done in the hospital was delayed cord clamping. They didn't seem to care too much to make that happen, and kind of shrugged it off as if it was a silly request. With the birth center, they automatically try to do that if they can. We were able to delay the cord being clamped and cut for 8 minutes after he was born! My mom said she could see how quickly he was turning from whitish purple to pink as the blood started working its magic in his little body. After Daniel cut the cord, they helped me get up and out of the tub and onto the bed. 

Daniel quickly threw his shirt off so he could do skin to skin with Levi. It took about twenty minutes for the placenta to deliver, and that wasn't fun. I had torn pretty much exactly where my episiotomy was so I ended up with a few stitches. After that was all taken care of, I was able to try to nurse him. Thankfully he latched a few times and we had a good start on breastfeeding. Mom ran and picked up lunch for us, Daniel laid down to rest and I cuddled the baby. 

About 3pm I wanted to get cleaned up so I took a shower and got dressed. We were able to get in the car and head home around 5:30! That's one of the great things about the birth center. As long as mom and baby are doing well, they let you go home within four hours of the birth! It was SO nice to be able to start recovering in my own home instead of in a hospital room. 

The next day, one of the other midwives came to our house for our follow up! Home visits have been part of the package of the birth center, but because they have become so very busy they are phasing it out. I was so lucky to be one of the last few moms to get a home visit. She checked on me and my recovery and checked Levi and did his heel prick. 

My mother in law stayed with us the first week, and my mom stayed the second week. We had tons of people bring us meals and had lots of help. We are so thankful and blessed to have so many people in our lives to take care of us during this huge life changing time. 

Levi's birth was a really amazing moment in my life. I had been preparing for that for more than a year. There is nothing like delivering a baby naturally. It did hurt, but not like I thought it would. It was not unbearable. It was not impossible. I could totally see myself doing that again if we decide to have another one. I'm pretty sure the postpartum recovery was more uncomfortable than the actual labor and delivery. I have been recommending the birth center to anyone in the area who is pregnant or wants to have a baby. They took such good care of us and made this experience seem easy.